Churning

Have you guys been busy?  I guess if I had been reading your blogs I would know.  I barely got this post up today, it's been such a whirlwind around here.  My son left for 6 weeks in Cairns, Australia.  He's fulfilling 18 college credits by snorkeling with the sea turtles and studying plants. Such hardship.
The prep leading up to the trip, like shopping for a 70L backpack and all it's gear was eye opening(wallet opening) and time consuming.  I also had to shop for a new oven, my old one couldn't be saved.  I  have been cooking on just the stove top for over a month now.  I could do a whole blog post on the pursuit of a 36 inch, 6 burner, duel-fuel range that won't cost the same as a trip to Australia (all because my old oven has a broken $100 door latch that is no longer available and enables the oven to heat up properly), but I won't.  Just your average first world problems.
In the meantime I'm trying to stay off my butt, and work out in the yard.  That means less time to sew and crochet, and nothing much to blog about. This past weekend I was in a weekend warrior challenge with my sister and my girls, to see who could get the most steps on our Fitbit.
I came in second (yay), but my sister, who is a freaking competitive maniac, blew us all out of the water.  I usually try to hit 10,000 to 12,000 steps per day on average. Let me tell you the first week or so I was tired after reaching 12,000 steps.  Did you know Amish women average 14,000 steps per day?  That's because they're churning their own butter, hanging out the wash and working in the garden. This Kindle book really opened my eyes.  I thought I was pretty active already, but there's always room for improvement.   Anyway, sewing, knitting, crocheting and Pinterest browsing do not factor into this "keep moving" mentality because they are all sitting activities.  It's not a coincidence that since I started blogging, pinning and crocheting I have gained a few pounds.  Must rethink this somehow and find a better balance.
I did stop moving long enough to slowly piece together a wall hanging quilt of yellow churn dash blocks. I really love that tiny floral in the last picture.  I'm torn between saving it forever and adding it to everything.
Okay that's enough sitting for now. Gotta go churn some butter.