Tiny Needle Tuesday 7/1/25

 Good Morning and Hello July!

We had some strong thunderstorms during the night, but the humidity is still stupidly high.

The first day of July and the first TNT of July.  Somehow I managed to get a bit of stitching accomplished over the past week.

A flower was filled in and a second leaf outlined and started.  Still many, many stitches to go.  I don't even want to think about how many stitches are in this piece!  LOL. Happy to say I am still enjoying it.

This is a short little post as I have some things I need/want to do before leaving to see Iris.  Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending 6/30/25

 Hello My Friends,

Here we are on the last day of June.  How is that even possible?  And what a weird month it has been weather-wise.  After a cooler weekend, I can feel that the heat and humidity are building again.  But, after all, it is summer.

How was your weekend?  Mine was good.  I took absolutely no pictures to show anything.  Friday I took a 3 hour class on Continental Knitting (which is not how I knit).  Oh my!  Good for the little grey cells as Hercule Poirot would say.  I completely ripped out what I (attempted) to knit in class.  It was pretty pathetic.  LOL. But, I will be trying to get it.  I've been practicing some.  Luckily there is a video recording of the class that I am able to access.  But, my fingers are not behaving.  My right hand keeps looking for the yarn that my left hand is holding.

The balance of the weekend was spent running errands (Saturday morning), laundry (Sunday morning), cooking (both days, but nothing fancy) and there was time each day for knitting and stitching and reading.  All in all a very nice weekend.

My "work week" this week is short.  I'm only caring for Iris Mon-Tues-Wed.  Thursday Bonnie (Mailing's Mom) will take over.  She is also "working" the entire next week!  Friday, of course, is July 4th.  I need to make a dessert on Thursday or Friday morning.  We will be going to Bonnie & Zhongren's for a cookout on Friday.

Tme for me to get ready to head over to see Iris!  Have a great Monday.

The First Week

 Good Morning All,

The temps have eased up a bit I am happy to report.  It still feels humid to me but at least it's not a heat index of 105!

When I pulled into our driveway yesterday afternoon I stopped and got out to get the mail.  Rob, our neighbor and friend from across the street, was in his garden and called me over.  He handed me this group of radishes!!

These may be a tad too big to be tasty, but we shall see.  The funny thing is that Fletch gave Rob the extra radish seeds he had.  And then our radishes never sprouted!  Even funnier is that Rob and Eva don't even like radishes! 

My first week of caring for Iris full time went very well.  Colin said he thought it went better than he expected.  It IS tiring, that's for sure.  Iris is not yet very independent.  Not walking, not even crawling. She sits well, but will topple over when tired.  And, she gets bored easily.  She also still likes to be held.  A lot.  

On Wednesday afternoon there was some nature drama going on in Colin's backyard.  A fledgling blue jay was on the ground.

You may need to click to enlarge, but the fledgling is on the 4th slate from the bottom.  The mother kept flying nearby and calling to it.  The poor thing would flutter its wings and hop around.  I did not step outside to get a better photo as I didn't want to scare the baby or alarm the mother.  We lost sight of it after some time.  Thursday morning I didn't see it, but later in the morning I saw the mother swoop to the ground right by the door from the sunroom.  I looked out and the baby was tucked in grass and ivy taller than it is.  The mother was feeding it.  Later again the fledgling was gone.  I hope it survived and learned to fly.

Our snapdragons have finally started to open.

So far only white ones, but I noticed some deep maroon buds yesterday.  Sitting on the patio yesterday before dinner, Fletch and I both commented on how much we miss seeing our bluebirds.  The babies have flown off and the nest has been abandoned.  The same with the wrens, though we still see wrens and, in fact, noticed wrens checking out two additional birdhouses we have hanging in the apple tree.

I'm excited to pretty much have today to myself!  Fletch is taking my car in this morning for inspection.  I plan to knit or stitch or both.  And then I have my continental virtual knitting class from 12-3.  Really looking forward to that.  Some books in my queue have come in for me - I may pick them up later today (if it is not too rainy out), or wait until tomorrow or Monday.  No rush - they hold them for a week which is nice.  No other real plans for the weekend other than the usual:  catching up on laundry, a couple of cleaning chores and most likely cooking (especially with cooler temps).

I hope your weekend is a good one.  Have some fun!

Unraveled Wednesday 6/25/25

 Hello My Friends,

Whew it's been hot.  Everywhere!  My brother in Colorado has been texting about the extreme heat they are having.  That blasted heat dome.  I think today temps will moderate a little and then be even cooler Thursday and Friday.  It also looks like a rainy weekend which is unfortunate as Colin and his buddies who were all in his wedding have a 3 day backpacking trip in the Laurel Highlands planned.  Oh well, at least the rain should keep their temps down a little bit.

My second "full day" of caring for Iris was again a very good one.  Once again we read books, played with her keyboard, chewed (well really gummed - no teeth yet) on a lot of things (LOL) and had fun.  She and Colin had lunch together again which gave me a little free time.  I knit a bit.  So, I've made it through half of my first week of full time care!

And now it is Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to discuss all of our making and reading.  Be sure to check out the links you will find on her blog - so inspiring (and, as I've said before, enabling!!).

