Thursday Miscellany. 7/16/26

 Good Morning All,

I was feeling weary yesterday and pretty much stayed off the computer.  I may catch up today...or I may not.  This sultry weather is pretty draining.  Damon (Fletcher's brother) texted yesterday that in the morning our temps (in Eastern PA) were higher than Death Valley at the same time!  And now we have major air quality issues with the smoke from Canada coming down.  

Luckily (since I was so tired), Iris took a 2 hour and 45 minute nap after lunch!  I usually read (or knit if I have anything to knit).  I might close my eyes for a few minutes, but I don't nap and it's a good thing I don't - Iris almost rolled off the couch yesterday twice!!  She sometimes tosses and turns whilst sleeping.

We have not been grocery shopping in quite some time, so options for dinner are limited.  Last night I fixed a dish I've been meaning to try.  Onion and garlic is sautéed in butter, then gnocchi is added.  Once that cooks a bit and the gnocchi starts to brown, a can of drained and rinsed white beans is added along with a lot of cut up roasted peppers.  Kale is supposed to be added but our kale had grown yellow and slimy so that was tossed.  Instead I added a lot of fresh parsley.  We also had the first two cherry tomatoes from our garden and a cucumber cut up from Colin's garden!

Fletch added some parmesan cheese to his bowl, but I skipped that!  The kale would have been a great addition - or spinach or chard or any green, and next time I would skip the gnocchi - I didn't much care for that!  Still, an easy and quick dinner.  Rummaging around in the freezer I found a container from when we had chicken fajitas a few weeks back, so that will be dinner tonight.

When I walked out to the garden to pick the parley I saw two things.  First up, our first zinnia is blooming.

More importantly, I discovered the first figs!  Figgy is growing fast and getting big, so I'm hoping we will have lots and lots of figs.

It will be another oppressive day, so stay hydrated and inside as much as you can.

Tiny Needle Tuesday - Again With No Stitching 7/14/26

 Hello Friends,

Here we are at yet another Tuesday and I have NO tiny needle projects to share.  I still cannot settle on a pattern or fabric.  Now I'm leaning towards a Quaker-like piece from A Mon Ami Pierre (no longer in business) that I found in my stash.  I even picked out a silk thread to try (aqua marine) as the piece will be done as a monochrome.  But, I haven't had the energy or time or will to look at fabric and put needle and thread to it.  Hopefully soon, but I guess for now I just need a break.

Now, of course, the heat is building and we are in for a few days of scorching heat which might mean no stitching.  Time will tell.  Fortunately, by the time dinner is over it has been pleasant sitting on the patio to read (that may not be the case today, tomorrow or Thursday though).  What we need is a good, strong thunderstorm to clear things out!

What I do have to share with you though is a photo of the trio who showed up in our yard last night.  Triplet fawns!!

Sweet things!  Do you see the Glads?  (Picnic benches on top of the table so the mower guys could do a thorough job.  Also the hose coiled up and hanging on the fence rather than laying in the yard for the same reason.)

Deer have been coming down into the yard to feast on apples that are starting to drop from the tree.  I've seen both bucks and does.  But these are the first fawns I've seen this year.

Hoping you see something that brings a smile to your face!  Have a great Tuesday.

Weekending 7/13/26

 Hello Everyone!

How are you?  How was your weekend?  Mine was filled to the brim.  Due to watching Iris 5 days last week (and this week too), I had a long - VERY LONG - list of things to get done.

Dusting was successfully avoided.  BUT, vacuuming was completed as well as washing/scrubbing the kitchen floor.  The library was visited as well as the liquor store.  Much cooking was done.  I made deviled eggs, chicken salad, two batches of cookies.  Dinners were cooked and salads made.  I also candied a bunch of jalapeños!

One of these jars will find its way over to C&M this morning (along with cookies).

The first tomato was picked and the Glads have exploded (with no damage from deer!).

If you click to enlarge, you may notice that the Glad blooms are outlined in white.  So pretty!

I also repotted some plants.  A new cactus was bought for my little camper pot and the juniper Colin dug up for me found its was to a new pot.

The juniper almost looks like a little bonsai plant, doesn't it?  I hope it survives and I hope it produces some berries.  That would be fun (and pretty).

