Fire danger, more watering and a night on the town!

I usually blog every day but yesterday I was smelling smoke in the neighborhood, trying to get an answer about fires in the area and watering, watering ,watering.  By the end of the day I'd gotten nothing much done and a friend called and said the local pub was having a shrimp and steak dinner for $12.00 and I jumped at the opportunity!   I had a couple cool ones which relieved the stress of the "fire danger" and enjoyed a wonderful inexpensive meal for once cooked by someone other than MOI! LOL!  It felt great to get out of the house, socialize a bit and relax............ahhh.

But I have been doing a few things.  I managed to get a few rows done on my Granny Stripe Table Runner

 

 And there's a few less pins on my wool applique...........

I finished a book ...okay, so it was a very little book..............

and no it is NOT political......it is more about "united we stand, divided we fall" and how we need to take responsibility as citizens to ensure the future of our country regardless of our political affiliation.  I highly recommend it.

I hope you had a wonderful Saturday and I have to go look out the window now at rain clouds moving our way!  Yes! Yes! Yes!

Lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer...........

Remember the radishes you could barely see the other day...........

 

 well they are up and about today!  I have to water several times as they are babies and have to be coddled as such in this heat.

 I got some things in the mail today too...Oh!  How I love to get mail,  not bills you understand but REAL mail like catalogs and magazines and presents that I've ordered for myself and by the time they come I've forgotten and it such a surprise!  I love that! LOL!  

This is flour which I'm pretty excited about!  It's a lot of flour that will go in my freezer.  There are 4 packages of each kind in those boxes from Bob's Red Mill.  There is Quinoa, Oat, Barley and Flaxseed meal.  This will last a year as I am making my "girls" dog treats with it.  I have several recipes for their treats and they include such things as cheese, blueberries and apples.  I found recipes on Martha Stewart which you can get yourself or I'll share as I make them and post on here.  I was getting concerned about the treats I was giving them as there were recalls and some made in China and the good ones were so expensive that I decided to make my own and they would be better for it and it would cost me less.  Another adventure in living!   Stay tuned for this as they only have a few days left of their present treats so I had better get a "move on"!

 I also got my Mary Jane's Farm magazine which I always love and read cover to cover and save for forever!

They have a special place in my glass bookcase with the rest of the "keepers". 

And.....(drumroll please)..........I started one of my YOP's (year of projects)!  I started my Granny Stripe crocheted table runner.

The yellow is an existing table runner I have and the red is the up and coming one.  I know it doesn't look like much of a start but with the Granny Stripe....the beginning is the hardest!  Your chain has to be a multiple of 3 or it won't work out.  I wanted it to be about as wide as my yellow one above so I chained 69 stitches.  Then the first row is single crochets and you have to end up with 69 or whatever multiple of three you chose for your size.  The first time I got 70....not good, the second time I ended up with 73....REALLY not good....but the third time was charm and I got 66.  Okay, so it wasn't 69 but it was a multiple of 3 so I'll take it!   Once you get those first 2 rows done it is clear sailing and crochet heaven as it works up like a dream!  Oh, and my son isn't coming the 8th...maybe the next week so I can skate a little on the housekeeping deadline.  So, guess what I'm doing tonight?  I'm going to crochet and watch The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie and maybe even Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman if I can stay up that late and I'll have some tea and peanut butter cookies and read my MJ magazine all from the comfort of my pj's and my feather bed!  Pure delight!

I hope you had a delightful Thursday and tomorrow is Friday!  My favorite day still even though I'm retired! LOL!  

Houston! We have liftoff, I mean germination and a Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone!  It's a hot one here and extremely dry so I pray there are no fires started by fireworks.  I was invited to go out on the lake tonight and join the "flotilla" but it is way too hot for me and I don't go in the water so I'll be staying home in my nice ac! LOL!  Plus, my son is coming Sunday and I need to get the guest room prepared for him.  It tends to become a "catchall" when I have no company for awhile.

You're not going to believe this but my seeds that I JUST planted what...3-4 days ago?  They're sprouting!!!!   LOOK!

