Weekending 8/24/26

 Good Morning!

It's a crisp morning here in Eastern PA and it feels great.  Feels like the humidity has been kicked away.  We had another strong storm late Saturday night.  Thunder, lightening and pounding rain.  Not enough to measure in the rain gauge, but it sounded almost like hail it was coming down so hard!

How was your weekend?  Ours was nice.  I took it easy and after getting some mild chores done on Friday I successful stayed away from doing any others.  Just as I was getting ready to cook some dinner on Saturday, Colin called and invited us over for dinner.  A nice surprise.  Iris and Mailing will be away this next weekend and then the following two weekends Colin, Mailing and Iris will all be away.  It was good - especially for Fletch - to see everyone on Saturday because it will be a month before we are back there!

Saturday morning I got busy making some food.  First I put up two jars of pickles using a large cucumber from Colin's garden.  Then I made a big batch of ham salad with some left over ham from Friday night's dinner.  Because I enjoy cooking so much, I don't consider making stuff like this to be a chore.  I debated about making a cake or cookies, but decided against that (for now).

On Sunday I finally wandered out to the garden in the afternoon.  I spotted no beans (which is ok) and only 5 cherry tomatoes.  There are still a number of large tomatoes on the vine, but all green.  The garden seems to be winding down.  But then, I discovered this beauty hiding!

A nice, hefty cucumber (which Fletch says looks more like a zucchini).  It is about 8" long.  For some reason the cucumbers from this plant are not all that tasty raw, so I will most likely be making more pickles.

Next I started looking at the apples on our tree and ended up picking a bunch.  Our tree is a red delicious that Fletch planted 3+ decades ago.  There were many years when we had good crops of apples and made a lot of applesauce.  Then the apples started looking damaged and fell early from the tree.  This year we are back to having nice looking apples.

After dinner last night I peeled and cut up the apples and made a nice pot of applesauce!  YUM!!

When I wasn't cooking I managed to read a bit and knit and stitch a little.  How about you?  What was your weekend filled with and what did you do?

It is August's penultimate Monday - let's make the best of it!

TGIF. 8/21/26

 Hello and Good Morning!

It's a drippy morning.  I successfully made it home from watching Iris yesterday before the heavy rain.  We had had a little bit of light rain mid-day, but after I was home the sky opened, the thunder boomed and the lightening was shining.  And we received 2" in under an hour!  Colin and Iris were running some errands after I left, so I hope they did not get caught in the downpour.

Meanwhile, look at our hibiscus!!

It is so gorgeous.  I snapped that picture just before leaving for Iris yesterday morning.  I also looked and saw there were a few more large tomatoes to pick.  Two were picked.  The third which was the largest and  beautifully shaded in red had a giant slug on it happily munching away.  I got grossed out and left that one on the plant.  There are still a couple of cucumbers that might grow and there were just a few cherry tomatoes.  I avoided looking at the bean plants - LOL

Zhongren (Mailing's Dad) was recently in Japan.  He retired a couple of years ago, but is back to consulting (can't sit still - hahaha) and does a lot of international travel.  He will often bring us a little something from wherever he was.  I'm pretty sure this is a box of red bean paste mochi.  I do love me some red bean paste and am looking forward to trying these.  But just look at how pretty the packaging is:

Last night when I woke around 2:30 (as one does), I looked out the back window and spotted a doe browsing the Rose of Sharon plants while a fawn was resting on the grass.  Too cute.

My plans for today include booking a massage and booking a hair appointment.  The house plants should be watered and the stairs need to be vacuumed.  Also, dinner needs to be decided.  But before any of that will be breakfast once Fletch is up.  I'm making multi grain pancakes (so we can feel healthy about eating pancakes) with blueberries.  Also bacon AND sausage (Fletch wanted both).  That should get my Friday off to a great start!  I hope your Friday is a good one - enjoy!

Unraveled Wednesday 8/19/26

 Good Morning All,

How are you this morning?  I am doing ok though I wish I had slept a bit better.  It feels as though I woke up every single hour!  But, the coffee is almost ready to pour, so let's get on with it!

