How come it's already Monday?

 Montana 2016

No, I'm not there, I just wish I was!

Monday came today and it brought another Heat Advisory with it!

This one is here until Thursday evening.  UGH!

I really HATE hot weather.

I did get out this morning to pull a few weeds and water my new grass in the front yard.  We haven't had a decent rain in quite a while now and I went to a lot of work to get that new grass so I can't let it die.

 I began doing to the garage what I did to the studio.  It's a disaster. Worse than the studio was.

More pegs for the peg boards have been acquired and arrangement has been begun.  Mostly, I got all the Amazon boxes flattened for recycling!

I think I buy too much stuff on Amazon, :)  I see someone using a new ruler or saw or whatever and I think "Wow, that's cool. I wonder if Amazon has it?" Usually they do.  I hate to shop though, all the walking to different shops and not finding what you want drives me batty (er).  I do like to go to quilt shops though.  Hum, that reminds me I need some fabric, or do I?

 

Pollen and Mold take me out!

 Last Friday was another cool day so I trimmed the fence line, took out the rest of the Spruce tree and worked at this~

East Hosta Garden.  

Earlier in the year I had done the West Hosta Garden .

I love the look !  

It helps keep the grass from invading and weeding is easier.  I'm still adding dirt to level this one out, then I have peat moss to add as well.

I didn't have quite enough pieces of the border so I had to order more and wait for them to come in.  They arrived early on Saturday so I finished the Hosta garden and laid out the border pieces to continue to the fence.  

Then, Chooky announced a Zoom chat!  I just picked up my tools, left everything else where it sat intending to finish Monday. There it still sits.

Showered and took myself off to the studio to chat and sew.

Quilted some on the blue and white quilt-half quilted now,

cut strips for Brayden's quilt, and started a small cross-stitch piece while chatting.

After that I went to bed and not to sleep.  My legs had the jitter-bugs and about 2am I starting coughing and coughing. I was planning to drive to Columbia to watch Ryan perform but I couldn't walk across the room without coughing so, I stayed home, 

Took three naps.

Monday, I had a light bulb moment when I thought to check the pollen and mold counts.  Ah-Ha!  Pollen, especially grass was HIGH and Mold was VERY HIIGH!  

Since then I have stayed inside except for short trips out and I wore a mask for those, and I have gotten better every day. On Monday I only took 2 naps, Tuesday it was down to 1, Wednesday I stayed up all day!  Yesterday, I had to have a nap though.  Today, I carried up a load of laundry (cause very little has been done this week.) and coughed.  Besides sleeping I read 4 novels and watched a great deal of YouTube on my laptop!

I had this same problem in July of 2022 but never had the light bulb moment so it was worse.  I didn't do much gardening in 2023 since I was in Australia during the heavy gardening start up.  I might have stuck a couple of tomato plants in the ground but that's it so no allergy issues.

I guess the lesson here is to not spend too much time outside in July without a mask!

I have to water the front this morning and the East hostas in back-better finish getting dressed and find my mask!

`

When the temperature stays below 80F. . .

 I jump for joy!

Then I work outside for most of the day.  Cutting grass before it's long enough to have the city after me, then working at taking out a spruce tree.  It was too close to the house and causing the little wall in front to get wonky.  It was originally shaped into a round ball about a foot above the ground but over the years that I've been here it has grown out of its shape and I don't have the proper tools (or talent) to keep the shape.  If it had not been shaped it would be as tall as my front room windows and they are VERY tall.  I got all the branches off and moved back to the old garden where they will stay and lose all the needles before I burn branches this fall. Tomorrow, I will finish that job and hopefully a few others outside.

I spent a little time in the studio finishing a couple of small projects.

I found this frame at the op shop, it was pale brown and had the words " Say Yes to Adventure" on the glass and a rather dull photo on the back.  That would not do!  So I took it apart which was much harder than I expected, painted it black and put this photo of the Great Barrier Reef from an old calendar in it.  Naturally, the glass got all smudged from my handling of it so I cleaned it before I glued the photo back in.  All the Letters came OFF! Even though it would have been fun to have the writing I really like this photo of the Reef so I'm happy with the project.  The other thing I did was to stain the "hope" sign for the wall (hope was last year's word) I could only get horrible photos though.  Anyway, it's ready to add to the gallery wall.

Here's the current state of the bulletin boards~

This is the smallest one and is waiting for me to sew buttons on each of the ribbon crossovers.  That's what makes the ribbon taut enough to hold things in place.  This one goes in the craft area.

This is what the other two look like.  All covered in batting.  I used almost every scrap of batting in the 

drawer!  Each one has at least 4 layers of batting to get the "puffy" look.

Anyway, I think I will really like them when they are finished.

Here's to another cool, dry day tomorrow!

I know, I know I missed two days!

I did tell you not to hold your breath for the every day blog!

On Monday, Laundry Day!  A whole two loads!  I've found that if I stay in the studio (next door to the laundry room) I get the clothes moved around from the washer to the dryer and finished before 4pm.  Electric rates are higher between 4 and 8  (peak time) so mostly all I have on is the air conditioner and fans, and appliances that can't be shut off.  Well, I might nuke dinner.  While the laundry was sloshing and then whirring around I worked on the Bulletin boards.  Stapling down the last sheet of batting, until the stapler stopped working quarter way through the last one.  Then I sorted the threads for the cross stitch and counted spaces going up and across so that I know where to begin.  I'm not sure how it happened but after remaking the bed and folding clothes it was 11pm and I went to bed.  Unfortunately, not to sleep.  Then I did a really stupid thing-I was hot so I turned on the ceiling fan.  I really know better because I am always ill the next day.  And I was-headache, coughing, stopped up, and even had an ear ache!  I slept most of yesterday (without the ceiling fan) then went to bed at 9 and slept all night.   Jeez, how boring could this post be?

