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| Chard Leaves |
Today, we went up to 105F during the afternoon. Summer has arrived! But the one chard plant doesn't seem to mind the heat! The main plant bolted earlier in the summer; we cut off the seed head and noticed a baby plant growing from the side of the main stem. That baby plant has been joined by a few other baby plants, as well. I picked these leaves from the first baby plant, yesterday. They are the second picking from that plant. Not a lot, but enough to lightly stir fry to have as a side dish.
I had a relaxed day, today. Cousin P called in the morning and I had a long chat with her. Then, neighbor T called and I chatted with her, a bit. Her daughter has gone out of town for the weekend, she said, and she was a bit nervous about being alone (her daughter doesn't live at home, but, lives nearby); I told her to call me if she needed anything. I will probably call her, tomorrow, to check on her.
I did some crewel embroidery in the afternoon. I need to see if I have a smaller embroidery hoop; the one I am using is too big and I keep having to move it around to be able to reach the area I am sewing. I also found out that there is something called "slow sewing" that seems quite popular! It seems to be sewing, mostly by hand, for the enjoyment of sewing! I was quite intrigued because I do prefer to sew by hand (as that's how I learned).
Later in the evening, I watered the back garden. It takes me about 45 minutes to water everything with the hose. I picked four okra, but, forgot to pick a bell pepper that was turning red. I will pick it, tomorrow. I got tired watering the garden and putting away the hose at the end of it, today. When I came in, my feet were swollen. So, I spent the rest of the evening resting with my feet up! But, after dinner (leftovers), I washed a few dishes by hand, rinsed the rest of the dishes and loaded the dishwasher. Then, cleaned the litter box. Those daily chores get done even on the weekends! Had my nightly chat with friend R, too.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Fans and the electricity to run them (didn't put the air conditioner on in the room)
- Leftovers for our meals
- Phone chats with family and friends
- Fresh vegetables from the garden
- Water for the garden
Today's joyful activity was sewing/embroidering.
Although tomorrow is a holiday, I plan to do my Monday cleaning routine, just to stay on track:
- Change bed sheets
- Load of laundry
- Dust living room & dining area
- Clean the fridge
- Take trash cans to the curb for Tuesday trash pick up
- Water the front garden
How was your Sunday? What are your plans for Monday?
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September Decluttering: I am continuing to declutter at least one item a day in September, too.
9/1 - 1 Crossword book, completed (recycled)
9/2 - 1 T shirt (daughter's; to be donated)
9/3 - 1 knitting book
9/4 - unused cards
9/5 - 1 participation medal (daughter's)
Slow sewing may be an activity in this home as well. I found a couple of long forgotten kits when I've been clearing out and have kept them for now. One is a counted cross stitch, never started, and the other one is a Glorafilia tapestry kit which was started but not finished! I've put them away now and thought they have the potential to be a fun activity for the winter. Whether I get round to them is another matter!
ReplyDeleteYour mention of the okra reminded me ... I made the okra dopiazo which was ~~okay~~. I wouldn't rave about it and would prefer it as a side dish if I made it again. The problem is that it's only possible to buy the big packs of okra and I'm not sure they were at the peak freshness so it's unlikely to feature on the menu anytime soon.
I hope you stayed pain free and that the swelling in your feet settled down with some rest. Take care x
Your sewing kits will be a fun winter activity! In fact, you've reminded me that I have a counted cross stitch kit that I started and didn't finish. I might give it another try!
DeleteI looked up okra dopiazo (not a dish I'm familiar with); I probably won't like it with all those onions! I just saute the cut okra, with curry powder, curry leaves, etc., and often don't even add onions! It's about the only way I like okra! :D
Yes, the swelling went down after I rested for a bit, and I stayed pain free, thank you. :) I've had a fairly productive morning, too, while it was still fairly cool, and now, I am relaxing (temperature is 93F but "feels like 97" according to the weather report!).
I continue to marvel at your large social network, you truly live within a caring community of like minded people. In our neighbourhood or end of the street, you are lucky if you get a head nod of acknowledgment from the neighbours. I wonder if the extreme heat caused your feet to swell?
