Unraveled Wednesday June 30, 2021

 Good Morning!

6:45 a.m. and it already feels sticky and humid.  I shouldn't complain...I think Seattle has it worse than we do.  But still...I would like to be able to enjoy a cup of HOT coffee in the morning.

Yesterday ended up busy, busy.  The morning was busy work-wise.  Then I had my pre-op appointment with the eye doctor.  That went quickly and I stopped to drop off a prescription at CVS for the eye drops I will need to start next Monday.  When I got home, Fletch and I ran out to Home Depot.  And bought a new range.  Gosh they have gotten expensive!

Long story...hopefuly made a little shorter...quite some time ago (years) my current oven started sparking and flaming and the fire department arrived.  One of the elements needed to be replaced.  We did that.  Then it happened again and again we replaced it.  Then the glass inside the door broke - for real!  Then the pandemic happened and neither one of us wanted to go stove shopping.  And, the oven worked fine.  Probably not as efficient, but it worked.  Until this last Sunday when I turned the oven on to heat it up for cooking some bacon.  Sparks!  Again!  Luckily I saw them and turned it off immediately.  So, I've been oven-less since Sunday morning.  And, luckily the burners on top work fine.

I went on line and found a range I liked...no one has it in stock and no one is anticipating getting it.  I liked it because the price was "reasonable."  And that was because it is an older model and will be discontinued.  Bottom line, we went with a more expensive model in a different brand and it will be here on July 14th (the appliance store we have always used couldn't give us any delivery date...weird...so we went with Home Depot).

But let's move on to the fun things.  Knitting (of course).  Fuego #1 is finished and #2 has been started:

I just love the colors in this yarn and it is knitting up so nicely (Trekking).  The finished sock fits me perfectly, so I guess these are going to be mine - LOL.

On the reading front:  I am reading Save Me The Plums by Ruth Reichl.  I really do enjoy memoirs and this one is no exception.  However, I'm disappointed by how few recipes are included in this book.  I loved "My Kitchen Year" by Reichl which had a ton of recipes.  This is kind of reading a little bit like "The Devil Wears Prada" - what a back stabbing community magazines/publishing businesses are!

Fletch and I are reading The Gift of the Deer by Helen Hoover which I think is a book Bonny read and recommended.  Hoover and her husband (an artist whose pen and ink drawings are in the book) lived in a two room cabin in Minnesota near the Canadian border.  One Christmas morning a deer near starving and blind in one eye shows up on their property.  They end up feeding it...not making it a pet, but keeping it wild.  We've only read 50 pages or so and I'm enjoying it.  Fletch is not feeling very fondly towards deer these days as some have been munching in his garden (beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, even jalapeno peppers!).  He needs to build a fence and Colin has offered to help, but it is hot and humid so I'm not sure when that will get done!

As usual, I'm linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Be sure to check out her blog to see what she and others are making and reading.  Inspiration abounds!

Today I need to go back to the office.  Ggrrrrrr.  There are several documents I need to scan for my month-end reports and I forgot to do that the other day.  I don't have scanning ability at home.  Luckily it is a pretty drive through Valley Forge Park and not all that long (12 miles or so).  Funny how I used to go to the office daily in the "before times" and now I get annoyed if I have to go in more than one day a week - LOL.  But, there is a very good state store nearby, so I will pick up some wine...then stop at CVS to pick up my eye drop prescriptions (which should be filled by then) and then the library to pick up a book that came in for me.

Hope you all enjoy the day!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 6-29-21

Good Morning!

Oh my!  What a good night's sleep I had last night.  Thank God!!  Honestly, I don't think I had much choice, but you never know.

And today, on this last Tiny Needle Tuesday of June 2021, I have a finished sampler to show!!

 Gosh I do love how this one turned out.  The design is called "How Does My Garden Grow?" by NeedleWork Press.  I stitched it on 36 count linen using one strand of Belle Soie Silk Thread over two linen threads.  The design is roughly 8.75" by 10.6".  I finished it on 6/23/21.

I have not yet started a new piece, but I've picked out the Pomegranate Bird Sampler by Heartstring Samplery.  Here is a picture of it:  

Love the birds and the colors in this sampler.  BUT...who knows?  When I go to pull things out a little later I could completely change my mind.  It would not be the first time - LOL.

Last year Fletch put a blueberry bush in our garden.  This year we have our first crop:

Barely enough for a taste, but I did try one and it was delicious!

Oh!  Fletch did get around to re-potting some of our houseplants yesterday.  When he took the lemon tree out of the pot he discovered a large ant nest and tons of eggs!  I'm not sure how they got there or if they came from the nursery where Colin & Mailing got the plant.  But YUCK!!!!  All new dirt and hopefully NO ants now.

