Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Things To Do with Blueberries
1. Pick them.
2. Eat them right off the bush.
3. Eat them right out of the bucket.
4. Eat them right out of the box.
5. Eat them by the handful.
6. Eat them from a bowl with a little bit of cream.
7. Add them to a bowl of cereal.
8. Add them to a fruit salad.
9. Make blueberry muffins.
10. Make blueberry pancakes.
Oh, well, HI THERE!
I finished the embellishment of my Alabama Chanin A-line Dress on Friday night! I'd already seamed up the back a while ago, and couldn't resist Wonder Clipping the other three seams so I could try it on (shown above and below, inside-out).
Pleased as punch.
In case it's hard to tell, I am very happy!! I can't wait to wear this dress!!
As of last night, all the seams are sewn and felled; edges await finishing (neckline, armholes, hem).
Busy boy.
Peek-a-BOO!
It was a regular market morning on Saturday, with the addition of an early morning helper!
Intrigued by Walter - the spaniel that lives across the street.
I watched Junah later on Saturday, too, while Ali helped Rusty set up his booth for the 55th Art at the Park in Appleton. Kate helped him tear down last night. Both girls made nostalgic posts on Facebook, recalling the innumerable art fairs to which they've accompanied him over the years. It was always a pretty big thrill -- various Chicago-land shows, that long show in Ann Arbor, etc.
Rusty had a follow-up appointment with his regular doc this morning. He's generally feeling better, though plagued by one or two areas that have been feeling worse; he checked out OK, with a prescription refill, and just needs to be patient while all those strained muscles and ligaments heal!
Before the pedestrian/car incident* on Monday night, I was at (our fabulous) local pool to watch Junah at his first swimming lesson!
He loves the water and did great (especially considering that he'd fallen asleep in the car on the way, so was a little groggy!). There are quite a few in his class, and some are quite a bit younger!
Mack & Addy were here all week for soccer camp, so I grabbed them on Tuesday night to meet Ali & Junah at the pool.
It was a beautiful evening.
Junah even went down the water slide with his momma...
TWICE!!
The boys didn't do anything daring, only because they were wearing swimwear-like shorts and were not feeling very secure... afraid of potential "over-exposure"!
I hope we get the chance to do it again!
*Rusty seems to be doing okay, still very sore and moving very slowly... a little spasm/stitch/something in his side early this morning meant that I had to help him out of bed (twice), and he was unable raise his arm very high for a while, but he's loosened up a bit as the morning progressed... and we're all still counting lucky stars. Thanks for all of your good thoughts & wishes!
Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite American Artists
I'm only going to post about one American artist!
My husband, Lee "Rusty" Mothes
I'm thankful today that he's alive and well and in one piece... if a little gimpy!
Last night, he called me from an ambulance, en route to the ER. He was hit by a car while crossing the street on his way home, only a few blocks from our house. Thankfully, an off-duty EMT was right there, at his side in 30 seconds; nearby ambulance and police were on site within minutes.
He's banged up and very sore, but seems otherwise okay; after they took an xray and checked him out for a couple of hours in ER, he was released. There don't appear to be any broken bones or other trauma. The way he landed, I think his backpack helped to prevent his head from hitting the pavement and kept him from getting significant road rash. At the risk of sounding maudlin,
IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH WORSE!
Honestly, I didn't immediately go there... and I don't stay long if I get there... because it's scary.
We are all very thankful!
* * * * *
If you're interested in checking out some of Lee's work, visit:
It was a beautiful night for a baseball game on Friday!
As it turns out, it was MINION NIGHT! Annie and I -- not the 8 & 10 yo boys -- were the only ones interested in the photo op. Heh. Fun times.
* * * * *
My first thought when I woke on Saturday morning and noticed the sky through the window:
Red sky at morn, sailor take warn!
Soon there was a severe thunderstorm warning issued. The wind picked up right on cue, followed by thunder, lightning, and rain. There was a flurry of texts with Ali regarding the market and we eventually decided to skip it. Some vendors set up after the storm had passed -- maybe around 9 a.m. -- but it's not really worth it to set up & tear down our rig for 3 hours. Not to mention that it was still oppressively hot and humid, because the storm did nothing in that regard.
I was thankful to turn over and sleep in on a Saturday for the first time in over a month! It also meant that I wouldn't need an after-market nap, could shower right away instead of waiting until after the after-market nap, and had a few unscheduled hours at my disposal! Laundry, lunch out with Kate, and a little bit of sewing time took care of that!
I accompanied Annie to another wedding reception on Saturday evening. It was at The Marq, and I knew right were it was... we pass it every time we head up I-41 to Green Bay or beyond. We pulled in to the parking lot and I remarked that it didn't seem very full, but people were obviously arriving and Annie thought she recognized someone's truck.
