Typical Tuesday

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Last night I decided that I was going to set today aside to work on my stitching of Christmas ornaments.  And, I have made a little more progress on the Christmas ornament that I’m currently stitching.  While stitching I watched a cooking show on TV.  For lunch I made a vegetable medley from garden veggies that Melany brought me yesterday.Tasted pretty good.  After lunch, Donna and I worked in the church library.  It's so nice to have a computer once again.  We continue to attempt to get things current in the computer…quite a few books were checked out and in “on paper" while we were without a computer…so some things are currently checked out but not in the computer records and some things have been checked in while we had no computer so computer doesn't know they are on the shelves.  Today we found quite a few books on the shelves that the computer didn't know had been returned…so we got the computer closer to up to date.  I came home planning to sit down and stitch…but a nap time took the place of stitching time. I woke up and got the trash taken out to the road for pick up tomorrow.  Now I plan to get back to stitching and watching TV.  I got a text and photo from Melany a little while ago showing me that she had gotten started on one of the stitching projects that we chose fabric and floss for yesterday.  So Melany is in her happy place and I am about to go to one of my happy places.

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Busy Monday

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Tonight's photo is a Monkey Puzzle tree at the Butchart Gsrdens, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Today was busy from beginning to end.  Melany came this morning.  She brought a Christmas stocking that she had cross stitched for me to sew into a stocking.  We got that planned out and set aside for me to do between now and when she decorates for Christmas.  Then we did some preparation for her to do some stitching.  I serged around the fabric that she is going to use so it won’t fray when she is stitching it.  Then she worked on choosing floss colors for her planned projects.  She left all ready to get going on a new project.  She has plenty to keep her busy in the stitching department for a while.  We also cleaned and filled my hummingbird feeders.  I can do all but the one that has the camera in it.  Cheryl and I had problem with it when we attempted to fill it back when she was here…and it was no different today.  But I think I now know that you can barely put any nectar in it so it won't come out the little flower holes…we think it is a design flaw and that there is too much water pressure if it is filled with as much as it seems it was planned to hold.  But my hummingbirds can be happy once again…three feeders.  My bird cam showed me that a ruby-throated hummingbird has been coming to my feeders.  Melany and I had a good time visiting during all our activities.  

Not long after Melany left, it was time to head to church for prayer meeting.  So like I said…busy from start to finish.  And, I am now ready for my chair and hopefully some stitching of my own.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Sunday Alaska (Well, Canada) Favorite

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Saturday Doings

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Today’s goal was to do some tidying up downstairs.  Mainly I did a little picking up and then ran the vacuum…freshened up things.  I also put some finishing touches on the Sunday School lesson.  I printed that off a little while ago.  This morning at 11am was my Cottey College Alum Zoom Bookclub.  We were low in number and the person who was supposed to lead the discussion didn't show up.  But we had a good discussion despite all that.  We enjoy just talking with each other.  My friend from childhood and fellow Cottey classmate wasn’t there today as she was away in New Mexico at Ghost Ranch, former residence of artist, Georgia O'Keeffe.  The location of Ghost Ranch makes one have to stand in just the right place or go out to the highway to get cell reception…so not the best place to try to join a Zoom meeting!  The funny thing was that without her being at the meeting and there being only five of us there, what were the chances of two of the five having attended the same high school.  But we had discovered a meeting or two back that one of our other bookclub members had attended the same high school for one year as Randi and I had…and she was a junior when we were sophomores…small world.  Plus she went to the same church that Randi and I did.  I do not remember her from high school or church, but I do remember her as being at Cottey with us.  The next Bookclub selection is mine and I have invited the author and his wife join us.  I just hope that our club attendance picks up a bit…we will have a lively discussion no matter the numbers.  My book choice is Copyboy by Vince Vawter.  This is the 2nd book in a trilogy.  Vince and his wife joined us for our discussion of his first book, Paperboy last year.  I look forward to them joining us again this year.  

Well, the above Bookclub "discourse" wasn't part of my plan for the blog banter for tonight.  Just never know what gets transferred from my brain to my fingertips!  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!  

Friday…I Think!