The leg of my Simple Skyp Sock has been finished and during Colin & Iris' lunch time yesterday I started the heel flap.  I plan to knit the foot plain as I don't like patterns so much on the feet (particularly the sole) of my socks.  This pattern, though, is a quick knit and a fun one!  The toes will be in the contrast color used at the top cuff and I will probably add a stripe or two before the toes.

As for reading, I've finished just one book.  I've been trying to catch up on magazine and newspaper reading (we get the Wall Street Journal weekend newspaper and The Christian Science Monitor and Colin passes on his New Yorker and Economist magazines).  Last week I mentioned that I had started Writers & Lovers by Lily King.  At that point I was not really wowed by it.  However, I continued reading and found that it picked up so nicely and ended up being a 4 star read for me!  Not sure why I wasn't enthralled with it initially, but am glad it picked up.  I'm now looking forward to her book "Heart the Lover" which will be published in the Fall.

After reading Sarah's book reviews last week I requested Banyan Moon by Thao Thai.  I received notice the next day that it was ready to pick up.  I'm a little under 100 pages in, but it is a nice family saga and a good summer read.

Well, I'm off to try and catch up on a little blog reading and have some more coffee.  Stay cool!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 6/24/25

 Good Morning Everyone!

My first full day of caring for Iris went very well.  The time went faster than I expected!  We read a number of books, played with a keyboard, took a couple of naps (Iris, not me).  When Colin took a lunch break from work, he had Iris sit with him in her high chair and have a bit of food with him.  I opted then to have a little break and managed to read a chapter in my book.  And before I knew it, it was time to go home.  Hoping for more of the same today.

We are now at the final Tiny Needle Tuesday of June 2025.  Hard to believe.  Although I did not stitch as much as I thought I would, I'm pleased with what I managed to do.

The leaf has been filled in and the beginning of the outline for a flower has been stitched.  I'm looking forward to more color!

Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday.  The heat is on (here in the Northern Hemisphere)...remember to stay hydrated!!

Weekending 6/23/25

 Hello My Friends,

Well, the Summer Solstice certainly has brought the Summer heat!  Whew!  The beginning of this week is set to break some records for soaring temps.  How was your weekend?

My weekend started Thursday night/Friday morning.  I can't really call helping to care for Iris as "work," but you know what I mean.  Anyway, I had Friday off.  I did some baking in the morning and running errands (primarily restocking wine) and then taking it easy.  Fletch and I went over to Colin & Mailing's for dinner that night.  We started with some delicious mojitos topped with fresh mint sprigs from the garden.  Colin grilled hot and sweet sausage from the farm and we had that with a big salad and fresh sourdough bread.  My baking that morning was a blueberry gateau which I took over for dessert.

Topped with whipped cream, it was so yummy!  It was a gorgeous evening and we ate outside.

While C&M bathed Iris and got her ready for bed (including story time), I knit a little and Fletch dozed a bit.  Then we headed outside for a fire in the pit.  (Friday's weather was really beautiful and nice enough to enjoy a fire.). We sat out there until almost 10 p.m. watching bats and fireflies.  A gorgeous ending to a lovely day.  And a nice way to celebrate the solstice.

Saturday found me catching up on laundry (a great day for drying stuff on the lines) and doing a bit more cooking.  And Sunday I managed to clean the bathrooms before it got beastly hot.  We had a cold dinner of chicken salad, macaroni salad and pickled veggies.  I also cooked some shrimp that we will have for dinner tonight.  Sunday morning I saw the doe and her two spotted fawns in our backyard.  The little fawns reminded me of colts the way they were almost jumping and kicking up their legs - so joyful!

Today is Colin's first day back to work, so I will be off to take care of Iris earlier than usual and staying longer than usual.  Not sure the opportunity will present itself for me, but I will take my book and some knitting just in case.

Wishing you all a beautiful start to the week.  Stay cool!

Unraveled Wednesday 6/18/25

 Greetings My Friends,

Another damp, foggy, grey morning here.  Everything feels moist and my body feels achy from all the dampness.  Oh well.  What are you going to do?

Once again it is Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about making and reading.  Always fun and always inspiring as well as often enabling!!

Despite spending a lot of time on my stitching during the past week, I did manage to knit some on my Simple Skyp Socks and the leg is now a bit more than halfway down to the heel flap.  I am so loving these colors and the pattern.

Such a fun pattern.  I even was able to knit a few rounds while at Colin & Mailing's yesterday.  Only because when I arrived Colin was out for a walk with Iris.  When they got back home, Iris sat on the couch next to me watching me finish up a round.  She was pretty interested, but did not try to pick up the yarn or interfere with the knitting.  I did tell her that one day I would teach her how to knit!

As for reading, I finished One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle.  I had mentioned this a week or more ago but had said I was attempting to drag it out.  His essays are just so dang good!  I've now started Writers and Lovers by Lily King.  So far it is ok, but I am finding it easy to put down.  I'm hoping it picks up some for me.

Fletch and I are still plugging away at "One Man's Meat" (E. B. White) after dinner.  I think we've passed the halfway mark, but I can't remember for sure.  No matter.  Bottom line, it's a great book.

Time for me to pour another cup of java and attempt to wake up.  These dull/grey days are hard to get going!  Remember to head over to Kat's to see what everyone is doing!!