This, That and TMI

Good morning and happy Sunday from the rancho.  It seems that the weeks are just flying by.  Last week I was scheduled for a medical procedure and by the time I fully came out from the anesthesia, it was Monday.  LOL  Not really that bad, but didn't do much but snooze for a few days.  For those that love TMI, I have a family history of colon cancer.  I am on the amazing five year plan.  After the fifth procedure, there's not much left to the imagination regarding my innards.  But...the possibility of cancer is scary...so I drink the "stuff", spend the day close to home (and the bathroom) and am happy to get thirty minutes of uninterrupted sleep.  Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.  Listen to your body...get the tests...and for the ending of this story...my tiny little polyp was not cancerous.  All is good.

Back to our regularly scheduled fun...

My garden is still in grow-mode.  It's been in the 90's here so I'm getting tomatoes and zucchini on a daily basis.  Last year a friend gave me a few strawberry starts.  I've now filled three planters and have led the runners into an old tub.  This metal tub was from my dad's place and I'm excited to give it a new job. I should be getting lots of strawberries next year.

Got some length on my shawl.  I've got a long way to go, but the variation on this yarn is beautiful.

I have another finish-finish!! This is a Pineberry Lane kit.  The pattern's name is Witch's Garden but I don't stitch witches.  So...I gave her a new hat and traded in her broom for a shovel.  I love the changes.  It was "supposed" to be a pinkeep but I had an unfinished paddle board that just pushed its way to my craft table and begged to be used.  LOL  I painted, sanded and waxed the paddle before mounting the stitched piece.  If you look closely you can see the tiny pom poms around the piece.  I just love using Lady Dot trims.

Here is my in-between start.  It's a Scattered Seed Club kit pattern.  Not my usual style but I really like the deep blue with the greens.  The fabric that it came with is lovely.  This will be my third start and maybe finish this month.  Hmmm...has my retirement stitching mojo finally kicked in?  LOL

My roses are on now on their third bloom.  It's been warm here in California but I'm not getting the hot afternoon winds as usual.  This is a two or three-year old bush and I wish I had picked up a few more of them.  Absolutely gorgeous!!

Now I'm back to my coffee, watching the sun rise and listening to the birds.  I wish each of you a wonderful day.  Be kind to one another.

 

Focus...Focus...Focus

Good morning and happy Sunday from the rancho!  My herd of animals woke me up at 5:00 am.  Moto Kitty decided to perch on top of me, purring as loud as he possibly could.  Imagine a white noise machine that sounds an awful lot like a cat.  LOL  Yep, that's my life.  At least the dog wasn't barking as usual, just sticking her nose in my face...yay!

I've been very focused the last few weeks.  Since I was caught up on my SAL I decided that I would get going on one of my many, many kits that I've collected over the past three years.  LOL  One group that I belong to is the Dying to Stitch Quaint Country Ladies.  Pulled out one of those and got started.  I made a few changes and stitched it into a pillow.  Love the outcome.  It originally said "gather" but thought that "autumn" was a nice alternative.  I made the rusty bell myself!!

Finally got started on my green shawl.  This yarn is so incredibly soft and I am in love with the color.  It has a nice variegation to it.  This picture DOES NOT do the color justice.  I will try for a better one next week.

The weather has been much cooler due to the smoke cover.  I think we only reached 100 degrees once in the past seven days.  No wind so my roses are surviving the heat quite well.

A friend gave me a pot of Lantana.  She runs a day care and recently found out that it is a poisonous plant.  It moved to my house and is blooming like crazy this week.

I planted some yarrow a few months ago.  It has its own beauty.  The color seems odd but there is no filter on this picture...just the smokey skies.

With cooler temperatures...it is baking time!!  Thank goodness, we were almost out of cookies.  And since I had over-ripe bananas...you know the rest. LOL

California continues to suffer with fires.  There are over 3 million acres burned, 3% of the total land in our state.  The death toll is climbing every day.  I'm cannot imagine loosing everything you own, but to loose your loved ones is heartbreaking.  We are about a hundred miles from the nearest fire.  Please keep our state on your heart. 

I leave you to your weekend.  Stay safe, be kind to one another. 

Feeling The Heat

Happy Saturday from the rancho.  Major heatwave here in California.  We hit 109 degrees today with the next few days showing a high of 115.  It is 7 pm and still 102 degrees!!  Outside chores are completed by 8 am and then I find a place to hide in the house.  LOL  Of course that does give me more time to stitch and knit.  

I completed the September section of my SAL.  Added two news color, paprika and mustard seed.  I know that I've only got three months left, but I've got quite a few mini-motifs to fill in the empty places so I can sneak those colors in.  Loving it!!

I finished a few more projects for my friend.  First is a sweet little basket.  This basket used quite a few techniques that I was not familiar with.  You make your own basket with Skirtex.  I'm used to using either wooden or paper mache boxes.  I will definitely use this technique again.  No more searching for the right size box!!

My friend is such an amazing stitcher.  Lots and lots of specialty stitches in this one.

These roses are from before the heat. 

I'm missing my dad these days.  Not sure why...just miss him.  My cousin sent me a picture of my dad, uncle and aunt.  They sure do look alike!  My dad is in the patterned shirt.  And yes, I look just like them.  I have their noses...eyes...ears...teeth.  LOL  

This is a picture of me from last year.  Recognize the nose?  LOL  I love to stop at thrift stores and try on hats.  One of the things I'm missing during Covid.  Sigh.

