Tiny Needle Tuesday 6/2/26

 Hello!

Today is the first TNT of June 2026!  Sunday afternoon found me with the opportunity to do a bit of stitching, so I sat down and did just that.  And voila!  Progress was made on my Appil piece.

The bunny has been clothed!!  LOL. The fruit has all been stitched on the tree and more of the trunk was stitched.  It just goes to show that when you settle down and concentrate, you can do something.  I'd like to get the leaves finished and the trunk and then concentrate on putting in the last large creature between the tree and Adam.

Here is an overall shot of how things look right now.

Sorry it's a bit lopsided and the upper right is cut off.  I was pretty tired when I took the picture last night.

It's had to believe that it was one year ago (on Sunday - 5/31) that I started this piece.  I knew it would take some time, but I had not guessed a year.  And now it will be a year plus before it is finished.  Oh well, no race and (importantly) I am still really enjoying stitching this piece.  Yes, I get tired of the brown, brown, brown when stitching the trunk or the green, green, green when stitching the leaves and the grass.  But I love the way it is coming together.  With any luck, I'll find more stitching time this afternoon.

Here's hoping everyone finds time to do something fun and enjoyable today.  It is shaping up to be another beautiful day here in Eastern PA!

Weekending 6/1/26

 Good Morning and Whew!

There goes May!  I hope your weekend was a good one.  Unlike Memorial Day weekend, this past weekend was just perfection in the weather department.  Blue, blue skies with lots of sunshine and temps in the mid 70's.  For me that is perfection.  It did get a bit windy, but overall was just wonderful.  

Our weekend was filled with resting, catching up on chores, cooking...the usual.  Damon left on Thursday after being here for a week and what a lot of wonderful things he did for us.  In addition to all the pruning I mentioned last week, he repaired a crack in our basement floor and re-did the entire end of our patio (cement) where it had been peeling, cracking, crumbling.  What a job!

On Saturday I baked a strawberry-rhubarb-peach crostata.  This is definitely something I'll be making again and I think (so far) the peaches are wonderful this year!

I'll be taking half of it over to Colin & Mailing today.

I also made something really yummy for lunch.  Take some sliced Italian bread and brush it with EVOO.  Then put it in a hot oven (400 or so) to crisp up and start to brown.  Then add a layer of bruschetta and then a pile of sautéed spinach with shallots and top with a little bit of shredded sharp cheese.  Stick it back in the oven to melt the cheese.  YUM!!

I also made quesadillas using turkey taco meat, peppers, onions, and black beans.  I forgot to take a picture, but they were really good.  We do love to eat!!

While I was doing chores and cooking, Fletch managed to plant some seedlings and seeds in the garden.  Cuke and cantaloup seedlings are in the ground and yellow beans have been planted.  My parsley came back in the garden which was a nice surprise.

Yesterday was our anniversary (46 years!!).  Fletch and I sat on the patio in the late afternoon with glasses of Prosecco.  The scent of honeysuckle was very strong and we noticed the first apples in our tree!

I'm surprised to see red on the apples already!  It seems early.  And they are still so tiny.  And see that blue, blue sky!

Anyway, the weekend was full of good things (and chores).  I even snuck in some knitting and stitching and reading!  Now it's back to routine.  I'll be caring for Iris today and am anxious to see her again.

Happy June Everyone!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 5/26/26

 Good Morning!

The sun is out for the first time in days!  It has been a very wet Memorial Day weekend here in Eastern PA.  I even received notice that various local parades scheduled for yesterday were cancelled due to the rain.

Despite the weather, Damon and Fletch have gotten a lot of things done!  The apple tree has been trimmed - dead limbs cut off and also those horrid tent caterpillar nests; the tree my clothesline is connected to has also been trimmed and many of the vines around it removed and my lilac has had a very good haircut!  We don't have central air, so room air conditioners have been put in place.

Saturday afternoon we headed over to C&M's for dinner with them.  Colin grilled (inside) some wonderful sausages.  I made an eggplant caponata and a corn and black bean salad to go with that.  We had freshly baked sourdough bread and a wonderful rice pudding tart for dessert.  YUM!!!

