Sunday Smorgasbord

Grab a cold drink as this catch up post could be a long one. These photos are from one of my dinner plate size blooming hibiscus plants. I have three such plants of various shades in my large garden.

Yes, I simply love all types of hibiscus!!! They make such an impact. Here’s a regular size flower from my deck. Note the ruffled petals. I usually don’t bring in plants to overwinter them, but this one is so pretty that I may have to in this case.

 On Wednesday evening, I went with friends to see Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at Plymouth Memorial Hall. What a show!!! 

They came onstage at 8:10 and left the stage at 11:15, three solid hours, no intermission. The Large Band consists of twelve truly impressive musicians and three singers. Two members of the horn section are professors, one from Georgia Tech and the other from a University in Texas. They spend each summer vacation traveling with the Large Band. Lyle features each musician at least once or twice and tells a bit about each one, whom they have played with, and where they met. It seems that most of these musicians have played with Lyle on his tours for years and years. From June 1 to August 31, they play fifty-six shows across the country. 

If they are ever in your neck of the woods, make it a point to see them.

I stitched this piece “Beach Please” by Kathy Habermann of Hands on Design last month. I modified the size of the piece and left off the words. I mounted it on this small blackboard easel with a narrow shelf on which I placed small shells and beach glass.

Wool Applique Alert!!! If you enjoy wool applique, do check out the Pumpkin Village Mystery Stitch - A-Long. You can get information at The Woolen Needle. Each Monday from July 31 - October 29, you may download a free block pattern. Each shop will offer kits and corresponding threads for sale. I should be able to complete this project from my own healthy wool stash. Warning! Wool applique may become highly addictive . . . great fun but highly addictive!!!  

My friends Cathy, Marilyn, and I recently went to lunch to celebrate our birthdays; Cathy and I are July babies and Marilyn’s birthday is this month. We have been friends since we were little girls and no, I’m not saying how many years that has been. :-()

Finally, I thought you might get a kick out of this photo.

These turkeys had thought it would be pleasant to take a stroll in my backyard. Emma took exception to this and set off barking and charging. With a whole lot of squawking and flapping of wings, the turkeys flew up into the tree instead. :-)

Okay, that’s all for now, have a wonderful week.

But wait! There’s more!!! When I write a post, I usually let it sit for at least an hour or so in hopes that when I come back to proofread it again, I will magically spot any silly errors. (Proofreading is tough. I can read and reread something and then much later spot a misplaced modifier, a wrong verb tense, or heaven forbid a punctuation error.  Worst of all, I sometimes leave out a word. 🥴) Anyway, all the time my post has been sitting here, I could not get the word “squawk”  off my mind. What kind of word is it? Where did it come from? Now, in the one in ten million chance that you, too, might also be wondering about this word, let me show you what I found on Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary.

Why did it become slang in the US around 1945? Another site referenced the “squawking” of the radios in the planes flown during the second World War. There you have it. I don’t know about you, but I feel better knowing how this word came about. :-)

 Bye! (For real, this time . . . )

Rain, Humidity, Heat . . . Repeat!!!

 Rain, humidity, heat . . . repeat! Rain, humidity, heat. . . repeat! Add to this the smokey skies caused by the wildfires raging across Canada and it has been quite a summer so far. There are dangerous heatwaves affecting a third of our country and also across Europe. 

It has not been possible to do much work in my garden, but there are a few bright spots including coneflowers which are one of my favorite flowers. 

Here’s another equally lovely bee. ;-)

This glorious bee needle minder is attached to one of the pieces on which I am currently working. I had purchased this needle minder from Mini Minders on Etsy. Everything about cross stitching is fun. Projects are kept in fun, themed bags and many cross stitchers have far more coordinating needle minders than they could possibly ever need. :-(). 

I cross stitch in hand or use a Q-snap. Recently, I have begun using Nurge hoops like the one pictured above, and they are great. They are easy to hold, provide a larger stitching surface, and do not leave hoop marks.

Who Knew?????

When a friend moved, I took home a snake plant that was not making the move to her new home. I knew little about these plants, which go by a number of  names, other than the fact that they are an easy plant to grow. It has enjoyed life on my sunporch. Here’s the interesting part. . . a week or so ago, I noticed a small stalk emerging. It grew and grew and grew and then this happened!!!

Who knew!!!

Keep cool and have a fun, interesting week. :-)

Patriotic Cross Stitch and “The Dial of Destiny”

In my previous post, I urged you not to be afraid to go in close with your camera phone.  Here’s an image that I took simply by going in close with my iPhone. My daylilies are in bloom! They are beautiful, but I sure wish that in spite of their name the individual blossoms lasted longer than a day.

