Monday Comes Round Again 10/26/26

 

Hello My Friends,

Here we are back at another Monday!  Time keeps marching (or racing) by.  We had a wonderful week with Damon (Fletcher's brother) visiting.  Gosh!  He did SO MUCH - so many things that Fletch is no longer able to do (and that certainly I cannot or do not do!).

The weather gods looked down upon us and gave us the best weather.  Sunny days with blue skies where the temps rose to a comfortable point (60's) and coolish nights (down into the 30's).  Perfect for getting outdoor chores done.  

I cooked a lot - chili and nachos and chicken and BBQ shrimp.  We ate well.  I also pulled together more stuff to donate.  Yes, the purging is continuing!  I managed to squeak in a little knitting, but no stitching.  Mabel had her annual check up at the vet's - all is well and she is a healthy cat.

Our figs are coming in slowly.  That's a good thing.  Once they ripen, they do not last all that long, so coming in 3 or 4 every few days is manageable.  

The weekend was spent catching up - laundry and groceries, etc.  Fletch commented that it feels like we are empty-nesters again after having Damon visit for a week!  Now I'm poised for a busy week.  Mailing's Mom is traveling again, so I'm watching Iris every day this week and then Monday and Tuesday of next week too.  Long and busy, but wonderful days.

I'll be getting back to blogging (and reading blogs) slowly but surely.  Here's hoping that your last week in October is a wonderful one.  Enjoy!

Friday Stuff - Mostly Food! 10/16/26

 Hello Again My Friends,

I'm running a bit late today.  Since retiring over two years ago, I no longer use an alarm - I pretty much am up every day between 5 and 6 a.m.  Sometimes earlier (if I'm unlucky).  But today?  Nope - I did not wake up till Mabel jumped up on the bed at 6:45.  So I'm bathed, coffee is made and a lunch pulled together (ramen noodle soup, raw veggies and an orange) for taking over when I go see Iris.

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment (cleaning) in the morning.  I met the new dentist - our "old" dentist retired a few months ago (turns out he is 83!!) - and the new one is very nice.  I probably need a crown or two, but that can wait.  Then I ran to CVS to pick up more prescriptions (I had found expired ones in our medicine cabinet and wanted to replenish).

In the afternoon I made a batch of chunky oatmeal cookies from a recipe that Jane shared a year or two ago.  Mine have dried cherries, craisins, dried blueberries, and some chopped up dried apricots.  The first batch is for Iris (no nuts), but then I added pistachios to the mix and have some to share with C&M.

Later I walked out to the garden and discovered that FINALLY!! the figs are beginning to ripen.  I picked the first two and promptly dropped them to a location that I could not reach.  Bummer.  Then I managed to find two more.

We each had one with dinner and they are scrumptious!  Very sweet.  I'm excited to get more.

The last food item is Chinese Long Beans.  I've had these at Mailing's parents home and this year they are growing them and Bonnie left some with Colin for me!

I plan to "blister" them and then throw in garlic, ginger, some sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce.  We will have them tonight.

Meanwhile the bathrooms have not yet been cleaned (there is always tomorrow morning) and I need to vacuum the guest room and get things ready for Damon's arrival tomorrow late afternoon.  Here's hoping the morning will be productive!  I'm planning a big pot of chili for tomorrow night as it should be much colder and that is something that is easy to keep on the stove (not sure exactly when Damon will arrive).

I'm thinking I will blog next week, but I may end up being too busy - time will tell.  At any rate, I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Unraveled Wednesday 10/14/26

 Good Morning My Friends,

First of all I successfully dropped off ALL the donation bags yesterday without ever second guessing what I was doing.  I would not look in the bags again for anything and now they are gone!  Freeing.  Also I was able to check a few chores off my list - dropping books at the library, going to CVS, getting wine.  All the important things.  There is still cleaning to be done obviously.  But I have Thursday for that.

Today is Wednesday and usually we all link up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday, but Kat is taking a bit of a break, so no link today.  Instead, I do have finished Iris socks to show you!

