Summer Solstice!

Earth Day 2013

Thank you, Mother Earth, for your myriad blessings.  I stand in awe and gratitude.  How amazing are these gifts of yours to us!

Warm, soft air.  With a view.

Tiny gift packages that open to reveal lovely jewels.

Plant a seed: lettuce!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or chard.

Or kale. 

Or don't plant a seed...something jumps up anyway!

Aphids? Whoosh! Here come the ladybugs. Nature's insecticide.

How do they know?  Was there a ladybug news bulletin?  And just look at those perfectly placed polka dots!

Tomato forest.  Time to transplant.

There are even ballerinas in Nature.

And basking dinosaurs.

Fields of perfume

...and bits of sunshine

...dancing

...at our feet.

Something so magical about...

...the sky through branches of  a tree.

Surprises tucked everywhere

...if we only open our eyes to see.

And, maybe my own hair isn't so wild after all.

 I hope everyone gets a chance to go outside and celebrate the planet today.  Whatever the temperature or the location, there are gifts for the taking everywhere we look!  Happy Earth Day!

Yesterday's pile

This is what went out yesterday. Believe me when I say that this is just a scratching of the surface of what has already gone out and what will go out in the future.  Just a day, a single day...arghhh. There are two actual groups in my purges at the moment (this does not include any clothing or fabrics or yarns, books, etc.):  new or newer or non-collectibles, and collectibles/antiques.  The newer/non-collectibles go in the give-away or swap meet pile in the garage.  The collectibles/antiques get wrapped and put into boxes to be sold at some point.  Which presents its own issues...how the hell do I get rid of it all...?  I don't really want to pay for a booth in an antique shop, nor do I want to get all involved in eBay, Craigslist, or the like.  I could have a yard sale (which I do intend to do at my house in NY for those things there that I'm purging.)  But here in El Cajon, out here in the boonies, a garage or yard sale is not a great solution.  We don't live in a neighborhood, a sale of this kind would not attract anyone way out here.  I'm just not sure what to do.  Consignment?  I may just get so sick of the whole thing that I will donate it all and some lucky thrift store will get a hell of a bonanza one of these days.  Cuz there is a LOT of nice stuff in the things I'm getting rid of.  A lot.  I just don't want it any more. I'm done.

A new year...

Things are moving out the door in our house lately, in great numbers.  The theme here is 'less is more.'  We are in a real clean it out and get rid of it mode.  Amazing how good and freeing it feels.  My very real commitment is to get rid of at least one thing every single day of 2013...that will be 365 things gone from the house in a year.  And most days since I've been purging there are several(!) things that go.  So, if I have to pick a theme or phrase or some such thing for this next year, that is it: Less is more.  Onward!

Today would have been your 95th birthday.  I will never stop missing you.  I love you, Mom. xo

Rain, rain, where are you????????  You promised!!!  According to the weather report, there is 0% chance of rain by 1 pm, but 90% chance by 2 pm.  Fast moving "storm", I'd say.  We'll see how that goes.

ETA @4:15 pm:  Oh, hey, I guess it's started...Well, I mean, I think they will call this mist "rain"... STORM WATCH 2012!! Hahahahahahaha!

Well, the weekend sure went quickly.  

We went to see The Descendents Friday night, which was good.  Intense, but good.  I didn't realize it was as serious as it turned out to be, but it was very human, too, and quite funny in parts.

Before the movie we had dinner at a new veggie restaurant near the theater.  I  am pretty excited, I must say.  Veggie restaurants are not that easy to find, and we go to this indi film theater fairly regularly.  Don't know how long this one will last.  I can only hope for the best.  It did take the place of a Pizza Nova and people are a little mad about that.  But, if PN were doing that well, wouldn't it have stayed open?  (I will miss the salad I always got there, though; it was yummy.) Anyway, my dinner was scrumptious.  Veggie-stuffed quesadilla with salad.  Yum.  It's cool because at this place there are a ton of veggie choices and just a few meat-eaters' choices...nice to have that kind of menu when I'm so used to menus where there are only a couple veggie choices...veggie burger, salad, and maybe a veggie broth based soup, if I'm lucky.  Oh, and sometimes pasta with marinara sauce or maybe a cheese pizza...tired of those choices! So, yay!

