Just 3 Things | #32

This has been a full week of staying indoors and watching it rain. Each day has provided me with a short span of time to wander round on the porches with a cup of tea or bottle of water in hand and check out or deadhead my flowers. I'm continuing to battle with the critters but I'm hoping I'm starting to win a little bit. The remainder of the time we have spent indoors reading, watching television, and watching the raindrops fall. You know, these are really some of my favorite kinds of days!

- What I've Been Reading -

I've been reading through the notes and minutes from past Cemetery Association meetings. Not only have I been learning more about what the Mister's ancestors did within this community, but I've also learned a lot about the other people I've come to know who leave here. I've learned a lot about who is related to whom and what the originators of the community cemetery really seemed to have in mind as they were developing this little patch of the earth. I am astounded that the cemetery was begun as a family space back in the 1840s but there are so many recent developments that have only been in place for the past twenty years or so. The Mister's family started things off with their own family but later included many other close-by families in the development. I've been reading and learning about how the current record-keeping system was put into place and how the Mister's family has continually managed groundskeeping, tree trimming, and lots more. It has really been a window to this small community.

Then, the other day the Mister showed me a photo that was posted on social media and told me it was a photograph of his barber's son. Interestingly, his barber is the son of a guy we had a connection to because his father was in the dairy business when we were both growing up. I commented on the family resemblance of the young man to his ancestors and we quickly moved on to converse about something else.

Ironically, the same photo popped up in my social media feed a couple of days later. The young man, Carter, was being introduced as a local construction company was highlighting an employee of the week on social media. I clicked on the photo to read more about the young man and noticed that the company website showed a building that looked familiar. That building turned out to be the local Catholic school that was built a couple of years ago located right down the road from our house.

I dug a little deeper by clicking on the Who We Are tab at the top of the webpage and recognized the owner of the company. He was a former student! I remember him well and also recall teaching several other members of his extended family. 

It is so interesting what we can learn when we take a pause and read a little bit about what is going on in the world around us. Oftentimes we find out that we have multiple connections and really do live in a small world after all.

- What I've Been Working On -

I took a risk this week and tried something new with my new sewing machine. One of the things featured in the Embroidery Design Guide is an applique option. There are a few built in examples of small appliques. I tried a little daisy-like flower. I had read the Operation Manual when I first brought the machine home but I didn't use it for applique, yet, so that operation instruction just floated away in my brain somewhere. I had been seeing some examples of a combination of applique and embroidery and thought I'd like to create something for one of the grandchildren using that technique. So, I dove in and gave the simple example a try. 

The operation of the machine is such that the operator just threads the machine, touches a button, and watches it do it's thing. I am always fascinated by what it can turn out. In this particular case, I saw that it would stitch an outline of the design. First it did the blossom and stopped. Then, it did the leaves and stopped. A close look at the photo below shows the outline of the blossom stitched in red on the navy checked fabric.

Then, stitch a second outline. Finally, it would stitch a zigzag around the design. I figured that the first stitching sequence must be to outline where the design would be placed on the project like the photo above shows. So, taking some scraps of fabric out of one of my bins, I gave it a try. Stitching the outline of the design onto the fabric shows me what size and the location for the design.

After it stitched the placement outline stitch for the blossom, it would stitch a placement outline for the leaves. I cut a small rectangle of green and affixed it atop that outline stitching and pressed the go button. It then stitched another outline around the leaves. So, I took the hoop off and carefully trimmed the fabric as close to the stitching as possible and reattached the hoop. Next, it stitched the zigzag stitch around the outside of the leaves and then added the stem. The photo above shows how it looked when that was complete.

I layered the red print fabric on the navy check and added a little scrap of yellow right to the center. After pressing the go button, an outline stitch was added to form the center. So, I removed the hoop, trimmed the yellow fabric, and reattached the hoop.

This time, the machine stitched around the blossom petals. Again, I removed the hoop and this time I trimmed the red fabric before reattaching the hoop.

This time the machine zigzagged around the yellow center circle before doing the same around the flower blossom.

Notice that I changed thread colors to have green stitching on the green fabric and red on the flower blossom and center portions.

