Gardening Dreams

 

They time it just right.  Some time between Christmas and New Years the Burpee catalog arrives in my mail box.  

It's a spirit booster, those wonderful pictures of flowers and vegetables, with the tempting new varieties.  

I loved the little yellow squash that grew on a bush last summer - will it work as well next summer with small watermelon that climb on a trellis?

And a late flowering basil?  My neighbor and I definitely need to share that seed packet.  He makes the best basil pesto.

And that deep, deep purple morning glory - oh my goodness.  

It's the season for gardening dreams.

Flowers

 

Thanks to my neighbor for this wonderful bouquet.  It started out like a regular florall bouquet, then this lily started opening, and it's huge, with another that will be following behind it.  My neighbor said she got it at Trader Joes. 

The same neighbor just took out my trash and recycling cans.  When I'm mobile I'll be taking her out for a nice lunch.

My North Carolina family got home at midnight last night.  I miss them, of course, but I'm glad they are safely back home.

The first day after company leaves is always a tired day, but navigating  with the walker is going much better and most of the exercises are as well.  There will be PT again in the morning.

And tomorrow New Year's Eve.

Tradition

Tradition - the car is packed, good-bye's have been said - and then someone says, "Wait, we need to take the picture."  And so we do.

And then the car rolled up the hill and the Christmas visit was over.  

The house is way too quiet, of course.  The refrigerator is full of good things for the week ahead, the presents are all unwrapped.

I have new Christmas pajamas to wear to bed tonight, along with many, many other nice gifts.  

The little dogs are no longer looking out the window waiting for dogs and people to bark at.

The single bathroom in my house is empty.  There are no plans being made.  No on-line after Christmas shopping.  No sisters' nights that may or may not involve a bottle of Tito's.

No Bengals do or die games for another week

It's been the best.

The Point of This Picture

 

The point of this picture isn't me in my living room chair again,  the highlight is the bowl of pimento cheese that Winnie made.  And, of course, the two little hopeful dogs, since they like a little taste of most anything that is good for dogs.

If you get Southern Living, you can find Roselynn Carter's recipe in the December issue.  It's just so, so good.  Highly recommend.

It's been a beautiful December day.  Since there is only one step down to my back porch, I was able to sit outside for a while and that was good for my soul.  Sarah very nicely even blow the debris off the porch and carried out my bed  room chair.  Fifty-nine degrees.

For one bright shining moment I thought I could surely make it down the steps and into the car for an evening drive to look at the lights.  When I got back up that one step I decided that wasn't such a good idea.

***Sometimes it's hard to be a Bengals fan, but a win is a win, and a big win is even better.

Barbie Night

 Last night was family Barbiie movie night, complete with pink flowers for the occasion.  And popcorn and snacks, of course.

Nora had seen it twice before, Winnie once before, and the rest of us not at all.  And we all enjoyed it.

There was PT yesterday as well, with a few new exercises added.  And one stair step, just one.

The tech from the eye doctor's office called this morning, saying that the doctor wouldn't be in the office on Monday and asked if we could change my scheduled appointment to the following Monday.  That's fine with me, it will give me an extra week to get stronger, with less effort to navigate the steps.

I woke up during the night worrying about projects that I hadn't been able to focus on.  So this morning I tried to make a dent in a few of those before I started on the NYT word puzzles.   Mini, Spelling Bee, Wordle, and Connections, in that order.  Does anyone else love those?

Change of Plans

 

Little visiting dogs on the Purple People Bridge this morning.  

As the name implies, the bridge is only used for people these days, and it's painted purple.  Opened in 1872 as a railroad bridge connecting Newport, KY, and Cincinnati, it's decorated with lights at Christmas.

Our Christmas Chinese take out dinner yesterday was delightful, but not as planned.  Our go-to Chinese restaurant was closed - we should have remembered that - and we selected another one close by.  We'd ordered ahead but the restaurant was swamped, even doing carry out only, and our order wasn't ready and wouldn't be for more than an hour.

Time for a back story - last Christmas my daughters had Covid.  Fairly mild, so they went for a solitary hike then started thinking about food.  They ended up Door Dashing from a local Indian restaurant because that was what they could find open.

So it only seemed appropriate this year to order appetizers from the Indian restaurant, to be picked up with the Chinese food.  Since the Chinese food wasn't ready we ate the Indian appetizers, then went back for the Chinese order.

Which was perfect.

Christmas Is Here

 

Merry Christmas Everyone.  

May your day be merry and bright.

May your heart be light.