A few weeks ago, I remember now, I sprinkled a seed packet in some of the pots out on the patio, and promptly forgot about doing it.  When I checked out there recently I saw that something was sprouting...that was when the vague memory popped up.  But, I will tell you, for the life of me I could not remember what exactly it was that I thought I was planting...until the other day.  I was out there again, poking around, and saw something that made me dig (haha) deeper, and, lo and behold I give you:

It was delicious. And there are at least a hundred more =-)


Now, I am off to the grocery for taco fixins.  I guess I must be hungry.

It's tulip time in the grocery store again!  I'll be buying these lovelies every chance I get until they are out of season. We don't grow them well here, our winters are neither cold enough nor long enough.

 

We had a birthday celebration here recently.(ETA: it was DD's, not mine.  But, thanks!) Pizza, pink cake, pink ice cream, family game night, lots and lots of laughing.

Tomorrow evening I will be headed out to watch/listen to DS perform at a local beach pub.

Lovely, simple pleasures.

Wow.

It's been over 6 months since my last post.  I think a fresh start, perhaps, is the best idea, rather than a rehash of months and months of living.  So, before January is over, and it appears that suddenly it almost is, I will wish you all a great 2012, and make a plan to write here with some (more) regularity.  I have been consistently reading blogs...I just haven't been writing in my own.  So, I will see what I can do about that.

Though this started out years ago as a quilting-related blog, it morphed into a general topic blog some time ago.  And now, it seems that quilting is rarely a thing I do anymore...in fact,  never...which, really, seems unbelievable, given the 35 years or so I have been doing it.  When I was far younger, back before I was married, I was very into yarns and fibers and spinning and weaving and natural dying and crocheting and basket making and sewing clothing (when I perfectly fit a pattern and had no need to alter!), and all kinds of needlework, like embroidery and needlepoint and cross stitch and crewel.  When the quilting bug bit, though, I gave that all up and never looked back. 

Well, I've been looking back, more and more.  And recently I've gotten, shall we say, sucked back into YARN, YARN, YARN.  I learned to knit in 2005 and it has been taking over ever since, much like quilting did when I learned how to do that, though more slowly and steadily... my yarn stash is currently still smaller than my fabric stash, and my aim is to keep it sorta small...but you know how that goes. I have big plans to get rid of most of my fabric because it makes me feel bad, is a weight on my shoulders and conscience, takes up a LOT of space, and I'm just plain OVER it...but you also know how that goes...

                              Hazeline Shawlette made for Anne Hanson's Fall in Full Color Knitspot Club, pattern by Anne Hanson

Soooo, short story long, that is a lot of what I've been doing the last 6 months...loading up on yarn and patterns and ideas.  And reading.  And tea drinking.  And mom-ing.  You know.  Being.

Happy Birthday, everyone!!

Yes, I'm here...

I haven't posted in oh-so-long.  I've been busy. Well, busy at times.  At other times I've been lazing around.  Reading. Knitting. Crocheting. Not sewing.  I'm almost done reading The Help.  What a WONDERFUL book.  I wanted to read it before the movie comes out in August.  I've joined a knit along for a summer pullover sweater.  I've just about finished a crocheted Japanese Flower scarf inspired by Lucy at Attic24 and I've started some Christmas gifts.  So, though I have been flying under the radar, I've been here reading blogs.  Sounds like everyone is having a great summer so far, there is so much productivity and REALLY lots of everyone enjoying summer after the long, long winter in most parts of the country (and world, actually.) Yay for summer!  I will be going back to my little house soon, too, so then I will KNOW summer is truly here =-)

I have a new post on my other blog, for the Magpie project.  Blatantly autobiographical, as most of mine are. Go over and take a look at some of the other posts for some good reading.  This is the new prompt:

Have a great week everyone!

Swooon...

Have I mentioned that I love my sink?

So lovely!  I wish them all the best!

I have a new Magpie post up on my other blog.  I missed at least a week, I think. I'm back to reminiscences with this entry.

I'm off to NY tomorrow night for a visit.  I'll be bringing my computer,though, so will not be incommunicado.  I'm looking forward to my NEW kitchen!  Especially my 'new' vintage SINK!  And the bead board walls and the new appliances and the light colors and the CLEAN!  I'll have pictures to share in a few days.

