The New Nornal

Well, here we go.  I've been seeing bloggers who have already switched to the new Blogger format and are not happy with it.  Figured I'd better get aboard and see what the fuss is about.  Besides, I'm way behind on posting anyway. 

My days go by so fast.  They all seem to be duplicates of the one before so much that I'm tempted to call them all Ground Hog's Day.   I went on one social outing to my sewing group where we all pretty much sit far apart anyway.  It was good to see the girls again but don't know if we'll do it again.   Since more things have opened up here in Georgia, our little county shot up from about 30 cases to nearly 60 cases with an additional death.  Of course, folks from the Atlanta metro area and Florida and other places are coming up now, so that expands the risk for our residents. 

I've been over to the park only once in the past several months.  I missed most of the flowers there.  The mountain laurel was still blooming but the rhododendrum and native azaleas were already done. 

The creek was running beautifully though.  It is a lovely park and it was a factor in our choice of places to live.  

My husband had hernia repair surgery at the end of May and is doing well in his recovery.  The first week or so he was pretty sedentary but he's now feeling much better and wanting to do things.  I have to ride herd on him sometimes due to his tendency to overdo things, even when his health is normal.  He still thinks he's 50 years old and he's not.

We've had a lot of rain this past winter and spring and the woods around us are so thick and lush.  I love all the shades of green and all the shapes of the various leaves and plants.  Just wish some of those plants wouldn't grow where I don't want them, if you know what I mean!  Pulling weeds is a constant job and it can get away from you easily.  

I'm having lovely flowers this year.  I finally got my hydrangea to grow and look like its supposed to. 

  Here are some of the others that are in bloom right now. 

Taken near dusk

Hummers love this red salvia

Pentas, stokes asters, yarrow and penstemmon

Crocosmia nearing bloom, butterfly weed, blackeyed susans and coneflowers

The asters are blooming out more every day and the crocosmia will be doing its thing shortly.  My knockout roses had a glorious first wave.  They are putting out buds and will be waving proudly soon.  I try to keep them going until the fall and they will do that if I can remember to keep them fed on time.

Now, if I could get deck plants to look as good I'd be pleased.  One thing I'm not pleased about is how quickly the landscaping timbers on the above bed have deteriorated.  This bed was put in place in 2015 I think it was and some of the timbers have already rotted.  We have a carpenter/contractor coming soon for some other work and hope I can get them to do repairs on these beds as well.

This covid 19 virus has us all in turmoil.  Our lives have been rearranged without our permission and it all takes some getting used to.  It makes me wonder what normal will look like going forward.  I know we've cancelled a number of plans due to it, including attendance at our granddaughter's wedding which is out of state.  My husband just does not feel safe taking the risk, considering his age and health issues.  It breaks our hearts not to go.  

I hope all of you stay safe and as happy as you can be. 

Y'all take care 

Here We Go Again

So, here we go.  The staying home due to the Covid19 virus thing is getting old.  One day looks just like another and it is so easy to lose track of what day it is.  There are no "events" to mark the passing of the days and weeks.  Of course, if I look in the mirror at my hair I can certainly tell it's been a long time since a haircut!  Poor hubby is looking a bit shaggy too.

Anyway, I've been sewing still.  I did the hand sewing on the binding of a quilt that I started years ago.  I got the pattern underway only to discover there were errors in the pattern.  These errors caused some recalculation and figuring.   It never crossed my mind to check online for any pattern corrections before starting.  I mean, don't these pattern designers have pattern testers?  The only pattern designers I know had several and no pattern ever got published before being made by the testers first.  I was so annoyed with this whole thing that the quilt got put on the back burner and ignored.  I would drag the wool applique part of it along sometimes and work on it but with no real enthusiasm. 

A while back I decided that it was time to come off the shelf.  I pulled up the BGP's and finished it.   So, here it is.  I still love the thing. 

I've also been finishing up the ten little birds for the wool applique project.  They are tedious little things but I have really enjoyed making them.  The work area while doing this is a bit interesting, though. 

All the little guys are done except for fastening the beak of one.  That will take only a few minutes and then it will be on to the multi-layered flowers. 

Speaking of flowers, my knockout roses are doing the best I think they've done since we've lived here.  They are gorgeous. 

The rain and accompanying wind did a number on them a bit because the blossoms were so heavy but they are hanging in there.  They will keep blooming throughout the summer but not with this profusion.  I'll keep them fed and enjoy them.

I love reading blogs and have a long list that I read every day.  Makes me feel bad that I don't post more often despite my best intentions.  Just know that I appreciate all of you who do post frequently and I appreciate those of you who come and visit me. 

