Tuesday Tidbits 6/14/11

WEATHER
The beginning of last week was unbearably HOT and HUMID. My car thermometer said:


A few days later...


The past couple days the temps have been in the lower 70's with no humidity. My kind of weather!


BIKING
Finally, the weather has been *just right* for a bike ride. I mean the pedal kind, not the motorized kind. lol

I feel lucky that I have a beautiful bike trail nearby. It's surrounded by trees, creeks, pasture, and fields. You can't go far without seeing the local wildlife: chimpmunks, squirrels, cardinals, red-wing blackbirds, and more. For the first time since I've been riding the trail, I saw a mama deer and her fawn. It was very cool! The Jane Addams Trail is rich with history, too.

On Saturday, I rode 17.5 miles. What a stupid crazy thing to do my first time out this season! My legs felt like jello by the time I got back to the parking area. As the evening wore on, my legs thighs ached more and more. Around 8:30pm, I had to take three ibuprofen. I took three more when I went to bed. In addition to the aching, my legs felt like they weighed 50lbs each. I was still recovering yesterday when I went to work. I was glad I have a job where I sit! Today, I'd say I'm 98% recovered.


HOMESTEAD CHRONICLES
When I blogged about my shelf project a couple weeks ago, there were a few people who asked what was going on them and/or *expected* to see stuff on them, lol. For inquiring minds, behold...

These are things I gathered up from various other places in the house. Places where it didn't make sense to store them. You can't see it, but my iron is next to the spray starch and wrinkle releaser.


GARDENING
I'm happy to report that the seeds I planted are starting to come up! Yay. In addition to the veggies I planted, I also planted the sunflower seeds Betty in NV sent me in the mailart exchange. Those, plus the watermelon and cucumbers are up.

Here are more photos of the flowers I have planted at The Homestead:

These are Double Knockout Roses. They bloom all summer long. They are doing very well this year!

A couple years ago, I was driving down a country road one day and another homestead had some roots in a plastic bag with a "Free" sign on them. I took them home not knowing what they were. These are sundrops, I think. They open up when the sun is out and close up at night. Toward the back of the photo are Coneflowers, which aren't blooming yet. Both perrenials are spreaders.


STITCHY STUFF
Thanks to a couple of my blog readers, I've found out the kitty I rescued last week is part of a series called "Cats, Baskets, and Quilts". Originally, it was a series in a stitchy magazine. Now, it's sold as a kit.


Edgar from Blacksheep's Bit of the Web received the HOE snowman-themed ornament I stitched for him. I had a hard time sending it off cuz it's so darn cute!

Design: January Stamp Flip-It
Designer: Lizzie Kate
Fabric: 32ct Silkweaver Solo Evenweave (Turquoise)
Fibers: GAST and DMC
Embellishments: Tiny Snowflakes
and Runched Ribbon
OK, I lied last week when I said I was going to put Blossom on the back burner while I stitched on the mailart. She now has a hand!




I stitched on the mailart, too. No pics, though cuz it's surprise! Whoever sent the frogs my way... Thanks. Thanks a lot! I stitched an entire leaf in three colors and ended up frogging it all. Good news is... I've restitched the entire thing and then some.


Until next time,

Marvelous Monday Update 9/14/09

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER
By tomorrow, a new home will be revealed for the TV show, "Extreme Home Makeover"! As I said last week, someone in my county was nominated for the show. To read about her and her family, click HERE.



HEALTH
It's been about 3 weeks since my bicycle accident. My face is healed up, just a few pink spots are all that remains of the road rash. My knee is *almost* healed up, and looks much better than it did only a week ago. I took someone's advice and will be filing a claim with the city for the cost to repair my glasses ($100 for ONE lens!) and bike ($40). Keeping my fingers crossed, the city's insurance company will pay it.


STITCHY STUFF
I stopped at an "Estate Sale" (really was just a garage/yard sale). There were a lot of good things being offered at good prices. For $2, I walked away with this:


Worth *way* more than $2!

Guess what else I bought this past week? Three Flower Frogs!! I had to do a bit of "shopping" to find bases that fit, and am still on the look-out for one more base. The best part? I only want one (I had to buy three as a package deal), so I'm putting the other two on my stash-for-sale blog if anyone is interested in having one for their scissor collection.

