Ready for New Starts!!

Well Hi There!

A little bit of a later than usual post from me.  I had an early eye doctor appointment today (re-scheduled from April) and then went to the lab for blood work (it was way too crowded yesterday when Fletch and I went - line out the door, so we just left).  Both visits were quick and no need to go back to the eye doctor till February.

Our neighbor ended up not coming for dinner last night (he had a better offer of a date!!).  But he missed a great chicken stir fry meal.  Now I have some left in the frig for Fletech and a bunch packaged in the freezer for a meal down the road.  Our frig is so crammed with food that we are just going to have leftovers tonight.  It seems like feast or famine.  There is either nothing in the frig to eat (no leftovers) or we have so many we can't get through them before they go bad.  Tonight we will attempt to remedy that.

Meanwhile, I did have some time yesterday afternoon where I was able to find some yarn and wind it into cakes for projects I am longing to cast on.

Unraveled Wednesday 7/29/20

Good Morning!

I think I've already asked this question, but how did it get to be the end of July already?  The summer is flying by.

Yesterday I did not manage to go through my yarn looking for fingerless mitt yarn.  I'll try to do that today.  And the only knitting I managed to do was on the Hellebore Hitchhiker after dinner.

Looks the same as last time, doesn't it?  I swear it is a little longer, it's just difficult to see that.  This Hitchhiker is taking FOREVER to knit.  I'm not sure why as the yarn is wonderful to knit with and I love the colors.  Usually I find knitting a Hitchhiker to be meditative and relaxing...but this time it is just boring to me.  But, I will carry on and get it finished...at some point.  Meanwhile, I really need to pull out something else to work on too.

Did you see Clara Parke's Respite page from yesterday with the crocheted cat couches?  (Val - thinking of you!!)  I sent it to Colin & Mailing with a note that I would NOT be making any cat couches.  Colin replied with this picture:

What a fluff ball Marcel is!  And...the crocheted afghan (one HUGE granny square) is the one I made in college (so it is 45+ years old!!).

I'm still slowly getting through "Song Yet Sung" but am only about 50% of the way finished.  Another thing that is taking me forever!  Fletch and I did finish reading "Survival of the Bark Canoe" by John McPhee (a re-read for us, but enjoyable) and we have started "Woodswoman" by Anne LaBastille (another re-read).

On the agenda today - we both are having blood drawn so are heading to the lab together mid-morning.  Mine is for the Lyme test to see if it is indeed what my rash was.  And then our neighbor Rob is coming over for dinner tonight (making chicken stir fry).

Be sure to head over to Kat's to see what others are making and reading.  Happy mid-week!!

TNT July 29, 2020

Good Morning All!

Another Tuesday rolls around, so another Tiny Needle Tuesday (TNT) post and this time a finish!!

I managed to finish up my Sailor's Huswife by Darlene O'Steen over the weekend.  Of course this is just one portion of it...and all I am going to do - lol.  The balance is another side that you attach fabric to and then stitch a bazillion queen stitches (which I don't enjoy doing).  Even when I started this (decades ago), I had no intention of making a huswife (huswife. Noun. (plural huswifes) A small case containing scissors, thread, needles, and other sewing things.) out of it.  Here are closer shots of the top and bottom portion.

The finish pleases me and yes, I have started the next A&E sampler...more about that next week.

Turns out that yesterday was the perfect day to go to the office.  When I arrived just before 8:00 I was the only person there.  Tom from IT showed up a little later, but he left before 9:00.  My boss Bruce showed up just before my conference call started at 10.  I saw one other guy walk by while I was on my call (a college student who is doing a summer internship with us - not sure what he is doing...).  That was it - no one else was around.  I left before 11, ran to JoAnn's (couldn't find all of the floss I need) and was home before Noon!

It was a pretty hot day (again), but I went out to the garden and picked more tomatoes and some jalapenos.  We had another cold supper - just some shrimp salad, raw veggies and croissants.  A perfect summer meal!

