A quiet Sunday that came with a mixture of sun and rain drops that shone through the sun rays. Dennis felt the need to take out some of the grass that has flourished with the recent rains. I was happy to take the day off in the kitchen and work with some wonderful leftovers from last night for supper. Gosh, I love leftovers.
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Noreen
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Noreen
A Day of Good Things
After a very chilly morning, the sun came out and so did the energy levels at Stauffer Avenue. When the skies are gray and there is a chill in the air, as there has been for a day or two, a clear vision is hard to come by. What both Dennis and I realized in the sunny afternoon, is that the acre will need yet another mowing sometime this next week. We may be swapping out the snowblower within a month for parking the lawn mowers at this rate.
We are planning on taking a bit of a road trip later this month and several things came to mind for today. Out came the pickup with the shop vacuum right behind it. Spending time in a vehicle always feels better with a tidy environment and the pickup seats serve both of us better than the softer seats of the car.
We have made several longer trips this summer to take a check on how my back will handle a much longer trip. Having a tender back does not mean that being confined to St. James is necessary. With that being said, I decided to tuck a few items into the potting shed and not leave it all to a possibly weary body on the return to Stauffer Avenue. Of course, there was plenty of help. Butter Ball follows me around when I am outside and Fuzzy and Harry are right on his heels. Fuzzy and Harry thought they had died and gone to heaven when they explored the potting shed. I have found out that when I leave a few items I want to get rid of, all I have to do is put them on the east side of the potting shed with my “Free” sign. Its been pretty good luck in lightening the load of items that are not of a lot of value, but too good to put in the garbage.
Upon the completion of each trimmed block, it was a matter of not over thinking the placement of one block to the next. The fact that they were all perfectly trimmed made matching up the seams very easy as row upon row built the quilt top. Patchwork to me means randomly placing the blocks. There was no new yardage cut for the making of this scrappy quilt top and none will be cut for the backing of this scrappy quilt. It was my intention to ease the feelings I had that scraps could be made useful. My family, finding fabric scraps, might have no problem throwing them away at sometime in the future, but throwing out a quilt . . . that is another thing.
There was one more project that needed to be literally sewn up before we take our trip: the patchwork quilt top I have been puttering with. I do have an appointment for the first part of November at the Old Alley Quilt Shop to have the patchwork king sized quilt finished on the long arm. Store owner Sharon does not want a lot of quilt tops in her shop at one time, thus the appointment schedule. I made the appointment in July. That speaks to how far ahead she is booked. The back of this quilt will also be of a patchwork
nature with blocks sized at seven and a half inches – the same size as the blocks on the front. The difference is that each block will be of one color or print of material rather than the multiple fabrics that made up the seven and a half inch blocks for the front. I knew once the more time consuming top was pieced, the backing would not be a problem to complete in time.Many good things were accomplished today. The icing on the cake is an oven meal that is in progress as I type. It is a cool enough day that heating the oven for several hours will not make it uncomfortable in the remainder of the home. Right now, I can tell you that the scalloped potatoes, meat loaf and squash are wafting some pretty good aromas throughout the home. Dennis pitched in with peeling potatoes and also some cucumbers. This most definitely will be the last batch of cucumbers. Hmm, I said that last week.
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Noreen
Yesterday, for the greatest portion of the day, the humidity made it miserable to be outside. It didn’t take long and I was soaked to my skin. What a change in today’s temperature as we awoke to 52 degrees.
I am seriously thinking of dumping the pots of flowers. Yes, yes, I know that we could be enjoying them until the first killing frost. Plants in the ground continue to pull moisture for as long as the roots continue going deeper to find it. Potted plants demand water and a lot of water as the dirt in the pots literally can disappear. In the warm weather we have had, twice a day watering seems unreasonable.
I was going to begin putting some of the garden art into the newly tidied potting shed – until the rain set in. Not a lot of rain at one time, but enough to make the mid sixty air feeling quite chilly as I was getting damp. Enough of the outside thoughts.
I can always while away time in the sewing room and then have something to show for the time. A while ago, I took a three week vacation from Facebook. I was surprised how easy it actually was. This last week, I knew I could wish several people birthday greetings via Facebook, as I did not have an email address for them. Again, I was surprised how little time I could spend on the site to do my business and then close down the site. Time on Facebook compared to the positive returns for that time did not balance out. I have it under control.
It is cool enough today to have a hot dish going in the oven. Ah, comfort food . . . you can’t beat it.
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Noreen
Necessity is —–
— the mother of invention, until the rest of the repairs can be done on the springs that will keep the washing machine door open. The good news is, all other aspects of the laundry area are working.
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Noreen
The pickup garage now has a new insulated door and a new garage door opener installed. My job was to have coffee and cookies for the fellows. It was a very hot and humid day. We had all additional doors open for ventilation as well as a fan going. Dennis just gave me a demonstration. The entire door mechanism and the opener are super quiet. One door in and the second door will be going in the first part of October in the Lincoln garage. The end of the repairs is now near.
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Noreen
Totally Unloaded
The before photo.
The after photo.