I've another busy day ahead of me.  My end-of-month things still need to be done (work-wise) - I never got to them yesterday.  And, I have my pre-op appointment with my eye doctor.  Believe it or not, I've already received a bill from the facility where my cataract surgery will be done next week.  I'm just ignoring that piece of mail until I actually have the surgery.

Really though, all I'd like to do is curl up and knit, read, stitch, nap, etc.  This guy kept me company last night:

Trying to decide which thing to take over:  knitting or reading...or just succombing to sleeping - LOL.

Weekending

 Hello and Good Morning!

I admit that I am terribly groggy this a.m.  Last night I was sitting and knitting and could not keep my eyes open.  It was around 10:30 so I went upstairs to bed.  And then I tossed and turned till who knows what time and then I heard a fox and...well, you get the picture.  I was happy to see Tyg on the patio this morning when I came downstairs to turn on the coffee.  I always worry about him when I hear the foxes.

The weekend was full.  We have been on cat feeding duty as Colin & Mailing flew to Austin on Thursday.  They come home this afternoon.  Fletch will do the last feeding this a.m. as I need to go to the office.  I did manage to meet up with Dee on Saturday morning, and that was - as always - plenty of fun.  It was nice to be at Backyard Beans again.

Meanwhile, back at Colin's, look at the limes forming on their lime tree!

There is another cluster like this too.  I'm sorry to say that something is happening with our lemon tree...when I watered it on Saturday, the saucer under the pot was swarming with ants!!  I took it outside and Fletch is going to repot the plant, but one of the two lemons that were on it has fallen off.  I hope the last one survives.

And then look at these calla lilies by Colin & Mailing's front door:

Such an intense yellow!!

Saturday night Fletch was grilling and look who showed up by the leg of the grill:

Such a tiny, tiny toad!!  Good thing Tyg was not near - LOL

Today promises to be hot and busy.  As I already mentioned, I need to go to the office this morning.  There is a conference call at 10 and I have some end-of-month things that I need to take care of.  Then a doctor's appointment at 1:30.  Tomorrow I have my pre-op appointment with my eye surgeon as my first cataract surgery is next week!  Things certainly don't seem to be slowing down any.

Oh, and I did order a bunch of yarn from KnitPicks over the weekend!  All fingering yarn was on sale, so I picked up some fun skeins for socks.  I also ordered som Cotlin.  Jane had suggested I try some of it for dishcloths since the Sugar & Cream bothers my hands so much.  I'm looking forward to receiving a nice bundle of goodness soon!!

Time to pour another cup of coffee and try to wake up some.  Wishing you all a wonderful start to another week!

What's For Dinner?

 Good Morning!

The foxes were at it again last night.  this time it was 3:30 a.m. rather than 1:20 a.m.  Still....

Yesterday ended up being a bit longer in the office.  I was busy (again) but finally got out around 11:30...stopped at the State Store to re-stock the wine supply and then was home by Noon.  Had to immediately plug in and work another 2 hours before taking a break, but managed to get done what I set out to do at 8 a.m.!  Whew.  I've a bunch of reports to run and distribute this a.m., but otherwise I think the day will flow nicely.

There were more people in the office than I had seen in months (like 15 months)!  Most I spoke with indicated they have plans to be in the office one day per week and then work from home the balance of the time...sort of my plan too.

It's Thursday, so let's talk food, shall we?  Earlier this week I made Enchilada Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.  I hope I haven't already given this recipe, but I haven't looked back to see.  So, here goes.

Chop and saute in EVOO:

• 1 Onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic

Add in:

• 1 Cup frozen corn
• 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

Cook a little and add in:

• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• S&P
• 1 TBS lime juice
• 3TBS chopped cilantro
• 1 can (small - 6 or 8 oz maybe?) enchilada sauce (red or green - both are good!)

Heat oven to 400.  Remove gills from the shrooms (a spoon works well for this) and spoon mixture into the shrooms.  Bake ~ 20-25 minutes.  Pull out of oven and add shredded cheese on top (any kind - I like cheddar, Fletch likes parm).  I also add sliced jalapenos to mine.  Put them back in the oven till cheese is melted.

My mixture this week filled 4 medium sized portobello mushrooms.  We each ate one and two are left over for lunch for Fletch.  Sometimes I have filling left over - not bad warmed up the next day for lunch!

None of the ingredients are cast in stone.  This week I threw in chopped yellow summer squash, scallions and garlic scapes.  I've added spinach or kale and other veggies as well.  Olives are a good addition.  I usually make guacamole to serve with it.  I did that this week and then forgot to get it out of the frig - LOL (aging brain...I can't remember squat!).  I think crumbled cooked Italian sausage (hot & sweet) would be a good addition, but of course then it wouldn't be vegetarian.

Anywho - a very adaptable and delicious recipe.  Hope you enjoy!!

Happy Thursday - inching closer to the weekend is a good thing!

Unraveled Wednesday - June 23, 2021

 Hello and Good Morning!

