this little piggy went ow, ow, ow

 

all the way to the ER! Early of a morning I am not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and this morning it proved detrimental to one of my extremities. Today was my day to work at the quilt shop so I was up bright and early. I left ourroom and crossed the hall the the darkened bedroom across the hall where my clothes were laid out ready for me to jump into. that was when my little pinky toe on my left foot made contact with a flip-flop that was against the wall. The only thing that moved in this collision was my little piggy. OW! Did it hurt. Immediately a funny numb/burning sensation shot through my foot. I was sure it was broken. I couldn't put any weight on it and it was all floppy.

Resigned, I grabbed a good book and headed to the ER. By the way, if you need to go the ER, early weekday mornings are a good time. There was only one person ahead of me. The entire process only took about an hour. Xrays say I am suffering from a contusion. That's a fancy bruise. I am not so sure. Not that it matters. Whether broken or severely bruised the treatment is the same. They use the buddy system. The injured toe is taped to the toe next to it so that it acts as a splint. I was told to keep it elevated and ice. So noquilt shop for me today. Puh. My poor little toe is a study in technicolor and I am limping about.

My one consolation: I am going to go through all my herb books and see what I can come up with to help my little piggy get better so it can go to market...

mission accomplished!

 

Whew! Am I glad that's over! I've been painting my kitchen cabinets and it seemed as tho I would never be finished. I don't like to paint, but I sure love the feeling that a fresh coat of paint in a new color does for a room. I'm being all extra careful when I'm in there working so that I don't get anything on this new grayish white paint. That probably won't last for long.

I got some of my cabinets cleaned out along the way too and threw away or gave away a lot of junk I don't want anymore. And no, daughters, I did NOT get the one cleaned over the microwave. You just about need protective head gear anytime you open that set of cabinets. They are not large enough for what they are required to store, so when you open them out jumps something ready to land on your head or fall to the floor. Maybe I will do that soon...maybe not.

Now that is out of the way, I have some sewing I want to do for my little grandbabies. Cute stuff. Appliques, monograms, lots of pink. Can't wait to get on that project. And of course those infernal yo-yo's. Must finish the yo-yo project.

My little garden plots are growing. We have eaten Swiss Chard, radishes, a few strawberries, and in a couple of weeks, we will be eating our own home-grown broccoli! The beans look nice too. All of my flowers are up and thriving so that soon I will have bouquets galore. I already have had peonies and those lovely little spicy carnations in a tiny little vase. Today I have Snapdragons and wild Honeysuckle gracing my kitchen cabinet.

The seventeen year Cicadias (I think that is the correct name) have come alive and boy, are they loud. They keep up a loud buzzing all day which bouces off the ridge across from our house and the echo makes this peculiar sound that can best be discribed as a flying saucer. It's weird and I'll be glad when their life cycle completes itself.

Under the heading of "Aw, isn't that sweet!" I have tell you about another little bouquet I am admiring these days. The other evening after the MOTH and I finished doing the dinner dishes, he disappeared. I couldn't figure out where he was. He was in none of his usual spots. A few minutes later he came in the house with a fistful of wild daisies. He had seen them growing when he was working outside and had gone back and cut them for me. Those are the best kinds of bouquets in the world.

Another attempt at posting my hootowl pictures

 

 

 

I'm crossin' my fingers these post this time. I am having lots of problems with Blogspot lately and my pictures.

What a hoot!

 

 

 

Creepy, huh? Looks more like something that belongs on a totem pole than a child's soft toy. I don't know what possessed me to make these. The pattern was a free download from Kauffman Fabrics. While at work one day, I had fun choosing the fabrics to use along with those yo-yo makers you see in the photo (more about those in a minute). The big one is really big. It took almost an entire bag of stuffing. Where these will end up is anybody's guess.

As for the yo-yo makers. Again I wonder what possessed me when I purchased these. I think I have an evil sewing spirt possession going on. Anyone who has ever made a yo-yo knows how mind numbing it is. If you've never made one, don't worry, you'll be fine. We have these at the shop and since I get a good discount I decided what the heck, and bought them. Even with this little gadget, they are still mind numbing. But since I bought them, discount or no, I feel as though I should use them. I am about over that thought. For the project I am working on I need 96. I have made about 48. The whole time I am making them I am wondering how anyone in their right mind could set out to make enough for one of those yo-yo coverlets you see.