Christmas Eve

 The last minute wrapping flurry is happening.  The family Christmas will begin in two hours.

Tonight there will be pizza and cookies, tomorrow Chinese take-out.  And it will all be just right  Who doesn't love pizza and Chinese?

When I was a child we would gather at my grandmother's.  We would wait impatiently for my dad to finish milking so we could head out.  And then after dinner we would wait impatiently again for the dishes to be washed and dried so we could open presents.

There was a gift exchange with a $2 limit.  Totally exciting, both to get a gift and to see who drew your name.

One year my sister, ten years younger than me, got a Fisher Price corn popper push toy and we were all amazed at such a wonderful gift.  I just checked on Amazon - that corn popper is still available, for $24.

My grandmother would give us each red envelopes from the bank.  $1 for the grandkids and $2 for the adults.  One day this fall I was going through drawers and found several of those envelopes, still with the crisp bills inside.

I thought it would be fun to give them to my family for Christmas this year, but, today, I can't find them.

All Those If's

 IF

the Bengals win their last two games

and

if the Denver Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs

and 

if the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts each lose at least one mor game

THEN

and only then

The Cincinnati Bengals will be in the playoffs.

ESPN gives them a 10% chance but Bengals fans are ever hopeful.

(But don't forget, in seven weeks pitchers and catchers report for duty.)

Good Week

 It's been a good week.

I talked with the ortho PA and learned that I have two sacrum factures, but no nerve involvement, which is a good thing.  And so, in home PT for now, very conservative to start, to keep from aggravating it again.  This morning we added a few simple exercises.  No walking without the walker or stairs yet.

Patience and PT should get me back to where I was before.  And I was happy with where I was before.  I could walk the hills in my neighborhood, do some easy gardening, do a lot of stairs.

But today I can stand for longer periods of time, am increasing my steps and decreasing the pain meds.  All good things.

And in the meantime, it's almost Christmas.  Steph helped me wrap and she's been so nice with making sure I'm eating good food and have clean laundry, Sarah and Winnie are on their way with the little dogs,  I've loved my tree every single day.

My sweet sister sent me reindeer chow, a lovely recipe that doesn't have powdered sugar or peanut butter.  It's delicious but not messy -  the perfect reindeer chow.

And I always love the Winter Solstice.  The days lengthen so slowly at first, like the earth is holding its breath before it commits to moving forward.

Happy Birthday Again

 

Happy Birthday to Nora - (sorry about her dad's leg in the picture.)  The semester is finished, and we celebrated her birthday today.  What kind of grandmother - I had to ask her if she was 19 or 20.  Twenty it is, she is out of her teens.

There were gifts and goodies, at my house since I'm staying at home these days.  It was just the nicest day for me.

I missed a call from my doctor yesterday afternoon - she will call back on Monday.  Her message said that the MRI showed sacrum fractures, usually treated without surgery but she wants me to see an ortho.  

This gives me time to think of questions before the Monday call, so that's good. And it allows me to relax a little over the weekend since some of the possibilities have been eliminated.

MRI

 I've been having lots of hip pain for the past few weeks, like having to use a walker pain.  So today I had my scheduled MRI.

For reasons that aren't especially relevant, I had it done deep in the Cincinnati Bengals stadium.  Well, ok, it was the first appointment available, and the copay was less that at the hospital.

I thought that might be exciting, but the only exciting thing was seeing a sign on a door saying "Bangals Interview Room."  And a cardboard cutout of Joe Burrow in the scan office.  And maybe the golf cart ride from the entrance to the scan place was ok too.

Getting down and back up my steps, not exciting, but it worked out.  The MRI lasted just twenty minutes, and I'm glad it wasn't longer because my back really hurt on the hard table.

Moving on to other news:  my North Carolina family is picking up a new Subaru Forester Wilderness as we speak.  In a lovely dark green.  They will be traveling for Christmas in style.

A couple of years ago my local family was traveling to Florida for a pre-Christmas vacation when they had transmission problems near Atlanta.  Knowing they would probably need to replace that car soon anyway, and knowing that the repair would be expensive and would take a couple of days out of their short vacation, they hobbled to the local dealership and bought a new car of the same make and model.  The salesman helped transfer everything to the new car and they went on their way.

Happy Birthday

 

Happy Birthday Nora!

If all the grandgirls were lined up in a row, I'd always choose you.

Tradition

 

.

If you're lucky, you have some family  holiday traditions  that you enjoy, year after year.

And a few days ago you saw my Christmas tree.  Lots of Hallmark ornaments.  Every year they come out of their little boxes and I admire them.

