Backyard Tour

This summer has been abnormally hot and muggy or maybe just extra muggy or maybe I'm getting old and cranky if it isn't 74 degrees with about 40% humidity.  It's probably that last part.  Anyway, I woke up half an hour before my alarm today (god, I hate that) and managed to capture a bit of pink in the sky.  Not much but more than the glaring, white-hot ball of sun that's usually out by the time I'm up.

A pair of Bluejays came cawing their arrival, checked out the oriole feeder and pecked at the corn fallen below the cobs and moved on but not before I managed to snap this photo.


 



At lunchtime this male Downy Woodpecker came for a snack and for once chose the side of the feeder toward the house rather than hiding on the other side with only his tail feathers visible.  Good job, bird.







 

The butternut squash is making a real effort to make up for dropping its first squash.  Here's another flower and the two squash are appreciably bigger today than two days ago.










The Early Girl tomatoes are ripening--and the chipmunks haven't found them yet.  (I probably shouldn't have typed that...)



The strawberry tomatoes are doing their part too.






 

And last but not least another of the Shopko closeout lilies is still blooming.  I know they look white in the picture but they're white with what looks like a watercolor wash of pale lilac.  Pretty.  Too bad they don't smell as pretty as they look.


August 10--Hermes, Birkin Bag.  "My purse," the woman three rows ahead of me on the plane yelled.  "My purse is gone."  She stood there crouched so her head didn't hit the overhead compartment and her hands gripped her seat back and the one in the row in front of her.  Her face was contorted in a mix of anger and hurt.  "How stupid are you, whoever took it, to think you can get away with it?  We're all closed in here a mile above the earth.  Who do you think you are, D.B. Cooper?"  Flight attendants converged on the distraught woman and the captain turned on the "fasten seatbelts" sign.  No one noticed the wisp of smoke that seeped under the locked restroom door in First Class.

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting someone asked if I'd completely emptied the storage.  Nope.  Here's what's left.  I plan to go out there one of these days with a bucket, some Murphy's Oil Soap, and maybe some Orange Glo, tidy the stuff up, take pictures and measurements, and DIL1 will help me sell it on her employers' version of Craigslist.  Hopefully by the fall I'll be able to let the storage go and start saving the $66 monthly rent.  Time for beddie-bye.  Toodle-oo.
--Barbara

Well, That Didn't Work Out

My whole idea about chaining myself to the sewing machine didn't really work.  I hadn't even had breakfast before I was in the living room shoving furniture around and vacuuming up the dust of ages that had collected under things that hadn't moved in a while.  I can't figure out what, if anything, to do with my big, round, walnut coffee table.  I love it, Grandpa Stephan made it for me when I was about 12 years old, and it's darned handy but it also really fills the middle of the room and makes it hard to walk from the front door into the kitchen in a straight line.  Not that straight paths are all that interesting (ask Jens Jensen) and that isn't the way I come into the house most of the time but for some reason it's bothering me.  I'll live with it for a week or so and see how I feel about it then.  (I posted the computer desk, printer desk, and office chair in the back on Craigslist a couple weeks ago and on Next Door today so hopefully someone will come and take them off my hands and out of my living room soon.)

Then I hauled the six suitcases I want to donate to the foster kids agency out onto the patio so I could spray them with 409 and then wash off most of the dirt but first I opened them all up, took out any small things left in them, and let the sun bake out some of the musty smell before I Febreezed the daylights out of them.  And no chipmunk tried to move into one of the suitcases.  I only found one sunflower seed in a case when I went out with the Febreeze and 409.  DD & SIL1 said that when most foster kids get removed from their homes they don't have anything to carry their belongings in so they are given a garbage bag to pack in.  No one, especially not a kid being taken from home, deserves to have to put their clothes in a black plastic bag, it has to make them feel like they're considered garbage too.



 



I also fiddled around with the placement of my new (old) kitchen table.  I finally put the table straight and the chairs kind of off center because the chair seats are too wide to fit between the legs at the ends and in the center of the drop-leaf sides there's the gate leg so it's hard to sit there too.  I'm so glad I decided to keep this table.  Grandpa Stephan made it for Aunt B long ago.  I'm not sure how it got from Miami to Green Bay but here it is.  As you can see I lost no time covering the top of the table with a raft of crap.  I'll be trying to overcome that impulse but not right now.  I've got too much else to deal with at present.





I did sew.  I just didn't get to it until this afternoon.  I made a pair of bowl cozies for a

wedding gift I need on Saturday.  One of the dive guys had a destination wedding a few months ago and they're having their local celebration this coming weekend at the amusement park.  Bumper cars, anyone?  Anyway, I've printed off a whole bunch of my favorite soup recipes (and we all know what a soup fan I am) and have them in a folder with some notes and comments.  Sometimes I feel like I should spend more money on wedding gifts but my instinct is to make something that they can use and share something of me with them, along with my wishes for a long and happy marriage.

