Around OakMeadows

Foggy morning showing off the dew drenched spider webs.

 We've had some needed rain but the wind has nearly blown us away! I guess we are getting our March winds a bit early.  My yard looks the best that it has ever looked.  It is perfectly trimmed and edged, mowed, the sidewalks and porches blown clean, and the beds and trees are mulched. They are coming back to put in some more plants and it will be even more beautiful. 

I'm so pleased with the quilt top. Next, I need to make the back piece.  Then for the batting, I have so many pieces of leftover batting that I am going to whip stitch the pieces together to make a piece large enough for the batting for this quilt.  Hope to get this done this week. 

I'm less than enthusiastic about SPQR by Mary Beard. She takes forever to say that they really don't know much about the earliest beginnings of Rome. Hope it gets better.  In opposition to SPQR, Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham just keeps getting better and better. I am now on the section where the states are having conventions to determine ratification of the Constitution.  It makes me feel better about today's political turmoil to read how contentious the ratification process was.  Lastly, I have a good fiction book in progress too. Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner has me enthralled. 

That's all the news from OakMeadows where the cats all nap in the sunshine and the people do too. 

Around OakMeadows

Around OakMeadows

My on-going rant about the medical insurance system:

     At the end of May, I caught what I thought was a cold. So I went to bed determined to wait it out but a week later I was worse--non-stop coughing, fever, and lethargy.  So I went to my insurance approved M.D. who prescribed antibiotics and cough syrup with codeine and sent me down the hall for a chest X-ray. I paid my co-pay, picked up my prescriptions, and went back to bed. Gradually, I got well. Fine. I got a notice from my insurance that since the X-ray was not an emergency and had 

not been pre-approved, they would not pay for it. I will call them and most likely they 

will agree to pay for it. But why on earth do we put up with a system that makes you pay for a service and then you have to fight them every step of the way to get them to pay what they are supposed to pay?? There has got to be a better way!

OK, rant over. Irritation still present. 

The baby quilt is on hold. I couldn't find the right backing and binding fabric at the quilt shop so for the very first time, I ordered fabric online.  I was able to order from the same manufacturer so the quality of the fabric will be fine.  I am usually a believer in supporting my local quilt shop but they had nothing that would work with the top at all. They were even out of baby quilt batting. 

This morning when I went out to fill the bird feeders and the 2 birdbaths, I saw this sunny yellow caterpillar.  I haven't had a chance to identify him yet but he is certainly no shrinking violet!

I finished listening to The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. It is an Armand Garmache murder mystery and was just excellent. If you like an occasional who-done-it, you might want to give this series a try. It is best if you read them in order but not absolutely necessary.  Still reading The Wright Brothers by David McCullough--another excellent read. 

Lots of good cooking going on around here.  BBQ for the 4th, Shrimp Jambalaya, and steak, garlic mashed potatoes, & fresh from my neighbor's garden green beans.  Here's a picture of Joe cooking the Shrimp Jambalaya. 

We went to see Jurassic World.  It was entertaining if predictable. 

That's all the news from OakMeadows where the cats are all lazy and so are the people. 

Around OakMeadows

Once the rain stopped (and thunder and lightning), the weather has been glorious!  Cool days with no humidity, bright sunshine, and cool enough to need a blanket if you leave the window open.  Sometimes I think we are the only people in America who sleep with the windows open.  Needless to say, when I was growing up everyone slept with the windows open unless it was really, really cold (which didn't really happen all that often in Galveston.)  I wouldn't want to go back to the days of no air-conditioning but when the temperatures drop, it is lovely to have the window open. 

There will be no pictures until I get my new iPhone 6P and learn how to use it and learn how to load pictures onto my brand new iMac. The Mac is a real learning curve for me and I am slowly working my way through Switching to the Mac by David Pogue.  If that doesn't work, there is always Mac for Dummies.  Anyway, I hope to have learned enough to be fairly proficient by the end of the year....which really isn't thwt far off. 

I finished my quilt top (sorry no pictures).  Tomorrow I am going to buy the batting and maybe get the backing pieced together Saturday.  The quilt is for the queen-size bed in the guest bedroom and measures 7 feet 3 inches by 8 feet 3 inches, an odd size but I wanted it to cover the frame on each side. Anyway, I anticipate I will need to buy a king-size batting and trim it to fit. 

I finished 2 really good books recently: Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear (which I listened to on audio).  I tried reading The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry but didn't like it because it was just to poignant and melancholy and I really don't yearn to go back to the land and the old ways. I love his poetry and his prose is beautiful but the story was not my cup of tea. 

Cooking this week included an Applesauce Raisin Spice Cake. I think I have already posted the recipe for this. The smell of the cake in the oven just smells like autumn with the nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. I also made Chicken Parmesan and one night I used my George Foreman Grill to grill steaks and made garlic mashed potatoes and steamed green beans to go with them. 