I'm expecting a pretty easy rest of the week work-wise.  Today I'd like to look at my yarn (FUN!!) and pick out some for making fingerless mitts for Christmas gifts.  And I naturally need to wind a skein of sock yarn and cast on the next pair.  I may run up to a different JoAnn's to see if I can find the floss I need and Fletcher needs some elastic cord (thick like bungee cord) which I couldn't find yesterday.

After all our cold meals, we are both in the mood for something else, so I'm making a meatloaf and we are going to steam the garden potatoes Fletch dug last week.  I'll make a mushroom and onion gravy to go with that and figure out some vegetable or two to go with it all.

That's it for me this morning.  How's your week going?

Weekending

Good Morning!

It is early and definitely darker in the mornings these days.  5:30 a.m. and just beginning to get light outside.  As forecast, it was a hot weekend, but it didn't seem as bad as Fletch and I were expecting. 

Friday I managed to finish the 2nd Tomfoolery sock!!  I do love the way these turned out.

Obviously one pooled a bit differently than the other - but the legs look fairly similar (which is the part that will be seen), and matchy-matchy isn't really my thing anyway.  I think they look fine on.

It kind of cracks me up that the first sock took a month to make and the second one took a week.  I'm glad it's that way and not the other way around...just weird though.

Our home made pizza that night was really good.  We added some broiled eggplant slices and onion slices (both from the garden).  I also added garlic scapes chopped up which was tasty as well as a ton of mushrooms.  Yum!

Saturday Colin & Mailing came over for dinner.  Fletch grilled a pork loin and I made a pasta salad with fresh veggies in it and we had a bowl of fresh garden tomatoes.  So good!  Colin and Mailing went to check on Colin's work garden and came back with a spaghetti squash for us.  I need to figure out when to add that to this week's menu plan...or just to re-plan our menu.  The night was really pleasant and we ended up sitting out by a fire.  Finally around 9:30 I felt as though I were being bitten by a million bugs, so we called it quits.

Sunday morning I made blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  And then dinner was a simple but delicious meal:

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and Italian bread brushed with EVOO and broiled then topped with bruschetta.  There are plenty of leftovers for munching during the week.

Today I'm going into the office for a short while.  I need to print some things on the color printer and I'll stick around for my 10 a.m. conference call.  I have a bit more work space in the office than at home, so easier to be on speaker phone and take notes, etc.  After that I'm heading to JoAnn's for some needed embroidery floss.

Last night was one of those nights where it took me FOREVER to fall asleep.  I read the first chapter in Conjure Women and turned out the light.  Two hours later I was still tossing and turning.  And then I woke up early!  Oh well, I can always take a nap this afternoon if I want.

I hope this last week of July (how did that happen??) is a good one for everyone.  Enjoy!

Winding Down

Good Morning!

Woke at 1 a.m. to a loud thunderstorm and plenty of rain.  It sounded so nice.  Once again I was sleeping with the windows open and the AC off.  I love it!  This morning is damp and overcast.  We may get a bit more rain.

Meanwhile, I managed to turn the heel on Tomfoolery #2 and start down the foot.  I think I'm around a third of the way down the foot, so it won't be long now till it's finished.

And look who was trying to help!  It's been months since Tyg has kept me company while I knit or stitch, but the last two nights have found him inside for a few hours before I go to bed.  It's been nice to have him around again.  He still goes out to spend the night outside, but every morning he is curled up on one of the chairs on our patio, waiting for me to come down and let him in.

We just had some leftovers for dinner last night (potato salad and chicken salad I had made earlier in the week).  But before dinner, we went out to the garden.  I picked some of our Sun Gold cherry tomatoes:

So yummy!

And Fletch dug up some Yukon Gold potatoes since the plant was beginning to die.

I'll have to steam up some of these this weekend!

Home-made pizza is on the menu for tonight and will include both onions and eggplant from our garden.  Of course that means having the oven on high again....oh well, it should be worth it.

I'm happy it's Friday and after my 10:00 conference call I will slip into weekend mode.  Wishing you all a very pleasant weekend - enjoy!!

Baking and Stitching

Hello!

