The Garden in June - Part 1: Front Garden

On Friday, the first day of summer, I took a walk around my garden and took a bunch of pictures.  We had had a shower of rain, earlier in the morning, and, because the day was overcast and cool, the raindrops were still on the plants and on spiderwebs, which I thought looked pretty.


The lantana growing along the walkway in the front:

Lantana Flowers

That mini heatwave we had killed all the flowers on the pomegranate tree.  There is one, lone baby pomegranate, though:

Baby Pomegranate

The osteospermum have stopped flowering for the most part.  But, I am leaving the plants in place as they are still green and provide a bit of color:

Mixed Planting Bed - Osteospermum and Dusty Miller, among other plants

The mini heatwave caused the burn on these aeonium plants:

Aeonium 

They are the ones grown from cuttings one of my former supervisors gave me.   I have more of them growing in more sheltered, shadier areas and they are doing well.

This variegated aeonium is in one of the more sheltered spots, and it is didn't suffer too much from the heatwave:

Variegated Aeonium

The cuttings of echeveria I took from the plants growing in front of a neighbor's house are growing well, too:

Echeveria

I took the cuttings with my neighbor's permission and I am glad I did so when I did, because her husband took out all those plants, last year! 

I was happy to see that one of the gladiola plants has sent up a flower stalk:

Gladiola Flower Stalk

The alstromeria. or Peruvian lily, growing under the pomegranate tree, is also flowering:

Alstromeria: Peruvian Parrot Lily

This particular species of alstromeria (Alstromeria psittacina or A. pulchella) is also known as Peruvian parrot lily or, simply, parrot lily.

The flat leaf parsley plant I bought from the dollar store has set seeds!  I should move the pot to one of the beds so that the seeds can fall into the bed and start new seedlings!  Right now, the pot is on the steps near my front door.

Parsley Seed Head

That is a tour of the front garden on the first day of summer!  I will do the back garden in a separate post.

How is your garden coming along?

On the First Day of Summer

Rain Drops on Cobwebs

On the first day of summer, it rained in the morning!  It is afternoon, now, and we are having a day of June Gloom with overcast skies, cool temperatures, and no sunshine to speak of!  I went for a walk and, then, did a tour of my garden.  I took photos of the garden and will do a garden post, later.  

I had a phone call from my aunt (step-father's sister), this morning.  She was returning my call from earlier in the week.  I told her that I had the Princess Mary Christmas Box and her father's medals with me and asked her if she would like to have it.  She told me that, as much as she would like to have it for sentimental value, she wanted me to keep it, because, in her opinion, I appreciated it more than anyone else in the family!  However, she did ask me to send her a photo of it and the medals, and she said she will show them to her niece with whom she lives and ask her if she wants them.  That sounds good to me.    

I also asked her about a second medal I found in the box with the initial of someone else (not her father's initials) engraved on it, and she said it must have been her father's brother's, who was killed during the war.  She also said that there was a family story that her father was thought to have been killed, as well.  I will write to her and ask her for more details.  She also said that she had some family records, but, no one was interested in them!  I know the stories my step-father told me about his family, but I don't have any documents (other than his birth certificate).  Maybe I will ask aunt to send me copies of what she has.  Genealogy might become my new hobby!  LOL!

I am having a quiet day, today.  Yesterday was relatively busy.  I had an appointment with my financial planner, in the morning.  She gave me an update of where things stand and we discussed a few details.  All that took less than 10 minutes.  Then, we spent another 30 minutes or so just chatting about various other things!  I now have a request for a quilt, from her! 

On my way home from the appointment, I stopped by the public library in the adjoining city.  I had joined their library, years ago, but I hadn't been there to borrow a book for some time, now.  Yesterday, when I went in, I asked if my card was still valid and the librarian looked it up and said it was no longer valid because it had been inactive for over a certain period of time.  But, she issued me a new library card and I borrowed three library books!  

In the afternoon, I went for my blood test (and took the photo of the car park patio set up).  

After I came home, I had lunch, went through two more file folders, watched some TV (news, mostly, but, also an episode of Dr. Phil which featured a woman who was a hoarder), and read one of the library books.  Cousin P called and I chatted with her for a bit and, later, called friend R, who, in the course of the conversation, asked when I was going to make a quilt for her!  Two requests for quilts in one day!  I now have an excuse to go to the fabric store!  LOL!

