Words Are Done

I finished the words at Monday morning stitching. The piece measures 15" x 10.5". 

One of the persons on the Plum Street Sampler Stitchers group on facebook liked my 'mistake' on the birds. They said it made them look like gulls. I did have one request for the Canadian flag chart that I graphed.

I've mentioned this in previous posts but I like how the charts for the nautical flags at the top of the mast are included in the pattern. These are my initials G C I.

I will purchase a custom frame and mount it myself. I don't want to use a mat as I think the border is quite adequate to outline the piece. The custom frame place ships with plexiglass with the option of shiny or matte finish. The foam core is already cut and ready for the piece to be stretched/pinned/laced/mounted. It's quite economical if one doesn't mind doing the work. I'm the kind of person that if it's a task I can complete myself, I like to do it. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I have several different projects on the go - both stitching and housekeeping. Am also in the process of selling my car. Lots to keep me busy.

Done the Flowers

I had Jen1, Barb, and Jeanette over for stitching in the afternoon today. I got the felt circles stitched onto the background.

It’s the homework for a Sue Spargo class Barb, Poppy, and I are taking next Tuesday. We’ll be embellishing the circles with brightly coloured threads, beads, etc. Kinda like this:

and like this:

This evening, i finished stitching all the colours on the cornflowers. Next will be finding an appropriate lining fabric and putting the scissor case together.

I guess I can continue on my Live on Little for the next couple of days.

Coming Along Nicely

I got a lot done on the cornflower petals last night. I should be able to finish the last one in the corner and get the accents done with the lilac and navy blue threads. 

I really like my Nurge No. 2 rectangular hoop. It's 145mm x 165mm. There are other sizes, too, I like that it's the same basic shape of my stitching. 

Then I need to get serious about picking a lining fabric. I may even use a contrasting fabric like a nice floral yellow.

I tackled a few things on my 'to do' list. I have to write these tasks down so I can check them off. Also lots of them are little tasks and can be accomplished in under a half hour - like cleaning out the ashes from the fireplace.

I borrowed Alexa's pressure washer and got the algae and mold off my front porch. I still want to clean off the stones in the garden before I return it. I thought I'd do my deck but the nozzle is very narrow and would take a LONG time and be hard to hold the trigger in the on position for that length of time. I will try to adjust the nozzle to see if it can make a wider path.

I got the floor mats washed in both cars and used the Dyson to get most of the loose stuff up. I'm getting my car ready to sell so am cleaning it up in preparation. I need to get a 'safety check' and a Used Vehicle Information Package (UVIP) from Service Ontario for $20.

When Poppy and I go on our cross-border shopping trip we'll take my other car (formerly Skip's). I really don't have a list of things I want to get. I'm sure I'll see some things I can't resist at Hobby House Needleworks in Victor NY - just outside Rochester.

The Flower Petals are Next

Last night while watching the Simone Biles documentary on Netflix, I finished stitching the receptacles/calyx' of the cornflowers.

I also got the last leaves done using one strand each of the medium and light green on one, and on the other, using two medium strands. Close up, the fishbone stitches look pretty even - if I do say so myself.

The burgundy thread (one strand) doesn't show up that well on the tips of each 'diamond'. I'm not going to worry about it. 

I'm so excited I can start stitching the blue cornflower petals.

I got a bunch of yard work done this morning now that the temperatures have come down to a reasonable level. I filled another half of a yard waste bag with the creeping vegetation from my neighbour's yard. There is still a lot to tidy up and throw away in the side yard but they will be tasks for other days.

There is new, beautiful soil in one of our composters that I need to dig out then can start putting kitchen scraps in there again. We do have compostable recycling but I only use it for bones and meat products as everything else can go in the composter.

I also am very vigilant about yanking out dog strangling vine and putting it right in the garbage. It is one of Ontario's most invasive species. It can grow 2m high and entwine itself around fences, trees, and other plants.

I try and catch it before the seed pods appear but usually it's the pods that make it very identifiable. If you see it anywhere, destroy it. Pull it out and throw it in the garbage. 

Around the Garden

When the weather cooperates (not too hot, windy, or rainy) I like to spend some time sitting out on the deck. Every day there is something new in bloom in the garden. Some plants are taking their sweet time, like the geraniums and sunflowers. But others are putting on some lovely displays. 

This red admiral butterfly has had a rough life. Half its wings are missing. It spent a lot of time nectaring on the echinacea.

Here's a side view.

