A Little Morning Rain

It was kind of drizzling when I got up this morning. The rain washed some of the smoke out of the air for a while today. It was still smoky but not as smoky as it has been the last few days. I realized after I took this rainy birdbath picture that the birdbath had turned into a bird-swamp so I went out this afternoon, dumped out the disgusting water, sprayed the daylights out of it with a strong jet from the hose, and then refilled it with nice clean water. Much better,

 

The squirrel juvenile delinquents were active this afternoon. I walked out into the kitchen to find this: the orange half relocated to the grape jelly and a juvenile squirrel have a big snack. I chased it off before taking the picture. It knew what it was doing was wrong because as soon as I stopped by the table, it looked up and braced, ready to have me open the patio door and chase it away.

 

Last night when I took off my sandals, I got a big whiff of eau du feet which meant it was time to wash my sandals. Fortunately Keen sandals are meant to be washed. I could have put them in the washer with a couple towels but decided to just fill the kitchen sink with hot water and Dawn and let them float around for an hour or so, before taking a scrubbie to the inner soles and scrubbing out all the dirt and toe jam. Now they get to sit in the dish drainer and dry, hopefully overnight. It was suggested to put them outside to dry but I didn't want birds to poop on them or squirrels to drag them away, so they're drying inside. It might take longer but it's safer.

 

Today's watercolor is a Swallowtail Butterfly on a Gerbera Daisy. I might have drawn it a little too big for the paper so the flower is kind of crammed at the bottom, but it turned out well, I think.

 

Before coming back here for Friday Night Knitting, I took time to draw my first July gratitude journal page. The basket of markers, pens, and book sits right there by my chair so it's hard for me to ignore it but most days I manage just fine. I don't know what made today special but I'm glad I drew it.

 

 At Friday Night Knitting, first I finished the Antipasto Chemo Hat. I've got more of this kind of yarn in different colors so I think I'll cast on another hat using the same pattern. It's easy to knit and I think it'll make good chemo hats because the yarn is soft and not woolly.

 

Then I got to work on Teddy Bear #2. I embroidered on the face using black yarn, then I sewed the ears across the corners of the head, and finally started sewing it together. I got one side done and will work on the other side before stuffing it, cinching in the neck, and knitting a scarf for the neck to add a jaunty look. I won't know until I stuff it whether dropping down another needle size made an appreciable difference in the size and stitch definition over the first one I knitted. I hope so because I sure like the look of them.

 

I got kicked off the knitting Zoom again tonight. I had to reboot the router and modem so I got on my phone's hotspot and got back into the knitting Zoom. So frustrating.

I have to keep reminding myself what day it is because I'm nervous that I'll forget that I've got a writing Zoom on Sunday afternoon this weekend instead of Monday morning. Tonight's Friday and tomorrow's Saturday. I'll remember. Just keep telling yourself, Barbara, and don't forget to send the Zoom link tomorrow instead of on Sunday.

--Barbara 

Still Smoky

It seemed a little less smoky today but not much. The sun was still a red-orange ball in the haze and it smelled like an old campfire outside. Thank goodness for air conditioning and good filters. There's an air quality alert that runs until noon tomorrow. Hopefully the wind will shift and send the smoke back to Canada. Outdoor activities have been cancelled because of it, so you know it's bad.

 

I went down to Zambaldi Beer this morning to get a 6-pack for knitting tonight. DS was unboxing a new slush machine. The old one had sprung a leak so a new one was in order. Blue raspberry hard slush was the flavor last weekend. I don't know what it'll be this coming weekend but it's bound to be tasty and cold.

 But first I went to T.J. Maxx to look for placemats. I found two sets that came home with me--one made of straw that I set the table with tonight, and the other of linen that I'll use next time. We had good eats tonight. I made chicken tacos with lots of toppings. DM made Mexican corn salad that was cold and very good. She also brought some chocolates because KE couldn't make it and she'd said she'd bring dessert. CS brought queso and chips which were delicious. It would have been easy to just have queso and chips but we ate some of the other stuff too. I've got plenty of chicken taco meat and toppings for suppers for the next few nights. Yum.

 

I saw a flash of blue in the yard and saw a Bluejay hopping around up by the retaining wall. I took a quick picture hoping it'd move closer but it didn't. It flew away instead.

 

The lawn mower came this afternoon. He was wearing a gaiter over his nose and mouth to filter out some of the smoke. It can't be good to breathe that stuff all day.

 

Today's drawing was a Crocus and it turned out! I took my time, erased a lot, and colored carefully and I like it. Several people have told me to cut myself some slack in the art department so I'll try.

 

A Downy Woodpecker landed on the suet cakes. It also visited the square green feeder but didn't stay there very long. It liked the suet cakes better.

 

I've got some lily pictures and a marauding squirrel picture but I'll save those for tomorrow because it's getting late and I'm tired. CS saw a Hummingbird at the feeder while I was in the kitchen so I missed it. Dang it! But I'm glad to know it's coming around so I'll keep refreshing the birdie juice.

