The zesty turkey veg soup got finished last week and, with the whirlwind weekend we had, making a pot of soup just wasn't in the cards, so this morning I dug around in the fridge for something, anything to have for lunches this week and I hit the jackpot. I made curried chickpeas and rice last week when Durwood wasn't feeling good, ate some the other night and had about half left. Then there was a pair of chicken drumsticks that got shoved aside but were still edible and I'd begged a few spoonfuls of Greek salad from our weekend supper guests so I had it made. As long as there's strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple at Aldi I nab one of each, do a little slicing and peeling to make a big bowl of fruit salad (with just a little Splenda on it) for putting on yogurt or cottage cheese or eating all by itself (it's a way to get Durwood to eat fruit that's not in pie) so I was good there. I'll either have to whip up another batch of curried chickpeas (which I would be happy to do... I wonder if I can freeze it? I'll look that up) or make a PB&J for Thursday's lunch, but then perhaps there'll be a single serving of some quality leftovers that pops up by then. You can just never tell around here.
The stargazer lilies are starting up. Another pink one bloomed and the white ones are just about ready to pop. The peach daylilies on the side of the house are still making flowers, the first coneflower's petals are nearly open, and the daisies and bee balm are still showing off. It makes me smile every time I look at them, which is why I keep putting pictures of them on here.
Since I finished the Mosaic Practice Hat last week I've been casting around for what to make next and decided to give the E.L.F. Hat a shot. Naturally the yarn I have isn't the thickness that the pattern calls for so I'll be swatching for gauge and then rejiggering the stitch count. It promises to be an interesting challenge. Durwood helped me wind eight little skeins of DMC needlepoint yarn into little balls (hey, yarn's yarn and this is in my stash; you know I'm determined to knit down my stash) last night, I've got the pattern, my notebook, and a book of generic patterns that helps to figure out how many stitches to cast on with the gauge you've got. It's very handy.
My friend Mitch turned me on to a series of novels by Anne Perry set in Victorian England featuring a detective William Monk and one of Miss Nightingale's nurses, Hester Latterly who solve murders among London's upper class. I'm on the third one (of about 20), I get them from One Click Digital through the library (for free!) and listen while I drive or knit. I like them, they're interesting stories without being too taxing or making me think too much. I have enough to think about outside of my reading/listening life, thank you very much. (The link takes you to the first one's description on Amazon if you're interested.)
July 20--Douglas David Seifert, Humpback Whale. Out of the navy blue depths of the open ocean a dark gray shape rose toward the sun sparkled waves. It was a calm day, the dive boat rode easily at anchor while the divers waited out their surface interval before the next dive. A couple of them lay napping in the shade of the flying bridge but Sue was too excited to waste time sleeping. She put on her fins, grabbed her mask and snorkel, and slid off the swim platform to watch the sun's rays pierce the depths. She was no more than six feet from the boat when she saw the change in color far below and the stream of bubbles from the great mammal's blowhole. She knew the moment it saw her. The whale paused in its ascent, made a long stroke with its fin, and came toward her to investigate.
I should have more prompts/pictures like that. Those words just rolled off my pencil like falling off a log. I'll study on that thought. Time to get ready to go face the world of retail SCUBA diving, and not forget to pick up tanks on my way.
--Barbara
Once DD arrived around noon yesterday until I got back from "taking her to camp" this afternoon I don't think I sat down for more than 15 minutes in a row. It's hard work to cram months of visiting into 36 hours and leave time for sleeping. *pant, pant* I didn't take one picture, I meant to but forgot in the whirlwind of activity. I'll take one or twelve next weekend when she comes back through for 18 hours or so before driving back to Lexington. She's going to need a vacation from her vacation. I won't say it to her but if she lived closer to "home" the trip wouldn't be so long. I suspect that buying a house in Kentucky is pretty much a guarantee they aren't moving closer to my house anytime soon.
This morning I noticed that one of the pink stargazer lilies is open. It smells like heaven and even I, who doesn't really like pink, likes this pink flower. Maybe I'm mellowing in my old age. (and, man, do I feel old today)
I had to laugh at the woodpecker that got confused and landed on the finch feeder this morning. It looked around like it was looking for someone to blame and then skulked over to the suet. It looked to me like the goldfinch and sparrow were having a chat at the birdbath. Maybe they were talking about the woodpecker.