We just finished another brief thunderstorm here and it feels so much better outside this morning than it did yesterday.  We also had some nice storms last night around dinner time that quickly dropped the temps from 92 down to 74!  Some strong winds and we were able to open doors and turn off the AC.  I even slept with windows open last night and the AC off.  It was wonderful!

So, yesterday was HOT.  Work was busier in the morning than I expected or wanted (LOL).  I did run out for two errands - had to pick up a prescription at CVS and then stopped by the library for a curbside pick up.  After lunch I got busy making the peach pie - because why not have the oven on at 400 degrees when it is 92 outside?  I used Ina Garten's recipe for a "perfect peach pie"  This Recipe which inlcuded a recipe for a pastry that was a little different than what I usually make.  The pastry was a little difficult to work with, but I think that was a case of our weather rather than the recipe.  It is difficult to work a pastry in hot/humid weather.  It turned out anyway (with a patch or two):

Ina's recipe calls for the addition of fresh orange juice and orange zest.  It added a nice "tang" to the sweetness of the peaches and the pie was very good.  I didn't do a lattice top because someone had gifted me a decorative rolling pin that I wanted to use for the top crust.  Unfortunately the design didn't really show up and actually faded some with baking.  I will try again with a different recipe.  I also completely forgot to do the egg wash and sprinkle the top with sugar (but it tasted fine and was sweet enough).

I did manage to finish the heel flap on the second Tomfoolery sock, but I really felt like stitching.  So, this is essentially another TNT post - this one being Tiny Needle Thursday.  The acorns are finished and the squirrels have appeared!!

I just love those squirrels.  That are two more trees in this section (on the outer edges, right and left).  After that there is a dividing band and then another band with numbers (since the alphabet is finished).  And that's it!  So the end is in sight and I'm really enjoying this.

Meanwhile, I see that the emails (work-wise) are coming in fast and furious, so I'd best hit publish on this and get back to work.  Enjoy the day - we are almost in weekend mode!!

Unraveled Wednesday, 7/22/20

Good Morning!

I woke up late this morning (after being awake some in the night) and it was extremely foggy.  We had a small thunderstorm last night and a tiny amount of rain.  I think more is forecast for today.  Meanwhile, the fog is burning off and it is feeling steamy again.

Yesterday I ended up having to run into the office for about an hour in the morning.  No big deal and I saw only one other person while I was there.  But, that cut into my knitting time a little bit.  The second Tomfoolery sock is at the heel flap...part of the way down the flap.  My goal is to finish the flap and heel turn today, pick up the gusset stitches and start down the foot.

Since it is straight knitting (no pattern on the foot for me), it should be smooth and quick sailing.

Meanwhile in this HEAT, I have been hanging out over the stove.  Go figure.  I had cut rhubarb the other week and given a lot of it to my boss, but there was still a bunch in the frig that needed to be used, so I tried a new jam recipe.  Rhubarb jam with lemon, honey and crystalized ginger.  All things I love.  The recipe was a PITA and it burned horribly on the bottom of the pan.  But, I got 3 small jars.

I haven't tried it yet, but hopefully it is tasty.  On the docket today is a peach pie.  The peaches we bought over the weekend are ripe and you can smell them when you walk into the kitchen.  Time to use them!!  And, of course, it is supposed to be stinking HOT again today.  LOL

On the reading front, not much.  I'm still reading (slowly) Song Yet Sung which is good...I just have not been reading much.  I did receive an email from my local library that Conjure Women is ready for me so I plan to do a curb-side pick up this morning.

Work continues to be busier than I expect and I have some reports I need to work on, but I do plan to spend a little time with my knitting and my stitching.  Here's hoping your week is going well.  Linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday July 21, 2020

Good Morning!

Whew!  Yesterday was HOT, HOT, HOT.  When I came downstairs at 5:30 it was already 80 degrees.  I think we are in for more of the same today.  We do have a better chance (50%) of rain on Wednesday and Thursday - hoping for that.  The lawn and the garden can use the moisture.

