After

 It was another busy week.  I still can't believe how many meetings I was in last week.  And of course, the fun never ends.  I have meetings this week.  My boss is going to be in town, so I'm going to the office tomorrow and then to dinner with upper management.  It should be good food and probably a parking nightmare.  

Last week's interviews were fun.  For me at least.  Probably not for them.  There are some obvious choices to be made.  Several of them thought they knew what the job entails, but few actually understood how many responsibilities there are.  They thought they were applying for the next level of their current roles, not understanding that should only be a small portion of what they'd actually be doing.  But, more importantly, managers would be hiring people with limited skills and a "small" business mindset.  Some people can't move beyond that, so there's a risk.  But, I got to talk to some really nice people and I was really good at helping them relax and we had a lot of laughs.  I think giving them the opportunity to show their best selves is the best thing I can offer as an interviewer.  

I spent as much time organizing this weekend as I have for the last month, but this weekend, it was small stuff that took lots of time.  I realized that's why a half dozen little piles of stuff got left behind.  They were the hard stuff to sort and put away.  I continued to go through old pictures and probably tossed another 50 that were all duplicate pics of the last house I lived in.  It was a cute little house, but little is the operative word.  Sadly, it was in a flood plain and several years after I sold it, the city bought it and tore down all the houses on that side of the street rather than spend the money to clean out the creek that caused the flooding.  

This week, we went to a different Goodwill.  This one is near a nicer neighborhood and they get some nicer stuff.  I got all three of these casserole dishes for $10.  I've since priced the two Corningware Etch red casseroles and they'd cost at least $40, but I paid $4 for the large one and $3 for the smaller one with the lid.  

This little casserole was an impulse buy.  I couldn't help it for $3.  It intrigued me.  It's three pieces.  A casserole and lid that sits in a warming dish.  

It's 6" by 2.5".  And, now that I own it, I'm trying to figure out what it was for, or what I could make in it.  So, I'm asking y'all.  Anyone know what this was made for?  Also, any suggestions for things that would be small servings that need to be kept warm?  We've thought about hot dips at a party, like artichoke dip or a cheese dip.  But, really, that's all I've come up with so far.  

My tools have never been this organized.  I've always wanted to label this little drawer cabinet.  Rob needed to update his nail collection, so we went to Home Depot and while he bought large boxes of different kinds of nails, I bought a few small packages of nails and screws to boost what I had on hand (Rob moves his around and I can never find what I need, so keep my own small stock now).  And, when I was going to put them away, I decided to sort through everything and label it.  And, I tossed a lot.  I don't need to keep old, used rusty nails that I pulled out of something anymore.  I have new ones, so I tossed a whole box of old stuff.  Next time I get the urge to build something, I should have what I need to do it.  

I have two more home org tasks I'd like to do.  Neither is going to be fun or easy, but both should be very fulfilling when I'm done.  I saw my doctor the other day and she asked how the new dosage was going and I said I'd reorganized my whole house and lost some weight and was enjoying work, so it's working quite well.  And, I'm going to ride that high as long as I can.  

Sending armed troops into American cities to control the population is a bad precedent.  Today, he says it's about non-existent crime, but we must assume that's how he's going to handle protest going forward.  I don't understand why people keep talking about future elections as though that was going to be an opportunity to make governmental change.  If it's not going his way, there won't be future elections.  He's making that obvious.  The best we can hope for is that his diet catches up with him.  I don't believe any other leader could draw this kind of loyalty and I believe his party will rip itself apart trying to find one.  That feels like our only hope Obi-wan.  So, let's bring on that stroke!  

Everybody have a great week.  If you get the chance to make someone else feel good, give it a try.  It's very fulfilling to see them smile.  

Lane

Archeology

 No, not digging for mummies in Egypt.  Not looking for gold in Peru.  No pottery shards and arrowheads in the desert.  

I was in my sewing room closet.  This is a storage area for all my crafting, plus other stuff.  Every few years, it gets so disorganized that I have to go in and tidy it up.  That generally means pulling everything out and dusting it and putting it back again.  This time, I didn't really sort through fabric.  I've done that and have space to store what survived.  It just needed re-stacking.  

I had several boxes of memory stuff; pictures, things from high school, momentos, acknowledgements, stuff like that.  I got a little bogged down in the photos and probably spent more time there than I should have, but I was in the mood and gave myself some time to reflect.  Saturday was my Mom's birthday and while it wasn't my intent to be nostalgic, it worked out that way.  I had a medium sized moving box full of framed photos.  I have no sentimental attachment to the frames, so I pulled out all the pictures and boxed up the frames for donating.  And, I sorted pictures into large groupings.  Family, vacations, events, people.  There was an envelope of pics of old beaus that was fun.  I enjoyed laughing at myself for the lengths I was willing to go to try to make some of those relationships work.  And, of course, there were a couple I couldn't get away from fast enough.  I'm not sure if there was a camera I owned that took dark pictures or if they've darkened with age, but there were a lot of photos I couldn't tell what was going on.  Those went to the trash.  Blurry, dark, duplicates, unflattering pictures, people I didn't know, all of that went into the trash.  All the rest got grouped and boxed for me to go through again later.  There's one box of family photos, including some that are really old.  I'd like to get them labeled with the people's names while I can still remember some of them.  Some of the names I've already forgotten and others I never knew.  