The back story to that is that I love to give my family members (and myself) Hallmark ornaments each year.  Of course, I'm frugal, and the ornaments are purchased when they are 75% off after Christmas and saved for the next year.  They have the previous year's date when they are received, but no one seems to mind.

I figure that when the grands have their own homes they will have a nice collection of ornaments for their own trees.  They both get one from their mom too.

Last year I missed giving the those Hallmark ornaments because I was in rehab (the PT kind) on Christmas.  My daughter did that year's post-Christmas shopping, so this year there will be at least two of those little boxes for everyone.

We may not celebrate on Christmas day this year because my North Carolina daughter may be on snow removal duty at the arboretum but we will celebrate,

Additional note:  last year my daughters both had Covid (me, too) so they weren't allowed to visit the rehab facility.  They wanted to order some food for me from outside - you can always count on a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve when everything else is closed.

Christmas Concert

T

What a blessing to watch the Berea College Christmas Concert at Union Church tonight.  Even though I'm not there in person, I still get all the feels.  It's a wonderful annual event, music from many student groups interspersed with scripture, in that lovely old church.

And another feel - they just recognized the midyear music graduates who will be graduating tomorrow.  And I remember another midyear Berea graduation, for my younger daughter, two days after her father died unexpectedly.  We went from the graduation to the visitation.  

We hadn't thought to bring a camera, but her sister asked a random family if they would take pictures for us.  It turned out that the family's graduate had gone on a Short Term camping trip in the Southwest the same year as Sarah.

Final exams were following week, which was a little out of order.  One of Sarah's professors waived her final  And my grad school professor waived my final as well.  People were kind, in so many ways.

Gingerbread Houses

                     

Well, since we know that Nora is 5'8" now, and Aaron is 6'5", this picture was taken a while ago.  During an Asheville visit, at the Grove Park Inn.  

The Christmas tree in the lobby was tall and fabulous, as I'm sure it is again this year.  And I'm sure we saw the gingerbread houses from the Annual National Gingerbread Competition.

This year, though,  the competition was cancelled following the devastation of Hurricane Helene.  However, more than 40 gingerbread artists are displaying their work at various businesses throughout Asheville, with just a few on display at the Grove Park Inn.

It's called the Gingerbread Trail of Giving.  And I've heard that the North Carolina Arboretum is on the list. 

Tree Time

 

I've been laying low these days.  The last eye surgery morphed into unexpected hip pain - don't do stupid gardening things, just saying.  But now I have this lovely tree in the living room and PT appointments twice a week.  Life is looking more hopeful.

Kudos to my daughters and granddaughter for getting the tree up and decorated.

When I was a brat kid I begged to have the tree up early.  My parents always got a live tree that would be planted outside so it didn't go up until about a week before Christmas.  We did have a few decorations prior to the tree happening - does anyone remember those wax candles that looked like choir singers, snow people, maybe even Santa?

My mother made many cut out cookies in the days prior to Christmas and would store them in the big blue speckled canner.  I have her recipes but mine have never compared to hers.  And I've tried many times.

Suddenly it's cold here, like night temperatures in the teens.  I have several containers of outdoor plants inside - we'll see how that goes.

50th Anniversary Banner

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This weekend is the 50th anniversary of my church, Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship.  It will be a celebration weekend to look forward to.

I had the honor, with help from my friend Diane, of making the anniversary banner.  Between eye surgeries, it took longer than I'd planned, and yet, here we are.

The weekend's theme is "Our Life Goes On."  I wanted lots of faces, plus a recognition of some of the things we do and have done.  A list of the pastors, including interim pastors.  (One served in both an interim and full time role in different years.)  

The applique toward the bottom right is the mural recently painted on our building.  One of my favorite transferred photos is the Zoom screen during the pandemic, when we shared our service with another church.

My dream from the start was to have little fairy lights beside the river, but I'm satisfied with the sparkly rhinestones instead.

Of course you can enlarge it for a better look.

Found

 

I found this old wall hanging this morning when I was looking for Halloween decorations.  I don't even remember making it. but it's definitely my work.

Good news from my North Carolina family.  Yesterday a clean-up crew from Virginia arrived in their neighborhood.  And then - a utility crew from Kansas City came and is working on replacing wires and broken utility poles. 

There is hope of getting power soon.  And with power, the ability to pump water from their well.  For them, there is hope, but they realize they are some of the lucky ones.

Family Is Safe

Just a peek.  All will be revealed in a few days.

