A Delightful Week

What a nice summer it has been this July. In the past, we would have it seemed days and days of over 110. This summer we have had none. We have no 100 degree days the rest of July. But August is coming. Yesterday, we had that wonderful coastal breeze just flowing in, and we worked in the flowerbeds and the garden beds and I harvested the rest of my garlic, cut lots of mint to dry, found that the lemon balm had reseeded itself. I have tried and tried to get lemon balm and I might regret it in the future but I am so happy with all of it. I harvested red raspberry to dry. My rosemary was going crazy. I found a cinnamon scented geranium a couple years ago. It is also going to town. I am pretty happy with this year's garden.

I collected seeds and put them away to be dried and hopefully reseeded in the fall. So all in all a very nice day to play outside in the sun under the blue sky. Polly would make a great farm dog. She watches Ron for a bit to make sure he is doing everything the right way, then she will run to me and steal anything I might have dropped. She at one point took a clove of garlic that had fallen out of my hand and ran over to her spot on the lawn to taste what it was, and for awhile she smelled like that garlic clove. Having her outside while we work just makes us laugh and gives us hours of entertainment.

It was so nice last week, I even took my hooking project and hooked outside. I have to tell you about my little Indian neighbor next door. She is very shy. I have never talked to her. I have talked to her husband. She doesn't drive and she is very traditional in that she wears her sari when she is in her back yard. Their backyard is very tropical and they have a water feature that has a creek and a pond. We watch their house when they go to India. That is how I know that I was expecting Koi in the pond and they have big catfish. They love those catfish and they are so tame. But like I said, I have never talked to her. She watches me through the fence. So while I was hooking out there she stood and watched. I have wanted to say something, but she is skittish like a deer. So I just let her watch. I bet she knows more about me than I do her.  

Me trying to get a picture for you on my rug I am working on. She had just come back from a walk with Ron and she was all fired up and wanting to play.  

 

See the dog feet. She is a good dog and she does most often what I tell her. She doesn't get to get on my rugs like that but sometimes she just has her moments. I really do love working on chicken rugs and sunflowers. I hope to finish this next week. Then I will have to look in my stash and see what rug pattern do I have that I haven't done. I know I have a few. 

I hope you all are having a very nice summer too. I am thankful for days in which to rest and be thankful.

I hope wherever you are, your days are filled with sunshine, blue skies, and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The lovely summer days that pass all too quickly. 

~Kim~

"Like all magnificent things, it's very simple." ---Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt, 1975
 
 

 

Odds and Ends

Its mid July now. I think its been a very productive month. The house is back to normal. I think it was worth the work. One of the things that happened while we were unhooking my computer and moving it back and forth during all of this painting project was my old computer, didn't like it much. Ron was afraid it was just going to die. I thought it was normal to get the black screen of death, every time I turned the computer on and then have to wait until it booted up. Like turn it on, go clean the house and come back and it might be on. I thought that was normal. It would take me so long to write a post. Sometimes things would go all wonky and I not being a power user just went on my merry way forgetting I was writing a post. Ron bought a new computer for me last week, so I had to wait until everything was moved over to the new one. Today is the day. I am back online.

I came in the morning to write this blog, and I turned on the computer, it was on. I touched the key board and I was into blogger. Just that fast. I went to find my pictures and again uploaded as fast as I can type. My goodness, I am just amazed. I don't normally like new tech but I think I am going to like this. 

 

I still continue to be enthralled with my sunflower. So are the bees and butterflies. Its just a wonderful thing to take pictures of each day. So you will see a bunch of photographs of my sunflower. This last week was fun because I got to play house. I have never been much of a decorator. Its not a skill I ever developed. I like a house that is comfortable and you feel like you can rest and put your feet up and stay and visit for awhile. I have always been about comfort rather than what is in style. I found a nice cover for my sewing chair. I just couldn't get rid of it. It looks nice now. 

I don't know why  I never thought of it before. I got my rug hung over the mantel too. I like it. Its different from my regular style but it is okay. Its what I wanted.

I read about Rugs and Pugs second day of her rug camp and Monochromatic rugs. Using one color and different variations. I really like that idea and I originally thought about it but because I have never gone to a rug camp, didn't really know how to go about it. I do now and I might try it in the future. I really like that idea of using one color. When I did my whale rug, I would only let myself use three colors and it worked.

That was last year about my fireplace. We had such a hot summer last year, I just wanted cool and ocean and it was so miserable. This summer is just the opposite. What an nice summer this has been. Hardly the heat that we have had in past years. But August is coming.