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It has been a rather busy Friday…though it doesn't seem like Friday.  I am a bit lost without certain activities that mark the days of the week for me…like working in the library on Tuesday or Bible study on Wednesday.  Then add in the unexpected falling of a tree and the clean up of that tree along with taking down another tree and thinning branches out of another that took care of my Thursday. I did make today seem more like Friday by going grocery shopping. I washed the sheets on the guest bed and put them back on the bed…that's an exhausting job these days!  I did that, as I might have a guest or two if they decide to escape the heat of their house without AC.  I napped some this afternoon.  Then I set to work to get something written into the outline of the Sunday School lesson for Sunday.  I just about finalized it before I came in to blog.  I still have to decide if I am going to include two things…and, if I do, where they need to be…but, all in all, the lesson is complete except for printing it out.  And, that can be done tomorrow after I make those two final decisions. Stitching and watching TV or reading for pleasure is calling to me for the rest of the evening.  Tonight's photo is one of the beautiful roses at The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Timberrrrrrrr!

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BOOM! In the Night!

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Last night at midnight there was a big boom and then another boom.  I first thought tree, but when I heard the 2nd one I thought thunder.  My first thought was correct.  The tree that I had decided just yesterday morning that I needed to make arrangements to have it taken down due to it leaning so much and due to all of our rain to date.  Well, I have made a call to get it taken care of…but not to have it taken down since it is already down!  

I don't know who in the neighborhood called to report it, but the the police were here not long after I discovered the cause of the boom.  We had three police cars because the tree blocked the         T-intersection that happens right at our property line…so cars couldn't get through in three directions…but the neighborhood wasn't blocked as it has access in and out from several directions.  The tree did not take down any power lines, didn't do any property damage. And, the timing was good since at that hour there were no children out running around.  Not long after the police came the city arrived with a truck that had a claw to pick up branches that were cut with a chain saw.  They worked until 2:30am and cleared the neighbor's yard of all of the tree that was in their yard…leaving only me with the part of my tree that was still on my property.  They were back at 6:50am and cleaned up the rest.  The telephone pole was only broken off at the top which took off the street light.  The utility company was there to reattach a guy wire and put a street light back up.  They just used the broken pole.  

Nathan stopped by and while he was here, the city arborist stopped by and talked to us about tree problems, etc. He gave us a lot of good information and made some suggestions.  After talking with him, Nathan called the tree removal company that we have used in the past.  He was here in the early afternoon to assess the tree and other things we wanted him to do.  He will cut up the fallen tree, grind the stump, thin out some branches in the tree next to the fallen tree to help lighten its load in hopes that we can keep it for a while longer.  I also asked them to take down a branch that our tree broke in the neighbor's tree. And, I am having a tree taken out that is in a bad place next to the driveway.  I forgot about one of the trees that the arborist suggested we take down…since it was forgotten (that one I hadn't thought about previously so it slipped my mind when I was talking with the tree man and that tree was behind me). I can have that one taken down another day…and…the tree team is supposed to be here in the morning!

I think I am witnessing what it means to live in a small town…at midnight the tree landed with a boom and 30 hours more or less the tree crew should be here taking care of the problem and some other problems as well.  It makes me sad, though, that my trees are aging out.

I think a good number of people in the neighborhood lost some sleep last night.  I know that I have been tired all day.  I have taken a couple of short cat naps. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight. I need to get to sleep a little earlier than usual as I imagine the tree crew will show up bright and early so they can work in the cool of the morning.

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

An Eagle's Point of View

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This isn't exactly a prize-winning photo…but it shows an eagle's nest pretty well…all those sticks.  Their nests are huge.  If you look closely, you can see that mama eagle is sitting in the nest…unfortunately there is a branch between eagle and my camera lens!  At the raptor center there was a replica of an eagle's nest that people could get into…lots of people fit in it!  

Today has been another day that didn't have any "have-to-dos" in it.  Donna and I chose not to work in the library today so it was a "free day." I made a couple of goals to accomplish…read the study helps for the Sunday School lesson = ✔️…organize needlework supplies before getting underway with next Christmas ornament = ✔️…get out the next ornament to work on and get floss, etc. organized = ✔️.  So I did get those small tasks done.  The organizing that I did was to put away floss that I had been using on the ornament that I finished last night.  Plus there was other floss that needed to be put away so that took a bit of time.  I put them away in numerical order in a DMC cabinet for floss (used to be part of a large cabinet in a cross stitch store.  I was able to purchase it when the store closed many years ago.  I am always thankful to Woody when I get out floss or put it away.  All those years ago, he helped me divide up the floss so it would all go in the compartments in the drawers.  He then drew me up a diagram, that I use to this day.  It is looking a bit grubby and the pencil is fading…but I hate to stop using it and making another chart!  I enjoy that memory each time I use the chart.  

