Two Done, Two To Go

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a good rain late in the afternoon. The high got to 27C (humidex 33C). This morning it is cloudy and 17C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a small chance of showers this afternoon. The high is to get to 25C (humidex 30C). 

Lifestyle

I did a tiny bit of cleaning before heading to the basement to work on the placemats. I emerged for lunch and then about 4 pm. I headed out to get groceries. When I came out of the grocery store it had started to rain a bit. A lady and I talked and she said everyone she knows is tired of the humidity. And she said the rain was coming in from the east (Halifax). It was barely raining when I got home. I unloaded the groceries, put them away and checked the weather. We were under another thunderstorm watch. It was then I noticed it was raining. Shortly after that, it started to rain heavily. It lasted over an hour before it started to ease off. By 9 pm there was no humidex or thunderstorm watch. We didn't have any thunder so we missed that part of the storm. 

I did check my vegetables and watered them in the morning. I picked a cucumber and have another one ready to pick today or tomorrow. There are a lot of tiny cucumbers on the plants. 

They are short in length (variety) but are delicious to eat. 

Sewing

I spent the biggest part of the day sewing on the placemats. I made 2 lengths of binding and sewed it on the first placemat. I took everything out to the family room and hand sewed the binding down. That took me just over 2 hours from start to finish.

After lunch I repeated the process and got a second placemat finished. 

It took over 2 hours to finish so I know I need about 5 hours of sewing to finish the other 2. 

Knitting

I did knit last night and am ready to cast off. I am deciding if I will knit a border on each side of the blanket as I forgot to do that when I started to knit. It will be easy to pick up the stitches but will be a long row of knitting as this afghan is over 300 rows long. I have the time to work on it. 

Thoughts

    We were told we would have a 60% chance of showers late yesterday afternoon. What we got was a downpour. Everything is green and clean which is nice. It was nice to have the humidex gone but we will be having it back again sometime today and for a few more days afterwards. I just looked at last August and we had very little rain that month. Actually what I read said sunny and warm with a shower on the 30th. No rain the two weeks before that. 

    I was sad to read that Dolly Parton passed away yesterday. She was such a wonderful singer and a great philanthropist. She will be missed. 

Today

I am going to work on the third placemat this morning. I am having lunch with daughter-in-law as it is her birthday. This afternoon I want to work on the 4th placemat. Tonight I will decide if I will bind off the afghan and start picking up stitches for the border. Probably will do that. 

Until the next time.............................................................

Ready to Bind The Placemats

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 28C (humidex 38C). This morning it is cloudy, foggy, and 18C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a chance of showers. The high could get to 25C (humidex 32C).

Lifestyle

I was on the phone for over 40 minutes yesterday. I spent a while listening to music and then had the wrong department. They transferred me to the right department. The person I spoke to was wonderful. They explained everything to me and I got the information I needed. I didn't get that information via email which was frustrating for me. 

When done the call, I emptied the dishwasher and put in the dirty dishes. I did a clean up of the kitchen to make sure all surfaces were not dirty. I did that twice more during the day as I actually made meals. Next up laundry was folded and put away. 

At that point, I had to lie down on the couch and do my 3 minute stretch. I was really sore. As I laid down I felt something release inside me. Doing the exercise wasn't difficult due to that. Once it was done, I did another exercise to stretch the piriformis muscle. Wow did that ever start a bunch of muscles to hurting. I did it on both sides several times to help stretch the rebelling muscles. I knew they were going to be sore for quite a while. 

My last chore before lunch was to sweep the living room floor. It is time for me to clean the living room and give the floor a good mopping. It is on my to-do list for later this week. 

Sewing

I was downstairs in the sewing room all afternoon. It was a great session as I got the last two placemats quilted. I got both of them stitched in the ditch with a small amount of thread left. I then quilted the first placemat and changed threads a few times. 

The second one had more thread changes which took more time. More stops and starts, more thread to knot and bury. 

The next job was to stitch around the outside edge of all 4 place mats and then trim them square. This job I hate as the fabric is more of what I call discount quilting cotton. At this point I know I will be fighting and fight I did but the job got done. 

The binding is cut and ready for me to sew together. 

At this point I had to quit as I was tired and needed to get something to drink. I have another 2 long days of sewing to get these done and out the door. I found out they need to be shipped asap. This parcel will be going priority post. 