Finally, I changed the thread color one more time and upon pushing the go button, the machine stitched to add the details to the little flower. After I had watched and guessed one time, I followed the exact steps described and it took less than ten minutes to gather fabric, stitch, change threads, and complete the project. That night, I took the Operation Manual upstairs with me and read through it all again. I took the time to really examine the drawings and images that are included. The applique and embroidery technique was broken down into such simple steps that made what I was sewing even more simple than I thought. 

The learning curve here is a big one for me but I am really enjoying taking risks and trying new things with this machine. This is one of those cases where I needed to work through the steps, revisit the information I had available, and try it all again. As a teacher, I remember seeing this happen for my students quite frequently. 

Now, if I could figure out a simple, no-fail way to get the fabric in the hoop straight and taut. That remains to be the most frustrating part of each and every project I've attempted.

- What I've Been Loving -

As I have been practicing and learning with my new sewing machine, I have tried to create items that could actually be useful as well as beautiful. I've practiced monogramming cup towels and hand towels and beach towels. I've practiced on scraps of fabric that I am turning into pot holders or placemats. I'm sort of applying that waste not want not philosophy. I was chatting with my daughter the other day about different projects and how-tos and sharing what I'm learning because she is an expert in my mind. She has created and crafted such items and sold them. So, she has far more experience than me with this sort of project. I mentioned how I've expanded the size of some things and shrunk the size of others and how I've customized some of the pre-set designs that came with my machine and I think I am ready to venture out and try out some other designs. She suggested a couple of options I might want to look into.

Embroidery Design by StitchMonogram

Well that sent me W-A-Y down the rabbit hole into embroidery designs. I've looked at cottage shops on etsy and corporate connections from manufacturers. I've looked at flowers and fruits and vegetables and animals and all sorts of athletic sports themes. I've seen stitching on clothing and bags and caps and linens and wreath sashes and so many more beautiful projects. I think a person is only limited by their own imagination when it comes to these creations and I have really been loving looking at the different ideas, combinations, applications.

cocktail napkins by Leslie Saeta

Maybe I have been a bit distracted and haven't turned out much in the way of completed projects lately, but it has all been time well spent, I think. My ankle's Achilles tendonitis is improving, my inspiration collections has grown, and my creative thinking has sort of gone into overdrive. I think our weather forecast for the next few days is rain, rain, and more rain. So, I am anticipating plenty of time for more browsing or maybe even giving some of the ideas a try. 

Today I noticed...Some things seem to be shrinking.

I opened a new container of my regular makeup today an noticed that it is visibly smaller than the container I just emptied. I even went to the trash can and dug out the old container to compare and satisfy my brain that it was indeed smaller. Yep. It was. I set the new container atop the old one and could see about a quarter of an inch of the old one all around the new one. I couldn't read the weight amount on the old container because I had worn it away with use but I'm sure the new one holds less than the old one did.

Then, I was restocking the snack jar in the pantry and noticed that the Little Debbie cakes are smaller than they used to be as well. I know we need to be cutting our snack consumption back and we should look at portion control and all that but I'm thinking that the price of those snacks did not go down.

I pulled out a package of frozen breaded shrimp to prepare dinner and noticed that I had an older box that was half empty and a new unopened box. They look the same except that the old box said it held sixteen ounces and the new box said it held fourteen ounces. 

My cereal box is smaller and holds fewer ounces of cereal. My laundry detergent bottle holds less but claims to wash the same number of loads. 

I'd love for number on my scale to shrink. I'd like the amount charged on various bills to shrink as well. I'm just not sure that the things which should be shrinking are the things that are.

Battling the Critters

I always thought of myself as an animal lover.

I have discovered that I really am not.

Oh, I like a friendly dog. I'm up for watching cute little goats jump around in a barn lot. I admire the beauty of a fast and flashy horse. I prize a well grown and groomed market lamb in a show ring. I like seeing the gentle cows in the pastures. So, I guess technically, I am an animal lover.

Technically, I just don't like rodents of any kind and I am not a reverent birder. I don't know whether to refer to these as critters, vermin, or just a plain nuisance. 

I'm still tying reflective ribbons on my truck to scare those pesky things away. I am still having to drive through the car wash about once per week, though. GRRRR!!!