I found these and wanted to post them.  These are pictures from a Christmas in the 80's.  At some point, my Mom decided she wanted to host Christmas, so instead of everyone going to my Grandmother's house like they had forever, they came to our house.  When I tell people that the men ate before the women in a very old tradition, they look at me like I'm crazy.  How sexist.  But, it was so practical.  The women got everything ready and they fed the men and the children.  They also washed all the dishes and put them away and they made some things fresh for their table so they weren't just getting leftovers.  Then, while the men visited and the kids played outside, the women had a very relaxed and peaceful lunch.  By the time I was an adult, my Dad and a couple of my uncles and me and some cousins were doing the dishes while the women ate so they could enjoy their afternoon more.    

This was the way.

And, I remember it being some of the best food I ever ate.  

Anyway, I only took out about 2/3 of what was in the closet and it covered every bit of available space in two rooms.  They looked like this.  The open spaces are where I was sitting to go through it.  It's all cleaned up now except a couple boxes that need to be moved and a couple things that I just wasn't up to dealing with that went back in the closet on the floor.  They're small things that I won't have trouble putting away later, but I wanted to sort through before I put them away.  

There were hundreds of greeting cards and I kept thinking who are these people that sent me all these cards.  I would have liked to get distracted by sorting through them, but I never would have finished if I'd tried.  The pictures were enough.  There was also a stack of letters that I'd like to go through as well and a lot of very bleak poetry that I wrote when I was young and trying to figure out what my heart felt and for whom.  Not sure I ever want to go through that and considered tossing it, but it survived, for this go-round anyway.  

I did something a little different this time.  Usually, I empty it from left to right and then put it back in an organized way.  But I end up with things at the end that have no place and get separated from the things they belong with.  This time, I emptied by category; knitting, quilting, paper, memories and went through everything in that category before putting it back in.  I ended up with similar things together, so all the knitting is in one place and all the sewing in another and all the shirt making in another.  

The closet ended up looking like this.  It's still full, but at least I can walk in and find things again.  

Couple pictures of flowers.  This is the turk's cap.  The red flowers draw hummingbirds.  There's a clump near the house and one further away.  Sometimes, I see the leaves shimmering...just a little movement and a flutter.  If I watch long enough, I'll see the little hummingbird in there trying to hit every flower.  

And, a little cinco de mayo rose.  I love that these are pink and orange and red and yellow, all at the same time even though the camera only caught the red this time.  

I've had to put the shade cloth up in half the greenhouse.  After we had trees cut, the sun is too much in there in the afternoons.  The plants that were suffering in too much sun are starting to perk up.  It makes a huge difference and there's plenty of morning sun that comes in on the other side.  

I'm interviewing today for the first time in at least 20 years.  I used to be a really good interviewer with a high success rate (people I interviewed and recommended did well and stayed long).  Over the next two weeks, I'll be helping interview 7 people for a job in my job group.  It's exciting to be part of the future of my job, even though I hope to be out of it by time these people have made names for themselves.  

Trump.  Enough said.  The emperor truly is so out of touch that he may as well be naked.

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you enjoy and make it accessible again so you can enjoy it.  Maybe smile at a nice memory.  See if you can find a way to enjoy what life has to offer.  

Lane

Bucket

Boo-kay residence, lady of the house speaking.

It's spelled Bucket.

It's pronounced Boo-kay.

If you're not familiar with Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances, then you have truly missed out.  Poor Hyacinth wants so badly to be upper crust and everyone around her is common as dirt, making the pretense very difficult.  In many ways, she reminded me of my own Mother.  

Anyway, our front porch this week reminded me of that.  I needed a 5 gallon bucket for cleaning the grill and in its usual fashion, the universe paid off in spades.  Suddenly people were discarding 5 gallon buckets and I dragged them home and we became the bucket house.  And, I cleaned the grill, so the buckets came in handy.  

I used to clean my grill once a year, in spring.  I'd replace worn parts and give the inside a good cleaning.  It would take hours and made a huge mess.  Turns out that if you clean the grill more regularly, it's easier and takes less time and makes less mess.  Good thing, good thing and good thing.  I knew a guy once that cleaned his grill back to new condition after every use.  I thought he was an idiot.  We had identical grills.  Mine was a mess.  His looked like it just came out of the box.  I guess he was onto something.  

Last week was kind of crazy at work.  There was an in-office day on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I started setting up my new work laptop.  I'm glad to have a new work laptop because my old one was worn out.  Even though I hardly used the keyboard, the keys in the middle stuck...the ones I keep my fingers on, like I was taught in typing class.  If you press the L key, you're likely to get 14 of them before the next letter starts and I had to press the space bar firmly to get a space.  Now that's gone and I can start fresh with a new machine.  And, all those problematic settings I've accidentally activated over the last 5 years will be shipped back to the company headquarters.  