It has been a hot minute since my last post, and I’m blaming my lack of posts on the heat and humidity alternating with the rain we have been having. I simply haven’t been doing much. I’m not complaining about the weather, mind you, as other parts of the country have been dealing with horrendous heat and storms. All things considered, I’m happy to live here with our New England weather. 

Patriotic Cross Stitch . . . 

I have added three new pieces to my July 4th patriotic display which I will leave up until the end of the month. They are: “Old Glory” by Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks, 4th of July Bird by Heart in Hand, and “Stars and Stripes Street #1 by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives.

This flag themed wood display was purchased from Paisleys and Polka Dots . As I have mentioned in other posts, the precut pieces arrive unfinished. You provide the paint and then glue it all together. It’s easy and fun to do. I mounted the cross stitch piece on an acid free thin board and put it on another board covered with the red fabric. I would normally then use magnets to attach the cross stitch, but since I will not be switching this piece out, I simply used Ailene’s glue to attach it. 

I still have a few other small patriotic pieces that I have yet to fully finish.

So what have I been up to lately? Well, I celebrated my birthday last Sunday with a visit from my cousin Kristin and her girls. They had stopped at Tony’s on Wollaston Beach to pick up lobster rolls. YUM!!! (Note: Tony’s is the best place around to get a lobster roll.) Kristin, her girls, and I regularly went for a “Ladies Lunch” when the girls had an early dismissal from school one day each month. Those sweet,  precious little girls are now fourteen and seventeen and still sweet and precious. :-)

Yesterday we had a family July Birthday Cookout. Four of us have birthdays this month. We had a great time and the weather was perfect.

Finally, on Saturday I saw the fifth and supposedly final Indiana Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny. As the title suggests, it involves finding a legendary artifact which could alter the course of history. It had all the expected elements: adventure, danger, exotic locations, and a ‘forty year old’ Harrison Ford which was the most amazing part. How did they accomplish that? There are many articles online explaining how this was done and it is beyond amazing. Besides that, while watching the movie  I kept wondering how are they able to makes these complicated action/adventure films? I googled it later and discovered the possible answer. Start with Disney and Lucasfilm and add 300 million!!! So, should you see this film? If you have liked the other four Indiana Jones movies, I’m sure you will enjoy this one as well.

Have an exciting, adventurous week. ;-)

Phone Photo Tips and Keeping Busy

Yesterday afternoon I made a quick run to Staples to get ink. My printer is old, and unfortunately they only had a black cartridge in stock. Leaving the store I glanced up to see this impressive sky. I snapped this image with my iPhone.

Photos taken with my iPhone never fail to amaze me. My tip: don’t be afraid to move in close. For example, start by taking an overall shot.

Then maybe shoot from a different angle.

Move in for a closer image.

Then go in still closer. With my iPhone, I simply use two fingers to pinch the center of the image then move your fingers apart to zero in on the center of the flower. 

We had a bit of rain off and on on Saturday which allowed me to photograph raindrops on this ruby throated hibiscus.

Straight on . . . 

From an angle . . .

Going in still closer to capture this lovely image.

What else have I been up to? I’ve been prepping the 269 pieces of wool applique for my current project. Did I just write 269 pieces??? Yes!!! Heaven help me! (Some of the pieces are teenie tiny.)

My friend Edith and I headed down to West Dennis on Thursday to visit Cape Cod Quilts and Cottages. The owners have decided to close their lovely quilt shop. Currently, all purchases made with cash are 40% off and purchases made with a credit card are 30% off. Yes, I broke my resolution not to buy any new fabric. They are no longer offering online sales. They still had lots of fabric to choose from, but if interested, call first to be sure the shop is still open. We also stopped at Quilt Corner Studio in Sandwich. It was my first time visiting this shop, and I didn’t leave empty handed. :-)

Besides my wool applique project, I’ve been trying to “fully finish” some stitched cross stitch pieces which should be ready to show in my next post.  I’m thinking that I may use one of the fabrics that I purchased last week to make a fun summer bag.

Our hot and humid weather has precluded much gardening, and since this weather will continue for the next few days, I should be able to get some “stitching things” accomplished.

One more thing . . . my friend Kathy invited friends for a game night. Well, actually it was from 4:00 to 8:00. Her mom who turns 101 in July joined us. She is fun, sharp as a tack, and simply incredible!!!

Keep cool and have a great week.

“Farm Fresh Berries, “ Crosstown Quilters Guild, Casablanca, and Emma, Too!

Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives always designs fun, colorful cross stitch pieces, and I couldn’t resist stitching her “Farm Fresh Berries” for my kitchen tiered tray display. This stitching was fully finished on a wood piece from Paisley and Polka Dots. As mentioned in previous posts, the wood pieces in their kits arrive unfinished. You paint all the individual parts and then glue them together. You provide your own paint and glue. I buy small bottles of acrylic paint and use Ailene’s Tacky Glue to assemble the parts.

