It's Ironed Out

We moved to a new home in the fall of 2020. In November the Mister picked up a workbench for me from Harbor Freight.

I covered the top with several layers of cotton batting and some scorch resistant quilted fabric that I stapled to the sides. It made a great ironing surface. Over the years it has seen a lot of ironing, and spray starch, and more ironing. The top was disgusting.  

A few weeks back (probably more than a few....) I ordered some more ironing material. 

Today I finally decided I should clean up my ironing table...and maybe vacuum behind it...and clear out junk that was stashed under it, behind it, and on the shelves!

It's ready for another few years of pressing quilt blocks and ironing the occasional pair of pants or a shirt!

Sweet Dreams

 Did you know that Audible has a Bedtime Series of stories? Yeah, who knew?! Right?!

According to Audible's site: 

Bedtime stories are narrated by the world’s most celebrated voices and written with no beginning, middle, or end so you don’t stay up to hear what happens next. They're interesting enough to give your mind something to focus on but delivered in a way that encourages sleep.

I stumbled on this by following a link for a book title that may or may not be of interest to most folks: "Quilt Collecting" by Nicole Haritoutunian. If you know me, you can see why I might have followed this rabbit into the hole! 

I won't be using my Audible credit to purchase this title. I can continue my habit of listening to a boring podcast, with my phone tucked under my pillow, when I have trouble falling asleep. I'd offer the titles of a few of those boring podcasts, but I'd rather not insult the hosts and producers who I know work hard to deliver their information. However, I do believe in the concept that if your mind can be focused on something other than whatever you are stewing about, sleep comes a lot faster! 

So, if counting sheep doesn't work for you, or if trying to recall the names of towns, countries or landmarks that begin with a specific letter of the alphabet isn't productive(or maybe in this case, nonproductive), and you don't care for boring podcasts, maybe you can check out one of Audible's Bedtime Stories the next time you are wakeful. 

Do you have a 'go to' when you are sleepless in wherever you live?

Date Night in Crystal River

We Dreamers actually stepped out for a date night! Generally by nightfall one or the other of us...or both of us...are simply not inclined to climb in the car and leave. We love our quiet little Hacienda, so kicking back, having a simple dinner, watching TV, whatever, is fine with us. 

The Mister saw a notice for "Crystal River Nights" concert series in one of the many flyers and local ad magazines that fill our mailbox.

We glammed up, well, you know, we took showers and put on clean clothes, and drove the 6 miles into town. We had reservations for dinner later in the evening so we could legally park behind the restaurant. We arrived before a few of the shops closed, and enjoyed looking at buying a few goodies. Our new/old town has a few cute shops, a few touristy T-shirt shops and several kayak, boat, SUP, scalloping, swim with the manatees tour companies. Oh, and eating establishments.

Tucked between a few shops we found a garden shop. The colorful flowers drew us in. The Mister noticed a stag horn fern and began talking with Nancy, the proprietor, explaining how we lost one of our large stag horns this winter. She marched outside and came in with one, trimmed some of the damaged fronds from its struggles with the weather and handed it to him as a present. I was touched. 

So touched, that I had to buy its cousin as a Father's Day gift for the Mister. I picked out an Elephant Ear Stag Horn. The fronds of this variety are large, rounded and fuzzy. Mr. A-I-nstein  tells me: 

The Elephant Ear Staghorn Fern (Platycerium elephantotis) is a rare, central African species. Unlike traditional staghorns, its large, deeply veined fronds do not fork or "antler," but rather resemble the broad ears of an elephant. It thrives in heat, shade, and high humidity. 

The street in front of 'town square' was blocked off for the concert. Folks began arriving well before the start of the first band. Local establishments brought out tables and sold plenty of nibbles and spirits to those waiting. Food trucks were also on hand. 

It was a very warm day (93°) and clouds were bubbling up all around. Distant thunder punctuated the music. There are many benches and walls that are perfect places to sit and enjoy the music.

Long before the music began folks were planting their folding chairs to save their spaces in front of the bandstand. 

Both bands played music from 'our' era. Jojo and Jay are local to the 'Nature Coast'. From our vantage point, a comfy Adirondack bench in front of one of the businesses across the street, one could almost imagine that Freddie Mercury* was back! The lead singer had a great voice and the music was dandy.

We left about 30 minutes before the end of play.  Good call! We arrived home and within 5 minutes the rain began to fall at our house, and probably hit town about 15 minutes later. Our rainy season may have indeed begun! We received over 2" of rain, and it looks like we are slated for more afternoon thorms this week. Summer is here! 

 * If you are a fan of Queen and have not seen it, check out "Bohemian Rhapsody, available on Netflix and several other streaming services. 

