January 2020 – Asbery's Echoes

Snowdays and Forts

Last Wednesday was a snow day, Drew was sick and we kept him home on Thursday, another snow day on Friday, and no school again today due to ice and cold. We went from warm, almost springlike days, to frigid cold, wind, snow and ice overnight. That darn wind even blew some siding off of the house. And so much ice. I love snow, but the ice is just plain hazardous.

I think it was Friday when Drew said he wanted to build a fort. I am all for fort building but he builds them in the living room, doesn’t want to take them down for days and I get sooo tired of them. So, I told him to build one in his bedroom. When you have a bunkbed and no actual bed on the bottom you have the perfect spot to build a fort! The only problem with that as far as Drew is concered is it will mess up his bedroom. When Eric moved out Drew asked to move into Eric’s old room. Which I was fine with but it has also brought on an interesting issue.

Drew has never been one to keep a clean room. He could destroy a clean room in seconds flat. No joke! So, when we started moving things into his “new” room, he surprised us when he decided to be very selective in what was moved and what was not. And he now keeps his room picked up at all times. He even goes in and cleans and vacuums it on his own. It is wonderful! But, the issue is, all of the things he didn’t bring into his “new” room are still piled up in the old room. He’s not ready to get rid of them yet but he doesn’t want them making a mess in his room either. So, after 30 years, I finally get a spare room and it’s full of Drew’s stuff. We did get a bed set up in there so we do have a place for Aaron or Eric to sleep if/when they stay. But the room is a disaster that needs to be tackled.

Back to the fort. Drew spent time building it and making it just the way he wanted it. It had room for him, his dad and me to sit in it comfortably. He built little cubbies for each of us to hold our things, phones, slippers, whatever we wanted to bring into the fort. We played games and took a nap in there and I thought yeah, he can play in this all weekend. It will give him something to do. And, I was wrong. It was fun while it lasted but it was messing up his bedroom and he just couldn’t take it. I went to fix supper, Joe headed out to do chores and down came the fort. Every single thing was picked up and put away so his room would be nice and tidy. I do wish this desire would manifest itself to the rest of the house as he really doesn’t care how messy he is everywhere else. I do love that he wants a nice clean cozy bedroom. And yet, I wish he could have left that fort up for a couple of days at least. It really was fun!

I finished my wee little Flower Witch by Lori Brechlin. I love how she turned out. A little more practice and I’ll be ready to start stitching for Bayah.

As much as I’m enjoying learning a new craft, it feels good to get back to making those tiny little X’s. Strawberries and bunnies and a beautiful new needle minder given to me by a dear friend. Doesn’t that dragonfly just scream out warm summer days! And yet here we are, the middle of winter and we’re supposed to be getting quite the snowstorm today. They canceled school as of last night already. According to my phone we’re supposed to get 3 to 5 inches of snow with ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch, wind and near whiteout conditions. We’ll see what really happens. Mother Nature always does her own thing! I guess I’ll head to town to run errands this morning and then plan on staying home the rest of the weekend. I love a good snowstorm!

Old Dog

There’s that old saying, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Well, I’m an old dog and I’m trying to learn a new trick! I haven’t embroidered in years. And when I did embroider, it was very very basic stitches. Then I stitched up Drew’s drawing using a new stitch I’d never done before and I found it to be fun. So while scrolling through Pinterest the other day I stumbled upon some darling designs that I thought would be fun to make for my granddaughter’s bedroom. I showed them to my daughter and she agreed. So, I ordered hoops and thread (I have tubs of thread but I don’t have all those pretty little girl colors) and then realized I should probably practice a little bit before jumping in. So I found a couple of patterns that contained different stitches that I didn’t know and off I went.

I like how this one turned out, it’s called Helen’s Garden. I loved doing the Wagon Wheel Stitch and the Spider Wheel Rose Stitch although I wasn’t supposed to do the Wagon Wheel Stitch. I watched the wrong video and stitched it before I realized that mistake! And forget the Colonial Knots. I absolutely could not master them so I went back to French Knots, which I do not enjoy but I can do. As you can see, the piece is covered in pencil marks. But since it’s a practice piece and just for me, that’s okay.

Then there’s this piece. More my primitive style. It’s a Lori Brechlin with Notforgotten Farm design. I love her designs and have done many of her cross stitch pieces. I’m really enjoying learning a new craft and I’m looking forward to making a couple of pieces for my granddaughter’s bedroom. But, I’m ready to get some cross stitching in before I get started. It never fails, no matter what I do and no matter how much I enjoy it, I always go back to my cross stitching!