We cleaned the garage yesterday. I cleaned my laundry room and I am coming down to where I have almost reorganized my whole house. Have you ever heard of the book Swedish Death Cleaning.

I read it when we were selling our other house. I needed strength to be able to get rid of 8 peoples things and by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I still wake up sometimes because I had to get rid of the kids things. It still breaks my heart. I begged and begged them to take it and they kept saying they didn't have room or didn't want it. So I did, but it was terrible. So now when I am de-cluttering, I remember how I felt and I don't want my kids to have to do it. It strengthens my resolve. Or, just go watch an episode on You Tube of  hoarders and it works the same way. I know I have hoarder tendencies. I still need to be more ruthless on myself. A friend of mine was having to clean out her Mom's house. She had 900 boxes of dishes. I kept asking her, 900 boxes? She kept answering yes, and looking at me like I was hard of hearing. That was just dishes. When they had a yard sale, they had 200 tables of stuff in the front yard and the inside was filled. She had one whole room of nothing but children's tea sets. I know that person lives in me. I have more rug hooking frames than I need. I have two wool cutters. I would buy an Townsend in a New York minute. So yes, its there.

I should stop, do you remember writing letters? Or journals? Remember when you had a really good pen and it felt so wonderful to use it and keep writing. That is how this new keyboard is, I could just keep writing and writing. Plus the zippy computer helps a whole lot. 

I really need to go for a walk and water the garden before it gets to warm. I go back to work August 23rd. I really, really hope I can do it all this time. Not disappear for months.

I hope you have a lovely mid July.

~Kim~

"Just to know you could. That was enough." ---The Indian in the cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks, 1980
 

 

 

Now July

I had to show you a picture of my sunflower. The fences are six foot fences and this sunflower is that much higher than the fence. It was a volunteer. We grow comfrey in our flowerbeds. Since Ron has been going to school to be a Master Herbalist. We have more herbs than we did flowers or vegetables. Last year, Ron had read how healing the leaves are of comfrey for your garden. He picked off all of the brown leaves and buried them in our garden bed. We never gave it much more thought. Then this sunflower started growing and growing. Now it looks like this. I grew these at my other house, they are my favorite but they never got over six feet or so. So I am thinking there might be something to the health of your garden. Our orange trees have struggled since we planted them and now he has each one surrounded by comfrey and they are all growing like crazy and are healthier. 
 

I mentioned that we were painting the rooms because we were going to be carpeting the bedrooms. Everything got painted and then I decided my bedroom funiture needed to be painted. I started painting it last Wednesday. It was like everything a much bigger job than I thought it would be. Yesterday, Ron helped me to get the bed frame and the night stands all finished. We have the dresser to still do but that is going to be a bigger job and we ran out of paint. I had to order some more. I am using Amy Howard Miracle paint and I am in love with it. What nice paint. If I am not careful I could turn into a monster. I really enjoyed it and I was not expecting to, but my bedroom set turned out nice. No pictures yet of course. 

I don't know how well you can see that. My daughter Emilie drew this out for me years ago. This is going to be my next project. Its been awhile since I have done a chicken rug and I love doing chickens.

I think it will be fun. Every time I sit down I have been binding my mule rug. I have the last edge to bind today and then a very big job of steaming. It took quite a while to steam it when I did that first steaming. Then I will have met my goal of finishing it in July. 

 

Just an aside. On the 4th we met a man who was a veteran. We were talking how we didn't enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks like we used to because of all of the bombs people shoot off now. He told us that he really has a hard time because its so out of control now, that he feels like he is back in the war. It gives him flashbacks. I thought about that all day. When the bombs were going off I kept thinking about him. Then last night, on the 5th when the bombs were going off I thought about him again. Sometimes talking to someone, can change my perspective when I listen to life from another persons story. I think why I keep thinking about him, is the brokenness I could sense. Those chance encounters always give me pause. 

I will be moving furniture and all of the things in closets this week. Trying to find room for four bedrooms of furniture in the living room and kitchen and dining room. Then I have to move it all back. That is the fun part. When we moved in five years ago, I just moved in. I didn't really fix or do things because there were so many changes coming at us. It being 2020 and the crazy that brought. In 2021 our son moved in and all of the things that happened with his life. Now here we are in 2025 and I feel like I am finally living here and making this house ours. Life is always so full of twists and turns. Always none of it that I ever planned on or expected. But its all good. Because I never knew I could do the things I have done.

 I am kind of all over the place. I hope your next week is all that you would like it to be. 

~Kim~

"I think the smell of horses is the most exciting smell in the world. ---The Changeling, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1970