Back to the Routine

This morning, my bicycle ride got off on the right foot, so to speak. Of late, my pretty red bicycle has mostly been collecting dust, and more specifically in this case, sawdust, because Mr. Peck has been using his various saws to finish up the trim work himself, deciding he was the better carpenter. Well, duh!

Just as I was starting out, I quickly put the brakes on when I noticed a hawk on our neighbor's roofline. Oh my goodness!! Rarely, or maybe never, have I seen a hawk on someone's roof, so of course I had to stop!

Amazingly, this sweet faced, but really not so sweet, raptor, allowed me to get pretty darn close. To give you some perspective, it looked like this from the street.

Some folks say that I notice things others don't, however, how could anyone miss such a big bird is what I say.

This morning's temperature was a tad cool when I began, however, by the time I returned it was already warming up. Too warm? Maybe just a little, but we know the end MUST be in sight as November is, well, tomorrow, isn't it? During my ride I saw more Halloween decorations, including one with a live dog. Oh wait...not part of the decoration, but apparently just chilling amongst the fake headstones.

Another house had this very clever spider web display. Who isn't afraid of spiders?

Can you imagine if they really grew so large? Yikes!!

As well, near the house with the hawk, I discovered that the peach tree a few doors down, is blooming again. What is with that so late in the year?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch house, aka as our house, Baxter is learning to live with hard floors, in particular at night. There were many years that he slept in the upholstered chair in our bedroom, but these days, he just can't make the up and down required. He's growing old, just like we are. So, of late, he'd been getting himself about half way under the bed on Bruce's side. Or that's is what he had been doing when there was soft carpet in the room. Remember when I made that little blanket thing for him that he completely ignored? Not any longer! Bruce trained him from day one to sleep on it, and he seems comfortable enough.

Now his only problem is not stepping on him! The life of a dog...

So, remember last week when I said one of the days was torturous because I could not do a thing while the rooms were torn up and Scott was working? That was not entirely true. What I did was use Bruce's desktop, cutting pieces for another scrap quilt. Once I felt like I had enough, I sat down on the couch, pairing them, the uglier match, the better. I used a Restoration Hardware catologue that came in the mail, lining things up between the pages, until the next day, once Bruce cleared the kitchen table, I began sewing the pairs together.

Back in business in my own space, the process began of putting the pairs with other pairs.

There are some pretty scary "matches" in that pile! More mismatches, and pretty soon, well maybe that's an exaggeration, more like diligence if I'm honest, the pairs go with other pairs and it ends up looking like this:

I've now added six more rows to this with the total number of pieces being 512. I'm thinking this is where I'm going to stop.

Setting that project aside on Saturday,  there was need for another Baxter blanket. As in immediately. I don't know if all little dogs have sensitive ear,s but ours sure does. Baxter went scurrying back to the sewing room when Bruce began using either the jigsaw, or bandsaw, cuddling up in the bottom of the curtains for some comfort. Well, I had some fabric left over from another project, so I put this together using it. Notice how nicely it all lined up because it did not stay this way for long.

Adding borders enlarged it, followed by backing it with this crazy soft fabric called Minky. I mean seriously soft, almost silk-like, but fuzzy. Before putting the back on, however, I decided to quilt the top. Normally that would have been just fine, but for reasons still unknown to me, when I attached the special foot, the stitches were minuscule no matter what setting I used.  Ever the optimist, I kept thinking it would start sewing properly so I kept going. Yeesh...that was a mistake. It pulled it all out of square with the stitches so small I could never rip them out. Nonetheless, Baxter is happy with it just the same.

Amazing how fast he moves when he gets into his back rubbing routine. :)

In other news, our darling neighbor Regina, who I wrote about here, slipped in her kitchen and broke her femur three weeks ago. Stopping by yesterday following church, we were thrilled to see she is her same old feisty self, just with a walker for the time being. Talking on the phone to Corrine in Alabama, later in the day, she remarked that if anyone can get over this, it is Regina. I couldn't have agreed more! Corrine, btw, is doing really well, participating in all of the activities, and staying healthy for a 90 year old. That makes me happy.

So, things are back to normal around here, at least until the holidays. See what I mean?

He's working on his next project, beginning in a matter of weeks in Plano, TX, a suburb of Dallas.

