A Sampler and a Storm

Along with the palms I showed you the other day, they did a huge trim on an Areca Palm in the NW corner of our back yard. To say that it had outgrown the area is a serious understatement. We tidied the area all up on Saturday, putting the old front porch chairs over there for an additional seating area.

Let's just say that you were hard pressed to see the fence before! I moved my little tomato plant over to this area as well.

Not bad for a volunteer, right? Hardly enough for a salad though...

The air plant is blooming, and isn't it so intriguing?

Remember the cardinals from the bird bath last week? It has been so interesting watching them run in a little pack. Look carefully and you will spot three.

The front bird feeder is right outside my kitchen window now, so I've got a great view, however, shooting through the window and screen does give every photograph a soft look. Nonetheless, I'm thinking the bedraggled look is because they are getting their new feathers? It is hard to tell if they are male or female at this point.

Have I told you that Pam's best friend Irene has moved to Orlando from Portland? Following a leisurely ten day drive across the country, she arrived on Saturday around noon. Pam and Glen flew to Omaha where they met up with Irene so Pam could be her driving buddy for the last five days. Along the way, they made a couple of quilting stops, first at Missouri Star Quilt Company, a mecca for anyone who loves to quilt, followed by the Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY. MSQC is famous for Jenny, the Goddess of online quilting tutorials. As well, there are some links to another quilter, a man in fact, Rob Appell whose website is called Man Sewing. Occasionally Jenny and Rob do a video together, so it only makes sense that in one of the MSQC shops they sell Man Sewing t-shirts. Because Glen has become so fascinated with sewing, making his first quilt top, Pam brought one of those very same t-shirts home. I had to get a photograph!

The pretty dog belongs to Irene, one of two. I have to confess, I've yet to commit their names to memory.

I am only just getting to know Irene, but one thing I've quickly learned is that she is a generous woman. Receiving a gift from her, The Farmer's Wife 1930 Sampler Quilt, blew me away. The book includes letters written to the editor of the magazine of the same name. Reading a few to Bruce on the way to church, I kept chocking up, so much so that I had to quit, lest my mascara run before we got there! Because yesterday was slated to be stormy, I sat down with the book and my sewing machine, trying to approximate the size pieces I needed to cut. Using scraps from previous projects, (you will surely recognize one of them), I made the block called "Hope."

A CD with all the exact cutting directions is included, however, as much as I love my new computer, I do miss the CD drive! Because I've yet to give it away, I may just haul it out of the closet and check the CD out! The back of the book shows the diagrams, whereas the front has the letters. I was still in the back portion and came across a block she called Bonnie. Because I've had the good fortune to meet a delightful Bonnie, I decided to try that one. Actually I made two different sizes and color combinations to show how the fabric choice is so wildly important. Once I went to the letter associated with that block I realized it was not just chance that I'd made it because it was one of the letters I'd read to Bruce!

Next I decided to practice some quilting, specifically free motion and this circular pattern I'd seen that I'm just crazy about. Starting very slowly, I went round and round..

Whether or not I can replicate that on a large quilt is ytbd. Next up came another sort of sampler...the stitches available on my machine. I kept going until I ran out of bobbin thread.

Not the greatest photo, but you get my drift. When Bruce got home from work he asked what I'd done during the day. Home sewing class was my response!

Before he returned the promised storm finally hit with driving rain,

although it looks like a lot coming down our rain chain,

the total was really no more than an ordinary storm. The television weather people are having a heyday reporting on Tropical Storm Colin. Thankfully we were spared the worst of it. That said, rain is still coming down with occasional gusts. More than once we awoke during the night to rain and lightening.

We finally got up, because we were both awake, and anxious for an update on Carol's surgery. The last we heard before going to bed was that it was extensive;  sadly, that's still all we know. Keep both Carol and her sweet husband Hank in your prayers, will you?

Anxious,

Gail

Nine out of Twelve

Those are the statistics from Cole about how many markets of late have closed due to stormy weather, and Sunday was no exception. Just as a young lady was buying my elephant photo,  I noticed a shift in the wind, and moments later, a downpour began. And what a downpour it was with eight people taking shelter in my tent. All closed up, it got sort of lively in there! Following 40 minutes of hard rain, here's what it looked like outside the confines of my tent:

Dina and Cole, soaked to the skin, are trying to unplug the newly refurbished drain. Obviously it could not keep up with a Florida rainstorm! Unexpectedly, with a 1:30 closing time, I sold a record 7 small canvases along with other assorted prints. I am ever so grateful for repeat buyers, of whom there were several.