Black-eyed Susans are in bloom and in another area of the garden lots more are in bud. I think of my late friend, Susan, whenever I look at them. I'm not sure how she felt about this flower's name, though.

Sharon gave me some shasta daisies from her garden last year. They seem to have adapted to their new surroundings.

Day lilies are just starting to bloom as well. These were transplanted from a former principal's garden over 20 years ago.

In addition to the 3 beefsteak tomato plants and 1 Roma tomato plant I planted a few weeks ago, I was recently given several cherry tomato plants so will have lots for making yard sauce (roasted tomato sauce) this fall. Early Girl tomatoes don't disappoint, this one is already starting to ripen. 

The sunlight really washed out the colour on the osteospermum (African daisy). They're a pretty lilac colour.

Snapdragons were one of Skip's favourite flowers to fill in gaps in the garden. These seeded themselves from last year's bunch and have been blooming steadily since mid-May.

Skip dug up a Queen Anne's lace from a roadside somewhere and it has been blooming nicely in our garden ever since.

Why bring weeds into the garden? Their flowers are very popular with pollinating insects. We have lots of goldenrod, which, contrary to what some believe, is not high on the allergen list. It is often mistaken for ragweed which does cause allergy problems.

We have two kinds of Joe Pye weed. This species grows over 8' high (top of lattice is that height). The insects love it. The budding black-eyed Susans are in the foreground.

Common soapwort (wild sweet William) is a weed that grew through the fence from our neighbour's place. I used to weed it out but now am enjoying the flowers. When they're done blooming, I'll remove the plants.

I didn't do any crafting yesterday but did a lot of thinking about it. I'm intrigued by amigurumi after crocheting Hobbes. A petit version would be so cute in orange, black, and white sock yarn. I also placed an order with 123stitch.com which should arrive in a week or two.

As a treat to myself, I bought a watchband that matches my sunflower watch face. 

It's the little things in life that make it fun.

A Bit of This and That

I have been spending more time on the Live on Little sampler. I got the Canadian flag done and more words. 

I think I can get this finished in the next month.

I've also been working on the Cornflower scissor case. Last night I got all but two leaves finished and the darkest green on the receptacles (or what Mary Corbet calls the 'calyx'). I remember the terms sepal and calyx from Grade 10 Science with Mr. Bryenton. 

I'll finish the leaves in the corner next then the middle diamonds on the receptacles with medium green. I'm really looking forward to doing the cornflower blossoms themselves. 

I don't have cornflower blue silk to line the pouch but will surely find something in my stash that will work for a lining.

I spent about 5 hours today on the computer or phone dealing with various issues, updating credit card information, setting up appointments, scanning documents and sending them to the lawyer, etc. etc. And now I'm doing this. 

I am looking forward to meeting with my Tuesday night crafty friends to kick back and have some girl talk. 

Oh yeah, and I booked another getaway - cross-border shopping in the Buffalo area and a visit to the new Hobby House outside of Rochester NY. I'm really looking forward to browsing. I certainly don't NEED anything but one never knows what one will see that one can't find back home. Poppy and I will be staying at a hotel that I think was built since the last time I was there. I believe it is where the old Carmine's Restaurant used to be before it burned down in 2015. Carmine's has reopened across from the Transitown Plaza on the west side of Transit Rd just south of Main St/Rte 5.

One of the restaurants Skip and I loved to frequent was La Tolteca. Our hotel is across the street and up a half a block from it on the corner of Sheridan Rd. I just noted that Olive Garden is right across the street from the hotel, too. 

JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, Barnes and Noble, Big Lots!, etc. are also in the vicinity. Wheeee!!!

It's going to be very fun. 

So yesterday I hear machine-gun-like hammering on a window in the kitchen. I ran into the dining room and saw a juvenile, male, downy woodpecker hammering on the window flashing.

I imagine that if I hadn't shooed him away, the little bugger would have gone right through the aluminum. He then spent quite a bit of time excavating the contents of an old anchor plug in the wall. 

Photo taken through a window that had just been rained on.

And finally, I saw the cutest orange tabby kitten that is available for adoption. It was all I could do not to run out and pick little Benji up. Isn't he just the sweetest??? 

It's so hard for our pets when we travel and takes a big commitment to find folks to look after them during an absence. Maybe after my 'Year of Yes' I'll think about getting a cat but only if one of my friends or neighbours will be willing to look after it when I travel.

