Two days off

 but stitched this evening.   And I am quickly falling out of love, or starting a slump snag.  I am considering ending this after Maud's name and turning into a small drum.  Maybe tomorrow will be different, but today feels like a snag.

Temperature was very warm, I worked outside, overdid.  Is that a word?  Lots of moss and weeds around peonies and irises.  Moved the rhizomes to a better spot, edged, added mulch.  Very small area and the only place soil is plantable since sand was dumped there in order to pass a perc test.  I decided to add two perennials and left empty gallon pots where they will go so all I have to do is remove them and plop in the new plant.  That way, I avoid digging a mess later and can spread mulch now.

I couldn't finish the whole area, so pulled a chair from the basement, my most comfy wooden one.  Deep seat for my long legs, perfect curve for back support, writing table attached, enjoyed the breeze and warmth.

Thursday is Carole's again to finish the closet shelves.  Last two attempts were cut short by power outages.

Hope everyone is safe and well.

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April fool

Not funny.

Another Saturday working at Carole's and 70 mph winds sent us to pioneer days again.   Not only her house, but ours and thousands others.  Two layers of sweat clothes needed, no water (we have a well), oil lamps and battery candles. They closed the highway we use, the two roads that offer access to town, and we had a nice ride several times a day to find ice for the coolers.  We are back on now, others waiting until tomorrow.  If it wasn't for the state road needing reopened, we would certainly be in that group.  Workers from across the state were still here from the prior outage which helped tremendously.  I think neighboring Ohio towns, especially Hubbard, were affected just as bad if not worse. 

We tried a new "save the food" method and was surprised that it worked.  The perishables that did not fit in the cooler stayed in the fridge, and we used a 7# ice bag set in a metal roasting pan on the middle shelf.  Purpose was to catch the melting ice but it became essential in actually lowering the fridge temp.  We went from 50 degrees to 42 in two hours.  We also filled the veggie bins with loose ice and added condiment jars and whatever would fit.  It worked beautifully.  Half the ice in the coolers had melted and the fridge ice, hardly at all.  So glad we tried this!  There were no generators in stock here, they sold 38 in the first hour at Lowes.  I do plan to order one online.

This is Maud.  Redux.  I do not like that word.  Notice how she repeated the color pattern.  Two gold, two red, two pink, two blue, two green, two brown.  Maybe common in samplers and I never noticed.

This is how I stitched in the dark.  LED headlamp strapped onto my Dazor.  Better than my head!  Every slight movement moved the light and made me dizzy, much better on a stationary object.

Anyway, trying to stitch with natural light showed the 816 to be that shade of lipstick that has a cool tone.  So I removed along with the ghosted green and tried several others.  The chart calls for 221 and I returned to it, liked it, and decided to use two strands on the wiggly band even though this is 36 count.  That is the feature that drew me to Maud and I was not going to be happy until it mimicked the chubby look.  Eureka!  Perfect.  I have DMC here, no wool as Maud used, and I did not want to use 28 count.  Thought about 32 but it's hard to rummage through linen with a flashlight.  I changed the 524 green to the awful 3348, but on this linen in this piece .... perfect.  Who knew?  The 524 is KL in top line and 3348 is uv above the wiggle, just enough of a change to be noticed.  Two threads are only used on the wiggle, so far.  Much better in person.

We have quite warm temps and the day will be consumed with once again, sticks and limbs pick up and burn. Here's a peek at the larger shelf we installed after removing the dresser's mirror, and the file holders that are working great.  More items to add to the shelf but for now, these large heavy (and handy) oil lamps are in a safe place (the shelf has a lip).

Hope to catch up with all I missed for three days, still need an email program!

Hope you have light and warmth!  Be safe.

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Maud revisit

 And then there's Maud.  Again.  I'm OK with the thread colors after realizing I can't recreate the original.  

That red is now dmc 816.  The others were even darker as they should be, but not showy.  Changing the linen solved that but caused the other brights to ghost somewhat.  I think a thicker thread would be the ticket, two strands on 32 count.  But what I'm doing now is good.  Unless I decide to test the 32 count.  Any bets?

We will go to the fabulous Italian place for veggie ranch pizza slices, take one to Carole, and do the work we had planned for yesterday before the wind storm hits. She has been sick since the four days of a 50 degree bedroom.  Cough is choking, along with a cold.  Keeping the head raised on her bed, but mobility is only with her chair.  I will dig out my spirometer and make sure she uses it several times a day.

Hope your weekend is peaceful.

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The birds

The flock of about fifty is starting to disband and create harems for the strutting males.  We had four trying to gather their females for this years mating season.

For such a drab looking bird, when the sun shines and shows their feathers' iridescence, they become a rainbow.  Doesn't help their heads though.

Maud Fuzzard had a new start, new colors, we'll see how long that lasts before I throw in the towel.  Working from a pdf on a tablet is great for clarity/enlarging chart symbols, but scrolling back and forth to see the legend is a PITA.  I much prefer paper, but Staples machines will only print the type, not the copyrighted chart.  I have quite a few to print, one is fifteen pages.

Seventy mph winds are expected tomorrow, worse than the previous Saturday.  As much as I refrain from using credit cards, today will be the exception for a portable generator.  Then we'll work at Carole's and install shelves in the broom closet and the new display unit in her room.

Have a sweet day.

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Last one!

Again?

Only three feet wide, double shelf.

Next one will be mine, already have a design.  But since I have great difficulty with wall decor, it will be sent to the mess room with the others waiting to escape.  A woman had a fabulous shop near my area, she closed many years ago to care for family.  I asked if she would consider helping homeowners with colonial/ primitive decor since she excelled at display.  She thought it would offer hours scheduled at her convenience and allow her to continue doing what she loved, but that didn't materialize.  The Stella in me would think paying someone to be frivolous, but the Marly in me would think the help to be vital.

But we will finally get the patched walls and trim painted.  The same color used in the dining room will be the trim throughout.  Benjamin Moore's Natural Cream.  Not too gray, pink, yellow, or green.  Who would have ever thought this color phobic putz could find a neutral she liked.  Recently, a colored wall with cream trim has caught my eye.  Good grits girl, stop looking on the web monster.

 Cottage cheese for nalesniki filling is draining and crepe making will commence shortly. 

 I'll be reviewing project options this evening.  Small?  Drum?  Bag?  Big girl?

Still thinking.

Be safe!

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Thinking

Guess who has power as of 10 pm?  Thank goodness.  The exhausted workers had bloodshot eyes and four day stubble, still much work to be done.  Those 60 mph winds were gusts mixed in with 35-40 mph sustained for those nine hours.  It was a little noisy!  We lost some trees in the woods but not in the yard.  Years ago we had a micro burst that took our large fir, a large birch, and two large maples.

No decisions on the next stitch yet.  I was studying the new charts and think I may decrease the width on the Sewing Bag which is 10.25" wide on 36 count, 5" tall when closed.  I want it narrower but even if I punished myself with a piece of 46 count, it would still be 8" x 4".  So I decided to stay with 40 and abbreviate the design which would result in 7"  x 4.5".

Playing with Paint, I came up with two options, leaning toward the first one. 

 

Thinking.

Chris has been having issues the last six months and I went to the doc with him for biopsy results.  A result of 15 eosinophils in the esophagus tissue indicates an inflammation caused by an immune response to food allergies.  Chris had 280, the highest that office has seen.  No way to test for the culprits, they would be too numerous and most likely not definitive since the response could be days later.  Rarely is testing recommended.  The condition is called eosinophilic esophagitis.

That's it.  I'm ready for a good sleep.

Hope you're all well and having a good week.

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