I did spend yesterday morning at my office.  Longer than I expected/wanted, but it is what it is.  I saw two people I hadn't seen since March - both had come in just to pick up some files and other things.  Everyone was masked and everyone stayed very socially distanced.  Found out that someone in my office did test positive for Covid 19.  Of course they are not saying who.  But, that individual has not been in the office for weeks and the last time they were in was before our office was "deep cleaned" - whatever that means.

Meanwhile, it is Tuesday which means TNT or Tiny Needle Tuesday.  A little bit more was stitched on the Sailor's Huswife.  The owls now appear to be in a tree!

Here's a close up of the tree:

There are more acorns on either side of the tree and then there will be two squirrels at the base of the tree.  I'm loving the way this is coming together, so glad I dug this out of the many WIP to spend time on.

My guess is that today will be slow work-wise which is fine with me.  I'd like some time to stitch and knit more.  My peaches should be ripe by tomorrow, so I'll plan to make a pie then (maybe if we get some rain it could be a little cooler??).

Hope everyone's week is going well.

Le Weekend

Well Hello Everyone!

I don't know if I've ever posted on a Sunday before - lol.  But, tomorrow I'm going in to the office and it could end up being a busy day, so I decided to post now. 

It is a hot and sultry afternoon in Eastern PA.  The thermometer is reading around 92 which is way, way above my comfort zone.  Our neighbors (with whom we share a driveway) had 3 trees taken down today and the chipper has been in the driveway.  Noisy!  Major headache!!  Thankfully they are gone now.  The tree guys actually worked very quickly.  The trees they removed were dead (Emerald Ash Borer) and were in danger of falling any day.  Good to have them gone.

Friday night I finished the first Tomfoolery Sock!!  It only took me a month (that is pathetic).

I love the way it turned out and it fits perfectly.  I'm happy to say that sock #2 is already past the halfway mark on the leg and I'm hoping to get to the heel flap tonight.  No Second sock Syndrome for me!

Saturday was such a fun day for me.  Yes it was hot, but not as hot as today.  When I took my coffee out onto the patio in the morning, look what I saw:

Three spotted fawns!  So cute.  They ran off pretty quickly and then their Mom (I assume she was the Mom) came out of the woods and down onto the lawn.  Luckily she moved along too.  We've been having garden damage, so I didn't want them sticking around...but I do love seeing them.

I met up with Dee for some much needed time together.  Yes we wore masks and social distanced.  We sat outside at a coffee shop and knit in the morning and then went to one of Dee's local stores where I was able to score some masks:

The racoons are so cute!!  And...I got yarn!!  I have not bought any yarn (except the skein of Hellebore for my Hitchhiker that I ordered from Vicki), have not been in a yarn shop since before Covid.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Pretty, right?  The grey and white with flecks of red at the top is Trekking.  We all know this knits up nicely and wears so well.  I'm sure this will become a pair of socks for one of the men in my life.  The other two skeins are a new-to-me yarn:  Machete Shoppe.  The skein on the left is "Clairvoyant" and the yellow one is "Vanilla Boom."  Personally I think it should have been named Lemon Drop.  Feels like nice yarn.  75/25 Merino/Nylon.  Just some further incentive to get that second Tomfoolery Sock completed.

Fletch and I sat on the patio with beverages before dinner and watched Mr. or Mrs. Wren.

Wrens have the prettiest songs.  And this guy (or gal) is hysterical.  He goes into the little camper birdhouse that we have, turns around and then pokes his head out and watches us!  He will stay that way for minutes on end.  Cracks us up.

Dinner was leftovers - the Flat Iron Steak we grilled when Colin & Mailing were over and I made a salad with the leftover corn, some cherry tomatoes, red onion, pasta shells and cilantro.  The dressing was fresh lemon juice, EVOO, dijon mustard and some dried basil.  I'll be making this again - SO good!

Tonight we are having another cold supper - some smoked trout and raw veggies.  It is just too hot to even think of eating anything hot.

