The End of July 7/31/26

 Hello!

How is everyone doing on this last day of July?  And who can believe that tomorrow is August already?

Yesterday was such a lovely day for me.  It was humid, but not hot.  Laundry was done in the morning and a run to the post office to get stamps and a box for shipping Leslie's birthday gift to her.  Also (naturally) a visit to CVS to pick up a prescription.  I also ventured out to the garden.  

Yesterday's haul!  The bush green beans are now coming in along with more (and more and more) yellow pole beans.  Another small cucumber and a good picking of the sun gold cherry tomatoes.  I took a very large bag of yellow beans over to Colin & Mailing's yesterday afternoon when I fed Talbot - I was having a hard time finding room for everything in my own fridge!

Early yesterday afternoon I had the most wonderful massage.  Mallory, my massage therapist, is a miracle worker!  I wanted to just come home and fall into a deep sleep, but instead I folded towels from the dryer and then drove over to feed Talbot.

Today I plan to spend a bit of time over at C&M's.  I'll feed Talbot, clean the litter box and then settle in for some knitting.  I need to tink a bit - I discovered my heel flap has a few extra stitches.  Not sure how that happened, but hopefully I can find the error and correct.  Later I'll venture back out to the garden - I know there will be more beans to pick.

I started to read The Calamity Club, but the book is so big and heavy and my eyes grew tired and heavy too.  Hopefully I'll make more progress in that later today.  It is laugh out loud funny in places.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend and a great start to August - enjoy!!

Unraveled Wednesday 7/29/26

 Good Morning!

The forecast rain did indeed roll in late yesterday afternoon and evening and we ended up with an inch or so of rain!  Much needed and appreciated.  It sounded and smelled so good!!  And, more is in the forecast for late in the day again today.

It is so hard to believe that we are at the end of July.  Where did it go?  It's now the last Wednesday of the month and time to link up with Kat  and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about making and reading.  I know it's difficult to believe, but I have finally picked up my Honky Tonk yarn and started a shortie sock!

The photo shows that I am part of the way down the heel flap. Honestly, I thought I would finish the heel flap, turn the heel and at. least pick up the gusset stitches.  But, I guess my less-than-stellar nights of sleep finally caught up with me - yesterday I had a two hour nap and woke up just in time to get dinner ready!

A new pattern that has caught my attention is Flyover by Alison K. Lee for Quince and Co.  Has anyone else noticed this one?  I love the looks of it for a nice Fall walk.  No plans yet to make it, but I'm thinking...

Meanwhile there has been reading.  I finished This Book Made Me Think Of You by Libby Page.  This was a quick read and a bit of fluff (my opinion).  A cute story but perhaps overly sweet.  However, it was the perfect book to read after consuming "Land" by Maggie O'Farrell the other week.

After that I read The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry.  Again, an easy read, but quite enjoyable.  And, it's based on a true story which I had not realized until I read the author's notes at the end of the story.  Plus, Beatrix Potter is mentioned, so what's not to love?

Today I'm back to watching Iris and looking forward to that.  Mailing is headed to Boston today for work and Colin & Iris are driving up there tomorrow for a long weekend.  After hanging in Boston, they will head over to Rhode Island for Saturday night.  They will be staying with Jan & Pete (Leslie's sister) and as it turns out, Leslie will be there too.  I'm so glad they will have a chance to see everyone.  I will still be going over to their house each day (twice a day) to care for and feed Talbot.  I also want to cook something to leave in their fridge so that they don't need to think about dinner when they return on Sunday.

More beans and tomatoes were picked yesterday - they are really coming in like gangbusters now!  I'll be able to leave a healthy serving for C&M&I and still have plenty for us!

And a surprise visitor yesterday - Froggy made an appearance!!

The green he is sitting on is a microfiber cloth sitting over the pump in our water feature.  The cloth helps keep debris from settling on the pump, so it runs better.

Well, time to sip some coffee and wake up.  Also I need to pull together a lunch for today.  May your Wednesday find you happily doing something you love!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 7/28/26

 Good Morning Everyone,

How are you?  It is still so muggy here in Eastern PA.  We had a little rain yesterday afternoon, but it did not clear the air.  More rain is expected today - in fact there are flash flood warnings out.

