Friday, June 21, 2019

Happy first day of Summer!

Personally, I am not happy about Summer in the South...it's the pits!  It will be so hot and humid from now until November at least....ugh!  You won't see me celebrating...lol!  I have been staying busy which is the best thing for me when I am grieving or dealing with a problem....it seems I work harder which is good as there are "miles to go before I sleep".
I've been doing a little of this and a little of that..........some cleaning but not nearly enough........and pulling out a few summer decorations.

some gardening...........remember those "snow peas"...lol!
They weren't, they were real peas I just didn't let them mature long enough.....patience is a virtue Sam!  One I need to practice evidently!  I was so thrilled.  I have never grown peas before as no one ever liked them.  That's because we grew up with those horrible canned peas...army green and mushy....yuck!  But look at these babies!  I have about 2 cups which I will cook up tonight and savor!
The grands are not coming down this summer and they have outgrown these pools plus this one has several holes.  I was going to throw them out but then a light bulb went off in my head.....a raised bed!  So I am painting it.  It needs more and then the inside....the littler one will get the same treatment.  See the orange paint on the grass?  The fiber optic people are in the neighborhood and instead of leaving breadcrumbs to the electric box from the pole.....they spray painted orange paint.  They had done it in between my trips out to paint the pool.  I never heard them and imagine my surprise when I came out and saw orange paint when I was using a cream color!  It took me a few minutes to figure it out.  Maybe it was National Spray Painting Day yesterday?  I have 4 bags of dirt but I don't think that is going to do it.  There may be a trip to Walmart for more paint and more dirt.
After shelling the peas I moved ahead to toasting the spaghetti squash seeds I had saved.  I found a new recipe I wanted to try at www.eatingwell.com
I only had about 1/4 cup but it was still worth it.  They were delicious!  I wonder if I could freeze the seeds until I have more?  I never have very many at a time.  I only had 1 squashes worth so I cut the recipe in half but they were so good! 
  My son Ben's girlfriend sells Norwex and I had never heard of it before.  They have all natural products..............I looked through it but it is very expensive...........
She also sent me one of the their Enviro micro fiber cloths.  I've used microfiber before and I didn't care for it but I tried this little cloth to clean my microwave and whoa Nellie.....it was amazing and I had the microwave cleaned in no time!  Ben told me to pick out what I wanted and he would get it for me......he has their mop system and raved about it.  It's very pricey though.  I might get a few of their silicone lids as that is something I've wanted in order to stop using plastic wrap.  These cloths contain silver which kills germs right on the cloth from what I understand....no wonder they're expensive!  If you can afford it I recommend  their microfiber...I was amazed.
I've been trying to get back to my cross stitch "days" and I did work on Witchy Wednesday and today is Fall Friday.  Yesterday I decided to work on my Quaker Flag which will actually be for Stars and Stripes Saturday............one 'stripe' of the flag is done.....I love this design and it is very relaxing to work on.
Today is more painting and maybe a trip to Walmart.  Bread is baking in the oven and then I need to shell the rest of the peas.  I want to make mango and corn salsa and a blueberry sorbet.  I went to the doctor in Mountain Home for a "wellness" checkup (ie; the insurance companies aren't making enough money so if you want your prescriptions filled you have to go....racketeers!) and the doc said I was in "tremendous" good health.....happy about that but I was not happy with what the scale said.  I do not believe in diets but I do believe in eating healthy and I was never overweight in my life until they messed with my thyroid.  I went on All Recipes and looked into their low fat recipes that were highly rated so we shall see.  Lots of things change as you age so I am trying to change with it.  
I hope you enjoy your first day of summer!
Happy Trails!!!



Sunday, June 16, 2019

YOP Week #51


 FO's (finished objects):
1. No FO's this week

 WIPs (works in progress):
1) The little fox is coming along but it is not enjoyable and is very fiddly for me.  I'm not sure if I'm going to get through 2 more of them....maybe it will get easier?  I still have the arms, the legs and the tail to do...............
2)  I worked a little more on my Quaker Flag..............
3) Sew She Did is coming along but my thread broke and I had to take out a section and so I didn't get very far...




Acquisitions:
1)   The rest of my floss came in for Sew She did.......

and a couple other patterns I've had my eye on.....
2) this will be for Jolly July...........
3)  This is the beginning of a longer range project that I saw Vonna Pfeiffer working on (The Twisted Stitcher blog and You Tube channel).  I liked her colors she chose so I am torn.......she did all her letters in a hand dyed steely blue/gray and it was gorgeous..........It's a big piece and I'll need to order fabric.  This is only the first 3 letters of the alphabet.........
4)  I picked these up at Walmart....new cross stitch project bags...........these are the biggest I've seen...2.5 gallons!