Most of my time has been spent in the kitchen cooking up a storm to feed those two guys, so not too much stitching has taken place.  In fact, my stitching only came out one afternoon for a very short period of time.

Just the start of the lower fruit on the left.  I'm hoping to have much more to show next week.

Meanwhile, we are having some gorgeous iris blooms in our boggy area:

And the snap dragons that we picked up the other week at the greenhouse have budded and now are open!

I love the variety of colors.

Time for more coffee.  I've a busy day ahead of me so I'd best get moving!

Unraveled Wednesday 5/20/26

Good Morning!

Mon Dieu but this weather!!!  Yesterday my car thermometer was showing over 100.  The temps are now dropping and rain is coming in.  The high for Saturday (when we are going to C&M's for a cookout...) is only forecast to be in the mid-fifties.  This back and forth is enough to make one crazy (or crazier than one already is).

My cleaning went ok...I did not get it all done, but c'est la vie.  I did grocery shop and wine shopped and we are now well stocked in the fruits and vegetables department as well as wine.  And my wallet is much, much lighter.  Prices keep rising, and let's not talk about gas prices.  Anyway, I will try to finish up a little cleaning and straightening tonight.  The basics are done, now there is just some touch up to be completed.

Between cleaning, shopping and heat wave weather I have not done much making at all (therefore the lack of a post yesterday).  But time marches on and now it is Wednesday, so let's link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat a bit about making and reading.  My 2nd sock is progressing, but not quite as quickly as I had thought.

  The leg is finished and I am poised to start the heel flap.  Theoretically I could get that done today while Colin and Iris have lunch.  But time will tell.

It has been a good week for reading though.  I finished the Bruno, Chief of Police book that I was reading.  Fatal Pursuit was not my favorite Bruno book, but it was engaging and dealt with a car rally.  I am finding this entire series to just be delightful - a bit of mystery and murder, a little romance, and lots of food and wine and life in general in the French countryside.

Cleaning the bookcase in our bedroom I discovered Have You Heard the Cricket Song by Winston Abbott.  I'm sure this was once my Mom's book - just her style.  Inspirational and filled with nature.  It's short (under 60 pages) and reads like a poem.  Very enjoyable.

A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst was a fast read.  What an adventure!  A couple sailing the world has their boat hit by a whale and then the boat sinks!  The couple survive (barely) on a dinghy and raft for just over 4 months before finally being rescued.  Yikes!  And (amazingly to me), all they talk about is their next boating adventure (to Patagonia)!  As the title states, a true story of love, obsession and shipwreck.

Last night Fletch and I wrapped up listening to The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson.  This is such an epic tale and I cannot recommend it enough.  Colin gave us a copy years ago that we read out loud and loved.  My Dad then read it and enjoyed it immensely - so much that it inspired/encouraged him to do on-line research (he was in his 80's at the time).  This time we listened to it on audible.  The narration is excellent and we discovered much more humor in this adventure than either of us remembered.

And that's a wrap for me.  Time to fix another cup of coffee and look for some nourishment.  Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Weekending 5/18/26

 Good Morning My Friends,

Here's hoping that everyone had a nice weekend.  Mine was nice, but Monday morning finds me wishing for a bit more sleep.  And more time to get things done!

A good part of the weekend was spent cleaning our bedroom.  Not the guest room (as I should have done).  I re-discovered some books in a bookcase and also unearthed a couple of treasures for Iris!  The first is a doll.  My Mom and her friend, Jean, spent quite a few days meandering the back roads of Lancaster County.  They hiked and biked and visited Amish households (Jean made some quilts and then had the Amish do the actual quilting).  When I was in college (yep, no longer a kid), my Mom bought me an Amish doll.

A simple rag doll that had been sitting on top of a bookcase for years.  I dusted her off and now she is keeping Iris company.

And in Colin's old bedroom, on the loveseat, I found a pillow I had made for Colin when he was a youngster.  It was just gathering dust, so I cleaned it up and now it belongs to Iris.

A bee, a frog, a ladybug, etc.

So, the purging continues!  (A trip to the thrift store to drop off donations was made before I could change my mind about anything!!)  I just need to hurry up and clean the guest room as Damon arrives on Thursday.  I will be with Iris today, Wednesday and Thursday, so Tuesday is my only option for getting that room ready for a visitor.