  These are lettuce sprouts and below radishes sprouting..........

They're a little hard to see and there's not as many of these yet but I am amazed!  Last year I bought Burpee seeds and the germination was less than 50% on 2011 seeds!  This year I bought Seeds of Change Organic seeds at Walmart and they were less expensive than Burpee and the germination rate was fast and full-blown!  I am REALLY impressed!

My flowers are putting up a good fight in this heat but no matter how wet they are the heat still seems to zap all of us!  Remember my full of blooms petunias on Memorial Day.....now look.....few blooms and they've all gone to seed it looks like.  Oh, well....it's too hot to be out there enjoying any blooms anyway.  Maybe they'll make a comeback in October when it cools off? LOL!

Have a wonderful 4th of July and stay safe and stay cool!  Happy Birthday America!

Baking, crafting and reading...........Tasty Tuesday!

Made my favorite cookies.........peanut butter!   This time I tried using Stevia which is a natural sweetener and cup for cup used like sugar.  Other than it being lighter in weight and easier to roll the cookies in I noticed no difference as opposed to Splenda where the cookies were soft and would not crisp up.  Also, the sugar didn't melt on the pan and make a mess at all.  I highly recommend it!  I use it in my coffee now and notice no difference.
I've been working on my quilt block and notice how few pins are left?  Signing up for the Ravelry Year of Projects really got me motivated!  I also discovered that you can put all crafts and WIP's (works in progress) on your YOP list too.  I have until the 14th before the list is considered "done" so I will be going back to my July 1st post and editing it for all my other projects that are not knitting or crocheting.  Whoa Nellie!  That list is going to be long now!  Of course, it will definitely include my folk art quilt!

I finished this book last night that I got at the library.  It is interesting and I learned a few things but mostly it seemed the author was reliving his own childhood.  I am an only child though so I did notice some characteristics but nothing I would change about myself now.  I just keep trying to improve on the original!

P.S.  BTW, I swear, I had the best childhood anyone could have asked for (well, the first 5 years anyway).  I think it's that solid foundation that gets you through the rest of it!

This is scary!  I have knitted 3 scarves and a pair of oven mitts and I want SO BADLY to make socks but I must admit.....I'm TERRIFIED!  I will be reading this book several times over.  This book came highly recommended by Susan Anderson (a knitting designer and blogger).  I do know how to use a circular needle and do the "magic loop" but I will probably make some baby socks to get the gist of it at first.  I think I would get totally confused using 3 to 4 double pointed needles but what do I know?  Maybe there's some You Tube videos out there I can watch too.  I also may knit a few other things before I attempt this....I told you I was scared! LOL! 
I hope you all had a great Tuesday and have wonderful plans for tomorrow!  Stay safe!

Off to a good start for the week....worked outside today

I baked a loaf of bread last night before I went to bed.  Once my dough is ready in the frig it only takes 40 minutes to rise and then 30 minutes to bake and no time at all for prepping really.  It makes great toast which I had with my yogurt this morning.  My standard breakfast.
I did my usual watering this morning here and at my neighbors and by that time I was already sweaty so I decided to just stay outside and get some work done.

I planted my 2 planter boxes that I painted last week.  One has 3 kinds of lettuce and the other has a couple green onions and radishes.

They both look the same so one picture should do it! LOL!  The seeds are in there though, trust me!  Now I need to paint that bench....pretty sad looking!  I put them up on the bench so the rabbits don't get my produce when it comes in.

I also had some plants I got on sale that I hadn't potted up.......I think the tan one has lost the battle.
I posted once before on how I use coffee filters in the bottom of my pots so the dirt doesn't wash out through the bottom holes.  Well, I flatten them out in the pot first..............

But you can see that they don't stick to the sides and the dirt is going to go right past them......sooooooo....
I water them down first before putting the dirt in and then they stick to the sides of the pot really well!

This is a different pot as I forgot to take a picture of the first one but this trick works.

I'm going with some succulents as it is so hot down here you need to water twice a day to keep things alive.  I get tired of watering all the time!  This is an experiment so I'll see how they do and how I like them.  There's a sedum, a dessert rose, hen and chicks and some moss roses.

