REARRANGING

I was up bright and early yesterday to change my room;

not only a slight change but some major rearranging!

 We took the big oak bed frame apart and moved it to another room and moved the tall dresser into the same room. 

 I kept just the long, low dresser.

The rug was moved and everything in the room 

was moved to a new spot but one!

Bill was a trooper;

 hauling and mauling all of the stuff I had accumulated!

After 8 hours of work, I have a new layout 

and a room that is clean from one corner to the other!

Bill even mounted the tv onto the wall which is so convenient! 

 We both went to bed with very sore backs!

Lena was very suspicious of the new arrangement 

 but after a good sniff and rub on everything, 

settled in for a good night's sleep also!

SETTLING IN TO HOME AGAIN

I had an order of sock yarn waiting for me when I got home. 

 I put it to good use right away!

In the yard, the red ginger are putting out their cones.

And the first bunch of bananas are ready for eating!

 

A BRIEF WALK

The azalea bush is beginning to glow with color!  This bush is always the first because it gets the most sunshine!

I've been picking some carrots from my veg bed

 and thoroughly enjoying them!

The bird of paradise clump on the palm tree survived the freeze!  So many other plants are going to have a lot of regrowing

 to do before they will bloom again.  

I hope we are done with the freezing cold mornings!

I put this together yesterday;  an early Mother's Day gift from my daughter and family.  I will make a cement pad for it to rest on out back by our pond!

 

IT'S JUST AN UMBRELLA

Just remove the old umbrella and put up the new one, we thought.

We will be done in minutes....Since it was 100* out, a quick job was all we could manage.

BUT

 the base had to be removed and the new one arranged. 

We forgot about that.  And it came with new sandbags so it was wise to fill them, too. 

And the old table legs had rusted from the pool water being splashed on them for several years!  So we figured out the new angle for the shorter legs and Bill used a tool to cut off the bottom of the legs and we put the plastic plugs back in.

 ( I used my sewing skills to know how to trace the legs

 to make them all the same length!)

 

Once the legs were finished, we could move the chairs back in place!  Not bad for the 10 minute job to take 2 hours!

So grateful we have a pool so we could cool off-really cool off because heat exhaustion was a real possibility!

As always, it is worth it to have the job done.

And done right.

This new umbrella even has solar lights! 

 The cats also approved.

 

 

A SWEET VISIT!

There was fishing....

and then more fishing!

And late night swims!

A lesson with Grandma at the lathe!

Lots of eating!

Even some welding!

I finished a sweater!

And we napped in the pool!

What a blessing to be together.

Hppy last day of May!

 

SWEET REST

I am home from the Bible Boot Camp-well, that isn't really the name but it was what I called it!  You really lose track of anything else but study, eat, study and enjoy being with women who were strangers yesterday but become sisters today!  It was a wonderful and a hard pace for me!  Home is sweet and Lena and I did this most of the day yesterday!

 We also did some of this--but then I ran out of white yarn and still need to make one more panel--these are knitted on the 22 needle Addi machine and mattress-seamed together to form a single piece.You will never guess what it is going to be so you will have to wait until I get to the store for some more white yarn to finish it! lol

MAKING MY HOUSE GLOW FROM THE INSIDE!

 Another church friend came yesterday and helped me do a thorough house cleaning. She outpaced me by miles! One thing I've missed is having the whole house cleaned at once becauuse it usually takes me days.She was able to do it all in one day-what a wonder! 

Bill found this chunk of Himalayan salt without the electrical light cord.Over the weekend, my son helped me pick out the right replacements off Amazon. I scrubbed the salt on the outside since it looked like it had been left out in the rain and I clean the dirt off of it.  The wooden base needed some cleaning up as well.  I love doing this kind of repair project so I sat in the kitchen while Denise was running circles around me. LOL How nice to see it all lit up after a little bit of elbow grease.

SOME DAYS

 Some days the projects just fall into place and then there were days like yesterday where the cleaning and maintaining order around here took a lot of time!  The rain every day is great for the plants (less watering required by me) but still there are the ones on the porch that do not get the rain and so they need me.  It also turns the seed in the bird feeders to soup and that requires cleaning out and replacing seed for healthy birds. 

 Next, I used my battery operated blower to clean off the driveway and the porch from sand and leaves.  I puttered in the woodshop area for fun-planning projects and sorting through the wood choices.  Then I came back into the house to cool down (we're in the high 90's every day still....) and did a little knitting.  Sometimes, getting up again is a bit rough and so I give in and have a down day.  Instead of hours in the sewing room, I spent 30 minutes...some days are just like that.

Simple Jobs

It's a silly little thing but I added pockets to the right thigh of all three pairs of my cropped yoga pants (my uniform each day when I am home!) and it is wonderfully convenient to allow me to keep my cell phone by me without having to use a hand to do so or worse yet, having to remember where I set it down! lol 

 The phone slips right into the black Kona cotton pocket--much more slippery than using the knit fabric of the yoga pants.  Happiness in the simple things, you know!