--Barbara 

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

And lungs. The wind shifted overnight and smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed Wisconsin and nearby states. It smelled like a campfire outside all day and I'm sure people with lung problems were suffering today. It was hazy and quite a bit cooler, probably because the smoke filtered out the sunshine.

 

I went out to pick up a plastic bag that blew into the backyard and saw that these yellow & rust day lilies are blooming. They're very pretty but I noticed when I looked at the picture on my phone that the whole photo has a yellow cast to it. I suppose that's from the smoke.

 

A male House Finch discovered the orange half and had himself a snack. Later on one of the squirrels was up there slurping up grape jelly and then came back after I chased it off to work on the orange. I want it out there for the birds. The squirrels? Not so much.

 

Today's drawing is Delphinium. It wasn't so fun to draw because I was sure I kept making the petals wrong. I did a lot of erasing but the dark blue and purple coloring hides a multitude of sins.

 

The cleaner, MB, came today so now my house is clean and smells good. There are vacuum tracks in the living room carpet and the bathroom is sparkling. It was perfect timing because I'm hosting knitting tomorrow evening. Can't forget to go get beer tomorrow. And put out the pretty fingertip towels with fish embroidered on them. I wish I had some nice placemats. Maybe I'll swing by T.J. Maxx tomorrow to see what they have.

--Barbara 

Even Hotter

It was so hot today that very little wildlife was moving outside. I saw a baby rabbit on the patio in the morning and I saw the mother rabbit lounging in the grass once there was shade in the backyard. She was barely moving, just extending her neck to reach the nearest clover patch.

 

Once the backyard was in shade I went out to take a picture of the dark pink day lily. It bloomed last week too, but by the time I noticed it the flower was gone so I'm glad I saw it today, even though it was still 90 degrees out there. 

 

This morning before it got too hot I went out and refilled the birdbath, the grape jelly, and the orange half. I thought maybe a squirrel would come to partake of the sweet treats but, nope, no takers on this hot day.

 

For the third day in a row, I taped a couple of small pieces of watercolor paper to a plexiglass board and copied some insects out of Ink & Wash In the Garden. Today we have a grasshopper and a dragonfly. Maybe tomorrow I'll paint and draw on bigger paper.

 

This morning I met DS at a muffler shop to give him a ride back to the brewery. I went to Meijer to get the one item I forgot yesterday then came home and cooled off. My hair stylist called to say she'd had a cancellation and could I come early? You betcha. So it was back out into the heat and drive back across town to the salon. On my way home I stopped at a different grocery store because they usually have precooked chicken breast which I need for Thursday's chicken tacos. They were out, so I had to buy raw breasts, cook them, and cut them up. Which meant I had raw chicken trash that I didn't want to put into the garbage because it would soon stink to high heaven. Fortunately I got smart and texted my neighbor asking if I could slip it into their trash bin because tomorrow is pickup day. (My bin is empty and it wasn't worth trundling it out there for one tiny package of garbage.) There was room in their bin. Whew.

I got an email from my assistant with the first draft of a Seaview Recipes booklet. I thought that'd be a fun thing to put on my website that people could download. So she's putting them into a booklet. I need to do some editing but she's off for the next few days so there's no hurry. I need to take out one recipe and put another one in. People like recipes, right? 

--Barbara 

It Was a Hot One

I was determined not to go outside today but I couldn't resist taking a picture of Dad's rose that bloomed today. It was just too pretty to miss.

 

Then I had to snap a picture of the purple mums which I haven't cut back (because it's been so hot) so they're breaking out in blooms.

 

I only saw a couple of birds today and they were all on the ground trying to
stay in the shade under the feeders. I looked up from lunch to see this bunny staring in the patio door as if to ask if it was cooler in here. By the time I got the camera up and ready it had turned away but I was able to take a picture of it in profile. It stayed in the shade too.

 

In the "So Much Fun" department, I pulled out Ink & Wash In The Garden and painted some bugs. I've been in the mood to paint or draw some insects lately, so I was happy to find a beetle in the dirt, a bee on a daisy bud, and a ladybug on a dandelion to copy, draw, and paint. For some reason, these little pieces of paper are attracting me. Who am I to argue?

 

I've been trying not to eat sweets as much so I bought a bag of Gala apples to have for an afternoon snack. I reached into the bag this afternoon only to find the apples were wet. Turned out there was a rotten apple in the bottom of the bag, so rotten that it was flat and disgusting. So I washed off all of the remaining fruit hoping it won't rot too. I have to remember to put them back in the fridge before turning in tonight. 

 

This evening I finished knitting the last two legs of Teddy Bear #2. Then I folded it together and clipped it. Next I'll embroider on the eyes, nose, and mouth before stitching it up, stuffing it, and knitting it a scarf. I like the way I sewed the ears on the previous bear so I'll remember how I did it and do it again. 

