Busy Summer

It's been a month since I've written anything here and that's in large part due to this adorable girl.  Alexia was with us from June 26th to July 26th and those days were packed full.  I was at the Deschutes County Fair all day today, demoing spinning with a drop spindle.  I'm tired but we're going to have baby Delaney for the next two days and I can't count on any free time, so this post is me trying to get a little caught up on the last month, while I can still remember it.

One of our favorite things to do together is shop for books.  We've done this since she started reading in second grade.  She had planned on a visit to Dudley's Bookstore and was really disappointed that it no long has a teen section.  We even spent a half hour at the library - no luck.  We ended up at Barnes and Noble where there are plenty of books to chose from.  I hadn't planned on buying any for myself, but then I found a display, Buy Two, Get One Free.  I had read about half of the books on the table and reasoned that surely I could find three books from the remainder.  I did.

She has gotten a little more confident in her knitting and started a shawl from a Ravelry pattern called River Fog.  We were going on another road trip and this would be her trip knitting.

And once again she volunteered with me as a living history interpreter at the High Desert Museum.  I showed her how to crochet and she went to town, making a "washcloth."  An older teenager and experienced crocheter spent some time with her, showing her tips and tricks.  She attracted little girls like a magnet the rest of the day.

Ian, Alexia and I took a hike to Tumalo Falls, a truly magnificent piece of our local back country.  We had planned to go up to Newberry Caldera, the source of much of the old lava flows that dominate our landscape. That hypothetical trip would have included a stop at the obsidian dome along with a visit to the lava-cast forest and lava tubes.  So they're on the list for next year.

I had forgotten how much time a newborn baby takes and Delaney gets all of me on Thursdays and Fridays. I just hope her temperament is like her daddy's and she doesn't run my legs off in the upcoming months.  I'm not complaining.  She already loves to be read to.

The day before we took off on our road trip was the opening of the Tour of Homes.  Delaney's daddy has had his work in the show for many years but this is the first year that he was a project manager on several. This house was his baby from the moment the framing was done.  It was very stressful and he was exhausted by the time of the show.  He'd drop the baby off at 8:00 and there were times that Julia had to pick her up (she works later than Matt), long days for all of us - not complaining :-)

The good news is that this house took the top award in its price range in every category except for landscaping.

The next day we were on the road to Tacoma to our sister-in-law's, but just for one day, and our favorite thing in Tacoma is the Museum of Glass.  We had more time this year and spent a couple of hours watching the glassblowers in the Hot Shop.  Okay, I have to admit that we went into the UW Tacoma bookstore which was right across the street and I bought two more books.

The work of Preston Singletary, a Tlingit native representing their story of Raven was the artist in the main gallery.  Not only had he made all the glass art, he had written original music and choreographed lighting to accompany it.  Breathtaking!

The next day had us back in the car headed to Port Angeles, Washington where we parked our car and took the 1 1/2 hour ferry ride to Victoria, BC.

We said goodbye to American soil as we crossed the straits of Juan de Fuca for Canada.

Changes and Progress

I got a text from Clover that she had left an envelope in our mailbox.  It was ten $20 bills, totally unexpected.  I was just happy to know we weren't going to see the hottub on our power bill anymore.  I took myself directly, do not pass go, to our local nursery and bought five shrubs:  forsythia, two varieties of elderberry, burning bush and a quince with peach colored double-blossomed flowers, plus three daylilies.  A friend gave me clippings from her yard and I plan to get a few more.  There's still a lot to be done but that's all I'm going to do this year. 

The move was Thursday evening and they had the hot-tub heated and running by the weekend.  Clover sent me this photo.  The outcome pleases me no end.

Last Monday Alexia and I were back at the High Desert Museum living history ranch and Izzie once again baked a rhubarb pie from the garden.  The pie plate was missing so she baked it in the muffin tin as tarts.  I have a feeling this was pretty true to authentic baking, figuring it out without a recipe.