Knitting

I did pick up my knitting and finished the row I was on and started the border. It could be done tonight. I will have 3 full balls and one part ball of yarn left. A few hats can be made over time. 

Thoughts

    Marianne, we make a variety of sandwiches which include ham and cheese, chicken with cranberries, cucumber with dill pickle hummus, canned ham and tuna, finely chopped vegetables, cream cheese, and egg salad. Most have mayo based dressings in them. We do mainly celebration of life lunches. The one for the anniversary party was a first for us. We do some luncheons and dinners where we cook meat, potatoes, vegetables and have buns and pies. We limit catered dinners as we would be doing it a lot in the summer when we have less people available to help. 

    Yesterday's humidity was thick and heavy. I was outside in it for a few minutes twice. I couldn't believe how much very warm moisture was in the air and it made you feel uncomfortable very quickly. There was very little wind which doesn't help get rid of the humidity. It has to pack its bag and leave on its own. 

    I picked my first cucumber and had it with my own tomatoes for dinner last night. It was delicious. I have 2 more cucumbers almost ready to pick. There are a lot of tomatoes that are ready or almost ready to pick. I have decided to dump all the dirt from the pots this fall and put in new next spring. I have been feeding the plants a lot this year as the soil is 2 years old and needs to be replaced. 

    I had a good day yesterday. No foggy funk or my brain being negative. I kept moving forward all day wanting to get things done. I was tired last night but it was a happy tired. 

Today

I have to spend a lot of time working on the placemats as I want them out of here Thursday at the latest. Other things are on hold unless it is to get groceries. I am trying to get my meat and pantry items used up before I go shopping. 

Until the next time...........................................................

Let My Brain Mull Through A Lot of Stuff

 Yesterday was wet and humid with a high of 25C (humidex 35C). This morning it is cloudy and 22C (humidex 31C). Today is supposed to be mainly cloudy with some wind. The high is supposed to get to 24C (humidex 32C).

Lifestyle

I was at the community hall before 8 am to help make sandwiches. We had to make 8 loaves for a celebration of life which was being held at the hall and another 6 loaves for an anniversary party in another community. It was a lot of work and I got behind as two electric knives wouldn't work. I started out cutting sandwiches with a bread knife. One of the ladies went home and got her electric knife which was so nice of her. We were done in less than 2 hours. As I was cleaning up my work space, I turned and had a huge pain in my leg. First I thought it was my hip but it is a combination of muscles and my SI joint. I hobbled to help finish up which was very annoying for me. 

At home, I sat on the couch with heat on my sore spots. I let myself relax so the heat would get into the relaxed muscles. I got up and walked every so often to keep them from stiffening up. 

I went over to family's at 1 pm to help daughter deliver the sandwiches to the anniversary party. I hadn't been out to that area (Avondale) for over 4 years. We had a lovely drive out there with no rain. We found the hall and it is smaller than ours but very nice. We unloaded the food and helped them get it onto the tables. The people were so happy to have this as no one does sandwiches and sweet trays in this area. 

We left the hall and daughter-in-law wanted to go to the winery. We did a loop around and had one big laugh when we discovered it was 2 lots down from the hall. The winery is very interesting as it is in a restored historic church that was brought to the location via barge and road (42 km trip). Daughter-in-law tasted wine with the owner and I bought her a bottle of wine that was new to her. She bought the ones they love. We had a lovely time in the building and little has changed since I was there in November 2017. 

Once home, I sat with heat on my sore spots. I also let my body shut down and rest from the funk I have been having. The tv was on and I let some shows run. I played games on my iPad. Around 4:30 I noticed that I was moving out of the funk and was ready to make something for dinner. The first time in 3 days. I had subconsciously worked through everything and was ready to move forward. What my subconscious was working through was a lot more than I had realized. 

The rain we were supposed to get wasn't nearly as heavy as anticipated. We got about an inch of rain maybe slightly more. The humidity was worse than the rain. When we walked outside to do things it felt like you had a very warm wet towel around you. It was quite uncomfortable. The humidity hasn't passed yet and it was very oppressive when I went out onto the deck at 6:30 this morning. Hopefully the humidity will leave and we can enjoy "normal" weather again. 