Pillow Talk

Do you have extra pillows on your bed? When I walk by a home dec store, or see ads on TV or magazines, showing beds mounded with extra pillows, I am always reminded of a scene in "Along Comes Polly", a 2004 movie with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller: 

I am guilty of having a few extra pillows. (Nothing like I've seen at shops, or was depicted in the movie clip.) I began using my own, sewn pillows 2020 when I participated in an online class with Lori Kennedy, using her book, "25 Days to Better Machine Quilting". Here's a post about the class. Here are a few pictures of some of the pillows I made: 

Recently I dressed our bed in a lighter, summer quilt. The colors of the quilt don't go with most of the pillows I had created.  I selected some fabrics from my stash and began making quick, "envelope back" pillows covers. 

The quilt was made from fabrics I collected on various travels.

It is Bonnie Hunter's Jamestown Landing quilt pattern. 

(Here is a Blog post about making the quilt.)

One of the fabrics I had was a nice soft blue blender. It needed something more. 

That 'more' became a reverse appliqué pattern of butterflies 

made using my embroidery machine. 

My bed may not be acceptable to a designer, but it is my bed and I love the new covers for the pillows!

 

Squirrels

From Etsy 

This describes me to a "T"! 

I have been having a blast doing all kinds of things, moving from one thing to another, and maybe back again. I see that I'm not being totally productive, but I am pushing several projects along, 

or perhaps,

 simply spinning plates

and it all feels good and makes me happy.

I can't argue with that!

Scotland & Ireland Memories

 Last year, at this time, we were in Scotland on a tour of the Scottish Isles, followed by a tour around Ireland. Each day one or more photos from last year pop up on my Alexa and I get to relive "today" a year ago. It brings back so many wonderful memories! 

I've been trying to distill the trip down to just a few favorites....tough! A few of these popped up as I looked through some photos (but trust me, I could find hundreds more!): 

Amazing Scenery - the backdrop for numerous novels I've read!

The cemetery at Dunleckney, Ireland

A walk in the forest on an Irish Cob

The bathroom door at a fun hotel in Belfast, Ireland.

Highland Cattle - this one we could pet, but the other was guaranteed to swat us with his horns.

A peat fire in an ancient home in Gearranan Blackhouse Village, Scotland.

It smelled lovely and was welcome after the biting wind outside.

An informative introduction to Shetland Sheep and a herding demonstration

Of course, I found a fabric and fiber shop in Lerwick. the main town of the Shetland Archipelago.

Our most amazing tour guide in Ireland, Bailey!

Here are a few posts I published following the trip:

• Finding Family - Not Always Folklore: This describes the Mister's quest for more genealogical information about his mother's side of his family while we were in Ireland.  
• A Whirlwind Tour of Scotland: Describes our cruise around the Scottish Isles, as well as a look at areas we visited in Edinburgh.
• Best of Ireland: Follow our week-long trip around Ireland, and see just some of what we saw!

Hip Hip Hooray!

I have been having back and hip pain for over two months. Truth be told, I've been experiencing problems with my back for many years. But this more recent episode began with sciatica, and it morphed. That's one thing I've noticed over the years, the unpleasant sensations I experience as a result of stenosis and other arthritis issues with my back change. Sometimes the back of my legs tingle, all the way down. Other times the front of my thighs ache. Sometimes my calves feel like they have hot electrodes sunk in them. It's never the same old, same old....but it does get old! 

As the most recent flare up started I sought out a Chiropractor. I hadn't had much relief from a gal I used a year ago, so I looked at recommendations online, further delved into at a few that bubbled up frequently, and chose Dr. O. I was impressed! The office runs efficiently and is managed by pleasant, efficient folks. As I had recent enough x-rays, I didn't need a new set. Dr. O performed a thorough exam and took a detailed history. Over the next few weeks I visited for adjustments, and accompanying massage torture sessions. The massage guy is also no-nonsense and gets right to the point....always finding 'those' spots and pressing, pushing and making me know the spots were there in his attempts to get the muscles to release. A few weeks ago Dr. O voiced his puzzlement about my issues and referred me to an orthopedic practice . I was impressed. IMHO Chiropractors generally feel physical health and well being is achieved through manipulation of the spine, not through other means. How refreshing when a doctor recognizes he has gone as far as he can with his practice, and suggests an alternative. 

Today I visited the orthopedic office. Again, another amazingly smooth running practice. I barely had a chance to sit down and complete their new patient forms on a tablet before I was called in for an x-ray. I was returned to waiting area, and again, promptly called into an exam room. I saw the PA, and the doc, and was out of there.

And the outcome? Nothing definitive. It was kinda like going to the doctor 'cause you feel terrible, only to be told you have a virus and there is nothing to be done. The great news is that my hip sockets still have cartilage so a replacement is not part of the equation. Although it doesn't look like I have full-blown bursitis, it is possible that my bursa is somewhat inflamed, as is the area around the SI joint that is irritating the sciatic nerve.  The doctor feels that the root of my problem are the existing issues in my lower back. The PA gave me a packet of exercises and stretches, I could probably have written the packet myself! However, to my credit, I had been doing them before everything blew up....but me being who I am...I may have been a little too aggressive in stretching and exercising. I was given a prescription for steroids to combat the inflammation, and a follow-up appointment in a month. If I am still having problems the orthopedists will look a bit further north in my body for answers.