As for the rodents, I've begun to battle with them as well. This time it is not with traps in the house. This time the battle is taking place outside. Chipmunks or squirrels have had free run of our yard. We have several oak trees and it is a haven for them. They gather up acorns and munch on them and store them away. They scamper around in the grass and up the trees. At times, I've even seen them scamper across the porch or along the fence rail. To me, these animals are all just rats wit a fur coat. I am not a fan at all!

Recently, they have been being pesky on our porch. Remember all the flower pots I worked so hard to fill? Well, these squirrels and chipmunks seem to think those were placed on the porch for their enjoyment. 

They dug into the trough and pots that I have near the basement entry and dug up some of my newly sprouted seedlings. 

They've also scratched potting soil out of my porch pots as they were digging holes. They threw some of the soil onto the porch and window sills. I have not been a happy camper. 

I have declared to battle them and keep them out of my plants. My first step has been to use an additive to prevent them from digging in the soil of my pots and trough. I simply sprinkled a bit of crushed red pepper flakes atop the soil in each container.

All of my flower pots sort of look as if they have some sort of top-dressing on them. We shall see how effective this remedy is. I am determined to battle these critters and not let them win! Stay tuned for a special report at a later date.

Memorial Day - Remember and Honor

 

Just 3 Things | #31

When I went to physical therapy this week, both days I left with my leg/ankle feeling better than when I arrived and that was a first for me. In the past, I went in feeling sore and left feeling sore as well. Now, that is not saying that I wasn't a little gimpy later in the day but I can truly say that I believe we have been making some progress. Finally.

- What I've Been Watching -

The Mister and I haven't been watching so much lately. I did notice that the television at the physical therapy facility is always on, however. Both days this week it was tuned to a food show. I don't know the name of the program but I noticed that it was some sort of competition and the competing chefs were provided with a couple of ingredients and were expected to whip up some sort of delicacy using those ingredients. I didn't get to see much of the program because, well, therapy. However, what I did notice, is that it seemed much like being in my kitchen at home. 

One time I heard the commentator reveal the required ingredients: Soy Sauce and Prawns. Then, the chefs had a matter of minutes to create a dish. They could go to a central pantry and get other ingredients to add to their required items but it certainly wasn't like going shopping for groceries with a recipe and gathering everything to make a gourmet dish. I thought about that show again when I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner last night. I saw: Pork Loin and Potatoes. Then, I could go to the fridge or the pantry and find a few meager additions but I needed to whip up something delicious for our own gourmet meal. It sort of feels like that every night. What two ingredients do I have to get things started and what sort of additives do I have to pull everything together? Sometimes the offerings are plentiful and sometimes they are a bit sketchy. Sometimes the ideas are well inspired and sometimes they are a bit lackluster. 

- What I've Been Loving -

I am continuing to practice with my new sewing machine and it has been turning out some fun projects. Bonnie has a birthday coming up and they recently added a small backyard pool. So, I took that idea and ran with it. I found some colorful beach towels and added some colorful stitching. They turned out to make for a fun gift!

This time I tried out different built-in fonts and added names in contrasting and funky colors. I'm still struggling with hooping heavier fabrics like those towels. I've used my new magnetic hoops but I find that I have to watch it closely or the magnets will cause the machine to jump around and not stitch in the correct spot. I have come to the conclusion that hooping is the most difficult part of machine embroidery. 

- What I've Been Working On -

I spent a couple of afternoons filling flower pots. We have a deck that runs the length of the house along the back side. We have it broken up into different sections or rooms, if you will. 

One area has a cushioned sofa, a chaise lounge, a couple of chairs, and a rocking settee with a few tables and a ceramic garden stool forming a sitting area.

Another couple of areas serve as a space for grilling and dining. In the middle is an oval table near the smoker and the grill and in the most southern end is a round table and chairs.

I like to add some life to the area by having flowers in containers. Last summer I bought some matching pots to give everything some cohesiveness. There are twelve-inch pots on the two dining tables and four sixteen-inch pots in the sitting area. 

I also have a plant stand in the seating area and a couple of pottery pots. and there are a couple of concrete pots holding succulents and a couple of blue and white ceramic pots flanking the door. That makes for a lot of pots to fill on the back porch. 

