Facing the Music

Good morning, my friends. Today comes the "find out" part of my recent FAFO actions. (Google it, if you don't know.) It's the day I go to court over my recent speeding ticket. There's no whining or making excuses on my part. I'm just hoping for a reduction in the fine if I throw myself on the mercy of the court. What form do you think this should take? Should I writhe on the ground for a while? Would kicking and screaming be ill-advised? Probably I should wait and read the room before making any rash decisions. But let's chat about something more pleasant for now, shall we?

Yesterday was my day for a monthly pedicure. I returned to a spa I went to several years ago. I always liked the spa. It's part of a local luxury hotel. There was a nail tech I liked, and when she left the spa, I followed her to her new location. After several years, she remarried, and then moved about an hour south of where I live. (The nerve of some people...living their lives, and all that. Sheesh. Did she even consider the inconvenience to me when she made that decision?)  

Her new location was too far for me to consider following her, and so I went with the woman who replaced her at the salon. That was all fine and dandy until she got kicked out of the salon. I know the story, but it isn't worth going into. It all seemed like a big misunderstanding to me. In any case, she's been working out of her home for the past year or so, which has been less than ideal. When I realized I was no longer enjoying the pedicures in the awkwardness of the environment, I decided to return to the spa. It was a good decision. 

And all of that to say that I had time to stitch Tiny Treasure #56 before I left for my pedicure. This one has stem stitch, straight stitch, pistil stitch, and fan leaf stitch.

So, I was home just before lunch time. The bird feeders were empty, and I went to work feeding the birds. From there, I wandered around to see what's up with the flowers. The rose might actually get a chance to bloom. It has about four buds that look like this one.

After the crows pulled up most of the green bean sprouts, Mike erected some fencing around the pots. I posted this picture a few days ago. At the time, I noticed one sprout.

So yesterday I checked to see if it was still there, and it was! Looking at some of the other pots, I spotted three more.

And so it seems we may have thwarted the crows. Also, I checked the bean seed replacements and found several of them sprouted. I'll replant the seeds that were pulled up today. Maybe we'll get some beans this year after all.

Walking on, I continue to be amazed at the Edda clematis. That purple color is so dark and rich.

Turning around and looking across the yard from there, I noticed how much the dahlias have grown. I'm not sure why the two on the left are such laggards, but I'm glad they're living and growing.

 Also...that's our greenhouse. I've posted pictures before, but maybe not from this angle. We saw this Solar Gem greenhouse at our county fair several years back. It seemed a good solution for our short growing season. Without it, we can't grow tomatoes to red ripeness. A couple of years ago, we had problems with squirrels getting inside and causing all kinds of chaos. Mike spent a summer trenching around the outside, burying some fencing, and then folding it over the ground outside. Then, he covered it with river rocks. It was that whole episode that caused us to plant dahlias in the pots. We move the pots into the garage in the winter, and so I don't have to dig them up and replant each year.

And all of that (I'm wordy today) to say that I've noticed the first flower buds forming.

Here's another one over here. They're just about to take their turn as the most watched thing in the garden.

Also on the watch list are the hydrangeas. We won't have to wait long for these.

Oh yes, and the daylilies are about to have their day too.

Back inside, I had lunch and went to work baking a Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake. I made this for the first time last year, and it was added to the list of desserts I must make once per year. It has a streusel topping, and it looks like this when it comes from the oven. The streusel is made with sliced almonds that give it a nice little crunch.

But wait...did I say "topping"? Because this is an upside-down cake, and so it gets inverted onto a serving plate so that the streusel ends up on the bottom. When it's flipped over, it looks like this:

We had that with a dollop of whipped cream last night, and mmm, mmm, mmm. I love this time of year when so much fruit is in season. I linked to the recipe back there, but this is from America's Test Kitchens. You'll probably need a subscription to open the link. If you can't open it, and you want the recipe, just email me, and I'll be happy to send it to you.

With that finished, I went back to work finishing the quilting on "The Story of My Day." Only the outer border remained. I outlined those little applique flowers, and then did a less dense version of what I'd done for the rest of the quilt.

Then I laid it out on the floor for its photo, and that puppy is ready for binding.

That will be my first sewing priority today. But I'm also hoping to make some more progress on the first of two blocks for "Northern Wilderness." I was able to finish sewing the block together yesterday afternoon. 

Then, I added the surrounding pieces to create the background for the "Salmon" block.  If there's time, I'm hoping to get started on the applique today.

It was too late to start on that yesterday, but I took time to trace my next embroidery block. This is Block 6 for "Home is Where My Flock Is."

There are still four days of Tiny Treasures to stitch, but I'll start on this one when those are finished. These are the blocks I have for this project so far.

Okay, so this is an if-I-have-time kind of day. I need to check on the garden to see if it needs hoeing. If it does, I'll do that first. But I want to replant the sprouted bean seeds too. After that, I can get to work squaring up "The Story of My Day" and getting the binding sewn on by machine. I'll work on the hand-stitching over the next couple of days. Also, I want to get a start on the "Salmon" applique. All of this is in keeping with my plan to go to court mid-afternoon. It's going to make it hard to be very productive this afternoon. Any sewing will need to happen this morning.

So with that, I'd better be on my way. There's a Tiny Treasure to stitch, and then I'll get on with my gardening duties. Sewing will take a back seat to everything else today. If I have anything to show you, I'll be back to chat tomorrow morning. If not, look for me on Friday. For sure I'll have something to show you by then.