Weekending 10/5/26

 Good Morning My Friends,

So, October is here!  I took a few days off from blogging and October snuck right in.  The garden is definitely looking spent and I may have picked the last (or next to the last) zinnias.  After a few days in the house they are looking weary as well, but still pretty.

They kind of blend right in with my Fall themed tablecloth.

Well, after successfully avoiding chores for a couple of weeks, Thursday found me jumping right into them.  And, there was lots to do.  Bathrooms were scrubbed, shower curtains washed, towels washed, sheets changed and sheets washed.  You get the idea.  And Friday morning found me back at it dealing with a very dirty kitchen floor.  Luckily my massage booked for 10:30 Friday morning put an end to doing chores!

My massage was wonderful!  Pure bliss.  Mallory, my massage therapist seems to know exactly where to focus her attention.  I had been having some awful headaches for close to two weeks, and I walked out after my massage completely headache free!

Friday afternoon I went to a local nursery and picked up more mums for the front area as well as a couple of pumpkins.  I also got a Black Futsu Pumpkin which is a type of rare Japanese heirloom winter squash.

I LOVE winter squash and I'm looking forward to trying this one.  Last week we had an Autumn Frost squash which is a new one to me.  It is a cross between a butternut and kabocha squash and is very, very tasty.

There was also a little bit of excitement here as somehow a sparrow ended up in the house!  Fletch called to me and there it was sitting on a curtain rod in the living room.  Not sure if Mabel brought it in or if it flew in on its own when a door was open.  We were not successful in capturing it but have not seen or heard it since.  Hopefully it found its way out - we left doors open for a little bit.  Hopefully it is not dead under a piece of furniture - I guess we will know in a little bit if an awful stench is suddenly present!

Saturday was another beautiful day where we ended up at Colin & Mailing's for dinner and an evening fire.  It was the perfect evening for sitting around a fire.  Sunday was a somewhat wet and lazy day.

How was your weekend?

Weekending 9/28/26

 Good Soggy Morning!

Yup, still very wet here in Eastern PA.  The ground is saturated and though I do love a nice rainy day, I have to say enough!  I think that today will be the last day (at least for a couple) that we have some rain and temps are rising - it might get near 80 towards the end of the week.  Is this an Indian summer?

Anywho, how was your weekend?  Ours was good.  We met up with Colin, Mailing and Iris for lunch on Saturday.  We went to Fitzwater Station which is along the canal where I used to walk quite a bit (turtles and blue heron!).  Of course it was raining when we arrived.  What I had not realized is that this place was a stop on the Underground Railroad.  Pretty cool and the food was tasty.  The rain had eased up some when we were finished, so the kids went for a walk.  Fletch and I came home and then I did a quick grocery shopping.

Since I did not post on Friday, I never showed Fletcher's birthday cake:

Very yummy!  More than half of it went to C&M&I, but believe it or not, there is still one piece left in the fridge for the birthday boy.

After a big lunch on Saturday we did not want a heavy dinner, so I made a pot of pinto bean soup.  YUM!!  There was cornbread in the fridge that I heated up in the oven to go with the soup.  A good rainy night dinner.  Yesterday I made  a Southwest Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet for dinner.  This turned out to be a great recipe and FAST!!  Plus enough leftovers for more than just another dinner.

Yesterday I also made a batch of Pumpkin Snickerdoodles - YUM!

Most of these will find their way over to C&M&I today.  Again, an easy and tasty treat.  Now I have leftover pumpkin, so I made need to make muffins or something.  Fall flavors!!

One not so pleasant discovery:  on Saturday while reviewing our credit card statement, I discovered a charge for over $1,000 from Walmart!  I don't shop at Walmart and certainly wouldn't spend that much money there.  When I called, it turns out that my card had been compromised.  There were a bunch of other high charges that the credit card company had denied (thank goodness).  (More charges from Walmart, some from an electronics store, a department store, etc. - all on-line purchases.) So, my card was cancelled immediately and hopefully my new card will arrive today.  What a PITA though - I've got to notify those companies that automatically charge my card each month (Netflix, Apple, etc.).

Other than laundry, it was another successful weekend of avoiding chores.  I found time to knit (a sock for Iris) and read.  No stitching though, so no TNT post tomorrow.  I'll get back to it at some point, but right now I'm busy with other things.