I actually finished these last Friday and gave them to Iris on Saturday when we were there for dinner.  She loves them!  And they fit - even with a bit of room for growing (which she seems to be doing constantly).

After finishing the socks I couldn't figure out what to knit next and didn't feel like going through the stash.  Lo and behold:  Semplice came out of hibernation!  It had been some time.  I was able to knit about 8 rows (and they are getting longer and longer).  

But, you know what?  I actually don't care for this now.  The pattern is ok, but I dislike the color of yarn I chose.  The whole thing was almost ripped out on Saturday when I made a tiny mistake (later fixed), but I decided I'm close enough to the end I will finish it, block it and then if I still don't like it, it will be donated.  Someone may appreciate it!

Reading has been steady.  I finished The Amateur by Chris Behjalian and found it to be ok.  Admittedly, he is not a favorite author of mine.  To me, the book was less about golf (which is fine as I don't really care for it) and more about bad or unsavory relationships.   I found a lot of it tedious and boring and actually fell asleep several times while reading the last section (trial).  I did like the ending and did not see that coming, so that's good.  Otherwise for me the book was really just meh.

Also read was a very good interview with Barbara Kingsolver in The New Yorker.  It's in the September 28th issue if anyone is interested.  I don't subscribe and can't share it with you (Colin subscribes and passes the magazines on to us).

Fletch and I are enjoying our latest Robert Macfarlane book - Underland: A Deep Time Journey and I also picked up Theo of Golden at the library and have started reading that.

Around here, leaves are finally really beginning to turn and be brilliant.  This is a tree I pass on my way to Colin's.

How are you on this mid-October Wednesday?  Tell me, what are you making and reading?

Weekending 10/12/26

 Good Morning All,

How are you this fine Monday?  We are drying out a bit after rain all day on Sunday.  Never really heavy, but certainly steady.  How was your weekend?  Mine was busy.  Nice, but a lot was accomplished.

We ended up having dinner again at Colin & Mailing's on Saturday (their 6th wedding anniversary!!).  It's nice that we go over so frequently as it gives Fletch an opportunity to see Iris.  And that little girl is quite taken with Fletch!  We had a fire outside after dinner which was nice, but we were home by 10:00 which was also nice.

Sunday I decided to finally tackle my dresser and closet!  Yup, a lot of purging was accomplished.  This is the line up of bags that will be donated tomorrow:

Mostly clothes from my work days.  I've been retired for over 2 years, so no need to hold on to a lot of stuff I no longer wear (or that no longer fits).  Dresses, skirts, a ton of jackets/blazers, a lot of sweaters, some shoes, etc.  I also went through some knitting stuff and am getting rid of a number of project bags that I just don't use.  

Next up will be to go through knitting needles, etc.  There are many from my Mom and from my Aunt that I'm not using - no need to hold on to them.  I also have a ton of fabric that I will not be using, so that will also be donated.  Someone will be happy to find it I'm sure.

I'm also tossing my bits of yarn!  

These were all filled with sock yarn remains.  I'm not going to make a blanket and I'm not going to crochet granny squares (getting rid of all the ones I already made).  Those containers will also be history!

I told Fletch I need to donate things quickly before I change my mind!!  LOL. But really, it feels wonderful to be getting rid of so many things.

Meanwhile this will be a busy week.  I am watching Iris today, Wednesday and Friday.  Tuesday and Thursday will be filled with errands (and donating stuff) and also cleaning.  Fletcher's brother Damon is coming next weekend to visit for a week and help Fletch with things he is no longer able to do.  So the guest room needs to be cleaned and fresh sheets put on the bed.  Bathrooms will be scrubbed.  And there is always laundry to do - that never seems to end!  In between the busy-ness, I'm hoping to find some time to read and knit.  Time will tell.

Right now it is time to pour another cup of coffee and find something for breakfast.  I hope your Monday is off to a good start!

Yet Another Surprise! 10/8/26

 Hello Friends,

This will be quick as I am off to see Iris shortly.  But, I wanted to share with you all that I did make the French Apple Cake.  Oh my!  I highly suggest that everyone make this.