I did not sew or knit yesterday as I wasn't in the mood to do it. 

Today

I have to do some paperwork and some cleaning. I also have to fold laundry and put it away. I want to sew this afternoon and knit tonight. It is an inside day for me. 

Until the next time...................................................................

Two Placemats Quilted

 Yesterday was sunny with a high of 24C (humidex 30C). This morning it is raining lightly and 20C. Today is supposed to be wet with some heavy rains falling during the day. The high is supposed to get to 22C (humidex 30C). 

Lifestyle

I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen. It was a heavy duty cleaning session. I scrubbed as many surfaces as I could and by the time I was ready to empty the garbage and recycling, I had to lie down and do my SI stretching exercises. It really helped doing them. Then it was up and emptying the garbage and recycling, vacuuming the floor and mopping it. It was dirty but not as bad as I had thought. When done, I sat on the couch with the heat on my SI joint. It deserved it as it didn't hurt after doing the exercises. 

I did do a load of laundry and it is in the dryer waiting for me to fold it (once again). It will get done today. 

I was out to get myself some dinner last night as I didn't have time to make it. There are a lot of hydrangea bushes in the 55+ community and they are turning from vanilla to pink. The pink will darken to raspberry. 

I was out to the community hall last night and helped family some. They set up the hall for a celebration of life that will be held this afternoon. We got everything ready as we have to make sandwiches for it and a smaller batch which we will deliver to another location. We were home in good time. 

Sewing

I worked on the placemats yesterday afternoon. The backing was cut for the 4 placemats and batting for 2. The remaining batting is ready to cut. I sandwiched the 2 placemats I wanted to quilt and set about quilting them. The first placemat was easy. I stitched around the block in navy and then used khaki thread on the main part. The rows are 2" apart. 

The second placemat took longer to quilt as I had to change the thread to blue to do the sky. But I am pleased with the results of it.

I have enough blue thread to do one more placemat and then will have to get another spool on Tuesday. I can cut out the binding and sew it on as I can use a different shade of navy for that. 

The bag is cute, Marianne. It is very different to most patterns I have looked at. If I have a zipper I may have to try it out using the fabric I won.

Knitting

I did knit on the afghan last night and ran out of yarn. 

I will attach another ball and knit that row plus the border and call the afghan done. It is long enough to wrap up in this winter. 

I am not sure what I will knit next. I am thinking about something for the dolls but may cast on a pair of socks. I can make heavy weight wool socks for daughter for Christmas. 

Thoughts

    Thought it is to rain until about midnight tonight, it seems as if we are in the area of highest rainfall amounts. It all depends on how the storms move and if they start to circle around and collide with each other. As this storm is bringing in warm moist air, it will take a couple of days before it will start to cool off at night. There will be updates later today on how things are going to look for tonight. 

    I finally figured out why I am struggling and feeling tired. It started just before the Spousal Unit's birthday in July and carried itself forward with me having some good days and some days I struggled. The worst day was August 22 which is the day we had to put him into the hospital. I know this "funk" will carry on until Sept 22 when he passed away. Why it has hit me hard after 4 years I don't know. I do know it is common for this to happen and I know it will pass. The biggest thing I am struggling with is wondering if I could have done more for him. I have let this run in my head and know family and I did the best we could for him and that we couldn't have done more. This will pass as it always does so I am working at being gentle with myself. 

Today

I am out shortly to help make 16 loaves of sandwiches. Once done I am not sure what I will do. Fold laundry for sure. Sew if I have the energy. Cook dinner at home. Knit tonight. It is a day of "wait and see". 

Until the next time.....................................................

A Custom Apron Is Completed

 Yesterday was mainly sunny and humid. The high got to 26C (humidex 30C). This morning it is cloudy and 18C. Today is supposed to be mainly cloudy with a high of 25C (humidex 29C). We are to have rain starting tonight. We are under a weather statement for heavy rain. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday morning was another go at making brownies. I lined the pan with parchment paper which seemed to take forever. Getting it the right size was time consuming but I built a sling. Making the brownie was easy. I weighed all the ingredients out first and then made it. I baked it and when it cooled the thing came out of the pan easily. I will ice it tonight. 

I did clean up my baking dishes but need to do a big clean in the kitchen once again. It is on the to-do list for today. 

