30 JULY 2017

Helpful

Looking for Roly Poly's. We check for them several times a day.

'Grandpa, please bring my bike'

I joined this journal group on line and have not been very good with keeping up on the writing. Having a one year old during the day is far more interesting than anything else I can think of doing, but it is time to get more involved with 'other' things that are of interest to me. So this week's assignment is on BBQ's, do you and what do you BBQ? Normally during the summer we BBQ a lot, but not this year for several reason. One, a broken foot, just haven't been up to it and two, it has been hotter than hades this summer and our porch has full sun(west side) at cooking time. Grilling anything in the heat is a great diet incentive for me. Sweat pouring down my face just makes me cranky and not hungry, thirsty for an ice cold beer maybe, but not grilled food. I will say though last weekend we were at the lake and S-I-L grilled the best charred dogs I think ever crossed these lips of mine, I had two!

This week I do plan on grilling some burgers and some pork chops. I make a weekly loose menu and these  are on the menu. Eric and I have been working our way through the freezer, (feels so good to use what we have)and it's chops time for sure! Having our big meal at noon also helps with eating what we have and eating at home, not wimping out and being too lazy at dinner time to cook. I have perfected that habit(eating out) since the kids have left home to start their own lives. I am also really tired of restaurant food, especially knowing I could make it so much better if my laziness would not rear it's ugly head at around 4-5pm. 

Yesterday, I had a lovely day sewing ALL DAY in my sewing cave. I finished one quilt for Baby B,(christmas present) and worked on two other ones for gifts. I pulled fabric for 3 reproduction quilts and tested one of the blocks. I am off on the block, not a perfect 9.5 inch square so am going to try starching the fabric  then cut and sew. This is new to me, though all over the internet, I read about this starching technique on Minick and Simpson blog. Sure hope it works, will be worth the extra steps if the blocks come out truer to size I need. I hate fudging when off a couple of centimeters, gets to be to much to deal with when making a big quilt.

Missing my baby today, she is 28 years old this very day! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

27 JULY 2017 CRAZY CLOUDS

-Foot still broken but getting around better with my new barely flexible shoes ;-}

-Hotter than Hades here on the Front Range. I feel like a damp moldy ole' rag by 1201pm

 Last night about 3am I felt a shift in the air, a hint of fall is coming . 

-Casted on a new knit, no I'm not done with  Bressay yet, but close and no I am not done with Eric's     socks either. I just needed something else (different) to knit, something using bigger needles!

So I casted on Shore Cardigan by carrie bostick hope. It's a lovely easy knit, just what I wanted and uses size 7 needles and worsted weight yarn! I even had the yarn in my stash, love it!

-Baby B and I love looking at all the different clouds in the sky.

-Spent a wonderful Sunday out at the lake fishing, paddle boarding, kayaking and eating grilled hot dogs...yum.

- As you can read not much going on here. Healing from a broken bone is a LONG process requiring a lot of patience! The hardest part is the head game of staying positive and smiling....

13 JULY 2017 FOOT- BABIES-KNITTING

Miss B teaching Grandpa how to fish off the couch-hat wear essential.

It's 11 am and my house is soo quite! We have a baby sleeping at the moment, her morning nap and most likely her only nap today. Too many naps and this child morphs into a night owl. She is busy, too many things to look at, play with, climb on, not to mention all the cooking and dog walking that needs to be done.
The week here has been slow..... Watching Miss B, dust a room or two, dinner ready by noon, wash and hang laundry outside. Getting the laundry dry has been a little tough with the afternoon showers blowing through. I can never be angry about July showers here on the Front Range, living on a high dessert.
Went to the doctors and it was good news/bad news with broken foot.The top part of the bone is totally fused but not the bottom side. I had noticed my foot was becoming very discolored, purple, and I was getting worried. Even taking off the air cast the color did not improve much. For once in a doctors office the foot had the poor color when the air cast was removed. I am one of those people that will show up in a doctors office and what ever the problem was to make the appointment, well the problem isn't there the day of the visit! But, the problem will show up within hours of leaving the office. I can just see their notes on me, 'patient in no acute distress, appears very comfortable, told to come back when I can observe said issue'...UGH!  Any ways, I'm in a post op shoe now, no bending foot but I can walk more on the broken foot, and the color has greatly improved after 12 hours! I can also drive now, this is very good for my mental health!
I have completed another baby quilt, started cutting fabric for Christmas gifting quilts and continue to knit on Brassy and Eric's sock. Need to get knitting on some baby outfits, we are having another Grandchild in about 20 weeks! So over the moon happy, I love this Grandma thing! 

9 JULY 2017 SLOW and REAL

It's been a full couple of days here at my house. Now when I say full, I don't mean overly busy, but rather a slow steady movement forward, this includes napping.

Finished quilting a baby quilt, needs a good wash now.

Started -then completed another baby quilt top and backing.

Made a bacon,artichoke quiche....yummy.

Read two books - The Lost Quilter was good

The Giving Quilt was terrible. I kept reading the book because I identified with two of characters and wanted to see how things turned out for them. The ending was a major let down! I told Eric "now that was a waste of time." 

Eric and I went out for breakfast, then over to Farmers Market. Shopping Farmers Marker just plain feels good to me. Good 'real' food and supporting my community, yup, leaves me feeling good. Met a really nice father/daughter team from Nebraska and had a very friendly chat , politics included . We were on very different wave lengths regarding politics but it was pleasant to see the good in each other and what brings us together, rather than what separates us.

 Something to remember, look for the good in people first.

Of course I continue to knit on Brassy as well. I think I may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Let you know next week. 

Found on Netflix another good murder mystery show 'The Doctor.'

Takes place in Australia post WWII, one of my favorite time periods.

Keep it slow, deliberate and real!

6 JULY 2017

I'm not good at completing tasks in the late afternoon and that includes cooking dinner! Yeah, see the problem here? My husband sure did when he retired.  The ridiculous heat in the summer only makes this issue of mine all the worse, (why are we not underweight I do not know, it could be the ice-cream for dinner;-}) After reading some foreign blogs and realizing they eat their main course at lunch, I thought brilliant! I am full of energy and like to have all chores done by 10am. Dinner at my house is now served at American lunch time and American dinner is "what ever". I have been doing this for three weeks now and I think it is working well. Eric, Miss B and I are guarantee a decent lunch(dinner) with all the fixings and then we graze when needed the rest of day! Today was homemade pizza! The pizza sauce is a Pioneer Women recipe, pizza dough from Cast Iron Cooking, garlic scape pesto-Allrecipe and the rest of the fixing, what I had in house and needed to use. This new routine also works well in being more creative to use what I have on hand and have to use up, plus cooking from scratch as often as I can manage, which is a lot, (I have more energy, lots more energy in the morning). The pizza was DELICH or MMMMMM as Miss B says often between bites. 

Yes, I am still working on Brassy Dress, the knit that never ends. Although Woolythyme tells me it will end, at least she completed hers. Since I am still in an air cast and not suppose to be walking around "too much", yeah, right, it is a good mindless knit. However, this HEAT WAVE the Front Range is experiencing makes it even hotter to have Brassy on my lap. I really want to be able to wear this in the fall and winter- so knit on I must. 

Don't you LOVE, LOVE little girls in pigtails and hats???? Be still my heart.