Can someone tell me how it is already June 23rd?  Almost through June and almost half way through 2021.  Whoosh!  It goes by so fast.

Meanwhile, today is Wednesday which means I am linking up with Kat and friends to talk knitting/making and reading.  I do have one finish to share.  This lavender (LOVE this color) dishcloth - just a plain one - was finished before we left on vacation.  It's already been in use and needs to be washed.

The only knitting accomplished during vacation was the ribbing on the cuff of a new sock.  Since then I've managed to knit a bit more on it.

I've named this sock Fuego because it reminds me of fire.  The yarn is Trekking XXL (75% wool and 25% nylon), color 674 - Orange-Yellow (how clever - lol).  I've used this yarn previously and it always knits up nicely and wears well.  I debated doing a "pattern", but decided the self striping of the yarn was enough and that a pattern probably wouldn't show that well.  There are 15 rows of 2x2 ribbing and then plain knitting for the leg (70 rows before the heel flap).  I'm using size 2 needles.

Damon and Peggy, after seeing me knit on this, have both said they would love socks for Christmas.  I promptly got out a tape measure and got their sizes.  (1" difference between Damon's right and left foot!!)  After this pair I will pick out some yarn to make their socks.

My reading has mostly consisted of rather light stuff.  Another book by William Kent Krueger in the Cork O'Connor series (Boundary Waters) which I enjoyed.  Fletch and I finished reading The Good, Good Pig after dinner.  I had read this years ago when it first came out and enjoyed it the second time around.  Not sure what is up next for us.  We tried one of the Maigret books by Georges Simenon, but decided it was better read alone...will need to find something for after dinner tonight!

We are now at two strikes trying to go to a concert in the park with Colin & Mailing.  After a number of very sunny and warm days, it rained most of yesterday (though it cleared by around 5 p.m.) and the concert was cancelled - or rather postponed until a date in August.  We still went over to their house for dinner which was a lovely charcuterie board with meats, olives, tomatoes, pickles, some rosemary almonds and crackers (no cheese as the kids don't do dairy).  We brought over some brownies I had made and they opened some wine.  Talbot pretty much stayed in the sunroom curled up on a chair or on the cat tree.  Marcel was a pest, but finally secluded himself under a chair - lol.

Such a handsome boy.  I wonder how those cats will take to Austin...

It was chilly enough that we put on jackets or sweatshirts and then sat around a fire in the pit after dinner and watched the sky change colors.  Lots of pretty clouds and a couple of bats flying around.  We were home by 9:45 which was good for me as I was tired.  The past two nights my sleep has been broken by foxes barking/screaming in our woods.  An eerie sound and I often have trouble getting back to sleep after hearing them.

Today I am going to the office.  It should be a brief visit (none of my bosses will be in) and I plan to be home before lunch.  Now it's time to dry my hair (my head is getting cold!), pour some more coffee and wake Fletch.  Wishing you all a great day - enjoy!

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Good Morning!

I wasn't sure that I would have anything new to share for TNT - Tiny Needle Tuesday.  As mentioned yesterday, I did absolutely NO stitching while on vacation - even after we got home!  But, it turns out I had done a little bit before we left and then I picked it back up yesterday evening.  This sampler is close, but not yet finished.

Look!  Some new creatures have made an appearance.  A crow or black bird (which I love) and a black squirrel - Val, could that creature have wandered down from your house?  LOL  Here they are close up:

If any of you are interested in this chart, please let me know.  I am so close to finishing it and I know I will not stitch it again.

I wanted to share a few more pictures from our vacation.  All from gardens.  First up at the Williamsburg Botanical Gardens we came upon a raised bed - about waist high - that was a Gnome Garden.  So cute:

You should be able to click to enlarge and see more details.  Next up Passion Flower!  I had never seen this flower before, but Dee tells me they are all over Florida.

Gorgeous, huh?  And last up, a day lily from Peggy's.  Their driveway is a big, long loop and in the yard between the two paved areas Peggy has planted mostly day lilies...also black eyed susans, cone flowers, etc.  But this particular day lily caught my eye and now I want one (or twelve).

I had planned to go to the office today, but now (7:30 a.m.), I just don't feel like it.  Thank God I have the option - LOL.  It is supposed to rain almost all afternoon and I have plenty of things I need to work on and I can do that right here at home.  I will probably venture to the office tomorrow - a bunch of things to print, check on the mail, etc.  Plus, tomorrow I know I will not run into any of my bosses...today I could run into Bruce.  I will just stay put!

Hopefully the rain will end by late afternoon - last time I looked it showed the rain ending by 5 p.m.  And, hopefully, tonight's concert in the park will not be cancelled.  We will head over to Colin & Mailing's for a light dinner and then walk to the park for the concert (fingers crossed).

Vacationing/Weekending/I'm Back!

 Well Hello There!