This has some creeping thyme, snapdragons and moss roses.
I was whooped when I came in about noon but took a nice bath and did a few things around the house but I can only work outside every other day as it really wears me out!  I can remember when I was young I could work outside from sun up to sun down so if you're reading this and you're young, take advantage of your energy and stamina because when you get to be my age, 63....you won't have it! LOL!
I hope everyone got their week off to a good start.  What's everyone doing for the 4th?

Craft Along on Ravelry..........A Year's Worth of Projects

Okay....so the gal who hates committment just joined the above group on Ravelry!  I do like to set goals though and I love a challenge so here I go!  I chose 10 projects for July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013.  Finally, something that doesn't happen at the beginning of the year.  Here's what I would like to accomplish:

1  Finish my Granny Stripe table runner/throw as this is a WIP (work in progress) this is crochet http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/granny-stripes-2
2. Knit a pair of socks ( I will probably knit a baby sock first to get the hang of it and practice as I've never done this before although I have knitted 3 scarves and a pair of felted wool oven mitts.)  Some people say socks are boring....I love boring!  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/how-i-make-my-socks
3. Another crocheted throw or blanket that looks like chenile!   http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/blackberry-salad-striped-afghan
4.  Some knit dish towels  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/soft-cotton-knit-dishtowels
5.  Did you notice I am going crochet then knit then crochet on my projects?  I don't want to get rusty in either skill so I try to switch from one to the other.  I've been wanting for while now to learn to do crocheted edging for pillow cases, dresser scarves, curtains...you name it.  Here is my project for that
 http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/everyday-edgings
6.  A crocheted "carpet bag"  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pinata-bag
7.  A knitted cotton bath mat  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simple-cotton-bath-mat
8.  Cherry crocheted edging (I want to put this on shelf edges) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cherry-jam
9.  Crocheted stone covers!  Yes, they're amazing...take a look!  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-urchin-crochet-covered-sea-stones
10.  And a MAJOR project of a crocheted bed cover that I put last because it will take me awhile to save up the money to buy all the yarn for it!  LOL!  But it is beautiful (I think)  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/seeing-stars-blanket

This is my first year joining this group and participating so I chose 10 projects only.  Oh!  I could have gone on and on but who am I kidding?  It will probably be a miracle if I get all these projects done!  But I'm going for it!
 If you're not familiar with Ravelry it is a free website where fiber people meet, share projects, patterns and you have your own "area" where you can keep track of your projects both in progress and future and you can join different groups, connect with other Ravelry members, ask questions and even SHOP!  It is a wonderful place....almost magical!  If you are interested in joining just go to Ravelry  and you too can join the Craft Along if you want.  Come on...you know you want to!  We will encourage each other and keep each other on task and inspire and learn new skills.  It's a win-win!
I hope you are enjoying your Sunday.  I better get going and get started on my projects while the year is still young!

E D I T as of 07/04/2012 - I discovered that I could include "other" crafts that are WIP or newly planned for 2012/2013.   So, here I go!  I don't have pictures but you will see them in progress updates on Sundays.

1.  Master bedroom bed quilt - I have pattern and materials but have not started
2.  Guest room bed quilt - just a plain "patch " quilt based on one I saw that Helen Phillips made on her blog.  I have the backing material but that's all.
3.  Baby quilt for local quilt guild - have materials but haven't started yet
4.  Quilted growth chart for my Grandson Uriah - have material, pattern and it is about halfway finished sewing together.
5.  Quilted BIG project bag - pre-quilting my own material for this and not sure where the pattern is at the present time....hmmmm 
6.  My very first sampler quilt/throw is finished except for binding.
7.  Cross stitch - (yes, I said cross stitch...I haven't done it for years! ) I got the book Stitch by Cath Kidson and it included a free cross stitch little zippered purse/bag.  I started the cross stitch on it.
8.  13 Snowman blocks for Quilt Guild swap in November.  I have the pattern but no materials yet.
9.  Pillowcases (pair) sewn to utilize the crocheted edging I'll be making.
10. My folk art quilt that I have been working on and it should have been #1.  This is all hand stitched wool applique on wool felt and there is one big center block which is done and there are 12 surrounding blocks and 4 borders all hand appliqued.  I have 9 blocks finished, 3 left to go and then the 4 borders.