And I knitted too.  After supper I sat down and finished the double-strand Bodhi Leaf Washcloth.  I like it and it's definitely bigger than the single-strand one.  Definitely bigger.






August 9--Il Bronzino, Portrait of Bia de'Medici.  The little girl was dressed like an adult.  She wore the same style dress that an adult woman would wear.  She was decked out in pearls with a gold chatelaine chain loose around her waist.  There were no tools or fobs on it yet but it appeared as if the adults in her life were getting her accustomed to the burdens her station in life demanded at a very early age.

T-t-t-that's all folks.  I was bushed last night and I'm pretty darned tired tonight.  I keep thinking that I'll bounce back faster now that Durwood is in a safe place where I don't have to listen for his every move and breath but DS told me yesterday that it's going to take months and I suspect that he's right.  I'm very lucky to have my kids holding me up, helping me, and lending me an ear and a shoulder when I need it.  Good job, me and Durwood, we raised some excellent adults.  And now to bed.
--Barbara

No CDL Required

DS had this afternoon off and was willing to help his old mama so I rented a U-Haul truck and we went out to our storage locker to sort through the things that needed tossing, load up the pieces of furniture I want to keep, and leave the rest there to be cleaned up and (hopefully) sold.  It was surprisingly inexpensive to rent the truck for 4 hours--$19.95 + 69 cents/mile.  (we drove 32 miles)  I agreed to the least expensive "safety package" i.e. insurance so the total was just a few pennies over $60.  Not bad.



We were very smart and loaded the things for home first, then the things to donate, and finally the things to toss.  As you can see I rented the exact right size truck.  First stop was the dump, then here to unload the donations into the garage to be cleaned up a bit first, and then we carried the table, desk, cedar chest, framed painting, and end table into the house.  Another big step toward getting control of things.  Thanks again, DS, for sweating and getting dirty with me, also for backing up the truck at the dump and into the driveway.  On a related note, we put the table (that Durwood didn't like) that I bought for $10 at the Salvation Army a couple weeks ago back into the U-Haul and I dropped it back at SA on my way to return the truck.  Didn't need it anymore and don't have a spot to store it so the Sally Ann gets to double-dip.




I found these two baby butternut squash on the vine yesterday.  These two better grow up and not fall off like the earlier one did.  Maybe I'll figure out a way to support them...




 
Here are a few of the "things with petals" that didn't make it onto the blog yesterday.  First the lantana.  It's so pretty.  I love the shapes of the florets and the colors too.  Red, yellow, and orange are my favorite colors.

 




Then there's the candy-striped petunia.  Always a favorite.



 

And the zinnias.  Great colors and they bring goldfinches.  What's not to love?






August 8--Vincent van Gogh, Roses.  It seemed like every rose was blooming at the same time.  Gina stood at the edge of the garden and wanted to sweep them all up in her arms.  These were old roses.  Roses from before hybridization had robbed them of their fragrance.  Roses from before they were bred for color or shape.  Roses like the ones that grew in thickets in the pasture of the farm and bloomed in simple five-petal flowers that made bees drunk with pollen.  Gina loved the dark red roses with petals like the richest velvet but she was also drawn to the yellow ones with the petals as soft and sweet as fresh churned butter.  She left the pink flowers for the milk-faced maidens who lolled in the shade with ice water in their veins.

This evening I went over to Durwood's to hang the pictures I framed yesterday.  The place is starting to take shape.  Tomorrow I intend to chain myself to the sewing machine.  No one better want me to do anything--and don't call.  I need a break.
--Barbara

Things with Petals

I had errands to do this morning then went over to hang pictures and have lunch with

Durwood.  (he had beef tips, rice, green beans and cherry crisp, I had a chicken sandwich from home with baby carrots and a clementine)  I found Command hangers that hold 12 lbs. so I could hang the big photo of the mill wheel that he took in Boston years ago that hung on the dinette wall and Pappy's (Durwood's dad) Boy Scout award from 1956.  Afterward I went to Michael's with the pack of photos I had printed last week and spent a jillion dollars on frames..  Okay, half a jillion because the frames were "buy 1, get one 50% off."  I bought a bunch of mats that I didn't need so I'll return them tomorrow and recoup part of the outlay.  They didn't have pre-cut collage mats like I remembered they used to have so I ended up buying some collage frames and then got a bigger frame, some double-sided tape, and a piece of black poster board to make a big arrangement of bird pictures.  Now all I have left to do for Durwood's new place decor is figure out and sew up slipcovers for the two Goodwill chairs I bought last week.  Maybe that'll happen this weekend.  The place is shaping up.