There was more organizing this weekend.  I cleaned up my tool area.  I used to keep my tools in a tool box, like my Dad did.  But, when. I needed a tool, I had to dig for it.  There were tools I forgot I had and had been borrowing from Rob.  No more.  I bought a $13 hanger for my screwdrivers and pliers and pulled some extra storage bins that I wasn't using in the house (never throw away storage.  It will come in handy later).  Add the label maker and I ended up with a nice, well organized tool storage area.  I can see and find my tools now.  Doesn't mean I'll use them more, but I can find them.  

We went shopping with a home organization shopping list on Saturday.  We got some new nonslip rugs and I got some bins to keep oil in the pantry.  I had stored my oil bottles in disposable aluminum baking pans for years, but I moved them and sometimes need to take them out to get to what is behind them, so I needed something more sturdy.  I got these bins really cheap and they're perfect!

I also got a new skillet.  My good teflon skillet had started to stick on one side and I'd been reading about how we needed to stop using teflon, so I bought a ceramic lined skillet.  I used it for the first time yesterday and it worked perfect.  I use small skillets a lot and if I keep liking this 10" one, I plan to replace my 8 and 12 inch skillets eventually.  

This week's egg casserole has a Mexican theme.  It's the same basic recipe that I shared last week, but instead of ham and Swiss, there's breakfast sausage and cheddar, and I added 3/4 cup of salsa to the egg mixture and increased the sour cream a little.  It should be delicious!

And, the complaining begins:

Google sucks.  They're probably okay if you devote your entire life to them, but if you just want to use some of their services, they suck donkey butts.  The last interaction I have with them is this blog.  And, it has gotten so difficult to blog that I've spent many Monday mornings thinking about just discontinuing the blog.  Right now, I'm thinking about moving it to a new service.  Just thinking about it for now, but if any of you have suggestions for other easy to use blog servicing apps, please share.  

I'm so proud of Democratic TX State Legislators.  It feels like they're running away and I'm sure some news services are presenting it that way, but in reality, they're playing the same dirty game that the pubes play and it's refreshing to see.  I'm so enjoying listening to the little pubes whine and cry about how they're not getting to be the only ones up to dirty tricks.  They're such spoiled little babies, thinking they're the only ones that get to misbehave.  And, when someone shows them what that looks like, they cry and wail about how unfair it is.  

It's funny how I've gone from swearing at them to laughing at them.  Maybe it's the new med.  Not sure.  Don't care.  Their beliefs are a joke.  Their politics of cruelty is a painful joke.  Their pretenses of doing what's good for the country is a joke.  Their ability to govern is a huge joke.  

Early in my career, I learned that you can't corral an angry group.  If you make people mad to get them to support your cause, they will eventually turn that anger back on you.  And, despite the whirlwind of crazy that trump spins to create distraction, I see that anger solidifying against him.  Not as fast as I wish it was, but solidifying nonetheless.  It's like they thought they'd be exempt from his cruelty, only to find that they're the actual victims of it.  

And, I don't feel sorry for them.  Not one bit.

Everybody have a great week!  Live, laugh, and love your way through the week.  Refusing to bend is resistance.  

Lane

A little of this, a little of that.

It was another busy week of work and pets and stuff needed doing.  My boss was on vacation, so I had plenty of time to catch up on things and focus on little problems that needed more time than they were worth to resolve, and I cleared out my to-do list.  

I spent all day Saturday in the kitchen, rearranging cabinets because I was tired of having to take something out to get to what I wanted.  How does it happen that the thing I want is never the thing on top of the stack???  This time, instead of organizing dishes by set, I have one cabinet with just plates, one with just bowls and one with the things we never use like cups/saucers and butter dishes...because when we collect something, we don't go half way.  That left me with a cabinet that looks like an antique store.  

Next up is the garage.  And, after that, my sewing room closet, which I had to work hard not to get distracted by this weekend.  

I got some nice pictures in the garden this week.  All the rain we've been getting has really made a difference.  There's still a lot of stuff burning up in the heat, but it's the stuff that's supposed to this time of year.  

Plumbago season is just starting.  I'll get these pretty blooms during the hottest part of the summer.  

The roses had a good week last week as well.  

This is a ginger that I had to move the other day.  After we had tress cut, it was getting too much sun so had to move it closer to the house.  The blooms have petals that are white, pink and a green tint.  It was an expensive, but good purchase.  

And, my Texas red star hibiscus that's in too much sun.  But, I saw another seedling and I think this bloom might have made seeds, so I'm hoping to find just the right place where this is happy.  

How about a recipe?  I make an egg casserole every Sunday.  I get a little of it and Rob takes the rest to work where he and a co-worker eat it for breakfast.  I started out making frittatas but potatoes don't heat up well in the microwave, so I've cut the potatoes out of it.  I have several versions of this and don't usually measure, it's hard to mess it up.  

Ham and swiss Egg casserole

3/4# diced ham

3/4 C chopped onion

1/3 C chopped bell pepper

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 C sliced fresh mushrooms

3/4 C shredded Swiss cheese 

sliced green onions

6 eggs

2/3 C bisquick

2/3 C small curd low fat cottage cheese

3/4 C milk

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the ham with the onion and bell pepper til the vegetables soften.  Add the garlic and mushrooms and let them soften.  Layer this mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray.  Add the cheese and the green onion.  