We did a small grocery shopping today and picked up some local peaches so I can make a pie.  I remember my Mom used to always make pies at 6 a.m. in the summer - before it would get too hot (we did not have AC when I was growing up).  I may end up doing that too.  The peaches need to ripen a bit before I can use them.  Maybe by the time they ripen the temps will have modified a bit.

Well, that wraps it up for me.  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the weekend.

Friday!

Hello and Good Morning!

Sort of a grey morning here in Eastern PA, but hopefully that will keep the heat down a bit.  This week has been simply gorgeous weather-wise, but I'm afraid the summer heat and humidity are building and this weekend and the beginning of next week are forecast to be pretty nasty.  Yesterday there was a cool breeze all day and Fletch and I kept saying it felt like September!  I was in a Tee shirt dress and sitting on the patio late afternoon I actually could have used a shawl!

I got to the point on my sock where I started the toe decrease, but only managed to get 3 rows finished.  Work got busy and there was no time for the fun things.  But, the weekend is looming and I know I will finish it and start #2.  First I need to get through today though.  I have a conference call at 8:30, another one at 10 and a third at 11. 

Meanwhile a couple of pretty things for you.  First up, the Goldfinches are so beautiful and strongly colored this year...or maybe I'm just noticing them more.  We have a thistle feeder in our apple tree and they come in to feed every afternoon about the time we are sitting on the patio before dinner with a beverage.

Yesterday Fletch picked our first cherry tomatoes.  These are "Sun Gold" and this is the third year we've grown them.  They are the sweetest I've ever tasted!

While I'm busy on my calls this morning, Fletch is taking my car in for inspection and tire rotation.  Should be an easy in & out since the car is only a year old.  Here's hoping!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - have some fun!

Unraveled Wednesday - July 15, 2020

Good Morning!

It's Wednesday.  Mid-week and mid-month (how is it possible that we are already halfway through July?).  I haven't done much knitting this week, but here's an overall shot of the Hellebore Hitchhiker which I haven't shown in a little while.

This picture does not really do the yarn justice.  It is simply beautiful and fun.  I'm now up to 24 teeth and the rows are steadily growing in length.

On the reading side of things I am about a third of the way through Song Yet Sung and am thoroughly enjoying it.  Parts of it are difficult to read, but the language and writing are excellent.

Colin and Mailing were over for dinner last night.  Fletch grilled a flat iron steak which was delicious (marinated it for several hours in a combination of soy sauce, sherry, honey, ginger and garlic) and we had a green bean, tomato and onion salad (dressed in EVOO, lemon juice, garlic & basil) and corn on the cob which I had picked up at Trader Joe's.  The corn was tasty...but 79 cents an ear seems high to me (though when Fletch got it the other week he paid $2 an ear!!).

Colin & Mailing left after dinner and went over to Colin's office.  He no longer goes into work, but he has a garden plot there and had not checked on it in about 4 weeks.  He is growing eggplant, cauliflower and I forget what else - he has a bunch of stuff planted.  Then the kids came back and we had a fire in the pit.  I was thinking it would be too warm to enjoy it, but actually it was very nice sitting out back around the fire.

Work was annoying yesterday.  I don't think anyone checks their work these days!  I received an amendment to a contract that had been approved by our legal department and was ready for signature.  It was an 18th amendment and the word Eighteenth was mis-spelled at the top of the page!  And, the footer of the document read 16th amendment.  I guess people just don't care these days.

Linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Head on over to her place to see what others are making and reading.  May the last half of this week be a good one for everyone!

TNT July 14, 2020

Good Morning!

I'm posting a bit later than normal today.  I came into the office to do a few things and, naturally, got busy with other stuff...and time went by.  Anyway, thought I would sneak this post in for TNT (Tiny Needle Tuesday) before I leave the office and head to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things. 

I managed to do some more on the Sailor's Huswife during the past week.

The dividing bands under the flowers...and then I started the last section where there are two owls at the top.  There will be branches under the owls, but I didn't manage to start them yet.  The open space to the right of the Z is for the year - hopefully 2020.  I've charted out 2020 to fit in that space, but knowing how I sometimes stop working on things, I will wait until this is finished to add the date.