 I sorted through the 25 quilts that sat on two shelves in the guest room called the 'cave'.  (no windows, hence the name my sons gave the room when we first moved here. ) This is the last room to be remodeled-hoping to hire someone to do this next month.  But back to the quilts, I sorted them according to size-moved all but 5 to the 'garage sale' pile and put them away for now.  What a nice job done.  

Time to Empty

We built this yesterday-it will have to serve double duty--we will be moving the furniture into it from the home that sold and in early Feb, we will be having a garage sale of everything inside!  We built up a floor so that if it rains, the contents will be high and dry!

Once we were done, and after a bit of lunch and a rest, I went out to the lathe to unwind.  Bill had found some Maple for me to turn!  It was so exciting to try something new for a change! Each tree has its own characteristics.  I loaded this half of a log and began to see what I could reveal.

A shallow bowl will emerge!  I have the outline and will now mount this end and begin hollowing it out next.  But not today....we will be doing the big move today!  Both sons are coming to do the heavy stuff and help with all of the trips in and out all day!  I've made lunch in the crockpot for us, and have a loaf of bread in the bread machine so when we drop, we will be able to be eat at least!

Last night I finished the mitts for Matthew--he will appreciate the warmth for his early morning calls, too!  

 

Mitted Up

 I've made the pair of Tough & Toasty

 and completed the thumb of the child's mitt. 

 That's it.

It's going to be a very different week 

as we work to empty the second home we own,

the one where my parents stayed when they came for the winter. 

It's been sold.

 We have a lot of work to do

 bringing a completely furnished home's items here....we will have a garage sale soon to liquidate! 

 A good anticipation!

Blast Off!

The Crotons have really matured this year-they stay colorful all year

 but really have flourished with all the heat and humidity of the summer!

  (this stands about 4' tall)

I pulled out a few more Fall decorations, 

this wreath was made 22 years ago 

when my daughter had been recently married and lived in Chicago. 

 I took the train to go and visit her while her husband was away for work. 

 We had such a great time that weekend and each year when I bring this out, 

I have a few more repairs to do--see the bare spots?--but I fix it and smile at the happy memory!

Day 16 for INKTOBER--ROCKET  

This is for the space shuttle rocket we saw blast off while we were on Daytona Beach; 

 boy, could you feel the roar! 

 

Another Room Gets a Face-Lift

 I spent hours today, emptying the buffet, polishing the wood,

 even emptying the china cabinet and cleaning that, too.

This set was purchased by Bill's parents circa 1945.

Why all of the elbow grease deployed?

 Because we are letting this dining room set go;

replacing it with a new-to-us light oak set we are going to pick up today.

There was so much hidden in these two pieces-

glass wares, tea cups, linens and such.

The new single piece, a hutch, will display most of the items from the china cabinet

but the bottom unit is smaller and so I will have to weed out even more!

A project for another day!

Guests

Look closely under our East Palatka Holly tree

(with its ripening berries)

and see the pair of Sand Hill Cranes

who regularly come to sift through the seeds spilled

from our bird feeders

by the much smaller song birds!

This is going to be a very 'going' week

in which we will not have a 'home-all-day' day

until Friday this week!

I hope I will at least be able to knit while in the car so much!

Sort Of

The quilting is completed on the rail fence quilt

but I didn't get to bind it yesterday

but I will complete it today!

I am working on the socks-4" accomplished on the pair for me

and

I turned the heel on the pair for Bill.

The new neckline worked out great on the green sweater;  

so well, in fact, I wore it all day yesterday

in much comfort!

On a side note, Bill and I are working 

on cleaning and staging the house where my parents

stayed each winter-It is going up for sale.

We are seeing great progress finally

but it is eating into my usual schedule! 

I will share more pics of that chapter later on.

WelCome Fall!

 It is finally Autumn here in NE Florida.

The mornings are crisp for us at 60* in the mornings and 72 by afternoon.

Perfect weather to get outside and putter in the yard again!

I hauled out the Fall decorations, it is always nice to see old projects again.

 I love to sit in my dining room;

there is sunshine and a great view of the pool and yard expanse behind that. 

 We made an 'emergency' visit again to the fabric store so I could buy batting for all of the quilts!

JoAnn Fabric's no longer carries my brand for batting which is Warm and Natural Cotton.

This is Pellon and it is limp in comparison!  

It is all they are going to carry now-even online so I have to adjust. 

 What is it with losing the brands I am used to buying?!

Did you ever make a dishcloth that is too pretty to use?

This one hangs up on the wall in the kitchen--adding color and texture but not in use! lol

At least the Wal-Mart in Ormond Beach had some of the

 dishcloth yarns that I like, so I stocked up!

New Job?!

 It is still wet and swampy out back.

The frogs are happy.

 Dear Husband, who is suffering from extreme cabin fever, decided to use the old mower to do a little mowing...

it was wetter than he thought.  And he  is not as quick at steering with only one arm.

I was able to use the golf cart to pull him out using a tow rope.

 And my neighbor Millie also needed some help!

One more pass was one too many!

Good thing I know my way around a 'tow vehicle'!

 The middle of May and a bit of rain and all of the yard shoots out rain lilies!

Beautiful and aromatic!

It was a nice day to be outside!

A night out for dinner (the rain date for our anniversary!) and then a lit by the river.