How are you?  I've missed you.  I did manage to read a few blogs on my phone, but not a lot and I sort of started to catch up and then didn't.  Oh well, c'est la vie.  We had a wonderful vacation!  It was wonderful to get away.  It was wonderful to see family (some of whom we had not seen for 4 years!!).  And, we crammed a lot into just a few days.  A quick run down of things:

On Monday we took the ferry across the James River and over to Jamestown (a car ferry that is FREE!!!).  This Osprey was nesting right next to where the ferry docked.  She had her wings spread to shade the eggs.

After docking in Jamestown we made our way to the Williamsburg Botanical Gardens which is not a huge place, but certainly gorgeous.  A nice morning walk after the longish ride to the ferry.  Then we had lunch at the Yorktowne Tavern.  Damon (Fletcher's brother) ordered a steamed platter that was shrimp, clams and oysters.  Look what was in with one of his oysters:

A little baby clam crab...supposedly a delicacy...but I don't do oysters anyway.

Tuesday we drove into Norfolk to Fletcher's sister's house and had dinner with a whole bunch of family.  The only shot I got was this one which does not come close to including everyone.

The table was set up in their backyard which goes down to the water.  It was so pretty as it got dark and candles were all along the length of the table.  Food was delicious and there was plenty of wine flowing.

Fletch has 5 brothers and sisters.  Most live in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Chesapeake area, but we stayed with Damon and Peggy out in Suffolk - i.e., out in the country where you have to drive at least 30-45 minutes to get anywhere!!  Suffolk is where Fletch's grandparents had a farm, and, in fact, his uncle still has land there.  It is beautiful country, though there are plenty of snakes (thankfully I saw none) and also bears (again I didn't see any).  For all you spinners, here is a spinning wheel that was Peggy's great grandmother's!!

We missed Tyg while we were gone, but Damon and Peggy have a cat.

Meet Big Guy or Mr. Big.  All 27 pounds of him!!  He is so big, but such a love.  And very handsome.  He would join us on the deck at night and would go after the numerous tree frogs going up the side of the house (and boy are they messy things!!).

I took plenty of reading material, lots of knitting and lots of stitching and did almost nothing - LOL.  And, it was great!!  I managed to start a sock and got the ribbing completed and that was it!  This past weekend has been full of grocery shopping, laundry, etc.  And today is back to work!

An email came through that my office is officially opening July 1st!  That is much sooner than anticipated.  However, we have the option to continue working from home if we like.  I will do a combination I'm sure (I know my bosses will want me in the office at times).

Meanwhile, it is good to be home, though I am missing Virginia and family.  Fletch managed to get a second deer tick bite while mowing the yard on Friday or Saturday!  And Colin pulled a tick off of Tyg one day when he came over to feed him.  We are heading over to Colin & Mailing's for dinner and a concert in the park tomorrow night.  Can't wait to see those kids!

Too Much Suburban Excitement!

 Good Morning!

It is rainy and overcast here and the temps are noticeably lowered.  I think today is forecast to not get out of the 70's.  That's a welcome relief.

Meanwhile, there was excitement in our little neighborhood yesterday.  Just after lunch Fletch and I heard some very loud bangs - sort of like a dumpster lid being slammed down or something.  Then there was an even louder noise and suddenly sirens.  Soon enough there were news helicopters flying overhead.  There are some townhomes and apartments not even 5 minutes from our house and that's where the excitement was.  Apparently a code enforcement officer responded to a call and was met at the door by a man with a gun.  The code enforcement officer escaped and called the police...and the guy went back into his home and then there was an explosion (or 2 or 3).  Townhomes went up in flames and several homes were completely destroyed.  The helicopters were still flying around last evening when we were sitting out around a fire in the pit.  According to what I read this morning, the authorities are still searching for the man with the gun - not sure if he died in the fire or if he got out and ran.  Very sad.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/homes-go-up-in-flames-in-montgomery-county/2843731/

Colin was over last night.  After dinner Fletch got a fire going in the pit.  The temps had dropped enough that I actually had a sweatshirt on and Colin had a light jacket on!  We were just sitting around talking when we heard some birds chirping rather loudly.  They will often fuss at Tyg if he is out and about and sure enough he was...inching close to a baby bird that somehow had gotten onto the steps on our patio that lead down to our basement.  The poor little thing was trying to hop up the steps.  Colin managed to get Tyg away (and inside) and then rescued the little one.  He placed it in a bush at the side of the house and we believe it is ok - the adult birds stopped their fussing and it got quiet again.

We are pretty sure it was a little cat bird.  Seems to have very long toes!  LOL

Anyway, that was almost too much excitement for one day.  When Colin left around 10 p.m. I was more than ready to go to bed.

