TGIF

 Hello-Hello-Hello!

Abandoning my blog for a week was not my intention!  But life, or rather work, got in my way.  It has been a week folks!  I had to be in the office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  And each day I was there for at least 6 hours.  I have no idea how I used to work in the office 5 days a week for 8 hours plus each day.  It is exhausting!  And then I got roped into going to dinner with a group on Tuesday at the General Warren Inne an historic place in Chester County.  The food was good (but too much) and I haven't driven at night in over a year...my cataracts make night time driving not a good thing for moi (am thankful I will be having surgery this summer).  Because of that, I had NO alcohol with the meal - I stuck with seltzer water since I was worried enough about driving in diminishing daylight.  Luckily I was able to scoot out just before 8:00 and was home by 8:30 before it is really dark.  Whew!  

Most nights I've been too wiped out to stitch or knit.  Last night Colin was over for steaks on the grill and we sat around a fire after dinner which was so nice and relaxing.  Fletch and I are on cat feeding duty starting Saturday as Colin and Mailing are going away for the weekend.

So here is a quick wrap up of this past week with some pictures I had intended to post during the week...best laid plans and all that.

Last weekend was HOT.  Like 90+ degrees both days.  Dee came over Saturday morning for a little knitting/stitching time.  It had not gotten really hot yet by the time she arrived, but we stayed inside out of concern for ticks (which are everywhere this year).  I started a new dishcloth and working with cotton on larger needles is hard!

I like the colors, but it is slow knitting on this one (that's the 1st [STILL] Enthusiasm Speckle sock in the background).  Hoping to put in some more rows on this - maybe today?  And also the sock - toe decreases FTW!

Tyg was not pleased with the heat.

He was like this much of the weekend.  His lips are getting pink again and soon I will need to get his meds from the vet.  His lips swell and get pink every summer in the heat.  I think it might be a combination of allergies and the heat.  He has been scratching a lot lately too, though we see no signs of fleas.  We did put some "natural" flea and tick stuff on him (peppermint oil). but again I think it is allergies of some kind.  The pollen this year is crazy.

I did manage to get a little stitching in over the weekend and this is where the sampler stands as of right now.

I'm a bit tired of all the brown in this one, but I'm still enjoying it.  I'm hoping to be able to work on this over the weekend.

We have not really had much rain to speak of (some Wednesday night, but not much), though that will change starting today.  It does not look like a really nice weekend for us.  But things in the garden are flourishing.  The garlic is crazy high and we are hoping for scapes soon.  The salad we had last night was made with greens (chard, spinach and lettuce) from the garden.  Rhubarb is still producing (I did make rhubarb sorbet last weekend) and the figs are growing.  We also have our first sunflower open.

On the reading side of things I've started a new book:  Oil and Marble which so far (60+ pages into it) is very enjoyable.  I may even finish it over the weekend!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend!  I'm looking forward to getting together with Dee tomorrow morning and Monday is Fletch's and my 41st anniversary!!  Hard to believe it's been so many years.  Meanwhile, I have a conference call at 10 and another one at 12:30...but at least I'm home today and not in the office!

What's for Dinner?

 Hello All,

It's Thursday, so I'm talking food.  I can (and do) talk food any old day of the week.  I love to eat, love to cook, etc.  Today I'm sharing one of our most favorite ever recipes.  BBQ Shrimp.  Remember Jeff Smith?  The Frugal Gourmet?  This is his recipe from NOLA (New Orleans, LA).  I made this last Saturday when Colin and Mailing came over.  We always serve it with a big loaf of Italian or French bread for mopping up the sauce.  I also always make a big salad to go with it.  Honestly, I'd be fine with just shrimp and bread to dip, but the salad makes me feel healthy (because the dish surely does NOT make me feel healthy...but so good!!):

• Chop up 3 slices of bacon and fry in a sauce pan.  Do not drain.
• Once the bacon is cooked add 1/2 pound of butter (yes - 2 whole sticks).  Melt that and then add:
• 2 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 TBS Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp tabasco or hot sauce

Simmer that deliciousness for around 5 minutes or so.  Put 1 1/2 - 2 lbs of shrimp with the shells on in a pan (hint - use an aluminum throw away pan - you do not want to have to clean the pan, trust me) and pour the sauce over.  Bake at 375 uncovered for 20 minutes or so, stirring a couple of times.

I just put the whole pan on the table so the sauce is there for the bread.  You can peel the shrimp or not.  Sometimes we eat them shell and all and just leave the tails on our plates.