Tell me how your weekend was - anything exciting?

Thursday Musings 9/24/26

 Hello and Good Morning!

First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my guy.  Yup!  Today is Fletcher's Birthday.  He is 79 today!  I've been up since 6 a.m. and his birthday cake is now in the oven.  Pineapple Upside Down cake - one of his favorites.  His presents are wrapped, but we will save them for dinner time when I am home from watching Iris.

Speaking of Iris, our neighbor Rob came over yesterday to get some lettuce sets we did not need in our Fall garden.  He and Eva have a new dog - another Great Dane and her name is Iris!!  She is a rescue from a shelter where she ended up from a puppy mill.  Sad.  They are guessing she is around 2 years old.  She only weighs 70 lbs (only!) and should by now weigh more like 130-140.  Malnourished and she has kennel cough, so she cannot yet be around Annabelle their other dog.  Anyway, they did not name her Iris - that was the name she came with.  Please say good thoughts and send all the healing juju Iris' way.

I walked out to the garden to get the lettuce sets for Rob and discovered this:

Another giant cucumber.  I had not even noticed this one.  The other two I had seen are still growing.  There are still plenty of beans, but once again I am not looking at the plant!  LOL. Rob doesn't really like beans (how can anyone not like beans??), but he said he would ask his ex wife if she would like any.  We still have many, many in the fridge and freezer.

Finally, these guys were lazing around the back yard when I got home yesterday.

There are three deer laying down by our shed and archery backdrop!  So peaceful.  You need to watch where you walk in our yard though!  Plenty of poop!

Time to check the cake!  Have a great Thursday.

A Bear on Thursday!

 Good Morning!

Looks like we are in for a rainy day.  I've a load of wash in already, so the dryer will be put to use.  And I have a bunch of things I'd like to accomplish today.  We shall see...I tend to be full of big plans that don't always materialize.  But, no harm if I don't get everything done.

Yesterday was a lovely day with Iris.  We were outside for some swinging time and also playing in her mud kitchen.  That girl loves to wash dishes!  LOL. As I had hoped, I was able to finish the foot of the sock (25 rows) while she napped.  My intention was to finish up the toe area last night while listening to John of John.  But that did not happen.  I was distracted by other things and then we watched another episode of Ted Lasso and then I was too dang tired to knit!

On Tuesday my brother in Colorado (Boulder) texted me that a neighbor had come up in his driveway to warn him to keep the dogs inside - a mother bear and her cub were sitting on the fence between their properties.  Phil said he would not try to get close enough for a picture.  But then a little later he texted that the bears had decided to move on.

I cannot imagine seeing that in my backyard!

Time to get moving on the day.  Yesterday when I walked out to the garden to check on the large tomatoes (all still green), I noticed more beans:( both yellow and green to pick as well as more cherry tomatoes.  I'd like to get out before the rain comes.  I'll also grab a bunch of parsley as I plan to make some basil/parsley pesto for dinner tonight.

What do you have going on today?  I hope it is something fun!

TGIF. 8/21/26

 Hello and Good Morning!

It's a drippy morning.  I successfully made it home from watching Iris yesterday before the heavy rain.  We had had a little bit of light rain mid-day, but after I was home the sky opened, the thunder boomed and the lightening was shining.  And we received 2" in under an hour!  Colin and Iris were running some errands after I left, so I hope they did not get caught in the downpour.

Meanwhile, look at our hibiscus!!

It is so gorgeous.  I snapped that picture just before leaving for Iris yesterday morning.  I also looked and saw there were a few more large tomatoes to pick.  Two were picked.  The third which was the largest and  beautifully shaded in red had a giant slug on it happily munching away.  I got grossed out and left that one on the plant.  There are still a couple of cucumbers that might grow and there were just a few cherry tomatoes.  I avoided looking at the bean plants - LOL

Zhongren (Mailing's Dad) was recently in Japan.  He retired a couple of years ago, but is back to consulting (can't sit still - hahaha) and does a lot of international travel.  He will often bring us a little something from wherever he was.  I'm pretty sure this is a box of red bean paste mochi.  I do love me some red bean paste and am looking forward to trying these.  But just look at how pretty the packaging is:

Last night when I woke around 2:30 (as one does), I looked out the back window and spotted a doe browsing the Rose of Sharon plants while a fawn was resting on the grass.  Too cute.