Stir the eggs and bisquick until well combined.  Then add the cottage cheese and milk.  S&P to taste, but remember the ham is salty.  Pour the egg mixture over the meat, vegetables and cheese. 

Bake 350* until brown and firm on top, about 40 minutes.  

I used an 8x10 casserole and the small casserole that I'll keep for myself.  If you want to make this as a 13x9, increase everything by half.  Or, just increase the egg mixture ingredients.  

Subject change:

I heard once that you can't make a prize winning quilt on a Singer sewing machine.  What a snob.  A sewing machine is a tool.  Sure, a different tool may make the job easier, but it's still just a tool.  A few years ago, I bought a Singer because I needed a machine that would make a good blanket stitch.  It's the only thing my Bernina 930 won't do and this little machine does it very well.  I've pulled it out to blanket stitch the wedding ring quilt to the border.  I got started yesterday and got the stitch set right and was moving along, but decided I'd chosen the wrong thread and picked it all out again.  It's okay.  Anything worth doing is worth doing again and again and again until I get it right.  

The orange man that said he'd bring the price of groceries down, even though he didn't know what the word groceries meant should have been in the store yesterday when I paid $20 for a canister of Folgers coffee.  I'd a given him an earful!  But, they warned us and that's why there's 10# of coffee in my garage.  And, a few pounds of chocolate, too.  And, two small roasts in the freezer with some steaks.  I can hardly wait to remind one of his loyal followers that this is what they wanted.  This is what they voted for.  Turn the world upside down so they can feel free to be bigoted and racist.  They'll whine louder than anyone when they have to give up their cigarettes and lose their healthcare.  When there's no one left that will pick their lettuce.  And, when all the home health nurses have been deported.  

On that bleak note, it's time for me to go.  Everybody have a great week!  May your cup run over with peace and may you find joy in at least some of what you do.  We deserve it!  

Lane

Clean my house

When I'm happy and I know it, I clean house.  When I'm happy and I know it, I clean house.  When I'm happy and I know it, my home will truly show it.  When I'm happy and I know it, I clean house.

There's a line in The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires that goes something like this; "Go home and vacuum your drapes, Grace.  You'll feel happier." I read that book with book club a couple years ago and for some reason, that line has stuck with me.  Probably because it is so unbelievably old-fashioned.

I remember my Dad telling me that when his Mom was stressed and couldn't sleep, she scrubbed her kitchen floor with a brush.  

I'm the opposite.  When I'm stressed, or depressed, or both, I sit.  I might look like I'm getting a lot done, but it's just me doing the stuff I want to do and letting the rest, the drudge part of life, sit and wait until I want to do it.  

I saw my doctor a couple weeks ago and she talked me into increasing the dose of my "don't go after people with a baseball bat" medication.  I'm feeling the "high" that comes from that...and I gotta admit, it feels good.  I'm confident.  I have my "I can do that" attitude back.  I'm less worried about the future and I have a more objective view of what's going on in the world.  It feels good.  

I spent the weekend cleaning house.  Way back in the corners and under stuff.  Veni, Vidi, Vici.  But instead of I came, I saw, I conquered, it meant I dusted, I vacuumed, I scrubbed the kitchen cabinet doors.  It was a lot of work and it felt so good.  And, I hope I can do it two more weekends.  That's about how long it would take to get things back in order around here after months of spending all my energy being angry and afraid and not focused on pushing my life forward.  Don't get me wrong.  I haven't spent those months sitting on the sofa eating potato chips.  But, I have been taking a very narrow view of what taking care of my business means.  

If you need help, ask for help.  It's intimidating and it's hard to admit, but there's help available, you just have to access it, ask for it, and accept it.  I don't believe in medication as a solution.  But, it sure helps calm things down while I wait for the solution.  That's my PSA and I'm sticking to it.

The umbrellas are up in the yard.  We're not consistently at 100* every day yet.  But, we're getting close.  And, it's gotten dry and windy, so the water just gets sucked out of the ground.  I can only water once a week, so my solution is shade.  And, I use umbrellas to create that shade.  I have a couple new ones this year that Rob got for me.  They are on tripod stands and work very well, but have to be staked to the ground to keep the wind from blowing them over.  

The hot summer bloomers are all doing well.  This Thryallis looks great!  I moved four plants to happier spots over the last couple years.  And, I definitely made good choices.  All four were struggling and barely hanging on and I gave them one last chance and they thrived.  There was this thryallis, an oak leaf hydrangea, a lemonade salvia and a yellow shrimp plant.  They were all in too much sun or too much shade, so I swapped them around and now they're "just right".  It's hard to see, but this is covered with little yellow flowers.  

I read an article last week about feeding the hummingbirds as they migrate south.  The thryallis, the hummingbird bush and the phlox are definitely doing that.  And, I must be doing something right because there are about a million of the little green geckos that are out there eating bugs.  My private army.  

