I've Been Remiss --

 It's certainly time for a blog post! We've been busy, and I'm sorry to say much of it has been the drudgery of doctor appointments. However, we are so thankful for healthcare, aren't we?

This stunning sunrise greeted me one morning ... Sunday, I think. No one else was awake; no one drove by on the road.

Adam and I are trying hard to be healthier. His health is very complicated with so, so many medications with various side effects. It's nearly a part-time job to keep up with his health, poor fellow! Diet plays a big part.

I'm eating his healthy, nuts-and-bolts bread for breakfast, farm-fresh eggs, and avocado. Pretty yummy!

He made this for lunch: red pepper stuffed with chicken and Mexican rice, and a kale salad.

And this: "sliders" (mini-burgers) and that same Mexican rice. The burgers are steamed over a bed of sauteed onions, topped with cheese, and then a smear of mustard.

Here's a recent photo of adorable Ellie Kate, our newest grandbaby!

I know!! Those EYES!

I'm painting quite a lot. Roses:

Apple blossoms:

Finally I am cracking and picking the pecans I gathered in the fall. They needed to cure, but it's past time to get them into the freezer!

Adam and I spent several good mornings in the veggie garden, which I had rather given up as a lost cause. We did no weeding last summer ... and you can just imagine the carnage! But he is ready to get back outside and gradually build some stamina. Together we cleared the strawberry bed, put in new (well, transplanted from elsewhere) strawberry plants (lots of them!), cleared the asparagus bed, cleared the bed for sweet peas and lettuce. That was a huge start. I wish I had a photo! I would go TAKE a photo for you, but it's raining steadily outside and has been doing so all day and last night. This is a blessing; we've been quite dry, and all those new plants need moisture. 

I'm so very busy with my little side business -- making soaps, shampoo bars, painting cards, filling and mailing orders, contacting customers. I desperately want to get back to spinning and weaving, but there's no time (yet). I am still knitting that slow blanket.

Not very elegant looking! This is just the first row. We'll see if it looks pretty ... or looks jakey! At least it keeps my hands busy.

Let me see if there are any new youtube videos to share ...

This was a lovely day trip with two friends:

This is more soap-making:

And this is just an ordinary day of various little activities. Not sure why I thought that would interest viewers!

Much love to all of you in blog land. Stay healthy, stay hopeful, and I'll give you the MOST helpful advice I've heard in several years: Go get a therapist if you need one! It's past time for anybody to be embarrassed about going to a therapist, like we used to be embarrassed about going to the gynecologist 40 years ago. We must all attend to our mental health, and as with all health, sometimes we need a little professional help. That's my pitch for the day 😀

Home Comforts

 Adam missed me when I was gone. He keeps telling me so. He makes me delicious brown bread for my breakfast toast.

For lunch he made tortellini and Kaiser buns.

I, in turn, mended his favorite mask by shortening the elastics.

I packaged some lavender soap today too.

We have daffodils blooming now -- hooray! I look forward to this each year, a true start of spring and all the new, fresh beginnings for all of us.

Adam is weeding out parts of our veggie garden, starting with the strawberry bed. There ARE strawberry plants in there, I promise! About ten of them. 

He's also working on the asparagus bed, and then will clear out my pea bed. Lettuce will go next to the strawberries. It's a struggle because he's been pretty inactive since last spring, while he was ill. He is still having some health issues -- medication and peripheral issues -- but he wants to get back outside.

I've started a long knitting project, a blanket. The pattern is called a "mitered square" blanket. I found it at a youtube channel that I like, and thought, "I can do that!" I'll share more about it in a youtube video soon, but here it is so far:

My sprained knee is much better, and life is stumbling along as usual -- I won't pretend that it's all easy sailing! But we are getting along, just like you are, I hope. 😀  Adam is a lobbyist/advocate volunteer for people with Rare Diseases in North Carolina right now, and he hears about the most harrowing illnesses that some people have, much worse than his own. It is a reminder to be thankful for each normal day, no matter how many things go wrong. 

Ah, pancakes. Those are strawberries from our garden last summer, frozen all through the pandemic. They slept peacefully in the deep freeze and came out for this delicious appearance, haha.

Tomorrow I go off for a day jaunt with two friends to a rural area renowned for good bird-watching. Mostly, it'll be a fun day out with two ladies I enjoy very much. I'll tell you about it next time!

I'll end with some cards I painted in recent days, and maybe a youtube link or two to my latest videos. Thanks for coming by for a chat, friend. Take care of yourself.

In which I admit to making a daunting To-Do List:

In which I tackle Item #1 on that list!

Far Away From Home

 I'm over here, a stone's throw from the Mississippi River. Mississippi feels vaguely familiar still - a memory of a home -- but it's not home anymore. Still, I'm enjoying my time here so much. The pandemic makes it so that I pretty much stay in the house, a comfortable place for us introverts. 

