A Fall Table Runner Starting

 Yesterday was quite sunny with a high of 25C (humidex 27C). This morning it is clearing off from rain last night and 14C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 23C. 

Lifestyle

I made a list of things I needed to do yesterday and set about doing it. I started off with a few easy jobs: take out the garbage, fold the laundry, and launder the sheets. Then I set about fall cleaning. The closet was tackled first. Everything was moved and it was dusted, wiped down and the floor washed. 

While everything was out, I organized the winter basket and tossed a pair of worn out gloves. Next was the trolley that I have cleaning items on. I tossed 7 or 8 worn out cleaning rags and replaced them with new ones. I tidied up the mess and put it all away. Books were taken out of a basket and all but 2 were put into a pile to be taken to a little library in our area. 

I picked up all the recycling and put it out into the garage. My break was changing Rosie's filter and emptying her dust bin. I also filled her tank with water. 

I washed the door inside and out and then started washing walls in that area. I made sure they were spotless and then did the baseboards. I wiped the refrigerator down and then washed the floor. 

While the floor was drying, I took the books to the little library and once home I put everything back in its place and put the sheets into the dryer. 

In the afternoon, I watered all the plants and picked the cucumbers and tomatoes. The earwigs are eating the tomatoes so I am going to start picking them before they are ripe. I also made my bed and while dinner was warming up, I emptied the dishwasher and loaded it up again. After dinner, I did my usual clean up so the kitchen is clean in the morning. 

Sewing

I started the table runner. I pressed and cut the pieces for block #1. I carefully sewed the pieces together doing a lot of measuring after each row. I was successful. 

I used the herpa marker to mark the lines where I will the outline stitch so these pumpkins have some curves to them. 

I am deciding if I will embroider the now or after I sandwich the 3 layers together. 

Knitting

I knit 4 rows on the afghan border and had to stop when casting off. My hands started to cramp. 

Thoughts

    I am happy that I got the first area cleaned. I was surprised that I had a lot of items to go out to the trash or recycling from the closet. I am happy all the books are gone. I kept one to read as it is about the Acadians in a community near us (fictional based on truth). The author is from that community. It will go to the little library when I have read it. 

    I ate well and tracked all my food. I was hungry in the afternoon as lunch wasn't big. But I didn't snack. I was a bit short on fluids which was one reason my hands cramped. The other reason was handling the small bits of fabric when making block #1. 

    Daughter spent Saturday and yesterday at a class so she could get her Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL). She was nervous about doing it. Saturday was class and the room was overly warm and stuffy. The a/c hadn't been put on. Yesterday was the practical side of it plus the written and hands on test. She got 96% on the written test and 100% on the hands on test. She was tired when done and had been out of the house over 9 hours yesterday. She has to submit the paper work and wait for her certificate to be sent to her. 

    I slept poorly last night. Don't know why. I woke up around 1 am really hot. I had to get up and lower the temperature on the a/c. I know I will have a nap after lunch as I will be tired. I hate it when I sleep poorly as it slows me down during the day. 

Today

I have physio early this morning. Once home, I have to prep chicken for dinner and then start more fall cleaning. I have to do a load of laundry. I will nap after lunch and I hope I can start work on block #2. If I have the energy, I will finish casting off the afghan. I am going to push myself to get my to-do list done. 

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

More Embroidering Done

 Yesterday was mainly sunny with some wind. The high got to 22C. This morning it is a mix of sun and clouds and 12C. Today is supposed to be mainly sunny with a high of 26C (humidex 29C). 

Lifestyle

Sandwiches were done in good time yesterday with extra people helping. I was home in good time and was sitting drinking water and making my plans when daughter-in-law invited me to come along with her to Bedford. 

We only went to Walmart as she needed to get the lenses replaced in a pair of glasses. We did some shopping and headed for home. The traffic was heavy as people were going down the valley to enjoy the lovely weather at wineries and other fun destinations. We got home at 11:30 am. 

Once home, I decided I should do the balance sheet. I got it done by noon without any problems. I do like it when I can get it done quickly and easily. 

Sewing

I spent the afternoon in the sewing room having a bit of fun. My first job was to starch the fabric for the table runners. I did the pumpkins and background fabric. The pattern starts with those. 

Next up I decided to see what the maple leaf design looked like when it was double and played with on the software program. It took a while to stitch out but I did a few things while I waited. 

One thing I did was look up the sample I had done way back when. I have a binder that I have kept some designs in. I had done it on red faux suede. The stitching was done in gold with a hint of red where I have the cream. It brought back a lot of happy memories as I really enjoyed embroidering the design down the fronts of a vest. 

I cut down the single piece of embroidery to 4.5" square and sewed it to a piece of the fabric I want to use. 

This design could be 4 squares wide by 6 to 8 squares long. A smaller table runner as the embroidery is dense and takes time. I need to buy a spool of glide thread and two pieces of fabric. I had to stop as it was time to make dinner. 