Yesterday Colin and Iris came over in the afternoon and stayed for dinner.  (Mailing was off for a spa day with her Mom and sister.)  I made a (new to me) curried lentil dish with ground turkey that turned out well.  We had that with some brown rice.  Dessert was a blueberry gateau.  Iris loved it all.

Time for me to get moving and have another cup of coffee.  Sometimes it's difficult to wake up!  Here's to a good week for all of us.

It's Friday!! 5/15/26

 Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday ended up being quite a busy day for moi.  I ended up doing 4 loads of laundry (clothes and I changed sheets).  With next week's forecast in the 90's, I also managed to finally pull out summer tops and lighter sweaters and put away all the heavy woolen sweaters, fleece leggings, etc.  Of course that meant I woke in the night last night chilly.  LOL. Another blanket on top of the bed solved that problem.

While putting winter woolens away and pulling out light weight summer things I managed to purge a bit.  The back of my car is loaded with bags that will be donated today.  I was thinking of Kat's blog post about release and letting things go.  Trust me, there are still many clothing items that I should let go - things I wore when I worked.  But I love them so!  However, I made progress on another front.  My Mom passed away a little over 22 years ago.  My Dad gave me all of her scarves (she loved - and wore frequently - silk scarves) which I wear sometimes.  He also gave me all of her jewelry.  I pulled out a few things that I liked and kept things like her wedding and engagement rings.  A lot of her jewelry was not my style or taste.  And none of it was expensive stuff.  BUT, I have been unable to part with it...until yesterday.  I packaged everything up and it will go to the thrift shop today along with other donations.  I found a stack of 4 picture frames I had bought at Pier 1 before that store closed.  I haven't used them in years.  All are going to the thrift store.  It's a start!

My next job is to clean (thoroughly!!) the guest room.  Fletch's brother Damon is driving up from Virginia on Thursday for a visit.  Unfortunately his wife can't come.  He is planning to help Fletch with a bunch of outdoor chores, get our window air conditioners in, etc.  That room is often a dumping ground so there is much to be done!  I also need to give thought to what to cook while Damon is here.  I know we will be at C&M's on Saturday for a cookout, but I need to plan food for other nights.

Colin will be over on Sunday with Iris in the afternoon.  Mailing is having a spa day with her Mom and sister.  And someone will be 18 months old in June!  Not sure how that is possible.  We enjoy celebrating Iris' half birthdays as well as her full year birthdays and I've been having fun pulling things together for her.  She loves being outside and especially loves helping around the yard and garden.  So, we got her a little red Radio Flyer wagon and some gardening tools (trowel, hoe, etc.) And yesterday this book arrived for her:

I love Margaret Renkl's writing and I think this book will be great.  And Billy Renkl's illustrations are wonderful.  I can't wait to read it with her.

Well, I suppose I've rambled on long enough.  Plus, I can hear that Fletch is waking up and I promised to make French toast and sausage for breakfast.  I'd best pour another cup of coffee and get moving. 

Welcome to the weekend!  May it be a good one for all of us.

Unraveled Wednesday 5/13/26

 Good Morning Everyone!

Once again we find ourselves at the mid-point of the week.  It's time to link up with Kat and her Band of Merry Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  Always a fun day for posts.

If you read my blog, you know that I finished the first "rugby sock" last week and I'm happy to say that sock #2 has been started.

Not only started, but halfway down the leg heading for the heel flap.  You all know that I am not a match-matchy person, but for those of you who are, the stripes on sock #2 line up with the stripes of sock #1.  

Voila!  Matchy-Matchy.

None of the swatching I had intended to do was done...but there is always tomorrow.

Only one book was finished last week.  A Good Animal by Sara Maurer is a coming of age story set in Sault Ste. Marie, MI on a sheep farm.  It was an ok read - not great, but good at the time I read it.  I found it to be a bit predictable and even a little "schmaltzy" but, as I already said, ok.

As I wait for some books to come in at my library, I'm back in the French countryside with Bruno, Chief of Police.  More deaths and plenty of wine and food - perfect!!

Today I'll be back with Iris and am looking forward to that.  I hope your Wednesday is a good one.