It's Friday!! 5/15/26

 Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday ended up being quite a busy day for moi.  I ended up doing 4 loads of laundry (clothes and I changed sheets).  With next week's forecast in the 90's, I also managed to finally pull out summer tops and lighter sweaters and put away all the heavy woolen sweaters, fleece leggings, etc.  Of course that meant I woke in the night last night chilly.  LOL. Another blanket on top of the bed solved that problem.

While putting winter woolens away and pulling out light weight summer things I managed to purge a bit.  The back of my car is loaded with bags that will be donated today.  I was thinking of Kat's blog post about release and letting things go.  Trust me, there are still many clothing items that I should let go - things I wore when I worked.  But I love them so!  However, I made progress on another front.  My Mom passed away a little over 22 years ago.  My Dad gave me all of her scarves (she loved - and wore frequently - silk scarves) which I wear sometimes.  He also gave me all of her jewelry.  I pulled out a few things that I liked and kept things like her wedding and engagement rings.  A lot of her jewelry was not my style or taste.  And none of it was expensive stuff.  BUT, I have been unable to part with it...until yesterday.  I packaged everything up and it will go to the thrift shop today along with other donations.  I found a stack of 4 picture frames I had bought at Pier 1 before that store closed.  I haven't used them in years.  All are going to the thrift store.  It's a start!

My next job is to clean (thoroughly!!) the guest room.  Fletch's brother Damon is driving up from Virginia on Thursday for a visit.  Unfortunately his wife can't come.  He is planning to help Fletch with a bunch of outdoor chores, get our window air conditioners in, etc.  That room is often a dumping ground so there is much to be done!  I also need to give thought to what to cook while Damon is here.  I know we will be at C&M's on Saturday for a cookout, but I need to plan food for other nights.

Colin will be over on Sunday with Iris in the afternoon.  Mailing is having a spa day with her Mom and sister.  And someone will be 18 months old in June!  Not sure how that is possible.  We enjoy celebrating Iris' half birthdays as well as her full year birthdays and I've been having fun pulling things together for her.  She loves being outside and especially loves helping around the yard and garden.  So, we got her a little red Radio Flyer wagon and some gardening tools (trowel, hoe, etc.) And yesterday this book arrived for her:

I love Margaret Renkl's writing and I think this book will be great.  And Billy Renkl's illustrations are wonderful.  I can't wait to read it with her.

Well, I suppose I've rambled on long enough.  Plus, I can hear that Fletch is waking up and I promised to make French toast and sausage for breakfast.  I'd best pour another cup of coffee and get moving. 

Welcome to the weekend!  May it be a good one for all of us.

A Silly Zip Ode

 Hello Friends,

It's Friday...or Friyay.  Though honestly, not much difference day-to-day for me since I retired.  But still, I appreciate a weekend.

Yesterday was a lovely day with Iris.  I won't see her again till Monday (boo-hoo).  They are going camping over the weekend with Zhongren and it looks like a great weekend for that.  

Both Bonny and Kat posted "Zip Odes" this week.  A form of poetry where the number of words in each line corresponds to the numbers in your zip code (with zero being a "wild card").  It's a fun idea and I decided to try my hand at it.  So far all I've come up with is a silly one for Iris.  One of the books we read (over and over again) is about a farm and the animals greeting the day.  And so...

My zip code is 19403

Hello!

The Rooster greets the day with a hearty crow

Sheep bleat, pigs grunt

All the animals are waking up       

The day begins

It's a fun exercise.

Time to get back to the kitchen.  I'm making eggs and sh*t this morning (eggs with left over veggies and/or meat all scrambled up) and I can hear Fletch upstairs walking around.  Later I have yoga and yet another visit to the library.  After being #62 in the queue last week, our next RWU book, Good People by Patmeena Sabit is now available for me to pick up!  Woo-Hoo

Hope you can all get out and have some fun this weekend...or at least have a peaceful and restful few days.  Whatever you do - ENJOY!!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 3/24/26

 Hello and Good Morning!

