Finally the box left and -- soup in late May?? Garden round up anyway

Yesterday I finally got the box of  items off to the sewing friends at Pine Ridge. Between navigating walking while carrying, new skill, slashing rain, which I thought would add another degree of difficulty -- driving, walking and carrying on wet roads -- and finding a good box, it's taken longer than planned. But it's done and they'll have it Wednesday.

And yesterday was also about making a large pot of soup, amazing in late May. Cream of celery, chard, potato, seasoned with umami, must make more, berbere and cayenne, with lime juice at the end, pretty good. 

I was getting tired by the time I arrived at the stage of filling containers for the freezer, so they're all just labeled SOUP, nemmind what kind. I usually write more, so I know what I'm thawing. This time there's only one kind. Soupe du jour.

And, Emil the PT being very keen on getting me back into resistance exercises, I've replaced the leg weights I'd given to handsome son, who also likes them, with new smaller ones. I used to use 20lb per leg, but I think max of 10 lb is wiser right now. That's still a 20lb box delivery. This presented an interesting situation.

They were delivered, total 20 lb weight, in a tiny solid box, on the step. Ground level. Nobody home to help, and it took all my ingenuity to lever it up, over the step, indoors,  to where I could open the box and lever out one set at a time.

The only tiny hitch is that I can't really put them on without bending further than I should yet. When Emil and I worked, he put them on for me, much easier. Putting them on is at least as taxing as doing the exercises. 

But I can use them to carry one in each hand, just 6lb for starters, to do Farmer's Carry. That's walking indoors holding weights. I already lift 5lb dumbbells, and it's feeling lighter, so a bit more is timely.

Today I'm feeling the aftermath of yesterday's various exertions, including a fair sized walk. Maybe I'll just exercise by holding a Kindle today. I have it loaded ready for the wet, cold Memorial holiday weekend. 

And I'm rerereading The Reluctant Widow.

Or by doing a jigsaw puzzle

But first I did a few exercises. Sit to stand raising weight overhead, Farmer's Carry, and qi gong favorites: Punching with Angry Eyes, Wise Owl Turns, and another punching one. 

 Now riddle me this newly delivered item

Hm. How to use it? Is this like the DO NOT REMOVE ON PAIN OF LAW labels on mattresses?  One of my nephews once had a summer job in a local factory removing the labels from mattresses. His colleagues spoke no English, so he never found out why he was doing it, and was it illegal.

Meanwhile despite the weather, things are starting outside.

Unsought rose budding out 

This year's hibiscus showing up with lemon balm and day lilies 

Look closely and you'll see morning glory starting. I decided to strew them directly on the ground and they don't seem to mind. This is Chris's participation, her saved and forwarded seeds. To be exact: Grandpa Ott.

Here's the very first appearance of this year's zinnias.

Happy day everyone, and thank you all for the interesting responses to my blog post about blogging, what a powerhouse this group is!

We all do this. Some people every day, even.

Pride month coming up soon.

Happy mother's Day, winnowing sewing materials

Happy mother's Day if you celebrate, otherwise happy Sunday.

I was checking through materials that might be useful to the friends on the Pine Ridge reservation, and I think these pieced patches and strips, and English paper piecing motifs might work. 

I'll explain about the card templates. I'm leaving them in, in case anyone wants to join the motifs. They can remove and keep them if they plan to applique them onto another project.   Then they can keep and reuse them.

The lace embroideries will go into my fabric book.

Next I'll go upstairs for bigger pieces of fabric and some tools I'm pretty sure I have in multiples. Then I'll cut down a box I have to a suitable size, and I'll get it sent off.

I did another first today -- changed my bed and did a load of laundry. The grabber stick was in constant use, since I can't reach the back of the dryer at the best of times, too short, and I probably would have been wise to get a grabber years ago.

And I'm learning not to gaily throw sheets, pillows etc on the floor while I'm stripping the bed,  can't retrieve them. The upstairs walker is in use here, to keep them at a reachable level.

It went pretty well, and I finally have a clean bed, and enough clean clothes to continue with.

I still haven't put down the bedside rug or a couple of other small rugs in the house, and maybe I won't. At least not yet.  I don't want to skid.

Saturday morning's walk and laundry, and a bit of gardening, tidying the lavender bush of deadwood, a trip to the mailbox and then the recycling bin with the mailbox contents,  then lunch of crisp roast potatoes and chicken with lime cake and yogurt for dessert, led to an afternoon nap. Now I think about it, not surprising. 

Happy day everyone, do what I say not what I do. Don't overdo it. Like I say. But then 

Signs of healing

One sign of healing  I noticed yesterday was that I'm all set to winnow out my sewing supplies to share with the Lakota ladies of the Pine Ridge reservation who need them.  I'm up for thinking about other people, good. 

Also I'm wondering if they'd like hexies and stars to use as decoration or as projects themselves. I have quite a few stitched components they might enjoy incorporating into projects. Anyway, that's on the agenda. I just need a box.

Tatter has a great current offering, online, coming up

Get in touch if you want to sign up.  They have great offerings, in person in New York and online.

Food today, no pictures, was the rest of that roast chicken with roast potato dice. Very good, with a couple of changes. I used avocado oil instead of olive to roast the potato dice, much lighter and crisper. And I roasted it on a bed of spinach, which also came out crisp and I'm definitely doing that again. I seasoned with a dried basil salt mix I made ages ago and finally remembered to use. 

Today's PT involved walking down the street, yay me, plus some table exercises. Followed by reading, well, full disclosure, sleeping, outside on the deck listening to birds. I heard the first redwing blackbird starting up. I love that sign of summer.

Textiles and Tea was about Klaus Anselm, retired doctor now an acclaimed tapestry weaver. He emigrated from Germany, eventually retired from medicine and discovered weaving. He's lived in the southwest, now in New England. You'll see the landscape of the southwest in his work, blocky shapes and colors.

He loves contrasting strong colors, using cotton warp and wool weft. His works are large for tapestry, up to 40" x 30".  Well worth visiting.

Happy day, everyone. Handsome son will soon wind down his stay now that I'm getting stronger, and he agrees we'll both like our space back!  

And speaking of space, the azalea which has struggled for years with the competition of the pachysandra, finally seems to be getting established. These blooms appeared today.