I am also looking forward to the FLOWERS!  I hope spring is in full swing cuz I can't wait for a NY spring again. It's been awhile.  It appears that I am getting out of here just in time since the day after tomorrow the weather report says S.D. will be having mid to high 80s...yikes!  I am hoping to have at least a couple more weeks of what I consider to be sweater weather.  Of course, in NY people will be in short sleeves and flip flops in weather I think of as being nice and chilly =-)  I love it!

Ok, I do need to tell you that I am so looking forward to the royal wedding.  I think either people love the idea or they don't, and I do.  I am a hopeless romantic, I am an Anglophile, and I can't wait.  I think it is a bit of fairy tale in a very scary and huge world, and I love the two young people and the fact that we get to watch all the goings on of the day.  William and Kate seem so refreshing and hopeful, and I like the things I have read about them.  I remember getting up in the middle of the night to watch Wills's parents' wedding in my cozy flannel night gown, while I was hugely pregnant for my sweet, sweet son.  It just seems right watching this lovely young couple on their special day, and I am happy for them.  So, I intend to set my alarm clock and DVR and enjoy it all to the fullest, in all its spectacular glory.  I might even be seen consuming copious amounts of tea and scones this week in celebration.  Cheers!

Hey! Yay!

I meant to write this earlier but got sidetracked =-) I'm watching my recorded Civil War programs (Ken Burns on PBS, a rerun series) This is such a good series and I am engrossed!

So, I got myself into the endo yesterday, Wednesday (my appointment wasn't until Friday,) because I just could NOT take it any longer.  I called yet again and figured if I refused to hang up the phone and did not give up they would figure out how to fit me in...and, guess what, they did!  Boy, was the endodontist, himself, angry that the receptionists (two different ones) had made me wait when I was in such agony!  In a way, that made me happy, but on the other hand, it frustrated me that I had to go through so much so needlessly since he would have had me come in had he known the true extent of what I was going through.

Well, anyway. Here I am. Let me tell you, I never looked forward to a root canal or dental office visit more than I did this one!  And I am SO enjoying being able to drink hot tea again!  It is a.MAZ.ing to not be in constant pain or dealing with vicodin induced lightheadedness. The endo said I would have residual pain for a few days but, really, I haven't noticed it at all and have not needed any pain meds since I walked out of there yesterday afternoon.  I felt good enough, in fact, to go watch DS and the country folk/rock band he plays bass in perform at a restaurant/pub at the beach last night.  That was fun! It's one of my favorite things to do =-)

Just wanted to let all my sweet friends and family who have worried about me and sent messages of comfort that I am GREAT now!!  Thanks for thinking of me and sending me your love!  Love you guys, too!

Maybe soon I will have a photo or two of projects I've been working on...now that would be new and different after all this time =-)  My cable cushion is nearing completion; I think I like it...

So, stay tuned.  I am not planning on writing any more of these boring, whiny, photoless posts!

xo, D.

Monday, Monday

So, my tooth hurts a little less today.  I think I may make it until Friday... As I told Rian, I would rather have a baby than the pain I had on Friday and Saturday. So, um, you know it hurt. A lot.

Sooooo, anyway.  Onward.

The new Magpie Tales prompt is up.  I couldn't decide so I posted two.  Go on over to the Magpie site and check out the writing.  Always something fun there.

Hope your week is spectacular! Go April!!

Still waiting for a cancellation at the endo.  Otherwise, my appointment is for the 8th...better than the 12th...but still not fun to have to wait...

Been reading, knitting dishcloths and cushion covers, and even started some counted cross stitch yesterday (which I haven't done since my 29 year old son was a newborn!)  in the hopes of my attention being so focused on the chart that maybe I wouldn't feel the pain...yeah right...we'll see how focused I was after the vicodin wears off.

Keep me away from the tall bridges, people...

What a pain

Sooo, went to the endo yesterday.  We are trying to figure out which tooth is giving me the pain.  This entails some excruciating trial and error involving hot liquids and ice =-(  We have eliminated anything on the bottom.  Now I am home testing the three most likely candidates on the top.  Jeezus, I have been through the dental wars in my lifetime.  I'm exhausted.

So, what fun things are YOU up to today?

Smile even though you're hurting...or hiding something...