Saturday stuff.............

Isn't this too cute!!!!????  I love it and she gives great directions.  I have no intention of painting mine at the moment but it would apply to any appliance you  might have.  I'm thinking my built-in oven and refrigerator!  Plus, I started following her because she also had a post on how to do faux granite countertops on your existing countertops.  They did her Mother's which were white and they turned out fantastic!  And for wear and tear in both projects....not a problem so far!
Of course, I did nothing so creative today....I ordered dog meds, special flours and flax meal to start making healthy treats for them.  I made bread dough....

After it rises like this I stick it in one of my lock and lock containers but I don't "lock" it and I refrigerate and I'll bake bread tomorrow.  The dough is a wet sticky dough and much easier to work with if it's cold.

I did laundry..........

And I watered outside this morning and filled the bird bath and then did my neighbor's plants outside and inside and their birdbath because they're gone for a week.  That was enough outdoors in the heat for me!  It was 105 today or more...I quit looking after awhile.
I did catch up on reading some blogs hopefully and it does inspire me but I want to get to my place in Hanover so I don't have to be concerned with "buyers" and can "do my own thing" like polka dot appliances! LOL!  My next place will be my last if I can sell this one otherwise this house might be my last! LOL!
I reread my one and only Tasha Tudor book...........

She had the life!  And such a beautiful farm.  I would not go barefoot though or wear dresses and I'm not sure I'd do the wood stove cooking or the kerosene lamps.   But the gardens and canning and sitting by the fire during a snowstorm with my girls curled up beside me....oh yeah! 
I might go make some peanut butter cookies now.....my sweet tooth is aching for something.  I hope you enjoyed your Saturday and that it was everything you hoped it would be!

Headline news................"Northern girl wilts in the South!"

Actually, it wasn't that much cooler in the North....I think we may be having a world wide heat wave!!!  But I got out early and watered and spray painted the planters............3 coats....that seems to be the magic number of coats of paint for me.  Everything I paint takes 3 coats!  I really wanted green as I am definitely on a green kick outside right now but I already had the orange so there you go.
I finished sanding the bench and the lid pieces...........

Now I need to figure out what I want to paint it.  I was thinking yellow underneath and then red and then sand so some of the yellow shows thru and then rub some stain over the whole thing.  I had gotten the material to make my own Annie Sloan type chalk paint but someone warned me that it would turn out pink if I used the red and I'm really not into the white or pastels.  I like saturated colors.  Adventures in painting on the horizon!
I managed to do a little cleaning and organizing last night after supper..........
This table is a little rickety.  That's what you get when you only pay $12.00! LOL!  It needs cross braces on the legs and if I'm going to do that then I might as well add a shelf underneath too and of course it also needs a paint job.  Dresser scarves and table runners hide a multitude of sins for the time being.

This dresser sits next to my green front door and is a place where I put the outgoing mail or library books that are finished and ready to go back or anything that has an errand attached to it.  I have my granite ware pan holding my sunglasses and keys at the ready and inside the green pot is a plastic container filled with dog treats for the "girls".  They get one when they come in from outside.  The dresser I bought years ago at a place called Sister's in Iowa.  It was an old farmhouse out in the country  chock full of furniture they had redone and also new things too like candles and decorative items.  I got some good buys when they first opened but the more popular they got the higher the prices went so I stopped going.  It's not any fun if it's not a bargain!  I think I paid $50 or 60 for the dresser.

 

 There's me in my pink and green hydrangea pj's! Ha! Ha!  The mirror I found in a restaurant that sold a few antiques and it cost me $25.00 but I love it!  That sucker is heavy too, let me tell you! 

 Below are some new candles I ordered and they're called Aunt Sadies candles.  They come in the neatest fragrances and the same fragrance can be bought with different decoration on the outside so you can sort of mix and match.  I got them off the internet  Aunt Sadies has a store locator.  I can't remember where I got mine.  They are made in Vermont and smell delicious!  They even have an iced tea and a beer one! LOL!

