Lack of time, not content!

We're back to sweltering again; last night was one of those rare ones (for here) that didn't cool down by bedtime. I was awake at 5:00 so opened the windows and turned the whole-house fan on to get it a little cooler inside. The heat makes some things more challenging, like keeping animals at the State Fair healthy (Rick is the State Fair veterinarian once again; expect photos); our animals seem to be handling it okay. Poppy and I compete in our first agility trial of the year tomorrow, so that will be challenging in the heat. A year ago at this same trial, my knees hurt so bad I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hobble through our last class. That finally kickstarted a search for some relief that resulted in my bilateral knee replacements last April, so the trial tomorrow is a meaningful milestone.

A different meaningful milestone was reached last week-end; I went for my first post-surgery hike! I was delighted that going down and up a (slightly) uneven trail was as comfortable as the walking I've been doing. The hike to Drift Creek Falls and back is only three miles, but I'm confident now that I can do more.

I've been collecting photos of sunrises and sunsets for awhile; with the days getting shorter I'm seeing more of them.

The three above were all taken the same evening as I rode Stella near our home.

Before and after the sun rose one morning.

The next three were taken while on another sunset horseback ride.

A sunset over the neighbor's shop

Same color scheme for dawn the next morning

A spectacular sunset from horseback!

The eastern sky this morning

The white Friesian is spun and plied; I've decided to use it (dyed red) for my Dala Sweater. No hurry on that, though; I have a lot more of the black to ply. I guess I could cast on with the 129g of 2-ply that's done, though, as my singles are looking pretty consistent. Maybe I'll do that....

Fresh applesauce is slowly filling up space on the pantry shelves. To my delight, the apples on our first-to-ripen tree are mostly free from bugs and blemishes, which makes prepping them easier and much more pleasant. Might as well take advantage of such a nice harvest and the many empty jars I have; the only costs are time, electricity, lids, and cinnamon. Rick and I both enjoy a meal of peanut butter and applesauce on toasted homemade bread.

A month from now I'll be in Lincoln, Nebraska to see my mom, sister, BIL, nephew, and hopefully a few friends. I've tried to call my mom to tell her, but her phone goes straight to voicemail and she hasn't responded to my messages. I know her phone is working; my sister has confirmed that. Oh well; we'll have a good visit when I'm there. I suspect the 'Michelle compartment' of her brain is shrinking with all the changes and challenges she's experiencing, and the proximity to my sister and her family.

That's it for now from . . .

What's cookin'?

Well, we're all cooking in the current heat, but that's supposed to moderate starting tomorrow.

I'm assembling the ingredients for this sweater, my 2025 SAL/MAL (spin-along/make-along) project in the Jenkins group on Ravelry. The pattern has been purchased and is printed out; I'm plying the black for the main color; and am waffling between two options for the contrast color. I have 28g of the perfect red fingering in my stash, which might be enough, or I can keep spinning the ~50g of white Friesian and dye it with Cherry Kool-Aid.

There is always a caldron of trouble simmering, of course, as that is life. Our current portion involves my car, which goes to the shop tomorrow; the needed repairs are going to cost 50% of what we so recently paid for it. If I am tempted to feel sorry for myself, though, all I have to do is look over at our neighbors' house. Two years ago they started noticing problems; turns out a whole slew of things weren't done correctly in its construction. They had to hire a lawyer and a forensic contractor to get their original contractor to cough up some of the cost to right things, but much is coming out of their pockets.

In the kitchen, I'm cooking to use the abundance of summer. Recent entreés have included toss-together pasta primavera or frittata, this recipe, and this recipe. The Apple Cucumber Salad I find so refreshing can now be made with our own apples. I'm baking muffins and cakes with shredded zucchini, and made a peach pie by request with some peaches Rick brought home. (Note to self: procure enough peaches for freezing and start making applesauce for the pantry!) There has been a steady trickle of strawberries to eat out of hand and five delicious figs from our little tree still pining in a big pot.

The tomatoes are finally ripening!

What's cookin' in your life right now?

That's it for now from . . .

Another week, another potpourri post

Once again, there is a lot to report and I don't want to let the calendar page turn to a new month before I do it. If I try to 'wordsmith' this too much I'll run out of time, so I'll just toss things out in no particular order.

The woodshed part of the new shop, an attachment on the west side, finally got its concrete floor poured. Now to fill it with firewood before fall arrives. As with hay, the heavy lifting has to be done when the weather is hot; ugh. But wood heat (and cooler weather!) is something to look forward to.

