Sitting and Stitching

Good morning, my friends. There were quite a few things on my to-do list yesterday morning. I was able to move most of those things to a different day. I still made a short trip into town to run an errand, but then I settled myself into a comfy chair and spent most of my day stitching. 

Embroidery was at the top of my list when I finished yesterday's post. When I went downstairs to get started, I found the kitties discussing whether Smitty's purrtection detail was still necessary.

While they decided, I took the first stitches on one of two small blocks for "The Story of My Day" quilt. I should have no problem finishing this today, and then it will need a border.

When that one is finished, I'll go to work on the second block, "Perfect Day."

Before I did anything else, I spent some time on the day's assigned pantry shelf, the upper one in the image below. It was all home-canned goods. Mainly, I just put similar items together for better organization, moved them to one side or other other, and dusted off the shelf where they sit. It took only a few minutes. Today, I'll work on the shelf below, which mostly holds baking stuff. I'll have to sort through some of that. Some of it is old, or else it doesn't get used, and it needs to go. It will take a little longer than yesterday's assignment. On the left, you can see how I store the rings for the mason jars. They're threaded onto a bungee cord that hangs there from the shelf. There is one for regular mouth rings and one for wide mouth.

As I dusted off the tops of my jars, I noticed one that had some unusual black speckles. I held it up so I could see the bottom of the lid. Oops. That's a failed seal. It was a half-pint jar of relish, and I threw it out. When I popped off the lid, I found this. Yuck. I can't recall ever having a jar go bad like this after it was moved to the pantry. Certainly I've had failed seals, and those jars go into the refrigerator to be used first. Having a jar go bad and sit for who-knows-how-long has never happened before in more than 35 years of canning. Ick. Don't eat that.

Okay, and so I ran my errand, and had some lunch and a nap when I got home. From there, I settled into my comfy chair and spent the remainder of the afternoon stitching the quilt binding. I've turned two corners, and I'm just about halfway around this journey of 268 inches.

I'm hoping to finish this today. I only have a few things on today's to-do list. I'm going to do that pantry shelf, and I want to try a new breakfast cookie recipe. In all of that, I should find plenty of time for stitching.

Since I was lazy yesterday, I missed my walk on the threadmill. Oh well. There's always today, and I'll make a more concerted effort in that direction this morning. Happily, my wrist is feeling a lot better. I had some moments of pain yesterday, but managed to get through the whole day without using the splint. It makes life a lot less awkward. I'll hold off returning to the Bowflex workouts until I'm sure it's completely healed. 

Okay, so onward. There are still around 130 inches to stitch on the quilt binding. Like the little engine that could...I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...