Today will be filled with laundry and some final cleaning before we take off on vacation.  I have my usual 10 a..m conference call, but that should only go for half an hour or so.  I'm hoping for a slow work day so that I can accomplish all the personal stuff I want to.  I'm looking forward to leaving my laptop home while we are away.  I will probably read some blogs on my phone, but I may not comment much and I will not be posting.  

Wishing you all a lovely weekend and a great week next week.  I'll "see" you when we get back!

What's for Breakfast?

 Hello!

It's Thursday so I'm talking food.  I am not cooking breakfast this morning, but I decided to share one of our favorite breakfast dishes today:  a Dutch Pancake also sometimes called German Style Pancake.  We had this just the other weekend and it is so good and really, a simple recipe.

Mix Together and Let Sit for 30 Minutes or Overnight:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 Cup flour
• 1 Cup milk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbs sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbs melted butter

Preheat oven to 425

Melt 4 Tbs butter in an ovenproof skillet.  Sprinkle on a mixture of 1/4 Cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.  Add in an apple that you have peeled, cored and sliced.  Sprinkle another 1/4 Cup sugar on top.  When it starts to bubble, pour on the batter and transfer the pan to the oven.  After 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 375 and cook for 10 more minutes.

Some Notes:

• I usually cut the recipe in half and it is plenty for the two of us.
• You can use any fruit - I've made this with berries, peaches and apricots are also good or a mixture.  Pears would be delicious too.
• I've been known to double the baking powder - I like this to really puff up!
• An old pyrex casserole dish is what I use to make mine - you don't have to use a skillet (and my cast iron pan is not only very heavy, it is a PITA to clean).

If you make this, I hope you enjoy!

On the docket today is a dermatology appointment at 8 a.m. (I get checked every 6 months for skin cancer - especially after losing almost half my nose some years back!!).  I'll stop at the grocery store on my way home - just need a few things and to stock up on cat food (Colin will be feeding Tyg while we are away).  There are a bunch of reports I need to run (every Thursday) - I may get one or two completed before I leave for the doctor's.  I've not yet picked out projects (knitting and stitching) to take on vacation...or books...maybe I'll get to that.  There is more laundry to do (always), and I think some bills need to be paid before we leave.  It's never ending and tiring just to list out things - LOL.

First though I'll sip my coffee and visit a few blogs.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

Unraveled Wednesday June 9, 2021

 Good Morning!

What a soupy morning it is here.  We did get some storms yesterday afternoon that dropped (thankfully) the temperature into the 70's, but the humidity stayed with us.  We did go to Colin & Mailing's for dinner, but the music in the park concert was cancelled because of the weather.  Dinner was delicious (of course!!).  Everything (except the rolls) was vegan.  We had home-made black bean burgers which were yummy.  Lettuce, tomato, red onion and avocado to go on them.  Potato salad with leeks and scapes with a home made vegan mayonnaise.  And then a big pot of greens (chard, kale, dandelion, etc.) they had picked up at the CSA farm last week.  We took over some rhubarb sorbet I had made, but we were all too full to have any.  The rain stopped by the time we finished dinner and we sat out back for half an hour or so, but by 8:30 we headed home.  It was a very foggy ride back to our house and it's very foggy this a.m.

On this Unraveled Wednesday I'm linking up with Kat and other Unravelers to talk about knitting and reading.  I don't have a lot of knitting to show since finishing the hot pink dishcloth.  The only thing is the beginning of yet another dishcloth (that seems to be all my brain can handle right now - lol):

Just another plain one made with Sugar and Cream yarn - a very pretty and soft lavender color.  I started this at Colin & Mailing's yesterday before dinner.

You can see Marcel next to me.  He was so good for a little bit of time, just laying next to me.  Then suddenly he attacked the yarn and I had to put everything away.  Talbot didn't pay it any attention.

Here is Marcel looking so innocent:

He has got to be the softest cat ever.

On the reading side of things I did finish Oil and Marble and give it a solid 5 stars.  I highly recommend this book.  I discovered the author has another book out Raphael, Painter in Rome which looks equally good and I plan to request this from my library once we are back from vacation.  I also read another mystery in the series I am reading by Linda Castillo and have started another mystery in yet another series I am reading.  I'm enjoying the mysteries - nothing spectacular writing-wise, but quick (1-2 days) and pleasant summer reading.

I need to head back to the office this morning - I have some documents that need to be sent out overnight and also some more printing to do on the "big boy" (ledger size) paper.  I should be able to get in and out of there in an hour.

There is more cleaning I want/need to do before we go away.  So funny, but I always clean a lot before we go on vacation...it's nice to come home to a clean house.  The kitchen floor has been scrubbed, but bathrooms need to be cleaned (again) and there are multiple loads of laundry.  I guess I know what the balance of my week will be like - lol.  I still need to determine projects (both knitting and stitching) to take with me and... of course...reading material.

Time for another cup of coffee to help me wake up on this sleepy morning.  Be sure to head over to Kat's to see what others are making and reading.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 6/8/21

 Good Morning!