This is so rich and so filling that we do not usually have dessert, but I did make cookies for Colin and Mailing.  

Blueberry & Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies

In a small bowl, whisk together:

• 1 Cup flour
• 1/4 Cup wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

In a large bowl whisk together:

• 1 large egg
• 3/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1/3 Cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.  Add in:

• 1/2 Cup oatmeal
• 2 oz of chopped chocolate  (I just used chocolate chips because that's what I had)
• 1/3 Cup dried blueberries
• 1/4 Cup candied ginger chopped

Stir just to combine.  Heat oven to 375

Drop by Tbs on an ungreased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper) and bake till puffed and barely golden.  ~ 8-10 minutes.  Cool on pan 2 minutes and then transfer to a rack.  I got 2 dozen out of this recipe.

Well, it is 7:20 a.m. and my mouth is watering for BBQ shrimp!  LOL.  Guess I will pour another cup of coffee and get to work.  I have a bunch of reports to get out this morning.  Later I will make a Blueberry Rhubarb pie!

Have a great Thursday!

Unraveled Wednesday May 19, 2021

 Good Morning All,

Looks like it is going to be another beautiful day here.  Blue sky and sunny at 6:40 a.m.  I woke at 2 a.m. hearing a fox bark in our woods.  I was happy when Tyg woke me at 4:30 because that meant he was in when the fox was roaming around.  That is not always the case!

Even though places are beginning to open up in PA, it is a slow process.  I was setting up some dinner reservations for Kevin's group next week when they are in town for budget meetings.  The group is 8 on Monday and Wednesday nights, but 13 on Tuesday night.  Sullivan's Steak House will only take a gorup of 7 or less.  And a number of restaurants had no openings next week!  I did finally find 3 different restaurants and am glad to have that out of the way.  I will not be joining them for dinners.  Today one of the things I need to do is figure out lunches for about 30 people each day next week.  Luckily there are places nearby that deliver.

Also received an email yesterday indicating that my office will no longer require masks as of today for those who are fully vaccinated.  Vaccination is not a requirement for coming to the office and the hope is that those who have not been vaccinated will still mask up.  Seems a little early to me, but we will see....

Since it's Wednesday, I'm linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  A bit of knitting was accomplished on the "Enthusiasm Speckle" sock.

The heel has been turned and I am back down to 16 stitches on each needle.  Of course I did not manage to get a picture that shows the pattern...not that it shows up that well in this yarn - I think it will once it is stretched out on a leg.  The pattern is free on Ravelry:  "I Smell Snow" by Sanni Koivumaki.  The pattern is only on one needle, but manages to keep the knitting fun and interesting.

On the reading side of things, I am still making my way through Daughters of the Dust but it is beginning to drag a bit for me.  I'm only halfway through but find myself nodding after reading only 2-3 pages.  Yesterday I picked up at the library the 4th Matt Goldman book Dead West which should be a quick read and also Oil and Marble which looks very good.  With those two on my night stand, I may give up on Daughters of the Dust.

Well, it is now 7 a.m. and the work emails are flying in, so I'd best get to work!  Have a good one everyone.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 5/18/21

 Hello Everyone,

How are you?  I'm groggy and sluggish.  So much food yesterday - all wonderful, but oh my!  As I mentioned, we went to Mailing's parents for dinner last night.  It was Bonnie's birthday.  There was no lack of food:

There was lamb, a whole fish (in the red sauce above), soft shell crab, squid and other fish, bamboo shoots (!! from our house - just to the left of the fish in red sauce above - and they were yummy), eggplant, green beans, potatoes, rice, sticky rice dumplings, other dumplings, noodles, pickles, and on and on and on!  After dinner, but before dessert, we took a walk (well, Fletch stayed back and rested...and I felt like I should have!!).

There is a trail behind Zohngren's and Bonnie's home that takes you to the John James Audubon Center.  A very pretty place to walk.  The Center also has an enclosure where they keep injured birds.  We saw both a hawk and an owl!

There were also a jay, some chickens, another owl (which we did not see).  It was a good walk - about 2 miles is my guess.  By the time we got back, we were ready for dessert.  Mailing had made a rhubarb almond tart and WOW!  what a treat that was.

Bonnie fixed some chrysanthemum tea to have with the tart.  Fletch and I waddled home after that!

Enough food!  It's Tuesday, so let's talk stitching.  My sampler continues to progress nicely.  I managed to get quite a bit more stitched.  I could possibly be half-way through this project, I'm not sure...haven't measured completely.  but here is where it's at as of now.