Anyway, it's Tuesday, so time for a TNT update.

A few more letters were stitched and I'm relieved to tell you that the piece is beginning to draw me in and appeal to me.  Whew!  I wish I could get a picture that more accurately shows the thread color which is labeled "aqua marine" and is a gorgeous shade of blue.  The silk thread is hand dyed, so there are subtle variations to it which are just lovely.  You may have noticed that there is no "J" stitched.  Most early samplers left out the J as it was not included in a classic or traditional alphabet.

Yesterday some of you asked if I would make elderberry syrup from the berries that have ripened.  I have never done that, but decided to give it a try yesterday.  The recipe I found only called for simmering a cup of berries in 3 cups of water along with fresh grated ginger, cloves and a cinnamon stick.  After 30 minutes or so you use a potato mashed to squash the berries to release the juice, then strain it to get rid of stems, the cinnamon stick and cloves.  Once cooled you add a cup of honey or agave nectar.  This is what I ended up with.

It is ok - the flavor is not real strong, but I think it might be good drizzled on vanilla ice cream!

There were also more beans and sun gold cherry tomatoes harvested yesterday.

We took some beans over to C&M on Saturday and Colin cooked them on Sunday.  Colin said Iris kept asking for more, and ended up having 3 servings!

Here's hoping your Tuesday holds something good for you!

Weekending 7/27/26

 Good Muggy Morning!

Yeah, the mugginess is back and rain is in our forecast.  But, what a glorious weekend it was.  Perfect weather for being outside.  Once again we ended up at Colin & Mailing's for dinner on Saturday.  We had ribs, greens and corn bread.  All yummy.  I brought a lemony turmeric teacake for dessert.

It was pretty and lemony, but honestly it was not that great.  It was a new recipe that I was trying and I have not bothered to save the recipe...lol.  But really, the meal was wonderful and we ate outside.  Afterwards it was pleasant to sit by a fire in the pit.

Yesterday was laundry day and two loads were hung on the lines to dry.  When hanging the clothes, I noticed our elderberry bush and saw that the berries are already turning dark.

Soon the birds will be feasting.  It feels a little early to me, but I can't really remember when they started to turn last year.

The plan for today is to just relax and do some making and reading.  Fingers crossed nothing gets in my way!  How was your weekend?

Thursday in the Garden 7/23/26

 Good Morning!

Once again this morning our air feels a little chilly!  It's a welcome feeling.  Our humidity is lowering (finally).

Today I thought I would share some garden stuff with you.  First up, our Gladiolas.  You've seen the red ones I've shown, but now we have some pink.  They are nice, but from the patio they look just pink.  Nothing more.  Up close is another story though.  Just look:

From a distance, the gorgeous inside is not really seen.  But, oh my!  And now, we also have a stalk that is an orange-peach color:

Stunning!

Now on to the veggie section.  I am still picking just one or two cherry tomatoes per day.  Soon it will be a mad rush to keep up with the production (at least I hope it is), but for now it is slow and steady.  The cucumber and cantaloup seedlings that Colin gave us have not been doing as well.  In fact, we thought they all died.  But then, I spotted one lone plant with a cucumber about an inch long.  Several days later, the cucumber looked like this:

There is another inch-long one coming along!  Our green bush beans are beginning to form.  We had not noticed any of our yellow pole beans and when I asked Fletch, he said there were not any yet.  However, when I looked I found an abundance of beans!  This is what I picked:

These were cooked up for dinner last night and they are delicious!  I'll check the plants later today because I know there are more hiding behind the leaves.

After thinking we would not have much of a garden, things are growing so nicely.  It's wonderful to pick fresh produce and then use it.

Yesterday brought a lovely surprise for me.  Bonnie is back from China and among all the things she brought for Iris, Colin & Mailing, she also brought something for me!  A beautiful cashmere wrap.

The picture shows it folded in half, but it is roughly 30" by 70" or so - a wonderful size to wrap around you.  Colin thought it would also make a lovely runner for the buffet.  I may try that idea.