I finally got around to making the Cobb Salad that I've meant to make for a week.  Instead of bacon I crisped up some Canadian bacon that I then diced.  Instead of avocado I doubled up on tomatoes.  And instead of cheddar cheese I used some feta that I got at ALDI because my hair stylist said that the kind they have in brine is the best--and it's really good.  I used the Egglets Durwood ordered from Harriet Carter to make hard-boiled eggs last week (so much easier than the traditional way) so I chopped up one of those, diced up a grilled chicken tender, and sliced a green onion.  All I have for lettuce is a bag of spinach so I ripped a bunch of that into a bowl, laid on all the goodies, and drizzled it with fat-free honey mustard dressing.  I am definitely going to have that again and again until I run out of ingredients.  Or the spinach wilts, whichever comes first.  I have enough of everything for three more salads.  Yum.  And only 6 WW Freestyle points.




 


Now to the "Things with Petals."  I glanced out at the yard and saw that the daisies are still blooming, that the purple coneflowers are hitting their stride (just about every one in this picture has a bee on it), and then I went around and snapped a picture of every flower that's blooming.  The snapdragons get overshadowed but I really love their velvety deep red with the tiny accent of yellow.  There are a couple of my Shopko closeout day lilies still blooming and the stargazers are on their last days.  TW & A found a place in Abrams, just up Hwy. 41 10 miles or so, that sells all sorts of day lilies.  I need to get online and check them out.  They have lilies that bloom early-, mid-, and late-summer.  I wonder how much they cost.  I didn't ask.

 






 



 










This is all there is.  It was nearly midnight when I got to bed last night--again, so I didn't write the prompt.  See that I'm posting an hour earlier tonight.  I have hope for writing.
--Barbara

Rained Out

Tonight's aqua fitness class at the neighborhood pool was rained out.  Not that getting wet wasn't part of the program but doing it with thunder and lightning isn't a good idea.  KW offered me a ride home in case it started pouring while I walked home but I thanked her and refused because I'm almost halfway home by the time she gets into her car and out the pool drive.  It politely waited to rain until I got home.  Thanks, Mother Nature.

 
This morning I went out to harvest ripe tomatoes only to find a chipmunk dining on one of them, just the stem and a bit of skin of another, and nibbles out of a couple more.  To add insult to injury, our sole bell pepper was invaded by some worm or bug and is inedible.  That does it, I'm not planting those anymore.







 

The Japanese beetles that turned the strawberry plant leaves to lace last week discovered Dad's roses by this morning.  The fully open rose was blackened and being consumed so I cut the bud and flower that were opening and un-buggy so that I can enjoy their fragrance and beauty without the (admittedly pretty) iridescent bugs getting their greedy little mandibles on them.





 This afternoon I made another batch of Mediterranean Chickpea Salad so the flavors could

blend until suppertime.  I discovered how much I enjoy a bowl of lettuce with a serving of the salad and a sliced grilled chicken tender for supper.  Delicious.  And this bowl is six servings.  I'm finding it challenging to get motivated to cook for just myself.  One of these weekends I'll chain myself to the kitchen and crank out a bunch of recipes, portion them out, and freeze them so that I don't have to think, only thaw and nuke.  I suspect it'll take a while for me to get used to cooking for one.  My mind still churns with thoughts of things I need to do so that Durwood is comfortable and happy in his new place and I forget about something to eat.  But I've been fairly good about not going to get something fast and fatty.

When I got home from my walk to the pool and back (with very little getting wet in between) I sat down and worked on the Bodhi Leaf washcloth.  It took me a quick read of the pattern to realize that I had gotten to the end of the fancy part and didn't have to figure out where I'd lost that purl stitch again.  Now I'm to the decrease part which is the pointy part at the end.  This one isn't as much bigger than the original as I thought it'd be.  I'll use regular dishcloth cotton for the next one, I think.  But I'm only casting on another one when I've got a lot more cardi back knitted.  I really mean it.  Cross my heart.


August 6--George Stubbs, Zebra.  Did you hear that a zoo in Egypt got caught painting stripes on donkeys and calling them zebras?  Imagine being the poor schmuck whose job it was to do the painting.  I've never been close to a donkey but I imagine they're not that great at holding still.  They had to use oil-based paint because water-based paint would wash off in the rain.  Wait--does it ever rain in Egypt?  It boggles my mind to think that people today could be fooled into thinking a painted donkey is a zebra.