They had me with the fresh cut grass.  The green chenile is going in my bathroom, the Yankee Doodle is red apple and will go on the kitchen table for my 4th of July vignette, the grass one will go in my bedroom and the lake one probably on the mantle.  These are my summer candles along with the McCall's candles I bought.  The next order will be for Fall flavors later on.

 

 Well, I've had my bath, my jammies are on and I am going to go nestle in my bed and watch either Monk or Little House on the Prairie if I don't fall asleep first.  That heat really takes a lot out of you!  Tomorrow I'm staying in again except for watering early on.  Take care everyone and I hope you had a great Friday!

The dog days of Summer....literally!

Yep, even the girls didn't want to be out in that heat today!  107 when I looked but the weatherman said 109!  I can't blame my girls....if I was wearing a black fur coat in this heat I'd pass out for sure!  We're so blessed to have central air conditioning but I can just imagine what the electric bill will be but I will be glad to pay for this respite in the middle of a heat wave.
 I had some calls today and a visitor so I didn't get much done at all.  I was going to sand my bench but by the time I got off the phone it had gone from 79 to 98 and was still going up so I bailed and stayed inside.  I fixed syrup for my humming birds and made some of my homemade laundry detergent.

 I finally scraped the paint off of the front door window and washed it and the storm door glass......

See my dead lawn in the reflection! LOL!  The only thing that has any color is my red rubber mulch!  It stands out like a sore thumb!

I could use a new storm door but I have to pay money for the door and to have it installed and I think there are other things that need my attention and money worse right now.  It works fine but it's black on a house with brown trim and the black is faded and worn in places.   Hmmmm....another paint project me thinks!  But not right now...I have bigger fish to fry.
I also worked a little on my applique.  See the missing pins in the right upper corner?  That's been stitched now.   I do a blanket stitch throughout and then some embroidery stitches for vines and such after all the wool is stitched down.

 

I made a nice supper of chicken garlic and herb sausages, a baked potato and some creamed corn which has probably been genetically modified but I'm not reproducing anymore (thank God!) so whatever it does will not get passed on at least. I do have a weird growth on my nose though....seriously! LOL!  I probably need to see a dermatologist.  But like Scarlett O'hara said in Gone With The Wind...."I'll worry about that tomorrow"....or not.
I hope you stayed fire free, flood free and cool and safe where ever you may be and I hope you had some joy today!  It's out there!  Go get yourself some!

My flowers are perkier than I am today..............

The mandevilla is looking good I must say even in all this heat!  I'll have to remember that for next year!  Finally a flower that seems to thrive in it!  I was tired today and stayed in catching up on laundry and household chores.  I was beat after yesterday's marathon in the heat!  Here's my door from the outside.  I still haven't scraped the window though.

I like it....a lot!  It sure perks up the orange brick with the dark brown trim!  What do you think?  Honest.....
The crockpot and the detergent worked like a charm on the old hardware!  Finally an easy way to do something with stuff I had on hand. 
This is before.........

This is after........

Pretty cool huh?  And there was very little scrubbing involved.  It even took the paint off....amazing!  I used Dawn and water and my crockpot on high for a couple hours till it was boiling.  Awesome! 
I also got my applique all pinned in place for stitching on my next block.  Those little white headed pins are special applique pins.  They're tiny and short and are great for pinning everything in place.   Some people use needle felting machines or spray on adhesive or glue sticks.  I prefer this method.

While I was out in the garage yesterday I noticed this chair I got for free.  It is totally "rusty" but no holes or anything and the chair is fine otherwise.   Is it too far gone?  Can I sand and prime and actually rejuvenate it?  Does anyone know before I spend a lot of time and supplies on it?  Or should I just stick it in the yard as is with a plant on it?  I love these kind of chairs and I have a better one in the basement that is not rusted at all.  It would be nice to have a pair of them in that green to match my door?  I'm thinkin'!   Let me know what you think, please.