REVISED: Both frogs have been spoken for as of 9/14. If the sales fall through, I'll let ya'll know. :)

I did some stitching on a small "take along" ornament that I keep in my car. I had some time to kill while waiting at an auction. Several people commented on my stitching, and I even made a couple of "little" friends. Two little girls (ages 2 and 3) -- dirty little rag-a-muffins (What do you expect at an all day country auction?), lol... but very cute and friendly. The 3yr old pointed at my stitching and wanted her uncle to buy her "one of those". When she realized she couldn't get one, she scootched herself closer and closer to me, watching. Even though her hands and face were grubby dirty, I still let her pull the needle through the fabric. Totally made her day! I figured it was a cheap ornament kit and what's a little dirt, right? It's washable, after all. Who knows? She could grow up and need the 12-step stitchers anonymous group that we all should belong to!


BICYCLING
I picked up my bike from the shop last Thursday, so of course I had to "test" it out this weekend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Sunny and cool with no humidity. I think I went 8-10 miles this time. Here's some of what I see on the JA Trail:

This was taken last Spring. The rest were taken over the weekend.

Lastly, to prove I came
away unscathed ------>

Scratch Proofing...

... doesn't work! JT and I went on a bicycle ride through town, out to the bike path that leads to the college. We took a lap around the college and headed back to my house.

As we were coasting down a side street at a pretty good pace, I hit a small pothole. JT said he turned around to see me lose control of my bike, hit the curb, bounce off and crash. Scared the the crap out of him, he said.

My account: pothole, lost control, pavement reaching up to grab my face, thoughts of teeth getting knocked out while kissing the pavement, hands slamming into pavement in effort to protect my face, glasses slamming in my eye, thoughts of glasses shattering into my eye.

As bad as it could've been, I walked away with abrasions on my right cheek and above my lip. I also ended up with a cut on the inside of my mouth where my teeth hit, and a badly scraped knee. The second knee was scraped, but not nearly as bad.

I didn't even notice my knee was scraped and bleeding until I was able to stand up. Surprisingly, I didn't injure my hands since I used them to break my fall. Well, them and my face. LOL

Since we were about 3 blocks from home, JT offered to go get his car so I wouldn't have to walk home injured. I managed to hoof it home with my face feeling like it was on fire, and my lip starting to swell. Hey... Women pay good money for the Angelina Jolie look! JT pushed my bike home, and let me push his since my tire was flat and harder to push. He told me there is no way that I am getting a scooter or a motorcycle (In the past, I mentioned I wanted to get a scooter).

If that weren't enough, my "new" bicycle was also injured. Bent front rim, flat tire tube, messed up seat (don't know how that happened!), and unaligned brakes. It's going to have to go to the bike shop to get repaired. :(

I'll have to make a trip to the eye doctor to get my glasses repaired. Not only are they bent...

... and as I said at the beginning, the scratch proofing I paid good money for, did NOT work!

I'm glad my glasses received the road rash instead of my eye. That could've been bad. It was bad enough that the lens was pressed into my eye.

Marvelous Monday Update 7/27/09

GETTING FIT
I was "informed" by my coworker that the team captains of the last Get Fit Challenge have decided there should be a weigh-in sometime this fall because we've all been falling off the Get Fit wagon (imagaine that!). Over the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to get back into the exercise groove of things so that I can work off the extra poundage I've accumulated lately.

Last week, I went for a few evening walks. Then on Saturday morning, I took to the beautiful bike trail and ended up pedaling at least 10 miles. Sunday morning, I did more of the same... 12 miles this time. (Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but my tushie is a bit sore.)


STITCHY STUFF
Last Tuesday, I went to the PO to get my mail. Lo and behold, there was a ticket in my PO box telling me there was a package at the counter. One of the postal clerks had seen me come in, so before I even got to the counter he had the package waiting. LOL... Pretty bad when they know you and your box number by sight! Especially in a city of 26K.

I had no idea what was in the box, and then.... a light bulb came on! A while back, Gaynor in Ireland sponsored a blogversary giveaway. I was the lucky winner!




Remember Froggie? Well, he thought he needed to be nosey and get in on the action.




Gaynor included Ireland-themed goodies. Aren't those sheep the cutest? I get a giggle each time I see them. Also, take note of the ornie she stitched for me. I've added it to my basket of smalls (which is now overflowing!).

Next out of the box was a Deluxe Double Organizer by Yazzi. It's awesome! Oops... I cut off Froggie's head.

A magnet with the Irish Coffee recipe, and a phone fob. I've already put the fob into use... attached it to my needle threader. :)

Lots of wonderful charts :)

Gaynor also sent a variety of cotton fabrics, aida, and evenweaves. Some of them look to be hand-dyed. Can't wait to try them out!

This box showed up on a dreary, rainy day. And I mean pouring down rain! It was a really nice surprise. A big THANK YOU goes out to Gaynor for being so generous and hosting her blogversary giveaway.