Speaking of quilts, I washed this one that was on my bed, earlier in the week, when Dancer threw up on it:

Star Quilt

The pattern for this quilt was in one of the Christmas books I decluttered a few days ago.  I made this quilt in 1990.  When I washed it, this week, I noticed that the edge of one border was starting to tear: 

Torn Border Edge

I folded the quilt and stored it for now.  I need to sew on some new binding to repair the torn edges.  There will be lots of quilt making and quilt repairs this summer!

Today, I am grateful for:

- Rain for the garden

- My finances are in good order

- Phone conversations with family and friends

- Warm knitted shawls (did I mention it was a bit cool, today?)

- A relaxed day

Garden Preview - White Agapanthas

How is your Friday?  Are you enjoying the first day of Summer? 

Umbrellas, Open or Closed

Patio umbrella, inside the store

One of the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt prompts was "An Umbrella, open or closed" (number 6 on the list of prompts).

Summer is the season for patio umbrellas, and, living in southern California, as I do, I'd expect to see them in various outdoor patios.  But, I have been amused to see where I am finding them.  The one pictured above was set up inside the store, in a bin filled with other (closed) patio umbrellas.

Then, I looked up and saw this:

Summer Display

Today, I went to the lab to get some blood work done (for my upcoming doctor's appointment on Monday) and saw not one, but two, patio umbrellas: 

Indoor Patio

This is a "patio" area, set up inside the car park, on the second level, right next to the elevators.  Two patio tables and two umbrellas, set up in front of a wall painted to look like a green meadow, with a mountain range in the background, a patch of blue skies, and a little white cloud.   I thought the artificial plant near the pipes on the left added a nice touch!  The glare to the right of the photo is from the roof level parking area.

I don't know, but, I think this might end up being my selected photo for this prompt!  What do you think?

It's Like Pulling Teeth

My book decluttering, that is.  I've a whole stack of books pulled out from the shelves to go through, but, I've only managed to declutter these two:

Houseplants

I've had this book on houseplants for several years.  It escaped a previous decluttering effort.  But, there aren't that many houseplants that are safe for cats and Dancer insists on eating plants.  Besides, these days, one can look up all the information one needs on plants online, so I think I can let this book go, now.

A Child's Garden of Verses

I had a different edition of this book as a child (the poems were the same, but the illustrations were different) and it was a favorite.  I can still recite a few of the verses from memory.  I bought this edition for my daughter, but, she didn't care that much for it.  When she decluttered it from her bookshelves, I kept it in my bookshelf.  Re-reading the poems, now, however, I can see how much they reflect the attitudes of the times in which they were written.  This book has been put in the donations bag.

How are you coming along with your book decluttering?  Are you finding it easy or hard?

The Princess Mary Christmas Box

The Princess Mary Christmas Box

Sunday, June 16, Father's Day, was also the death anniversary of my step-father.  Among his possessions was this brass box.  It was one of the very few personal items he brought with him when we left Sri Lanka.  I must have been 9 or 10 when I first saw it, back in Sri Lanka.  I was told it was  an old toffee tin and I knew his father's service medals were kept in it.

But, it was much later that I found out exactly what it was - a Princess Mary Christmas Box.  I was reading a magazine and I came across a picture of a similar box and I recognized it!  Apparently, the then 17 year old daughter of King George V and Queen Mary wished to send a Christmas gift to all the soldiers and sailors in service on Christmas Day 1914.  As a result, a fund was set up, donations to the fund were solicited, and these boxes were made and sent along with tobacco and cigarettes to some, a bullet shaped pencil and sweets to some (non-smokers), sweets and spices to Indian troops, and chocolates to nurses.  All, apparently included a greeting card and a picture of the Princess.  Only some received their boxes on Christmas Day; others received theirs much later, especially as the list of those receiving them expanded.

The box is brass, about 5 inches by 3 inches by 1 inch, embossed, according to one source that I read, based on a design by Messrs Adshead and Ramsey. 

The surface of the lid contains a portrait of the Princess Mary, in the center, surrounded by a wreath of laurel leaves and her monogram "M" on either side:

Portrait of The Princess Mary

At the top edge of the lid, there is a decorative cartouche containing the words, "Imperium Britannicum", with a sword and scabbard on either side.