How are you on this next-to-the-last Tuesday in March?  And how is it possible that we are just about a quarter of the way through 2026?  Yikes - time is flying.  

Yesterday was such a nice day (despite the weather) with Iris.  Something happened that has never happened before.  We were sitting on the couch and I was reading to Iris.  I realized she had gotten a bit still and when I looked over at her I saw that her eyes were closed and her head was bobbing.  She was sound asleep!  This was earlier than she usually naps - around 11:30 or so.  Colin was wrapping up a meeting and then they were going to have lunch together, but Iris ended up sleeping for an hour!  And then she took a two hour nap in the late afternoon!

Traffic was light coming home later than usual from C&M's which meant that Fletch and I were still able to sit down to dinner by 6 p.m. which was nice.  Then we listened to our audio book for a little bit.

And now it's Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  A bit of stitching was completed in the last week.  Modest Adam now has his fig leaf (leaves) filled in and a bit more of the ground beneath his feet has been stitched (including some kind of leaves sticking out of the grass).  Another creature (bug) has been placed upon the Evil Serpent's back.

And here's an overall shot of how things are looking at the moment.

Slowly but surely...more ground to the left and also some larger creatures!!  And one more flowering plant.  Adam needs his flesh as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing some of you tonight for our postponed RWU book discussion.  Till then, have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekend Time! 2/14/25

 Hey-Hey and Good Morning!

Happy Friday and Happy Valentine's Day.  May your day be sweet and filled with lovely things.

I was up early this morning (thank you Mabel), but feel well rested for a change.  I don't believe we got as much rain as they said we would, but temps rose and ice and snow melted.  Then the winds picked up and man! they howled all night and have been howling this morning too.

When I came downstairs this morning I found a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table!  And some chocolates!!  Later this morning Fletch and I will venture out to Repperts - they make the ONLY dark chocolate pretzels that Fletch likes.  I bought a different kind for his birthday and he never ate them (they ended up in the trash), so today we will get him some!  And then we are going out to lunch at The Flying Pig - a recently opened bar that we have not yet tried.  Looking forward to that.

We were supposed to babysit Iris tonight while C&M went out to dinner, but they cancelled their plans.  Iris had her 2 month check-up yesterday and got some vaccinations.  C&M were worried that she might not feel all that well today.  That little girl has gained more than 5 lbs since birth and is now 22.5" long.  Colin said she cried when she got jabbed, but then quickly settled down and fell asleep.  C&M went out to lunch and Iris slept in her stroller the entire time.

Yesterday I not only got some stitching time but I also (finally) turned the heel on my sock and am now cruising down the foot.  There was even time for reading.  A good day in my opinion.  There was even time left for cooking dinner (fried blue fish for Fletch and baked cod for me and smothered cabbage for both of us).  Here's hoping today will turn out similarly (minus the fish - lol).

And that's a wrap!  Happy weekend - enjoy!!

She's Here!!!

 Hello All,

I am so very, very happy to let you know that our granddaughter is here.  Iris was born yesterday early evening.  They finally did a C-Section and Mommy, Daddy and Baby are all doing fine.  The date of 12/12/24 has a nice ring to it for a birthday I think (and sort of goes with C&M's wedding date of 10/10/20).

I'd love to share a picture with you, but Colin & Mailing have requested that no pictures go up on the internet.  I understand, but I'd really like to share.....

Iris is cute (what I have seen of her) and tiny!  Only 7 lbs, 1 oz at birth (Colin was 8.5 lbs and Mailing - tiny thing that she is - was over 9 lbs!!) and 20".  She's got dark hair like her Mom.  We will get over to the hospital some time today to see them - probably afternoon as I have a doctor's appointment this morning and will also be going over to their house to feed Talbot.  Only 2 visitors are allowed at a time, so we will need to coordinate with Mailing's parents.

