Off Track

I got off track yesterday.  Yes I got my two ornaments wood carved and made the ornament list for 2020...so I can check them off one by one.  I painted a few ornaments after wood burning names and dates on them....I may paint them differently..still pondering that.  I need a small paint booth and Far Guy is helping me with that.

It was very warm in the late afternoon, I came in from outside and started watching some old episodes of Little House on the Prairie...Christmas episodes...well that got me thinking about the Christmas Card for this year.  It needed to be  stamped...it is a tri fold design so it has four stamps.  This is a sneak peek at one side...it will be colored and glittered and the blank part of this side will be cut away to help reveal the other stamped parts.

Well the Misti that I bought last winter sure came in handy...it stamps in the same exact place every time (it is idiot proof)...I did  7 or 8 to begin with...it will give me something to color.  I must find a Christmas Box to put these in...since I am a box hoarder that should not be a problem! Major production on the cards will begin some day...I need more watercolor paper and a thinner bone folder.

I had a stamp I had never tried...so I had to try that one too!  Sheaves of wheat and a pumpkin and some vines...very fallish.

I missed nap time...before I knew it ...it was time to pack up my stuff and clear it off the table for supper....our garden lettuce and  a freezer meal...a Chicken Enchilada for Far Guy and a Vegetable/Hamburger Hotdish for me.   That was the last of the Chicken Enchiladas...so one cooler day I will make up another pan...cook once and eat several times!

Far Side

Unexpected gifts

I got  a box from Wyoming!  Always fun to get something unexpected!!

Long time blogging friend Nancy mailed me a hanging kitchen towel and two dishrags!  Thank you so much! Nancy is a marvelous crafter...she knits and quilts...mostly Quilts of Valor for Veterans.

We got a text message yesterday afternoon inviting us to a social distancing supper with friends.   We ate outside on their back deck... that overlooks their pasture.  It was a perfect evening to be outside. We enjoyed brats and lettuce greens from their garden and some delicious rhubarb kuchen.

We even got in some dog time!

Buddy was happy to see us too!
Far Side

Small stuff

The smaller Milkweed is blooming. 

I believe this is Asclepias ovalifolia or Oval leafed Milkweed...it is one of the first Milkweeds to bloom.   I saw some Monarch Butterflies...and will go check for eggs soon...the Common Milkweed was in bud.   Its thick leaves have lots of food for larvae.  Milkweed is a host plant for the Monarch larvae.   The eggs laid on the leaves begin as tiny tiny black balls.

I mowed most of our lawn before it rained just enough tiny drops to be called rain.

Scrumbles...that is what the small pieces are called in freeform crochet..  I am watching some videos...it is all very interesting.

I have finished with phase one and two of the milk can project.  Jen turned up her nose and gagged when she encountered the project last weekend.  Phase three is almost done and then phase four can begin...then maybe even phase five...then six...it will take me all summer.  I am still not certain I can do it all...but I am giving it a whirl!

I did not wood carve yesterday...I am behind on my goal of two ornaments a day.  Thinking I will woodburn the names and date on these ornaments...I can do that outside...before I paint them...I have to do a sample.

I tell you what...if I didn't have lots of projects in the works during this isolation...I am certain I would go nuts or worse yet drive someone else nuts!

Far Side

Just one

Just one Lupine bloomed this year.  Here in Minnesota at least in our wild gardens the Lupines can die out from the frost heaves during the winter or freeze in early spring...I have see a number of seedlings in early spring and then a freeze will take them out.

So we appreciate this bloom ever so much as it was the only one!

We had a quiet Sunday, we listened to church, we carved on the Christmas Ornaments and I took care of some weeds.  I did some laundry and in the late afternoon I watched Ride like A Girl on Netflix...a wonderful show I enjoyed very much...I give it a 9 out of 10 stars...my kind of show!

I crocheted for awhile, I have several projects going at once...which for me is not always a good thing especially if I am watching TV and they all use different stitches...sometimes my fingers don't get the correct message from my brain.

Far Guy made supper;  BLT's fruit and potato salad.

Last winter when I was checking out the canned goods in the pantry apparently I missed a can of sauerkraut...who knew that just one can could go that bad and mess up a shelf and be so smelly.  I checked the expiration date...2011...that was certainly on the shelf for more that one pantry clean up.