That's it for today.  I found some Command hangers that will hold the heavy plaque and framed photos I want to put up for Durwood so that's on tomorrow's agenda.  Hopefully I'll steal some time to sew too.  I realized today that I need to sew up a pair of soup bowl cozies for a wedding gift on Saturday.  Good thing they're quick to make.  I have bowls and will print off a couple of my favorite soup recipes to include because, let's face it, homemade soup is where it's at.  None of the canned stuff.  Ugh.
--Barbara

A Real Quickie

Today was Durwood's 79th birthday so I spent most of it with him.  His little birthday gift was a large print list of the channels & numbers of his new, unfamiliar cable TV provider.  His big birthday gift is a new, much larger TV since I didn't account for the increase in room size when I bought the one last week.  Oh, too bad.  Now I get a new, bigger TV for the living room here.  What a pity.  As I said in an earlier post he got to order his birthday dinner so that's what everyone at the facility had for lunch today.  He asked for beef stroganoff which was good, but not as good as mine.  (of course)  He also agreed to go down to the dining room with me so he got to see a few of the other neighbors.  I'm hoping he'll let them wheel him down there for one meal a day.  I feel the weight of his expectation that I'll continue to be his sole "person" and am doing what I can to encourage him to expand his horizons just a little.  (photo from a few years ago)



My purchase of red, tubular flowers almost exclusively has continued to bring butterflies and birds to the yard.  Make a note, Barbara, next year plant more lantana and more zinnias for goldfinches to reap the seeds.  





 


I don't know if this red begonia is attracting birds or butterflies, it's out of my line of sight from the table, but it sure is pretty.  Even the leaves are pretty.

After supper I cast on another Bodhi Leaf washcloth from the Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide #7:  Ease.  I thought the first one I made was a bit small and someone on the MDK forum commented that she'd thought that too so she held two strands of the yarn together.  Being the copycat that I am, especially when I hear a good idea, I got out the other onesie ball of Terra yarn and I'm holding the red and wheat together.  Do you see that little tangle of yarn on the right?  That's how much you have to rip out when you get your odd and even rows mixed up.  It doesn't look at all good when the purl stitch suddenly switches sides.  Nope, not good at all.

I stayed up too late last night and am up too late again tonight therefore no prompt writing happened last night but if I finish this quickly, slap some photos on here, and post it I can get some scribbling done tonight.  Here I go.
--Barbara

I'd Have Blogged Last Night...

... if I hadn't been so danged tired.  I spent most of yesterday gathering things for Durwood's new place, over there hanging pictures and rearranging furniture, and endlessly waiting for the Direct TV guy to come--which he did 15 minutes before I had to leave to go give LC and OJ supper and put them to bed so their parents could have a date.  By the time I got home I was more than tired so I just went to bed.  The coolest picture I took yesterday was this row of fog drops dangling from a honeysuckle vine.  I'm just glad that one shot turned out not blurry.




This morning a Monarch butterfly spent some time in the early sun warming up which gave me time to go out there and snap its picture.



 


A trio of Bluejays came to investigate the suet feeder, check out the fallen seed, and to get a drink.  There are too many other things for them to eat this time of year so we don't see them very often.




This evening when I was putting my supper together I saw a hummingbird making sure to dip its beak into every lantana flower.  I don't like taking pictures through a screen but there was no way I could get outside without scaring away the hummer so I just snapped away.  I could watch them all day.




Tomorrow is Durwood's birthday so I made the blueberry crumble tarts we both like so much.  I had a bowl of nectarines that I was afraid would spoil before I ate them so I cut up four of them and made a second batch substituting diced nectarines for the blueberries, adding a bare 1/8 tsp. of almond extract.  As you can see, I had to eat one of the experimental tarts--just to make sure they weren't poisonous.  I'm just that noble, DD said so.

I'm making progress on the Montparnasse Eco Cardi back by knitting about 4 rows a day.  I've got to decrease about 30 more stitches so soon I'll have to measure the length, calculate how many more inches I need, and maybe increase the frequency of the decreases.  I'm feeling very good about having learned how to make a pattern fit me by measuring gauge and me.  If this thing doesn't fit... no, don't think that way, it'll fit and be fabulous.

August 4--Juan Gris, Composition on a Table.  Clearing off the table was like an archaeological dig.  There were layers and layers of newspapers, magazines, and mail, with surprises like silverware, candy, and medications tucked in spots.  Carla hated jobs like this.  It was sad enough when she was called in to clear out a house when someone died but she thought that it was worse when the person was still alive but had lost who they were.  She kept a small bin with her for the things she thought that the person might want kept if they had their wits about them.  Sometimes it was a large amount and other times it was very little.  It always made her sad.

D'you know what I did today?  Nothing.  Except for making those tarts which took all of about 20 minutes and going over to the AT&T store for a channel list for Durwood's new cable service I didn't do anything but goof off.  It felt great--and a bit self-indulgent.  I have got to get over the idea that I don't get to have do-nothing days.  Everyone needs them and I don't begrudge other people days of lolling around but me?  Nope, if I loll around, by the afternoon I feel disgustingly lazy.  *sigh*  I'm such a trial to myself.  Hey, we just had a nice, short thunderstorm with a lot of wind and rain that pelted the windows.  Ahh, I like a summer storm.
--Barbara