Naturally I'm exhausted now, but am looking forward to time with Iris.  I hope your Monday has something good in store for you!

TGIF 7/10/26

 Good Friday Morning!

The sun is strong this morning and it looks like it will be a beautiful day.  We may get some rain but not until late in the afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon I was thrilled to see that our first Glads have opened!

Last year we had these Glads in a front bed and the deer chomped them as soon as the faintest color showed.  This year, Fletch planted the bulbs in the raised bed box at the rear of the garden - where we used to grow potatoes and garlic.  Zinnias are planted there too, but no buds yet on them.  The garden is fenced, so hopefully the deer won't be able to get to these.

This photo shows the bluebird house (where wrens took up residence this year) and the raised bed box where the Glads are.  It also shows the fence which consists of tall green metal poles to which the screened fence is attached and then a railing at the top of the fence made out of bamboo (from our yard).  Yesterday, while sitting on the patio, I was amazed to see Mabel climb paw over paw up that rear most metal pole!  She walked a little along the railing and then jumped down by the bottom of the box.  There was something down there - a mouse? a rabbit? a mole? that caught her attention because she kept nosing around the bottom of the box.  Usually Mabel will climb the wooden gate at the front of the garden to get in.  I've never seen her climb a metal pole before!  I wish I'd had my phone with me to get a picture.  She could join the circus!!

This has been my first full week of watching Iris (5 days) and it has been great!  Next week will be another full week as Bonnie (Mailing's Mom) is still in China visiting friends and family.  As wonderful as it has been, it means my weekend will be filled with chores that I can't get to during the week.  I already have a long list of things to get done this weekend.  Luckily we have decided to just order out steak sandwiches for dinner tonight.  Yay!

Wishing you the best possible weekend - hopefully the weather will be nice and there will be some fun!

A Flower and a Cake! 7/9/26

 Hello and Good Morning,

Dawn is breaking, but I think we are in for a bit of a rainy day.  After the humidity kind of lessened the other day, it now feels as though it is back (with a vengeance!).

Yesterday morning, before lunch but after Colin's meeting, we walked out front with Iris to check on one of the front beds.  Lo and behold!  A tigridia was blooming.  Gorgeous!

Colin planted a number of tigridia bulbs the other year and he may have had one or two blooms in the past, but deer love these flowers.  I'll be surprised if this is still visible when I go over this morning.  This year a number of native pollinator plants were put in this bed.  Some are surviving, but there are noticeable "chomps" here and there.

Last night I had enough energy after dinner (and a load of towels washed) to make a coffee cake!

I used This Recipe for a blueberry buttermilk coffee cake.  (Note:  I did not have buttermilk, so I did the white vinegar added to milk thing and I used fresh blueberries rather than frozen.)

Back in the day (in my late teens/early twenties I was making coffee cakes all the time.  I used my Mom's Betty Crocker cookbook and they were always good.  I like coffee cakes because they are easy and fast to make and usually very tasty.  Once this had cooled, I cut it into eight pieces.  (A little piece did break off, so I HAD to taste it - YUM!!!).  Half of the cake is going over to C&M's today.  This is one cake I will make again...maybe even with raspberries for a change!

Here's hoping your Thursday finds you having something tasty!

Unraveled Wednesday 7/8/26

 Good Morning Fellow Makers!

How are you?  Gosh!  The air almost feels chilly this morning...I'm in a tee shirt and PJ pants and could almost use another top - a light flannel shirt or sweater!  And yesterday, whilst Iris napped on the couch, I had to turn the ceiling fan off at C&M's.  The door between the living room and sunroom was open and a fairly strong breeze was coming in.  We (Colin, Iris and I) walked outside to check on Colin & Iris' garden before lunch and even with leggings, a tee shirt and flannel shirt, I was cold!  Amazing after last week.  I've also noticed the morning light changing (already).  It's kind of dark now when I get up and the birds are not quite as loud early in the morning.  

Time marches on and now it is Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.