Again, I'm loving the richness that the silk floss brings to this project.  The subtle shading of the thread is so nice.

I've a somewhat busy day (work-wise) ahead of me, but I'm hoping to carve out a bit of time to stitch and also knit some.  Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

How are you?  And how was your weekend?  My weekend was decidedly good, but man it seemed to go by in a blink of an eye!

Friday night we ordered out which we had not done in ages.  A spinach, mushroom and roasted red pepper pizza for moi and a roast beef hoagie for Fletch.  Yum!  And...Fletch picked up the order at the window (a walk-up window, not a drive by window) maskless!!!  Masks are still required inside, but not outside.

Saturday morning I met up with Dee for some coffee and chatter along with knitting and/or stitching.  That, of course, was lovely.  Meanwhile, Bonnie & Zhongren (Mailing's parents) came over to harvest some bamboo from our property.  Zhongren wanted a bunch of the poles to use in his garden.  Bonnie spent time gathering bamboo shoots.  I had completely forgotten that they are edible.  Next time I make stir fry, I'm sending Fletch out to the back of the property to get some shoots.  Bonnie brought over some Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) for us!  I steamed them last night to go with our dinner and they were delicious!

I looked around the garden some and our figs are really growing!!

I counted 15+ figs.  (The tall flower in the back is rhubarb.)  I can't wait for these to ripen.  After our Asian Pear tree had so many blossoms, it is diappointing that we only see one pear forming.  Not sure what is going on.  But inside, we have lemons forming!!

I showed the ultra-fragrant blooms the other week, but I wasn't sure we would actually get any lemons.  so far we have 2 that are beginning to grow.  There are still many buds on the lemon tree, so we could potentially get more.  I'll have to think of some special use for these!

Colin and Mailing came over early in the afternoon on Saturday and stayed until almost 10 p.m.  We had a great dinner (BBQ shrimp, bread and salad made with greens from the garden) and then sat around a fire outside in the evening.

Sunday was errand day.  Fletch and I did a Costco run in the morning (and managed to gas up the car for $0.25 less per gallon than the station nearest our home).  We were surprised to see a number of folks in the store without masks (we were wearing ours).  That afternoon we did a small/quick grocery shopping (and everyone was in masks).  I think we are good for the week - both the frig and freezer are full.

Today I'm going to the office for a couple of hours this morning.  More budget work and some other things I need to do.  Tonight we are heading over to Bonnie & Zhongren's for dinner (it's Bonnie's birthday) - it will be nice to see them again and also Colin & Mailing.

The sun is up and the sky is blue.  It is supposed to get fairly warm this week and we could have a spot of rain or so.  I hope your week is off to a great start!

What's for Dinner?

 Good Morning All,

Once again the sun is up and the sky is blue.  It's a bit on the chily side, but pretty out there.

I have another salad for you that, to me, screams summer.  We bought some more corn on the cob that was, once again, surprisingly delicious for this time of year.  I had cooked a couple of extra ears and then cut the kernels off to save for this salad.

We had this with fish the other night (and the Dr. G Riesling:)).  It keeps pretty well left over as well (except the avocado...that never really keeps well, but you can just pluck out those pieces).  

I had intended to share This Link with you all yesterday and promptly forgot!  Colin shared this with me on Sunday - love it!!

Time to run - Thursday mornings are busy for me - lots of reports to run.  And...I have a dentist appointment at 11:30.  Will catch up with you all later.

Unraveled Wednesday May 12, 2021

 Good Morning All,

Today I did not sleep in, rather I woke abruptly a bit after 5 a.m.  I was stretching out my legs and suddenly got one of those cramps in my calf - a charlie horse.  Yikes!!  Luckily I was able to stop it before it became full blown.

Anway, happy birthday to Ray, my oldest brother and also to Bobby, the CEO of my company.  Happy mid-week to the rest of you.  I hope your week is going well and that you are finding time to enjoy things - knitting, stitching, reading, etc.

On this Unraveled Wednesday (linking up with Kat and friends) I am happy to say that I did start a new pair of socks.  I'm not terribly far along, but I've started and they are FUN!!

The yarn screams confetti to me...or reminds me (for some reason) of bubblegum.  The yarn is from KnitPicks and is their Muse line (75% superwash wool and 25% nylon).  The colorway is Enthusiasm Speckle and I'm knitting the pattern I Smell Snow - a free pattern on Ravelry.  I'm not sure how much the pattern will really show with all the noise of the yarn colors, but it is a nice pattern to knit - not too complicated, but interesting enough to keep one from getting bored.