Far Side

Fun Day

We had a fun 4th of July.  Jen and Andy brought lunch and the dogs...we had some really good quality time with Miss Miney and Little Elvis when Jen and Andy went down to the lake. (the dogs kept me company during my nap)

When they returned they had  Grandson Noah and his gal with them...we ate supper together out on the patio before everyone headed home.  It was good to catch up with Noah!

Good thing I made that potato salad!  We also enjoyed hot dogs and fruit...yes the kids even brought a watermelon!

It was a very warm day here.  87 F or 31 C eh!  Thank goodness for Air Conditioning!
 It was so good to see family! 
Far Side

July 4

I cooked up some eggs and potatoes to make potato salad...what is the 4th of July without it...and watermelon?  I put watermelon on the list for pick up next week better late than never!

The wreath outside the door.

There will be a fireworks display...not sure we will go to the edge of town and watch.  We heard fireworks over on the lake for a few nights now. My first reaction is where is the dog...old habits die hard. 

Years ago old neighbor Paul and Kay had a cannon and they would shoot that thing off and stir up the whole neighborhood.

 No parades locally this year...there may be a floating parade down on the lake...some years they have it and some years not.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
Far Side

A New View and Possibilities

My baby brother has a drone... he was over here playing with it.  He got a great photo of the lake.

Ah the possibilities...

We had a busy Thursday.  Far Guy had to wait quite a while at the Infusion Center.  I ran the usual errands ...curbside pick up at the grocery store, then Drive Thru at the bank and a stop by the mail drop off box. To the gas station to buy our monthly gasoline.   I went to a different grocery store and picked up what has not been available at the other grocery store.  I wore my mask, disinfected as I went and stayed six feet away from everyone. What fun it was to pick out some more fruit!

It was too warm to disinfect everything before putting it in the car so I did that at home.  By the time I washed all the fruit it was time to put my feet up and rest crochet a bit.

I am working on a new crochet pattern...my own design.  I think it will be a keeper...not sure yet.  I know what I want it to look like...

 It is not freeform crochet but that is an art form I am thinking of trying...think using a yarn and a crochet hook like paint and paintbrush.  I saw some beautiful works of wearable art...and I have yarn...and more squishy mail will come next week....possibilities are endless when you have a real good yarn stash.

We are having quite a heat/humidity wave.  It was 87 F or 31 C eh and the humidity was about 80%.

Far Side

Red Winged Blackbird

This Red Winged Blackbird is real bossy.  He lives near my baby brothers dock on the lake.  HIS DOCK.

His job must not be done.

What do you suppose he is telling the fledgling?  Hurry up grow and fly?  Watch how I dive bomb the idiots on my dock!

The lake was quiet the night we went down to sit on the dock. ...the Red Winged Blackbird not so much

 The days have been quite warm and the humidity high.  It is summer after all.
Far Side

Adam and his gal

Our youngest Grandson Adam stopped by with his girlfriend Molly.  We  met Molly before via Facetime but it was nice to meet her in person.  We sat out on the patio and visited ...social distancing of course. 

Adam is having a busy summer working as a Prep Cook.

His report:  he likes the new house just fine, his room is spacious but warm...a new Air Conditioning System is being installed soon.  He and his parents moved June 12 and have totally gutted the kitchen, replumbed, rewired and relocated everything in the kitchen.

 Miney and Elvis are doing okay with the move....Miney can even go upstairs by herself....not down...Miney turned 15 years old last week.

He has taken up woodcarving as a hobby and is carving something for Molly.

We had a good visit.  Sure was nice of them to stop by!
Far Side

June 29 Bear

It is late in the season for us to have a bear.   However no one told the bear that.
He visited our bird feeders in the night time.  Our trail cam did not capture him...sadly we have no photos of him...just what he did to the feeders.

He didn't even step in my flowers.  What a considerate bear.  He drank all the water out of the bird bath.

He left his calling card.

We restored order to all the feeders that could be repaired.  We are leaving one bird feeder out the rest have been collected for overnight.  Far Guy wants to see a photo of him so the trail cam was moved.

I mowed for several hours in the neighborhood and I am glad to be done with mowing for a few days.  Far Guy cut down the Wild Roses and I mowed over the top of them.  They will come back...or not.
Far Side

Summertime Sunday

We listened to church in the morning.

