And Life Goes On...........

 We live, We die..........................................................

Recently, our mother slipped slowly away.  She was near 104 years of age.  Her last years were not her best.  She was fragile, non verbal, had dementia and was not happy.  We, the children, can now say we are orphans, even though she didn't have any more 'rising' to do with us.  Now, we are advancing to looking at our own upcoming death ages.  We live, we die.....................it's the in between that matters. 

 We try to make the most of each day and live accordingly.  Our mother lived by herself for 50+ years after our father died.  Then she had a fall and we decided she needed additional care--to her, that meant her independence was gone.  It's tough when the child becomes the parent--there are times when that reverse order of things are necessary.

In tribute to our parents, my brother wrote and recorded the above song.  It's a lovely view of her life in a small way.  Although, we had many old photos, those were taken from us by a swift fire.  That was the day before cloud storage--we lost all those printed memories--now, we just rely on our thoughts of what, when, and where things happen.  To see many of those memories in this video brought tears to my eyes.  There is nothing like photos to open those doors of your brain.

Live as perfectly as you can.............................Make memories!  

Fiber Stash Diving

 

Off to the fiber closet of hidden 'stuff'! to do some stash diving!  This is always fun--never

know what will be found in bins of lost fibers.  THis day I pulled out some indigo dyed wool 

that will NOT be spun--too many twisted lock tops--(I stirred too vigorously I guess)

it is a lovely color and I hate to throw this away--there must be something that could it can be used for--definitely felting for sure!

in the back of the closet sat a bin with a fresh wool fleece--most likely purchased at Taos or Estes Park wool market years ago.  It's in good shape and lovely--I just don't spin too much wool anymore.

Also found a small amount of processed merino wool roving.

  

and This!  Holy Moley!!  One of my favorite things to spin,  I checked and Treenay silks still sells this delightful blend--If I don't find any more of this fiber in the lost closet of fiber, I just might buy  more of this!  Such a dream to spin.

Here's what I'm doing with all that wool--making dryer balls!  I couldn't find long panty hose but these ankle length work just as well.  This is an evening pleasure--wrapping lovely locks of wool into a ball.  How many will I make?  Don't know--most likely till my attention span seeks another interest..

besides, there is the added bonus of lanolin on my hands and

the smell--oh yes!  that fresh wool smell is like perfume to my nose!

As The Garden Grows

 There a few things that give me pleasure--watching gardens grow is one of them!  Plant a seed, water that seed and watch the seed break ground to burst forth into a flowering plant. First thing in the morning, as my coffee is brewing, I take a walk into our small garden space to see what has developed overnight--as if that small seed was going to be four foot tall in just a few hours--

Each morning I find something exciting from that small seed. 

Producing summer crook neck squash is establishing a fruit from the tree.

I push aside the big sticky leaves to scare away bees that are polluting--

Zucchini flowers are forming fruit!  What a joy to see!

Oregano has been growing since last fall--we saved it from freezes so now its flowering 

Sage in foreground and upright rosemary

dill seeds--since swallow tail catterpillars ate all the dill leaves, I'm happy to see that some dill seeds remain.

Spearmint grows abundant--great for lemonade and iced tea

dill seeds are sprouting

our little herb garden is growing in gallon buckets--easy to take out and replace

Oregano is upper row to the left, then a volunteer tomato, sage

lower level is mint besides basil--I just scattered the seeds in hopes to have lots of basil

There are several pepper plants amongst the volunteer tomato plants

How exciting to watch things grow!

Many moons ago, I had a huge garden, one that had to be tilled--it was wonderful to have fresh green beans, okra, tomatoes, eggplant at your fingertips--but, alas, there is lots of work involved in growing those plants.  Always, a pleasure to see those seeds break the ground and flourish to produce fruit and feeds your needs.

Good Day To……..

 It's always a good day to take some time for yourself.  it's also a good day to do nothing when the day is rainy and no outside activities can take place--you are stuck inside--no snacking involved! Just busy work with our hands.  I wondered what I would do with my self today.  I could do household chores--like dust, sweep, empty dishwasher, do laundry, clean toilets--nope, none of that appealed to me--at this moment.  I went into my spare closet to find a book to read (well, actually, if I read, I'll fall asleep)There staring me in the face was my spinning bobbins filled with cotton--ah, those need to be wound off and plied.  There also sat my little electric spinner--Hadn't done much with it in a month of Sundays--out it came.  Found a comfortable spot to sit up the spinner, plug her in, turn on a good movie and begin...........

that little machine hums along.  OOOOh, let's spin some silk--this silk 

Isn't it lovely?  photo doesn't do the colors justice though!  

Those bobbins are calling my name "wind me off"  I pull out my handy dandy 'lazy kate" only it's just an old shoe box with bamboo skewers--works perfectly well for my purpose.  