Knitting

I cast off the afghan and then picked up the stitches along one side. I have 3 rows knit on it. 

The picture is horrible and you can barely see the border. I am planning on doing 6 or 8 rows down each side. 

Thoughts

    I had a better day food wise. I did not snack at all and ate well. I made salads using up the ripe tomatoes and cucumbers from the plants on the deck. I had portion control. Overall I felt better watching what I ate. 

    Grandson has let family know he and his girlfriend are moving from Spain to Alberta. We are not surprised as many questions have been asked by his girlfriend. It isn't going to be easy and they have to figure out what they need to do. We don't know when they arrive and we don't know when they will talk to us again. 

    It started out somewhat humid yesterday and the wind came up and move the humidity out of the area/province late in the afternoon. I opened the house up around 8 pm and the windows are still open at this time. The forecast still shows a humidex but it is not like it was. Will be have more of those ugly hot humid days? We can until late September. But they don't last as long unless there is a major storm coming. 

Today

I am going to start fall cleaning. The area I am working on is the closet and top landing. Walls, doors, trim, floors. I will be going through tubs to see what I can let go of. This afternoon I want to start cutting out and sewing block 1 of the table runner. Tonight I want to knit on the afghan. It is cooler and I want to get things done. 

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

Fabric Bought For A Table Runner

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with one tiny shower. The high got to 27C (humidex 34C). This morning it is cloudy and 19C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 23C (humidex 26C). 

Lifestyle

Prior to leaving for New Minas, I went down to the basement. It was overly warm down there. I checked the dehumidifier and it said the house humidity was 50%. I emptied the container even though it only 3/4 full. I turned on heat pump to dehumidify and hoped it would cool off. It worked as it was almost cold down there mid afternoon.

The trip to New Minas was warm and muggy. I got my bag from the quilt shop and did buy some fabric. I went to Walmart to buy groceries as it is cheaper than buying them locally. By the time I was done there, it was time to go home. I was tired and it felt ugly outside. 

Once home, I put the groceries away and crawled into bed. I hadn't slept well and the humidity is bothering me once again. I had a good nap and felt much better when I woke up almost an hour later. 

I was out to family's last night. Daughter-in-law and I took the containers of sandwich filling to the community hall to put in the fridge. We didn't stay long and went home for dinner. It was hot dogs and chips. After dinner we had to go back to the hall and do the cookie trays. Once back at their place we watched YouTube videos on British Indian cooking. I learned a few new things that I didn't know about curries. 

Sewing

I spent about an hour at the quilt shop buying the fabrics for the table runner. It was a lot of fun as several people hung around to help me. I chose mainly solids with two of the fabrics having subtle prints and the backing and binding being a soft print. 

I was going to go to Michaels to look at their fabric. I didn't as I was too tired and will save it for another trip. The only fabric I am interested in is their solids as it is a good brand name. The others will be of interest for doll clothes and some small craft projects. 

After my nap, I decided to play around with an embroidery design. I haven't stitched it out in about 15 years when I used it on a vest I did for a rodeo queen. I got out the colours I had put into the design and had a bit of fun on a piece of fabric. 

I am thinking of using this idea for another table runner. I need a different fabric for the embroidery plus more of the print. I may be back at the quilt shop on Tuesday for fabric and thread. Glide thread is wonderful to use in embroidery projects. 

Knitting

None done last night as I got home late. 

Thoughts

    The humid weather is not going away like we had hoped it would. It has stuck around and is keeping us all inside trying to stay cool. I popped my head outside this morning and it is humid even though we don't have a humidex reading. It must be close. I keep reminding myself cooler weather will arrive sometime in September. 

    I was going to start fall cleaning mid September but have decided to start doing some each day right now. If I can't get outside to do things, I can wash walls, etc. slowly over the next few weeks. Windows can wait until it cools down. It will keep me busy in the mornings. 

Today

I am out shortly to make sandwiches. Once home, I want to start fall cleaning. This afternoon I hope to prep the fabrics for the table runner. Tonight I hope to knit. 

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

    

A Day Of Tidying Up

 Yesterday started out sunny and then was a mix of sun and clouds. The high got to 25C (humidex 31C). This morning it is cloudy and 17C. Today is supposed to be clear then cloudy with a high of 26C (humidex 33C). We have rain coming during the night. 

Lifestyle

It was reset day for part of the house. I put away items that have been lying around for weeks and a few item that have been a lot longer than that. The kitchen was tidied up as it had some clutter that I moved to the dining room table. 

The dining room table was then cleaned off and the clutter was put away. I scrubbed the table good and have a couple of things to tidy up again this morning. 

I also did some tidying up in the living room area and then swept down the stairs and the front door landing. Everything looks much better than it did and I only have a couple of things to take out. 

