It's The Wind!

Oh my goodness it is cold outside, and why should I be surprised, it is January after all. How I wish I had included the temperatures in the posts I wrote last year at this time. Writing that it was cold, but how cold, I cannot say. I read those posts because of my dim memory of all things, so now I have been reminded of what we faced at this time last year and it was not just the wind! Check out this sad post! Knowing that maybe one of you will do so, I will just say that it is about when we had Covid for the first time and how that turned out. Yikes! I do have some sort of thing going on right now which is making me cough during the night; I am thinking sinus? For the first time since writing the above post that I have missed church yesterday morning. I just didn't feel like coughing through the service and disrupting everyone.

About a half hour ago I filled up the empty bird feeders not because I wanted to mind you, but because it is only getting colder as the day goes on. My phone tells me it is 31 degrees as I write this at three in the afternoon. It is the wind though that is making it feel so much colder to the mark of 15 degrees. I know that sounds pretty inflated, but maybe not, as the gusts are something like 30mph. Plus, snow flurries happened while I was out there. Now, however, I have on three tops and leggings, the heater is blowing upwards by my desk, and I feel pretty cozy. 

Friday morning it was very cold as well, so much so that there were snow flurries on the pickleball court as we played! 

I had to laugh thinking to myself how one is never too old to do something that once seemed impossible. When we learned to play this game it is a safe bet that neither of us ever imagined we would be playing in snow flurries. Actually, about a half hour later, I told Bruce it was time to go as I was just too cold and mostly it was my fault as I had not worn the proper clothing. Cold weather does take it out of you is something we have also learned. 

Cold weather also calls for comforting food in the stews and soup category. Casseroles count to. It must have been the night when my cupboards was very nearly bare that I dreamed up this dish with Great Northern beans and chicken over polenta.

I had some poblano peppers in the fridge along with some tomatoes and now I can't remember how I spiced it but it actually turned out yummy. Woo hoo!

Remember when I made that meatloaf for John and Laura that fell apart? Do you recall me telling you that it called for three cups of chopped onions. Here's what that looked like. 

To be honest, I only am just seeing these photos because the card from that camera has not been uploaded until today. The thing is though, that this is a nice segue unto my next topic of discussion. The cast iron skillet, pictured above, is one that I bought used at the big local flea market. It has turned out to be fantastic, something I cannot say about the one I bought new in Orlando. I love this pan. 

Secondhand life. Do you remember our friend Mary saying that they have lived mostly a secondhand life?  While I have done plenty of shopping at thrift stores and the like, never before have I done so with such a purpose. That camera card included this photo of the set table and I realized that nearly everything in the photo has come from our local thrift stores.

The runner came up here with us and the flat ware is new, but the dishes, the placemats, the candlesticks, the glasses and the basket have all belonged to someone else before. We are so grateful to all of the folks that donate to the area thrift stores, whoever you are!!

When I wrote about that dinner, I included the story of how Mary had given me the cheese ball recipe some thirty years prior and I hand never made it. Well, she happened to read that post and wouldn't you know it, after decades of disuse on her part, she had recently made the cheese ball, rediscovering how good it was. How about that?

That dining table now looks like this after we took down all of the decorations. I had a number of live poinsettias inside and they do so well, until they don't. Leaves drop and they get leggy, so I cut the upper leaves off and now the sun is putting on a show on the table.  Don't you love all the new colors of poinsettias? Furthermore, lets be honest, it looks like I need to dust!

The birthday flowers from David and Michelle are still holding up and are now flanked by my birthday cards, many of which were cute or clever, none more so than that truck one from Nancy.

Count me super excited by the finally blooming Amaryllis given to us as a bulb from David ages ago!

The Cherokee Scout that we read in this very room always has articles that interest us, but in this last edition, two stood out. After our most recent Soul Table I sent three photos to the newspaper and it took a couple of weeks but here they are.