On my way home from The Clearing today I pulled into a wayside a little south of Baileys Harbor. I've often wanted to pull in and never have. See, it's the 45th Parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole (well, an intersection about half a mile south of it is but you can't put a Geographical Marker in the middle of an intersection) and the North Star, Polaris, is at a 45 degree angle from there. I am such a dork, nerd, whatever, I just love it when I cross over to the top quarter of the planet, always have, always will. I paid attention when we crossed the Continental Divide in Yellowstone too. I admit it, I'm a map freak.
You'll be proud of me, DD and I stopped at Spin (yarn shop) in Sturgeon Bay on our way up and I didn't bring home any yarn. I had 4 skeins out of the 40% off sale basket on the counter but after consideration I put them back. I bought DD a skein of yarn for her birthday but that doesn't count since it didn't come home with me.
July 19--Lior Rubin, (Red) Chattering Lory. The air was so wet that water dripped from every leaf tip and twig. She didn't think it was raining at that moment but Sheila couldn't really be sure. The trees made a solid green roof overhead so even if it...
After that there are only scribbles. I had a vague memory of putting my glasses and notebook on the nightstand and turning out the light. The same might happen again tonight. I'd go to bed right now if it wasn't still light out and wasn't just barely an hour since we ate. See you in the morning. *yawn*
--Barbara
Durwood called me at work yesterday afternoon to say that he saw one of the Red-tailed Hawks sitting on the fence, so they didn't leave after all. I saw a big brown body fly over the house when I was out taking early morning pictures yesterday morning but by the time I got through the house and out the front door there was no sign of any big bird. I figured it was probably our Cooper's Hawk moved back into its turf but I was evidently wrong.
The last Dad's rose is blooming and the lily buds are swelling. One is showing a pink-y lavender. Soon there will be big, sweet smelling lilies in the yard. Hooray! Dad's roses will bloom again in the fall.
I got a call from the pottery place yesterday that my yarn bowl was ready for pick-up so I zoomed over after work to get it. I really like it. I loaded a skein of yarn into it and knitted away and it works perfectly. The yarn pulls out of the ball and the ball stays put, just like it's supposed to.
In knitting news, I got through the first decrease repeat. According to the pattern you follow the same directions when you use worsted yarn as when you use bulky yarn. I'm suspicious. I still have lots of stitches on my needles and only eight more rounds (two of them with decreases) so I'm thinking I might just have to add another repeat making more decreases. We shall see.
I didn't write last night. We watched a very interesting show about a team of divers searching for a coelacanth, a fish thought to be extinct and then rediscovered in 1952 (see? I was paying attention), going way deep, like 400' deep with rebreathers and all kinds of tanks of gases (it was very cool and riveting), so we stayed up too late, well, I did anyway. I'll do better tonight, cross my heart.
--Barbara
I'm glad to see Wednesday because on Saturday DD is arriving for a very short stay before she toddles on up to The Clearing for a week of playing in their workshop learning how to use a lathe. I wish I was rich and could go learn that too, although I don't really have room for a lathe in the basement workshop and I don't think that drifts of sawdust in the house air would be any good for Durwood's breathing. Besides I get to drive along (in a separate car) when she goes up on Sunday so we can stop at Spin (yarn shop, open 10-3 on Sunday, I checked) in Sturgeon Bay and then I get to go on up to TC with her to show her around a bit, kind of drop her at summer camp, and then come home to my Durwood while she stays to make woodchips fly. Then she'll spend the next Saturday night with us on her way back home to Kentucky where she really lives, even though I always say she's coming home when she's coming here. Home is where the Mama is.
I think the cherry tomato(es) need another day or two to be at the peak of ripeness for Durwood's eating pleasure, and I'm excited to see two big white flowers on the gourd plant this morning. I might get a gourd! Yahoo!
The daisies and bee balm continue to look fantastic in the morning light, and I captured another bee on the spiderwort collecting pollen. I need to find out of that's a boy bee or a girl bee, just because I'd like to know.
I'm at the crown decreases on the Mosaic Practice Hat. I really like the way it looks. And I finished the Pool Fish at work on Monday but I want to make another one so I can figure out how to pick up stitches to knit the dorsal and pectoral fins on instead of having to sew them on. One bath or one dip in the wading pool and I suspect those fins will be flapping by a thread. It's not like it's stuffed with fiberfill so I can't run the threads through the middle to secure them, there's a ping pong ball in there so weaving in is limited. I'll work on it and report.
