And it went downhill from there.....

 Yes. It was that kinda day. I had a good morning. I managed to accomplish a few things, even a challenging task in my sewing space. After lunch I hopped in the car as I had an appointment with the:

My iPhone 13 mini's battery was no longer functioning well enough, and Apple care said it was time for a change. Many days my battery would run out of juice by noon. As I have Apple Care on the phone, there would be no charge. It was all going according to plan until the tech said to come back in 2-3 hours. What?! I had figured that with an appointment, the repair would be made on the spot. Not so. 

What's a girl to do? Hmmmm....Dillards is a few miles away. They should have a seasonal shoe sale going on now! And yes, they did. I picked up two pair of sandals...at 60% off. Oh, and there's a Chico's. I haven't been in a Chico's for ages...and look at those pretty tops in fall colors...perfect for our upcoming trip. And then...the rain poured, in response to a loud clap of thunder and lightning that obviously cut the sky open releasing a deluge. I sat in Chico's for a bit. Tapping my toes. Browsing at other outfits and collections...and finally decided the heck with it. I cut my shopping trip short...I'll just have to catch HomeGoods another day! My phone ought be finished anyway. I made a mad dash and joined the line of traffic traveling through huge puddles on the road, creeping along at 15 mph, peering ahead to try to see the vehicle in front of me. If I had my phone, I coulda taken pictures!

By the time I made it back to Best Buy the rain had let up a bit. I wandered inside and retrieved my phone. It was so strange to be without it for several hours. I felt out of touch. 

I arrived home to a delightful surprise. The Mister had pulled leftovers out of the fridge and was reheating them. He had quartered potatoes and had just finished air frying them...and dinner was ready to put on the plate. 

It all sounds rather positive, right? Not downhill at all, Right? Wrong. I noticed that it was feeling warm in the house. After a bit of checking this and that we determined the compressor is not working. We have no AC in the house. And of course....it's a weekend! 

Sew Together

 Every other Thursday we have the "Sew Together" group. Women bring machines and projects to our community center to enjoy a day of camaraderie, food and sewing. I love that we have access to the building, many tables and chairs. That was a major drawback to Babcock Ranch. We had nothing like this. 

It looks like everybody is busy .. and we are! We are sewing, and sharing ideas, and talking and laughing. 

Today began early. The Mister had to take the motorhome to a truck center to have the wheels balanced and have them aligned. I actually took the dogs on a short walk - it was relatively cool! Before 9 I was on my way to Inverness, FL - about 15miles from here - to drop off some insurance papers. It was time to renew, and no surprise, the price was higher than we cared for. The Mister made some calls, and a trip to a different insurance agency, and was able to save us money for the coming year. From there I dropped by a friend's house to play Mahjong. The Mahjong Tile Goddess was not kind to me. And then I joined the ladies for sewing. 

Last night the Mister called me outside to see a lubber grasshopper. These guys make my stomach crawl. These monsters grow to about 4" in length. They eat your vegetation and some gardeners suggest that you dispose of them - uh??? And just how should I do that? The fellow we found took a bath in some nice soapy water. 

picture from the Internet

Here is some information I discovered and posted a few years ago:

the red/orange color serves as a warning to predators that he is toxic. (He won't harm you, only things that want to eat him. He might hiss at you, and according to one source he may give off a foul-smelling foaming secretion that could be irritating.) 
this insect can not fly, like some grasshoppers. It crawls and hops. 
The lubbers eat broadleaf plants, but they usually do not present a huge problem to landscaping. They are not like the locust horror stories I remember reading as a kid!
The adult phase is the final of 5 or 6 stages (instars) of the insect's life. When they first hatch from eggs in the ground they are tiny, and black with yellow accents. They continue to be mostly black with yellow until they reach their final, colorful instar stage. The life cycle is 1 year.

The Mister went shopping. He came home with fresh scallops...yum. We'll have cauliflower & béchamel sauce and peas with pan seared scallops for dinner. 

I can see clearly now...

This is my pot of Wishbone flowers. The first year we lived here one plant showed up in the pot, and before long the pot was overflowing with these flowers. It was a pleasant surprise left by the previous owners of the house. This year, I dumped about 2 inches of fresh potting soil on top, and before I knew it, there were little seedlings popping up. It has been a mound of flowers for weeks. 

The plants have begun to get so heavy that they are falling over, leaving holes in the mound.

This morning I gave it a hair cut.

It should grow back and finish the season off with continued beauty. 