Top Edge of the Box

On the lower edge, there is another cartouche with the words, "Christmas 1914", with the bows of battleships on either side:

"Christmas 1914"

Close Up of the Battleship Bow

In the corners and on the side edges are the names of the allies: France and Russia on the two sides and Belgium, Japan, Montenegro, and Servia in the corners.

I don't know when my step-father's father received his box.  The original contents are long gone.  What is inside the box, now, is a collection of badges, medals, and deteriorating ribbons, that he had received:

The Collection

Apparently, he was in the service of the Ceylon Sanitary Company, which, from the little research I've been able to do, were attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps (according to the British National Archives) and served in the "Mesopotamian front (Iraq) from 27 September 1917 - 31 January 1919"

Medals and Ribbons

Which helps to explain this particular medal:

"Baghdad 1917-1918

And why this medal mentions service during the Great War of 1914 - 1919:

"The Great War of 1914-1919"

When my daughter was in school, studying about World War I, I gave her the box and the medals to take to school with her as a "show and tell" item.  I hoped that seeing (and touching) these items from a long ago war made what they were learning in a book seem more real.

I haven't done a lot of research into this, but, I might look into the British National Archives to see if they have more information.  I have his name, service/serial number, and the company he served in.  I wonder if my step-father's sister knows more about it.  I should check with her (I called her, just now, and left her a message as she didn't answer her phone; I'll call her back another time).  I shall also ask her what she wants me to do with the box and its contents.  My step-father didn't have any biological children and neither does his sister.  However, they had other siblings who had children.  I shall ask my aunt if she would like me to send these items to her to be given to her nieces or nephews or their children.   After all, these items belonged to their grandfather and great-grandfather and should be their heirlooms to cherish.  There is a photograph of my step father's mother, too, among all the various papers I have, as well as photographs of his grandparents' graves.  I need to find them and send them off, as well. 

Have you seen one of these Princess Mary Christmas boxes? 

Stringing Along

My string quilt patchwork piecing is coming along nicely.  I took some photos of the process and thought I'll share them in a post.  This is not meant to be a tutorial, as such; there are plenty of them online.  This post is simply to show how I am going about it!  And to share some thoughts I've had while sewing. 

I am making this quilt mainly because I am blessed with an abundance of fabric leftover from other sewing projects!  My own sewing projects, my late mother's sewing projects, and, even, some others' sewing projects, as, over the years, friends have blessed me with their leftovers!  My baskets of scraps are overflowing!  Sometimes, I look at all the fabric in my stash and feel stressed by the abundance!  So much to store!  At other times, I am grateful for the abundance and recognize it as a blessing.

These past few days of decluttering files and going through my books have been difficult for me.  So, on Thursday, when I was feeling out of sorts and upset with myself, I knew that I needed to take a day off to relax and indulge in what has always been a joyful activity for me - play with fabric.  Looking through the stash for suitable fabric for a baby gift (I found two or three possibilities), I realized that I really ought to sew down the stash of scrap fabric!  I have two baskets of smaller pieces of fabric (solid colors in one, print fabric in the other) and both were overflowing!

I thought a string quilt would be a good way to use up the stash.  In a way, I'm still decluttering!  Decluttering my stash of scrap fabric, that is!

I started out with a foundation piece  - I chose to do a 6 1/2 inch square, which should, hopefully, give me a 6 inch square block, when sewn together.  I say "hopefully", because I always seem to end up with blocks that don't measure as accurately as they should! 

Foundation Square

For my foundation squares, I am using an assortment of soft fabrics which aren't suitable for regular patchwork quilts, as they are so thin.  Some tutorials said one can use thin paper (which get torn off once the strips of fabric are sewn on) for the foundation, but, since my purpose is to use up the stash of scrap fabric, I am using fabric as my foundation pieces. 

Basically, one sews strips of fabric to this foundation piece until the whole of it is covered.  The individual strips can be of any width.  Most of my strips are cut 2 inches wide, but some are a little more and some are a little less.  I wouldn't cut them less than 1 1/2 inches wide, though, as I am sewing 1/4 inch seams and narrower strips will end up being mostly seams with not much of the fabric showing!