My plans for today include booking a massage and booking a hair appointment.  The house plants should be watered and the stairs need to be vacuumed.  Also, dinner needs to be decided.  But before any of that will be breakfast once Fletch is up.  I'm making multi grain pancakes (so we can feel healthy about eating pancakes) with blueberries.  Also bacon AND sausage (Fletch wanted both).  That should get my Friday off to a great start!  I hope your Friday is a good one - enjoy!

It's Friday!! 5/15/26

 Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday ended up being quite a busy day for moi.  I ended up doing 4 loads of laundry (clothes and I changed sheets).  With next week's forecast in the 90's, I also managed to finally pull out summer tops and lighter sweaters and put away all the heavy woolen sweaters, fleece leggings, etc.  Of course that meant I woke in the night last night chilly.  LOL. Another blanket on top of the bed solved that problem.

While putting winter woolens away and pulling out light weight summer things I managed to purge a bit.  The back of my car is loaded with bags that will be donated today.  I was thinking of Kat's blog post about release and letting things go.  Trust me, there are still many clothing items that I should let go - things I wore when I worked.  But I love them so!  However, I made progress on another front.  My Mom passed away a little over 22 years ago.  My Dad gave me all of her scarves (she loved - and wore frequently - silk scarves) which I wear sometimes.  He also gave me all of her jewelry.  I pulled out a few things that I liked and kept things like her wedding and engagement rings.  A lot of her jewelry was not my style or taste.  And none of it was expensive stuff.  BUT, I have been unable to part with it...until yesterday.  I packaged everything up and it will go to the thrift shop today along with other donations.  I found a stack of 4 picture frames I had bought at Pier 1 before that store closed.  I haven't used them in years.  All are going to the thrift store.  It's a start!

My next job is to clean (thoroughly!!) the guest room.  Fletch's brother Damon is driving up from Virginia on Thursday for a visit.  Unfortunately his wife can't come.  He is planning to help Fletch with a bunch of outdoor chores, get our window air conditioners in, etc.  That room is often a dumping ground so there is much to be done!  I also need to give thought to what to cook while Damon is here.  I know we will be at C&M's on Saturday for a cookout, but I need to plan food for other nights.

Colin will be over on Sunday with Iris in the afternoon.  Mailing is having a spa day with her Mom and sister.  And someone will be 18 months old in June!  Not sure how that is possible.  We enjoy celebrating Iris' half birthdays as well as her full year birthdays and I've been having fun pulling things together for her.  She loves being outside and especially loves helping around the yard and garden.  So, we got her a little red Radio Flyer wagon and some gardening tools (trowel, hoe, etc.) And yesterday this book arrived for her:

I love Margaret Renkl's writing and I think this book will be great.  And Billy Renkl's illustrations are wonderful.  I can't wait to read it with her.

Well, I suppose I've rambled on long enough.  Plus, I can hear that Fletch is waking up and I promised to make French toast and sausage for breakfast.  I'd best pour another cup of coffee and get moving. 

Welcome to the weekend!  May it be a good one for all of us.

TGIF

 Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Wishing the kids safe travels home tomorrow.  Hoping that Iris does well with the long (very long - like 14 hours+) flight back.  First class, reclining (fully) seats and good food should help.  They will be coming home to lots of blooms.  Just look at their peonies!

I love that deep, deep pink one.  Our peonies are still just buds.

Yesterday I finished up the first rugby sock!

I spent a little more time at their house waiting for the UPS man (in vain).  I found a sticker on their front door stating that UPS tried to deliver a package requiring a signature and that they would attempt again the next day.  No sign of the UPS truck, but the sock was finished!  And, I think Talbot enjoyed my company.  He spent a little time in the sunroom, but mostly was curled up at my side.

The second sock has not yet been started, but hopefully today.

Last night I baked some cookies (toffee pecan) and I have a container to leave at C&M's house today.  I also have a large container of vegetable beef soup that I will put in their frig.  I plan to get a bottle of wine for them and also flowers for Mailing for Mother's Day.  I'll probably pick up a loaf of crusty bread to go with the soup as well.  They should be set at least for one day!

It looks to be a beautiful day today.  The sun is shining brightly and I slept 9 hours last night!  Woo-Hoo.  Fletch is planning to grill sausages for dinner.  I'll sauté up some onions, peppers and mushrooms to go with that.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!  Have a beautiful weekend.