I also received in the mail the shipment of thread I was needing for my next Adam & Eve sampler, but I will continue to work on this and not start a new one just yet.  Another sampler pattern happened to slip into the order of thread as well...it is Night Walked Down by The Blue Flower, a sampler I've looked at many times.  I love the phrase at the top (Night Walked Down the Sky With the Moon in Her Hand).

In other news, my office is now not re-opening until October 5th!  I received an email yesterday with that bit of news.  Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we do not re-open until January!  It's very nice being here today as there are maybe 5 other people here.  Empty!!  Everyone is masked except when they are at their own office/desk.  It is so quiet and nice.

Believe I told you that Colin & Mailing are going forward with their wedding in October.  But, it will now be just family and the wedding party and it will be at their home.  The invitations came out.

So pretty!  An afternoon wedding followed by a cocktail hour (or two) then dinner, music and dancing.  I do need to find something to wear.  It is "garden attire."

Finally, I'll leave you with this image which I received via email yesterday.  This is great!

Weekending

Good Morning Folks!

How was your weekend?  Ours was a steamy one.  Yup, we are in the midst of the HHH part of summer (hazy, hot, humid).  It took me both days to get a small amount of laundry done, the bathrooms cleaned and I think that was it.  Oh yeah, we picked up a few groceries too (we were just about out of fresh produce and cat food).  Other than that, not much was accomplished.  It was just too darn hot.

Last night we had cold, left over chicken and farro.  To go with it, I made a cold salad of cucumber, radishes and fresh pineapple with lime juice and cilantro.  It tasted so refreshing!

Funny how the pineapple in the picture above looks like the color of mango.  I bet that a mango cut up would taste good with cucumbers too.

I did manage to do a bit of knitting.  Finally!  I decided what to do with the Tom Foolery sock:

I knit 10 more rows of the pattern and then did the heel flap and turn.  I'm now 30 rows into the foot, so I should (emphasis on should) be able to finish this sock in a day or two and then cast on for #2.  The colors in the yarn are fun, for sure.  I haven't tried it on yet to see what the pattern looks like, but soon.

But, no knitting this morning.  I have a 10 a.m. conference call and a bunch of reports I need to run.

Meanwhile, how was your weekend?

TGIF

Hello Everyone,

It's nice that Friday is here.  I don't even care that it is supposed to rain ALL day (it hasn't started yet).  I've been getting texts and emails about possible flooding.  We shall see.  No rain yet.

This has been one of those weeks that has felt long and has felt as though I really haven't accomplished much.  I think the heat and humidity have gotten to me.  There hasn't been much knitting.  A little stitching (not quite as hot as knitting), but not much.

I've also been bothered by a rather large (huge!!) rash on my stomach.  I was finally able to get an in-person appointment yesterday and I am now on antibiotics for Lyme Disease!  Mind you, I have not had a blood test or anything like that, but the drugs can't hurt me and better safe than sorry.  Both the nurse practitioner and the doctor immediately said LYME when they saw my stomach.  Fortunately I've had no symptoms like fevers or joint pain.  Colin contracted Lyme disease a decade or so ago when he was in college.  It took forever for him to be diagnosed and he had severe joint pain and had tons of fluid drained off his left knee a number of times.  Hopefully starting the antibiotics now I will be fine.  Of course, I also have to stay out of the sun while taking the pills.  It's a 21 day supply, so I probalby won't go walking for a bit.

On a more pleasant note, I have done some cooking and the other night we had curried vegetables for dinner.

This was so good with peppers, onions, brocolli, cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, garlic & ginger.  I didn't add any meat to it, but chicken or shrimp would be a good addition.

And we have eggplants growing!!  We have the plants in a pot on our patio, next to my rosemary.  These little guys are noticeably longer each morning!

I love grilling or broiling eggplant slices and then putting them on pizza.  Yum!

No real plans for the weekend.  It is supposed to be stupid hot and humid, so we will most likely lay low.  Hope you all have a wonderful one!