Today, was better though!   First off, it was MUCH cooler!  I got my kitchen and bathroom clean and mopped and feed the outside plants so I'll have pretty flowers.  Then I went down to work on the bulletin boards.  The stapler worked!  I have one with all the batting on, the fabric and ribbon on-just need to add the buttons and it will be ready to hang in the craft area.  The other two are ready for fabric, ribbon and buttons. 

Tomorrow, it's to be in the low 80's so I plan to MOW!  Before I can do that I have to change the blade and raise the bed to cut it long.  Still I should be able to get out and get it done before noon.

Will tomorrow be more exciting? I doubt it.

A little quilting~

I finally began quilting this little top.  I think it's been ready to quilt since sometime last year!  I've had a LONG hiatus from stitching after all.  I can only do about an hour's worth before my shoulders cry for mercy and I have to stop!  Maybe, just maybe I'll have a finish (or near finish) by Friday!

Then I prepped a couple of pieces of fabric.  One for a small cross stitch piece and one for my first attempt at Sashiko.  

I finished the ironing except for the fabric for the bulletin boards-don't want to iron that until I'm ready to use it.

My Staple gun arrived today (thank you Amazon) but it needed charged so that will be something I work on tomorrow.

I also began actually READING blogs!  What a shocker.

It's still HOT and I watered in back yesterday-tomorrow it's the front where I have new grass I wish to keep alive.

Mostly, I just tried to stay cool.  Luckily, the studio is MUCH cooler than the main level, so I have an excuse for spending a lot of time down there!

Life is quiet right now.  I think that's good.

 

No mowing

This bit of sweetness had a bad night and since she can't open the door I also had a bad night.

I did get up about 7:30 and while drinking my morning tea and attempting to stay awake I pondered the idea of cutting grass.  Instead, I nearly fell asleep at the table so I went and sat in my recliner to read and the next thing I knew it was 1:30 and too hot to consider mowing.  Since we are under a heat advisory until Monday night I guess it waits until next week.  I'm so upset, NOT.

In the studio I did the ironing, well most of it.  What little is left I'll finish tomorrow.

Another exciting day!  

It's odd but I have "Cabin Fever" more in the summer.  I mean everything is green and gorgeous and I wish to be outside.  Then I go outside to swing and it's like breathing hot water, the flies and mosquitos attack and I go back in!  At least in the winter it doesn't look all that appealing to go outside.

Tomorrow, I'm going to work at quilting a small quilt once I finish the ironing. Perhaps, I'll start a new hand stitching piece as well, hum.  Have to wait and see.

 

A nice evening at the Chookshed!

 One of our wonderful ZOOM chats happened earlier!  I so look forward to these!  

I spent the time doing the mending!  Some of it had been in the "Mend Me" bin for over a year. It's finished now but the "Iron Me" bin is overflowing!  Once that was done I tried to work on the little Christmas tree 

I made at Shipshewana last year.   I put on some of the planned beads, then took them off.  I didn't like them, so I put it away and will allow it to simmer for a bit.

I also worked this afternoon on the French bulletin boards but the next part requires a stapler and mine doesn't work!  So, I ordered a battery operated  staple gun!  That arrives on Sunday.

Things seem to happen in stages, but they are happening.

Tomorrow, if I get up early enough I will cut the grass.  If I don't then it will be next week as we are under a heat advisory beginning at noon tomorrow.  Also, I need to replace the blade and then move the wheels higher--the extra length will help during this hot weather.

Such an exciting post!

Finished at last--the studio

Well, almost!

Here's what it looked like before I began.  I was not kidding when I said it had been the dumping ground while I was working outside!

From the design wall towards the door.

The other side of the studio from the design wall.

The view from the door towards the design wall.

Now for the current incarnation!

Starting at the door and going around the room the room to the left.

The art, crafting, miniature,  and repair station.

The storage nook.  Books. embroidery thread and project boxes.

Fabric storage, work space and cutting area.

The view from the design wall.

Hand stitching area.

The ironing spot!  I don't have water in the basement except attached to the washing machine so there are gallons of water along with my irons and the new basket "Iron Me"

The Janome's home.  I use this machine for everything except quilting.

There's a small ironing station between the two machines.  It's really helpful for foundation paper piecing or when I'm just lazy!

The Bernina is used almost exclusively for quilting.  I'm not fond of it but it has a larger throat than the Janome.  I added the shelves fairly early on, then one of them sort of fell off the wall so I had to redo them with heavy duty supports.

Yet to come: three French bulletin boards-I'm working on those now, staging the shelves and a sign fo the door.

I'm making myself put everything away before I come upstairs hoping that will keep it neat. 

I'm going to try to post every day now~ don't hold your breath.

Gail

PS to all of you commenters I love that you commented but I am staring over on replying.  I haven't even been turning on the computer lately!  So many things to get back into!