Wrapping up the Week

 Good Morning!

How are you on this Friday the 13th?  I am doing well.  Other than a Restorative Yoga class this evening, I have no real plans.  There is laundry to be done and the kitchen floor is pretty dirty, but nothing major.

Yesterday I ran errands, set up appointments (including with our accountant for taxes), did some knitting and a bit of reading.  It was so relaxing.  One of this things I picked up on my errands was this cute little bunny basket for Iris.

Isn't it sweet?  I also picked up one of those cars that you pull back and then it zooms off.  The one I bought is a banana.  LOL. I will get some other goodies to fill the basket for Easter.

After Iris was born and we were going through all the books that were Colin's when he was young, I was disappointed not to find two.  The first was Sheep in a Jeep and the other was a Golden Book - Two Little Gardeners.  I had forgotten that the author of Two Little Gardeners is Margaret Wise Brown who wrote "Goodnight Moon" and "The Runaway Bunny" - two of Iris' favorites!  Anyway, I ordered both books.  The Golden Book is coming from Abe Books, but Sheep in a Jeep I ordered from Amazon and it arrived yesterday!  I'll probably take that to Iris next Wednesday when I will be watching her.

There has also been cooking, of course.  Last night I made white clam sauce and added some smoked mussels along with the clams.  Highly recommend!!  It was quite tasty.  Tonight I am fixing baked ratatouille - lots of veggies and a bit of cheese.  YUM!

We have no plans for Valentine's Day and I have yet to figure out what I will cook, but there is time to figure it all out. On Sunday we have plans to meet up with Colin & Mailing & Iris and Mailing's parents for a brunch train ride on the Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown.  That should be fun - it will be Iris' first train ride!  Also, Sunday is Zhongren's birthday and he loves trains, so perfect timing.

I hope this Friday finds you well and enjoying life!

Friday Musings

 Good Morning!

Oh the weekend is upon us...well, I do have some work to do, but basically it is the weekend.  So YAY!

I have two conference calls today (10 and 11) and I emailed both Division Presidents suggesting they be cancelled since we have similar calls on Monday.  The 10:00 President responded and cancelled the call!  I have not heard from the 11:00 President, but she is on the West Coast and may still be asleep.  Fingers crossed, but even if she wants the call that's only 50% of what I woke up thinking I would have to do.

I have spent a good part of the morning so far stash diving.  Looking again at my yarn to choose what to use for the SSP Shawl (Rav Link).  So many options.  I had chosen one main color and then Fletch decided he would like another pair of socks...in that color...But this morning I found an alternative for him that I am hoping he will like (he should be downstairs soon for breakfast, so I will know before too long).

Meanwhile I did start the Lizard socks for Colin.

Just started...10 rows of ribbing so far.  I almost always knit 15 rows of ribbing before getting into a pattern, so five more.  I think I've figured out a way to make the left twist stitch easier for me to do (I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it!).

It is a chilly morning here (19 F) and it feels especially raw after the taste of Spring we had earlier in the week.  However, our weekend forecast is for warmth and Fletch has already said he would like to grill both Saturday and Sunday.  Steaks one night and hot and sweet Italian sausage another night.  YUM

Here's hoping that each of you enjoy a wonderful weekend.  Have fun!

Fletch just came down and he still prefers the original yarn he chose...so more stash diving is in order!

Oh, and please send healing wishes out to my brother Ray.  He had been running a fever for several days and then it went up to 103 one night.  My sister in law took him to the ER and they ruled out Covid, flu, and pneumonia.  Ray had open heart surgery several years ago and has a mechanical valve in his heart, so they looked at that too and everything looked ok.  They took some blood cultures and wanted him to check into the hospital, but he declined.  The blood cultures were supposed to take 2-3 days for results, but the doctor called at 7 a.m. the next day and said basically "get your butt into the hospital...something is going on."  They have now determined that he has "out of control bacteria in his gut" but can't figure out where it came from or how or why, etc., etc.  So, he is in the hospital having a lot of scans and tests done.  I have not gotten an update yet this morning.

A Thursday Jumble of Things

 Hi and Good Morning!

Last night was another one where I was awake more than asleep.  Hopefully there will be a nap later on.  But first I have a doctor's appointment at 8:40 and a rash of reports to get out.  So...a busy morning.