On my way to Mississippi, I stopped in Tennessee to see another sweet grandbaby boy who I had not yet seen (because of the pandemic). I spent a whole DAY with him myself, and what a dear, precious blessing he is. This is John:

He is just as sweet and even-tempered as he can be. Don't you love that little shirt they bought for him? (MELT....)

Anna had her baby this weekend, little Ellie Kate. We are all pleased as punch! She has a head full of very dark brown hair like her mommy did all those years ago. She needed a little extra time in the nursery at first, but is coming along nicely. Right now I'm at home with Isaac by myself because Gramm is not allowed to go in-and-out at the hospital, of course. Covid makes everything just that little bit more difficult!

I've been cooking like mad, and I'll throw those photos in here somewhere. I spend hours playing with Isaac, or watching him entertain himself with his toys, which he is masterful at. He's a good sleeper, a good eater, a good player, a generally happy little boy -- just like John! I'm so thankful to have this time with them, real one-on-one time. They won't remember this particular visit, but it still goes into the whole pot of soup that will be our relationship. They will remember me each time they sees me, and at some point they won't remember life without me. Isn't it supposed to be thus, with a grandmother?

We've gone on several walks with Isaac. (I walk; he's in the stroller.) That always calms him down. He loves the outdoors. He loves objects, handling them, figuring out how they work. He concentrates well. 

I've cooked: beef stew, chicken and dumplings, spaghetti, chicken and rice (twice), Clementine Chicken, chocolate chip cookies, and peanut butter cookies. 

And lest I forget, Anna and Gramm have a gorgeous rag doll cat, Chauncey.

I don't know when I'll go back home. Nanas stay where they are needed 😀 Blessings to all you dear friends out in blog land. Keep heart! Stay safe and keep hope in your hearts.

Pecan Snowball Cookies

I'm putting this recipe in a post so I can find it later and not spend a half hour hunting for it next Christmas! Like other recipes, it will be on the "Cooking" page (see above, on the top bar), with a link back to this post. Phew!

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup toasted and finely chopped pecans

optional: red/green sprinkles

In mixer, beat butter 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of powdered sugar till smooth. Add vanilla. At low speed, add flour. Then on high speed beat in pecans.

Cover tightly and chill for 1 hour, hardening the butter. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Form into balls. Bake 15 minutes till lightly golden. These cookies do not brown much.

Cool for a minute and then roll in additional powdered sugar while still warm. Cool, and then roll again if you prefer.

After sending these cookies to my mother last Christmas, she told me she never wants ANYTHING else for Christmas. These cookies are her heart's desire :) 

To the Dreaded Doctor I Go!

 Well, hello friends! How are you? We are tootling along okay here in our little corner of the planet. But tomorrow ... oh, tomorrow!! Tomorrow will be quite awful. Tomorrow:

Most of you know what that means. And what follows the day after! Adam says a colonoscopy just feels like a very nice nap. I'm hoping!

I wove a scarf using some of my newly handspun yarn! The warp yarn is a store-bought acrylic (for strength under the warp tension), and the weft yarn is homespun.

The little lady below is an treetop Christmas angel. She's very old. A dear friend asked me if I could give her (I'm calling her Angela) a serious make-over, so I started that project today. I'll have a youtube video about that later.

Adam is trying so hard to cook for my health. I'm pre-diabetic. Long-grain brown rice. Lots of fruits, veggies, and lean meats. No more ice cream in the evenings!

For at least one meal each day I eat an assortment of some of these: prunes, crackers/cheese, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, celery with PB, natural applesauce, walnuts, raw carrots. No more sweet drinks or juice. I'm drinking my herbal tea each day.

Here's the blue/pink yarn I spun.

Back before my doctor read me the riot act about my eating habits, back when we were still eating naughty ...

bread pudding and rum sauce for dinner ~

and a pumpkin danish from the bakery in town ~

No more of that!

The other day I was cleaning out an old purse, and I found some items I'd forgotten I'd left in there. One was a very precious thing, a small photo of my brother and me, taken on the seawall steps leading into Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. I was 5 years old.

My mother gave me that short haircut. We lived there for only one year. I think this photo was taken by a couple who babysat Marshall and me for the weekend while my parents traveled somewhere. The steps are still there, just the same.

One more yarn photo. I think it's the prettiest one so far.

If you haven't seen my recent youtube videos, here are a few. Some are longer and chatty, some are shorter. Feel free to fast forward through any boring parts! Spinning is so exciting right now, it's hard for me to do anything else!

This is about making herbal tea:

This is about my brand new spinning wheel that I was able to buy!!