Naturally today holds some errand running for me as well as some (previously avoided) chores.  Dinner will be easy - just nachos, so not much bother about that.  Therefore, I am hoping for an uninterrupted afternoon of making!  Wishing you a wonderful Thursday!

Unraveled Wednesday 7/22/26

 Good Morning!

Despite some thunderstorms late in the day yesterday, it is still extremely muggy.  Ugh!  And, not that much rain fell here - less than third of an inch by our rain gauge.

Before I get back to watching Iris today, it's time for linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers for an Unraveled Wednesday post.  No, I still have not knit or started anything new, and I did not pick up Semplice.  I did, however, make a catnip toy for Talbot using the too-small-sock I knit.

After getting rid of all the stems and sticks from the dried catnip, there wasn't really enough for two toys.  Anyway, Mabel has her REAL plant outside!  I took the too-small-sock and tucked the cuff end down into the rest of the sock so it would have a double thickness, stuffed it with the dried leaves and then sewed it shut.  Hopefully Talbot will like it.  I'll take it to him this morning.

Since I last posted about reading, I have finished two books.  I read Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin.  I don't know why this book never crossed my path previously - so many have read it and loved it.  Food memoirs are one of my favorite genres to read.  However, I did not really care for this book.  None of her recipes appealed to me and I found myself disagreeing with many things she said about food and cooking.  Oh well, to each their own.  I'm glad to have read it anyway.

Next up I read Land by Maggie O'Farrell which many of you have already read.  I think most of you will be very surprised to learn that I absolutely loved this book!  Yes it was bleak and harrowing in places.  Certainly no good fortune but plenty of bad luck.  Yet, I found myself responding to how resilient the characters are and I even found the book hopeful in a way.  I thought the ending was great.  I also kept thinking about how strong the female characters are that O'Farrell creates - not only Rose and Enda and Phina, but also Agnes from Hamnet and Lucrezia from The Marriage Portrait.

Now I'm almost finished another book - much less intense than Land and I'll be able to talk about that one next week.  Fletch and I only have a couple of hours left in our listening to The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane.  I've already downloaded The Wild Places by Macfarlane for our next listen.

What have you been up to in the making department and what have you been reading?

Tiny Needle Tuesday 7/21/26

 Good Morning All,

Gosh!  Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day with mild temps.  It felt wonderful.  Today is grey and cloudy.  We are forecast to have strong thunderstorms with strong winds - mainly later on - but it looks like the skies could open at any moment.  It's dark!

After dithering about for a couple of weeks, I did finally put needle and thread to fabric yesterday and made a (very) small start.

Yes, just 3 little letters.  This is the start of a Quaker-ish piece by A Mon Ami Pierre (no longer in business).  I do like Quaker pieces and the thread is lovely - it is silk hand dyed thread by Vicki Clayton and the color is Aqua Marine.  It is lighter than the photo shows.  I am just not sure about the fabric which is 28 count.

Of course, after that small start and being not sure about the fabric or the design, I spent yet another 1.5 hours looking over patterns and fabric in my stash.  Nothing called to me (again).  Most likely I will stitch a few more of the letters and see what it looks like.  Or not.  LOL

The weather, as I mentioned, was so great yesterday I did a lot of cooking.  I made potato salad for dinner.  A blueberry crostata was baked.

I confess to having a tiny bite while it was still warm from the oven.  Heavenly!

Then I roasted some nuts!  Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews and Brazil nuts were all tossed with a tiny amount of EVOO and then sprinkled with fresh rosemary and thyme, sea salt, a little habanero salt, red pepper flakes and a touch of black pepper.

I need to remember that nuts are a healthy snack...but not in a huge quantity.  LOL

Dinner was simply hot dogs to go with the potato salad, but I decided to do them on the indoor grill and added marinated mushrooms (which fell off the skewer I had them on) as well as slices of zucchini and yellow squash.  

Once again, it's obvious that we love to eat!

Today will find me back at a a grocery store - I'm planning on shrimp and pineapple skewers for dinner with corn on the cob.  Need the pineapple and the corn.  The bathrooms are begging to be scrubbed, but time will tell whether that happens or not.  This weather is making it feel like a very lazy day!

May your Tuesday find you with something tasty to eat and something fun to do!