We bought this collectible edition of Monopoly in Goodwill this weekend.  I haven't played monopoly in years and Rob doesn't play games, but I made him promise he'd play this one with me.  We'll see if he actually does.  $4.  A bargain.  

Someone sized extra large must have decided he was done with Hawaiian shirts, so I also got several of those, some were even from Hawaii.  Rob and I are both focused on buying shirts that are not plaid and Hawaiian printed shirts are definitely not that.  To free up hangers, I pulled out shirts I don't want to wear anymore so I could donate them back to Goodwill in the cycle known as "renting clothes".  

Rob and I have been talking about my kitchen remodel.  I am ready.  I'd like to say we've made some decisions, but I really never know if we've settled on a solution until the solution is paid for.  Not sure what he's thinking, but I saw this and have decided to go with it.  

This play set was abandoned in the parking lot of the restaurant where we had dinner on Saturday and I couldn't resist a picture.  On one hand, it's not good to leave your garbage in a parking lot.  On the other hand, it gave great exposure to something I hope was picked up and is currently giving some child a great deal of joy.  After all, we put my old grill out on the street on Saturday and it was giving someone else joy within a few hours.  

Do you have a secret pastime?  Something you can watch someone do on YouTube and relax and enjoy?  Mine is watching people use their lathe to make things.  I like the ones where they put something you wouldn't expect in resin and then lathe it down to something equally unexpected.  

This was straws that were one color inside and a different color outside.  He packed them into a bucket, filled the bucket with resin and let it harden, then used his lathe to cut it down to this urn.  

This one was wood scraps that he packed into a bucket, filled with resin and then cut down to this bowl.  The bowl is beautiful, but the bucket was really big to end up with a bowl this small.  

When I was cleaning, there were places I didn't let myself get bogged down in.  They would have taken all the time I had, so I left them for another day.  One was my sewing room closet.  So much work needs to be done in there.  Every couple years, I have to take everything out and put it away again.  Because I am truly the worst about putting things back where they belong.  THE WORST!

Find your joy, find your peace, find your happy.  Watch your back with one eye and your neighbor's back with the other.  In a world where being your worst is getting rewarded, remember to be a beacon of what's best about being a good person.  

Lane

Old and new

On Friday, we had beef k-bobs.  I opened my grill and saw that one of my grates had split and started to rust.  I'd been pondering on a new grill for a while, wondering if I should replace the insides of the old one or replace the whole grill.  I'd replaced parts three times before, meaning my old grill was old...really old.  We'd spent many years doing battle over food and the fact it only had two temps; arctic snow and fires of mount doom.  Despite the fighting, we made a lot of good food together...and a lot that had to be microwaved to finish it...and a lot of char.  

Goodbye old friend

Hello new friend

We were fine with the smaller grill.  There's just the two of us, but the smaller grill was the same price as the larger one, so we went for it.  We'll see how it works when I do some burgers this week.  

We had trees cut last week.  We had a limb come down in the wind and since the tree guys were here, we got an estimate to do some additional work, including taking out the dying maple in the front yard.  This was one of my favorite trees.  We think it was put in when the house was new in 1978, so it had a good long life.  The arborist told us long ago that this tree should not have thrived here and it must have tapped into some water source.  Over the last few years, it's started to slowly die and we'd been having pieces cut off it.  This year, only half of what was left leafed out and dead limbs started to fall off it in the wind, which was dangerous.  And, for a while, about every three days, someone that was cutting trees in the neighborhood would ring my bell to see if I needed it cut.  When they cut it down, it was dead in the center and only had good wood around the edge.  

I miss you tree, mostly because the leaves that grew on this side shaded my office window from the afternoon sun.

All that rain we got a couple weeks ago has brought on its own set of problems.  Mosquitoes are swarming everywhere and just walking around in the back yard, I get multiple bites.  I can wear bug spray, but if I don't want to smell like that all day long, I put on long pants and a long sleeved shirt to go out and do stuff.  Yesterday, I was out in full sweats with the hood up to set up the grill, but I didn't get bit at all.  I wore the same outfit to do some hand watering last week and it worked then too.  

The other problem it's brought is mold.  Every day I'm taking an antihistamine to get through the day.  That happens in summer around here, but not usually for this long.  I keep reminding myself that the garden looks great because of that rain and the water bill was lower last month than it's been for June in years.  Everything has its good and it's bad.  

I didn't take a lot of pics last week.  It's hard to get a pic outside when I'm running through the yard before the mosquitoes can find me.  I barely think 'that's a pretty flower' before they zero in and attack.  

When they were cutting the trees, Dottie was freaked out.  Rob took her on a walk that day and she wiggled out of her harness and got away from him.  He called me and I started driving around the neighborhood.  I found her on our street, running fast as she could for home, tongue lolling, clearly panicked.  I tried a couple times to get her to stop, but she wasn't having it and eventually crossed the street to avoid me, but then crossed back over and ran for our front door.  I cornered her there and got her inside, then went and picked up Rob, who'd been running behind her, wearing his work clothes and shoes.  

