6/16/22

Writing Fast

It's not my favorite kind of morning. If I can't sit around in my jammies for as long as I want, then what's the use of living? I actually have to get dressed and leave the house and go act like an adult. I'm getting my hair cut (my hair is a work in progress right now), and then I need to replace my gardening shoes with something. I've been using the same shoes for many years, and now the sole is half off of one. I've been wearing them anyway, but I expect to fall flat on my face if I keep pushing my luck. I have a couple of other drop-off-and-go errands too, and so it's going to be a busy run-around day.

Backing up to yesterday, I checked on the peonies first thing. The kitties went with me. 


We found a new one had bloomed. This one is called "Coral Sunset." 


We were also out to check the squirrel trap in the greenhouse. We caught our fourth squirrel. We've been relocating them to the other side of our hill. They can all meet up again and have some kind of little squirrely reunion...maybe gnaw down a tree or something.


Mike and I had a couple of errands to run yesterday. It was mid-afternoon before I was able to get back to my quilting. I wore the splint on my left wrist, and I was able to finish off these quilt blocks without too much trouble. I continued with my dot-to-dot quilting.



The last two blocks were treated as one. I gave the flowers and leaves some shape lines, outlined the applique, and then did a looping meander over the background.


That completes all the blocks. If there's time today, I'll do the rows of flying geese, and then only the border will be left. I'm not sure how long it will take to do the flying geese...probably not long. I've been keeping my quilting times short to save my wrist, and so I'll probably limit myself to the flying geese, regardless.

It was fairly warm yesterday with only a short period of rain during late morning. When I checked the squirrel trap later in the day, I noticed the peony had opened even more.


And you can see there are lots more coming.


I tried a new recipe last night. This is Coconut-Gochujang Glazed Chicken with Broccoli. It was quick to make once I had the ingredients all gathered up. 


It calls for "gochujang paste." The only thing I could find in my grocery store was "gochujang sauce." It's a Korean barbecue sauce, and it seems to be widely available in the Asian section of most supermarkets. It's basically a stir-fry, and so it cooks up fast. The directions had me preparing the broccoli separately, but I did mine in the microwave. Then, rather than keeping it on the side, I added it to the chicken and sauce. Then, I served it over some leftover rice. It was very tasty. For sure, I'll be making it again.

So there isn't much time to write this morning. I need to make breakfast and then get ready to go. I'm hoping I'll get home in time to do a little more quilting. I've been working on the Garden Sunshine quilt since January of 2019...pre-pandemic. (Do you find yourself using the pandemic to mark time?) When I get this close to a finish, I just want to keep going until it's done. It's such a bother when life gets between me and my sewing.

9 comments:

Barbara said...

Way down deep, we’re all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them. ~ Jim Davis

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I have a pair of tennis shoes that I use for gardening and the whole front of one shoe came loose from the sole. My son glued it with Gorilla glue. That lasted about 2 years and then needed to glue it again. Now the whole back is loose on that shoe and he is gluing it again. I'm hoping to get through this gardening season with them since they are the most comfortable pair I have.

piecefulwendy said...

Too bad we're not next door neighbors - I have some of that paste, like a tub of it, in my fridge. I'm making note of that recipe. The coral peony is so pretty! Glad you were able to do a bit more quilting, too. Good luck on finding new gardening shoes!

Anonymous said...

Back in January or February, we were going out for dinner, and there was some snow on the ground, so as we headed out, I grabbed a pair of old boots to wear. This was a really old pair of boots but I loved them and just kept on wearing them. Everything was fine until we got up to leave the restaurant. When I started walking, it felt like I was stepping on something. In the dim light of the restaurant I didn’t see anything, so I just thought I would check the soles of the boots when we got outside. Well, to my surprise, the rubber soles were literally coming apart with every step. I was leaving a trail of black pieces as they broke off! By the time we got to the car, the soles were almost gone!! Why they picked that particular moment to disintegrate is beyond me… at least we were on the way home! They were beyond repair, so they went right into the trash can… I am going to miss those boots!!
I hope you find garden shoe replacements soon!
Sandra B
scb304@juno.com

Sara said...

Beautiful peonies!! Hope you find the perfect gardening shoes.

Nancy said...

I wonder if the squirrels will find their way back. Sort of like the animals in The Incredible Journey. You could be catching the same one over and over again. Except I think once they are caught they would avoid the cage a second time. We had a neighbor who was trapping squirrels and driving them to the other side of the freeway. He figured they would not attempt to cross the 6 lanes of freeway.
This morning was the first morning in weeks I haven’t needed to be out of the house by 7:30 in the morning. The grandkids are out for the summer and I got to sleep in and then lounge around in my jammies and bathrobe until 8am. Such a decadent feeling! I am already not looking forward to fall.

Sherrill said...

No, I don't refer to anything as pre-pandemic..guess I'm hoping to put it all behind me. UGH Those peonies are GORGEOUS. When I go get my daily Sonic fix, there's a house that has THE most beautiful tall phlox that are a dark pink. I seriously need some of those. That dinner sounds yummy!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

That peony is spectacular! I always think of my mother insisting on bringing them in the house and then (gasp) wondering why there were ants all over the kitchen afterwards. She who always dug up ant hills and moved them to the peony beds...you'd think she could add the two together!

Vicki W said...

You've got a large colony of squirrels!