Unfortunately in an effort to fit it all in one box, the Free Produce sign was cut off, plus they left that part out of the caption despite my best efforts. Two volunteers drive to Franklin to pick up the fresh produce, many of it grown very locally. Last months offering included some black radishes, a vegetable I never knew existed. I brought one home and finally peeled off the black skin and tasted it. Although we are big radish fans in this household, but in the future, we intend to stick with red. 

Flipping through the pages I spoke out to Bruce at lunch, well here you are honey wearing your ever present pickleball hat.

How about that? There is also a big article about the accomplishments of the Main Street America program that Laura runs. What are the chances? It's all to help the community.

My last post was a wee bit negligent because I said that there are four feeders. Not true. A decorative feeder, another gift from our London lads, has been duly hung.

Fortunately there was an open spot where the hummingbird feeder usually hangs. Now if we were in Florida we would be having a hummingbird feeder right about now, although I, for one, have never had success with one there. 

Now is the time of year to head up to the sewing room seeing as college football is essentially over, although there were some fantastic playoff games in the last week. It is far too cold, at least when it is overcast and windy, to go for a walk, so lets get sewing instead.  Ever since we bought the house we have been buying seasonal pillows from Walmart for the front porch rockers, all of which you have seen before. Well, now what? 

Cue my fabric stash, thanks to Mary! 

I could not be anymore pleased with the covers all made with fabric I owned, including the fantastic paisley that is part of a group of Liberty fabrics Matt gave me years ago. Unfortunately I did not have much of it, but I still think it looks nice.

A tiny bit of quilting on the front after I changed the design a few times. I began with four big strips but thought better of it. Cutting them in two and moving them around added interest. I added a thin strip of the Liberty on the back of one of them.

And now we have some pillows until I pull out the spring ones again. Of course, knowing me, I will want to make something of my own, but we shall see. Spring is clearly a long way away.

Detailed in this post from Vancouver, which I highly recommend that you click on. but that's just me because not only would I love to see the quilt but the title, The First Day of Spring in a land where cherry blossoms etc bloom would be a big magnet for me.  Okay, I digress, let''s get to the point. Donating a quilt I made to our church's homeless ministry, I have always missed it because it was so colorful and interesting. So, why not finally make a "A Trip Around the World" quilt for us? I'm thinking perhaps in a more muted color palette to fit the season here, in other words, not so Florida-like. 

So, Saturday morning after finishing the laundry, I began sorting through my fabrics trying to come up with nine fabrics that might go well together. Having enough of each was a necessity as well.  Okey dokey, after a good deal of thought and deliberation I came up with the winners and began cutting four inch strips to make it large enough for a double bed. This was going very well until something became apparent that did not please me in the least. Can you spot it?

Should you have noticed that they are not all the same length, which in this particular pattern means it will not work, you are a winner. At least half of the above are twenty years old and back then they kept the selvage to a minimum, as well as the width a little smaller. What was I thinking? Now I am back to square one, but although a little discouraged, I will think of something.

Speaking of discouraged...wow, we just finished Job! The language is so rich in that book of the Bible I was sorry to see it end and when we began that book I thought it was going to be a chore. Onward to the Psalms!

Bruce has just purchased his material for the next house project which promises to be very exciting. Wait and see! Before that though, I believe he has just volunteered to help in building another ramp, which while not nearly as big as the last one, baby it is cold outside!!!

Standing at my kitchen window the other day I called out to the man of the house, "honey, quick I need my camera!" While it did not work great through the window and screen, it was very fun to see this Downey Woodpecker having a meal courtesy of our Rose of Sharon tree.

Oh my goodness, that reminds me. At church yesterday, Linda gave Bruce three things of bird seed because she is taking a break having found a BEAR on her front porch!! And she lives not too far from John and Laura!

On this super windy and cold day, the birds, both at our feeders and Sandy's across the street, are eating as if there were no tomorrow. As I've mentioned before birds eat a lot to keep warm. Another thing they do is stay together and puff up like this beautiful Cardinal.