Surprisingly, Sunday was not blazing hot prior to the storm, unlike the heat Saturday at Winter Garden, where it was difficult to stay cool even with my fan blowing on the highest speed. Never was I so glad for the clock to read 2:00, a slight exaggeration, but not by much. If not for a few new buyers, my day would have been a bust. I cannot wait for the cooler weather, and the folks that come with it! During the cooler months, there are about twice as many chairs, without an empty one in the bunch.

Bruce got a new suit for his special night at Nordstrom on Friday with bonus points for it not being made in China! According to Matthew, the clothes in Britain are not all made in China, however, that happy news has not made it to America. It's not that I begrudge Chinese people having jobs, it's just the quality I find fault with. One wearing and knit shirts have little pills on them, seams split, buttons fall off after a few washings, and other mishaps. Then there are the dyes which aren't nearly as colorfast, not to mention the ridiculously hight prices on some clothes which cost the company little to make. Enough already.

What else have I been up to lately? The usual, however, as is always the case, I discover new things to amuse me, whether they be a mushroom growing in our yard,

or a new kind of opening on a wine bottle. By the way, this one is quite clever:

After removing the lower ring, you are left with a little stopper which is very useful indeed. Much better than a plastic faux cork. Furthermore, adding interest to this whole thing is a clear bottle, something you rarely find in a red wine. Not amused? I know, it's a bit of a stretch....

How about some daisy practice?

And then there was the blue moon late last week which I didn't get around to posting. Looking out my kitchen window, my goodness it seemed so close and obviously full!

Apparently in a technicality, which I don't fully understand there was another blue moon, a phenomenon I was not expecting after the one last summer. Unlike last year, when the blue moon rose over the Atlantic Ocean, I had to content myself with glimpses through the trees this time. I fully intended to photograph it at daybreak the following morning, however, cloud cover made waste of my best-laid plans.

Have you heard of "Cook's Illustrated?" While shopping at Costco recently, I picked up a copy of their magazine, sort of one of those "best of" issues. So far I've made the vinaigrette recipe with great success and now I've mastered the chewy sugar cookies. These folks get very, very technical about cooking science; basically about the how and why things work together to form yummy food. He starts the cookie recipe by saying that it seems quite simple, however, to get the best taste and texture is quite another matter. I bet you've tasted, as I have, some pretty ordinary sugar cookies in your life. No more! As an example, after making batch after batch of them, they discovered that "a cookie's "chew" depends largely on the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fats." He calls using both baking powder and baking soda the dynamic duo for a nicely mounded cookie. What he did not address was the perfect circle end of it! My cookies were made even more delicious by using the addition of chopped coconut and lime zest and juice. Oh my there were good! Below you can plainly see that they do have a nice mound with crisp edges and chewy center, well, I guess you can't see that, but trust me. What they lack are the perfect round shape. Something went amiss after making them into balls, rolling in sugar, and then flattening them with a glass.

A little rough around the edges is the perfect description! Guess what? In a first for me, following the recipe, I melted the butter before adding, and actually used a whisk throughout, rather than my beautiful mixer! Figuring I'd try his way, I was surprised at how it worked like a charm.

We've finished Season Two of Downton Abbey, and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Season Three from Amazon. Seeing the gorgeous clothes is enough to make anyone want to watch that series. Although late to the party, we love it as most folks do! Thank you to Jon and Alissa for an awesome birthday gift!

Friday, on an afternoon run to the Polasek, the clouds threatened,

following through on the threat just as I arrived to deliver some more cards and prints. While there I learned from Petra that people were hoping for a different picture of "The Sower" because of the flowering tabebuia tree in the background. I loved that photo, as did Debbie, the museum director who made it the logo for a year, but if it isn't selling than it is time to move on. The rain was my friend in this case because it is hard to get a good photograph of a sculpture anyway, and in our case, the harsh sunlight really adds to that. Perhaps they will like this one better:

Although not much of a check, each month I receive one for cards or prints sold in the gift shop. I split the profit 50/50 with them. We are all very happy indeed to discover that the people who visit the gardens and museum love butterfly photographs which I happily provide. Yet another nice thing of late was a larger than expected check from Sun Dance. Oh how we love "mailbox money."

All that to say that so far this has been a banner year for me even with all our early market closures from stormy weather. I'm as surprised as anybody! My sales have surpassed last year's mark with four more months to go.What's happening around here? Is the recession finally starting to ease? For everyone's sake, I sure hope so.