 

I have a large pot with caladiums in the walkway of the back garden. Darn....it has been so pretty, but I can't find a single picture of it. Well, those poor caladiums are miserable. Their shaded glenn has disappeared. With the trimming of the palm trees, most of their shade has gone with the fronds...and they are left to bake in the sun. This morning I took pity on them:

They don't look very pretty now! 

I had a follow-up with the Gastroenterologist following my C-diff. He was glad that I recovered with the antibiotics, and didn't seem overly concerned about possible reoccurrences, which set me at ease a bit. Later I went for my annual eye exam...2 years since the last one. My vision hasn't changed significantly. I do have small cataracts. They've been with me for a few years and don't appear to have expanded very quickly. 

Recently I have acquired some bead working tools. I thought it would be fun and economical to make some earrings, etc, for everyday use. Well, economic once I have the basic tools and bead containers I need for all of the fiddly little bits purchased! 

I belong to a group of women who play Apples to Apples. I am the hostess next week, and generally the hostess has some sort of prizes for the winners. I saw these cute apple beads and thought it would be fun to make an ALDI Quarter Fob* for each woman. So, one of my first beading ventures has been to create one of these for each woman. There are only 6 players, so it's not such a big deal! I need to drill a small hole on the edge of the quarter to attach the ring. (I checked, it's legal to do so, as long as you aren't changing the value of the coin.)

Dinner was a Lowcountry Boil (AKA Frogmore Stew) and asparagus. 

*To get your grocery cart at ALDI shoppers must put a quarter in a slot on the cart to release a cable and let the cart move. The Quarter Key Fob may be easily found in one's purse, it will hang on the cart until the cart is returned and is "plugged" back in. 

It was that time again. I had my screening mammogram. I expect a letter in a few days stating that the images showed nothing out of the ordinary. 

It being Tuesday, on my way home I stopped into a shop called Tuesday's Closet. I've been looking for a used blue jean jacket to remake by insetting part of a quilt I made years ago. I had never stopped here, but this isn't your usual resale/thrift shop! It has as much character as its owner, Tuesday, has! In addition to the usual racks of used clothing, there were 4 or 5 sewing machines around and women were working on embellishing and remaking outfits. They had some amazing overalls, and dresses and jackets made with tiers of ruffled fabric repurposed from other clothes.  I was told to come on down any Tuesday and join in the fun....I just might have to try it! (I didn't think to take any pictures....but found these rather tame ones on Tuesday's Closet Facebook page)

After lunch I went to the clubhouse to sew with the "Piece Makers", and continued work on my bee trails hexie quilt, it's been a quiet day. I'm in the process of hand stitching the bee trails. I might have 1/6th of the quilt done. I'll have something to work on when we meet on Tuesdays for a long time! 

Today was warm hot and sunny. It was 98° when I went out around 1:30. We haven't had rain for 2 days, but it looks like more is coming later this week. With this kind of heat our plants really need the relief.

Dinner tonight: Cowboy onions. When I started this dish last night I didn't realize how long it needed to cook (40 minutes covered, 30 minutes uncovered) so I went with plan B. I made a quick chicken-a-la-king and had yummy fresh asparagus. We'll have more asparagus tonight, with the Cowboy Onions (recipes in Southern Living) and air fried/breaded pork chops. 

Monday Musings - Aug 10

Today's clock class went well. This group meets at the Salvation Army Worship Center. They have free use of the large room one day a month. It's a great place for sewing with plenty of space. We had 14 folks in the class, and 3 others took the kits home. 

This woman used her embroidery machine to make sewing design,

and drew in the numbers with a marker.

The clocks are made using a 7" square of foam core and a 

12" square painting canvas. Both are covered using quilt squares 

or fabric. 

The foam core is being taped to hold it in position before transporting it home.

She will finish the clock at home. 

Here's one that is finished,

except for installing the clock mechanism.

I think everyone had a good time. 

Three women finished their clocks and the others were well along the way when they chose to leave. Lunch was calling! 

I stopped at ALDI on my way home. I have a few 'go to' items I like to buy there. We both enjoy their Italian & sourdough bread. It is made with only 3 main ingredients. It has a nice flavor and texture. I usually pick up some basic veggies; broccoli, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes. I prefer getting veggies at other shops where I can pick out the zucchini I want, or the corn, and it isn't pre-packaged.