Besides organizing cross stitch and preparation for the Sunday School lesson, I enjoyed a morning phone call from Ruth and an afternoon one from Cheryl (my favorite/only sister).  It was good to catch up with both!  

We had another pop-up shower this afternoon…becoming a habit of unexpected rain at unexpected times…guess that means it’s summer! 

Planning to do some reading and some more Christmas ornament stitching this evening before I turn lights out. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Monday Rolls Around…Again!

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This Alaskan photo makes me think of peace and tranquility.  It is the Alaskan photo that I have chosen for the moment for my iPad wallpaper.  

Today has been a quiet day with storms rolling in every so often…sort of the pattern of the last three days. When I got home from prayer meeting, I emptied the rain gauge.  I hadn't emptied it over the weekend…so the amount represents Saturday, Sunday, and to this point of today. I emptied 2 3/10 out of the gauge.  Think it will rain?!?!

I have done rainy day things like read and stitch and start working on this coming Sunday's Sunday School lesson for my class. I am very close to finishing another Christmas ornament.  I plan to out in the final stitches this evening.  I returned a little while ago from prayer meeting.  So it is time to start bidding good bye to the day…time to settle in for the night.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Sunday Alaska Favorite Photo

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Saturday

It's funny, I look back on my day and I’m not exactly sure what I have done,  I do know that the Sunday School lesson is printed and it and my need-to-take materials are on top of my tote bag. So pretty much ready for tomorrow's lesson…just have to sleep, get up on time, get ready, and get to church.  I have spent time listening to one of the books that I have going at this time.  I think that I slept through part of it so need to figure out what I missed.  The book I am listening to is one for my Cottey College Bookclub…one that is still a few months away from discussion.  I am also reading through, again, the book for Cottey's August Bookclub…I am in charge of leading that discussion.  Of course, I make the leading easy on myself as I have invited the author and his wife to be our guests that day…and he will pretty much lead the discussion!  But I want to familiarize myself with it as it has been a while since I read it.  

It has been sort of a rainy day…rained off and on…some in the morning and some in the afternoon…been overcast a good part of the day.  I will say that we had a sunny portion of the day and all of a sudden it was raining with the sun shining and hardly a cloud in the sky.  I was sure there was a rainbow somewhere, but I was too tree covered to see it. A good day to read and finalize the Sunday School lesson.  

To be continued. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Can You Spot It?

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Can you spot the Leaf-insect in the above photo.  This is one of the many tropical creatures that we saw in The Butterfly Garden in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada…our stop just before Butchart Gardens.  

Today has been a pretty low-key day.  I knew that I needed to dedicate most of the day to getting something on paper for Sunday's Sunday School lesson.  I interspersed my studying and filling in the outline for the lesson with a little stitching, reading on my latest fiction book, and a nap…or maybe two!  I have plugged in information for a first draft for the lesson.  I always like to be at this point, as if something happens and I can't get back to it to refine it a bit, it is at a teachable point! I am through for today with working on the lesson.  I plan to do a little more organization and adding a little more to the points of interest.  I’ll do that tomorrow morning and then get it printed off and gather materials into my tote bag that I need to take with me on Sunday.  

I got more information…like specific month and days for the trip to northern Georgia that I go on with Marie.  So there is a trip on my calendar to look forward to!  We will find a way to photograph a few barns on this trip…I am sure!  Anyway, we did last year!  I will perhaps run out of Alaska photos to share by that time…and you will be ready for a change of scenery! 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Photos, Photos Everywhere!

Melany came to spend some time with me today.  Our goal for the day was to work through both our photos.  I think that we both can say that we have looked at all the photos that we took on our Alaska cruise!  That's a lot of pictures!  We had fun looking through them and thinking back on our trip.  I still can’t believe that I have been to Alaska!

Before she left, we both went out to the blueberry bushes and picked a goodly amount of blueberries for her to take home. And, that picking still isn't the end of the blueberries…give it a few more days and there will be another good amount to pick.  The blueberry dessert that I made for us to enjoy today was very good.  There are so many good ways to use blueberries!  I’m happy to have the blueberries that I have in my freezer. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Stay-At-Home Day

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The Wednesday night Bible Study is taking a break until school starts back up, so I didn't have anything "scheduled" that would take me out of the house today.  So…I stayed home.  Melany is coming tomorrow for us to look at each other's photos from our Alaska trip…we started looking last week…didn’t get tremendously far!  I made a seafood salad for our lunch tomorrow and some blueberry-cheesecake bars.  So I spent some time in the kitchen.  I’m almost finished in the kitchen…still a little more clean up…but I’m taking a break.  I have made multiple trips up and down the stairs today putting away clothes from my yesterday wash day.  I got the clothes dried and folded or hung up by the time that I went to bed last night, but put off getting them upstairs until today.  My reading for the Sunday School lesson is almost done…now to get something plugged into an outline!  I finished another book last night.  Today while I cooked I listened to an upcoming Cottey Bookclub pick. I have put in a few cross stitches, but not many. 