Yesterday saw our first snow of the season!  So pretty.  It started a little before Noon and lasted for a couple of hours.  No accumulation, but it did stick to tree branches.  Hopefully the very short video below will let you see what it was like.

When Colin & Mailing were over on Sunday, he mentioned seeing an abandoned bird's nest in one of our burning bushes.  Yesterday when I walked down the driveway to get the mail I saw it.

Do you see it?  At the center near the bottom.  There is also the beginning of another one above it and a little to the left.

Finally, I only rarely go on IG, but the other day when I opened it up this appeared!

Of course I LOVE it!  I need to save the image - perhaps for stitching or something.

And that's it for me this morning.  I've got to try to knock out at least one report before I get ready to head to the doctor appointment.  Have a great day!

Monday Q&A

Hi All,


Welcome to Kathy B's weekly Q&A.  Why don't you join in the fun??

1. Do you remember a bad sunburn?  Too many bad ones as a teenager – I had no sense at all!

 

2.  What is the last game you played?  Gosh it’s been so long, I can’t remember.  Probably Scrabble.

 

3.  Do you have a statue in your house of any kind.  Nope, but we do have a head on one of our living room walls!

 

Now I want a gargoyle or two like Dee has!!

4. Have you seen the new needle that threads your safety line for lace?  No, but that has got to be GREAT!

 

5.  Why do they call them point protectors when they are really stitch protectors keeping your stitches from falling off?  They are both!  They keep those pesky stitches on, but they also prevent me from poking myself – lol

 

6.  What kind of knitting has dominated your summer knitting?  I thought it would be socks, but it appears to be shawls!

 

7.  Have you seen an ice cream truck this summer?  I think I passed one on the way home from work one day, but there seem to be fewer around this year.

 

8.  Cold summer salad preference:  Pasta? Bean? Fruit?  Oh gosh!  I love them all.  Fruit salad is so refreshing, but I love a good pasta salad with plenty of veggies in it.

 

9.  Your favorite summer sandals are made by . . .  I live in my Nike flip flops at home.  At work I have a few pairs of sandals I wear – nothing special – and some ballet flats.

 

10.  Do you have a favorite old photograph taken in the summer?  There’s one of me sitting on a rock by the lake in Vermont we went to each summer.  Not sure where that is.  I also love a photo I have in my kitchen of my parents sitting on a rock at Hawk Mountain (but that was probably taken in Spring or Fall).  I think I love rocks – lol.

 

Garden Stuff and Happy Mail

Good Morning All,


Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Ours was stinking HOT.  Oy!  The humidity was nasty.  Luckily by Sunday afternoon a bit of a breeze popped up for a little while.  Today strong thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon with possible flash floods.  Hopefully yoga will still be a go tonight.


Saturday I took the car in for an oil change.  I was looking forward to "found time" in the waiting room, but as luck would have it, I was out of there in under 30 minutes!!  We had on and off-again showers all day, so in between the drops, I picked up wine, went to the library and did grocery shopping.  Nothing too exciting.


The mail, however, brought a lovely surprise from Kim who has more contests than anyone I know.  Look what was in my fun package:

Cute knitting girl socks, some darning needles (sorely needed) and a great little journal that will be perfect for knitting ideas, etc.  Thanks Kim!!  (Twiddle Mitt yarn in the background)


Father's Day ended up being so-so.  We met Colin & Mailing at a restaurant for brunch/lunch.  It's a place we've been to previously and enjoyed, but Fletch didn't like his meal and thought the restaurant was way too noisy.  As Colin said, "a failed Father's Day."  I think everyone was a bit addled by the heat and humidity.


I did manage to do a small amount of knitting and a little bit of stitching on the sampler I unearthed from the (large) WIP pile of stitching.  But no pictures of that.  Instead how about some garden produce?  First up the Hungarian Wax peppers are beginning to produce (onions in the background - both red and white).

Our red romaine lettuce is Out of Control!  It is so tall and despite the heat it has not gone to seed yet.  We can't eat it fast enough.

We also have Oak Leaf lettuce, Arugula and Butter Crunch Lettuce for salads.  All are producing really well.


And, for a pretty picture, here is the window box outside our kitchen window.  Fletch just picked up the petunias last week and they are gorgeous cascading over the box.  Love them!!

Hoping everyone has a wonderful week!