How sweet is this? A baby Peacock!
Well, here is another Friday and I continue to do bits of this and that and not finish anything, except a book. (The English Bookshop, author Janis Wildy-A nice easy read)
By the time I cook three meals per day for recovering husband, resume the full-time nurse function, and all the typical day-to-day life things, plans have been made but meh!
We have sunshine today, after 5 days of cold rain, it is most welcome. I am hoping for a warm weekend to scrub the porches. I am a porch person, for reading, for stitching, for just resting. Snapping peas and green beans must be done on a porch. I know I read that rule somewhere!
Thank God for dear son next door. He takes Lola for a big walk every evening. She waits by the door for him. She waits to have him all to herself, no puppies, no competition, just the two of them. I will be so relieved when we return to a semblance of normal. I am too old for this.
Enough of the moan and groan and onto nicer things. The sound of a lawnmower is my background music as I write. The melody is sweet but you can't dance to it. The horses graze and occasionally romp across the hill and provide a type of entertainment that reminds me of my youth. Since I often had the "scent" of horse about me, this addition to the neighborhood is a welcome one.
- Sampler News: Hands Across the Sea Samplers just released The Queen of the May Sampler to Honor the Coronation. I have to say this one is way above my skill level but I ordered it anyway, this one will be special if only for the Brits! Maria Ewin-Here she is!
- Quilting: I unearthed this thing the other day, I am planning to cut it into place mats for the back porch. It was one of those time filler monotonous stitching projects. No plan, that is obvious!
chop, chop.................... - Gardening: Radishes are up about 4 inches in their little bed beside the roses. All gardening will be in pots and urns, just can't till and plant anymore. Wah-Wah😢
- Kitchen: The last 10 days have supported my plan ahead process. With the freezer stocked with stuffed peppers, beef and broccoli, stuffed cabbage, Mississippi pot roast, meat loaf, several soups, portioned ham, scalloped potato and pea plates were a quick heat and eat. Cookies, muffins, and banana nut bread were all a quick thaw. This planning kept me out of the kitchen for long periods of time. I also have been "cheating" with a Pillsbury pizza dough (in one of those "pop" tubes) with simple adds of spinach and feta, pepperoni and mushrooms. By pre-browning my sausage and ground beef I can quickly make taco's, pasta dishes, and sandwiches. Two weeks of double cooking has saved much time. Starting next week, I will be done with all these prepared items and return to grilling and all the fresh makes.
- Garment Sewing: My Style Arc patterns arrived from Australia the other day. Of great interest to me, they are no longer packaged in clear acetate envelopes. They are packed in white, compostable sleeves. You cannot see what is in there. Mmmm, I admire the effort but everyone knows that keeping all your pattern pieces together, preferable in their envelope or something similar, is a big deal. Now I have a large stack of paper, roaming the sewing space all on their own, sliding all over the table. Not good. I will hopefully be able to fit them into some magazine sleeves I have on the shelf. For the cost of the patterns and the phenomenal shipping cost, someone missed the mark here.
I am looking forward to making this one. A classic, knit fabric, simple lines, no front opening. I may have mentioned that front button shirts just do not work for me. The spinal curvature requires lots of alterations to appear straight on me. Too much work these days! 
I am not totally sold on this one but hey, you never know. I have seen another stitcher make this and it was really cute on her. She is also shorter with a torso smaller than her bottom measurements. Supposedly, the design lines and sleeve flounce balance that imbalance. Also a knit, an experiment.
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This one is my Summer favorite. Made in a lightweight fabric, it will be a nice little selection. I read yet another online stitcher who made a top, much like this one, from a Liberty Lawn type fabric she bought at Joann's. Now she lives in upstate New York, not sure if it will be available here. Will check that out. Well that's enough rambling for now. I had lunch with a dear friend this week, I was able to do some stitching at the Linus group, and have touched base with several dear friends. My former nursing school room mate is coming for a visit next week. Life is good. Have a lovely Spring week dear stitching friends, search for the little things in your world that enhances your life. If nothing else I have learned this week is I need to make more of an effort to seek, not just look. It's there, just take the time and presence of mind to appreciate it. Toodles.
- I am not running the Pittsburgh Marathon this weekend so don't look for me.
- I will watch the Kentucky Derby from home, as always BUT I am very upset about the deaths of 4 horses there in 5 days. There is some sort of investigation but something is very, very fishy about this.
- I will watch parts of the coronation but since Diana is not there, I am not keen. Fishy I tell you, the whole business.
Comments
My aunt always cooked a week's worth of meals on a Thursday, kept in the fridge. Your food stash is ideal.