What a hoot! I think I am a yo-yo for attempting either of these projects. I know, I know, bad pun.

after a dry spell

 

 

I'm gettting all project-y again. Sometimes you just don't feel creative you know? Part of the problem was that sewing machine was out of commision. At , it is repaired and yesterday I sat down to get acquainted again. I didn't really have anything in mind. But a few weeks earlier, I had mixed up an herbal moth repellant to pack with my hand-knit woolies when I put them away til next winter. I needed some bags to put them in, so I grabbed up a large piece of linen and set to work. I love linen and never throw away a garment that is passed its usefullness if it is made of linen. (if y ou have any old linen you don't want, send it my way). This was an old blue shirt and I sort of thought a little design might look nice on it.I never use the built-in ornamental stitches that are on my machine but thought I would give them a try. One thing led to another and I just kept making pattterns on the fabric. I also made the design on the cream colored grosgrain ribbon. I think my favorite one is the one with the little scrap of pom-poms on it. They are roughly 5x7 in size and I put about 2 cups of potpourri in each. I think these would make good happies ( a little gift for no reason
The green stuff in the picture is Swiss Chard. I guess you could say it is a project of mine too. After all, I tend it everyday, checking for growth, bugs, and just waiting for the day that I could harvest some. Yesterday was the day. I like the assertive flavor it has, but truthfully, my favortie thing about Chard is the colors. They are so vivid and they keep their color when cooked. This was steamed with crisped proscuitto and walnuts and pstachio crusted tilapia was served on top. This is a very rich dish.

I am also knee deep in paint as I am painting my kitchen. The color that my cabinets have been for the last few years could only be discribed as "what was I thinking?".It is slowly disappearing under coats of a very pale dove gray/white. I can't wait to finish. I do not like to paint. The dog is enjoying it though. He stays right with me and is now sporting a large white dot on his nose. Wonder where he stuck that thing sniffing out my paint. One day I will be sitting in my kitchen and there on a cabinet door I will spot a dog-nose size smudge...

mother's day

 

 

O.K.,I juust can't resist so I'll ask forgiveness right up front for what I am about to say; for Mother's Day I got "lai'd" Snort, snort, lol. My daughter living in Hawaii had a beautiful fresh flower lai fed-exed to me for MD. She told me once when you are given a lai you are supposed to make the above statement. It is so pretty I think I just may wear it to work tomorrow to show it off. I guess I could put it in the fridge to prolong its life. I remember my mom doing that with her MD corsages.

The entire MD holiday was a good one for me. Me, the MOTH, our daughter, her husband and our granddaughter all went to church together and then out for a lovely meal. Lots of funny cards were sent my way.My bunch knows me when it comes to cards. No sap please. Hit below the belt and hit hard. I love a good belly laugh. The loot wasn't too bad either. Godiva in a gold box and Godiva in a bottle to make some sort of fancy schmancy drink. Maybe a chocoloate Martini. I'm saving it for something special.Thanks to the MOTH I increased my library by 5 new books, and he threw in a gift card to Bath and Body Works too.

I am off to the kitchen now. Not to cook, but to paint. I am painting my cabinets and everything is topsy-turvy. I have lots of little projects going that hopefully I will blog about tonight.

Happy list

There is more than enough stuff to go around to make any of us unhappy. Just thumb through the catalog I say. But why waste a good day? For some reason I was just sitting thinking about stuff that makes me happy and decided to blog about it (of course!) Here's my list in no particular order of importance.

Icy cold diet Coke

the frangrance of a Dianthus bloom: so spicey!

The fragrance of a Petunia: so sweet!

The frangrance of a Peony: out of this world!

