It was a productive morning at the Three Cats Ranch yesterday. I did my housekeeping chores, finished off the laundry, and did my morning workout all before noon. After lunch, I filled the bird feeders and took a little walk around. There isn't much more to show right now, but several of the flower buds are being watched closely. One of these mornings, I'll go outside and find something big has popped open. For now, I'm keeping an eye on the dogwood, trying to watch these flowers transition to maturity. They seem to be getting lighter in color and softer.
5/23/22
Getting Stuff Done
I've been busy reserving campsites for the part of our summer trip that begins before Labor Day. This morning I claimed a spot in one of North Dakota's state campgrounds. Score! They tend to be more scenic and less expensive than private RV parks, but it isn't always easy to snag a spot, especially in the week leading up to Labor Day. The parts of the trip are falling into place, and it will be here before we're ready, I'm sure.
But now I'm ready for breakfast. It will be a busy and noisy day. I'm looking forward to getting a good start on my art quilt this afternoon.
5/22/22
Getting My Vitamin D
It was too nice yesterday to spend any time in a windowless basement sewing room, and so my sewing projects went begging. I spent most of the day outside soaking up the sun. I'd already told you I was determined to weed the herb garden...which I did. It didn't need weeding so much as it needed whacking. The rosemary plant had died. I'd had this plant for two years, but generally, I can't keep them alive through the winter. Winter is no problem for the sage plant though. It has reached a stage where it has to be cut back to about 50% its size each year to give the chives some room to breathe. I probably don't have enough chives for vinegar this year, but they are making a comeback.
Okay, and then I was excited to see more seeds sprouting. Two cucumbers...
Smitty was 'zhausted by the end of the day. I put the Mumm's the Word quilt on the chair in my office, and this has become his new favorite place for his afternoon nap.
So I made no progress on any of my other projects yesterday. Today I'll be doing laundry, and there's a little housework on the list. Then I'll make up the next block for Domestic Affairs, and I'll get started on my "Animal Kingdom" art quilt. Mike will be home later today. It's another lovely day outside. I might be tempted to get out for another walk.
5/21/22
Purrfect Start
There were Mans here yesterday, and kitties do not like invaders into their purrsonal space. They couldn't even show their faces until the Mans left for lunch. Then, they ventured out purrudently mindful of anything that looked out of place. Despurrate times call for good friends to stick together.
Nothing much happens around here until I get in my morning slow-stitching. Mans, or no mans, I will not be deterred from each morning's mission. Yesterday's was to finish off this section. The three English daisies were already stitched, but I needed to finish off the "scroll work" and the edge of the tablecloth. I'd run out of that yellow floss, but I'm now armed with a fresh skein.
When that was finished, I filled the birdfeeders. For the first time this year, the evening grosbeaks have arrived at the feeders. And, while I thought the western tanagers had moved on, I saw another one yesterday.
Also, we have tons of the black-headed grosbeaks. The Pacific Northwest Birders on Facebook have been posting pictures of them as if they are something rare. Once they show up at our feeders, we have lots of them, and all season long. It's easy to become jaded.
Back inside, I noticed a seed had sprouted. This is one of the sunflowers.
Oh, and look over there! Another sunflower! I know! This is every bit as exciting as watching grass grow!
Well. What else could I do, but celebrate by baking some cookies? No need to answer...I'm just sayin'. Any excuse to bake cookies is a good excuse. Actually, I made these for Mike and the rest of the family. They're heading out to the gorge to watch a road rally out there. I'm staying home. Camping next to the railroad tracks in Washington isn't my idea of a good time, but they'll have fun. And they'll have cookies.
Okay, and so finally, I was able to get into the sewing room around mid-afternoon. I needed to piece together the thread spools the cat would be seated upon.
And I needed to top-stitch the applique and add in a few details. I wanted to do the top-stitching before adding the spools.
It took a lot longer than I expected, but I got it done. I used the triple stitch on my sewing machine to stitch the bird's legs.
And the stems on the strawberries. And, duh. I've been cracking wise about strawberries and tomatoes growing on the same vine. Just as I was looking at this picture, I realized the connection. It's that classic tomato pincushion with the attached strawberry! Okay...it all makes sense now. I'm a slow study, in case you hadn't noticed.
It was late in the day by then. I found the kitties upstairs basking in the afternoon sunshine. Kitties know exactly what to do when the sun shines.
We have at least a week of sunshine headed our way, starting yesterday afternoon. Today I'm going to make good on my threat to clean-up and weed the herb garden. It's the last of the winterkill. I don't know if I'll get the whole thing done today. It's a big knee and back killing job, and so I might do half today and half tomorrow. We'll see how my body holds up. There will probably be time for some sewing this afternoon. If so, I'll make up the next Domestic Affairs block, and then get a start on my next art quilt for the "Animal Kingdom" prompt. Mike will be gone overnight, and so my time will be my own.
I'm close enough to finishing that I'll probably make up the next block for the Domestic Affairs quilt today. Goodness knows, I don't want to run out of stitching projects.
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