Marie texted with information about the annual get together of some of our friends who are former members of our church…the one where I have gone the last two years with Marie to northern GA for a few days in the Fall.  Something to look forward to!  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Dandelions Grow Big in Alaska!

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Donna and I worked in the church library this afternoon.  Our one library mystery of the day got solved fairly quickly!  Funny how that there always seems to be something that needs solving before we leave from a work session!  This time it was finding a book that a patron had asked for and it showed that it wasn't checked out.  We found it where it should have been, but we had changed where we put the series name and number and it wasn't obvious that this was the book that our patron was looking for…now to get it to our patron! We are still getting used to the new computer.  I haven't signed in on it as often as Donna and for a minute today we thought that we weren’t going to get in, but I shut it down and started over again and the sign-in problem was solved for THIS time. I reversed something in the password…that will hopefully help me to remember the correct order from now on!  Time will tell. Due to not having a computer to process books, we haven't purchased any new books this year.  We spent a little time looking for new books we need to add to some series and then just looked at new stand-alone books.  Always fun to "shop" for books.  

The morning I spent reading…both for pleasure and for preparation for the Sunday School lesson for Sunday. I managed to get a load of clothes washed before I left to work in the library.  I just remembered that I need to go out and transfer them to the dryer.  After getting home from the library, I gathered all the trash from wastebaskets in the house and got it taken out to the garbage can and the garbage can rolled to the road…a bit warm out there and quite humid. I got things to recycle out to the curb, also.  And, then I spent more time studying for Sunday's lesson and then did some more reading for pleasure.  I cooked myself some chicken for supper.  Am about to go out and finish loading dishes in the dishwasher.  I think it is time to run it again. Going to relax this evening and read or stitch…we'll see which wins out…or perhaps the time can be shared between the two activities!  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

One of Those “Always a Good Day" Days

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Tonight's photo is some of the moss topiary statues that were scattered throughout The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  If you have read the blog for a while, you will know that tonight's blog title refers to a hair cut day!  I headed out midmorning to get my hair cut and then stopped at Kroger on the way home to get a few things that I needed and didn’t get on Friday.  Of course, once I got home I remembered one more thing that I needed.  I need to go Walmarting so can get that item there.  I may do that errand on the way home from working in the library tomorrow.  I just returned from the Furnace Room Prayer Meeting.  So settling in for the night.

I had a very good Fourth of July weekend.  We had a good time celebrating Elijah's birthday along with our country's.  Elijah's real birthday is tomorrow.  All of Nathan and Kathy's children were accounted for which made it nice to double celebrate. These days it isn't always easy to have all gathered together at the same time.  Elijah opened gifts, we all ate delicious 4th of July eats.  Elijah had some cupcakes and a blueberry dump cake made with fresh blueberries either from the bushes on my back lot or from their farm bushes.  Very good!  

Speaking of blueberries, there seems to have been a bumper crop this year.  It seems like we have picked and picked and there continue to be more ripening.  I keep meaning to make one of my favorite blueberry desserts…but so far my energy level hasn't matched up with when I have time to make it! 

I have been doing more reading in the last week or so…finished a book Saturday and then finished another today.  Reading means that I’m cutting into stitching time!  And, I need to get back to stitching as there are still quite a few ornaments to be stitched for Christmas gifts this year…and…we are into the second half of the year…need to get busy stitching, again! Plus I need to include study for this coming Sunday's Sunday School lesson.

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Sunday Alaska Photo Favorite + Poem

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This photo made me think of the following poem:

The Fog by Carl Sandburg

The fog comes on

Little cat feet.

It sits looking

Over harbor and city

On silent haunches

And then moves on. 

Happy 17th, Elijah! Happy 250th, USA!

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Where Do I Begin?!?

