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!

Weekending 7/20/26

 Good Morning!

The skies have cleared and the smoky haze is no more.  Thank God.  And, temps have moderated.  This morning the air almost has a little nip to it which I am loving.

Our young visitor one morning.  You can spot the rear side of the mama doe at the bog area.  This little one was just so sweet.

How was your weekend?  Mine was good.  There was a lot of laundry and a big grocery shopping (still more of each of those needed).  I read a lot.  I did not get to knit or stitch, but I'm holding out hope for today.

More Glads have opened and the new ones are pink.  So pretty.

Some of the red stalks are falling over.  Surprisingly, the deer have not touched the ones that have fallen over the fence.  Perhaps they prefer the apples that keep falling from our tree.  I also picked our first cherry tomatoes (ours are the "Sun Gold" variety).

Last night we went over to Colin & Mailing's for dinner.  Colin grilled chicken and romaine lettuce (I had forgotten how good grilled lettuce is!) and had made a wonderful pasta salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, chick peas and Kalamata olives.  We took over an almond cake I had made in the morning.  It was so nice that we had a fire in the pit after dinner.  That seemed odd coming off our smoke-filled recent days, but it was fun and felt good too.

Right now I have potatoes and eggs cooking on the stove.  Later I will make potato salad to go with our dinner.  There are a few errands I want to run this morning, but otherwise my day is free.  I'm holding off on chores (bathrooms) until tomorrow.  It feels weird to not be going over to watch Iris after 2 straight weeks of non-stop watching.  But a little break is nice too.  I'll be back to watching on Wednesday and Friday of this week.

Here's hoping your weekend was a good one and that Monday morning finds you ready to face a new week!

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!