We walked toward the door and a man came stumbling out; he laughed and said that he was staggering already and hadn't even had a drink yet! He offered his hand to Ann and said, "Hi. I'm Mary's dad."
Puzzled, Annie said, "Mary?"
"The bride!"
"Um, Kayla's the bride... maybe there's another wedding here?"
"No, just the one."
OOPS! Wrong venue. I didn't even know there was another MARQ! The invitation (not to mention all the venue signage) said "The Marq on Lineville Road." But I didn't even pay attention to what road we were on... I knew right where it was! I think that if one location is distinguished by address, then the other should be too!
We GPS'd, hopped back in the car and headed to the other side of town, battling a bit of traffic due to road construction in combination with the Brett Favre hall of fame induction that was also happening in Green Bay on Saturday night!
We made it, had a great time, and even danced a bit (Annie more than me!). We were reminded of a wedding we attended together at this time last year... in L.A.!
* * * * *
On Sunday morning, we all met at Joe's for a late breakfast -- gluten-free pancakes (with optional pecans) a la Ali & Jillian. Mmm, they were delicious!
We spent a few hours hanging out -- alternating between working (weeding, trimming, cutting back, cleaning the deck) and playing with the kiddos. Junah was introduced to the old Little Tikes Mower that Addy used to play with... so cute! The big boys found a never-opened/never-used gigantic styrofoam model airplane in the garage and we all had fun playing with that! The power of suggestion? Today is the opening day of this year's EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, and there were noticeably more real planes than usual in our airspace yesterday.
For much of the evening I sewed... until my (middle) finger nearly bled... I'm getting so close to finishing the embellishment of my Alabama Chanin A-line Tunic! I finally put on a soft thimble, but my impulse, then, is to avoid that finger and use another! I've never regularly used a thimble, even when I was cross-stitching all the time (and sometimes it would really hurt then, too); I'll just have to get used to it.
The rest of the evening was spent knitting -- the first time all weekend that it came out of my tote bag! I'm on row 45 of 97 of the knitted-on edging... almost half-way!
* * * * *
How was your weekend?
It was a good one!
It started with coffee, just like every other day!
I set yarn to soak for indigo dyeing planned for later in the day.
Then I decided to tackle the Refashion 2.0 of this top. It was originally a large, wide, long-sleeved layering piece (at least that's how my mother always wore it). Mom gave it to me quite a few years ago and I wore it that way once or twice, too. Somehow, it occurred to me that it would be cute as a sleeveless almost-tunic top. I'm not sure what possessed me, because it was certainly not the rage to refashion clothing at the time, nor was I even sewing much then (or ever... I've sewn more in the past 18 months than I have in the past 56 years, including all those hours in Home Ec). I'd lopped off the sleeves and chopped off a chunk at each side; sewed new side seams, turned under the armholes (double-stitching, even), and VOILA! New top.
It turned out pretty good and I wore it for a while, but it's been taking up space in my closet for far too long now. I wore it again the other day and remembered why... it was a little snug under the arm.
So I fixed that yesterday!! It may be a wee bit roomier than ideal now, but I'm wearing it and... I'm happy with it!
Then I had a hair appointment. A little layering, some thinning, a wonderful head massaging shampoo... it feels (and smells) so good!
And then! I took this picture, put my gloves on, and played around with a bunch of yarn and stuff in the indigo vat for the next few hours.
I dyed some sparkly sock yarn.
I over-dyed yarn that I'd previously dyed with jewelweed (LOVE!).
I dyed the last of some now-discontinued worsted-weight merino.
And I dyed some yarn made from banana fiber! I have three of these hanks, originally lime green, but dipped only two into the indigo... the three (below, lower rung) would look fabulous together! Katie suggested a bag...
In addition to more yarn, I also dyed a long narrow length of pale yellow jersey and a pair of size 3T pink long-john PJs. I'm thinking an infinity scarf (or two) for the jersey. The long-johns are hand-me-downs from the youngest of my girls (at least), so are 20-some years old and quite faded; I plunked them in for a little blue revival. One button is missing and couple others are threatening to fall off, so I think I'm going to replace them all. Fingers crossed that they'll fit Junah!
I did some knitting while we watched a couple episodes of Justified last night -- only 77 more repeats of the knitted-on edging to go before my TTL Mystery Shawl is finished.
The only thing that could have made yesterday better was time for sewing (and maybe a pedicure), but I'm going to take some time for sewing this afternoon! Priorities!!
Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Ice Cream Flavors
I rarely scream for ice cream these days, but when I do...