Izzie started as a volunteer when she was a high school student Alexia's age and now as a college student is hired as a seasonal worker.  It took two people to get the tarts out of the pan with four forks but they were just as good as the pie she made last week, notwithstanding the improvisation.

Alexia and I drove up to Redmond on Tuesday to take a painting lesson with Erik Holland.  His girlfriend moved here earlier in the year and is a nurse at the hospital, and has also joined my bookclub.  Erik decided not to make the move just yet as he's still teaching high school art.  This is his demonstration piece on two-dimensional art. I haven't had time to finish my piece but plan to before Wednesday because we have a second lesson that evening. 

I snapped this candid shot Wednesday July 4rd.  She and I went to Tuesday Morning at the Outlet Mall for yarn because we've decided she's ready to tackle a real project.  I found a shawl pattern on Ravelry that has basic stitches and is also interesting.  I was trying to figure out what we did that day, we tend to keep ourselves pretty busy, so I asked her.  "We bought yarn and then knitted for like five hours."  Yes we did!  We said on Patio A by the water feature in the tree's shade and knitted until could could knit no more.

We were supposed to go to a neighborhood yard party that afternoon but got carried away and the mac-and-cheese that I had taken from the freezer to bake was still sitting on the counter at 5:00, but the potluck started at 4:00.  We didn't go.  But we did light off legal fireworks that we got at Costco, watched an episode or Outlander, then Lex and I went down the driveway to watch the fireworks shot off at Pilot Butte and Grandpa toddled off to bed, keeping terrified Sammie company.  The same people who had wandered up our street looking for a good vantage point for the official fireworks ended up coming in our driveway and watching with us again.  They had guests from out of state so we all visited and watched.  It was really quite fun.  As they left we all laughed because we've never seen each of in daylight and would never recognize each other if we did. 

This is Alexia's scarf, and she's a little frustrated because there are mistakes that you can see if you look for them.  My grandmother always said, Who's going to notice that on a galloping horse???  Isn't that the truth?!  She has finally forgiven herself and continues to knit, says it's a fun project.  She's doing great for a first project and I'm really proud of her.  BTW, the Ravelry pattern is River Fog.  I've knitted it for a prayer shawl once and am now knitting it again.

This is my weaving project.  I have a long way to go but I can only weave so long as a time.  I am having to rebuild my strength and tolerance.  Sigh.

Meanwhile, I'm getting my things together to go to my last Ambassador shift (the volunteer who keeps the doors open) at the Bend Art Center.  Bankruptcy has eliminated another nonprofit organization.  I'll post more on that next time when I know more.  We're very sad but are looking at this as an opportunity, a Phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes event.

Juggling Patios

We enter our fenced yard through a gate that opens onto Patio B.  (Ian has named our patios A through C.)  It's on the north of our house and where I sit in the mornings drinking coffee next to the hosta shade garden.  It's morning shade only.

This deck runs all along the west side of our house.  This small lawn is the only manicured grass we have and perfect for games of Corn Hole.

Our bedroom opens onto the deck on the south side of the house and this is about as far as we got when we looked at the house to buy.  We were in a hurry, fell in love with the yard even though it was overgrown and realized this was the best house we could get for our money.  We went back inside and made an offer.

And if I had continued along on this walk it would have led me to the side gate and front of the house.

If I would have continued I would have realized that the house came with a hot tub.  It wasn't included in the listing so I didn't look for one, didn't expect one.  It's been used a couple dozen times at the most and certainly not in the last three years, yet Ian has kept it clean and maintained.  This past winter was really cold so it had to run a lot to keep it heated.  I hated to hear it running, knowing it would show up on our electric bill.

About a month ago I was having coffee with two of my neighbors, Cinda and Clover.  (I posted a picture of Clover's house in my last blog - it's where the deer hang out because she provides them water.)  I mentioned that I was so tired of heating that hot tub, even though I know it's a good one.  We have the purchase receipt - almost $9,000 for purchase and installation.  Clover said wistfully that they sure missed having one.  Half in jest, I said you want a hot tub?  You can have mine!  And that's where it all began.