Well, surprise, surprise!  I have a finished object to share:

The first slip stitch sock is finished!  It was finished Saturday morning, July 4th.  HOWEVER, it might just be the only one.  Looks pretty, huh?  But let me tell you, it is small and tight.  Tight as in my foot can't get into it!  Friends, I know I am a very tight knitter (I'm trying to ease up, but...) and this sock proves it.  I used size 1 needles (I really should know better).  There are 15 rows of ribbing at the cuff; roughly 70 rows on the leg; the heel flap and turn and then about 65 rows on the foot before the toe decreases.  This should fit my friend Janet, but I'm betting it's too small even for her.  As proof, all that knitting used only 32 grams of yarn!

There are still 75 grams of yarn left from the skein!  So, I'm debating what to do.  

• I could knit another sock like this and then donate the pair
• I could throw this one in the trash (or make a cat toy from it)
• I could unravel this and use the remaining 75 grams for a pair of socks using #2 needles and have this extra yarn "just in case."

I have yet to decide what to do, so no knitting has taken place.  I'm still looking at patterns and looking at my yarn and thinking I really (REALLY) should finish my Semplice Shawl or I should use the skein of Jane yarn that I wound and cast on a hat or this...or that...  I will cogitate on this a bit longer.

Meanwhile, reading has been good (at least I've been able to concentrate better and finish 2 books!).  Over the weekend I finished Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer.  This was one of those books that I wondered if I would finish.  At first I was confused with all the characters and the various stories, but I got into the rhythm of the book and ended up really enjoying it.  Nothing wrong with a story set in Italy!

Next up was another Bruno, Chief of Police novel by Martin Walker - The Templars' Last Secret.  Definitely not my favorite Bruno book, but the food and wine in the Bruno stories are always so good.  Also, Martini Walker obviously does his research and knows what he writes about.  This book dealt with archaeological finds as well as present day tensions between Palestine and Israel.  

Fletch and I are continuing our usual slow pace of listening to a book for 15 o 20 minutes after dinner.  We are still into The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane and thoroughly enjoying it.  The narration is good and the journey is pleasant.

Meanwhile, I received notice that 2 more books are in for me from the library:  "Land" by Maggie O'Farrell (hoping I enjoy more than Bonny or Kym) and "This Book Made Me Think Of You" by Libby Page.  I've been in the rather long queues for both of these novels, so I'm hoping to enjoy.  My plan is to pick these up on Saturday and hopefully between now and then I can finish 1 or 2 of the library books in a stack on my nightstand!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy checking out what all the Unravelers are making and reading.  My guess is that you will find something (or many things) to inspire you.  Have fun!

Tiny Needle Tuesday With Food Instead of Stitching 7/7/26

Hello Folks,

Well, the title kind of explains this post on a TNT.  I've got no stitching to show!  The piece I had been working on - Sew Red - ended up in the garbage.  LOL. I was bored and I did not like the fabric.  Plus, when I looked back, it turns out I had stitched that exact pattern with that exact thread (but on nicer fabric) 2 years ago!  No wonder I was bored.

And I have not been able to settle on a pattern.  I pulled out one BIG sampler - AED Germany 1746 - and pulled threads and fabric and then decided I didn't feel like stitching it.  Then I pulled another one - The Practical Sampler - by Eileen Bennett.  I enjoy her samplers because they incorporate a lot of different stitches and this one has white work which I love.  But I started it and didn't like the fabric (again).

Bottom line, nothing appeals at this moment.  I'm hoping the break in the weather will change my attitude.  Meanwhile, I've been cooking and thought I would share two recipes with you.  First up I made Egg Roll Ramen Skillet which turned out well.  Naturally I forgot pictures.  For those of you who don't like or don't want ground pork, I'm sure ground chicken or turkey would work just fine.  One ramen noodle packet would have been sufficient for us (instead of the called for 3 packages!!), but it was tasty and easy to make.  There is some in the fridge for Fletch to have for lunch and I took some over for Colin.  There is also some in the freezer for another day.

Last night I made Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms.

Easy-peasy and quite tasty.  Also, lots of the enchilada filling left over which I put in the freezer.  I may add chicken or beef to it when I pull it out to thaw.  The portobello shrooms were huge and Fletch and I ended up splitting one.  The second is ready for Fletch for lunch one day.  Here's the recipe if anyone is interested:

Sorry for the shadows, but if you click to enlarge I think the recipe is legible.  Hopefully I'll have some stitching to show you next week.  Meanwhile, have a great Tuesday!