Stormy Weather!

We woke today to tornado watches and warnings in our area. It's blowing through right now. I've done a lot of yard work lately, so I don't feel bad about staying indoors today and sipping something warm. 

 Somehow I've reverted to being a coffee drinker again. I've discovered some very yummy, locally-roasted Costa Rican coffee, and I can't resist. I might need to go make another cup this minute!
Toast and apricot jam for breakfast:

 We have the strangest shortages during C-19 times! Yeast is in short supply, so Adam decided to make a sour dough starter. He used some honey from beekeeping friends. It was bubbling and growing this morning!

 Now here's a tale. Adam and I watched all episodes of a delightful, sweet show called "The Repair Shop," not a drama, but a fix-it show with experts in repairing all manner of dearly-loved heirlooms that people can't bear to part with, even in their broken states. Two ladies on the show are expert stuffed animal repairers. I pondered my very-loved childhood friend, Doggy. I love him so.

 Last week I did the seasonal-clothing-swap, digging into the bottom of my trunk where Doggy has lived for lo these many years. I always take him out and give him a good hug, and return him to the trunk bottom when I'm done sorting clothes. I put him on the couch so he could watch the clothing swap and get a look at the big world. And ... I forgot to put him in again. I closed up the trunk at last, done with the labor, and then saw him, sitting on the couch. I didn't want to open it again. "Maybe there's a reason I forgot to put him in," I thought.
He has a ratty spot on his side and sheds his stuffing.

 His stubby tail is a mess.

 His ears, once lined in polka-dotted fabric, are tattered. I used to hide secret notes to myself inside his ears!

 But his sweet, calm face! It was a constant calming reassurance in childhood and even adolescence. 

 Maybe I could try to repair him, now that I've watched how the ladies do it? I would so love to have him sleep with me in the bed again -- I know that is very silly, but it's true. The older I get, the more of a little girl I'm becoming.

Speaking of very sweet faces, Anna sent me a couple of photos from Easter. Hello, Isaac!

 He's eating an apple core.

 I joined a Facebook group called "The Golden Age of Illustration," dedicated to beautiful illustrators from about 1830 to 1980. I love Jill Barklem's work:

 And Arnold Lobel's work in Miss Suzy by Miriam Young.

i almost forgot! If you want to see what we've been doing on our property, click here and go over to my farm blog. 

I think I'll go make that cup of coffee and look out the window at the coming storm. The trees, grass and shrubs are that bright but hazy green because the air is strange. Earlier it looked like The Wizard of Oz, as Dorothy feels the cyclone coming. Hopefully, no cyclones here! Stay safe and well, friends!