Typically, I am kind of a pink and blue flower gal. The Mister brought home my requested rosemary plants and a beautiful Verbena hanging basket that needed repotting. He said, "I thought this looked like something you might pick for the porch!" So, I put it in a larger pot and placed it in the plant stand. When I left home to go to the garden center, my plan was to build off of that for the back porch. However, there were these beautiful geraniums in smaller pots that were a real bargain. So, I gravitated to a red/white/blue theme instead of my usual. 

The larger pots have a red geranium, blue salvia, white lantana, and blue bacopa in them. The Mister also brought home a cilantro plant. So, a glazed blue clay pot on the table became its home.

On the oval dining table, I planted part of the rosemary and some sort of trailing blue plant that looks a bit like bacopa. 

The front porch got dressed up with plants as well. 

On the milk can placed to the left of the front door, I set the beautiful petunias from Levi, Easton, and Abby Lee and their parents. The gift from Luci, Lydia, Lillie and their parents, a red geranium in the terra cotta pot, set on the milk can to the right of the door.

I filled the terra cotta pots on the steps with a red geranium, blue salvia, and white verbena. I also picked up a couple of bird nest ferns and put them into a couple of blue pots and set them right beside the milk cans on the edge of the rug.

I just love the spring plantings and how cheerful it looks after filling all the containers on our porches!

Now that my planting has added a touch of the patriotic mood around here, I guess I need to pull out the bunting and tie it to the fence and porch for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Do you have any plans for remembering and honoring our fallen soldiers?

Have you ever heard of Postcrossing?

Postcrossing was a new term for me and the concept popped up when I was reading a blog post that I follow. You may be like me and not know what on earth Postcrossing might be. "It's a project that allows you to send postcards and receive postcards back from random people around the world," is the explanation given on the official website. 

I recall getting postcards from my Granny when she traveled. Sometimes the postcard would get to us days after Granny had returned home but we still loved getting the mail. Great Aunt Mae would also send us postcards sometimes. When I was a young girl, there were times when I traveled, I would be allowed to buy postcards and send them to family members. I remember my grandparents saving postcards that they got from relatives who traveled or from family members who were in the military service. When I was clearing out my mother-in-law's desk I found several postcards that she had saved over the years. Some had not been mailed and I wonder if maybe she picked them up from places where she had traveled and saved them as mementos over the years.

There were several about Columbus, Ohio and some of the landmarks of that city.

There were two or three from Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The back side of the postcard shown above had a printed message telling the reader that Highway 58 is the best road up Lookout Mountain to Rock City.

I remember seeing postcards like the one shown above that advertised places to stay. Usually the front side of a postcard depicted something like a landmark, in this case an image of the motel. Then, on the back there was a description or message about the picture with space above or below where a message could be written to the recipient. Of course, the most remembered message was, "Wish you were here!"  Then, the other half of that side of the postcard provided space for the recipient's address to be written and a stamp affixed. 

The motel postcard was obviously a means of advertisement. The image was the front side and more information about the motel was on the message side of the card. A postcard like this might have been a freebie found in the room in hopes that guests would send away, not only providing information about their stay, but encouraging the recipient to come for a visit as well. Notice the phone number on the postcard. Even if I couldn't tell the postcard is from long ago, that phone number would be a dead giveaway!

Somehow postcards seem to have fallen into a category of things gone by the wayside, something from the past, a part of a by-gone era. I'm sure relics like the ones I found in my mother-in-law's desk might be a collector's item for somebody. With our world being ever more virtual and digital, these days we simply send a text with a photograph or video. We might get a notification on our phone and see a selfie of a relative standing in front of some historic landmark. 

The Mister and I still get a few postcards but these are mostly advertisements for a roofer or new flooring or gutters or something like that. Rarely are the postcards in our mailbox something that is a means of correspondence from a friend or relative. Almost never is a postcard in our mailbox one that we would want to keep. In fact, The Mister generally grumbles about such mail and tosses it into the trash before he even brings the mail into the house.

Yet, Postcrossing is offering people the opportunity to send postcards as a means of "turning your mailbox into a box full of surprises." They suggest it as a means of learning about far away places, different cultures, or even practice foreign languages.