This past week did not see any more progress on either the French Market Bag or the Wintertide Shawl (or the Guernsey Wrap for that matter).  Maybe I can get to one of those today...only time will tell.

There were a number of people at the office yesterday and the next two weeks will bring in even more.  Everyone is having budget meetings and, honestly, as folks get vaccinated, I think they are just happy (anxious perhaps) to get OUT.  Everyone is still wearing masks and everyone is keeping distanced so that is good.  After so long, it is just weird to see people walking around the office!  I hung around till about 10:30 and then I left.  I stopped to buy wine on my way home.  I'm not real fond of Riesling wines as I usually find them too sweet, but Fletch likes them and we were having fish for dinner.  When I saw this bottle, I had to get it (yes, I do buy wine by the label):

Ha!  Dr. G (Dee, does Giroux have a doctor's bag with a rabbit in it?).  For the record, this is a dry riesling and was actually pretty tasty (Fletch did not like it - not sweet enough for him).

When I got home after the wine shopping I picked a small bouquet for our lunch table.  Some Lily of the Valley, one little Lilac bloom and some Wood Hyacinths.  So pretty.

The bud vase is one my Mom kept in the kitchen when I was growing up.  All summer long it would hold a single rose bloom.

On the reading front, I finished another mystery by Deborah Crombie (Kissed a Sad Goodbye).  This is in a series and is not fabulous, but for some reason I keep requesting them (in order) from the library.  They are quick reads.  Last night I started a new book:  Daughters of the Dust which so far (50 pages or so) is very good.

Time to get moving!  I'll pour another cup of coffee and then get to work...it feels like this will be another busy day.  Have a good one!

Tiny Needle Tuesday May 11, 2021

 Good Morning My Friends,

I slept in a little bit this morning!  The sun is up and the sky is blue.  It looks like it will be a fine day.  The roofers finished next door by early afternoon!  I was amazed at how quickly they put a new roof on the house, but there were plenty of workers.  

The latest sampler I am working on seems to have almost stitched on its own.  A lot was completed since last week:

And even closer:

I'm thoroughly enjoying stitching this and the richness of the silk threads adds so much.  I'm not sure why blue was chosen for the deer...but I've seen that in other samplers, so maybe it's a thing?  Whatever, it is a fun stitch and seems to be flying by.

This is short and sweet as I've got to pull things together to go to the office.  I'll drop off a book at the library on my way in and pick up some wine at the state store on my way home.  I'm hoping/planning to be at the office only for a couple of hours, so I should be home by lunch time.

Have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow with an Unraveled post.

Weekending

 Good Morning All,

My brain feels a bit foggy this morning.  And it's grey outside which doesn't help matters.  Our next door neighbors are getting a new roof and the workers have started.  Luckily my home office is at the opposite end of the house.  Did you all have a nice weekend?  Ours was good.

We did not go to Colin & Mailing's as planned on Saturday.  Mailing had gotten her 2nd jab (Pfizer) on Thursday and had been feverish and then very fatigued.  So, they pushed our get together to Sunday which was fine with me.  Saturday I did a bunch of errands and Fletch and I did a grocery run in the late afternoon.

Sunday morning Fletch and I went out to breakfast.  The first time in I don't know how long.  The diner was fairly empty and the food was really good.  So that was a win!  When we got back I made a strawberry rhubarb pie to take over to Colin and Mailing's.

Yum!  It turned out well and I made some whipped cream to go with it.

Colin grilled chicken thighs (marinated in a habanero sauce and more marinated in a chile adobe sauce) and romain.  Mailing made some roasted potatoes and asparagus wrapped in proscuitto.  It was a lot of food...and so good!

Even Marcel tried to snack a bit:

Or else he was looking for some wine....

Anna (Mailing's sister) was also there and she did bring Otto.  He mostly stayed in the sunroom with the door to the main house shut...he could not be trusted to just stay in one room.  Colin is the only one in the group not vaccinated, but he is getting his first shot (Pfizer) this afternoon - thank God!

All in all, a lovely weekend.  I even managed to pick up my knitting needles and start a new sock!  I didn't get too far, but hopefully will show some progress on Unraveled Wednesday.  Meanwhile, work is calling...it will be another busy week (or 3-4 really).  Kind of like being off to the races!

Have a good one!

Rhubarb!

 Good Morning!