Growing all three of these in my garden

the freckles on my granddaughter's nose

the little gap in her teeth that she so proudly exhibits

creme brullee

a big juicy t-bone steak

the red hair on my 11 month old granddauter's precious little head

fresh strawberries

a new book

the excitement when the UPS man or the postman leaves me a package

knitting

the picture of my 9 month old granddaughter wearing bunny ears

a good glass of wine

going to the movies

my goofy dog

talking to my girls

Making something crafty and it comes out just like I want

Starbucks coffee with lots of half and half

camping with my husband

the smell of fall leaves

a foggy day

a stormy day

a snowy day

lemon curd

cupcakes (especially the ones MC and B make with the grocery store frosting)

a new gadget

a really good recipe

learning new stuff

That's it for now!

Friends from the past

So last night the MOTH and I had a big shindig to attend. It was a gala celebrating the 100th anniversary of the company he works for. Let me tell you, they pulled out all the stops when it came to feeding their 1500 employees. We dined on fillet mignon and loboster tail, fancy schmancy pastries and birthday cake all washed down with wonderful wine. This was followed by a concert by Martina McBride. I am not a fan of country music, but I managed to get through that part. o.k. Well, except for the "screamer" beside me. She was one of those who experience country music concerts in an almost spriitual way. She spent most of the concert eyes closed, swaying and mouthing all the songs. And then the spirit would move her and she would let out a scream. She was 2 feet away frm my right ear. The first time I jumped and hoped it was only because the star of the show had just come on stage. Uh uh. It went on all 1hour and 45 minutes of the show. I was just about ready to reach over, grab her ear and scream in it by the end. It was hours before my right ear quit ringing and I could hear in it again.

There was a bright spot in the evening for me though. I was anticipating running into someone who had played an important part in my life years ago. He was the doctor and family friend who had delivered my first child. Between him and my first child they made me what I had always wanted to be: a mom.

In anticipation of running into him at the celebration (he is married to one of the board memebers of the company) I had grabbed a picture of the new baby of the child he had delivered. I wanted to show him the 2nd generation. I don't have any recent pictures of this grandchild, so I took a personal favorite; in Februrary I had bought her some bunny ears and gotten several really cute pictures of her wearing them. So I printed that off and when I saw Dr. Workman, i introduced myself (he remembered me and he is 87!) and then proceeded to show him the picture. Of course, he didn't know who my Sophia was, but he seemeed genuinely pleased at the connection to him in a round about way. Full circle in way I guess.

Ahh...Pesto

So today I was at the grocery wandering around, picking up this and that and planning meals based on what I threw in the cart, when I hit the produce section. Next to the organic lettuce, was a clamshell of organic Basil. I had never seen it packed that way and was thrilled at the amount of Basil in the container. Into the cart it went as my mouth watered in anticipation of thick golden noodles robed in bright green Pesto. I grabbed a big chunk of good Parmesan, and some Pinenuts. Tonight it will go in the processor and in just a few minutes I will have a few jars of absolute pure green bliss.

morning glory

Not the flower just the morning. I don't see early morn that often (I'm more the Moon Flower type), but I sure was glad I saw this one. It was one of those mornings when everything goes great. I slept well, so I felt great, I knew what I was wearing to work so no hassles there and I had a chilled Diet Coke waitin' for me in the fridge. I took the dog out and there was the glory. All the trees have leafed out and this morning there was heavy dew on everything. The green was so brilliant that it looked as tho the trees were dripping emeralds.

Got to Starbucks and as I was sitting there savoring my half&half enriched jolt of caffiene, I suddenly had the nagging feeling I had left my flat iron on in the bathroom on a stack of bathtowels. Oh brother! I had to retrace my 12 mile trip back home. I got there and guess what? The flat iron was off. Well shoot! I refused it let it ruin my perfect morning. Got to work just a little late which was not a problem and the day was great. We always have so much and laugh so much that customers sometimes tell us we are having far too much fun for people who are supposed to be working.

We are now in the midst of a cool, cloudy evening. I just watered my little baby beans and gave them a pep talk. My strawberries are blooming and I have some berries that will soon be showing their redheads to me-perfect for a scone, some cream and a cup of tea.

And now the end to the perfect day. Last night the MOTH and I watched a show on the Sundance channel about a biodynamic vineyard. He is very curious about growing grapes and hopes to someday have a small vineyard. So today he found a wine shop that carried the wine featured on the program and we are heading to the front porch to try it out.

Life-when it's good it's good.