New Magpie Tales prompt is up...it could get interesting =-)  I think mine is a bit predictable but, oh well, I have a toothache...maybe that was her problem, too...but I don't think so...  At 1:45 pm, please send good, non-invasive-or-at-least-uncomplicated-dental-procedure thoughts out into the cosmos for me...=-/

Check out all the good writing on the Magpie Tales site.  Photo provided by Tess Kinkaid.

Went for breakfast and a walk around an urban neighborhood the other day after DD's dentist appointment.  We went nuts for all the flowers that are out right now...especially the wisteria...gosh, I love wisteria...

 

We walked by one of my favorite houses... it's pink.  Well, now it's being fixed up and probably won't be pink when they are done.  I pretend it is being fixed up for me.  It is going to be beautiful.  I would LOVE to live in this 1886 house.  They are few and far between around here, I can tell you that.  So, if the lavender house doesn't work out, maybe you can find me in this pink (or whatever color it's gonna be) one...

A quick catch-up...

New Magpie Tales prompt is up.  Do pop in to read what everyone has written in response to the prompt; there is some really good stuff over there:

Photo by Tess Kinkaid

My entry this week was a just a tiny bit dark...  But, kinda fun, too...in a dark, kid-brain way... =-)  Yeah, so, anyway...

I've been knitting a lot the last week or more.  Easy stuff. (Avoiding the 2nd sleeve on my sweater cuz I won't get to wear it this year, anyway, at least not until December probably, and, well, it's BORING!) A cabled cushion like Mia's over at Mia's Landliv...  How I love her cushions and her crocheting and knitting...and entire house, actually.   I also made a vintage looking pot holder and am in the middle of another dishcloth, both for my new kitchen in NY.  I'm going from a pink and green kitchen there to a blue, white, and cream color scheme so I have been making and collecting things =-) Oh, and I might have ordered some most delicious yarn for a project that Lucy at Attic24 has tempted me with. =-) God, her photos and projects are the happiest on the Web, I swear.  I credit her for getting me back into crocheting again.  I have always crocheted, since my mom taught me when I was 6 years old, but knitting took over once I learned how about 5 or 6 years ago. But after seeing all that yummy stuff at Lucy's I was bitten and got right back into it again!

I've been reading a lot, too.  I just finished The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl, who wrote The Dante Club also (which is waiting for me in the stacks.) The style of writing and the story reminded me a lot of Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone and The Lady in White.  I enjoyed it a lot after I got into it.  It did take me a few chapters to feel that way, though.  I started The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth yesterday...just my kind of book: WWII England, mystery, etc., etc. It is the third of a series but I have not read the previous ones so I hope it doesn't matter.  So far I like it.

We had a HARD, windy rain last night, and some today, off and on, as well as some hail, briefly, so it was a good day to sit and read and drink tea, and knit.  We probably will not get too much more of this kind of weather here this year.  I have enjoyed it so much.  And the hills!  They are so green!  Something we truly appreciate in SoCA...it does not last long so we drink it up while we can.

Happy Spring!  Yay!

Magpie Tales 57

photo by Tess Kinkaid

The new weekly prompt is up along with some fantastic entries on Magpie Tales. You can read my post on my other blog, Pieces.

3 words

about my birthday surprise:  raised garden boxes!

(Pictures to follow soon...)  

I guess my blatant begging hints worked =-)

Birthdays are the best!

First, I've been buying myself tulips

whenever I go to the grocery cuz I love 'em and they are only in season for just so long, and well, I'm worth it.

Anyway.  Birthdays... Yesterday DD and I spent a lovely day together at the Art Museum. 
 

 Saw the Thomas Gainsborough and the Modern Woman Exhibit,

 

had a little shop meander and soap, lotion, and candle buying,  then a late lunch at a creperie in a hip neighborhood...with crepes and cappuccino for dessert, of course. The day was her sweet gift. 

Today is breakfast with DS and DDIL at one of my favorite places for that...not sure what I will have but it will be great, it always is.  And, of course, the company will be the treat!  I'm looking forward to the love and the laughs.  DH is on his way home from out of town but thinks he can catch a cab from the airport and be there for most of the meal.  And, people!  One of the best gifts of the day:  another hour of daylight!!!!  Whoopee!  Yep, I do love birthdays.  Well, except for that number thing...