This is a long chatty video about lots of things, but mostly finishing handspun yarn:

Thanks, dear friends. I have lots of various medical things coming up, and will be in and out of blogland 😁 Subscribe to my youtube channel, if you like, and you might see me over there! 

Much love ~

And Now We Are Old People, Going to the Doctors

 I feel like I woke up a couple of months ago and discovered that Adam and I are now people who spend several days each week going to various doctors. How did THAT happen? We have four ... count them, four ... doctor appointments this week. Yikes!

Let me catch you up, since I've been a negligent blogger:

1. Baby chicks are doing well. Growing and now in the orchard with the other birds. And Adam is building a new laying house for them since the other one was literally disintegrating before our eyes. Even the hens were nervous standing on it, and they only weigh a few pounds.

2. I'm spinning! My wheel (as we now know) is a piece of historical rubbish, so I'm borrowing a wheel from a spinning friend ... who are the most lovely friends. And yes, the spinning is going better!

3. We went back to the farmer's market and it was a great day! I'm painting again because I sold cards.

4. Adam is having good and not-so-good days. His immuno-suppressant medication is being increased and his prednisone is being decreased. His body is trying hard to adapt to this.

He's still cooking some yummy food. That's nachos he made a few days ago with some smoky pork roast. He's smoking another one today on the backporch, and that, combined with the cool 70 degree air outside, makes my heart flutter with feelings of fall. Or as the young folk say these days, "I'm feeling all the feels."

Today we're driving to Oriental to meet up with an old college friend I haven't seen in over 35 years. Then ... it's off to the doctors' offices this afternoon. Sigh. 

Here's my latest video of the lovely merino wool roving that came in the mail, and what I did with it!

I'll end with the yarn I just spun this morning. Pom Pom, it makes me think of you and all your pretty yarn for knitting! Have you ever thought of making it yourself?

Much love to you all! ENJOY your fall day, if your day feels like fall.

Maintaining Sanity; Backing Away from Facebook

 Hi, friends. Some of you are much wiser than I am and have long ago backed away from Facebook. Perhaps not deleting your account, but just backing away. I find myself so stressed out lately about conversations there of all types, most of them on other people's pages, not my own. Some about politics, but others about various cultural topics. After yesterday, I just can't take the anxiety load anymore.

Part of the damage is that my anxious mind has difficulty relaxing enough to do things that I really want to do, like reading your blogs! Your nice, peaceful, happy, creative, beautiful blogs -- just the kind of social media that brings peace! Why has it taken me so long to have the courage to back away from Facebook? Well, there are people who I only see there, dear friends, family. So I'll try to check in with them, hope they will private message me. I'll still put my blog posts and watercolors there. But I have to get away from the actual text posts that go off-the-rails so fast.

Granny Marigold mentioned a youtube lady whose channel is called The Last Homely House. She's utterly delightful and creative, and makes many of the same kinds of things I like to make! Go give her a look. This morning I enjoyed watching how to hand-sew small Coptic-stitched books.

Now for a few photos of what's been happening here.

Two new baby chicks, with Henny Penny as their mama.

Four more eggs are being sat upon, but I don't think they're going to produce chicks.

Yesterday I wrapped some cured soap, tea tree bars and lavender bars.

I'll put their stickers and price tags on soon. Planning to return to the farmer's market in September when it's cooler ... if the crowds are manageable.

I've been looking at last year's autumn "Victoria" magazine for pleasure and inspiration.

Adam's still cooking yummy, healthy stuff. He must change his diet for better nutrition for his Pemphigus Vulgaris - lots of leafy greens and vegetables. He made a delicious eggplant dish called Spetzofai, on his homemade bread.

Eggplant, onion, red bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, balsamic vinegar, wine, a bit of sugar

Summer is coming to a close, and with the cooler mornings and evenings, Adam and I want to develop a habit of walking with the dogs. We drove to Oriental to one of our favorite old walks: looking at boats on the docks at a marina.

Below is the "Blue Bayou," which used to be a very fast racing boat. It's in a sad state now. I blogged about it a few years ago. We were amazed that it's still floating. Adam laughed and said he realized while walking past it that the name is a lovely word-play. As a winning racing boat, it could also be spelled, "Blew By You"!

What a sky!

The pair of catamarans below have been anchored out in the Neuse in front of Oriental for a few days. Just chillin'.

Still painting a little. For months I've tried to figure out how to add a watermark to my photos of my watercolors. Finally! -- I found I could do it on my phone! Nothing techy is ever easy for me!

I painted a few pugs. This one looks friendly!

Sunset last night:

That's it for today! I hope you all are well and safe from storms, fire, and pandemics. What a world we are in! And for Facebook friends ... I may return, probably after November, or in the New Year.