Still got vegetables growing in the garden.  Zucchini and tomatoes are coming in by the bushels.  Lots of cantaloupes but only a few watermelons.  And...I have my first cucumber.  I planted these a little later in the season, so glad I have anything.

So off to settle in with some stitching.  I think I'll need a tall iced tea and a fan.  LOL  Have a wonderful weekend.  Be kind to one another.

If It's Sunday...It's Not Friday...

 Howdy from the rancho.  I would say happy Friday, but I missed Friday and it's Sunday.  Sigh.  

California is hot, smokey and miserable.  As of this morning, at least five people have lost their lives in wild fires and one MILLION acres have burned.  Most of these fires were started by lightening.  This makes my heart so sad.  Our town is 100 miles from the closest fire but we did not see blue skies from last Tuesday until yesterday.  I cannot image how people are doing that are so much closer.  The weather forecast is for more thunderstorms through Wednesday.  Scary.

As the smoke was horrible, I spent most of last week in the house with all the windows closed or in the car with the recirculating air on.  At one time, our town had the third worst air in the United States.  I finally had to mow the lawn.  I wore an N95 mask that my husband uses to paint cars.   

While watering, I found a little friend hiding in my plants.  

On some days, the temperature was over 100 degrees.  I decided that it was time to make some raisins.  It's been more than three days but they're coming along.

I worked on my son's washcloths.  I want to make at least three to send in a few weeks.  Since I'm caught up on my SAL, I worked on some more finishing.  These are my friend's stitching.

This was a kit using wool.  I really like how it turned out and am thinking of making one for myself out of my wool stash.  The Jingle pin came with the kit but I made the other two pins.

These are a few of my stitches/finishes.

My garden is still hanging in there but production has slowed down.  I had enough zucchini and carrots for a BBQ.  This was the day that was 102 degrees.  Hot outside but would have been much worse if I'd cooked chicken in the house.

Have a good week.  Stay safe.  Be kind to one another.

Showing Off for the Crowd

Happy Saturday from the rancho.  For all of you that love hot weather...I am living in your paradise.  It was 106 degrees today.  Rain in the morning, misery this afternoon.  I am too old for this kind of heat.  Dinner was mixed green salad with turkey, homegrown watermelon and cantaloupe.  Didn't have quite enough lettuce in my garden but with the heat expected to last for at least a week...I am hopeful.  LOL

I try to do all my outside chores before 10 am.  Then I can spend the afternoon stitching.  Or napping.  Or snacking.  My Covid 15 may be going up to Covid 20.  LOL

Caught up on my SAL from Linens and Things 2020.  Loving the way the pattern and colors flow.

I promised to show some of my finishes.  This sewing purse was one of the most difficult items I have completed.  It took me two days to understand the directions.  LOL  My biggest fear was to slip and ruin the silk.

My friend loves Halloween stitching.  This is one of my favorites.  It was a simple face.  I made it into a mask and put it on a Dollar Tree burlap pumpkin.  I think it is so cute!!

These were mounted on comic board with fabric on the back.  She put them on a Halloween garland and hung on the stairs.

I love to stain, paint, distress, oil any and all types of wood.  I was practicing aging paint on this paddle several months ago and found it perfect for this project.

A little hanger for a door or cabinet knob.

Thank you for letting me share.  I have stitched for over twenty years but really got into finishing about five years ago.  I've went to a few retreats for finishing and spent hours on YouTube.  I am definitely not perfect but getting better with every project!!  And I have found that I am willing to try new things and have a blast stretching my talents.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.  Stay safe.  Be kind to one another.

Passing Time at the Rancho

Happy Friday evening!  Time marches on here at the rancho.  As we enter month five of the pandemic, I've realized that I love my home, my garden, my stitching...but I sure would like to get out of the house and head cross country. There is something about new scenery that makes me smile.  

It's been in the low 80's here, so much nicer than 100 degrees.  My tomatoes all decided to ripen at the same time.  Thank goodness I'm a good sharer.  LOL  My grape vines are giving me a bumper crop this year.  I have two vines and have already picked about 25 pounds of grapes.  There's at least that much left on the vines that need a few days to ripen.  The birds are not that interested this week.  Not sure why, the grapes are pretty good!  Shared those with the neighbors, too.

Here is a picture of the tomatoes I have growing:

I've got cherry, regular and zebra.  The green with stripes are the zebra.  And yes, that is the color when they're ripe.  LOL  They are sweet with a lot less acid than regular tomatoes.

With the cooler temperatures my roses are happy, happy, happy.

At least once a week, I try to cook a meal that is entirely from the garden.  I had corn on the cob, butternut squash, carrots and zucchini.  Since I have now become the BBQQ (Bar B Que Queen) I put everything on the Traeger grill.  My husband absolutely, positively HAD TO HAVE A TRAEGER GRILL!   As men are apt to do, he kinda lost interest.  As women are apt to do, I pulled out my phone and googled "how to cook on a Traeger".  LOL  Because of the way this grill works, it is almost like an oven.  Note the carrots and squash are in a cast iron pan.  Yep, works well.  It is said to work with pizza...hmmmm...maybe next week. 

Nothing much on the stitching front.  I've been doing finishing for a friend.  She loves to stitch, not so much the finishing.  LOL  I get to keep the patterns once I'm done, so it's a win-win.  Here's a few of my finishes.  Some are per the instructions, others just from my head.  

I have started going to a craft get-together once a month.  There is social distancing and masks.  I am  picking up some tips for embroidery and crocheting.  It is nice to sit with others and have some inspirational time.  

Okay, off to get ready for bed.  Wishing each of you a good weekend.  Be kind to one another.