Our friend Irene made a comment about one of my blog posts, thanking me for sharing, "the fabric of life." Wouldn't that make a great name for a blog? I wish I'd thought of that!!

Happy that the windows are wide open,

Gail

p.s. you can imagine how all those bits of thread show up on my floor now...

p.p.s. Cool video of the give away of the Quilts for Pulse tragedy.

I've Got News...

and some pictures too. Not that they are related, mostly stuff I've taken, and they didn't fit any other story, so why not today? Let's begin with something silly, why don't we?

Try as I might, I could not move that cloud, but I did get a daytime moon shot, so that was cool.

Rather than keep you in suspense, I want to report that Carol is doing remarkably well following her more than seven hour surgery on Monday evening. Naturally she is in quite a bit of pain, however, they have drugs for that. Furthermore, although the pathology report is not back yet, the surgeon seems to think it is not cancer; we'll have to believe that until told otherwise. Barring any complications, or surprises, she should go home Sunday or Monday. Consequently, I will be heading out to California for eight days to help where I can. It is our hope that by the time I leave she will be up and about, albeit slowly.

Returning from my bike ride this morning, the house phone was ringing when I opened the door;  I was delighted it was Carol. We talked a bit about the how and why people have health problems, and in spite of what a lot of people say, it seems to me that it all comes down to bad luck. No rhyme or reason. I especially hate when folks blame the sick person's lifestyle. Whatever...

Starting my ride with unsuccessful owl searching, I rode up to Publix to recycle plastic bags. Along the way I saw a young couple walking, carrying shopping bags on their way to Publix as well. The minute I saw those bags I knew they must be staying at Cheryle and David's airbnb, and although their English was limited, they did give me an affirmative. Any other part of town it would not have looked out of place, but around here, we are wusses and drive our cars to Publix.

Heading back home, I was stopped by a guy I know in Southern Oaks who had some news for me concerning the you-know-whats. Before the owl pictures showing one of them staring at his reflection in a car, (I know, a re-run!)

I had not seen the two of them together since May 8, according to my photo library.

Apparently, according to Wes, one of them was found on the sidewalk near their favorite hang outs, with what appeared to be a broken wing. The owl place we visited in Apopka was called, and they came and got him, or her, and now they won't ever be together again. Boo hoo! Sort of like Herb and Corrine...one day he was here, and the next, never to be seen by us again. Perhaps I should go visit him, however, he hardly knows his children, so it might just confuse him all the more. Anyway, he went on to say that they believe there will be a full recovery. This, btw, is third hand news. :)

Bruce just called and he's on his way over to the Beatty's to give them a hand with something. The above Plumeria is from their beautiful gardens. As is this one below:

Darn if I can remember where I took this beauty:

Aren't flowers just amazing? The colors and variety are mind boggling. Plus the architecture? The middle of this zinnia reminds me of a decorated layer cake? Same for you?

The Google Doodle today caught my attention because there are birds involved. Looking into it I found this remarkable story about birding. Seeing such a variety of birds is nothing that will ever happen to me, so I enjoy the ones I do see.

And of course I've been sewing...

Last week the mail brought an unexpected letter with mailbox money that was not from SunDance. After reading about Days for Girls in this space, my sister Nancy sent a donation, which I promptly sent to Sharleen to buy fabric. Apparently this blog is good for something!!

But it will, by necessity, be ignored for a bit. Pen and paper will have to do during my absence.

Your roving reporter,

Gail

Further Afield

Yesterday morning I rode further afield, in part because I wanted to see what I could see, and too, I missed riding both Saturday and Sunday. I rode up to the bank at the corner of Orange and Gatlin, down Orange Avenue and turned near Michigan, riding on some back roads to get to Summerlin and home. Lake Jennie Jewel, seven doors down the street from our side yard looks one way from our side, the second half of the lake is on Orange Avenue, and it looked like this early yesterday as the sun was on a slow rise.

The one and only fish I've caught in my life came from this lake. I have no patience for fishing unlike Bruce who has the patience, just not the time. By the time I pulled into the driveway I'd clocked nine miles, a record for me. When I woke up this morning I was thinking I might ride over to our polling place and vote first thing but on further reflection I've decided to let those who need to get to work take the first places in line. I am sure I am not alone in thanking God the election is finally here.