It's Friday, thank goodness.  This has been a very busy week work-wise and I am so ready for the weekend.  First I have to get through this morning (3 conference calls).  I did manage to go through my closet and dresser drawers yesterday and ended up with 2 Trader Joe grocery bags stuffed (to the breaking point) for donation.  And, I don't think I got rid of enough.  I'll probably be pulling more aside.

We are heading to Colin & Mailing's for dinner tomorrow - celebrating Mother's Day.  Mailing's parents and her sister will be there too (and probably Otto...Anna's dog).  My task is to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie, so yesterday I headed out to the garden to cut some rhubarb.

That bottom leaf!  It is larger than a turkey platter - LOL.  I keep hearing in my head (as I date myself) Ed Sullivan saying "a really Big Leaf" like he used to say "a really Big Show" except he pronounced it Shew.  LOL  I'm easily amused.

Yesterday was another day where no knitting was done.  Not even picked up!  Will I be able to remedy that this afternoon?  Here's hoping.

Here's hoping too that all you Mothers (Ha!) have a very Happy Mother's Day.  Happy Weekend!

What's For Dinner?

 Hello and Good Morning!

It's a bit chillier out today...low 40's this a.m.  Fletch said his chin was cold when he walked last night (he sports a beard in the winter months, but recently shaved it off for the summer).

Yesterday ended up being a busier day than I expected or wanted.  I did manage to do a little stitching and a little reading, but no knitting.  Not good...hoping to remedy that today.  It's already been quite a busy morning workwise though, so we shall see.

Has anyone watched the new series on Netflix "Life in Color" with David Attenborough?  It's quite good - only 3 episodes and we finished watching it last night.

Well, as I mentioned, I completely forgot it was Cinco de Mayo yesterday, so no Mexican food for us.  I had taken salmon out of the freezer, so that's what we had.  One of our favorite ways to have it is:

A very simple recipe, but quite tasty.  You can up the heat or decrease depending on what you like.  Last night I did not broil it, but baked it at 425 because I had "tater tots" in the oven to go with (I prefer fries, but Fletch loves his tater tots - lol).  That and some riced cauliflower with zucchini, peppers and some spices rounded out the meal.  It was a little bland looking (all brown and white), but it did taste good!

I'm off to pour some more coffee, make the bed and (hopefully) do something - anything - on the personal side rather than work!  Hope your Thursday is a good one.

Unraveled Wednesday May 5, 2021

 Hello!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!  If I had been thinking I would have taken out something from the freezer so we could have Mexican food for dinner.  I took out salmon.  Oh well.  It's Hump Day, Wednesday and, therefore, Unraveled Wednesday.  As always, I'm linking up with Kat and friends to talk about making and reading.  First up:  Beekeeper Socks:

Oh how I love the way these turned out.  I finished them up on Monday and am just so happy with them.  They are soft and very squishy.  The pattern is just a simple K6, P2 around the leg.  I did keep the pattern on the top of the foot.  The yarn is from KnitPicks - Static (75/25) and the colorway is "Beekeeper" (not sure how they came up with that name, but...).  I used #2 needles and these are for Colin.  Not sure when I will give them to him.  For now they are sitting upstairs.  Fletch says I won't be able to wait for any special occasion and will just give them to him soon.  Probably.

Yesterday I successfully managed to avoid doing any chores or trying to reorganize my closet, etc. and instead started my Wintertide shawl.  

I managed the garter tab start and set up rows.  The Lifted Left Increases and Lifted Right Increases gave me a little bit of a fit, but I think I figured them out and I think it looks ok.  The yarn (Cascade Heritage - 75% superwash and 25% nylon) is very soft and also quite splitty.  I'm hoping to cast on a new pair of socks today.  The yarn, also from KnitPicks, reminds me of confetti or bubblegum.  More to come on that later.

On the reading front, last night I finished the 3rd book by Matt Goldman in the Nils Shapiro series The Shallows which was pretty good.  There is one more in the series that I will try to get from the library.  Fletch and I have started reading The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery.  I had read this years ago, but don't really remember it.  So far, so good.

Today I'm heading to the office for a short while, so I'd best pour another cup of coffee, dry my hair and get dressed.  Wishing you all a great day.  Be sure you head over to Kat's to see what others are making and reading.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 5/4/21

 Good Morning!

We had some rain yesterday and it sounded so nice last night when I went to bed - like a lullaby on the roof.  I slept well!