Feels like it is going to be another stupid hot day here, though perhaps not quite as bad as yesterday.

Yesterday I managed to get out of the office in under an hour!  Tom from IT looked at my laptop and could not find anything wrong...all in order and no issues.  I'm guessing that the day it got so HOT in my backpack there must have been something running in the background that prevented it from shutting down completely...then I put it in the backpack and zipped it shut...bingo a HOT laptop.  I'll keep my eyes on it, but no issues, so I think we are good.

My eye appointment went well yesterday and my cataract surgeries are now scheduled - one at the beginning of July and one at the beginning of August.  I have a pre-op appointment with my eye dr at the end of June.  Woo-Hoo!

Let's move into TNT - Tiny Needle Tuesday - shall we?

It's been a bit on the warm side for stitching (we do not have central air), but I managed to get a little bit done - red flowers and leaves on the right hand side and the start of the last central motif in brown.  I'm still enjoying this piece so much.  A fun stitch and the silk threads are such a delight to use.

Part of today will hopefully be spent figuring out projects to take on the road!  Yup - we are on vacation next week and heading out of town.  First time in ??? months.  We are not taking our camper, but rather just driving down to Virginia to visit Fletcher's family.  If the above sampler is not finished by the weekend (and I doubt it will be), that will go with us.  I need to pick out yarn and projects to take for knitting time too.

First though, I need to really scrub the kitchen floor.  It's a mess!  Fletch is mowing the yard this a.m. - it will still be overgrown by the time we get back, but not as bad as it could be.  Colin will be coming over daily to feed and play with Tyg.

Tonight we are heading over to Colin & Mailing's for dinner and then music in the park (White's Road Park which is just a short walk from their house).  I think a blues group is playing tonight.  Fingers crossed the rain doesn't put a damper on things (we could get some rain by late morning/early afternoon).

Hope your Tuesday is a fun one!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

WOW!  It has been HOT here.  Yesterday afternoon it was 94 on our patio.  A week ago it was in the 40's.  Crazy weather for sure.

Believe I have finally fixed the comment problem I was having.  It had been most recently that I would go into settings and email notification.  But...the issue was there was no email address there and I was not able to add an address.  Instead, now, you have to go to "invite more people to comment notification emails" and put your address in there.  Weird.  Anyway, we'll see if it works.  This is what I finally found:

Anyway, how was your weekend?  Mine was nice (in spite of the heat).  Saturday I drove up to Dee's and then she drove us up to Easton and Threebirds Coffeeshop.  The drive up 611 by the Delaware River is a gorgeous ride...and one I used to drive with my Dad when we would head up to Vermont.  Some cute and quaint little villages and some beautiful architecture.  Easton was crowded and busy and there was no parking to be found (except in spaces where the meters were broken and we didn't think that was a great idea), so we drove over the bridge to NJ and parked in a lot there and then walked back across the river and into Easton.  Thankfully there was a breeze to keep air moving and it had not quite gotten up to 90 at that time.  The coffee shop is just as cute s Dee's pictures have shown.  I tried to get a couple of shots of the birds, but those pictures did not turn out.  We sat and chatted and knit and then later drove to a great place in Hellertown (Braveheart) for lunch.

On the not so good side of things, Fletch and I were sitting on the patio before dinner and he found a deer tick on his leg, and it had managed to bite him.  He put some Neosporin cream on it and a call will be made to the doctor today to get him on an antibiotic treatment (or the same one dose, two pills that 
Colin had the other week).  

Yesterday was groceries and trying to stay cool.  Breakfast was a Dutch pancake but instead of apples I used a peach, an apricot and a bunch of raspberries.  So good!  I managed to do a little stitching and a little knitting.  I finished another dishcloth:

Love the HOT pink color!  A simple, easy pattern that requires almost no thought which is perfect for these sultry days.

I've got to head to the office in a little bit.  Last week my laptop got extremely hot to the touch on the way home one day (laptop turned off and stowed in my backpack), so Tom from IT is going to look at it.  The only thing I can think of is the battery...so maybe a new one should be ordered.  We'll see.  Meanwhile, work is still crazy busy (in that I was working Friday night and Saturday morning early before heading to Dee's and then Saturday evening too), but that should drop back down to a normal blur sometime this week.

Then at 12:30 I have an eye appointment with the doctor who will be doing my cataract surgery.  I believe that my first surgery will be scheduled when I see her today.  Hopefully SOON!!

And that's it for me today.  Hope you are all well and here's to a great start to the week!

Blogger Does It Again

 Good Morning All!