Last Friday night FW showed us one of the crowns she's knitting for her great-granddaughters who are visiting soon. It wasn't my size but don't you think LC needs one? I do, and with more jewels.
July 15--Duotone, Sun, Moon & Earth. The sun cast the shadow of the moon onto the Earth and day became night. Birds sought their nests, chickens went to roost, and one dog howled. Lana and her brother, Charlie, had set up their Goodwill telescope on top of the picnic table and Lana had a notebook leftover from Social Studies class to make notes in. The rest of the neighbor kids were too busy playing baseball or soccer or their parents had signed them up for all kinds of classes so they didn't have ten minutes of free time every day. Charlie said that they were lucky that their parents were old hippies who didn't give a crap about team sports and summer school. Mom and Dad let them build forts, conduct experiments and light fires and so far neither of them had been hurt. Well, not badly enough to need stitches or skin grafts.
Speaking of holy crap, do you realize that today's the middle of July ALREADY? I... I give up trying to figure this stuff out. I'm hungry, I hear yogurt and granola calling my name. Peace out. And groovy.
--Barbara
It's the middle of July (well, almost) so things are happening in the garden. I walked up to the bank this morning and noticed small red things on the raspberry bushes. Durwood made short work of them. He's dedicated like that.
There's a hornet that has been building a nest inside the patio umbrella all summer. I've knocked it down three times and every time they build it back, so later I'll be getting out the can of hornet spray and settling the matter once and for all.
The first reddening tomato is making progress and it has a pal. Durwood's being patient, not very patient, but patient.
I was sitting in the yard this afternoon when this little guy came and sat on the grass right by me. It stayed there for quite some time. I don't know what kind of butterfly it is but I'll be looking it up.
July 14--Winston Fraser, Candlelight. The flame stood tall and still, barely wavering, light in a soft circle around the base of the dark wood candle stick. Maeve inhaled and saw the flame flicker at her indrawn breath. "Len, we need to talk about this. It won't go away if we ignore it." She watched his eyes dart from side to side and the lines around his eyes deepen. "You do what you want. I don't care." His fingers pleated the tablecloth in small exact folds. She looked out the window at the line of bulldozers knocking down the row of buildings at the bottom of the street. "They're getting closer every day. Either we sell out and this beautiful old place disappears or we stand and fight the developers." He shrugged, a kind of twisting tic that lifted his right shoulder and dipped his head to the left. "You can't fight them, they're too strong, and they have all the money." The candlelight sparkled in her tears. "But this is our home."
Now I should probably go fold those sheets I laundered the other day before it's time to put them back on the beds.
--Barbara
The zesty turkey veg soup got finished last week and, with the whirlwind weekend we had, making a pot of soup just wasn't in the cards, so this morning I dug around in the fridge for something, anything to have for lunches this week and I hit the jackpot. I made curried chickpeas and rice last week when Durwood wasn't feeling good, ate some the other night and had about half left. Then there was a pair of chicken drumsticks that got shoved aside but were still edible and I'd begged a few spoonfuls of Greek salad from our weekend supper guests so I had it made. As long as there's strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple at Aldi I nab one of each, do a little slicing and peeling to make a big bowl of fruit salad (with just a little Splenda on it) for putting on yogurt or cottage cheese or eating all by itself (it's a way to get Durwood to eat fruit that's not in pie) so I was good there. I'll either have to whip up another batch of curried chickpeas (which I would be happy to do... I wonder if I can freeze it? I'll look that up) or make a PB&J for Thursday's lunch, but then perhaps there'll be a single serving of some quality leftovers that pops up by then. You can just never tell around here.
Since I finished the Mosaic Practice Hat last week I've been casting around for what to make next and decided to give the E.L.F. Hat a shot. Naturally the yarn I have isn't the thickness that the pattern calls for so I'll be swatching for gauge and then rejiggering the stitch count. It promises to be an interesting challenge. Durwood helped me wind eight little skeins of DMC needlepoint yarn into little balls (hey, yarn's yarn and this is in my stash; you know I'm determined to knit down my stash) last night, I've got the pattern, my notebook, and a book of generic patterns that helps to figure out how many stitches to cast on with the gauge you've got. It's very handy.
