The First Week of October

The blouse I am wearing this morning is one that I made while we lived in Vancouver during the winter, when the days were short, chilly and often rainy. It has a white background with tiny black dots interspersed with graphic white and black circles. Sort of a polka dot with a twist. Because we went to Vancouver in a car, we brought very few clothes with us thinking we could buy some while there. Not so fast, as the saying goes! Turns out everything in Vancouver was far more expensive than we had imagined. 

My sewing skills came in handy and it was while we were there that I made more new clothes than I had, in say the previous ten years. A lined coat, something I had not made since I was in my late teens. Probably six blouses, three skirts, two sets of pajamas and more. What made all that possible was an amazing fabric store, Dressew, located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, about a two mile walk for me. Begun in 1961, they served Vancouver on two floors, jam-packed with fabric and every kind of notion there is. Never having seen anything like it in my life, it became one of my most favorite places in the city to visit. It was there that I watched in shock and disbelief when the workers at the cutting tables did not actually cut the fabric, but tore it instead! Shockingly accurate, I might add. Buttons by the thousands in every color of the rainbow. Same goes for zippers with big teeth, little teeth, and lengths ranging from three inches to forty. All of the fabric anyone could ever want, or need.

Perhaps you are wondering what prompted this long introduction? Recently our Vancouver friend Dale sent me some newspaper clippings detailing the upcoming closure of this wonderful emporium.  No longer will there be a place for Halloween costume supplies. Or fabric for "serious sewists". What has changed about Vancouver since the store began, aside from most everything (!), is a growing population, a few blocks away, of unhoused people living five deep on some of the wider sidewalks, many of whom have drug or mental health issues. According to the article, the "vandalism, graffiti, crime and our neighborhood falling apart around us are but some of the reasons they are closing and selling the building. All that to say, in my lifetime of sewing, it was the best fabric store I ever had the pleasure of frequenting and I am so sad others will be denied that pleasure! 

So, there is that. Lots of ground to cover today, but I did not want to forget my sadness and if it is not in this blog, well it is "gone with the wind!"

Hurricane Milton is barreling towards Florida as I type. Folks are nervous about this storm as it seems they have every right to be. Also, while I type, Bruce is with John in Asheville, delivering water and more to the main campus where food is distributed on a daily basis to those in need all over this part of the state. Called Manna, their warehouse was flooded and all was lost. Somehow they have regrouped and are in a new warehouse that is filling up fast according to the photos Bruce sent. While he was doing that, it was my Tuesday to help count the offering. What normally takes about two hours, took me and Anita, four, for a variety of reasons, one of which is because a special offering was taken up last Sunday for hurricane relief. Let's just say our congregants were very generous.

Here's a silly little tale of generosity, if you can call it that. Make of this what you will. 

Did I mention in my last post about how all of the chestnuts had disappeared from the back yard? Mentioning that to Tammy, she said that the squirrels gather them for winter which made me think, "do we need them more than the squirrels?" No we do not! My plan was to return them to the yard and in a case of me thinking things through, rather than my initial thought of scattering them, I placed them in a pile, all 114 that I had gathered, and waited. It took about a day and a half for the squirrels to clear it all out! I took this a few hours before they were all gone.

Isn't that super cool? I thought you might agree. Here's something else that happened recently. While we have no indoor pets we do have three bird feeders which are almost like having pets. Most days I fill them and we are going through sunflower seed like nobodies business. Well, with the dry weather all summer, for the most part we would occasionally get a bucket and clean up the dropped shells. Except not all of them are empty. Those darn Goldfinch toss them out like, I don't know what to call it! One day it was merely a big pile of shells, and like magic, it was this.

Before long they looked like the above. For now as Bruce mowed the yard, which because of the rain, looks better than it has since our arrival. 

Staying outside for a bit longer, here is our beautiful Japanese Maple tree which has, of late, turned greener rather than red. Oh, the mystery of what happens next!

Our little backyard garden is looking sweet, however, the overnight temperatures this week are slated to go as low as 41, so for how long it looks this way, is another mystery in the making.

Rain kept us away from the courts last Monday;  instead Bruce painted my sewing room! Actually it took a good long while because there are three doors in that room and the ceiling needed some repairing as well..

Obviously, there was nothing really wrong about the room, but you know me, I was looking for a bit more coziness. While he painted, I did some sewing in our bedroom.

It is so crazy big! And here comes Stratton Blue, a Benjamin Moore color that I chose because I both liked the color, and we have good friends with the last name of Stratton. I know, I am pretty crazy, right?

When Nancy, Matt and Tom came to visit, I had Nancy bring a print that I'd had for years, never having any space to use it and knowing that now I did! Bruce made the frame, we have a frame shop three blocks away where the glass came from and woo hoo...here it is.

Isn't it fun? The room is a bit lighter than this photo suggests.

And what was I making? A table runner is what.

On a trip to Hayesville we stopped at the fabric store that while nice, was no match for Dressew! Anyway after putting the top together I was not so sure about it, but now that it is quilted and bound, I think I kind of like it.

The river has completely receded showing off the crystal clear water again.

Some leaves are falling, but for the most part we still have loads of green trees here.

Our sweet little downtown is all dressed up in its finest Fall finery.

Called Paint the Town Fall, folks painted the windows of stores, and of course these owls caught my eye.

Saturday the weather could not have been any more perfect for the annual John C. Campbell Folk School Fall Festival. That's a mouthful isn't it??? First thing, we went to see John at his primo spot beneath the trees. Having been an outdoor vendor for nearly a decade, I know how important location is to a good show.

With booth #1 as his spot, plenty of folks were ensured of seeing his great furniture. From there we made our way towards the Barn to see the entertainment and the artists undercover there.

Along the way, we came across another stage and after looking at this picture I took, I thought it said a lot.

Mums galore, corn stalks, man in camo shorts, a musician, and women with long hair. All of the above are plentiful around these parts.

The Morris dancing was not slated until 2:30 but to ensure a good seat we got there early, listening to two acts before they came on. What fun it is watching them twirl around, stomp on the ground and hit sticks together. Does that sound crazy to you? It does to me too, but in person it is really neat.

The women are great too. 

We know one of the dancers as it turns out. The woman pictured on the right closest to my camera is the head of the church preschool. (facing the camera below)

Meanwhile back in Orlando there was a baby shower for Fallon, pictured here with my sisters Nancy and Lisa.

Fallon looks great, as do my sisters, if I do say so myself. After having Covid at the first of the week, Fallon recovered enough for the show to go on. Just shy of two more months to go!

Because we have only been in our darling home for five months I am still learning about the location of the sun and the moon. And the sunsets. Through one window in the living room I spotted a red sky at night, prompting me to grab my camera, head down the steps to street level in order to witness the magnificent colors. That would be the courthouse which is a story for another day.

Unfortunately, there will be no sunset in Orlando tonight as they are under a hurricane watch. We are hoping and praying everyone is safe, including our niece Laura and Jerry over in St. Petersburg! 

One last thing before I go. Bruce just returned with pictures, including this one of the garments from the store behind them.

And yes that is drying mud on both the garments and the sidewalk. He took lots of photos that I will share next time but wow, this one below. That water line on the door! And the worst part is that the water system in Asheville has been mostly destroyed. Yikes and double yikes!

Hard to imagine isn't it?

your friend,

Gail