Trying This. And, Trying This, Again...

This is one of the blocks for the 2013 UMC Memorial Day Quilt. Due to scheduling conflicts (that nasty thing called work!), I wasn't able to participate much in the piecing. I asked to have some blocks to take home to work on and was handed a sample block, four partially completed blocks and the strips to finish them. It's log cabin; simple enough, right? Ha!

I measured the seam on the back, set up my seam gauge and cruised right through them. Then, when I compared them to my sample block, well... It seemed like a good idea at the time. Most of my sewing experience is in clothing. Seams are a pretty regular deal, there. Plus, I don't do hand-around garments that are cut and sewn by a number of people at various times. Yeah. I knew this about quilting. But, knowing something and knowing something are two different things. I tore my work out, roughed up the stitching marks, dampened and pressed the pieces and tried again.

On round two, I checked, marked and checked again as I sewed. Voila! They all match the sample. None are particularly square, though. I am hoping I can be along for the ride as they get squared and the top pieced. Some of the ladies have a lot of experience and I'd really like to learn from them.

On another note: Serious gun shopping is about to commence.

Halloween.

Halloween has always been my most favorite holiday. I haven't dressed up in a few years and have really missed it. So, this year, I was determined to do so.

In the past, I've done the cute costume. In the early 80's, a friend got married and had us bridesmaids make our outfits. Determined to not waste that effort, I recycled mine for several years; it made appearances as Little Bo Peep, Alice in Wonderland, Swiss Miss and the Little Dutch Girl. As much fun as it was to get baaaaaad at by various demons, I eventually felt I'd made enough use of the thing and let it go to Goodwill.

That said: I think only costumes related to passing yourself off as  a member of the nether regions is really appropriate for Halloween. I was told as a child that the reason for dressing up is that demons and the undead walk the earth and the only way to hope for safe passage is to pass yourself off as one of them. Kinda like Bill Murray in Zombieland. But, I digress.

So, I've had this quasi-obsession with Dia de los Muertos imagery for years. The more I learn about this holiday, the more I like it. And, even though I know some people may have reasons for not liking a white girl like me using this culturally based imagery as a costume, I chose to do it, anyway. I'm likely to keep doing it, too. I love that it is a respectful representation of the dead, the imagery is awesome and it affords a wide variety of costuming that can come from your own closet. I spent less than twenty dollars on the makeup and black roses, the rest was pulled from my digs.

Since I don't really drink and my work schedule isn't so conducive to being able to go out, I wanted to spend the day made up, doing normal things. I tried to get a friend to go shopping and out to dinner with me. What I did wind up doing was Lanes of Treats, where a couple of kids were quite frightened of Eric and I. That was really fun. I miss the mass door-to-door trick or treating of my childhood and this was the closest I was going to come to observing it. Of course there were boys dressed as Super Heroes. But, there were only a couple of girls who were doing the full on Princess thing.

Most of the boys we encountered were dressed as something frightening. I was absolutely thrilled with the girls. Even the ones who chose Princess type costumes had the good taste to sallow their complexion or blacken their eyes. YES! 

This year, even my niece got into the act, by appearing as a deceased girl, a la Dia de los Muertos. Apparently, my nephew counted himself out the second he realized that it involved the (apparently) unmanly act of wearing makeup. Too funny!

After Lanes of Treats, Eric and I went out to dinner, then rode the Haunted Train Ride at Thresherman's Park. I am not a jumpy person and scary things tend to make me laugh. It didn't bother me in the least that someone was going to reach out of the dark and grab my arm through the open window. Of course, it's all fun and games until the clowns show up. Nothing is more frightening that clowns, especially the Killer Klowns from Outer Space. They kinda creeped me out. I absolutely loved the train ride and I am thinking that it would be great to volunteer there, next year. We shall see...

More photos are here.

Herbal Tea.

My wonderful friend Linda, Over at Hello, It's Me, posted a great tutorial on making herbal iced tea. I'd been thinking that I needed to make tea, since it had hovered in the 90s for most of June. July isn't looking any better. For sun tea, I have a one gallon glass pickle jar with a lid. So, I got it out and went to work.

Linda is using lemon balm, primarily. We don't grow the same things and you and I probably don't, either. That doesn't really matter. Last week, I did a brew of lemon thyme, lavender and licorice mint, with fennel seed. I steeped it for 20 minutes, strained it into the big jar, threw in a couple of those big iced tea bags and set it out in the sun. I was a little rusty and underestimated. I think tea for icing should be made especially strong, to hold up to the melting ice.

So, for today's batch, I cut (L to R) lemon mint, Thai basil and lemon thyme. I added about a tablespoon of fennel to the mix. I considered adding some cracked black pepper, but, added a bit of whole cardamom, instead. I don't know if that was a great choice, we will see. This all got steeped in a quart of boiling water for twenty minutes. I pulled out all of the vegetation when I transferred the brew to the big jar, but left the seeds in. I threw in three large black tea bags, this time. It's sitting out in the sun on the patio, right now.

Speaking of the patio: it got a serious weeding and cleaning, yesterday. More photos are here.

Strawberry Jelly, Fourty Pieces of String, Wood Piles and Silos..