Which led up to yesterday, moving day.  Ian drained it last week and Matt came over to remove the panels so they wouldn't get scratched.  How do you move a hot tub?  With that skinny four-wheeled cart and a lot of guys.

They tipped it up on the sturdy cart and wheeled it around the house, out the RV gate, down our long gravel driveway, down the street to it's new home, just two properties away.  Oh, and the RV pad complete with hook-ups was also missing from the listing.  How lucky we were that the sellars didn't have a professional agent or this house night not even have been on the market!

Without the hot tub it becomes a large patio that will be shaded by our house in the afternoons.  Our yard doesn't have a lot of shade so I'm really looking forward to enjoying this.

This is now Patio D.  It's going to need a little attention before it's ready for a party but it's going to be ready for afternoon reading today!

Patio C is on the other side of those overgrown junipers.  Did I mention that the yard is badly overgrown????

Patio C is all flagstone, which is where we had the table and chairs.  We've done quite a bit of work here pulling grass from between the pavers but there's still a lot more to do.  It gets a small area of shade in a certain part of the afternoon but you have to time it just right.  I'm thrilled to have Patio D and Clover's family is thrilled to have the hot tub.

Firsts

I'm released to return to my normal activities and am so glad to be able to walk again.  The days are beautiful and summer has remained cool and spring-like.  I am starting with a figure eight pattern around our neighborhood so that I'd never be too far from home in case I needed to cut my walk short.  That takes me by Clover's house twice.  She keeps water out for the deer and they love her.

She sent me this picture the other day.  It's the mama deer who has been hanging around our immediate area.  She stashes her twins away and then forages in the mornings while it's still cool.  Clover was watering her hanging plants and mama came right up to her, scared Clover half to death.  The deer bucket was dry and she was asking Clover to fill it.  That was a first!

I ordered this play mat for Delaney and guess who thought it was for her!  Silly kitty.

Delaney likes it too and has already figured out how to grab the rings on one of the hanging toys.  We've learned that as tempting as it is to let her fall asleep on the mat, it's not a good idea.

She was miserable one morning last week.  Her tummy hurt and her exploding diapers used up all her clothes so that I had to run a quick load of laundry.  I think every nursing mother learns the hard way that what they eat is what their baby eats.  Matt assured me that there would be "no more enchiladas."  I told him I had done it to him with corned beef and cabbage.

The cool weather has kept a lot of my flower garden from flowering but not this double peony.  It's my first one and next year I'll have a peony cage to support the heavy heads.  Both of these plants are firsts for me.  The one on the right is Husker Penstamon (red strain).  I love the delicate flowers and I love the red foliage.  Plus it's attracting pollinators.

Sunday morning we drove down to Klammath Falls which is roughly halfway between Reno and Bend to pick up our granddaughter Alexia.  She's been comfortable staying with us since she was four-years-old and is now 14, soon to be 15 in August.  She'll be with us for a month this summer.

Mondays are the days I spend at the High Desert Museum as a living history interpreter and this is Alexia's third year to do it with me.  Miss Emily and she went out to the garden to collect rhubarb.

It was pie day and this one was made by Hazel with Miss Emily assisting.  It was an unusually cool day and the heat from the wood stove was most welcome.  The aroma of baking pie drew in visitors like a magnet.

Alexia pronounced it delicious, and I would have to agree!

The day after tomorrow I'll have both of my granddaughters here, another first.

Yay for me!!

We're starting to settle into a routine with Delaney.  Julia still plans to just work two days a week.  Newborn care runs about $300 a day and she doesn't make that much a day.  She's happy to not be working full time right now and I'm thrilled to have Delaney two days a week.  I was reading to her and tried to catch the moment with this selfie.