I did get all the laundry folded and put away. It felt good to get that job done just in time to do more laundry. 

My lawn was mowed at noon yesterday and it was long. I will be monitoring the growth more closely and texting sooner. It was okay this time as the lawn got over being stressed from the heat wave we had. Once it cools down I will be out there pulling weeds once again. 

Sewing

I had a 4.5 hour sewing marathon yesterday afternoon. I started off getting the dog square sewn down on the apron and then proceeded to read the instructions. I made a plan.

    I sewed 1/4" away from the top of the bottom band and up the geese on the apron. I also sewed 1/4" down each side of the apron. That allowed the apron front and lining to be attached. The thread is such a perfect match you really don't see it. 

    I hemmed the top of the apron so it was finished neatly. 

    I hemmed the first facing for the side of the apron. This is the casing for the strap to go through. I sewed it on and pressed it in place. I was happy with the results. 

    The second facing was hemmed and when I went to attach it, it was not the same size as the other one. They both had the same number on them. I quickly cut out a new facing and hemmed it. I attached it to the apron and pressed it in place. 

    The facings needed to be stitched down to form a casing. The one side was easy as I could sew it down using the matching thread. The other side needed me to change thread colour for the patch. 

    The tie was made, pressed and top stitched. I threaded it through the casings and called it done for the day. It was 5 pm. 

A close up of the dog patch I added to the apron. You can barely see the stitching line I had to do.

It looks crooked as I stood at an angle to take the picture. 

Next up is to finish the placemats. I did look at them and realize I have a lot of thread changes when quilting these. I am trying to figure out what I will do. 

Knitting

I did knit last night and got 6 rows done. I am almost done the ball of yarn. 

Thoughts

    I was incredibly sore yesterday. I hobbled around all day. I checked the weather map and saw that there was rain along the Halifax side of the province (50 miles away). The barometric pressure had dropped and was starting to rise. I blamed it. When I looked at the weather at 5 pm, we were under a weather statement. My body was reacting to what ever is coming in. They say up to 4" of rain could fall with storms circling around and passing over each other. 

    I read this morning that the trade deal between Canada and the US didn't reach the finish line. I have read that the people of both countries want tariffs gone as we are, ultimately, the ones who are paying them. Unfortunately we are the ones affected with rising costs, job insecurity, and fear of what the future holds for us. 

    I did a quick assessment of the weeds in the lawn. I have a few mornings of work to do out there. I have to get out the shovel as the weeds did get cut down and will be harder to pull. I will then have to see if I can hoe the dead grass so the soil is exposed. And the last big job will be to weed the dreaded hedge. 

Today

I am going to clean up the kitchen and do a small load of laundry. I have to make dinner. I want to start quilting the placemats and will knit tonight. A quiet day at home. 

Until the next time.................................................

We Have An Apron In The Making

 Yesterday started out cloudy and ended up sunny. The high got to 27C (humidex 34C). This morning it is cloudy but clearing and 18C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high ion 28C (humidex 35C). 

Lifestyle

Yesterday morning I decided to make brownies. I weighed all the ingredients, sprayed the pan and baked them. I ended up with a first class very rich tasting flop. It would not come out of the pan and it seemed to be undercooked. I cleaned up the mess I had made and moved on. It consumed my morning and I had something worthy for the compost bin. 

I had to water the cucumber plants yesterday earlier than usual as they had wilted in the heat and humidity. They are fine and I will be watering them this morning so they don't wilt again. I do have cucumbers on these plants and the bees are busy getting pollen from the blooms. 

I did pick 2 more tomatoes and have a couple more that will be ready to pick today or tomorrow. 

Sewing

It was a busy day in the sewing room. I took a big breath, measured what I had to cut and started making a piece of fabric for the apron. I was measuring 6 times before I cut. I kept moving forward by sewing together the flying geese first, then attaching the side pieces to them. Finally the border and I took a picture of it. 

I was ready to cut the fabric at the top so it was even with the top of the flying geese. I then measured for the top part of the apron. I cut it out and sewed it on. I could breathe again and realized how tired I was from all the measuring and trying to figure out what I needed. 