If I get bored with my spinning, I pick up my knitting to go round and round with this hat--easy knit--so go round and round--using four ply silk for this hat--cast on multiple of 8 and knit till height to suit your head,  begin the decrease K 6, k2tog, alternate with plain knit row--decrease your stitches--K5, 2tog, and etc.  love this hat!  the bottom brim rolls up--no need to do k2, p2--

Cast on for another pair of socks--green this time--simple pattern--well, it's easy for me to memorize.

and there is another dishcloth to knit--

I think I might have attention problem!

Now, I'm thinking of what to do with that handspun silk, and what fingerless glove pattern to choose

...................hmmmm what shall it be? After all, it's a good day! 

Stitchin' and Listenin' !!!

 We're just a stitchin' and a listenin' while we work! I'm on a roll...........all is going well...........

Then...............that Kirchner stitch gets me!  Always does, always will. 

I hate when someone is trying to talk to me when I'm trying to keep my brain from venturing off into never never land.  Started out great!  then I had to rip, rip, rip out the top few stitches and begin again.

Finally finished!  Don't look too closely though!  It's not perfect that's for sure! It's another pair of socks done; ready for wear.  I used my stash to mix up these socks.

Knitting on Stephen West's pattern; began my second yarn and then I realize I don't have the next color yarn to continue........must hunt that down! So, this will be put off to the side and I'll do something else 

Okay, let's stitch this binding--this quilt top has been resting and aging the past few months.  It just needs one or two more sides bound and then, done! and added to the stack in the guest bedroom.

Nothing like adding to the pile of warmth!

While I'm stitchng in onr room, hubby is doing computer work in the office so we both listen to

 Orphan X by Gregg Hurtitz

Widows on the Wine Path by Julia Jarman--laugh out loud! This one is for my ears only! Because he wouldn't 'get' it!

Hope you can find something to stitch along with your listening.

MOTHER'S DAY!!!

 

The origin of Mother’s Day has been associated with Miss Anna M. Jarvis. Jarvis (b. May 1, 1864 – Nov. 24, 1948), an especially devoted daughter who was concerned about the neglect shown to mothers by grown children.

According to folklore, there are a lot of rules gardeners need to follow. Whether it’s planting on Good Friday or waiting until after Three Ice Men have passed to get your seedlings in the ground, lore and tradition have a lot of advice to impart, and many swear by these tidbits passed down from our ancestors for a successful, prolific garden.  One popular bit of planting wisdom suggests that you hold off doing any planting until Mother’s Day, known appropriately as “The Mother’s Day Rule.” What is it, and is there any truth to it?

The premise is simple—Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday in May which, for many, the threat of frost has passed and it’s considered safe to get your garden started. It’s a good rule of thumb because as we all know, while the calendar may say spring, it doesn’t mean we’ll have spring temperatures in March and April (especially for those of us in the Northeast).

Want to show your appreciation for Mom? How about breakfast in bed or a lovely brunch? Our cinnamon French Toast recipe is a treat to die for! Get the recipe here.

so, you are planting a rose bush for mom on her day and you're making her brunch, just be sure to clean up your utensils!  Don't leave a messy kitchen!  or leave your gardening tools on the lawn--  

Leftovers

Leftovers!  What to do with leftovers?  Never know what to do with all these leftovers--hate to pitch them.  It's all good stuff and should be used, if only in a different way.  Case in point:  We had a brisket that was smoked--

Meal #1 Sandwiches

Meal #2  Brisket hash

Meal #3 Brisket tacos

and there is still lots of brisket leftovers

To put this out of mind--brisket was wrapped and placed in the freezer--

The thing about food leftovers is search engine will hand you many recipes using your given ingredients.

As I was fretting over leftovers, I was cleaning out the freezer—why some of these things were here?? I pulled out package of hot dog buns—why did we have these?  

We don’t eat hot dogs!!  Found container of mixed fruit 

Idea!! 

Took six eggs beaten, 1/2 cup of melted butter, 3/4 cup white sugar, splash of rum, and fruit mixed all together; tore buns into bits to place in greased 8”x8” pan,  sprinkled cinnamon over the top, topped with egg mixture 

And baked till knife came out clean when stuck in the middle.  Now, that’s a good leftover—bread pudding!   It's not the prettiest thing pulled from the oven but the taste is delicious--added rum sauce before we ate.

Another leftover is these four 16" applique quilt blocks! 

 I love those blocks!  

Don't want to make another quilt.  Heaven knows how many orphan block quilts I've made.  It is fun to stir your creative to build a quilt top with various odd blocks that shouldn't fit together, but they do pull together to give a pleasing look. Guess they will just need to let them 'age' a little longer.

My brain has been searcing for that perfect finished product.

I used the search engine to give me some ideas--nothing dinged!

Every idea was to grow a quilt top or how to make a 16" pieced block

not what I want..  I want something unique and unusual.  After all, I took time to applique each perfect stitch.  These blocks do need to be special!

Back to the bread pudding—at least that was an accomplishment for leftovers.