 I did some laundry and then headed out to mow.  Far Guy played Lumberjack cutting down some small trees that were leaning way to far into the wild gardens.  We had some huge thistle in the middle of the wild gardens so I waded in and sprayed the buggers. I wear fancy smancy red rubber boots when I mow...they are easily washed off with a hose and my feet and lower legs are protected from dust and poison ivy.  ( Have I mentioned that I hate Poison Ivy?  I will be spraying again sometime this week when it isn't windy!)

Our lawn was mowed and I headed over to my other baby brothers to mow.  It was quite warm when I finished.
After cooling off a bit I harvested another batch of lettuce that we enjoyed with our supper...lettuce salad, pork burgers with no buns and air fried potatoes was the menu.

After supper I went to my baby brothers lake place and took care of some thistle and weeds on his patio.

 I put up the 4th of July flags but did not take a photo.  The wreath outside the door will be decorated tomorrow after another few hours of mowing.   I also have some shrubs/small trees that need trimming.

The Wild Rose bush did not produce many blooms this year.  I think I will cut it all down and let them come back nice and strong.  It is called rejuvenation!

Over the weekend I watched a movie on Netflix called  Change in the air  ...has anyone else watched it?  I am not sure why I am still thinking about that movie...maybe because it has an older cast?   I give it a 8 out of 10 starts.  For fun I watched The Floor is Lava...interesting show I give that a 7 out of 10...pure entertainment with some sick jokes.

Far Side

Great Grands

We got to meet Cee Cee yesterday, she and  her brother Hey Mikey and of course their parents are visiting up North for the weekend.  ( They live in the UP of Michigan)

It was our first in person but social distancing view of Cee Cee, she was born March 10 so she is three months and two weeks old now. 

She has her Moms hair and at this point looks much like her Daddy.

It was so fun to meet her, I wish we could have held her and given her kisses and snuggled her close. 

At least we got to see her!  I am grateful for that! 

Hey Mikey is three years and one month old now.  He is a busy boy.

He was burning off some energy with his truck. 

Then he spotted a dandy gone to seed. 

His hair is getting very curly.  His eyes remind us of his Aunt Savannah when she was his age. 

It was great fun seeing these special little ones. 

Far Side

A thing of beauty

I splurged and purchased a juicer steamer. It steams berries and separates out the juice.

It is a thing of beauty.  It has three parts...top part is for the berries, the middle collects the juice and the bottom is for the water...juice is siphoned off with the hose from the middle part.  No more pillowcases or cheese cloths hanging and dripping in the kitchen.  We will use it mainly for chokecherries.  Possibly for raspberries too! The jelly from this juicer steamer should be beautiful!

 The chokecherries are going to have a bumper crop this year.  The tall shrubs/small trees are filled with tiny green berries that will be ripe the first part of August.

Chokecherries in bloom earlier this year...every itty bitty flower has the potential to be a berry.

The berries are forming nicely  June 26 2020

Far Side

Daisies

The Daisies are in full bloom in the Wild Gardens.

I really enjoy these cheerful little blooms. 

Grocery pick up and town was uneventful.  Still lots of people without masks.

Groceries were disinfected in the cart and then put in our vehicle.  We were still missing items...potatoes and oranges...how in the world can you be out of potatoes and oranges?  I think the personal shopper has brain farts. 

They moved the Covid testing trailer to the center of the parking lot at the clinic.  Far Guy reports that there were many more people in the clinic. 

I needed some supplies in a local farm store, some people were wearing masks others not so much.  I disinfected stuff as it went into my cart but then the cashier contaminated everything when she checked me out...that stuff will sit in the garage for a number of days until I use it. 

We were both feeling tired after our adventure away from home...I did some laundry and had a nap.  Far Guy did some weed trimming and pulled out some small seedling trees near my garage before he had a nap. 

My Doctor changed my blood pressure medication. It is making me sleepy and I take it at night.  My old med that worked real well was made in China...and there are no supplies of it in the United States....my theory is that it is the cure for Covid 19 that is why their numbers of deaths are down and I cannot get my BP med which was a angiotensin II receptor antagonist.

Far Side

Road West

The road a mile west of us is  under construction.  We took a tour last weekend...just to see what was going on.  No one was working.

 an old corner

All the corners will be different and the road a bit taller so the snow blows off.

Last year my cousins construction company worked on the first four miles this time he was outbid on the five miles. 

Downtown Ponsford progress can be messy!