Rambler

We got a new puppy a few months ago. He’s a Black Lab Red Heeler mix and we road tripped to Missouri to get him. We ended up taking backroads and being out in the middle of nowhere to the point I thought we should turn around and go home. I was wondering if maybe we were not in a safe situation. Joe of course thought I was nuts and kept going. And he was right. I would say the lady who we got him from was the crazy one. Dead end road, just her and some strangers who showed up to pick out a puppy. But it was fine. She was great. Drew picked out the puppy he wanted and we brought Rambler home. The name Rambler comes from Drew’s love of the Nash Rambler. Another vintage love of his! Well, I had to take Rambler to the vet yesterday. He was limping and not putting any pressure on his right paw. And the poor guy came home like this:

A splint and a cone of shame. The vet thinks he fractured his paw, possibly in more than one place, and to be on the safe side he decided to put a splint on. Which means he can’t get it wet. And of course it’s the middle of winter with snow, freezing rain, mud everwhere. So the poor guy will be spending the next two weeks in the shop where he won’t be doing much of anything besides resting and eating and going outside for potty breaks with plastic wrapped around his leg. But only if the ice melts. He’s so awkward with that splint, I’m afraid he’ll hurt himself even more on the ice. It’s going to be a long two weeks.

Drew had been begging to get the oil lamps down so he could see what it was like to use them like they did in the old days! He’s such a funny kid. Right now he’s obessed with anything vintage. It might have something to do with the vintage camper, all the old vintage stuff in the house that he has to live with, my love of all things old. None of the other kids caught the bug so who knows. And knowing Drew, this too shall pass. But what better time to try them out than over the weekend during an ice storm!

So two nights in a row we’ve eaten supper by lamp oil light. The first night it was still somewhat light outside. Last night it was dark. Drew made sure all other lights in the house were off, all electronics were off, he even closed the blinds in the dining room so the security light outside didn’t shine in. It was cozy! And while his dad told him it wasn’t something we would be doing on a daily basis, it was something we could do once in awhile. He must have enjoyed it just a little bit too although he didn’t say so. He just complained that he couldn’t see his food!

A Productive Day

We were supposed to wake up to 6″ to 8″ of snow on Saturday. Instead we woke up to ice. Ice everywhere. I was so thankful Eric came home Friday night before the nasty weather started. He needed an oil change, he had two tires leaking and his door handles weren’t working right. Well, his dad changed the oil and replaced two leaky valve stems but the door handles we picked up at the salvage yard awile back were the front handles and not back handles so that means Eric will have to come home again some other time. Yeah!!!! So what to do on a cold and icy day? Well, I had started the process of mustard making and that was ready to be finished.

Gotta let these sit for two days to absorb all the moisture.

Oh my goodness – the beautiful colors, smells and taste of Homemade Lavendar Mustard. And it was so very easy. I’m positive I’ll be making this again and I’m thinking it will be a perfect Father’s Day gift for my dad as he loves mustard.

Then Joe helped me pull Drew’s bed out so I could finish painting his room. This kid and all his treasures. After getting the room done and everything moved back the way he wanted it, he went through the house, through cupboards and drawers, all the nooks and crannys and he “shopped” for things to decorate with. It’s funny what he chose to use from around the house. My old roller skates, some of Grandma Houseal’s dishes, old Sucrets tins, whatever he could get his hands on. Gotta love him!

Then sweet Humphrey got a nice clean rearranged home. Drew decided on a camping theme this time around. With white bedding so he’s camping in the snow! We found some timothy hay and something called Nature’s Salad for him and also scattered some carrot and celery pieces around the cage for him to find. He was one happy camper when we put him back in the cage and he explored for ages. Then he knocked his camper over, decided not to bed down in the timothy hay and instead made a new nesting area and promptly fell asleep!

Not a good picture but this little guy is constantly on the move. I have yet to get a decent picture of him!

We had bacon and eggs for breakfast so instead of crushing the eggs up this time around and giving them back to the girls, I let them dry all day and crushed them up and put them in a jar. Since then I’ve added egg shells two more times to the jar already. Those shells will go in the ground this spring along with the tomatoes we’re going to plant. It feels good to get started planning for spring even though we’re living in an ice covered world at the moment!

A Good Mail Day

I worked at the school yesterday afternoon. It’s always good to be there. For some reason this year I feel more like I belong there. This is the third year I’ve been a substitute associate so maybe it’s because after three years I feel I know the ropes. Or maybe it’s just that after three years I recognize the kids and they recognize me. I was talking to one young man yesterday, he’s in 6th grade, and we talked about how I feel like I’ve watched him grow up. He’s a sweet kid and I’m going to miss him next year as he’ll be moving onto the junior high building. I love when I can develop a bond with the kids. It doesn’t happen a lot since I’m not there on a day to day basis but when it does, it’s usually a kid who needs some extra attention and love from an adult in their life who is simply there to be with them. I also enjoy how the teachers make an effort to show that they appreciate my being there. And it’s nice to be there with Drew. Just seeing how things run, knowing the teachers, knowing all the kids. I like having that insight into his school life.

