Not Up to Fasting

When I was mentally making my plan for the week, it occurred to me that this would be a fine week to refrain from the internet.

Well......you can see how that worked out.  I no sooner go to do something else, than I think of someone I need to get in touch with, or something I need to find out.  It is said that we get our brains "rewired" when we can switch from one subject to another at the click of a mouse and I have to believe it.  As though I needed more distraction!

So I feel as though I have given myself a case of attention deficit disorder.  Not the one in capital letters, just the case that I have.

In a related malady, is that not also true of the person obsessively holding the remote, clicking away without any regard whatever for other folks in the room who may be interested in something (s)he clicked away from a few minutes ago?

My mourning for my past attention span may be faulty memory.  I was reprimanded fairly often for chattering in class.  Hard to believe, I know.

I have sewn a quilt top together.  It isn't anything special, and the squares were already completed and I just had to join the rows.  But it is flannel and pastel and will be backed with green polka dot flannel.  It will be warm and cozy though not especially pretty.  I was "gifted" with a great many flannel squares at the quilt retreat and they don't all go together flawlessly.

I have another project to work on this week.  I volunteered to finish an unfinished vest with a V-neck.  I sewed the shoulder and the sides but need to figure out how to do the neckline.  I have no pattern (with the project), but I have a great many others I can refer to, so all is not lost.  The yarn is a beautiful, soft baby alpaca---a sheer joy to work with.

This is the picture I posted to Ravelry when I asked for advice from experts, so I think I have enough information to proceed.  Perhaps after I finish my book.

I must be making up for my weeks of not enough reading.  Since Thursday I have read Orphan Train and The Scent of Rain and Lightning.  I'm also half through The Strangling on the Stage.   You can imagine how much exercise I got, reading that much.  

It seems like you should get some credit for exercise if you watch the soccer matches from the World Cup.  I admire their fitness.  That field is huge and they run, run, run for hours!  In the heat!  Even being a fan there is a a lot of exercise!

Okay, that's all the trivia I can come up with.  Thanks for reading and please visit again.  

Friends and Framily

I hope you have seen the commercial that Sprint is running for it's "expanded" coverage.  I guess all the carriers must be offering something like this now, but their commercial make me laugh every time I see it.

Meet the Frobinsons.   Click here.

I'm always griping about advertising that makes men look like idiots--which happens a lot I think----but I quite like the father in this framily.

Speaking of which, I had a delightful surprise on Monday when my oldest son and his wife and daughter were at my front door.  We had a pleasant visit in almost perfect weather, sitting outdoors in the shade of the maple tree.  I'm all in favor of surprises like that.

The following day was spent at the shore of Lake Superior (formerly of ice covered fame) with my sisters and our quilting projects, and some ham sandwiches and brownies.  It was sunny but cool.  That is also known as perfect weather, for me.

The family joke is that it always begins to rain when I arrive at the lake, but I must have sneaked up on it this time.  It didn't rain at all.  We spent some time on mosquito control, but they seemed to be indoors more than outdoors.  Youngest sister and I had a good visit traveling back and forth too, since it's a two hour trip each way.  Grab your visiting time whenever you can, I always say.

We did NOT see any moose, though we always hope to, but we saw a deer or two, and a crane in a field.  Otherwise the wildlife sightings were kind of sparse.

Summer is a good time for lots of family fun.  I hope you are having some as well.

Happy Birthday, Flag!

Good Guy has a birthday coming up and the whole country celebrates this dear man by flying the flag.  Of course, they might also be flying the flag for my very much younger sister and her husband who celebrate their wedding anniversary on June 14th.

Or it might be that it's Flag Day.

My friend, Kay, is an advocate for proper flag protocol and has raised my awareness.  She makes a point of reminding folks that it's disrespectful to fly a flag that is torn and tattered, and she has me noticing that as well.

If you have a flag, fly it proudly.  And replace it if it is worn and torn.  (And wish GG a happy birthday.  No card or gift is required.)

Meet Betty's Blues

Allow me to introduce you to another scrappy creation.  This one has an unlikely beginning.

A couple years ago my sister got a phone call from a young lady who knew she was a quilter.  The lady's mom had been a quilter too, and had left behind a boatload of fabric, patterns, and tools.

Would my sister be interested in taking the stuff and sharing it with people who could put it to good use?

I ended up with some of it.

Of course, I also have drawers, boxes, bins, and bags of scraps and cut strips already.  But among the gift fabric, I found a little plastic recipe box that had units pre-cut and pinned together. Obviously Betty had had a plan for these 4 inch squares pinned with 8 smaller matching squares.  I wonder what it was that she wanted to do?

I didn't have much to go on, but I cobbled this together with my already cut scraps and had enough for 25 squares.  This is as far as it's gotten, and I'll probably add a dark blue border to what is there so far.

I hope Betty would like it, even if it wasn't what she had in mind.   What do you think?  Leave a comment.

...Singing in the Dead of Night....

I seem to recall odd song lyrics at odd times...

And alas, I don't recall what bird was singing in the dead of night, either.  But one of my favorite things about spring is bird watching in my yard.  I don't see many exotic species here.  We have resident mourning doves,  nuthatches, chickadees, blue jays, and cardinals year round.  I am always happy to see them.

I rejoice when the hummingbirds return in the spring.  This year I saw them earlier than I ever have.  Since I try to keep track I know this.  This year it was May 12th, and last year, May 20th.

But this year I have a favorite, nesting in the maple tree on the lot line.  It isn't a beautiful bird to look at, but I love to hear it.  It is a catbird.

I can't quite figure out how to get the picture to show up here.  But you may check here to see one.

My catbird is an excellent mimic and sits up there singing everyone's song for long periods at a time. To me, it is delightful because I don't have to be peering out the window, I can just open it and listen.

A lesser delight is a blackbird family nesting this year in the sagging soffits of the neighbor's garage.  They had nested there before and one owner who lived there made good repairs and the blackbirds had to find new spots that year.  But, sad to say, they have returned and they are noisy neighbors.

That's all the news from my yard for today.  I do have some activity though.  I bought bagged soil to fill my planters and shortly I will go and buy flowers, plant them, and say a little "Chipmunk Discouragement" rhyme.  Wish me success.

See you soon.  Leave a comment!