I had to stop and deal with the corn on my bunion. It was making my toe really sore. I was able to remove another small seed from it and get rid of more dead skin. The pain left right away and I moved on with what I was doing. 

After lunch, I moved downstairs. I hauled everything that needed to be put away down there and got it in its right spots. I vacuumed the floors of all the threads that have accumulated from both machine and hand sewing. I even emptied the dehumidifier tank which was almost full. 

Sewing

I did spent some time in the sewing room. I sewed a button back on to a hand towel topper and put it away in the kitchen. The only sewing I did and it took about 3 minutes. 

I put away the left over fabric from the apron as there is enough to make the Gotz dolls a pair of jeans and a vest from it. I put away some other fabric I had left in the family room. It is for the dolls and was left out when I was doing the Acadian outfits. I had thought I would do one more outfit but decided against it.

I did look online at fabric ideas for the table runner. I know what I want and now need to look at my choices. I think this will be a study in plain fabrics in soft colours. It may not depending if I find a pattern I like better. At the moment I don't see anything but who knows. 

Knitting

I didn't knit last night. 

Thoughts

    I got the first layer of cleaning done and will do more over the next while. Cleaning up items I had dropped really helped. I will slowly go around and clean more and more so I can finish up the fall cleaning on time. 

    I did some more work on the family tree late yesterday afternoon. I did find some more information on my great aunt's children. I'm still stuck on one as I can't find anything on her. She died when she was 4 months old. The archives here in Nova Scotia have nothing on her but the date of birth and death from a piece of paper I got from my aunt. That may be because they haven't digitized birth's and death's for that time. 

    I was wondering if Lake Ontario's name could be changed unilaterally and it can't. If a country wants to change the name, it can for that country only. Lake Ontario was named prior to the 1600's by the Huron people. The province of Ontario was named after the lake. I learned a little bit more about the history of how some place or body of water was named. I find it interesting. 

    I mailed the parcel on Wednesday afternoon and put the tracking number into the Canada post app. I know it has been processed in Halifax but nothing else has come up. It is supposed to be delivered on Monday and I am a bit worried. Hopefully there will be an update today to say it is in Saskatchewan. 

Today

I am going to New Minas this morning to pick up my bag and to look at fabrics. Then it will be grocery shopping and maybe to Michaels to look at their fabric. It just came in. Once home I will rest as I am tired though I may do the balance sheet. I am out for dinner tonight at family's. Once home I will be in bed early as I have to be up early tomorrow. I may knit if I have the energy. 

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

Finished, Done, Completed, Tired But Happy

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with one good shower early in the afternoon. The high got to 25C (humidex 30C). This morning it is foggy and it seems to have rained during the night. It is 14C. Today is supposed to be mainly sunny with a high of 28C (humidex 34C). 

Lifestyle

Yesterday was busy in a different kind of way. I did a few little chores in the morning and spent the rest of the morning sewing. At noon, I was out to have lunch with daughter-in-law as it was her 50th birthday. After lunch it was back downstairs to sew. 

Late in the afternoon, I was out to mail the parcel of sewing and I had a nice visit with the lady at the post office. Once I was done there, I went to get flowers for daughter-in-law and delivered them. Talked to son for a bit and then home. I was tired so dinner was ice cream. 

On my way to the post office, I was able to take a picture of the shrub at one house. I was so impressed with the huge blooms on it. 

A bit of google searching and I found out it is a "hardy hibiscus" or Lavatera. It is the first one I have seen here though people do grow regular hibiscus outdoors here. 

The humidex was gone by 9 pm and I opened up the house for the night. I even stood out on the deck for a few minutes enjoying the cooler air. 

When I went to bed it was clear and the moon was shining. I thought it was a full moon but it doesn't happen until tomorrow night. I could see it from bed and drifted off to sleep looking at it. 

Sewing

It was another sewing marathon yesterday. Placemat #3 was finished by 11:30 am and pressed it carefully. 

After lunch I finished the placemat #4 and celebrated. 

I was exhausted as I had pushed myself to get them done. I have sore muscles from all the hand sewing. But, I got it done. 

Now I have to spend an afternoon cleaning up the sewing and family rooms. 

Knitting

None done last night as I was tired and somewhat sore. 

Thoughts

    I am hoping I don't have to do another marathon sewing spree for a while. This one had pressure on it as I didn't know the deadline and it was sooner rather than later. The person I shipped it to will get it Monday or Tuesday. I am tracking it so daughter can let the person know when it arrives at their post office. 

    I made a list of everything I need to do over the next few days. It is extensive but most of it means resetting the house now so I can focus on doing fall cleaning later in September. I am hoping I can have enough done inside so I can spent some time next week pulling weeds. 

Today

I am focusing on resetting upstairs and doing 2 loads of laundry. This afternoon I will focus on cleaning up the sewing room from all the sewing I have done. Tonight I hope to knit on the afghan. 

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

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...........................................................