A rainy Monday

 It was a quiet day yesterday. I did get some sewing time piecing the puzzle of extra blocks into a long enough and wide enough piece to add to the existing 51x108 length for a backing. I believe it is 24x75, so plenty big enough to work for the 69x69 Arkansas Traveller top. It always takes a lot longer to piece these things with thinking than I would have thought.

The stack of extra parts and pieces is down to just a smattering of parts rather than the tall pile it was between the last backing and this one. Maybe I'll finish that one long seam tonight and get the backing and top both rolled onto the boards for pinning. I do have the batting cut off the roll of warm and natural already. I'm going to miss the Joanns November sale to get another big roll of it at half off. I will need another one about that time. Hopefully there will be some options out there.

An interesting tidbit from yesterday. I was cleaning out the fridge and decided to empty things into the chickens big run for them early afternoon (zucchini and eggplant parm, watermelon chunks and some kitchen scraps of cucumber peels). It rained off and on all day yesterday. I let the dog out in the evening and after a bit when he didn't 'knock' on the slider to be let in, I got up and looked out. He was by the chicken enclosure..... but was he inside the big run or on the outside? The little turkey was inside and the chickens were in the original run area where there is a little canal connecting them the dog can't fit through (thank goodness!). Turns out, the little bugger wanted whatever was left of the scraps in there! His tail was wagging as I let him out and thankfully he did not see Buttercup get excited and run towards us. He just scooted out and went to the door. All 5 chickens were accounted for. Emily got sent out to figure out how he got in and zip tie it again. The joys of chickens and dogs!

Thank goodness it is Saturday!

 What a week! Crazy at work, learning new things with a deadline looming is always fun. I have not been doing much of anything, but I did get this one light green string of beads block completed. It is a rainy day today, so I hope to spend time doing something in the sewing room. Linking up with the RSC in green.

Some normal day sights this week. The pink mimosa tree is in full bloom on the side yard. It is a very fluffy flower with pink.

On our walk this morning (Bear and I) we saw one Momma turkey with her 3 littles. There is another one with 8 or 9 littles as well.

Another wild turkey we saw this morning.

I had my phone with me today and the birds were chirping away. There is a storm coming in this afternoon and it is very overcast so maybe they are busy enjoying the rain free weather? According to my Merlin app (thank you to whomever mentioned it!) I was hearing Tufted titmouse, Carolina Wren, yellow throated vireo, common ground dove and one I have not seen was a northern parula. 

This one was holding me down last night. Yes, my leg is under the quilt, and he is using it as a pillow.

I was working on figuring a backing for the Arkansas Traveller quilt on Thursday. I was piecing all the extra blocks and parts before I had to stop and do a run to Lady Lake. I think I will just use one of the plain cotton panel sheets I have in a box so I can get it done this weekend without too much thinking. I used that on the back of the green quilt above, and it is oh so soft and cuddly. No thinking and I can maybe get a quilt finish this year!

In other news....

We met with an elder care lawyer on Wednesday then headed over to see Tom, my FIL. He was laying flat in bed and snoozing. We did the paperwork finally for admitting, since the admitting person kept catching him asleep and did not want to wake him. He was pretty discouraged and said he could barely stand and was not walking. He was one week out from hip surgery from the break the Sunday befor that. I was hoping to have all Thursday to play in my sewing room. Alas, we needed to head over to do some of his banking and check the house. We also brought more clothing for him that is easier to get in and out of with his hip. He was a different person on Thursday. Sleeping, but sitting up in the recliner. He had been to the rehab area and done some shuffle walking - which was great news! He has come to terms with he will be there for a while to rehab and get his strength back rather than the few days he was hoping. I believe he has 100 days available for rehab, and he has awesome insurance so does not pay a dime. I was listening to my audio book last night when I got a call from a local number I did not recognize. I answered it and it was from his Rehab facility. Hubby did not answer his cell, so I'm glad we gave them mine as well. Seems he has a blood clot in his leg. They did an ultrasound and gave the blood thinner shot and will keep an eye on it. At least he notified them his foot felt weird, and they addressed it immediately. I'm sure there will be a trip over today to check in on him again. 