 

Today is DD's 45th birthday. I looked in the archives for a picture of her to share with you and came across this one of her when she was less than a year old with my dad. They sure look happy to be together, don't they? 

 

It's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow but I have to go out. DS needs to be picked up at a muffler shop and delivered to the brewery and I have a haircut appointment. It's a good thing I'm a tough old broad. And that my car's a/c works just fine.

-- Barbara

Ended On a Happier Note

OJ had his final soccer game of the season in the broiling sun and high temps of this morning. His team held it together and the game ended in a tie, which is way better than a loss. OJ was smart. After the game, he upended his water jug over his head. He was wet, but cooler.

 

This afternoon one of the baby bunnies was grooming itself just outside the patio door. It looked so cute. Now that I don't have a garden for them to munch on, I don't mind them so much, although I do wish they wouldn't scrape out a burrow in the hill in the backyard.

 

One squirrel got creative this evening. First it climbed up on the suet nuggets for a snack but there's nothing left in that feeder but crumbs. Then it moved over to the grape jelly and finished it off.

 

Next it did something I've never seen one do. It moved over and started eating the orange half. It ate all the pulp out of the orange and then knocked it down onto the grass so it could finish the job. It took one bite of the rind but then gave up and scampered off.

 

After lunch I pulled out the drawing things and drew this picture of Jasmine. I like the way it turned out.

 

I didn't really want to do anything this afternoon so I sat down to watch TV and knitted on Teddy Bear #2. I finished the second set of arms, knitted the backside, and then started the first of the final legs. It occurs to me that I can't be knitting on it on Thursday when my friends come over because the bears are for someone's grandchildren-to-be so I have to knit on something else. I've got a hat in the works. That'll be fine for group knitting.

 

Last week I was looking through a box of things from KA, the watercolor teacher, and found a stack of business card-size pieces of watercolor paper. Couldn't figure out what they're for but I've been thinking of them and pulled out a book called, Ink & Wash Florals. After supper I drew three flowers on three little pieces of paper and then painted them. I like them. They're a tulip, a cosmos, and a snowdrop. I'll paint more.

 

After the soccer game, I went to the grocery. Might as well go, I was already hot and sweaty. No sense going home to cool off and then going out again, right? Anyway, I got all of the things I'll need to make chicken tacos for Thursday night's knitting night. I'm looking forward to eating them. They're so good, plus they're easy to make. I'll chop some scallions, shred carrots and radishes, quarter grape tomatoes, and put out a bowl of shredded cheese and another one of chopped salad for toppings. I even splurged on a small container of lite sour cream. Decadent. But I can't forget to go get beer from Zambaldi on Thursday.

Tomorrow is my DD's 45th birthday. I can't believe she'll be that old. I vividly remember the day she was born and it just can't have been that long ago, can it? 

 --Barbara

Game Day

OJ had two soccer games today. One at 10 A.M. and one at 4 P.M. It was hot, in the mid to high 80s, humid, and sunny with a slight breeze that was so appreciated by both the spectators and the players. Although I suspect that the players didn't notice it because they were running and sweating. DS took along his canopy tent for shade for the team in the second game. I'm sure the players appreciated being able to sit in the shade when they weren't playing. They didn't win either game. In fact, they got creamed both times, but they played hard and didn't give up. They have one more game tomorrow at 10 A.M. and then the season is blessedly over.

 

Early this morning a Downy Woodpecker landed on the suet nuggets feeder and stayed long enough to have its picture taken. There must have been a lot of birds visiting all day because when I got home after the second game I saw that the nuggets were nearly gone already.

 

 A male House Finch landed on the birdbath and then went right to the grape jelly for a snack. It wasn't facing the sun so you can't see how bright its head and breast were, but the reddish color was impressive.

 

Today's flower is an Iris, and a French Iris at that. I feel intimidated when I turn the page and see such a complex flower, but if I get over myself and take it one step at a time (there are 10 steps), I can do it. The French Irises on the retaining wall didn't bloom this year. I don't know why. I see the leaves but no flowers came.

 

I spent the time between games at home cooling down and reading the mystery manuscript. I didn't have any brilliant insights but I did make sure the city name was spelled the same through the manuscript, which is a good thing. And I started making chapter breaks. In one place I made a note about what has to go there but I wasn't in the right frame of mind to act on the note. I'll get there.

We went to lunch at Culver's after the morning game and DS and DIL1 bought us all paletas (frozen ice pops) at the start of the second game. Mine was coconut. So delicious and white, which was good because if it dripped it would have blended with my white t-shirt. But I managed to eat and lick it fast enough that I only got a drip on my ankle. Don't ask me how. It was crazy at the playing fields today. All of the city league teams played their last games today so every field was in play and there were a zillion cars parked along the streets. There were food trucks and paletas vendors, even a shaved ice truck. Madness!

--Barbara