Winter

Winter

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Odds and Ends


Flowers have been pretty sparse this year.  I have a few but not like in years past. My days are spent in trying to ignore the front yard. Yesterday I no longer could pretend it wasn't there and started weeding my Amazon like flowerbeds. Its nice to see that buried deep within the grass and weeds are my Black Eyed Susans making a come back. We took all of them out last fall because they were just so over grown.

The road work continues. Tractors, water trucks, asphalt and cement trucks. Road graders and all things construction.  That is a reason I try and ignore the front yard. This is how our sunrises look right now. Can you see the smoke? There are so many fires burning now in California that this is how it is pretty much every day. One evening as I looked out at the sunset, the ash was raining down like some nuclear winter.


I manage to keep myself busy. I didn't grow any beets this year, I thought why don't I just start buying beets at the grocery store every week and make a jar or two each week. So this is my first week of beets. It is nicer than doing a whole field of them like I did last year at once. I also made these pickled carrots. When William and Makenzie got married in January, the caterers brought  marinated carrots as a side dish. I just loved them and found them in the Mexican food section at the grocery store. I decided that this summer I was going to make them myself. So yesterday was my first attempt. I will tell you if these are good in a week or so.  Not to mention I told Emilie yesterday that I was just going to can beets for her Christmas present and she said that would be the best present ever. So starting Christmas planning now. *wink*wink*


This is my current rug. I put it on my floor frame because its just too hot this summer for having the wool and burlap on my lap. I am almost finished. I need to get it done, because my thoughts keep turning to fall and pumpkins and all of that stuff.

Pattern by Brenda Gervais
Its so nice to work on a counted cross stitch that I can finish in a few days. Working on something that it so big like His Eye is on the Sparrow is hard because sometimes I feel like I can't get any place very fast.

Time to get out in those flowerbeds. We are supposed to be back to record temps by the weekend. Above 110 on Monday, so I would like to get my front flowerbeds finished before the weeds are as high at the railings.
Have a lovely day,
Kim


“ The summer,' Randy explained. 'I'm going to appreciate it. I'm going to walk in the woods noticing everything, and ride my bike on all the roads I never explored. I'm going to fill a pillow with ladies' tobacco so I can smell it in January and remember about August. I'm going to dry a big bunch of pennyroyal so I can break pieces off all winter and think of summer. I'm going to look at everything, and smell everything, and listen to everything so I'll never forget -- ”
Elisabeth Enright---Four Story Mistake.





13 comments:

Pom Pom said...

What a beautiful literary quote! I love that! I want to savor summer, too!
Your rug is absolutely darling! I love the cross stitch, too!
YOU are an excellent maker!

Christine said...

How exciting to be preparing your own veggies for winter & Chrisitmas!
I love the watermelon rug and the fall cross stitch pattern is wonderful!

acorn hollow said...

How very sad about the fires. the ash must be awful. we are hot here in NH and I am very much looking for fall.
Cathy

camp and cottage living said...

What a summer there, Kim! Fires, heat, road work-oh no.
Your marinated carrots look good. I'd love to know how they turn out.

Kessie said...

I love the way that watermelon rug is turning out! I was drawing pumpkins for the kids and thinking of doing fall rug patterns.

GretchenJoanna said...

Well, what do you know... "ladies' tobacco" is the very fennel that grows wild all over the county and cultivated in my raised beds. And I'd never heard that name for it before.

Larkrise garden girl said...

Hi Kim, I feel for you wildfires are such a constant in California.
Were inland so we get the heat. It is hard to hook when the humidity is high. Everything your doing is so nice!

I am growing tomatoes for the first time. I am having a terrible time with ground squirrels. Cheri

Alica said...

You are so ambitious, and get so much done,Kim! I don't know how you manage the 110 degree heat!

Julia said...

Oh my, how do you hook in that heat? So sorry about all the wild fires. A nice beginning on your pickling. I'm still weeding like a fool and come into the house at 9:00 pm every night when I can no longer distinguish between weed and plants. I shower and go straight to bed. Not much of a relaxing life.

I love your melon rug and the counted stitches. Haven't done those in a long time.

We're having rain today so I'm taking some time to be on the computer instead of weeding.

We 're having some heavy road construction all over the city this year and it always takes longer to get to where we're going with all the detours. I hope the road crew will soon be finishing their work in front of your house.
Hugs,
Julia

Kim said...

Kim, I thought about you all day. We needed rain so bad and today it finally happened. Now I know how you feel in the summer. Can you tell me how to make those small batches of pickled beets??

Empty Nester said...

I worry about y'all every time I hear of a fire out there. So scary! As soon as I get my 'rug' back from my mother, I'll email you a picture. I love that watermelon rug! I know now, after my first little 10x10 project, that I need a frame. Suggestions?

GretchenJoanna said...

Also, I love your watermelon rug. Are those ants that are coming in from the sides? Do you have some real, fresh and edible watermelon in the house, too?

Nancy said...

Hi from an old friend.....those fires sound awful and I just feel so sorry for all the people who are having to deal with them in way or other....

Love Love Love that watermelon rug. But then I love all your rugs....

Getting an early start on Christmas presents sounds like a great idea. I have never tired pickled carrots but I will now....

I hope you get through with your weeding....Rest a little...

Hugs...