And no it is not a mirror image, but it sure looks like one doesn't it? Actually I believe I saw a third one in the same area, a first for me, as they normally do not run around in a group. Love it!

Looking through my libraries for owl pictures for a friend, I came across this image that I used to have for sale. Called, "This Too Shall Pass", it sold well, in part because of the image and in part because of the sentiment that I think a whole bunch of folks cling to. I know I sure did, especially when we had four teenage sons at once! (that was taken on our counter adjacent to our refrigerator btw)

What is kind of weird, serendipitous, crazy, whatever you want to call it, although I've had this image on my desktop for a few weeks now, it just occurred to me that writing about the cold and more specifically thinking about Job and his reported life, it all sort of fits together doesn't it? Or so it seems to me. 

You know me, I love this sort of thing!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. trying to get back to posting on Mondays!  

It Was a Good Day for Cleaning Gutters

Saturday. A lovely day! What began as a chilly morning evolved into a warm one as the day wore on. Both Bruce and I started our outdoor chores wearing sweatshirts, however, by the time we finished, we were down to short sleeves and shorts. And I complain about our weather? Shame on me.

It is a well established fact that winter sunsets are the best. Why this is so, I don't know, but unless the day is gray and gloomy, most nights we get a very nice show. Looking down our street toward the lake.

Last week when we were sorting through Bruce's stamp collection we came across two newspaper clippings which are very entertaining...cascading male manes! When was the last you heard that phrase?

Here's another one:

You can just barely see the date on the second one--1972, a year in which Mr. Peck still was sporting some pretty long locks. Because one of these is from, what I think is a Tampa newspaper, we are presuming that his Mom must have sent these from when they lived in Clearwater, no doubt, hoping to get her son to cut his hair!! With the ongoing beard craze, I suspect there are some Moms out there so wishing their sons would trim those crazy long beards. As to how long the current craze will continue, is anyone's guess, however, one thing we do know is that it will eventually be a thing of the past. (please note the reference to Afros in clipping #2!)

Eventually Bruce cut his hair, but not without some grumbling. :)

What would a post on Camera Crazy be without a bird photo?

I'm pretty confidant this is a mockingbird who stayed in the tree for quite some time. Notice the little buds? Well, here's what that tree looks like today:

Gray sky? Blue sky? You know which one is my favorite!

The market was nice on Sunday, albeit a little chilly. So many folks came to see, and be seen.

It was super nice to be busy, rather than sitting reading a book. When my tent was empty, which, thankfully, was not too often, I worked on the Sunday newspaper crossword puzzle, a good way to pass the time. Talk about busy--all of our food vendors ran out of food! Nice for them. 

People of all ages were out enjoying a lovely weekend day. 

Oops, here comes more birds!! This time the little finches have returned.

As have the blooming Tabebuia trees!

This is not my tree, but any day now, I'll have this to enjoy in our yard. 

When I've not been cleaning gutters, scrubbing the fascia boards with bleach, or selling photography, I've been doing a little sewing. 

I laid out the pattern pieces on some of my sweet estate sale fabric, however,  it took me several days before I could actually cut it. Once cut, it would be a done deal. Making sure the fabric works with a pattern is part of the process. Eventually I went for it...

It is nearly done, aside from the armholes. The sunny yellow band on the bottom makes me happy. I have very few yellow clothes, and I don't really know why. Perhaps they don't make them?

Speaking of bright colors, Maureen called the other day to tell me the name of that spectacular orange vine I showed in this post. Mexican flame vine is what she said, and I've no reason to doubt her as she knows her plants!

We've had a very nice hiatus from Bruce traveling so much, however, that is all changing this week as he'll be gone for three days. Super cold there too, or at least it is to this wimp. He never complains, saying the travel part is the easiest part of his job. That tells you something doesn't it?