Spring?
Just look at these flowers, so ready to burst with color. Spring must be very close. And the weeds are growing once again, another sign.
We have had more rain than I can remember at once. It has created a new pond.
In addition, though I can’t show you, we’ve been keeping our bedroom window open at night to hear the marvelous tree frog chorus. Interestingly, they stop instantly at the slightest sound or maybe movement. Though they are mostly down around the pond, they hear us open the window and everything stops. At other times, there much be an animal of some type go through there because again, they all stop as though they have a director.
I don’t know what is making these holes, but they have just showed up. Is it toads, mice, what? They have underground tunnels. They don’t seem to be disturbing anything. I noticed them this morning when I went out to put the slug bait down. And I did get the preplant fertilizer on as well. So maybe, hopefully, I will start some seeds, Sunday.
Never a dull day
Today was a shopping day – first to the local nursery with samples of a couple items growing in the greenhouse of which I’m not sure (and neither were they). We made a few purchases. It is still to early to get any garden plants.
But the half-inch baby slugs are really enjoying this rain. So we purchased an organic product to reduce their number. And even though the banana trees look dead, I was told that sometimes the rhizome isn’t, so purchased some fertilizer for them, just in case.
Then off to Costco and Safeway before returning home. to put everything away and eat lunch.
As I was knitting this afternoon, I noticed this mini parade walk by and then stop to see what was going on. Apparently the girls found some seeds and Mr. was crowing his head off, telling all would be predators to stay away.
Sweatshirt #2
I used the new 1 1/2″ Prairie Point Ruler that I purchased at the Sew Expo last Thursday on this jacket.
I LOVE it for the time-saving device that it is. The points are all lined up equally without having to measure each of them.
I first removed the ribbing and put it aside (one never knows when this will come in handy for another project.)
After that, I sewed on the prairie points and then the grosgrain ribbon for the front.
So now I’m deciding on whether I want to use these pockets or not. And these buttons are in my collection. I love the horse buttons and think they are perfect, but there are only two of them. So shall I use one of the other buttons tacked here for you to see, or is it time to go shopping and try finding some different buttons?
Retirement and Socks
Today was the first real day of retirement for DH. Some of today was spent discussing what adjustments will be made. We just needed clarity on things like which days will be spent doing things we will do together – such as shopping and which will be at home. He knows I will never run out of projects I want to do and he will work at getting projects he wants to do, though for the immediate future that may be lots of reading and the gym.
I was ready to start a new pair of socks and found this pair had a few inches knit. It also had a pattern with it, but not the pattern that the socks were being knitted. I’m not sure how that happened. I undid a few rows to figure out the pattern and am now knitting them as my March pair of socks. Since they are larger yarn and larger needles, they will go faster than the last socks. I’m using “Mountain Colors Golden Willow” from Weavers Wool Quarters which is 100% worsted wool.
Sunday March 2 Gardening
Rain, rain, rain, and more rain. But I’d rather it than freezing cold and/or snow. And since we have a greenhouse, I spent part of the day in it listening to the rain on the plastic as I finished cleaning the beds (The aisles are nearly done, but will take another hour or so)
In December we had very windy freezing weather and the ends blew out of the greenhouse because they originally weren’t put on correctly. My banana trees froze. This is one of them. Do you know if they will revive?
This celery is coming back from stalks we already cut and used last summer.
There are still a number of greens growing. However it seems nothing kills Swiss chard, so a good bit of it went out and will be replaced with other vegetables.
I don’t know what this is, except it is some type of food. I had someone help plant last year and it has no label. It is growing great. Do you recognize it?
or this one?
Sew Expo (part 2)
I let myself be tempted too much in the Zundt booth and succumbed to more of their marvelous designs.
Then I spent a bit of time with Cindy and Ron Losecamp of Sew Artfully Yours. She has patterns for such fun sweatshirt jackets and of course, I succumbed to some of her patterns.
Hopefully you will be seeing these made up in the very near future. I want to get the chicken one done by April, I just need to go get some more sweatshirts to convert.
Other than that these and the rulers, I was very good
Spring gardening in PNW.
Spring can’t be far away, can it? It was a beautiful day at 55 degrees with sun. And the daffodils are well on their way. Can this forecast for cold rain Saturday and possibly snow Sunday with a freezing low Saturday evening possibly be right?
I started in the greenhouse – which has no heat but is out of the wind and I’m about one-third of the way through the weeding. I’m hoping Sunday to get finished and get some seeds started.
SEW EXPO (part 1)
The Sew Expo is an event Mary and I look forward to seeing together each year. So today was our fun day. We wandered the aisles looking for products that we just had to take home and I went with a shopping list.
But first look at these darling designs with faces made from covered buttons. ( most booths don’t want their designs photographed, but it was okay with this one)
On my shopping list was a prairie point maker which came home with me. I also purchased their point templates.
and some sewing needles…………
and some double stick tape to tape most anything. The sales lady said her husband’s pants were hemmed with it and it has help through two years of washing. It also has lots of uses in the home decorating department.
and some mylar for embroidery designs…..
and a bit of ribbon…………..
and came home tired to a pair of very eager to be loved dogs.
Retirement Lunch
No, I didn’t retire. A wife and mother doesn’t retire. We love our work too much.
However DH(on the right in the first photo) is retiring the day after tomorrow. I was invited to the luncheon. The man they talked about and the innovative things he did for the aerospace industry and especially to help the engineers were all new to me. According to the gentleman giving the talk, he has designed programs that have helped the company be 5-10 years ahead of other aerospace companies. Who knew? He never talked about his work and I am not technically inclined so didn’t ask him about what he did. Perhaps we both thought I wouldn’t understand all the technical stuff and that would be true – I just knew he worked as a programmer who worked with engineers and yes, I did know he had a nice title.
But the side I know is the husband and father, the provider and protector – the man who bristles when I call him a genius. He considers himself just an ordinary man. To me, it is very interesting how a person can live two such varied lives. But that could also be because the issues are home are so very different from the issues at work. And he handles the issues where he is while he is there.
And though I learned things about him that 51 years of marriage didn’t tell me, it really wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t done all that, he is still the man I fell in love with all those years ago.