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Tonight's photo I will give a little background for:

Renowned marine life artist Wyland has created several notable orca (killer whale) statues and sculptures. The above is "Orca Dream" (Icy Strait Point, Alaska): A monumental bronze sculpture unveiled in 2021. This life-size piece depicts an orca in mid-motion and is the second installment in his planned 100-piece monumental sculpture series. It is installed at the Alaskan cruise destination where orca pods are known to swim close to the shore. 

This sculpture wqs on the shore at Icy Strait Point where we docked.  We got to view it after our whale watching tour where we did see orcas…backs and dorsal fins of orcas.  

Well, now I have told a little more about the cruise that I hadn't told about previously…now what do I talk about?!?  I have gotten so used to be a tour guide that I don't know if I can figure out how to go back to my hum drum life!  

I guess the weather is a possible subject.  We are in the midst of a heat wave…I hear that a lot in the U.S. are.  A couple of hours ago we got a break in the heat…we went from 90+ down to 70° in just a few minutes late this afternoon…we had a storm blow in and dropped quite a bit of rain on us…the wind picked up…the rain fell and so did the temps…a nice change.  When I checked on the rain gauge, it looked like we were on the way to getting an inch of rain.  I haven’t looked again, but it continues to sprinkle off and on.  

I stayed at home today.  I did my grocery shopping yesterday as I felt like today was going to be crazy with Fourth of July shoppers.  Yesterday was pretty busy, but I don't think anything like it would have been today.  I got the ingredients to make my mother's recipe for Boston Baked Beans.  I decided that I would make them today…so instead of overnight! I soaked the beans for 8 hours and then cooked them on top of the stove for an hour and then put them and the rest of the ingredients in with the beans and popped them in the oven for 6 to eight hours.  I will check them at the end of four hours and see where they are in the cooking.  I think that they should be done before I am ready to sleep for the night,  They are starting to smell good…that is a good sign. My oven is cooking and my dishes are being washed…I have stepped away from the kitchen. 

My other main task for the day was to work on the lesson that I'm teaching in my Sunday School class on Sunday.  I have it at a good place for tonight,  I will finalize it tomorrow and print my notes. 

Tomorrow I am going to Nathan and Kathy's to celebrate two birthdays…our country's and…

I’ll let you know tomorrow!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Back to Where We Started! The End to an Idyllic Trip

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Here we are heading towards the dock in Seattle.  This was taken from inside my room. I managed to awaken as we were pulling in around 5am so got some photos of the Seattle skyline before sunup.

We had a very smooth disembarkation…in the first group off.  Wade had our luggage whisked off and taken care of and we never saw it again till we got to Nashville.  We took a shuttle to the airport…again in the first shuttle bus that was heading to the airport.  Making it through TSA was super smooth that early in the morning.  We did have quite a long wait but we did a lot of people watching and found out we had to go to another gate, but we had plenty of time to do that.

We had a good lunch…our last vacation meal.  Melany and I had yummy grilled cheese sandwiches. Wade had tomato soup and something else (which leaves my mind at this point a month out from the trip!). 

We flew Alaska Airlines both coming and going.  We got back to Nashville a little before midnight. Alex picked us up.i spent the night at Melany and Wade's and Melany took me home the next morning.  That was the morning of June 11th.  When I write down that date, I just realized that I still haven't been home a month.  

I have enjoyed reliving the trip here on the blog.  I guess it will be back to the same ol', same ol' for the blog…back to the humdrum accounting for my days!  I will continue to post random photos from Alaska…believe me there are still plenty to share! I won't guarantee that I won't post repeats and will in all likelihood not comment on them unless they happen to jog a memory that I forgot to share with you!  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

The Butchart Gardens: Over 100 Years in Bloom

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The last part of our last excursion on our cruise itinerary was The Butchart Gardens.  I will give a little history about the gardens and then let the photos speak for the gardens!  

The Butchart Gardens covers more than 55 acres of a 130 acre estate.  It began from an idea Jennie Butchart had to beautify the worked-out limestone quarry which had supplied her husband Robert!s nearby cement plant.

The gardens through the skillful mixture of rare and exotic shrubs, trees and flowers, often collected by the Butchart during their extensive world travels.  The hospitable Butchart christened their estate "Benvenuto"—Italian for "Welcome." By the 1920s more than 50,0000 people visited each year.

Today The Gardens, still owned by the family, and together with a talented and dedicated staff, continues the horticultural excellence and welcoming traditions of Jennie Butchart.  It is visited by close to a million visitors annually. 

In 2004, The Butchart Gardens, in bloom for over 100 years, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!