Yesterday was a weird day and I just felt off.  It started in the morning when I decided to run to the library around 9:15 or so to drop off a book.  From there I drove over to Target - was looking for 3 specific items, none of which could I find.  Normally I would have wandered around the store - just glad to be out, seeing if there was anything I "needed," etc.  Luckily I did not do that but instead drove home.  I got in at 10 and was going to go back out to cut some Lily of the Valley but decided to check email first.  I had completely forgotten that I had a conference call at 10 a.m.!  That is so unlike me.  Anyway, I dialed in and joined the meeting.  The rest of the day was kind of the same - no more conference calls, but I kept forgetting things I had to do.  Hopefully today will be a bit more focused.

Well, it's Tuesday which means TNT - Tiny Needle Tuesday.  I have started a new sampler!  The one I picked is a little smaller than the Quaker Autumn one I just finished.  Here is a picture of the design from Needlework Press:

Creatures, flowers and angels!  What's not to like?  As I mentioned yesterday, the silk floss that I wanted for this arrived on Friday.  Once I had all the colors, I was able to lay them out against the fabrics in my stash and pick one that let the colors shine.  I don't know the brand or the specific color name...it was just sitting in my stash.  I actually did a running stitch on the side to determine the count as that was not marked either.  Turns out it is 36 count (so, stitching over 2 threads it works out to 18 stitches to the inch).  I started this on Saturday morning when I got together with Dee, and here is where it stood as of last night:

The silks are hand dyed (Belle Soie by Crescent Colours) and I am stitching with one strand of silk over 2 linen threads.  So far I'm loving this one.

It has already been a busy morning (and a busy evening last night) work-wise.  On the docket this morning is working on the org charts for our FY 2022 budgets.  It's a ton of numbers as for each account/facility I list not only the director's name, but the revenue, profit, number of managed employees and adjusted gross income.  Between the 3 divisions I support, it totals approximately 475 accounts...so, a ton of numbers.  I'm hoping to get to my closet today as well, but time will tell.  It's another grey one here and was raining lightly when I got up earlier, so no real incentive to go out.  Hopefully there will be some time later for knitting, stitching and reading.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending

 Hello and Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Mine was very good.  Filled with all kinds of things that I love.  Our winds finally died down...but not until after breaking one of the limbs on our apple tree.  Luckily trees and our house both stood during the days of high winds!

Saturday dawned early - birds singing shortly after 4:30 a.m.  I got up and showered and then headed up to see Dee!  We are both fully vaccinated and decided it was time to get together.  What fun!  We had a lovely morning of sipping tea, knitting, stitching and chatting.  So much to catch up on!  My silk threads had arrived on Friday, so I was able to start my new stitching project (more on that tomorrow).

Walking around the yard, Fletch and I noticed that our fig tree is producing!  Woo-Hoo.  Two years ago the deer chomped the poor tree down to the ground.  Fletch put a fence around it and somehow it managed to come back.  Last year it produced 2-3 figs, but they fell off before ripening.  This year it looks like a bumper crop!!

The branches are loaded!  I had not realized that the fruit begins to form even before the leaves emerge.

One of our gifts at Christmas from Colin & Mailing was a lemon tree.  It is in a pot and we have it in the living room in a west-facing window.  We noticed it was beginning to have some buds and now - voila!

I wish this were a scratch and sniff photo - LOL.  These little blossoms are extremely fragrant.  The scent reminds me somewhat of jasmine.  Very, very sweet.  I had not realized, but lemon trees have very sharp thorns!

So, good discoveries on the weekend.  Also good cooking.  Fletch grilled burgers for us on Saturday which we had on rolls with sliced red onion, tomato and lettuce.  I made a broccoli salad to go with that.  Sunday I cooked French Toast for breakfast.

Not one of my favorites, but it was a nice change of pace.  Last night I made a new eggplant dish that ended up being delicious.  Like eggplant parmesan minus the frying, so a bit healthier.  Here's a link to the recipe:  https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sheet-pan-eggplant-parmesan  I peeled the eggplant and I added fresh basil before baking, not after.  Also I used shredded mozarella rather than sliced.  I only used one large eggplant and there is enough left over for lunch one day and also another meal that I froze!

Last night after dinner, we finished reading Radio Free Vermont - A Fable of Resistance which was pretty good - entertaining.  Today we will try to pick out our next "after dinner read."  I guess I will probably do a little work too - HA!

All in all, a very satisfying weekend!  Plenty of knitting, stitching and reading also took place.  I hope yours was as nice.  Now it's the start of a new week!