For this particular quilt, I decided I wanted to have one dark colored strip going diagonally across:

Starting Strip

Some string quilt tutorials say to mark 1 inch on either side of the corners of the foundation square to help center the starting strip.  I simply eyeballed it.  It doesn't bother me if it is slightly off center.  What does matter is that the starting strip is placed right side up! 

The next step is the add strips on either side of this center strip.  It is not necessary to trim the length of each strip of fabric to the size of the foundation square at this point.  As long as the strip of fabric is long enough to cover the foundation square (if not, I'd sew another piece of fabric to the strip to make it long enough). 

Strip #2 

Place the second strip, on top of the starting strip, with the right side of the fabric facing down and sew it, on top of the starting strip, along one side:

#2 Strip Sewn Down

Next, open it out and iron it, so it lies flat:

Strip #2 Pressed Open

Most of the tutorials on string quilts I've read have said to continue to sew strips along one half of the square and then, sew along the other half.   However, I chose to sew on either side, so strip #3 was sewn on the other side of the center diagonal, instead of next to strip #2 (oh, I am such a rebel!):

Strip #3 Sewn and Pressed Open

You can see how the strips of fabric extend beyond the foundation square.  These get trimmed off, later.

Other than a dark, central diagonal, there is not much planning as to the placement of the rest of the strips of fabric.  It is a completely random arrangement.  I am just taking a long enough piece of fabric strip and sewing it.  Eventually, as I run out of longer strips, I can see myself piecing shorter strips together, and that will just add to the randomness.  This is meant to be a "stash buster" quilt!

One block, completely covered

The next step is to trim the strips of fabric to the size of the foundation square.  A cutting mat, rotary cutter, and a ruler are helpful at this stage.  If not, a pair of scissors would be sufficient, I'm sure.  But, if I was cutting this with a pair of scissors, I might sew my strips down around the outside edges of my foundation square, just to make sure they stay in place! 

The back, showing the foundation square

This is the ruler that was included with the cutting mat and rotary cutter in the set that my daughter bought for me.  It is 6 1/2 inches wide and 24 1/2 inches long.  It's easy to measure a 6 1/2 inch square with this ruler!

Ready to Trim off the Excess!

I just rotate the pieced fabric square and trim all four edges:

All Nicely Trimmed

Most of the trimmed off pieces are too small to reuse.  But, I've saved some of the triangles to use for the corners on other blocks. 

The Trimmed Block

You can see that the central diagonal strip is slightly off centered!  That's because I didn't bother to measure and mark equal distances from the corner!  But, I'm OK with that.   All of the fabric used for this block are remnants from other sewing projects.  None of it was bought for another quilt.  I look at this block and I see fabric leftover from sewing dresses, nightdresses, and pillow cases. 

I've made 41 blocks, so far.  My plan is to continue to make as many blocks as I can and then, decide just what I am going to do with them all!  I think some will become a second border for the Mile-A-Minute quilt top I made earlier (the one I decided wasn't quite as big as I'd like it to be).  Others might be sewn into a quilt for a certain cat who threw up all over my own quilt, this morning!  He is now sleeping on "his quilt" in the spare room! 

Today, I am grateful for:
- An abundance of scrap fabric!
- The memories they bring
- Time in which to sew and play with fabric
- Cutting mats, rotary cutters, sewing machines, etc., which speed up the process
- My eye sight and being able to see well enough to sew!

Have you made any string quilts?  Do you think you might make one, one day?

Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt - First Link Up

Today, June 14 is the day for the first link up for the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt!  I had forgotten all about it, until I saw Eileen at A Bracelet of Days' post!  Ooops!

I am afraid I didn't take many photos, but here are what I was able to take:

#3.  Repetition:

Telephone/Power Poles

The repetition of telephone poles/power lines down the road


#8.  Shells:

Sea Shell Wreath 

#10.  Something made of stone:

Stone Wall Between my Garden and Neighbor's Garden

#11.  Fish:

My mother's fish dishes

These were my mother's and some of the few items she decided to bring with her when we left Sri Lanka.  I love how the undersides of the small dishes have been finished to show the fish on that side, too.  They were made by a company called Shorter & Son, Ltd., Stoke on Trent, England.

Trade Mark

#13. Two colors of the rainbow:

Two colors of the rainbow: Yellow Lemon and Green Leaves

#15. A broken chair/bench/stool:

My Garden Bench

Those are my photos for the first link up.