My Asheville family is accounted for, and they seem to be in good spirits.  No power, water, cell service or internet, and maybe not for a while, but they are safe

It was hard to wait for word.  Finally, a two-word text from a borrowed cell phone. "I'm ok."   Then the next day, a  text from a neighbor saying "Sarah and Winnie are ok."  When they could get out, there was a broken call from a parking lot.

And then, something called "disaster roaming" was instituted.  Basically, it  allows any cell phone to access any available network, regardless of provider.  Since that time there has been communication, and that has been good for this mama's heart.

Their house has minor damage but the dam on the small lake where they live didn't fare as well.  Traffic is one lane, and they are hoping the road holds up. 

Neighbors have been helping neighbors, and I hope that spirit continues.  Sarah and her chain saw have been busy.

Fall Came

 

Yesterday, when I wasn't paying attention, fall arrived.  Maybe I missed it because it's been so hot this September.  Now for the rest of the week the temperature will drop into the 70's, and maybe, just maybe, there might be rain.  It's been dry here for so long.

Afterr a couple of days of occasional looking, I found the Halloween fleece throw that I've been missing.  I knew just where it was, but . . . it wasn't there.  I found it in a tote in the basement, just that one item in the tote.

Tomorrow is my one-week post-op visit following my latest eye surgery, and I'm nervous, for no real reason.  I'll be glad to have the appointment over and to be back in my car heading back home.

But for tonight, I'm ready to turn on Monday Night Football.  The Bengals often don't fare well on Monday nights, but maybe tonight will be better.  Those of us in Cincinnati are still not quite over the officiating last weekend.

Tennis Ball

 

A memento from Sarah and Winnie's visit with the dogs:  a tennis ball behind my bedroom door.  The dogs enjoy chasing tennis balls down the hallway.

The latest eye surgery is over and I'm feeling well.  The remainder of the tube shunt came out easily and the stitches went in nicely.  The concern is that the cornea will heal once again, but I feel confident this will happen.

Our hot and dry weather continues.  Perhaps next week there may be rain and cooler temperatures, and both will be welcome.

Sad news today that another high school classmate has passed away.  We had a small class of forty students and a loss is always someone we remember

Football

 

It was the perfect day to sit in the sun and watch my grand guy play football.

Note for reference:  his mom is six feet tall.

I always think about how much my dad would enjoy watching the games.  My dad often spoke of his high school football days.  He said he would go to practice and games with other players in a wagon pulled by horses.  It seems impossible, but surely I'm not making this up.

He loved going to local high school and college games, and if the family was short on money that week he would wait until half time, when there was no longer an admission charge.

I'm not  much of an emotional person, but I always do get emotional thinking of how happy my dad would have been to watch his great grandson play.

How Did I Miss This?

 

For weeks I've been examining my shriveling pumpkin vines, and this week I was surprised to see a tiny pumpkin not quite as big as a baseball.  And then tonight I was watering - again - and found this pumpkin tucked beside a container of petunias.  How did I miss this?  It's not big or glorious, but it's s pumpkin.  With a beautiful stem.  I hope the deer stay away overnight until I can spray some Liquid Fence around it.

It is dry, so dry, with no rain in sight.  I'm discouraged, and tired of watering.

And I'm discouraged that on Monday I'll have yet another eye surgery.  I've been doing so well, finally, at recovering from the last one and the news of this one was a surprise.  The remaining piece of the tube shunt was supposed to remain in place, causing no problems, but it's working its way out.

I keep telling myself that at the end there may be another package of the animal crackers I had last time but the rational part of my mind just isn't finding comfort in that.

And my hair!  It's getting just plain rowdy.  In the spring I was losing a lot of hair, which is common after an illness.  That's stopped, and some of the hair growing back is coming in twisty.  It's not all bad, it looks like my hair has body, but it's kind of weird.

Joanne, this is what I get for being envious of your curly hair.

Weekend Visit

 

One of the two sweet grand dogs who came to visit for the weekend.  They are back at home now.

As always, we had the best time.  Good meals, a little shopping, some swimming, lots of conversation.  

We declared this time a do-over for last Christmas, which just kind of floated by in the background.  One of us was in bed with a broken ankle, two were sick with Covid, one was recovering in rehab, quarantined with Covid.  

These days were brighter and in focus.

We went over the river to see Nora's student house rental, which is quite nice, shared with three other young women.  It's a few blocks outside the main rental area, and on that Saturday night all was quiet.