The shop still needs big doors to secure what's inside, but Rick and Brian have moved some of the stuff from the garage into it (I can now park in the garage!) and have utilized the bays. While looking for a new full-time job, Brian has done some automotive work for friends to earn a little cash. Fortunately, he starts a new job on Monday. Rick gave up on fixing his old truck that was parked in one bay and finally bought (or rather, the business bought) a new truck last Sunday. Last night with all hands (and a borrowed tractor) on deck, we finally got his vet box moved over to it.

Meanwhile, my new-old car threw a 'check engine' indicator at me last week, and is going to the dealer tomorrow to get checked out. Crossing fingers it is not something major; I haven't noticed any symptoms other than the warning symbol.

Mom is still not living in her apartment, but the sale of her house to the neighbors closed today to the great relief of all involved. And my sister and BIL helped her open a bank account in Lincoln earlier this week (finally) so there was a place for the funds from the house sale to be deposited. Slowly, slowly, progress is being made. Mind you, I'm not scheduling a visit until she actually moves INTO her own apartment....

Bryan, my Little Boy Brown, got fitted with a sheep suit recently. I hope someone buys him as a flock sire, but I might as well keep that beautiful chocolate-colored fleece as clean as possible!

July is Tour de France/Tour de Fleece month, which is always a great motivator to spin daily. I mostly kept working on the 500g of black fiber my friend gave me, but did spin up some other 'snacks' on my newest spindles – the one I got at BSG, the one a thoughtful Raveler offered to sell me, and a third I traded for one I had. If I could live in two different dimensions, I'd spin for hours every day; I really do enjoy making yarn with my beautiful Jenkins spindles!

That's it for the last of July from . . .

The fun's not done

Mom is still not living in her apartment; it's hard to make progress when your mental to-do list can only handle one thing at a time. As suspected, this big change has highlighted and exacerbated Mom's struggles; my sister and her family are on the front lines and I feel for them all. On top of that, the sale of Mom's house to the neighbors has hit a major snag. Dad's will (which my sister and I haven't seen, but of which we might be co-executors) was never probated, and even though Texas is a community property state, his interest in their house does not automatically transfer to Mom. Oy. I think my sister and I will be wandering around in this foggy swamp populated with scary unknowns for the foreseeable future.

The backside of a window I made Dad, found in the last room the neighbors cleaned out!

it doesn't look this good after a few days in the country and a sprinkle of rain

As revealed in the comments of my last post, we did indeed come home with a replacement car that night. It's another manual Jetta TDI, three years newer with less than half the miles of the '09, and in beautiful condition. Rick is still practicing out of our old pickup, but is closing in on a replacement for it.

zucchini, eggplant, and cucumbers picked 7/16

don't know why this was on the ground this morning

Garden production, like garden production does, has kicked into overdrive. Summertime, and the eating is . . . frantic! Last night for supper I roasted two pounds of green beans, the best way in this house to ensure a quantity is consumed. Green beans, snowpeas, and eggplant are overdue for another picking, and last night I harvested SIX beautiful Long White Zucchini of Palermo (I promptly shared one with a neighbor who came over to buy eggs). Tomatoes and bell peppers are finally coloring up; I ate two cherry tomatoes last night, along with a few strawberries from our mostly dormant plants. I am scrambling to use and share all of it, as I don't want any fresh produce to go to waste.

I haven't mentioned my knees for awhile because who wants to listen to others go on about their health or physical problems? But since recovery is still progressing in meaningful ways I thought I'd share an update. The heat and swelling have finally dissipated enough that only the scars visibly give away what happened (well that, and the fact that I'm still a little slow to get underway after sitting for awhile). I'm sleeping better because they are more comfortable, and I've been back to walking a brisk two miles for awhile now. However, last Sabbath afternoon was the first time I ventured to take Poppy's leash during a walk, because when I tried that early on, resisting her considerable pulling force was more than my knees could handle. Now? No problem! (I've entered us in an agility match for a month from now. 😁)

Poppy and me and my favorite tree

I'll close with a couple interior views that warm my heart,

Party on the pie safe

the view from my bathroom caught my eye this morning

and one from outside that doesn't:

the view from the garden

That well-drilling rig has been grinding away for several days already, disrupting the peace and quiet of country living and promising even more neighbors. We've suspected this was coming for a number of years now, but still hate to see "rural" giving way to "suburbia."

That's it for now from . . .