Here we are back again at Unraveled Wednesday.  Time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about what we are making and reading.  Though I did not get as far as I had thought I would, knitting has been good.  The first shortie sock was finished and the second one was cast on.

The heel flap on the second sock is about a third of the way knit.  Maybe I will finish that and turn the heel while Iris naps today.

As for reading, I am so happy to tell you that last night I finished The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett.  I even finished it in time to return it to the library before they closed (it was due back yesterday).  Whew - what a long, long book.  Stockett is a good story teller and this was a good one.  It just could have/should have been shorter (my opinion).  About half way through the book I got bored.  It felt bogged down.  After another hundred pages or so I just got annoyed!  But, I persevered and I am glad I finished it.  There were a lot of different story lines going on and not all of them were wrapped up (again, my opinion), but there were so many laugh out loud parts in the story and I loved Meg's character.

Last night I started Country People by Daniel Mason.  I'm only 20 or so pages in, so no review yet.  I am looking forward to this particularly since both my parents were from Vermont and I spent so much time in Vermont growing up.  Someone wrote that Mason does an excellent job of portraying the quirkiness of Vermonters (and they sure can be quirky!).

Thanks to enabling from Kat, I also have two new (to me) Ted Kooser books:  Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps and The Wheeling Year: A Poet's Field Book.  Neither of these are volumes of poetry, but rather snippets that Kooser has written about the area of the country where he lives (Southeastern Nebraska).  I started looking at The Wheeling Year and was immediately drawn into it.  I forced myself to put it down and get back to The Calamity Club.  Now I'm looking forward to delving into these two books.

Time to sit back and enjoy my first cup of coffee.  I hope today finds you with a good book and a fun project!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 8/18/26

 Hello and Good Foggy Morning,

Oh my!  It is close and very, very humid out there.  We had 1.5" of rain Sunday and Sunday night and everything is dripping.  I'm late to ask, but how was your weekend?  Mine was good.  No pictures.  A delicious meal at C&M's (the flourless chocolate cake and homemade ice cream were wonderful!!).

The X-ray results of my knee show that my bones and joints are all normal (not even any sign of arthritis!).  So, who knows what's been going on?  I will say that things have improved a lot - whether it's just time or my exercises or something else, I don't know.  I'm just happy to not be in constant pain.  And happy to be able to walk somewhat normally!

Meanwhile, it is Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  Once again a bit of progress was made on my aqua marine sampler.

Two sets of numbers completed and the third line is complete.  The large space in the middle will have a bit of "something" coming up from below once I get started on it.  The beginning of a typical Quaker motif has also been started on the left side.  Things are moving along.

I've already poached some chicken breasts which will turn into a chicken salad for dinner.  I'm thinking a nice cold carrot salad and maybe some cucumbers with radishes to go with that.  It's hard to think of anything hot in this steamy weather.  Yesterday I heard my first cicada of the season (Fletch says he's been hearing them for weeks, but I have not noticed) and I guess the dog days of summer are upon us.

Stay cool and don't do too much in this weather!

Friday's Fast Post 8/14/26

 Hi All,

I actually overslept this morning!  I was up at 5 to let Mabel out and then went back to bed and fell sound asleep with some very strange dreams.  HA!

The knee X-ray was quick yesterday.  I arrived at the facility around 8:30 when registration opens...went in...registered...went upstairs for the X-ray and was out of there around 8:50!  My doctor should have the results by sometime Monday.

Look who showed up the other day!

Two sweet fawns.  One resting and the other nosing around looking for apples.  The mother doe was also there - just not in the picture.  As soon as she started moving into our neighbor's yard, the resting fawn got up and trotted after her.

I tried a new recipe for cookies.  No flour, no eggs, no white or brown sugar!  They are chickpea peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips.

Just one can of drained and rinsed chickpeas smooshed up in the food processor.  Then you add 1 cup of peanut butter, 1/3 cup of maple syrup, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Mix all then fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.  The dough is very wet and sticky.  I used an ice cream scoop to get them onto the baking sheet.  They only need about 10 minutes at 350.  They don't look like much, but I think they taste good.  Fletch says they could be sweeter (naturally) and he would like them crispy.  So, this batch is going over to Colin & Mailing today.  Hopefully Iris will enjoy them!