1. Moose Tracks
2. Coffee
3. Chocolate
4. Vanilla (with appropriate toppings: chocolate syrup, pecans, and/or chocolate chips)
5. Mint Chip
6. Butter Pecan
7. Cookies 'n Cream
8. Fudge Swirl
9. Neapolitan
10. Orange Sherbet (...I know)
I also like Klondike bars, ice cream sandwiches, a plain old ice cream bar, fudgsicles, creamsicles (orange), push-ups (orange), Dilly bars (chocolate), drumsticks... there are probably a million new "licensed" ice cream treats on the market these days, but I like the tried-and-true.
What's your favorite?
Saturday was a Market Morning, of course. I squeezed a lot of lemons! I don't think our set up has ever been the same two weeks in a row... always moving and, hopefully, always improving.
I accompanied my sister Annie to a wedding reception/dinner in Green Bay on Saturday evening. Her husband the the boys met her here later in the evening, and on Sunday morning we all went to see MINIONS! Did you know that they show movies like that as early as 9:15 am? We went early, but not that early!
I watched Junah on Sunday afternoon while his mom did catered beverages for a family reunion. He played some with the boys, but mostly we cuddled.
His hair is really growing!
And slept. He hadn't been feeling well earlier in the week, and a couple of big molars are coming in... making life pretty miserable at times. He had fun with the boys, though; I never tire of their doting on him. It's something special.
I finally sat down and took a little "me" time on Sunday night. I've finished the mesh (3 repeats) and have begun the knit-on edging for the TTL Mystery Shawl. The darker contrasting color surprised me by being a little electric in areas (not a bad thing), and I love how it's making the more subtle lavender-blue in the main color pop... I hadn't really seen it as "blue" before.
* * * * * Catch up! * * * * *
Maddy brought us a fun little colander bowl from her Appalachia trip. It's fairly small, maybe 5-6" across, perfect for a bunch of grapes or some berries. She enjoyed talking about pottery -- especially her Aunt Sharon's work -- with the maker.
Last Wednesday, after checking in with Maddy and dealing with the car situation, I met my sister Karen in Wausau for lunch (including one alcoholic drink & dessert) in trade for the the 7 lbs of tart cherries that I'd picked & cleaned for her the Sunday before. We met at Red Eye Brewing Company and had a wonderful meal together! Karen had their Red Eye Chicken Mac, I had Woodfired Grassfed Meatballs (enough to save some for Thursday's lunch), and we both had a brownie with vanilla custard for dessert. So. Good.
* * * * *
I need some sewing time!
Dear Summer,
Why you gotta come & go so fast?
* * * * *
Dear Work,
Why you gotta take up all my time?
* * * * *
Delivery day! June 5, 2000.
Dear 2000 Saturn SW,
Thanks for getting us there & back for 15 years and helping us make some memories. We couldn't have done it without you!
Thanks for the memories! July 8, 2015.
Anticipating... the Friday opening of HERE AND AWAY at The ARTGarage in Green Bay, a photography show curated by Kate and presented by Young Space.
#tbt #sparklers - I'm thinking 1963 in Madison, where my Uncle Cliff was either in medical school or doing a residency. Pictured, my cousins Gail & Gordy and their mother, Aunt Cece, at left; Sharon, Mom holding Michael, Karen, and me.
Celebrating... the 4th of July! I'll be making lemonade at the farmers' market in the morning, also cheering on all of the participants in the annual Firecracker 5K Walk/Run. (We're either going to be very busy at the market, or very not busy... hard to say.) That will no doubt be followed by a short nap, and later I'll happily enjoy watching fireworks on TV while I knit.
Drinking... sparkling water with fresh lemon and/or lime juice, and sometimes gin; also the occasional caipirinha.
Enjoying... some fabulous weather!
Itching... to SEW, SEW, SEW!
Knitting... I'm still, very slowly, plugging away at Prickly Poppy, but most of my knitting time (or tinking, if you want to look at it that way) has been devoted to the current TTL Mystery Shawl.
Listening... to Bear's Den: Islands
Reading... I'm still reading Still Alice
Sewing... Embellishment of the front of my Alabama Chanin A-line Dress/Tunic continues! I'm at the half-way mark and hope to do a lot of stitching over the weekend.
Watching... (and loving) Justified; we've just begun watching Season 2
Wearing... my beloved Taos sandals. I slipped on a spill a couple of weeks ago as we left the wedding in Minneapolis and I sort of crumbled, both ankles twisting, and fell hard on my knees. My left ankle and knee fared a bit worse than the right, sore and swollen. The swelling was down enough today that I was able to comfortably slip into those shoes!
Wondering... what it's like to be so fearless! That's my baby (the one -- the only one -- who's also jumped out of airplanes), at/on McAfee Knob on the Appalachian Trail. It just makes me want to hug the ground.