Peach Muffins

 

A very nice friend went to visit her family in Michigan and shared three of the peaches she brought home.  Folks, these are nothing, nothing like the peaches in the grocery store.  My first taste reminded me of my first taste of kalamata olives - just that incredibly surprisingly good.

I decided to use two of them to make peach muffins and those are so good too.  I don't know when I last made muffins - they were probably blueberry.  These though, with those Michigan peaches, have to be better.

If you want to make some peach muffins, google "King Arthur peach muffins."  And don't forget to put the sugar on top like I did.

I did some embroidery today for the church 50th anniversary banner.  It took a long time, and in the end I wasn't exactly happy with the way the color for pastor names worked.  Just because it really, really needed to be right I asked a friend to proofread - and one of the names is spelled wrong.  And now you know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow.  Using different colors.

Celebrating

This Saturday I'm celebrating the first day without an eye doctor visit after nine days in a row.  That's a lot for this doctor phobe.  Maybe the Universe is presenting me with a kind of immersive therapy.  

But all is well, and the weather has been a treat, (although we're back to the 90's for the next week.)  And I hope you heard my governor speak at the convention.  

Following one of the appointments my daughter and I ended up in Hillsboro, Ohio, and we had lunch at a delightful restaurant called The Porch.  For the spaghetti squash they halved the squash and fluffed the "spaghetti" instead of removing it from the squash.  Then they topped it with a thick marinara and shaved parmesan. They said that since their squash were small that day, they gave me two halves instead of one.

I can't even tell you how good it was.  And now I'm going to have to plant spaghetti squash next summer.

Another Time Out

It's a time out for me again after another eye surgery yesterday.  The tube shunt put in this May just didn't do the job for me and it is gone now.  

I'm back to the routine of no bending, lifting, straining and have been for the past week.  Sitting around is not my usual routine.  I enjoy getting in my steps and doing my exercises plus doing the creative things I love.

Soon enough I'll start cooking, then doing some walking, etc.

In the meantime, Milo's tomato is growing and has reached the top ring of the tomato cage.  There are some yellow blossoms, same with the pumpkin vines, but no little tomatoes or pumpkins.  I would think that there are few pollinators here, but the squash set up fruit quite well.  I think that perhaps I need to cut back on the Miracle Grow.

Stars

 

You'll just have to trust me that the actual quilt is straight and that the edge stars extend to the light green borders.  O My Stars from Pat Sloan.

This was the next project in getting back to quilting.  The time out was just too long as I recovered from this and that.  But I have plans, I don't know what the next project will be but it will be more complicated.  More pieces and points.  And brighter colors, although the actual colors here are brighter greens than the picture shows.

I have a Corey Yoder book requested for my birthday a year ago.  And a Christmas layer cake.  I love doing the scrapy blocks, each a little different.  Maybe that will be next.

Precise and Lovely

 

As seen in on walk:  my neighbor's flower beds, so lovely and precise.  I can only sigh with just a little envy as I admire them.  In this one, even the little begonias area in rows, a nicely trimmed bush highlighting them.  I often see my neighbor outside in the early morning weeding to keep everything so pretty.

Mine can only be described as exuberant, not precise.   I like to think I'm going for a meadow kind of look, but even that may be more than a little generous description.

Inside my neighbor's house it's the same way, lovely, not a thing out of place.  Things are dusted and polished.  

And at my house the can of Pledge has been sitting hopefully on the table for weeks now.  Not that things are dusty, but they aren't polished either.

And upstairs in my sewing areas - I can't tell you how many projects are in progress or in hope of being in progress, and I don't want to count either.  

I wonder whether this is symbolic of a cluttered mind or of a creative mind.  I'm voting for a creative mind, of course, but who really knows how these things work.

At the End of the Street

 

At the park at the end of the street.  There has to be a story here

My story is getting to the park at the end of the street.

Seasoning

 

It's still hot but the evening temperatures are cooler and I want to season my neglected cast iron Dutch oven and corn stick mold.  For several evenings I'll do that, clean and dry, rub shortening inside and outside, put in 350 degree oven upside down for an hour, with foil to catch any drips.

I'm dreaming of artisan bread and corn bread sticks.  Soup maybe, but not for sure, I have another pot for soup.  It's all about the bread.

With the cooler temperatures there wasn't as much watering tonight and I walked up the long hill the next street over.  A few weeks ago an older man (that means my age) was outside watering his impatiens when I walked by and he said, "Just don't walk up the long hill."  And that was the challenge.  I've walked it several times since.

That doesn't mean I might not stop a time or two on my way, but I don't care.  I have memories of rehab when walking around my room twice was all I could do.