Yesterday was the last guild meeting of the Crosstown Quilters before our summer break. It was great fun. During Show and Tell, my friend Laurel showed this lovely quilt which she had worked on during the pandemic. 

[An oops update: Laurel emailed me to point out that the posted image was upside down. Oops!!! Here it is right side up. :-). ]

Mary D. showed her gorgeous Kaffe quilt.

A highlight of the meeting was the gifting of a Bruins inspired quilt to Tim who sets things up for our meetings at the Pond Plain Improvement Hall.  He is a diehard Bruins fan, and he seemed thrilled to receive this special quilt which was designed by our guild president Nancy H. I forgot to ask if I could post a photo, but trust me, it turned out great!!!

Back in March, I attended a screening of Casablanca at the Randolph Cinema. Though I have seen this film many times through the years on my TV, seeing it on the big screen was a whole new, amazing experience. If you love Casablanca or, indeed, films in general, I have a recommendation for you. Go to Youtube and search for “Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic.” It is a brilliant, thirty-five minute documentary from Warner Bros. Entertainment that examines the making of this film and its lasting impact. I guarantee you will find this documentary fascinating and well worth your time.  

For Emma fans . . . Here she is after a visit to the groomer this afternoon. Emma humors me for a few minutes, so I can pose her in front of my flowers. :-)

That’s it for today. Enjoy the rest of the week, and be sure to check out,  “Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic.”

Hingham Shipyard, Air Quality Concerns, and Wool Applique Wednesday

This morning I had an appointment at the Hingham Shipyard. For those not from this area, the shipyard today is a place with shops, restaurants, medical offices, apartments and condos. Around the area are signs and photos telling the role of this shipyard between 1942 and 1945. During those three years, 227 ships were built for the Allied War effort.

Today pleasure crafts fill the harbor.

 I only took a short walk after my appointment as we have been receiving air quality warnings. Our air here in Massachusetts seems better than yesterday, though when I returned home I stayed inside. As an asthmatic, I didn’t want to take any chances. For the last few days our sky had been grey, and you were able to smell the smoke from the fires up North.

This poor air quality is caused by four hundred wildfires raging across Canada. The air quality alerts have been issued along the East Coast all the way down to North Carolina. The images from New York on the national news this evening were frightening with the whole city blanketed in an orange smog.

It’s what I call Wool Applique Wednesday  so I broke out a kit that I had purchased a year or two ago. It’s a large piece, and I have been planning to get going on it. There were forty-two pieces of wool in the package. That didn’t worry me, but then I took a look at the pattern which has at least a zillion pieces!!!!!!!! What was I thinking????? Undaunted, I plan to start working on it tomorrow. Wish me luck ;-).

Flower Market FFO, Bunnies, and a Change in the Weather

We have had the most glorious spring weather for the last two weeks. The temperatures even reached ninety on both Thursday and Friday, but by late afternoon Friday, a cold front moved in along with lots of rain. By Saturday morning, the temperature had dropped forty degrees! Yes, we have traded May weather for March weather! Between the cold and the rain, there has been no gardening getting done. You won’t hear me complain as we had such a wonderful stretch of weather. I’m hoping that the rain heads north to Nova  Scotia to help put out their raging wildfires.

Wednesday was a beautiful day. I went to lunch with a group of friends and then back to a friend’s home for dessert. Fourteen lovely ladies, all former teachers, were present. In the evening, I went to another friend’s home for dinner. Yes, indeed, it was a fun doubleheader kind of day.

Last year, we had chipmunks everywhere; I haven’t seen any this year. There are, however, rabbits all over the place. Tuesday night I looked around before letting Emma out. As she dashed out to begin her backyard perimeter check, I spotted bunny ears sticking up from my small garden. Oh, no!!! I dashed out and succeeded in getting Emma back inside. I grabbed my phone and took this photo. The rabbits will freeze in place if not being actively pursued. I watered a few hanging pots and then spotted him/her in the front of my large garden. Obviously, he/she wanted to check out my pretty, new hydrangea.

 

I also took a moment to capture this lovely, blue iris. When I sold my aunts’ home many years ago, I made sure to bring home a clump of these pretty irises.

Now, continuing the flower theme, at the top of this post is Flower Market, a design by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives. It was finished on a house display piece from Paisley and Polka Dots. I don’t love painting all the tiny pieces, but I sure do love how it turned out. I was working on another finishing piece today that I will show in my next post; it’s too cute for words.

That’s it for now. Dodge the raindrops and keep warm. (It’s June 5th, and I turned the heat on twice today!!!) 

Have a happy, creative week.