ReplyDeleteI have some nice neighbors and then there are those who block my driveway with their parked cars or leave empty shopping carts on my parkway (someone put it there, yesterday, and it's still there!). I don't know some of the newer neighbors, though.
DeleteThe heat and being on my feet for more than 30 minutes or so usually cause my feet to swell. I might have been eating a little too much salt lately, too.
Would soaker hoses work in any of your garden so you wouldn't have to stand so long to water? We have used them various times with good success.
ReplyDeleteSoaker hoses might be an option! Or, just moving the hose from tree to tree and letting it run at a slow rate for 15 minutes, or so. In the past, I've used the sprinklers to do the general watering and then, watered only specific plants with the hose. But, sprinklers aren't as water conserving as soaker hoses.
DeleteThe chard looks so fresh. I am sure that the vegetables you are harvesting and the fact that you are eating mainly unprocessed food is keeping you in good health!
ReplyDeleteKind of you to keep an eye on your neighbour. I like the idea of slow sewing, in fact I replaced a zip fastener in a summer skirt by hand recently. I covered the desk chair seat today, much work with the staple gun, and soon I will cover the back with a slip on cover that I will fasten underneath with a curved needle.
The leaves were freshly picked. I kept them in the fridge with the kitchen towel wrapped around them until I'm ready to cook them and they've stayed fresh (plan to cook them, tonight).
DeleteNeighbor T and I keep an eye on each other. :) Sounds like you've been busy with your needle and thread and the staple gun! I think I'll have to invest in a staple gun if ever I decide to recover the dining chairs! I did a bit of mending, today, and I did it by hand. :)
That chard looks good - healthy! I am intrigued about "slow sewing." I had not heard that term. Sewing can be very therapeutic, I just finished a layout with over 300 back stitches. It took a lot time but the effect was spectacular (if I do say so myself.)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susanne; freshly picked from the garden! :) I hadn't heard the term, either! That layout sounds interesting! I hope you post a picture of it. :)
DeleteHellooooo!!! It's very early in the morning here and I'm awake far earlier than I would like, but I've been making good use of my time to enjoy a lovely catch up with your recent news.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, your temperatures have risen since last week. I hope you're managing to keep cool. I'm glad your appointment with your doctor went well and I hope you were reassured after all your worrying. I know how it can be - I'm just the same, always expecting the worst :)
I loved your photo choices for 'E', especially the embroidery, the pansies are beautiful, such vibrant colours. Not forgetting those molasses cookies!!! Did I miss the recipe?
August has flown past but I managed to keep on track with my decluttering, so thank you for the inspiration, and now that I'm finding my feet in the new school year, I should be able to enjoy some more regular reading of my favourite blogs :)
Hi, Jules! Thank you; glad you liked the 'E' photos and the embroidery. :) No, you didn't miss the cookie recipe - daughter found something online. I think she searched for "chewy oatmeal molasses cookies". Glad you were able to keep on track with your decluttering and hope you will be able to continue decluttering in September, too. Hope you and Lily are doing well with the new school year!
DeleteThat's so interesting about your chard plant. I love to see things like this happening and find it all a big old Mother Nature mystery as to why certain plants behave like your chard while an exact plant right next to it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteThose are some good looking leaves the baby produced.
I've been thinking about doing a bit of embroidery and now you've mentioned it again (in addition to showing your cushion cover).
I bought and old linen luncheon sized table cloth years ago at a yard sale. I think it was .50 cents. Plain old linen with two initials on it. EP. I wonder about that woman who put her initials on this cloth and have often thought I'd like to do some random embroidery on it.
I've never used it but in my decluttering I am never tempted to get rid of it.
I think I will look for an inexpensive book of iron on embroidery patterns.
Yes, slow stitching is a thing. I enjoy looking at the slow stitching hashtag posts on Instagram.
Since M planted a mixture of chard seeds, I don't know which one this is, but, going by the appearance (white stems, green leaves) I think it might be "lucullus swiss chard", which is supposed to do well in zones 6 and up.
DeleteYour linen table cloth was a great find! I am sure it will look very pretty with some embroidery on it. :)