I laid the pattern on the fabric and wanted to cry. The pattern has some issues I had to deal with. I figured it out after almost wearing out my tape measure. The pattern is not the same on both sides. All is good when I got that figured out. I cut out the apron very carefully and sewed the outer and lining parts together at the bottom and the sides. I turned it right side out and pressed it well. I was pleased with the results. 

I had a scrap left over from the bottom border so I pressed it to measure the same width as the flying geese. I laid it on at the top of the geese and it was a winner. 

 Daughter loved it so now I have to open the seam and sew the bottom of it to the top of the geese. The remaining part will be top stitched down. 

I was done as my brain had retired for the day. I now have to dig out the instructions so I can finish the apron. 

I did remind my brain to stop doing all this design work but it said nope as it is mulling around ideas for the table runner. It is travelling down a path that is sort of scaring me. 

Knitting

I was too tired to knit last night. 

Thoughts

    We are hoping for cooler weather sometime next week. At least cooler nights. I need to do more weeding but can't when it is warm and humid in the mornings. We will still have this humid air for another month but mornings will be cooler unless something drastic happens like a hurricane. 

    Daughter is in a good place right now with the paperwork she received. It is going to be interesting to see how this goes as she has to do nothing but wait for the court date. There are errors on his part which will go against him in court. 

Today

I am going to go buy a square to replace my blunder. Once home I will fold laundry. This afternoon, I will try to finish the apron so I can focus on finishing the placemats. I will try to knit tonight.  

I just saw a goldfinch land on the power line. I haven't seen many of them this summer. 

Until the next time...................................................

A Wonderful Tea Party

 Yesterday started out cloudy and ended up sunny. It was quite humid also. The high got to 26C (humidex 33C). This morning it is cloudy and 18C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a chance of showers. The high is to get to 28C (humidex 36C).

Lifestyle

First and foremost, thank you for all the kind words on my bag winning. 

I did a couple of things before leaving for the tea party. I was tired due to the heat and humidity we are experiencing once again. The description of the humidity is akin to walking outside wrapped in a warm wet towel. 

The tea party was fun. I had a couple of belly laughs as one of the staff was looking for me prior to the party. She had a great laugh when she found out it was me. The other ladies didn't know me at all. We introduced ourselves and had a lovely time visiting. I have been invited to join a quilting guild but need more information on the group. 

The winning bags were all equally well done. I was told mine won as people were amazed at how I had combined design, muted colours, and custom details into one item. They had several inquiries if it was for sale. The other ladies used more vibrant colours which is typical here. They were all lovely and well thought out bags. My prize was a box of fat quarters in a beach theme.

They are outside my comfort zone and I may give them away to my friend. The other winners got a charm. We all knew the prizes were going to be small. It was more the fun of taking part in the contest vs the prizes.

Tea was lovely. The owner is from England so we had a British tea with cucumber sandwiches, scones, and other treats along with a lovely blend of tea. 

Everyone is wondering if I will be taking part in the next contest which is a table runner. I said I was thinking about it. We are all being secret about our designs which makes it a lot more fun. My design is forming and I am thinking muted colours. I have looked at fabrics in the store and ideas are running amuck in my head. But more on it when I get the apron made. 

I was out for dinner a family's last night and we had a lot of fun. It was more a wild dream of us moving to Uruguay to live. There are some things holding us back but it was certainly fun to think and talk about it. 

Thoughts

    Marianne, here is hoping you are able to start driving after your hip replacement last week. You are really amazing. Keep up the great work and soon you will be doing everything. 

    Daughter was assigned another lawyer in the firm. He specializes in family violence which he said is what she is experiencing. She has a list of 19 things to do and he has added a couple more that she has to do also. He also warned her that the judge will dismiss the case as it is low priority and set a new trial date 2 to 6 months down the road. It may not even get heard if the judges dismiss it again. He is also going to help her get mediation moving forward so they can complete the separation sooner rather than later. 

    The humidity is draining a lot of people's energy. Those who can handle it are outside doing things while the rest of us are struggling to get anything done. The people who bought our friend's house has been outside in it doing a lot of yard work. My next door neighbour mowed their lawn last night. I am envious at how they do it for a long time when I only last 5 minutes and am over heating. 

Today

I have to bake a brownie and then do some cleaning up. I am going to sew this afternoon and knit tonight. With today being very humid, I plan on staying inside most of the day. 

Until the next time.........................................................