We are going east now to recycle instead of west.  We had been using the recycle bins just beyond the Firehall (the red building on the left).

Yesterday was another quiet day.  I worked on my milk can project.  I sprayed some weeds in and around the greenhouse/workshop.  I angered many ants near the sauna and in the wild gardens.  I sprayed Poison Ivy around the perimeter of the lawn.  I carved two Christmas Ornaments...Far Guy woodcarved and used that new trimmer to trim around trees and buildings! 

Far Side

Tuesday Times

More of the same at our house.  I sprayed yet more Poison Ivy in the morning when the wind was calm.  After that I joined Far Guy in his wood carving office on the patio.

I carved two ornaments...Far Guy carved more than that.  He has his phone and a speaker for his music and coffee...so he was all set.  He talked to his sister on the phone for a while. She is scheduled for a big surgery in early July as she is fighting Breast Cancer....she has completed two different rounds of chemo.

My latest shawl.

It can be worn many different ways.  I like this pattern, the yarn and the way it drapes.   This shawl made it to the shawl box but I have someone special in mind for it...someday.

In the evening I watered plants, cleaned out and filled bird baths and worked on the milk can project.  Far Guy ordered a new weed whacker...our last one would work about three minutes and then the battery would have to be charged...a new battery was almost as much as a new weed whacker. The new one works marvelously!  In a few days we will have the trimming all caught up with.  I can only walk around so many trees before I get dizzy!

The days seem to be going by faster and faster.
Far Side

Summer stuff

Now that summer is officially here.  The lettuce harvest has begun.

Far Guy's garden; pear tomato plants and lettuce.  So far the deer and the rabbits have left it alone.

I harvested about half of the lettuce and will get the other half in a few days.  Then it will regrow a bit, we will see how it goes...I have more seed to replant.

We enjoyed it, it has so much more flavor than store bought lettuce.  I am thankful that I have a salad spinner as it really helps with the washing of the lettuce!

Our days are pretty much same old same old.  We wood carve on the Christmas Ornaments, and do household chores.  Yesterday I sprayed some Poison Ivy...it is what I do for fun.  It grew gang busters after the last couple of rains.  I worked on the big sort upstairs...and worked on the milk can project...it all keeps me out of trouble.  I am watching Alone: The Arctic on Netflix and I am really enjoying it!

Far Side

Lady's Slippers

The Minnesota State flower is in full bloom.  We went for a ride to see a spot where the ditch was full of the beauties.

They always bloom around Father's Day.

Such beauty alongside the road.  These plants are native to Minnesota.

Back at home we have three Yellow Lady's Slippers blooming along the driveway. 

There are three blooms so far this year.  We have marked the spot with pink flags and are trying to keep the brush and the Poison Ivy under control in their area.  Far Guy clipped back all the brush with his long handled clipper.

Far Side

Happy Father's Day!

It is a great day to celebrate our Fathers and all men we know who are great Fathers!

Far Guy and his Father in 1950

My Father and I  June 6 1953

Happy Father's Day! 

Far Side

Friday happenings

The fifth shawl using Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball was completed and blocked. 
I am glad to be done with this color...it is pretty but five was enough.  Why did I buy five...it was on sale that way!

I used a different pattern for this one.

This crochet pattern is called Teterboro Shawl.

The back of the shawl.  I  do like how the colors flowed.  This pattern is suitable for a small person.

Far Guy asked me one day "What will you do with all the shawls?"  I have given two away.  Those that I don't give away will go to the prayer shawl ministry at the church or to the Nursing Home after all this Covid crap is history.

I have one shawl in the works and one is being blocked in preparation for it's photo shoot.  I crochet at night putting my feet up and watching a bit of TV...sometimes I only get a row or two done before I get sleepy.

We had a busy Friday.  I mowed for a couple of hours.  The ticks are active...I had one crawling on my arm and I wear a long sleeved shirt!  He probably fell out of my hair!  ( Yes I washed my hair right after that discovery!)

Friday evening we had a social distancing get together for my Dad for Father's Day.  My sister bought Bingo cards and we had Bingo for him.  We all spread out up at my brothers shop....it was fun! Dad bingoed on the last game!

Bingo at the American Legion started up again this past week.  Dad wasn't real excited to go...my baby brother was going to take him...but they decided to wait a little while longer.  I will not go until it is safe to do so. 

Far Side