Red, White, and Blue

 

Thanks to Karen G for gifting me the kit for this little red, white, and blue quilt.  She sent it in plenty of time for Memorial Day decorating but my spring and summer have been a little wonky.  But here it is, and it isn't Labor Day yet so all is well.

And it's just the right size for the ottoman where I keep my laptop, planner, and notebook.

And thanks again to Sarah and Winnie for finding this ottoman and matching recliner  Once again, there were a lot of frogs kissed before the prince was found.

Porch Flowers

 Front porch flowers.  I feel happy every time I walk out the door.

Yesterday I cut up four small yellow squash for a casserole, sauteed them very lightly in just a little butter, and drained them.  Mixed together 1/2 cup sour cream, a beaten egg, and 5 ounces cheddar cheese, then added the squash.  Put a few cracker crumbs in the skillet and heated them, then put them on top of the casserole  Baked at 350 degrees for twenty-five minutes.

And it was the best squash casserole ever.  Regarding cooking and other things, I always say "you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince."  This recipe is the prince, but it took a lot of frogs to get here.  I think the secret is to saute the squash just until they just to soften, then drain.  Use minimal butter.  And then there's the egg.

I've heard that yesterday will be our last day of 90 degree temperature for the summer.  I don't know if that's true, but it sounds good.

Those Deer!

About a week ago I posted about Milo's tomato, planted in honor of one of the little brown  dog who loved cherry tomatoes.

Milos's tomato plant was growing so well, getting a few blossoms, and then the deer came.  Despite a cage and some varmit repellent, over two nights, Milo's tomato is half the size it was.  It will be ok, this is just a minor setback.  Hopefully.

Today at the hardware store, I got some Liquid Fence and more Miracle Grow.  On my way out the door, I noticed that the remaining plants on the sidewalk were marked "free."  Most weren't looking good at this point, but there were some hopeful little tomato plants.  And Milo whispered, "You have Liquid Fence now, get two."

I also got a hot pepper plant, just because it looked pretty good and should grow into a pretty plant. 

Hopefully the deer will now find somewhere else to go and stay away from the tomatoes.  And the precious pumpkin plants that are looking so good.

Press on Monmouth

 

Steph and I had a nice Sunday bunch at Press on Monmouth, a nice  little cafe close to home.  Just close enough that sometimes I drive right by and forget that it's a good place to eat.

It looks like my salad is gigantic compared to Steph's avocado toast, I didn't take a very good picture.  Her avocado toast was quite wonderfully portioned.

I ordered the Press Breakfast Salad because I couldn't figure out how the ingredients would taste together:  mixed greens, blueberry, granola, bacon, egg, cheddar, maple vinaigrette.  (No bacon for me.)  In face, the combination was wonderful.

A little Sunday shopping completed our afternoon.  Nothing to report.

I'm going to be a more regular customer, it's just my kind of place.  Lots of vegetarian options  Reasonable prices.  Close to home.  Take out too.

We sat by the window and admired the big vacant lot across the street, soon to be vacant no more.  There will be two hotels, office space, and a parking garage.

And as we were looking out, it rained, really rained.  No watering tonight

Sun Dog

 

This is my grand dog Butler, who loves to lie in the sun.  And who always needs a coat when the weather starts to get cool.  He''s definitely a warm weather lover.

Did you ever see such long legs?  The vet wants him to gain a little weight, but any increased food goes right to those legs.

I can't remember what his genealogy test showed, except that he is more chihuahua than anything else.  He's a sweet guy, pretty lacking in chihuahua spice.  And those are not chihuahua legs!  There may have been some Mini Pinscher, but no Italian Greyhound.

I love to watch him run - he has a gait like a horse.  And those legs can fly.

Anniversary

 

My church will be celebrating a 50th anniversary in October and a friend and I will be doing to collaboration banner.  The theme is "Our Life Flows On."

Our only instructions were that it be big, so big it will be.  To make it more manageable it will consist of individual blocks, although a few of the blocks will be combined.  

And so, I pieced a couple of rows on another wall hanging I'm working on and went through the steps to change the sewing machine to embroidery.  I'll embroider on a few of the blocks then switch back to sewing for a few days.

I have a pattern sketched out but I know we'll make some changes as we go.  And there will be some additions. 

It feels good to  be in a creative mode, combined with a more tech-y mode in using the embroidery software.  It's been a while for that, other than embroidering a name here and there.

Should I Plant More?

 

Roasted yellow squash from my container garden.  Yellow squash is my favorite vegetable.  I even planted several plants in the actual garden bed.