You guys are so motivating to me.....I have to get something done every day or I have nothing to blog about! LOL!  Tomorrow it's back out to the garage and my little sanding buddy.  Oh!  And scrape that front window and make bread and feed my hummers and order coffee, flour and a few more Agatha Raisin books if the budget will allow!  I hope you stayed safe and cool where ever you are today.  My prayers go out to the people involved in the fires and the flooding. 

Terrifc Tuesday! Major projects going here.............finally!

This is my front door with the orangish tan color..........nothing exciting but then I painted it.........

It doesn't show up as green as it is......it's like a light Granny Smith Apple but not as pale as this picture.  Once it's totally dry I'll post a picture with the little window scraped and washed and from the outside.  I thought about yellow but I really wanted a green after I bought those green plant pots but Walmart didn't have much to chose from in exterior paint.  It took 3 coats!
I decided with the heat and all going on here and everywhere that I would have to get up early in the morning and get right outside if I wanted to get any projects done this summer.  Yesterday was 107 but mornings are in the 70's early so that's what I did.  I threw on my clothes and went outside.  I didn't even brush my teeth!
There was an old saying about doing your "big rocks" first in the day because you will always find time to do the "little rocks" later.   It was based on a glass jar where you put in your big rocks, then you can fit smaller pebbles in and after that you can pour sand in to fill the jar completely.  I'd been doing the little rocks in the morning....my daily tasks only to realize that by the time I got them done it was too hot out for me to want to go out and get started.  So, I went out and worked until noon and acclimated myself as it warmed up and by the time I came inside it was in the high 80's but I had gotten my BIG ROCKS done!  Yippee!  Thus the lateness of this post.   Here's what else I got done outside.  Oh, and I also weeded and put down more rubber mulch but didn't take a picture of that.

There are 2 of these foam plastic flower boxes that I got at a garage sale.  This is after I scrubbed them and set them out in the drive way to dry.  I plan on painting them with some plastic spray paint I bought and so I'll post a picture after that.
This bench with a lift up seat and storage has been with me for years.  I got it at an auction (really cheap...you'll see why!) and tried several times to strip the paint off of it but it has at least 8 colors that I counted and I've decided to sand it and paint it. 

 This little sander is a God send!

Then I spent 2 hours just trying to get the hardware off of it....it was painted over don't ya know.......

More trusty tools to get the job done and yes...there is always a kitchen knife involved!  See that black and red screwdriver?   It is one of my favorite tools as all the heads are in the handle and you never touch them....

You pull up and they're all there and you just align that red marker on which bit you want and push it back down and voila!  Your bit is there...ready to go!  I got one for my son-in-law one year and he thought it was the bee's knees....there you go girls!  Christmas present for the guys!  It's a Craftsman....I got it on QVC but you can order from Sears.  Of course, being a Craftsman it has a lifetime warranty too.

So...finally got the hardware off but it was in rough shape......... so I came inside and Googled how to clean antique hardware and lo and behold!  Put in a crockpot with water and dish detergent and set it on high and walk away.  In they went...screws and all..........

a few hours later this is what I saw...............

Do you see that filthy water?  Whoa Nellie!  I was shocked!  But I had taken my bath and really didn't want  to spatter myself with the dirty water so that's a project for tomorrow.  I turned it off and I'll "reheat" tomorrow and then I imagine there will be some old toothbrushes involved in further cleaning but who knows?  I'll save that for another post.  Below is the "lid"/bench seat but it must have been just glued together because when I lifted it up it came apart into 2 boards.  Hmmm.....any ideas anyone as to how I should put them back together?  Anyone have a handy hubby they could ask? I'm thinking nails should be involved but I am no carpenter.  I'd Google but not sure what to ask?  I better dig out my woodworking books.

I did get my small rocks done too after I came in and I can't say I'm not tuckered out because I am but what a great feeling to get going on some projects that have been on the back burner WAY TOO LONG!
I am going through items like that bench and if I'm going to keep them then I need to make then usable and attractive or out they go!
I hope you had an enjoyable and satisfying day too and don't forget..........big rocks first! LOL!