In what I imagine will be my last two pieces of campaign propaganda (oh wait, didn't they used to call it literature?), came this morning. One was the sleeve of the newspaper, and the other was laying on the front porch. Oh, if only any of the claims were true. Speaking of elections, history, that sort of thing, I came across the most fascinating program on the History channel. After watching a few hours of The Men Who Built America I learned some amazing things that if I knew previously, I'd completely forgotten it. It was a good reminder of both how far we have come, and how far we have to go. Rough and tumble back then with a few holding most of the money--somewhat like today. What I also learned is that the powerful men were very much in competition with one another--Carnegie, Rockefeller, JP Morgan, all trying to one up each other. It made me think that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were the modern day equivalent. High profile--competitive, and cutting edge. Catch it if you can!

So, I did FAVO on Friday night with not as much monetary success, but certainly fun and interesting. My sweet friend Bev came before her night out at the theater.

Although I've known Todd Fox for some time now, meeting him about three years ago at the slowest art show I've ever done, he's worn a ball cap every time I've seen him which is generally at the market. Who knew he had no hair?

He laughed when I asked, where's your hair? I took this early on before his fans started showing up. My space looked nearly the same with a few new additions:

Following the pack up, I made a quick stop at Mr. Roger's to pick up some prints, and that was Friday. In the morning I went out to the Winter Garden market because Fiesta in the Park forced the market to close. There was a corn festival with hay rides, a maze, and games for the children. I met some new folks, and some old friends, including a visit from the Goldsmiths who hail from Long Island. TJ's brother lost his home in the Sandy mess, claiming once it is re-built, he's moving down to Florida. Torey, the youngest daughter is enjoying her blue ice on the grass:

They are sure happy they moved to Florida a little more than a year ago--barefoot in the grass in November--indeed!

We met Steve and Barb for dinner later, however, after our drinks were served, Barb began feeling light-headed and nauseous, prompting an early exit. She has recovered which is more than I can say for Mr. Bruce. He's still exhausted from last week and is on the road again. Poor baby.

Because we had a rare Sunday off we decided to visit Park Lake Presbyterian Church; our take-away? We both miss setting aside part of the week for worship and thinking about something greater than ourselves! 

With that in mind, let's talk birds for a minute, shall we? Although I said last week that the bird sightings were scarce, I spoke too soon. While on the phone Friday Bruce was looking out his window, calling to me in the back of the house--come see a big bird across the street! He apologized to whomever he was talking to, explaining that his wife liked birds. Rarely have I ever seen a hawk this close:

Grabbing my camera I kept my eye on him as I walked across the street--he was perched on our neighbor Wanda's fence. Surprisingly he did not move allowing me to get relatively close. If I could judge distances I'd tell you it was 100 feet or something like that but I can't. Trust me on this. Moments after taking this a stream of bird poop came out and off he flew!

Another day since I've last written I saw this darling Carolina Wren through the front door:

They are just the cutest little birds. Saturday I also saw the return of the red-winged blackbirds, as in more than two, multiple doves, finches, and tufted tit-mice. So there.

Speaking of further afield, our son in London, Matthew, wrote this piece for a website, founded by several of his Northwestern classmates, explaining what the Defense of Marriage Act means to him. After reading it you will wonder why I am the one doing most of the writing in the family!

This time tomorrow we will have either the same President or a new one. Half of the American people will be either delighted, or disappointed. The funny thing is, whatever happens will one day be on the History channel, with viewers amazed at either our brilliance, or our ignorance. Raising my boys was both fun and challenging, with this mother oftentimes repeating to herself through the trying times, "this too shall pass Gail", and it did, as everything does. What most we need in our country right now is compromise--let us move forward--discussing our differences while finding solutions to the challenges of our day. Forward--pretty please?

The Last Laugh

Remember how last week I was getting all high and mighty, in particular warning you against believing everything you read online? I told you this was our 38th wedding anniversary, and by golly, it was our 39th!!! Furthermore, Miss, trying to act like a kid again, now has water in her left ear from her handstands! I laughed at myself, but I'm ceding the last laugh to you dear readers. :-)

Things have been busy, busy, around here, some of which happened last week, but I never got around to telling you about it. On facebook I saw someone post that a curator needed some work for the monthly Third Thursday because their artist canceled at the last minute. Well now. I sent him a message telling him I had some pieces that were just hanging around after coming home from the Church Street gallery--we agreed to meet to see if they would work for his space. They did. I drug myself downtown to show support on Thursday night ,and fortunately I ran into some friends who accompanied me to the space. (they will hang there for a month--a blessing because I won't have to store them myself!)
Lots of color right? I did a little gallery hopping, however, it's really not my thing, so I didn't stay too long. Heading back to my car, I came across these guys setting up for the evening along Orange Avenue in front of a way-too-long, vacant lot.