I also really like ALDI chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts. I used to shy away from their meats, but read an article that the meats, although limited in cuts, are some of the best rated. They have some good cheeses. I love their Buratta cheese in caprese salads. Yum! 

But today, I picked up some bottled coffee, a Starbuck coffee knock-off for half the price, asparagus, some yogurt for smoothies, and chicken salad... remember, I said lunch was calling? As soon as I walked in the store my stomach was urging me to the back to grab a container of the salad! 

I did a little sewing in the afternoon, after a lovely nap. I missed my normal Monday Mahjong, so I played online with a friend. 

The Mister had a follow-up appointment with his care provider. He could barely hear any of the pneumonia. A CAT scan needs to be scheduled in 6 weeks. 

It's time to make dinner: Cowboy Onions with some chicken thrown in and fresh-ish asparagus. Then, as we haven't had rain for a few days, I need to run some water on the new sod, and on some of the potted plants around our yard. 

 

Palm Haircuts

Our original intent in having the tree trimmer visit was to clean up our palms. The bottom fronds die, but hang on for a long time. Eventually the lowest (oldest) of those drops, along with seed stalks, 'boot jacks' (pieces left straddling the tree when the limb finally breaks off) and trashy stuff. Our palms were long overdue for a haircut. 

I just didn't realize how drastic a cut they would receive...kinda like the shock I've had when I've said, "Cut it short", only to look in the mirror at the end and feel like I'm practically bald! But, as with hair, new palm fronds will appear from the top and our trees will be become bushy, healthy and green!

Before:

After:

The plants under the palms are in shock. They are not happy with all of the sunlight they now receive!

The Mister spent most of the day resting. He found it difficult to sleep last night, so made up for it today with naps. 

I spent most of the day in my sewing space. I'm teaching another quilt clock class tomorrow. Luckily I'll have a few veterans of my first class helping as I will have 17 ladies in the class. 

I organized a few things and looked through my "orphan block" box. I may take a few of the orphans (blocks leftover from a finished quilt, or ones you didn't like, or ones you were experimenting with). I found a few I had forgotten about. As I was putting things away and making my space a bit neater, I happened to put some books up on a shelf. I looked at the book end - a standard metal bookend - and had a brainstorm! I took one of my orphan blocks and made it into a slip cover that fit over the book end! 

With the increased prices at the grocery store we are eating far fewer steaks. However, the Mister came upon a sale of Porterhouse Steaks. I had heard the term before, but didn't realize that it was a "2-in-1 steak. On one side of the bone you have a basic "T" bone steak. On the other is a filet. The steak was huge (for our standards) so the Mister carved in into 3 steaks. I cut the bone in half and had two eager takers for the bones!  They were very happy to take them off my hands!

They also enjoyed a few scraps with dinner. We will enjoy part of the "T" bone end, baked potatoes and peas for our dinner. Yum! 

 

A Tree Grew....

This is a Turkey Oak. This type of tree thrives in poor sandy soil throughout the southeastern US. It earned its name by having lobed leaves that are reminiscent of a turkey's foot. The tree withstands strong winds, produces acorns to feed the wildlife and has beautiful fall color. 

On the flip side, its wood is weak and has no timber value, it is messy and it will grow shoots from runners throughout your yard. 

Regardless....we like it!

Sadly, this tree developed a hole in it. Although an animal might consider it a worthy home, it made the tree weak and vulnerable to winds. 

Our "tree guy" told us we had two options:

1. Cut it down now and remove it.

2. Cut it up after it falls on the fence and remove it.

We chose option 1.

In an effort to strike a compromise:

The tree can still contribute to feeding the critters!

The minute I stepped into the house after mounting the feeding platform

a crow hopped onto it to check it out. 

And...

the minute I stepped outside to take a picture,

he flew off!

This afternoon the Mister called from the hospital. He had passed his walking test (can he walk a certain distance without oxygen, and without his pulse ox dipping below 90? Yes, he can!). He passed his swallowing test - we questioned that one, but pneumonia can be caused by aspiration. Antibiotics had been called into the pharmacy....he was ready to be released.

I sprung the man around 3:30. We are home. He is happy. He sounds good. Now he just needs to rest and recuperate.

We were scheduled to go to the community BINGO and dinner....instead, I ran up and paid for our 'dinner' - $12 for both of us, and picked up chicken fingers and dinner rolls. I decided not to get the salad, shying away from packaged greens because of cyclosporiasis. They weren't ready to dish up the ice cream yet, so we had to fend for ourselves and eat from our own ice cream stash!