My Year of 'Yes'

A while back I read Shonda Rhimes' book, "Year of Yes". After Skip died, I decided that since our movements had been limited pretty much the entire time since COVID started in March of 2000, I was going to seize every reasonable opportunity that came my way for the next 12 months (and maybe beyond that).

I mentioned in the previous post that I had booked a week in Colorado to visit Francey, and also the
Northern Lights/Astronomy cruise up and down the western coast of Norway. 

My niece invited me to join her extended family for a Christmas trip to the Dominican Republic. Of course, I said 'yes', and booked it the next business day. 

I then started to think about what else was on my immediate 'bucket list' and remembered a couple of videos I watched of Kara and Nate, travelling to 9 Christmas markets, in 9 countries, in 9 days. I started looking at solo tours. While at my guild's stitching day last Saturday, I mentioned my interest in doing this and Marilyn piped up, "I'll go with you". Apparently it had been on her bucket list, too. So we have also booked that tour of Christmas markets in select cities in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. 

I'm pretty excited about all of this. 

I am starting to get my stitching mojo back. I haven't done a ton of progress on my Cornflower Scissor case but did get a couple of leaves done the other day when I had the gang over for a stitching afternoon.

It's the fishbone stitch. I used the 3 different greens as Mary Corbet's pattern suggested. AA then AB the BB, then BC and will continue that series on the rest of the leaves for a variegated look. Of course, one can always just use one colour, too.

I still have the diamonds of the 'receptacles" (I had to google 'parts of a flower' to get the proper term) to do at the tops of the stems. They were back in the instructions for completing the stems.  The blue cornflower petal steps have been released but I want to get all the receptacles and leaves done first. 

Mary's instructions to finish the piece into a scissor case are a little more intricate than what I've done on previous triangular scissor cases but will integrate some of her good ideas.

I’ve been making good progress on the Live on Little piece. I charted a Canadian flag and got it stitched and have started the words. 

There are lots of fiddly bits to do. I’ll take some photos and look at them carefully to try and catch most of them.

I'm signed up with a Community Care bereavement group that organizes several activities. Last week I attended a cooking class upstairs at the new Longo's in Brooklin. We made a focaccia-like thing called a 'fougasse'. It doesn't look very pretty but it was stuffed with an olive tepanade, and roasted red peppers. I think artichoke hearts would be very yummy, too. 

There was a fresh arugula and sautéed asparagus salad with parmesan peels and lemon dressing, 

and a tarte au citron for dessert. It consisted of baked puff pastry topped with a lemon curd/whipped cream mixture and fresh berries. Oops! I ate some of it before I remembered to take a photo.

I'm not a big lemon fan but it was all very tasty. I got choked up when one of the women asked me how long ago Skip died (only 6 weeks at that point). Some of the participants had lost their partners as long as 5 years ago so I guess one can participate in the activities as long as one wants. Other activities include hikes at a local conservation area and a butterfly release. 

I'm on a waiting list for one-on-one grief counselling with the same agency but I don't think I'll get to the top of the list until probably the fall. At the cooking class, I was also encouraged to participate in a group grief counselling session. The last week in particular I've really missed Skip or have been triggered by thoughts or items. I know the pain will never go away but I hope it is dulled somewhat in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime I hold back the tears when I need to (grocery store, in social settings) and go with the flow and let it out when I'm alone (driving in the car or here at home). There is no right way to grieve so I'm being patient with myself. I miss him so much!

One thing that I've enjoyed doing is making the garden more presentable- largely to honour Skip's memory. He really worked hard on the garden every year. 

The weeds were knee-deep by the time June rolled around. I was late buying plant material but lucked out at a couple of places right at the end of the main nursery season.  After every rain, I go out and pull weeds. It's much easier that way. I've filled 2 yard waste bags with them. I'm not fond of getting dirty and sweaty but the shower afterward sure feels good.

The side yard had weeds that were up to my neck in some cases so I got out there the other day and completely cleared them out. I'm left with lovely composted soil as that's where the guy who mows my lawn used to dump the clippings. I still have to cut back the ground cover (I forget the name) encroaching from the neighbour's yard but it's been too hot. There's still lots to tidy up back there as Skip used that area to store a lot of stuff.

Near to the end of the summer I will either get some sod put down there or plant grass seed. There's no point in doing it now as it's just too hot.

My echinacea are spectacular right now. I'm inspired to haul out my watercolours on a day that it isn't in the high 20Cs.

I'll do a separate post with all that is in bloom right now.

In the meantime, I savour the little joys life has to offer and dwell on the feelings of gratitude that I have for all the wonderful things and people in my life.