Thank you all for the good wishes you sent and your notes checking in.  I appreciated them so much.  Blogland is such a wonderful place!

Weekending 5/6/24

 

Hello There!

How was your weekend?  Ours was a chilly and wet one.  Both days.  Temps were in the 80's last week, but this weekend each day was a struggle to make it to 50 degrees.  The lack of warmth and lack of sun did not stop the iris from blooming!

The dreary weather made for some good days of stitching, knitting and reading.  In between chores on Saturday (scrubbing the kitchen floor, etc.), I managed to finish the second gold and peat sock!

They are pretty and look great (I think), but what a PITA to knit!!  The gold yarn (Wildfoote from Brown Sheep Company in the color way "Goldenrod") is so pretty but also so rustic.  Actually rough to work with and hard on my hands.  The green color (Backyard Fiberworks 100% super wash merino in the color way "Peat") was wonderful to knit.  Even though there is no nylon in that yarn, it is stretchy and just feels so nice.  The bonus for me:  Fletch loves the socks.

There was also stitching done, but I'll wait until tomorrow to show that.

I had a moment of FOMO when I saw Araignee's Post relating to the Maryland Sheep & Wool weekend...but the last time I was there was a rainy day and it was miserable!  Plus it's a long drive and the traffic is horrible to get there.  I did have a dream Friday night that I went, but had a driver take me.  I was able to sit in the back of a comfy car and knit instead of battling the traffic!  LOL. I think that's the only way to go now.

Yesterday was, of course, Cinco de Mayo.  We headed over to Colin & Mailing's in the afternoon.  Anna and Otto were there and Zhongren came too (Bonnie is back in China for several weeks).  When we arrived, all the animals came to the front door to greet us:  Otto (Anna's dog) and Marcel and Talbot.  They all get along so well.

Colin grilled chicken and shrimp for tacos and we had guacamole, and rice and beans to go with it.  Mailing had made a key lime pie for dessert!  If only the weather had been nicer and we could have been outside.  But, it was wonderful to be with family and have good food!

Today is another errand day (drugstore), but I hope to find time to stitch and knit.  I hope your day provides opportunity for whatever you want to do!

Surprise! I'm Here!!

 Good Morning!

I know I said I would be back on Monday, but this just proves how old and out of touch I am.  LOL

Our computers are no longer sent down to Charlotte to be refreshed/replaced.  Instead, my new laptop was delivered to me yesterday.  All I need to do is plug it in, log on with my user name and password and everything on my current laptop will transfer over.  All is cloud based now (which I had ignored) and is a little bit like Big Brother if you ask moi.

Anyway, I have not yet set the new one up.  I'm too busy this week to do that...can't run the risk of not being able to work.  And the other issue is that the laptop arrived but none of the peripherals...no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse and most importantly, no docking station.  So, I could set up the new one but can't use my monitor (my old docking station will not work with my new laptop).

It was very frustrating dealing with Tom from IT (sounds like Jake from State Farm - LOL).  (He's at my office but is terribly non-responsive to emails and phone calls.)  Today and tomorrow will be busy, but hopefully my peripherals will be sent out and I can get the new one set up late tomorrow or over the weekend.

I need to get to my Thursday reports, but wanted to show you two things.  First, I made a Raspberry Rhubarb Crostata using THIS RECIPE from Ina Garten.

Mine took much less time to cook, but oh boy is it delicious!  I whipped up some cream to go with it.  The only change I made was to use maple sugar to sprinkle on the pastry rather than turbinado sugar.  

And, the lilacs didn't last long when cut (and I googled and couldn't find any way to make them last longer than a day or two), but we have Iris blooming this year - more than in past years!

I cut some after our afternoon rain and their scent has filled the entire downstairs!  Very sweet and very nice.

OK, time for me to get down to work.  Have a wonderful Thursday!