How are you?  I'm frustrated!  Once again Blogger has done "something" and I am no longer receiving your comments via e-mail.  And here I thought no one loved me anymore!  I don't usually look at my own blog, but yesterday I did since I had not seen any comments come in via email.  Surprise!  They were there.  I can't find anything wrong, settings seem to be the same, except that I can't find anywhere that says comments will be emailed to me.  I will try to fool around with it over the weekend.  Gggrrrrrrrrr

Anyway, I was very busy yesterday (and today promises to be more of the same), so I did not have time to get back to anyone.  But, I wanted to say thanks for your kind words.  I don't blog to get followers or get lots of comments, but I do enjoy hearing from you all and I do appreciate your taking the time to comment.

Colin did come over last night - just as a heavy thunderstorm was starting.  He did get his second jab and he is paying attention to how he is feeling Lyme-wise.  Hopefully that one time two-pill shot will work for him (thanks Bonny for your comment that John's doctor said it only works for about 60% of folks - I relayed that info to Colin).  We all liked the new shrimp recipe I tried, so that will show up on another Thursday post sometime!

The BIG news is that Colin & Mailing are moving to Texas in January.  It is only for two years and they are not selling their house up here.  They will be moving down for Mailing's work and will look for a furnished house to rent.  The market is crazy everywhere but extra crazy in Austin where they will be.  Mailing's co-worker had a list of 5 houses to look at and by the time his flight landed in Austin all 5 had been sold!  So, just as well they will be renting.  They are heading down at the end of June to check out neighborhoods to see where they might want to live.  Of course they will be taking Marcel & Talbot with them.

That will be a very big adjustment for us.  We've gotten so accustomed to seeing those kids ALL the time.  But, as I told several people, we did not raise Colin to stay close to home.  And, Austin is closer than South Korea (where Colin spent a year teaching after college).  Plus Austin is a FUN town (we have been there before), so we will just have to visit.

Well, time for a second cup of coffee and prepare for my conference calls.  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - Enjoy!!

What's For Dinner?

 Hello!

It is grey here this a.m. and Tyg (whom I let out at 3:30 this a.m.) came in a bit on the wet side when I came downstairs this morning to make coffee.  It was one of those nights:  I woke at 2-ish hearing a fox bark out back.  I wondered if Tyg was out or in.  I got up to pee and also to turn on the ceiling fan.  When I came out of the bathroom, Tyg was on the landing at the top of the stairs.  He eventually came into the bedroom and jumped up on the bed.  Settled down for an hour or so, but by 3:30 he was jonesing to go outside.  Fortunately I got back to sleep after that.

Work is still busy and I have numerous reports to run today and spreadsheets to send out.  But first, a little personal time on the laptop!

Our Siberian (or Flag) Iris are in full bloom in our bog area.

Aren't they pretty?  We also have some vibrantly yellow ones, but they are shorter.  I cut a few of each and have them in a vase on the kitchen table.  We've been smelling a lot of honeysuckle when we sit on the patio - there seems to be a lot of it this year.

Also, more lemon blossoms have opened on our lemon tree and they are just so amazingly fragrant.  So sweet.  The two little lemons are slowly growing (emphasis on slowly).  I wonder if there will be another one from this recent clump of flowers.

Anyway, on to food since it's Thursday.  Over the weekend, I made one of our favorite dinners:  Crab Quiche.  I make this every New Year's Eve (since we stopped going out).  The quiche, a small salad, and glasses of champagne go together so well.  The recipe is from a Philadelphia Orchestra cookbook that I got years and years (as in decades) ago.

I like the way the book tells who submitted the recipe and where they are from.  There are numerous recipes in the book from famous Philadelphia restaurants as well.

You can use either a store bought pie crust or make your own.  Usually I use Jarlsburg cheese or another Swiss cheese.  On Saturday I used a sharp cheddar and it was delicious.  I always put in a pound of crab meat rather than just 8 oz.  Instead of 3/4 Cup of half & half I use about 1/4 Cup of milk (in our case, fat free) and it turns out fine.  The horseradish is important as is the sour cream and mayonnaise.  This time I also added some kale to the dish as well as garlic scapes, onions and all the herbs.

So good!!  We had it with roasted cherry tomatoes (another great and easy dish - take a container of cherry tomatoes, drizzle with EVOO and either honey or Agave syrup.  Plop in a pan (cover with aluminum foil first) and bake with whatever you are cooking for dinner.  The tomatoes start to burst and are just so delicious!!).

Mailing is out with work-mates this evening, so Colin is coming for dinner after he gets his second jab this afternoon.  I was wondering if he could even get it, assuming he was on some kind of antibiotic after the deer tick bite, but he said he got a one-time, two pill preventative for Lyme Disease which he took last Friday.  He is good to get his final vaccination this afternoon.  A new shrimp dish is on the menu!

Time to pour another cup of coffee, wake Fletch up and start in on my reports.  First though I will sneak in a few blogs.  Have a good Thursday!!

Unraveled Wednesday June 2, 2021

 Good Morning!

It is still a bit early here - not quite 6 a.m.  I'm just sipping my first cup of coffee, so still a bit groggy over here.