Unraveled Wednesday 7/8/20

Good Morning!

Here we are at Unraveled Wednesday.  Linking up with Kat to take a look at what everyone is making and reading these days.

If you read my blog earlier this week, you know there was a lot of unraveling - or rather tinking - over the long weekend.  I did, finally, knit some on the Hellebore Hitchhiker last night, but honestly it looks no different, so no picture.  I have yet to gather the energy to figure out what to do with my Tomfoolery sock.  But, I have been making some Granny Squares.  The first 6 of the next 25 are finished:

These are turning out to be so much fun - quick and colorful.  As long as I don't think about all the joining that I will have on my hands!!

On the reading front, I think I already mentioned that I finished Wild Game the next "Read With Us" book which we will be discussing in August.  I started reading "Fair Play" by Tove Jansson (I loved "The Summer Book" by her), but I can't really get into it.  Via Overdrive I have on my Kindle "The Woman Who Borrowed Memories" also by Tove Jansson, but I'm not sure I will bother with this right now. 

We are back to muggy weather - needed the AC last night to sleep.  Fletch has hung up the garlic to dry.

Hanging from the patio roof - hopefully it will dry ok despite our humidity!

I'm running into the office this morning to do a few things.  I don't expect to be there more than an hour or so.  Hope everyone's week is going well!

The BEST News and TNT

Hello!

Thank you all for your concern about Mailing and your prayers, sending good vibes and good juju, etc., etc.  Finally heard yesterday morning that her Covid test came back NEGATIVE!!  Yay!!  As I mentioned, she was sure it was just a stomach bug of some kind, but it is still such a huge relief to get the news that all is well.

Yesterday started out pretty sticky and humid.  But, inspired by Kym I decided I had to do something with the over-ripe peaches, apricots, blueberries and raspberries we had.  So I made a galette.

Very rustic looking and delicious!  I only added a sprinkle of sugar - maybe a tablespoon at most,  Fletch had some last night for a snack - warmed up in the microwave and then covered in whipped cream - and pronounced it delicious.  I had a bite and thought it was pretty good.  These are so much easier to make than a pie.

Of course, on a hot, sticky day having the oven on at 400 degrees is not the best (we do not have central air).  But late afternoon an unexpected storm rolled through and the temp dropped from 90 to 70 in 20 minutes.  Then it really started storming.  At some point it got really loud and we realized it was hailing!  I went out on the patio and reached out and picked up a couple of pieces.

The hail didn't last all that long, but the storms continued for a few hours.  Last night I was able to sleep with no air, just the ceiling fan and the windows wide open.  It felt so good!

Anyway, here we are on a Tuesday, or like we say, TNT - Tiny Needle Tuesday.  I did manage to finish "Crows at Strawberry Hill" over the weekend.  It took a little longer than I expected as I realized I was off on my count by one thread on the border at the bottom.  Grrrr - had to rip that out and re-start.  But I love the end result.

I did pick out a new Adam & Eve sampler to stitch, but I'm waiting for threads to be shipped to me.  So, in the interim I pulled out an old UFO.  I'm pretty sure I blogged about this piece a year or two ago when I pulled it out and worked on it a bit.  Then it went back into the stitching black hole.  This is The Sailor's Huswife by Darlene O'Steen.  I believe this is out of print now, but is on the Bay of Evil.

Excuse all the wrinkles - this piece has been folded up for so long...Next up under the flowers is another dividing band and the balance of the alphabet.  I don't plan to make the whole thing (back side and pockets to keep things in, etc.).  I'm just stitching this main panel.  After the dividing bands and alphabet the next (and last!) section has acorns and squirrels on it!!  This is a fun piece to work on.  I think I'm using 36 count fabric, but I'm not sure, and DMC threads.

As I mentioned the other week, my office is now not opening until August 6th.  This Friday, July 10th, no one is allowed in the office as it is going to be "deep cleaned."  Not sure what that means exactly.  I will probably go in one day this week as there are things I need to print on the "big boy" paper (lol - that is what we call 11x17 paper - makes small spreadsheets that much easier to read).  I'll also take in some rhubarb for my boss and leave it in one of the refrigerators for him (our rhubarb plant is going gang busters again!).