I wonder, is it too late to plant more?  The seed packet says "Harvest in about 55 days.  There's time.  I have an unused bed in the back yard that might just work even if the soil isn't ideal.

This variety is called Rise and Shine Hybrid and it's supposed to grow vertically, spreading out into a large bushy plant.  Sometimes I've been disappointed in new plant varieties, but I love this one.

I try to not often be political on this blog but I saw a comment today that's too good to not pass on:  "JD Vance washes his cast iron skillet in the dishwasher."

Oh, and did you see that my governor is on the short list for vice presidential candidates?

A Good Day

 

It's been a good day.

I actually cut out blocks for a very simple small quilt.  Green blocks with yellow stars.  

My daughter and I went to Newport on the Levee for lunch, the same brewery Sarah and I visited last week.  We shared shrimp tacos and pretzel bites.  There was a Bacon Bourbon Brew Festival beside the river with music and themed foods - we did NOT try the bacon wrapped fried Oreos.  Or anything else.

I planned that today would be a day off .walking, but with walking at the Levee and watering and a morning and evening walk around the street behind me, which has only a modest grade, I'll have 8000 steps by bedtime.

And the pumpkin vine is growing.

Finished Wall Hanging

 

You've seen bits of this wall hanging before, but now it's been gifted and I can show you the finished product.

It was meant as a Christmas gift for a young woman, using swim suits from her synchronized swimming days.  You probably know how December turned out for me, and I couldn't finish it.  The young woman's mother was gracious and it turned into a birthday gift.

I didn't know how to incorporate those slinky swim suits into a quilt, so I made a cotton quilt backing, meant to resemble water, and cut fish out of the swim suits.  After appliquing the fish with Wonder Under and outlining them with thread, I used fabric paint to cover the stitching and to add a few decorative touches.

All during January I only made it up the stairs to the studio once or twice.  It's hard now to even remember being that weak.  And then one by one the remaining fish went on and getting up from the floor where I was working was a challenge every time.  Then one day the wall hanging came downstairs for the finishing painting on the dining room table.

The wall hanging ended up telling part of the young woman's story and a bit of mine too.

Birthday Bunny

 

For my birthday last month I got this wonderful little garden bunny.  When darkness comes its lantern starts to flicker.  What a wonderful gift.

Along with the bunny, there was a string of new solar lights for the back porch.  Sarah hung them up when she was here and they are perfect.  It looks like there is a party at my house.

I'm still on the hunt for a few solar LED landscape lights but so far I haven't found any that I love.

The doctor said that I could resume normal activity, including walking.  I thought that I'd need to build up the number of steps once again, but I'm happy to discover that I could pick up pretty much where I left off.

Has anyone else read recently that older people should aim for 6000 - 8000 steps per day as opposed to 10,000 steps?  That seems to me like a much more attainable goal.

Milo's Tomato

 

Back when Sarah and Winnie had three little brown dogs, the middle-sized one was named Milo.  Milo loved the little tomatoes that grew by the front steps, and the tomatoes reseeding themselves year after year just for him.

Milo is gone now, but the tomato plant comes back faithfully each year.  Milo's little brown buddies showed little interest in the tomatoes and the current small dogs don't either.  And yet Milo's tomato flourishes.

When I was considering what to plant in the large black container in the back yard, Milo's tomato came to mind.  This is a different variety of little tomato than Milo's, but it will do for this year.  The season is getting late and the selection is limited.

The container is big and a few other things will share the space, but Milo's tomato was the first thing planted.

Visit Is Over

 

Sarah got in her truck and rolled down the street this afternoon, heading for home, and she took this picture of me waving good-bye from the front door.

She took me to two eye doctor visits (and now I will go six days before the next visit - amazing!)  She did some weeding and cleaning and we did some minimal shopping and had ice cream twice.  She is nice company.

Now as usual the house is too quiet and time goes by more slowly.  But the doctor has said I can resume normal activity and I'll soon be planting  a few things in the big black tub in the back yard.  Perhaps a tomato plant and a few flowers.

Look for the Little Squash

 

If you look closely, you'll see a couple of tiny squash.  There are actually three, one is in the back.

I've had another eye surgery to have the shunt tied off to give me more time to build up scar tissue so that when when the stitches dissolve the eye will retain its fluid.  That won' happen for another few weeks.

I've so enjoyed my garden and the evening watering.  One of my neighbors walked by and said that it looked really nice.  It may not have been the gardening summer of my dreams, but the various containers and their flowers have been a joy.  They mix well with the grasses and day lilies plus a few other plants. 