Do you have ticks where you live?  Gosh!  I hope not.  They are bad this year...so I've heard.  Fortunately I have not yet seen any and Tyg has not come in with any.  But...Colin picks one or two off himself daily and then last Friday discovered a deer tick (and bite) on himself.  That boy had Lyme Disease a decade or so ago when he was living in Pittsburgh.  It took FOREVER for him to be diagnosed - not a common thing in Pittsburgh, so no one tested for it.  You may remember that I tested positive for Lyme Disease last summer after discovering two HUGE bullseyes on my stomach.  Yuck!  Just glad that Colin spotted his bite this time and called the doctor right away.  He is (I assume) on a course of antibiotics now.

Let's move to a nicer subject - knitting!  It is Unraveled Wednesday and as usual, I'm linking up with Kat to talk about knitting and reading.  This week I have two finished objects!!  First up, the speckled socks are finished!  Woo-Hoo

I do like the way these turned out.  The yarn is Muse from Knitpicks and the colorway is Enthusiasm Speckle.  The pattern is I Smell Snow (Ravelry link) - a free pattern on Ravelry.  These move along quickly, the pattern being easy to memorize and only on one needle.  I'm not sure why, but the second sock of a pair always moves much faster for me.  The first one took me almost 3 weeks to knit.  The second one I started Friday night and finished Monday morning!

Also finished on Monday was a dishcloth:

The yarn label was gone, but I'm pretty sure this is Sugar & Cream yarn.  The pattern is from Purl Soho (free) and I think is called Waffle Stitch.  I used a size 5 needle and wow!  was this tough on my hands.  I have not made a discloth in years, so my hands are not used to the heaviness of cotton and the larger needle.  I need to make some more as most of my dishcloths are in sorry shape.  Once they get too worn to use in the kitchen, I find these cloths make great rags for washing floors.  Not that that is a favorite chore of mine, but at least I can have a nice cloth to use!  I have a ton of Sugar & Cream yarn, so I should be able to knit up a bunch of these in no time (provided my hands hold up).

I'm not casting on new socks immediately.  Instead, I am focusing on knitting the French Market Bag (again a free pattern on Ravelry) that I started a couple of weeks ago as well as the Wintertide Shawl I also started the other week.  Once again, I have proven to myself that multiple projects for me are not good.  It's almost like I get distracted and don't finish anything!  The Bag is kind of in a boring place right now - 200 stitches on a round needle and just knitting round and round and round...I almost fell asleep working on it last night.  But I vow to persevere.  I love the bag and would like to see it finished.

On the reading front I only have 100 pages or so left in Oil and Marble which I highly recommend.  The story is compelling and the writing is very good.  I should (ha!) finish that soon and I have a bunch of mysteries that I picked up from the library.  Some of those are series that I am reading, but one is a book that I have been on the waiting list for months - The Thursday Murder Club.  Curious about this one in that there was a bit of hype about it and a very long wait time...but recently some of the reviews I've read have not been that great.  Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I'm going to run to the office today.  I have some documents that I need to print.  At first I was thinking of waiting till tomorrow, but I think that will be a rainy day and I'd rather stay home then.  The bathrooms need to be cleaned (again...), so I may tackle them this afternoon.  Dinner tonight will be a simple meal - asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and some good bread.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I'm wishing you a wonderful day - enjoy!!

Tiny Needle Tuesday June 1, 2021

 Good Morning and Hello June (already!!)!

How are you and how was your weekend?  The beginning of ours was wet and very chilly - think upper 40's and heavy rain.  Not exactly how you want to welcome in the "unofficial" start of summer.  Colin and Mailing had been planning to spend the weekend backpacking, but given the weather they decided to stay home instead, so we were not on cat duty as we had originally thought.

Saturday morning I met up with Dee for some coffee and knitting.  The coffee shop was extremely noisy though and it got progressively more crowded, so we cut our visit a bit short this time.  I had not slept well the night before, so I promptly fell into a 2 hour nap once I got home.  Delightful - expecially on a rainy afternoon.

Sunday wasn't much better weather-wise.  Fletch and I went grocery shopping and that was about it.  Monday the sun finally made an appearance and it turned into a very pretty day.  Still chilly when the sun hid behind clouds, but it warmed enough that we could sit on the patio with a beverage in the late afternoon.

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes.  Hard to believe it's been 41 years!  We did not do anything special and I did cook...but you all know I enjoy that, so no worries.

I believe I did more reading and knitting this weekend (perhaps making up for lost time last week??), but I also snuck in a little bit of stitching.  Here's where the sampler stands as of this morning.

I finished up the brown design on the left and then stitched a flower underneath that.  I'm now on the bottom third of this sampler and still enjoying it.

The sun is now poking out and it looks like this first day of June will be a pretty one.  Enjoy!!