From corner to corner and side to side, today the potting shed was totally unloaded and then will be ready for some restocking. It is a good thing that tomorrow is recycling pick up day. I do have several items sitting next to Stauffer Avenue that will have a “Free” sign on them. Many plastic pots from many years will no longer be taking up space. Fall is upon us and the potting shed looked more like a “panic room” than a tidy storage shed.
A time in the past, after I had retired, I was visiting with someone and I mentioned, “Today, I am taking it easy.” The other’s response, “From what?” It just makes me smile when the thought may be that retired people don’t put forth a lot of local effort to keep their property tidy. I may not be as fast as I have been in previous years, but I still fulfill my own expectations.
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Noreen
Time to Tidy up the Gardens
With all of the extra rain we have had this fall, the grass just keeps on going. Flowers seem to have a better timeline. As I was getting ready for morning errands, I looked out to the square garden and thought it could use some shaping up. Iris, lilies, and phlox have had their hay day. The extra rain made for taller foliage for the winds to tip them over.
Autumn Joy, my favorite plant for this time of year.
As soon as I got back from the eye doctor . . . by the way, I had a great report with no change in lens needed, I changed clothes and found my garden shears. My eyes had been dilated earlier; it was a good thing to put that head down and start the task of making the gardens tidy. It didn’t take long, Butter Ball and Snuggles were right in the thick of it with me. I finished with a huge pile of foliage that will need to dry down before it finds its way to the burning barrel. The hosta are holding their own and will live to enjoy a bit more time in the gardens. The Autumn Joy, a wonderful sedum, now can claim the spotlight.
Butterflies love the Autumn Joy. It is sad that we have so few Monarch Butterflies to adorn them.
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Noreen
A lazy sunny Sunday. Dennis and I had worked at the VFW Steak Fry last night. Far and few in between do we usually stay out that late. The workers are the last to enjoy what the kitchen has to offer. Eating that late at night may have added to the lethargic feelings of today.
After coffee in the porch this morning, Dennis checked his eyelids for cracks in his recliner and I headed to the sewing room to put in a little local effort.
Fall days, such as we have had recently, tell the rest of the story. Just in case we don’t take heed, the squirrels chucking out Black Walnuts remind us.
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Noreen
A cool day meant a great time to get out into the gardens. So very many volunteer trees: Oak, Cottonwood, Ash, Elm, Maple and Black Walnut. The winds did a great job of sharing seeds from many yards. Don’t get me wrong, some of the trees we have grown to heights of ten to 20 feet are from volunteers, but there is a limit. We have had a huge amount of rainfall, and this morning, me and the kids – Butter Ball and Snuggles – spent a large amount of time pulling the volunteer trees up by the roots. Once this rainfall dries the soil, those little trees do not pull up, and the only hope is to continue snipping them off until they just give up.
There has been a lone peony in the far east portion of our acre that has been been begging to join the rest of the perennials closer to the patios. Today that can be checked off of the list of things that I want to get done this fall. I dug the hole that would be the new home with Butter Ball helping as if he had trained for this his entire, short life. I did add some fertilizer to the hole accompanied it with some water from the Koi pond. I headed off to the far east to dig up that lonely peony. It did take me quite awhile as that plant has been there long before we added that lot to what we already had.
Dennis got back home from errands to help in bringing back some of the tools. I had no idea when I headed out if I would need a sharp shooter or if a sand shovel would work. The amount of rain we have had was evident as the water had not as of yet all soaked in on the new hole for the peony.
Keeping the yards tidy is a job that can’t be ignored. Dennis and I both feel content when we sit on the patios and look over our little estate, knowing it is as good as we are able. It’s a good thing.
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Noreen
The acre is mowed and tidied up – again. Lush, soft grass is hard to mow this time of year and have it look even. I could not believe what I heard at the supper table . . . “I am getting tired of mowing.” This from the ole cowboy that is ready, willing and able from early spring on.
On another note: we crushed the pill from the vet that was to calm Butter Ball enough to get him in the carrier for his yearly checkup, and hid it in a treat that he has liked to eat. Butter Ball was the only cat in the porch when Dennis put the loaded treat in Butter Ball’s food bowl with several pieces of his usual food. This was to be a sure winner as Dennis had withheld all food from the cats overnight, thinking that by morning, Butter Ball would be ready to chow down. We then acted nonchalant and left Butter Ball to indulge. Dennis went back into the porch a bit later and Butter Ball had eaten around the loaded treat. Ugh! Scratch that for the day.
Late this afternoon, I slightly heated several tablespoons of milk. Butter Ball was lounging on the patio. I set the milk dish down and walked away. From around the corner of the porch, I watched as Butter Ball slowly got up and approached the milk dish as if there would be a jack in the box ready to jump out and attack him. He did lick the milk dish dry. Hooray! Saturday and Sunday, we will repeat the milk ritual. On Monday there will be another tablespoon or two of warmed milk with the calming meds from the vet – in the milk set out for Butter Ball.
Ya know, with my kids, I could threaten them if they wouldn’t swallow the pill that would make them feel better. With cats . . . I’ve got nothing.