5) I finally received the 2 patterns I won from Priscilla and Chelsea...The Real Housewives of Cross Stitch.........LOVE!!!  I posted about them earlier in the week but in case you only visit on Sundays for YOP, I thought I would show them again.





 New Starts Planned: they're all secret! LOL!  There is planning a foot!

YOP Goals from last week:

1. cut fabrics for Pickle Dish #6
2. measure Grayson's blanket and work on
4.  finish stitch Maynia #5
5.  work at least 4 square inches on Diamond Painting
6.  work on Frida Kahlo basket
*7.  finish plan for YOP 2019-20
****8.  finish planning gifts for July birthdays and Christmas
*****9. SAL for Sew She Did
10.  final finish a xs item
11.  get back on schedule with XS days


YOP Goals for this coming week:  (yes, they are the same as last week)
1. cut fabrics for Pickle Dish #6
2. measure Grayson's blanket and work on
4.  finish stitch Maynia #5
5.  work at least 4 square inches on Diamond Painting
6.  work on Frida Kahlo basket
7.  finish plan for YOP 2019-20
8.  finish planning gifts for July birthdays and Christmas
9. SAL for Sew She Did
10.  final finish a xs item
11.  get back on schedule with XS days

TOP 10 (or more) WIP's:

1)  Pickle Dish
2)  Stars and Stripes Saturday - America x-stitch - done but needs finishing
3)  Amy's Frido Kahlo basket (July birthday) - done but needs to be sewn together
4)  Pin's embroidery
5)  C2C blanket for Grayson (July birthday) 
6)  Monthly Monday - HRH January
7)  Witchy Wednesday - Button-Eyed Cat
8)  Fall Friday -
9)  Santa Sunday -Old St. Nick - done but needs 'finishing' work
10)  Turkey Thursday
11)  Seasonal Sunday -Summer
12)  Santa Sunday - new house ornament

 Finishes so far in 2018-19: 
1.  4th of July cross stitch pillow/ornie
2.  Hitchhiker shawl
3.  Felici Hibiscus self-striping socks
4.  Felted wool loafer slippers with leather soles for me Sam
5.  washcloth (extra large) and back scrubber for Christmas or birthday for SIL
6.   Iowa Hawkeye hats for Sam and Grayson
7.  Techniques learned so far this year: a) knit cast on, b) reading a knitting chart, c) lace work, d) inserting and using a lifeline e) charting a graphghan
8.   dishcloth(s)...I need to count them
9. Cubs hat for Uriah
10. 12 days of Christmas Advent gifts
11. Cowl for Ben
12. Cowl for Tracy
13. Cowl for Natalie
14.  # 2018 Collectible ornaments for the grands
15.  Cowl for me or gift basket
16.  11 scrubbies for gift basket
17.  1 pot handle cover for gift basket
18.  Ben's Bear's hat
19.  Falling Leaves Scarf
20.  Tissue Box Cover - 5 of them!
21.  Granny Square Shawl
22.  Kathleen Tracy doll quilt
23.  Pumpkin Spice Farm xs
24.  Spring xs
25.  Blueberry Socks
26.  4 scrubbies for a friend

Miscellaneous Trivia:
Also, if you don't read my blog during the week....I had my 14 year old Rottweiller put down on Friday so I didn't feel much like 'crafting' yesterday but I did go through an entire box of kleenix!  Friday was bad, yesterday was pretty bad and today is a bit better.  I think I've run out of tears and I'm probably de-hydrated.  I will miss her forever.....she was a gift to me from above and I swear she was my guardian angel.  I feel like those people who lose a limb yet still feel like it's there....I have to remind myself she is gone as I catch myself thinking like she is still here.  Deep breaths and prayers for healing my heart...that's what I'm focusing on right now.   This is my Grace girl and that  picture epitomizes  how I feel.....like a worn out dishrag...emotions are much more tiring than physical labor IMHO.

I am starting to put together the patterns etc. for YOP 2019/20 and making a list of the supplies needed  for the various projects so I can get started right away...if the budget approves....we'll see.
Which dates are the yearly roundup and then when is the first Sunday we post about our new projects?  I got confused last week.  Is the roundup on week 52 or 53 and then post the projects on the first Sunday in July?  Dates would be appreciated as the week thing is messing me up.  Thank you!

 Please stop by and see all the other fantastic projects that other YOP'ers are working on.
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and I wish you all a happy, productive and creative week ahead!
Happy Trails!!!