As of last Monday I'm back at the High Desert Museum as a living history interpreter, wearing my Birkenstock sandals.  Since they're not period appropriate I'm seated in a rocking chair with my skirt covering my feet, and I'm either knitting on a pair of socks or drop spindling.  On occasions I have to get up to help direct visitors and so far no one seems to have noticed my toes.

Staci is a new seasonal worker so Emily showed her how to bake a rhubarb pie in the wood cookstore using fresh rhubarb from the garden.  It was a great success and Staci was very proud.

This doe has been hanging around our yard, obviously pregnant and only getting bigger.  I took this picture as I was backing out of the garage, on my way to HDM.  She is alone these days and the neighbors are keeping an eye on her.  We seriously have each others phone numbers and text for updates.

Clover who lives two houses away texted Ian and me on Sunday morning to let us know that the twins had been born at Sandy's house, right in between us.

Once born they go to ground and just don't move.  Mom was eating grass and really quite trusting of us, given that the babies were between her and our little cluster of neighbors.  Ian is a morning person and saw her bring them into our yard about 5:00 Monday morning.  The three of them are still here and we are leary of provoking any kind of protective response from her.  We went through that last year and once is enough.

I'm not able to do much yard work other than bend over and pull weeds so it's wonderful to see my hard work from past years.  This is my first attempt at irises.  I was given about a dozen rhizomes which I planted last year.  Six of them are award winning, a gift from Petey, Ian's friend from college and now my friend. His cousin's husband raised them for show and had written the name of the iris on the dried flag.   This one is Wicked Cool, which it is indeed.

 I've been having my morning coffee on the patio, enjoying the plants as they grow and come together.  It's starting to look like I meant it to look like this.  Granddaughter Alexia and I created a little fairy garden and she'll be here next month to see how fabulous it looks now.

It's been two months exactly since my surgery and today was also my first appointment with my surgeon.  I have a lot of healing to go but he's given me exercises and told me to get back to doing the things I like to do.  I've done a lot of knitting and reading but it's summer and I want to enjoy all three months of it.  I celebrated my good report at my favorite nursery with two plants for my shade garden and two for my sedum garden.  I've always wanted to be able to grow an astilbe and am concerned that it might be too big for the area where it will go.  I had planned on another hosta but my good visit made me adventurous and I went for it. I'm excited to get back to yard work, and while it's still cool will take my first walk in the morning in my Teva sandals - I'm still too swollen for a shoe.  Yay for me!!

The weather is a'changin'

Last Thursday was our first day to watch Delaney.  It was kind of a shake-down cruise, just one day to work out the bugs and for Julia to get used to being back at work..

She's eight weeks old today and we're officially on duty.  Sammie is absolutely thrilled to have a baby in the house.  She has always adored children.  I think it's a Lab thing.  Delaney will be with us tomorrow.  Julia is working two days a week, at least for now.

I've continued spinning each morning for about a half hour.  Michelle asked me if I noticed a therapeutic effect.  I can't definitively say yes, but I think my foot is doing pretty good just eight weeks postop.

Another benefit is I'm going through my significant stash of roving and skeins require less storage space.

My plan is to weave another lap robe like this one,once I'm able to weave again.  I have various leftover skeins of colored wool so it won't be exactly like this.  The interesting thing about this throw is that it's from one sheep.  When Ollie was a yearling he had bright brown fleece which aged to a gray tan over the years.

I'm saving coffee grounds from the Keurig pods.  They're nearly dry when I scoop them out, much tidier than the grounds from my French press.  I know they're great in compost and good for garden soil amendment but I just learned that they change the ph of the soil and turn the hydrangea flowers blue.  I worked in the first batch yesterday along with some granular fertilizer.  

We've had quite a few of the migrating deer in our yard recently.  Some of the these will migrate on up into the Cascades but two for sure were born in our yard and stay with us.  Our yard is completely fenced so I'm free to enjoy them without trying to protect plants.