I've planted a few pumpkin plants and their leaves will soon spread out as ground cover.  I'm even hoping for a pumpkin or two.

Happy July 4

Many years ago, probably fifteen, watching The Boom in the Sky with Aaron.  "Protecting" his ears so he could enjoy the fireworks.

And so, happy July 4 to everyone.

I've been quiet - and busy seeing eye doctors.  The shunt in my eye opened as planned, but it's been working too well,  Instead of helping the fluid drain a little it's been overproducing and helping the fluid drain a lot.  I've had several injections of new fluid or gel that all too quickly drain away.

There will probably a surgery on Monday to tie off the shunt and give the eye more time to heal.

People are saying to me, "I could never get a shot in my eye."  You could, and it doesn't hurt.  I'm very grateful to my doctor and to all the others covering on weekends and holidays and surgery days.

Solstice Kind of Picture

 

The picture is called Last Flowers, by Jules Breton.  It features a young girl picking late flowers in a snowy garden.

It's more of a winter solstice kind of picture, but I visited the Cincinnati Art Museum, and this picture, on this summer solstice day.

The Art Museum is so close to home, and thanks to generous people there is no admission fee, except for special exhibits.  I love to go and just wander around, visiting old favorites and seeing what's new.  

This was my first visit since being sick in December, and I decided against the elevator and walked up the marble staircase, just because I could.

When I made out my list of goals in January, visiting the art museum made the list.  In a few days it will be midyear and time to look at those goals, reevaluate, and add some new ones.  As you know, I love goals.

New Garden Flag

 

The new flag in my garden:

    Love Your Neighbor

    Who Doesn't

    Look Like You

    Think Like You

    Love Like You

    Speak Like You

    Pray Like You

    Vote Like You

    Love Your Neighbor

    No Exceptions

On my walk I noticed a house with a Gay Pride Flag, followed by two houses with Trump signs.  And I could smile and hope those neighbors get along well together, even though their opinions may, and may not, be different.  But on another street there are three signs in one yard, all of them displaying language and drawings very disrespectful and divisive.  

My garden flag is a counter to that, but it's also a daily reminder to me:  love your neighbor, no exceptions.

Cosmos

 

 Cosmos, my favorite today.  Started from seed.

Two medical appointments this week, which is a lot for a doctor-phobe like me.  Lots more labs.  The rheumatologist was concerned because I have a marker for rheumatoid arthritis.  I have no symptoms and hand x rays show no sign of it.  CBC is normal.  So, the news so far is good.

When I saw the rheumatologist in the hospital my girls were impressed by her boots (it was December.).  Today I liked her flip flops and red toenail polish.  The nice, supportive flip flops, not the drug store kind.

The other appointment was with the nurse practitioner at the hematologist's office.  Keep on keeping on, come back to see her in three months.  See the doctor in six months.

It's been a busy week, appointments and meetings, and I've declared tomorrow a day off.  

Good Day

 

This morning I went online early to schedule an appointment to renew my drivers license with a real ID license.  There was a cancellation open in twenty minutes in the next little town and I got there right at 9:00.  I may have been wearing my pajama top but it looks like a tee and it's a pretty color.  Now my license will be coming in the mail and will be good for eight years.  Eight years!

Then I went to the DMV to renew my car tags but their computer was down.  I can come back another day, it's less than a mile from home.  The hardest part of that, and the drivers license, was finding the documentation.

Then I got a hair cut and the stylist said I had plenty of hair, which was a relief.  A couple of months after being sick my hair started coming out more than usual.  That seems to have stopped now, just like WebMD said it would, and I even have little wispy bangs.

There was a trip to Target for a sweater to wear this weekend.  Of course I checked out with the sweater and also other things and I was happy about it.  How does Target do that?

The last stop was at the library for some books on hold, including Kristen Hannah's Fly Away, which one of my friends highly recommended.  I have all my steps in for the day and it's time to read.

My Kind of Puzzle

Sometimes I sort of enjoy doing jig-saw puzzles, if they are 300 pieces, no more, and have a defined picture.  I can't say it's something I love, it's just kind of enjoyable.

This one, though, I'm really into.  It's not challenging, I'm not into challenging.  It was fairly easy to put together the outside edges, then the individual blocks.  After that it's just been fun.  I can usually walk past, stop and pick up a piece, and often just drop it in.  The different squares have differently-colored backgrounds, and that's helpful too.

And, it reminds me of a quilt.  What's not to like?  Unless, you like the really challenging stuff.