The orioles are here in force. Last week I saw the female Baltimore trying to take apart a piece of cord that holds a bell that hangs from a tree in the yard. So, I put out twenty pieces of string. They were gone the next day. So, I put out twenty more. Those vanished also. The next twenty are mostly here; nest building must be complete. They are scarfing jelly like mad. It won't be long and we will be seeing the female flying off with mouthfuls of it.


Last week Eric and I went to the carnival at Old Settlers' Days. I was stunned to see the Rasta Banana as a prize on the midway. We walked around, seeing which games had it, then picked the one we thought we would most likely win. I won it from a shooting gallery. We then made it sing Bob Marley songs. While waiting in line for some fried mozzarella sticks, this lady kept trying to look over her shoulder at me, without looking like she was looking at me. Too bad if she doesn't like Three Little Birds.


Also last week, Buster killed his first gopher. It was a big moment. He'd been willing the gopher to come to him for at least half an hour. He made pretty short work of it, when it did. Thankfully, he didn't try to eat it and Eric was able to take it away from him without a fuss. Later, I saw him messing with something in the yard, it was the gopher's tail. Here he is with his trophy. Since then, he is no longer interested in squirrels. He is now all about the gopher.

Today, I drove to Buffalo Grove to Vet Specialty to take Buster to see the doggie dermatologist. I chose a route that took me on State highways and did some great sightseeing. I took photos of this silo turned abode, then abandoned; This wacky siloish perforated block structure and this fabulous wood pile. I couldn't pass up the wood pile. It reminded me of a photo I have of a wood pile my grandmother photographed in 1915.

I've been working on my string figures.

More photos are here.

Board of Correction, Memorial Day Quilt, World's Largest Bee and some other Random Stuff.

 Today, I decided to clean out one of my beds. The columbine bed has been a bit of a mess since last year. I let some burro's tail get started in it and it took over. It was time for it to leave. So, I dug out a wagon full of what was left of the ground cover that I had originally planted in it and turned eighty pounds of composted manure into the bed. I transplanted the old ground cover back in, as well as an errant wild columbine that had come up in the herb garden and some violets. It went from this to this. Next up is the remaining burro's tail and ajuka in another bed. I regret having introduced them and it is time for them to get curtailed. Hopper may not be happy about the clean out. Fortunately, his chain is short.

While I was working on the columbine bed, the biggest bee I have ever seen began cruising the iris. It was easily an inch and a half long. It sounded like a little airplane, coming in for a landing.

So, here is the Board of Correction. I picked this up on a job site about twelve years ago. It had been abandoned and would have gone into the dumpster. None of the kids in the family must have wanted it. I can't imagine why. It has been signed by at least five kids; most notably Jeff, who must have been well acquainted with it.  It originally came from the Cave of the Mounds and I can just imagine the kids (as adults) all talking about it. "Remember that board that dad used to make us sign after he whacked us with it? What was that about, anyway?".

I remember getting it with a willow switch a couple of times. I had to go cut the thing myself and I thought that was really adding insult to injury. But, I never had to sign off on it. What a bizarre souvenir. I bet Jeff still thinks about it. At least we will all be immune, once we reach seventy six years of age.

Awhile back, I joined a quilting group. We just finished the Memorial Day 2012 raffle quilt. It can be had for a whole dollar! If you'd like a chance, I have tickets. Ticket sales benefit the United Methodist Women's group. 

More photos are here.

'Splodin.

I am sorta stunned by what is going on out in my garden. Granted, it has been a weirdly warm spring. But, I wasn't really prepared for what I came home to Monday.

I went away for a few days. Apparently, it rained and was warm while I was gone. I returned to an amazing array of open iris, more than I've ever seen from my garden. And, they're just getting started. All of that pampering is paying off. I'll have to dig new beds this year, I could spread them out to twice the space they're in right now, easily.

The Iris aren't the only happy things out there. Two years ago, I planted wild columbine in a raised bed next to the back door. It wasn't too happy in the spot where I put it. However, that didn't stop it from reseeding and popping up all over the place. My back door is just surrounded with it.

Tonight, I ran around and took some photos at dusk. I'm not a fan of my digital camera. I never seem to get what I want out of it. but, we had a happy accident. It was confused over what to do with these poppies and posterized them. They're psychedelic!

More photos are here.

Hey, Blogger! I hate your new editor. Do you hear me? I hate it!

Macho Shopping Bags.

This afternoon, while getting ready to walk into the grocery store; I glanced over at my selection of reusable shopping bags, lying in the passenger seat. It occurred to me that the demographic they are going after with these things must be primarily women, since most men wouldn't be caught dead carrying one of these things. I immediately started envisioning macho reusable shopping bags.

The first thing I thought of was a gun. But, walking into a store with a gun shaped object might get you some unwanted attention. Then, I imagined a penis. This is also problematic, since most men probably wouldn't want to carry around a penis, other than their own. So, then I imagined a log or club shaped bag. That would do the trick! Or, how about a nut? Maybe a mag wheel, air cleaner or a beer can? A battery or a bobber might be nice, too. I may have to make up a few. :)