After reading a bit more information, my mind began to wander. I thought of other ways that this same concept might be a really good thing. Wouldn't it be a great exercise for a group of young people or a class of school children to create their own postcards and send them to a retirement home, or a collected group of addresses of folks who are shut-ins, or to patients at a children's hospital? The writers could:

• Create the image that goes on the front
• Write a little blurb explaining the significance of the image
• Practice their writing skills within the message
• Learn and practice the accepted way to address mail

This wouldn't have to be a formal school or civic group activity, although it could be. It could be something that a parent could do with his/her own children.

Again, the school teacher in me is coming out... A class of students could create postcards and write about a topic they just learned, a historical event, a scientific fact or phenomenon, a story they just read, a book they would recommend, etc. The teacher could collaborate with another teacher in another school for swapping these postcards. 

A grandparent or relative who lives in another town could exchange postcards about different landmarks or events with their grandchildren or relatives living elsewhere. 

A great gift might be to buy or create a set of postcards, address and stamp them, and give them to a college student going away to school, or a grandchild who lives far away, or just to somebody with whom you would like to keep in touch. The gift-giver might even make blank postcards, address and stamp them and ask the recipient to decorate the front and write a message on the back and stick them in the mail. There could be one for each month or for more frequent occasions. You could buy blank postcards here.

I know that I used to love to get mail when I was a kid - long before most of what was delivered to my mailbox was bills. I also know that the anticipation of getting a delivery is still pretty exciting - often really more exciting than that quick text that is an instantaneous means of communication. I just looked it up and a postcard stamp costs less than a dollar. Plus, I saw that there will soon be issued a special, triangular shaped Global Postcrossing Stamp for sending even international mail. Learn more about postcards here.

Examples of the Global Postcrossing Stamp

I'm sure that there are loads of other ideas for ways to communicate with postcards. I kind of like this old-school method of communication and might even take the opportunity to put it into practice myself. I don't know if I will formally join in and be a part of the Postcrossing group, but I'm thinking I see some postcards going out with my signature on them in the future. What about you? Do you think you might send a postcard or two? Would you become part of the Postcrossing movement?

Today I noticed...Sometimes the wrong people have a lot of confidence.

One of my volunteer opportunities has been to sit on the Board of Trustees at a local cemetery non-profit in our community. Like many places around us, the location of the cemetery has stayed the same but the territory surrounding it has changed immensely. What used to be a hay field is now a shopping center anchored by a major grocery store and surrounded by different restaurants, commercial business such as walk-in hairstyle places, deli sandwich, pizza, and smoothie take-outs, financial institutions, a Pilates studio, a dental office, and more. What used to be a cow pasture is populated by houses with postage stamp yards and connected by concrete sidewalks. Time keeps ticking, people keep moving, and things keep changing.

So, when a developer recently purchased a couple of houses and lots that border the cemetery, he began clearing out trees and scrub bushes that were growing on his side of the property line. Several people were up in arms and wanted to know what we as a Board of Trustees were doing and how could we allow the massacre of so many trees. Some even stated that they purchased their grave lots based upon the location of the neighboring trees. They wanted to know why we allowed the trees to be cleared away. We explained that the new property owner next door really had legal rights to clear the trees off his own property. We even shared that the new property owner next door had contacted us to let us know that he had plans to create a buffer with a berm and some evergreens and suggested that patience and grace be extended to give the new property owner time to take the border from raw dirt to a more aesthetically planted appearance.

This past week, however, the Board of Trustees was asked what sort of business the new property owner planned to establish on the neighboring property that he owns. We let them know that we were unsure of his plans. One person had gotten wind that there might be a gas station there. Another had heard that it would soon be home to a quick-stop market. Yet another thought a pharmacy or fast food business would be there. They asked the Board how they could find out and/or what the Board could do to prevent a commercial eye-sore from being established on the neighboring property. We listened to their concerns but assured them that we as a cemetery Board of Trustees really had no power or control over what a neighbor does with his own property. We reminded them that the neighboring property is located within the historic district of our small town and any new business would have to be approved by that governing board. 

I think what surprised me most is that one family was concerned about the sort of business that might be established near their own loved one's grave but had no concern about what might be right around the corner and near somebody else's loved one's grave. They seemed to expect us to join them and take on city hall, so to speak, at one moment because it might impact them directly. Yet, they had no expectation when the impact was for someone else. They were confident that the neighbor needed to be and could be stopped from developing his own real estate if his plans did not suit their inclinations.