They both hurt their feet.  Dottie tore her front pads up and for a couple days, walked around on her toes, something I'd never seen a dog do, but then things got better and now, she's ready to be walked, but her pads are pink and tender, so we're going to have to build her back up to the long walks she was getting before.  I still see Rob wince once in a while, but his feet are doing better too.  

With all the things going on with the crook-in-chief, the one I care about the least is epstein.  I have struggled to understand why his followers care so much.  They thought they'd catch the dems up to no good and now trump is trying to keep his own no good out of the news.  I mean, with all the sexually deviant things we know about him, surely no one is surprised that he needs to keep his friendship with epstein quiet.  I wish that this would be the thing that would take him down, but you know he and his crooked clowns are trying to think of a sufficient distraction, like bombing Greenland or some other such nonsense bullshit.  While the letter and whatever else they're squealing about right now doesn't feel important, it would be great if Murdoch turned on him.  Let's face it, Murdoch is into him because the stupid shit trump says is good for ratings.  When torching trump is good for ratings, Murdoch will do that too.  And, that day can't come soon enough.  

I hope Stephen Colbert finds a new place.  Someplace courageous enough to let him keep his platform.  The truth must be spoken and if CBS has lost the will to speak it, then someone else will get a try.  We don't lose until the last one of us stops speaking truth to power.  

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you love to do and a comfortable place to do it and relax.  Find peace, love and joy for yourself before trying to assist others.  

Lane

I should have written that down

During the week, I come up with all kind of funny things that Rob and I say to one another and I think, that would make a great story on my blog.  And, then, here I am on Monday morning, wondering what I'll talk about.  

It's still raining here.  Not all the time, but almost every day.  The yard and garden are loving it.  Normally, things would be winding down by mid-july, but it's still going strong.  So much green and even though it doesn't show up so much in these photos, there are still a lot of flowers.  There's a robin that's spending considerable time in that birdbath while I wash dishes.  He's very entertaining as he bathes and preens.  Sometimes the hawk will sit on the edge of it and try to drink, but it's not really deep enough for him.  

I made another macrame hanger this weekend and put the fern in it.  this one looks good enough to bring in the house.  

On Saturday, I bought a new pair of shoes.  Well, I bought a pair on Tuesday and a pair on Thursday, but the Tuesday pair was too big (and too flat and had no arch support) and the ones I bought on Thursday were so narrow that I don't think a baby could get it's fist in the toe.  But, the ones I bought on Saturday were just right.  (Now bring me 3 bears!)  The first two were online purchases but on Saturday, I got to try them on before I bought them.  

Buying new shoes had gotten to the point of having to get rid of old shoes to make room for the new ones.  Or asking Rob to build more shelves, and I still have some pride, so wasn't going to ask for that.  I packed a large box of shoes to donate.  It's a really big box.  And, it is full.  

I even gave away my dancing shoes.

I would not be exaggerating if I said those brown boots have a couple thousand miles on them (mostly going in circles) and have been re-soled at least twice.  But I was afraid if I got my foot into it yesterday I wouldn't be able to get my foot back out.  I bought them in Fort Worth at the Stockyards and they were my first grown up pair of boots.  I also bought a hat that day.  I already had the jeans and shirts and a belt to complete my urban cowboy ensemble.  And, I wore it well.  Good times.  

Happy to report that grocery shelves were well stocked yesterday, as shown by the lovely Carol Merrill.  We seriously hated taking anything off this aisle and messing up this lovely fronting.    

I spent a good bit of the weekend basting the wedding ring quilt.  First, I sewed all the way around with the machine and a quarter inch seam, then folded it back along that line and basted it down by hand.  This is now my prepared appliqué edge that I'll sew onto the border fabric.  I plan to assemble the border like a frame, lay the quilt on top of it and pin it all the way around, then machine appliqué the top to it with a blanket stitch.  All 10 fingers crossed.

I also sewed the pony-tail hole shut in two ball caps that I bought, not realizing they were women's hats.  I bought them for the color and I still like the color, so I found matching thread and sewed them up.  I have enough trouble finding hats without wondering if they're gender specific.  

Everybody have a great week!  I'm hoping for a better week than last week.  We're being audited at work and had to supply data last week, so it was hectic and stressful.  There was a file that wasn't important.  Then, someone said it wasn't important and my boss took that as a challenge to find something important, so I spent two days on that...and I found it.  And, it was bad.  So, I guess that made him happy.  He can never be accused of accepting the status quo.  

I hope you find something wonderful to focus on.  And, that it's not wondering how many times trump is mentioned in the epstein files.  They hoped they'd find a democrat and instead found their leader in the middle...I'm thinking about starting a pool where everyone gets to pick which lie they think he'll tell and the winning lie wins the pot.

Lane

Wet

We were on the rainy side of a tropical depression breaking up last week and it rained for 3 days.  Nothing like what they saw in Kerrville, but lots of rain.  Everybody but Rob and me stayed home.  We went out and ran errands.  We laughed and joked and got wet and parked close to doors so we could stay dry.  Stores took advantage of it to play some really good music.  There were maybe half as many customers in Goodwill as employees and they were trying to sell speakers, so they really cranked it up and everybody danced a little.  We laughed about not being able to work in the yard and how much time that freed up for us to spend having good fun.  