I still had the non dairy coconut yogurt from Emily's meal so tried it in the yogurt scone recipe (on the recipe page). I added some frozen blueberries on top. She will be so happy she can eat them without a lactaid pill!

Orange peels in green?

 I was not planning to use green in these peels, but what the heck. I have this pretty light green print and will pull a bright green for the next one. I did my ironing of the block - in half each way and then on the diagonal each way. Marked the orange peel shapes onto the background and then pin them one at a time for needle turn applique. Linking up with the RSC in green for May. I hope to get some sewing time in this weekend.

It was a normal busy morning. I got up and walked the dog. Bear was happy. We got home as Emily was heading to school for a 2 hour AICE review of one of her classes. She coordinated horses with Kyra and her trainer to delay an hour so she drove from school to horses for her noon lesson. 

I took the boy with me, and we headed to Bellieview to pick blueberries at Abshier Blueberry Farm. I paid about $35 so we got a lot of them at $4.50 a pound. I have a tray double layer full in the freezer from one bag picked. The other will eventually get some frozen but both kids mentioned cobbler. 

Then we headed to the Market of Marion which was 5-10 minutes from there. We spent $20 on veggies and $10 on plants. I got a pretty african violet - we will see how long till I kill it, and a nice looking cherry tomato plant for my planter. 

We got a small watermelon, 5 beefsteak tomato, a basket of green beans, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, 6 cukes, and 2 eggplants.  We got home before 11AM.  Aidan made a BLT for lunch. Eggplant parm tomorrow. I see lots of veggie meals next week as sides. I think we will do the black bean and charred corn burrito bowl with guac and fresh salsa tonight for dinner.

My FIL has been moved to a rehab facility. It is a new one to us and he moved Friday evening. We will head over after the F1 Sprint race today. Still in pain after the hip surgery but it is all in his hands at this point for recovery. At least he was lucid yesterday but very sleepy, so we did not stay long. 

We will see how he is today.

The boy had a great time at his Skills USA this week up in Jacksonville. He got a second place medal in a new competition to him and was quite pleased. 

Gold String of Beads block

 I finally got a few stitches done today. I finished up the gold string of beads block. I'm heading to school shortly to pick up Aidan as he returns from Jacksonville and the Skills USA competition. He placed second in his competition, and he is quite pleased. That course over spring break paid off.

We visited Tom this morning as he had surgery late yesterday. The anesthesia is having quite the effect on him. He is still in pain, and the PT folks did get him to sit up but he would not stand or move to a chair. He said he was too weak. After they left, he was very talkative.... and having hallucinations with some lucid statements from this week thrown in. It was an interesting experience. They say it is normal and should wear off in a few days. We will see. I've heard that anesthesia can speed up the onset of dementia, so we will see what happens. He had a few signs of it before, but usually when he had an infection which we also noticed with my Mom as well. Greg said he was like that after a surgery back in 2018 when he was in the ICU for a few weeks. We got a call after we got home indicating they moved him off the surgery pre/post op floor to a patient wing. We will head over tomorrow after I finish working and see how he is doing. 

The Tasty recipe for rice noodles with veggie stir fry was really good. We will add that one to the rotation and it was quick to make as well, since we got home pretty late after visiting Tom and then picking up Emily from school after 5PM. 

Last night I had leftover roaster chicken that needed using, so I made chicken enchiladas with a green salsa verde. It was yummy. I just do a can of cream of chicken soup, about a cup of sour cream and then cut up chicken. I added some black beans, then the mixture into a flour burrito and rolled it up. A bunch of them in the pan with the salsa verde on top then some cheddar cheese and baked for 30 minutes. It is all gone as it was dinner and lunch for everyone today. 

Tonight is a black bean and corn charred burrito bowl. We will see how that is.

Off to get the boy.

What a Monday.

 First off, we got a nice deluge of rain yesterday. A big radar blob was over my area for about 30 minutes. A few miles down the road got nothing, but we were grateful for the rain. The grass was getting pretty crunchy. We are getting some more rain this afternoon. The ground will be happy and hopefully the fire risk goes down a bit. 