Any big plans for the weekend?  None for me other than dinner at C&M's on Sunday.  I'll be taking homemade vanilla ice cream to go with the flourless chocolate cake Colin is baking!  YUM.

Unraveled Wednesday 8/12/26

 Hello My Friends,

The weeks keep zipping by, don't they?  It's hard to believe that soon the school busses (or, as my brother calls them, the little yellow prison wagons) will be on the road again.  And, the bottom of my street (which is a narrow road) will be clogged with cars waiting for the school bus (apparently the kids can't walk down to the end of the street and wait...they must be driven).

The doctor's office was successfully found yesterday and I had a great visit with my primary care physician.  All of my "numbers" have improved which is great news.  I am going tomorrow for an X-ray of my knee.  My doctor is sure it is simply arthritis (which is more than enough) and not some other issue with the knee...but an X-ray will be done for confirmation purposes.  Meanwhile, I've started doing some exercises specifically for arthritic knees and this morning things already feel better!

I'm continuing with my arm exercises with baby weights (3 lbs) and doing that has completely eliminated the shoulder pain I was having (again arthritis).  And I've started incorporating some other movements that I used to do on a regular basis.  I believe that movement is key.

Meanwhile, enough of the aches and pains of aging.  It's Wednesday and time for linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  I don't have a whole lot to talk about, but let's jump right in!

First up is the almost finished first Honky Tonk shorty sock.

I was positive this would have been finished by today, but life got in the way.  I've about 10 rows left on the foot until the toe decrease.  With any luck, I will finish this today whilst Iris naps.  Then it will be time to start (and finish quickly) shortie #2.  My August yarn from the Farmer's Daughter arrived and Fletch really likes it, so I will be making a pair of socks for him.  And, of course, there are still many more skeins waiting to be knit up for various people.  Iris has said she would like another pair of socks (I'm sure the ones I last made for her no longer fit...she is growing so much!).

The Farmer's Daughter's August yarn:  "Harvest Lantern" - the little mini skein has a bit of loden green in it and the two skeins together are so pretty.

On the reading side of things, I'm still reading The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett.  I'm past the halfway mark, but my reading has slowed.  I'm actually getting a little tired or bored with this.  The book seems way longer than necessary...but that's just my opinion and I may have a change of heart once I finish it.  There are so many different stories going on and of course various bits of ugliness (1933 Oxford, MS).

Fletch and I are continuing to really enjoy Robert Mcfarlane's The Wild Places.  We have enjoyed all of the McFarlane books we have listened to, but perhaps this one may be the best so far!

Not started yet, but I decided to go ahead and download from Audible John of John by Douglas Stuart.  The queue at my library for the book is still pretty long and I'd like to have read it before our RWU book club meeting in September.

And that's a wrap for one.  I'll be with Iris again today and am looking forward to that time.  I hope your Wednesday brings you something delightful to enjoy!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 8/11/26

 Good Morning!

It's Tuesday and we seem to have survived another most humid day...more in store of us I'm afraid.  We had a few sprinkles and some distant thunder, but nothing significant.  We need a good, strong summer thunderstorm to clear the air (and water the garden).  However, it did cool down enough last evening that I did not even have to use the AC in the bedroom!!  That was wonderful.

Well, time for a TNT update.  I managed to finish the second row in the sampler.

Quite wrinkly, but there it is.  Next up some numbers.

I've a busy morning ahead of me.  My 9 a.m. appointment with my primary care doctor will be at an office I need to find!  Last week I got a phone call from the doctor's office telling me that a pipe had burst in their building and that upcoming appointments would be at another office.  It's not that much further away, but I need to locate it which means leaving the house a little earlier than normal.

Grocery shopping may be skipped.  We have so many (so many!!) leftovers in the fridge that it is crammed to overflowing.  I really want to use stuff up and then scrub the fridge.  Tonight I'm planning to make a quiche with asparagus and some left over ham.  I'll probably add mushrooms and onions because they are plentiful!

Here's hoping that this Tuesday finds you enjoying life!  Have some fun.