Friday was our anniversary.  We didn't have much planned and that turned out to be a good thing since it rained most of the day.  We watched Independence Day themed movies and I made a good lunch that was supposed to be a fantastic lunch...best laid plans, right?  And, we spent parts of the day together and parts of it doing our own thing.  I was using this little quilt as my leader/ender and got really close to the end and decided to just power through and get it finished.  At the end of the movie The Patriot, the narrator says that Burgoyne was surrounded and I told Rob that was the name of the quilt block I was working on, Burgoyne Surrounded.  

I pulled out my book by Elizabeth Hamby Carlson because I want to make some more of these.  They take a good sized piece of background, but everything else can be cut from small scraps.  Dreams, dreams, dreams of quilts to make.  And, there's at least a dozen unfinished hanging in the closet.  

Piecing is fun, quilting is work.  

It shouldn't feel that way.  But, that's how the longarmers are making money.  

Quilting changed and I didn't.  I think that happened to my mentor and I know several other quilters it happened to.  It looked like they were stuck in the past, but maybe they were just choosing what they preferred.  I like what I do and I like the stash I already own (well, most of it anyway).  I don't need to change.  Just get back to sewing.  

I'm toying with buying a new machine.  Not even dating the idea yet, just cruising it over my shoulder when it walks by.  I love my Berninas from the 80's, but I have to face the fact that they are old and they have many miles on them.  

I used this glass bowl as an open terrarium (how's that for an abrupt topic change?) and the plants quickly proceeded to die.  Like, it was a race to see who could die first.  I like the idea of using the bowl this way, so decided to plant just one fern in it.  I found my fern and it looks great!  And, it's lived a week without any yellow fronds, so I'm calling that a change in trend.  This should be the perfect place for it in summer, but in winter, it's below the ceiling vent and whatever I put here has to stand up to a blast furnace blowing on it periodically.  

I also wanted this one that was way too big for my bowl, so I got it too, and am searching for a good place to put it.  

I finished my first two macrame hangers.  They're not fancy, but they'll keep a plant off the floor and in the sun.  I say finished, but I might make a couple changes to the one with the green beads.  It's kind of long and needs a wider pot, which might mean changes near the bottom.  

We painted the inside of the house a couple years ago, except for the foyer and the small hallway (can you call it a hallway if it's basically a square room with a door in each wall?).  When we had the windows done a few years ago, we had a larger window put into this space and it needed interior sheetrock work done.  Rob's working on that, and he's painted it and we decided it needed a new curtain.  This is the old fabric.  It was meant to keep the space behind the TV dark...and it did.  Very well.  

But, we decided to try something that would let in more light and we're trying this white curtain.  If we like it, I'll look for a nicer fabric to replace it with.  

Tariff chicken and ugly bills.  Just because there's an emergency declaration doesn't mean there's a FEMA to make anything happen.  There was produce on the shelves yesterday that was overripe and I can only assume it's because there wasn't fresh in the back to bring out.  It's not a bang like I expected, but instead a series of small pops that are each slightly louder than the one before.  

In the meantime, make something you like and enjoy doing it.  Don't worry if anybody else likes it.  Find your pleasure, find your fun.  And, smile like everybody's watching, because they are.  Be the difference the world needs.  I'm moved by how many people smile in response.  

Lane

The last row

It feels like the arcs and wedges for the last tow of the wedding ring quilt have taken as long as the other 6 rows did, combined.  But, it's only because it was spring and my priorities were elsewhere.  The last row is pulled from a different set of scraps.  All the main fabrics got used in the first 6 rows and I had used every square except some dark blue and brown ones, so I had to cut more.  Before I started piecing them into blocks, I wanted to lay it out and make sure it wasn't going to stand out.  I needn't have worried.  There's so much variety that it would be hard for anything to stand out.  But, I can see the subtle difference.  I was so worried about using too many dark squares that the new wedges are a little lighter and flatter than the rest of the quilt, but I can only see it because I'm looking for it.  Now, I just need to sew them into blocks and then a row and then add them to the quilt.  Then I can add the borders and start quilting.   

I didn't take many pictures last week.  There's this beautiful geranium.  This was such a good purchase.  The flowers are so cheerful.  

And, this picture of Bella.  Bella doesn't want to be picked up or held or cuddled, except first thing in the morning when I wake her up.  She's fine being cuddled and scratched and rubbed then, and the rest of the time, she doesn't want to be touched.  But, she doesn't want me to be out of her sight either.  So, she watches me.  All the time.  