Well, we got a call after midnight from the first alert folks. My FIL had fallen down and was unable to get up. We got another call around 6AM from the nurse. He has a broken right hip. We headed over after the kids left for school. Aidan was heading to Jacksonville for his Skills USA competition this week. We got Toms house locked up and secured and readied a bag for him. Then visited the hospital. They are going to do surgery on it over the next couple of days when they can get it in. Until then, they are trying to manage his pain, but the meds are drastically dropping his blood pressure. 

I got home and then logged onto work for the afternoon. Emily was late but not for the math review she was planning. Her teacher was out today so it will be tomorrow. She went to Symphonic band rehearsal instead for their concert next Monday. They have different sections in various classes through the day, so this is their chance to play together. 

Since Aidan is gone for a few days, Emily got the selection of meals this week. It appears we are doing a bunch of vegetarian type meals, although I notice she grabbed some chicken breast from the roaster chicken I picked up yesterday at Sams. She just prefers meals with vegetables.

Tonight was a Halal Cart Style Cauliflower Bowl. I forgot to add salt and pepper to the cauliflower before baking it. I served it with a sliced up romaine head of lettuce. We did white rice in the pressure cooker. It was ok, probably needed a little something to perk it up a bit, maybe the hot sauce? Not bad though and something new to try. 

Tomorrow is rice noodles with snap peas and a bunch of other things. She found that recipe on Tasty I think. Then I get to have a meal Wednesday and Thursday will be a burrito rice bowl with seasoned black beans and charred corn and rice with pico. We will see how that one is. I mentioned the meals to Aidan and he said Friday should be a meat fest! Turducken anyone? 

I think I'll pick up the kitchen, then sit and watch some tv. Not sure any stitching will happen, but it might. We will see. 

April TSC

The Table Scrap Challenge this month was rain and the color selected for the RSC was red. 

Umbrella with red rain is the first thing that came to mind. Emily mentioned a red sunset with rain. That was a little harder for me to figure out how to do. So, I went with option 1.

I found a nice black swirl and then cut a very off shaped umbrella with a dotted handle. 

 

I found this fun snowman with snowflakes - red background and snow is just frozen rain, right?

I finished the table mat with a nice red binding. Then I stitched some red rain on an angle with some embroidery thread. Finding a needle that fit the embroidery thread was interesting, but I found one. 

Next month should be a little easier.

Linking up with the Table Scrap Challenge.

A yard day.

 I snapped a few photos' Saturday as I was cutting back shrubs and weeding. A few of my flowers and a pretty butterfly that was feasting on the sweet smelling tea olives.

Blue Plumbago

Mexican petunia

tea olive bushes (taller than my car!) They form a hedge around the stone parking area.

I hand stitched these two hexagons into sets of 4, so they are all ready to be stitched into a row to be added to the original quilt.... eventually. I have the parts for 2 columns to be added, but I think I might want 4. We will see. Each column needs 48 hexagons.

I started on the gold string of beads block last night. Note to self, prep this on the cutting mat, not my recliner arm. I might need to check to make sure they are placed in the correct spot before I add the other six peels. 

the blocks so far.

I did some emergency surgeries last night. Bear loves to destuff his animals. Poor lambie. 

Lambie, bear and the reindeer got a little machine stitching and then hand stitching to close up a lot of the holes caused by the destuffing process. As you can see - Mr Moose is scheduled for surgery later today. I have a bucket of 'stuffing' to put back in him as I close up those holes. We will see how long before I have nightly crime scenes of stuffed animals all over my living room floor!

Aidan is heading to Jacksonville this week for a Skills USA competition. Emily will get to drive herself to and from school this week until he returns late Thursday. She has various AICE testing preps after school, so it works out well. As her brother is gone, I asked her for meal ideas. She gave me 3 vegetarian ones that we will make this week. 

I've got a Sams run today, then hope to play in the sewing room. I will be stitching peels and/or hexagons later this evening as I relax before the new week starts.

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Sunday Stitchers.