I suppose every city has their own version of both the drummers, and vacant lots but I wish that weren't so. I'm all for the drummers, in fact, they were making great sounds, however I wish the city would just go ahead and turn this space into an impromptu park until the economy improves, and a tenant is found. We can dream can't we?

Walking up to my parking space, I saw this terrific cloud formation as the sun was setting:

 I told you I've been obsessed with the sky of late!

What I really wanted to be doing was reading my novel which I finally finished this afternoon. Stones from the River by Ursala Hegi, a book I got from Bev, was yet another in a long line that I've read about the Holocaust, however this one was very unique. Told from the perspective of a young woman, beginning in early childhood, who just so happens to be a Zwerg, the German word for dwarf. Set in a small town in Germany, she relates the lives of her fellow townsfolk, and how Hitler's rise to power affected everything and everyone. Because I've spent some time reading this, last week at bridge I asked Willie, our Dutch friend, when she came to America. As it turns out, the beautiful woman I've now known for a year, was deeply affected by the war because she is way older than we all thought. Living in Amsterdam as a young girl, she can still recall the German troops coming onto her street with machine guns, taking her Mother's best friend away. Incredible to imagine isn't it? Sadly, my innocent question brought her to tears, and needless to say, that was the end of our bridge game for the day.

Because something work related came up late Friday evening we never made plans for our anniversary. Between Bruce having to sleep off his red-eye flight, and the work problems, the timing wasn't great for a celebration. Instead we took it easy, meaning Bruce did NO work on Saturday which is really a celebration in and of itself. We moseyed. The weather was dreary. Our plans to purchase a new garden bench to replace the rotting one I have in the yard didn't work out either. Although we tried both garden centers in College Park, neither one had anything suitable.

So we went to Dubsdread. What's that Gail?

Here's the scoop: 14 years ago, Bruce's parents threw a 25th wedding anniversary party for us at Dubsdread without consulting us. I pouted. I ranted. I was ridiculously ungrateful! "Why didn't they ask us where we wanted a party?" "What were they thinking???"  They were thinking that special occasions are meant to be celebrated, that's what they were thinking. The older I get, the clearer I see that they were right. Year after year they wanted to take us out to dinner, and there were many times that I just didn't want to. Shame on me! The party turned out to be fun, and for years and years, I couldn't bring myself to give away the shoes I bought for the occasion. Ladies amongst you will surely understand.

Anyway, Dubsdread is our city golf course, and back then, it needed some revitalizing. It now has it. We had lunch and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

I knew that this photo with Bruce sitting by the window would be difficult, but I still like it. He's sporting his anniversary gift around his neck. We then came home and napped for two hours which is pretty much unheard of around these parts. Nice. As we played canasta through the evening and night, we ate pretzels with ranch dip and popcorn. That was dinner. We were acting like we were kids again. Actually, when you've been dating since you were 13, in some respects, we will always be kids in each others eyes, no matter how old we become!

We skipped the market on Sunday! I cleaned! Bruce worked! I had a nice chat with Matt except for the internet connection was spotty because while moving furniture around I knocked the extender off. Duh!

Sunday night I got a little more creative with dinner, making the above. What the heck is it Gail? Well, the skillet holds corn, scraped from the cob, poblano peppers, charred in the oven, three kinds of diced tomatoes, red onion, garlic, and cilantro. The tray behind holds some spiced pumpkin seeds and honey, do I mean spiced! The recipe is from the Flying Biscuit Cafe cookbook from Atlanta. Somehow I got some of the cayenne pepper on my hands causing some serious burning all through the evening. Oftentimes I've read to wear gloves while chopping peppers, which I never do, but that advice came to mind as my hands felt like they were on fire! Pasta in the last pot. Very tasty concoction.

So, I spotted a new bird in the jatropha tree, and despite poring over the Audubon guide, I can't figure out what kind it is.