MORE STITCHY STUFF
Hold onto your pants, I've actually got some stitchy news to report! I finished up my "secret" exchange project and it's going in the mail tomorrow. I still can't show pics yet, but I do have something else to show. I started working on Oriental Kimono again. Here's the latest progress:

Marvelous Monday Update 6/29/09

WEATHER
The heat and humidity has finally broke (amongst other things, but more on that later)! Morning temps were 66F and it's forecasted to be in the upper 70's with little humidity. Woo Hoo!!


DATING

Last Thursday marked the two month anniversary of my first date with JT. Time has gone by so fast! Yet the comfort level is such that we've known each other a long time. He's very considerate, thoughtful, helpful, and affectionate. I can't say enough good things about him! To celebrate the "anniversary", I cooked us a nice stir-fry dinner. JT brought me flowers, candy, and this:

Isn't it beautiful?!
As part of a local festival, a "movie in the park" was shown on a 30ft screen Friday night. JT and I sat amongst many parents with children to see "Surf's Up." It was a cute movie.

I found it kind of amusing that two adults with no kids show up to an annimated movie riding in on a Harley, with JT looking like the quintessential "bad boy", which he is not -- but he pulls the look off really well! I'm still getting used to riding on the back of a motorcycle, since I haven't been on one for close to 20 years.

Since the weather was so nice yesterday, JT and I went on a 14.25 mile bicycle ride on the bike trail outside of town. The last few miles, both of us were two tired pups! I ended up with a slight sunburn. It was a beautiful ride with a nice breeze, though.


INGENUITY
I can't tell you how many times I've had to iron ribbons, either for clothing, or for crafts. It's always a pain to get out the ironing board and iron to iron something like a little piece of ribbon. Isn't it? Yes, it is!

Introduce the flat iron! I use it every morning to flat iron my hair. Over the weekend, I was wearing a shirt that has a ribbon which always needs ironing. It dawned on me... "If I can use this to iron my hair, why wouldn't it work for a piece of ribbon?" So, I tried it! Whaddya know!! It works wonderfully. Just make sure you don't leave the ribbon between the two heating elements too long, otherwise there's a good possibility it will get scorched due to the high temperature.


YUM-YUM's
I haven't shown my culinary skills in a while, so I thought I'd share one of my more recent creations:

Yakitori Noodles
This was a budget-friendly recipe I found on Rachel Ray's website. Instead of using soba noodles, I used noodles I'd bought from an Asian food store. I added sliced carrots and peas. Next time, I'm thinking about adding some broccoli and cutting the chicken pieces smaller. JT said it's a keeper!

Chipmunks, Cardinals, and..... Buffalo??

Ahhhh, Friday was such a beautiful day! Sunny, slight breeze, and temps of 73F -- my kind of weather. I could be happy all year with weather like that! I spent the afternoon at the bike path.

Let me back up a bit... a few weeks ago, I sold the extra washer that's been sitting in my garage since I bought my house and used the money to buy a new bicycle. I've been wanting one for about a year. After some research, I found this:

GTw Nomad - Fitness Series
Not only did I get it on sale, it has some great features such as quick release wheels, grip shifting, and quick release seat especially made for female anatomy. This bicycle is considered a hybrid -- a combination of mountain bike and road bike. It's made for comfort as well as smooth and rougher riding conditions.

Since Friday was the first *really* nice day, I headed to the bike path! This path goes from Illinois all the way to Wisconsin. Tree frogs chirping, birds flitting from branch to branch, and chipmunks popping in and out of holes... I meandered my way along the path. It was great to enjoy the sights and sounds of the outdoors!


Thus the title of this post: Chipmunks, Cardinals, and... Buffalo??

Yes, buffalo!

The entire length of the path is lined with trees, outcrops of limestone, wetlands, and creek.


The old railroad caboose sits on a horse ranch right next to the bike path:


Whenever I see this house, it *always* reminds me of my grandfather. For as long as I can remember, it has always looked this way.


This "shack" is very similar to one a man by the name of Frankie Shear lived in. Frankie Shear was a man who had a long beard that I've always imagined looked something like Rumpelstilskin. When I was a little girl, I had really long hair. My grandpa used to pull my hair to the front, pretend it was a beard, and tell me how I looked like Frankie Shear. My sister and cousins had long hair also, so he also did it to them. LOL! Grandpa (rest his soul) used to get quite a kick out of it.

By the time I ended my first bicycle trip of the year, I had ridden 13.7 miles! A couple years ago when I went biking with S on this same path, I barely made it 3 miles using his road bike (made for men).

***Sorry about the poor quality of photos, they were taken impromptu with my camera phone.