Most of my pictures were of "light summer supper" recipes.  It is too dang hot to cook.  I'm looking for something I can toss on the grill and serve with a cold salad and be done with it.  There are so many to choose from.  The internet is getting so hard to search, tho.  It's all about the monetizing and it's getting harder to find recipes that will sit still long enough for me to gather the ingredients (the ads make them jump around on the page and suddenly I'm supposed to add an ingredient I didn't even know I needed or I skip an important step in the prep process).  So I've started taking screenshots of them, and if they're good, writing them on recipe cards.  That way, all the frustration of the ads happens at one time, generally while I'm relaxing, and not while I'm trying to cook.  We had some really nice food last week that we ate with two kinds of pasta salad and a potato salad.  This week, I'm planning much the same, except with more green salads than pasta.  There's a pineapple chicken that we're having with green salad and an asian garlic-ginger dressing, grilled shrimp, tilapia cooked on the grill in a foil pouch with asparagus (never done anything like that before).  We don't go out a lot and don't spend money on a lot of things, but we eat like kings!

Tomorrow is a work event.  Yay.  I'm not sure that anyone from my job group is going, so it may just be me and the testosterone boys.  I guess I'll need to study up on my sports-ball-whatever so I can participate in the conversation.  Except it's really just two of the five that are like that.  I've always gotten the feeling that the other three would rather talk about what they do at home, watch on TV, what they cook and eat, and their success with plants, if only they could get a word in edgewise.  

Remember when the news was about things other than the orange mf whining and demanding and being a big fat baby?  Oh, I miss the days when what was going on in the world was important.  

I'm struggling y'all.  Struggling hard right now.  Struggling with how to interact with my birth family when they seem so determined to harm my real family.  Struggling with how to interact with my jewish friends, a few of whom believe Israel is entitled to commit genocide, despite the fact Israel exists as a country today because of genocide against the jewish people.  Struggling with my ability to interact with the world when what I really want to do is punch half of it in the face.  With a crowbar.  

Every day I get up and take those interactions as they come.  Dealing with whoever I need to deal with to get through the day.  But, my introverted self is feeling more and more comfortable just staying at home, inside, and letting the rest of the world tear itself apart.  

Everybody be strong.  Hang in there.  Deal with it one day at a time and try not to feel overwhelmed.  One day, one person, one interaction, one thing accomplished at a time.  Then, one more thing.  And another, until it's time to start over with a fresh day.

Lane

Summer lovin'

Here we are, about to slide into July.  And, while we seem to be getting a little bit more rain than some years, it's getting hot.  I'm about ready to put the umbrellas up over the garden to shade it and help preserve the water I can only put down once a week.  But for now, I'm enjoying the summer colors.  

The colors in this little bit of the garden caught my eye.  Purple, pink, multiple shades of green.  And, the 4 o'clocks weren't even open yet.  When they're open, the purples and pinks kind of fade behind them, so this was a good chance to see those flowers.  

And, the echinacea are going strong.  The pink ones have already bloomed and faded and I'm about to dead head them so they can bloom again later.  But, now the other colors are getting ready to do their thing.  This orange is already singing a sweet summer song.  

I lost one of the colored ones.  Not sure if it was the yellow or the red, but I bought this one to replace it.  The flowers are yellowish and fade to pink.  

And, the Texas Star Hibiscus gave me a flower.  I've got to move this.  It's in too much sun.  I have a seedling that I planted in a better spot, but it hasn't taken off like I thought it would, so I need to move the parent plant so I can make sure I preserve it.  But, it's been in the ground a long time and I"m a little worried about trying to move it.  

And, the last couple of daylilies that are in shadier spots and have survived the heat have bloomed.  

Weed, water, feed, replace the dead, move things to a better location.  It's the cycle of gardening.  There's always something that needs doing and never enough time to get it done.  And, I keep doing it, year after year.  And, I'm about to take up macrame, y'all.  Because my greenhouse shelves are full and I need more places for plants, so I'm gonna hang 'em from the rafters.  

Obsessive much?

But, it's easier than thinking about the terrorist attacks that our 'leader' has likely brought down on us.  Easier than thinking about what we're doing to our own country.  Easier than thinking about the lies and deceit and corruption.  Easier than thinking about the things that were missing from the grocery store shelves and where the food chain is vulnerable.  Easier than thinking about how the store doesn't have the staff to keep the products on the shelves.  Easier than to think about what comes next for my home, my family, my city, my country and my world.  

We are so busy at work, I could barely raise my head last week.  I have about 5 top priority projects going on at once and one day last week, I found myself asking two people to wait their turn while I helped one and while I was helping one of the other two, someone else got into my queue.  And, they all wanted to talk about something different, so I had to be really careful about staying on topic.  And after that, I took a break and played the uke for a half hour, just to let my brain cool down.  Two full time analysts and I are pulling data as fast as we can and when they get stuck, I'm going in and explaining the anomaly...that one item that didn't do what it should have done and figuring out whether that's a problem with the data an unusual customer request?  And, all of that while we're preparing to launch two new products later this year.  

Calgon, take me away!

No wonder I spend so much time in the garden and puttering with orchids and making quilts and playing the uke and cooking.  My brain needs simpler things to think about.  

And, if you don't know what Calgon was, then you didn't get that little joke.  But, the rest of us laughed out loud.  Age has its privileges.    

Everybody have a great week!  Find things you enjoy and immerse yourself into them.  If hard times are coming, they'll get here fast enough.  Enjoy the things you can now, and try to put off worrying for another day.  There's a time to worry, but there's also a time to relax and enjoy the small stuff.  

Lane