Right profile and here's the left. Don't get upset with me for posting two, they will probably never appear again in "Camera Crazy."

We've discussed how birds are molting so perhaps there's some of that going on? Mrs. Cardinal is looking pretty spiffy these days as she sits on the fence:

Much improved appearance, don't you agree? This morning as I was hanging the sheets on the line, a hawk flew overhead, landing on the same post as the Osprey from a few weeks ago. Those mocking birds are fearless, antagonizing the larger birds.

How about that for a size difference?

While I was on Facetime with Matt, I told him that while cleaning I decided to do something different with the coffee table. I turned the camera around so he could see what I'd done. He wasn't impressed. Eventually we settled on this arrangement:

Okay, I admit, I'm including the above to show off Baxie. Let's get a closer look shall we?

With Bruce's help I took this glass top off, cleaned both sides and rotated the rug. What you are seeing is the cleanest the living room has been since Nancy visited last summer. Obviously, cleaning is not my thing. You and I both know I'd much rather be writing and taking photographs. Nancy will surely call me tomorrow to get more details as she loves cleaning.

As we sat in Dubsdread and I told Bruce I'd written the story about his pool cleaning days,  I realized the error of my dates. I laughed and laughed and I hope you will too.

Picture Fest

Well, well, well. Things are looking up. As you can imagine, I was more than delighted to hear from Apple on Friday afternoon. All better now.

Plus, Bruce finally came home on Friday night. I'm bracing myself for more weeks like last one. This morning before he left I wrote down his slate of jobs which is extensive. 10, yes I did say 10 projects going on at once. One of those jobs is in Watertown, NY, the place of his birth. It just so happens to be one of the snow capitals of the United States. You get my drift? Alas, an unexpected pun!

The weekend was good. A movie and dinner date on Saturday night. I am, to put it mildly, a huge Robert Duvall fan so it was a given we'd need to see his latest in the theater. We were not disappointed in the slightest with Get Low. It's hard to imagine that RD is 79 years old. My, oh my. He just gets better with age, however, he was mighty fine in Lonesome Dove.

NEWS FLASH! I sold some things on Sunday. Except for a few drizzles, the weather was tolerable, with fairly decent traffic. Earlier in the day when Maria and Dominque came by we discussed that there are a lot of regulars and maybe they already have my stuff? Well, good thing for those regulars is what I have to say. A really nice woman brought a friend along and wonder of wonders, she bought a 20x30 canvas. Can you say delighted? Indeed.

As far as the title is concerned let's get to those pictures of happenings in the last few days. Here's one last attempt to show the glass before the new glass is installed. Maybe tomorrow?

Here's the way it's looked since last Wednesday:

I'm sorta missing my early morning sunshine.

In the last week it seems as if mushrooms have been popping up all over. Last week while walking Baxter along Pershing I came across this incredible display:

Yes, it really is that yellowy and there were many more. So big and strange.

Continuing the natural world theme. This morning while unloading a few groceries from the car I saw a hawk fly into Herb and Corrine's gigantic oak tree across the street. Naturally I ran inside to grab the trusty super zoom Panasonic FZ8 to see what I could do. If you look closely at the bird's mouth you will see blood---no wonder it stayed put for so long. I wonder what poor little creature became lunch.

Speaking of trees, the tree trimmers are cleaning up our place today. Both large oaks, a giant palm tree, and removing some dead limbs from another smaller oak that has grown up from an acorn in the last few years. It's totally astonishing to see it go from nothing to the present height of about 20-30' tall. As well, they are removing some ferns from the backyard to ready it for the new landscaping. Mind you, I've no real plan yet but not for lack of trying. That part of things is definitely a work in progress.

Moving indoors, remember last week how I was trashing all my school work? Well, here is the pile:

About the only things I kept were some papers. Don't ask me why I kept those because I've no idea. This morning after calling the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists my heart sank just a bit. I need 24 credit hours before 11/30. Six. That's what I've got now. Can you say discouraged? Indeed.

If you like female vocalists click on this link for a treat--

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127089755
Matthew introduced me to Tift Merrit some years ago. Apparently her style has changed somewhat but she's still terrific.

Big news--Bill started his new job this morning!! I know you join me in being thrilled.

Finally, here's a wonderful shade of Gerbera Daisy I found today at Publix:

You about tired of looking at pictures? I warned you now didn't I?