In other news I had a doctor's appointment (routine) with my primary care physician next week, but received a call that she is still not coming into the office.  I didn't want a telecon appointment so they rescheduled me.  The first appointment I could get is in late October!  Crazy!

Well, time to fix another cup of coffee and get to work.  Hope everyone is doing well.

Weekending

Hello, Hello!

Welcome to the 2nd half of the year.  Did you have a good weekend?  How was your 4th of July?

Thanks for all your concern about Mailing.  Still no results on her test if you can believe that!  Today will be the 5th business day, so she should hear by today sometime.  A neighbor told us that if she had gone to the county facility to be tested (she went to a CVS) she would have had results in 48 hours...but we also hear our county testing site is closing.  Not sure why with the number of cases increasing....Anyway, she is sure it was just a stomach bug of some kind that she had

Anyway, back to the weekend.  It was nice to not work ALL weekend including Friday.  I never turned the computer on!  Friday was stinking hot - too hot for walking or being outside, but Dee and I met up mid-morning at a coffee shop where they are allowing inside seating.  It was so good to get together with her again!  I ended up just tinking rather than knitting.  I was working on the Hellebore Hitchhiker when I noticed I had forgotten a tooth.  So, I tinked back 3 rows or so and then bound off for the tooth and continued on...until I noticed a hole a few rows back.  Dee is a much more experienced knitter than I, so I had her look at it.  Nope - neither of us could see a dropped stitch.  Not sure how or why that hole appeared, but I started tinking again.  When I got to the point where I could continue knitting I put it away.  LOL  I wasn't going to take any chances.

And the Tomfoolery socks are exactly where they were (or I should say it - the first sock).  The pattern is Cathedral Socks a free pattern on Ravelry.  I'm altering it so there are no purl stitches.  The leg pattern is a 32 row repeat.  I've done two repeats, so 64 rows.  That's shorter than I usually knit legs of my socks.  So, I'm debating whether to just knit some plain rows before starting the heel flap, or do a portion of the pattern.  The heat has addled my brain and I can't figure out what I want to do!

Saturday, the 4th, was another hot one, but thankfully not quite as humid.  I made a corn and black bean salad to take over to Colin & Mailing's.

I also took the gin that had been marinading in my basement with rhubarb.  It was good, but not good enough to bother making it again - lol.  Mailing's Mom made a cucumber and radish salad and also brought some marinaded chicken wings and smoked salmon rolled around peppers and cilantro.  Col & Mailing had made a potato salad and Colin grilled hot dogs, chicken sausage and plant-based brats.  And then there was a huge bowl of cut up watermelon for dessert.  Everything was tasty (except I had the vegan brat and it was not good - lol).

Mailing's Dad had been visiting his Mom earlier in the day and he brought potholders that she had made for all of us!

Aren't they so pretty?  Little tiny stitches.

Around 8:30 or 9:00 the neighbors (in all directions) started setting off fireworks.  It was like a competition of who had the loudest and brightest display.  I had a headache immediately.  Poor Marcel and Talbor were terrified, as were all the wild animals - birds, bats, deer, bunnies - everything was looking for cover.  I felt badly for them.

There may be no knitting to show you (since it all looks the same as it has), but I do have some other pictures from the weekend.  First up, Mr. Frog!  We've had two in our water feature lately.

And Mr (or Mrs) Wren poking out of our camper birdhouse.  Not the best picture - I'm unable to get too close, but we watch them coming and going ALL day long!

Our Trumpet Vine is blooming and we are hoping to finally see more hummingbirds.

And look at this gorgeous Calla Lily at Colin & Mailing's house.

Such a deep, strong yellow.  Love it!

Yesterday Fletch pulled our garlic.  Look at this haul!

Well, I supposed I've rambled on for long enough.  I need to pull up work email and start the work week.  Wishing you all a wonderful week!