Yesterday was also a good mail day! It’s always a pleasant surprise when I open the mailbox and there is the new Mary Jane’s Farm. Full of wonderful information, ideas, crafts, recipes – all things home related. It’s a wonderful magazine. And the only magazine I subscripe to anymore. I also love Mary Jane’s books and have purchased a few of them. You can get them off Amazon and Ebay used for a great price!

And then of course, seed catalogs. Who doesn’t like a good seed catalog? My goal is to start a garden this spring. We have lofty goals – peas, green beans, sweet corn, carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, jalepeno peppers, cucumbers, the list goes on. We might have to cut a few things out and start smaller but it doesn’t hurt to have big dreams! Last year Mom had an abundance of green beans and cucumbers so I froze the green beans she generously shared and made freezer pickles with the cucumbers. I find it so satisfying to throw those homegrown beans into my pot of veggie soup or to open a container of pickles and set it on the supper table this winter. It’s like having a bit of summer on our plate and even though I didn’t grow them, I put in the effort to preserve them and now we’re enjoying that effort. It makes me happy! And Drew helped Grandma pick those beans and cucumbers and he helped me snap those beans and freeze them. It’s good for him to see where our food comes from and to know that with a little bit of effort on our part we can feed ourselves without going to the store.

Sigourney Rocks

Look what I found this morning! I was at the grocery store and getting in my car when this bright pink color caught my eye. I had to investigate and it was this pretty colorful rock! And on the back it said Sigourney Rocks. This jogged my memory. I had joined the FB group called Sigourney Rocks long long ago and then forgot all about it. The idea is to keep an eye out around town and if you find a rock that says Sigourney Rocks on it, take a picture, post it on the Sigourney Rocks page, then hide it for someone else to find! Since Drew and I have hair appointments this afternoon and will be in town, I’ll have him hide this one. And maybe this weekend we can paint some rocks of our own and hide them around town. It would be fun to see if anybody finds one!

Stitching Keepsakes

Now, a few months ago my uncle gave us a vintage camper. A very very old, very very well used vintage camper. It has a whole story behind it. And it’s going to take lots and lots and lots of work to get it usable. Well, Drew absolutely loves it. He talks about it all the time, reads about vintage campers, asked for vintage camper books for Christmas, I think he dreams about vintage campers! So when I told him I wanted him to draw me a picture of course he drew one of the camper that he named Ruby.

Here’s Ruby, the little vintage camper. She’s been spiffed up with the power washer and Drew and Rambler decorated her for fall! Oh she needs soooo much work!

A friend of mine shared an article with me about taking a child’s drawing and turning it into a keepsake. I had seen this before and at the time I thought it was a good idea but then I totally forgot about it. Well, I’ve joined a group on Facebook that is more of an embroidery group versus cross stitch and I have been wanting to try my hand at this form of stitching. Specifically the split stitch that Lori Brechlin uses. (Lori is an absolutely brilliant designer of all things handiwork and primitive!) So all the stars were aligned and I jumped in! Here’s Drew’s drawing:

And here’s my progress so far:

This has been such a fun project. And Drew is loving it! He’s planning on hanging this in Ruby when we get her done! I think I’ll have to have the grandkids draw me pictures next so I can make keepsakes for Abby!

Taking the Day Off

Creativity and chaos go together in my world! This looks good today. Some days it’s sooo much worse! There will come a point where I can’t stand it any longer, I’ll put everything away, pull out only what I need for the project I’m working on and promise myself I’ll put each thread away as I go. And then before I know it – it’s right back to this. Creative chaos and a cup of coffee!

School is back in session today. Two full weeks is a long time off and Drew was so ready to go back and see his friends. Joe is gone until Wednesday. And I’m taking the day off. I’ve been to the grocery store, there’s laundry going, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is on the iPad and I’m stitching the day away. I still have a pillow to stuff, trim and post for sale, chicken feed to purchase after I pick up Drew from school, outside chores to do since Joe won’t be home tonight and supper to fix. I’m thinking Sweet and Sour Chicken since Joe won’t be here. I try to fix meals that I enjoy but he really doesn’t when he’s gone. Plus I’ll have leftovers for tomorrow night. That’s my day off. I’m not going to clean the bathroom or pick up the messes around the house or tackle the myriad other things that need my attention today. It will all wait until tomorrow. Do moms really ever get a day off when they’re home? I think not. But that’s okay. Having a bathroom to clean and supper to prepare, chicken feed to purchase and messes to pick up mean I’m needed. And that is a wonderful feeling – being needed!