Y'all take care and STAY SAFE

Green Days in the Mountains

Holy moly, where does the time go.  I've been sewing, of course.  I got a graduation quilt top off to the longarm quilter several days ago and can now work on other stuff.  My applique group is doing a group project called "Oh, Christmas Tree" by Wendy Williams.  We are each doing our own version but working on them concurrently.  We are all at different stages because we work on other things too.  Here are the little birdies I'm working on. 

They are fun to make but time consuming and that beak is a real pain. 

We have had rain off and on and I am so over it.  Sunshine today but cool and breezy.  May 1 and the heat is still on.  I'm truly hoping that ceases to be the case really soon. 

This was taken several days ago and there are more leaves on the trees now than then and the roses (the left edge) are blooming now.

Things are very green right now here in the mountains.  It's hard to describe all the shades of green. 

Taken through the windshield so a bit blurry

Arm of the lake, sky overhead was dark

I hope everyone is staying safe and well during this coronavirus thing.  Even though our governor has let the stay at home order expire, we have no plans to rush out for anything.  We'll continue to stay home except for necessities for the foreseeable future.  

Y'all take care and please take care of yourselves

Bits & Bobs

The weather here has been up, down and all around the town, so to speak.  We've had temps up to the 80's and then back to the 50's during the day with freezing temps at night.  Strange stuff.  Through it all, the flowers are doing their thing. 

The third clematis on that trellis is struggling and is a little thing.  We'll see how it does through the summer.

 The azaleas in front of the house are also in full bloom.  I'm surprised all of these flowers didn't suffer worse in the storms that came through last night. 

A few nights ago I was scratching  my head trying to figure out what to fix for dinner and this is what I came up with.   Pork cutlets. 

They were quite good with steamed broccoli and roasted potatoes.  

I made a batch of face masks for various family members and ourselves.  Was not a difficult chore but not a fun one. 

And, last but not least, here's a view from down the road on the way to my house. 

Y'all be safe and take care 

Hello There

Hello everybody.  Hope you're staying home and being safe these days so much as possible. 

My quilting hobby has prepared me quite well for long hours at home and I'm doing fine.  This is a quilt top made for a soon to be high school graduate. 

Josie's graduation quilt top

Some time back I made little 8 inch square wool applique pillows for my buddies and I think they turned out really cute. 

I'm getting ready to start on a new group project too and I'm looking forward to it. 

We've had early summer like days recently, up to the low 80s, but today its back down to the low 40's and damp.  Got to actually bring in a plant tonight because of the danger of freezing.  Sigh.  

Y'all stay safe, stay home unless necessary and we'll get through this. 

Where does the time go?

Where in the heck does time to?  Anyway, on to more of our travels way back in January.  Who knew?   Anyway, one of our outings as a family group was to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  We arrived in late morning which is not the best time but it took us a bit over an hour to drive there. 

Anyway, we all split off and went our own way along the numerous trails.  The arboretum has distinct groups showing desert habitat from all over the world with plants indigenous to those areas.

I didn't pay a lot of attention to which country the areas represented although I probably should have.  There were some very interesting cacti from all over the world, of course.

I though I would never forget the name of this tree because it was so unique but I guess my memory isn't what it used to be. 

Boojum tree 

They were so different. 

The bark was smooth and very pale.  

I am a birder.  Therefore I was as interested in any new birds that I might see as in the plants.  The Anna's hummingbird was gorgeous and there were several of them feeding and flying around feeders hung in the trees. 

After a nice walk, we all reconvened at the picnic area for lunch which the kids had provided.  Wonderful stuff.  We then all headed out again on other walks.  By this time, it was getting warm out and we were happy to return to the car and head home. 

I highly recommend a visit to this place if you are ever in the Phoenix area.  It is east of the metro area near a little town of Superior, Arizona.  There is lots of shade and places to sit and take it all in or rest.  There's lots of info about it at the website above. 

Y'all take care and be safe during these interesting times.  




  

A New Day

A new day dawned here in the mountains.  I'm hoping that it will be a better one. 

Yesterday's sunrise 

The past few days here on the hill have passed in a blur.  I came down with a severe stomach virus and was laid low.  Then just as I'm starting to feel a bit better, my husband is hit with it.  I'm still not out of the woods and he certainly isn't.  I guess this nasty thing has been hitting our community very hard according to a doctor's staff.  

There's been a lot going on in my world since you heard from me so you may get bits and pieces over time.  Other than the above, its all been pretty good stuff.   I'll do my best to get caught up but have some things that must be done today in prep for a meeting tomorrow.   I'm the first VP of the quilt guild and the president has to be out of town for medical appointments so I need to conduct the meeting tomorrow in addition to handling my normal duties as membership chair.  Got to get materials ready.

Y'all take care