I did not have the rum the recipe calls for so I doubled the vanilla as the recipe suggests.  YUMMY!  You can find the link to the recipe on Kat's blog.

Next up, more blooms:  more on the apple tree and then I noticed honeysuckle blooming again at the side of our property.  

The big surprise though was that a hawk landed in our apple tree for a bit!  Then it flew off only to come back to our property through our woods.  We could hear him calling (Fletch says trying to scare up something - a mouse? a mole? - I think he scared everything off!).  Fletch is pretty sure it is a Cooper's hawk - striped tail and slightly smaller than other hawks.  Whatever it was, it was gorgeous.

Okay, time to dry my hair and get dressed and have more coffee!  Have a wonderful Thursday.

Unraveled Wednesday 10/7/26

 Hello My Friends,

Well, so far today is not going as planned.  I'm supposed to be at the vet's with Mabel right now (her annual check up), but she is outside somewhere and not coming when I call (which is not unusual).  I know I should not have let her out this morning, but she was so vocal and I figured she would go out and then come right back for breakfast.  I guess she is on some kind of walk-about.  Fortunately the vet is very understanding and said when she shows up to call and they will do their best to fit her in.  Nice people.

Yesterday was a good day with Iris but oh my!  I was so sleepy and tired.  I couldn't knit or read while she napped - couldn't focus or concentrate.  And, I actually went to bed a little after 8 p.m. last night.  Not sure what's up or if I'm fighting a little something, but I slept almost 10 hours last night!  

But here we are at Wednesday and it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday.  Always fun.  Originally I thought I would finish the second sock for Iris over the weekend, but time got away from me and then I didn't finish it yesterday as planned (see above).  So here we are, just rows from the toe decrease:

One done and one almost done.  Maybe later today??  Since I'm home today I'm also planning to make the French Apple Cake that Kat blogged about on Monday.  YUM!!

Reading is still a bit on the slow side for me.  I did finish Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.  This is a book I started years ago and then it sat on my nightstand.  Periodically I would pick it up and read some pages.  Now I want to go back and start it over again.  There is an awful lot of wisdom in this book!

Fletch and I finished listening to Robert Macfarlane's book The Wild Places which was quite interesting.  Some of the glossary chapters became a little long winded, but overall a good listen.  Last night we started listening to his book Underland: A Deep Time Journey which we are both enjoying.  What will we do when we run out of Macfarlane books?

One of my brother's recommended the book The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog: And Other Serious Discoveries of Silly Science which I've started.  Carly Anne York is a good writer and the book is fun and interesting.  I think a number of my fellow bloggers would enjoy it.  I also picked up The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian and am hoping this pulls me out of my fiction reading slump.

Here's hoping Mabel shows up before too long and I can get her into the vet's later today.  I hope your Wednesday is a good one.  Have some fun!

A Surprise! 10/6/26

 Good Morning All,

Another chilly morning - 45 according to my phone.  I have a long sleeved tee shirt on with PJ pants and a shawl wrapped around my shoulders.  Feeling cozy.

Once again I have not been stitching, but eventually I will.  Right now my days seem to be filled with other things.

Look at that blue sky!  This photo was taken yesterday, the 5th of October, and if you click to enlarge you will see there are a couple of blooms on our apple tree!  This has happened before - I remember coming home from a Fall camping trip to blooms on the tree.  So not unusual, but still a surprise.

A funny story about the apples.  They are almost all gone now.  The ones that are left are pretty high up.  On Saturday the lawn guys came to (finally) cut our grass.  One of the workers was walking around with his blower or weed whacker holding it up high and knocking down apples.  Then he would pick them up and put them in his pocket!  LOL

Fletcher also discovered that we finally have buds on our morning glory!  Maybe it will bloom before a frost kills it all.  Our figs are plentiful, but still not ripening.  Not sure that will happen.  I read up on them and it does not pay to pick them early and try to ripen them inside - doesn't work.  But I did see that we do indeed have more zinnias blooming in the garden and there are still two cucumbers that are just about ready to pick!

I'm off to spend the day with Iris.  I hope your Tuesday finds you discovering some lovely surprises!