We went to our POA meeting. The Association finances are in really good shape and we discussed the Halloween Hayride and the Christmas decorations for the subdivision. Joe asked about the New Year's Eve progressive dinner but that is still rather nebulous.  We are still moving ahead (albeit at a glacial speed) on the high speed internet cable project. Maybe by next June....

Kittens are growing and are such little individuals. Both are sweet and good and have never made a pee or poo anywhere other than in their litter box.  Our older two cats have reacted very differently to them. Bandit, the head cat, is very tolerant and puts up with a lot before he smacks them into line but Misty, the only female, can't stand the sight of them--she hisses and spits and then disappears into the attic when she sees them. Oh well...

Around Oak Meadows

Finally! The weather is a bit cooler! And we had over 7 inches of rain last week! Good for the trees and grass...and mosquitoes, unfortunately.  But such is life-- the good and the not so good. 

Our water well project is on hold until the ground gets dry enough for the big trucks to get in. Ironic isn't it, that when we finally decide to put in a well, it won't stop raining.  Maybe in another week...if it doesn't rain. 

My quilt is coming along but I am at that awful stage where I'm not sure it is going to turn out like I want it to or if it is going to be a total disaster.  Should I chuck it in the back of the closet and not waste any more work on it or should I soldier on and hope for the best??

The kittens are growing. Duffy is still quite noticeably larger than Henry but Henry seems to be able to hold his own when they are tumbling around.  They were both up the oak trees this week but I didn't have my camera to take pictures. Maybe next week I can get some photos of them in the trees. 

JMM and I are finally trading in our trusty Blackberry phones for the iPhone 6 Plus. We are staying with T-Mobile as our carrier and thus got a $100/phone discount. They are supposed to be delivered in 10-14 days.  I have never had an iPhone but I absolutely love my iPad so I am sure I will get along just fine once I learn how to do the stuff I want with it.  Who could have guessed that the old black rotary dial phone would one day be wireless and take pictures and be connected to the Internet?? Love it!!

We went to Taste of Texas for our daughter's birthday. It is expensive but my, oh my, what good food! The stuffed mushroom caps were just the best and the steaks are always melt in your mouth good. JMM and I split a dessert and we all waddled out and went into a carbohydrate induced coma when we got home. But,maid I say how good it was?!

I'm reading two really good books. Coolidge by Amity Shlaes, a biography of  Calvin Coolidge who I knew absolutely nothing about, is really excellent so far. And I am reading Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon. It is a whodunnit set in Venice and is the first in a series. Very enjoyable read so far. 

Haven't done any traveling but this Friday we are going to lunch in Galveston with Joe's brother and sister and their spouses which is always fun and then in November we are going to the North American Butterfly Association meeting in Mission, TX which I am really looking forward to.  Next spring is our trip to Yosemite which I expect to be terrific too since I've never been there. 

Life is so good. 

Around OakMeadows

 

The hummingbird migration is underway. We have had 3-4 hummers at the feeder all week and this morning there are 6. I must get the second feeder filled and out for them. It seems a bit early but there is no arguing with the fact that they are here.  We have had a lot of butterflies too--Monarchs, Gulf Fritillaries, and Tiger Swallowtails with some skippers and sulfurs. Nice to see.  

What is not so nice has been the bazillion mosquitoes of the past 3 days!  I wear a pullover hoodie and spray myself with Off when I go out to feed the birds. West Nile virus has been found in mosquitoes at 80 percent of the mosquito traps set by the county health department.  So one must be careful. 

Joe and I are going to the North American Butterfly Association meeting in Mission, TX in November and I finished the registration and reservations today.  
Joe will be attending the Butterfly Landscaping class/tour and I will be taking the Butterfly Basics class at the National Butterfly Center which is in Mission. There is a 2 hour class on moths from 7-9 pm. I haven't signed up for it because I'm not sure how tired I will be; but I do hope to go to that one too. The next day is a leisurely riverboat nature tour. I wasn't sure that it was handicapped accessible but received confirmation that it was today. So that will be interesting. 

My sweet kittens are now eunuchs. They had their surgery yesterday and seem to be fully recovered this morning.  We gave little Henry his last dose of the 6 week course of terbinafine for his ringworm; it is completely cleared up and his coat is so smooth and shiny that he no longer reminds me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. 

I am working on the corner pieces for the lattice for my quilt. I need 72 corner blocks and each corner has 9 pieces. When I finish the corners, I can start assembling the quilt top.  I have aspirations to make matching pillow shams but that remains to be seen. 

Around OakMeadows

 

It has been busy around OakMeadows. We adopted 2 little black kittens from the local animal shelter 2 weeks ago. I wanted to take them immediately to our own vet because experience has taught me that animals from shelters (especially kittens) are often sick. Long story, short: I didn't but I should have. They have now been treated for worms and ringworm and a bacterial infection. Fortunately, JMM and I are quite experienced at getting medication into cats. Now for the good part: They are darling and cute and I can waste more time watching them than even on the Internet.  Our two older cats were not pleased but have more or less adjusted. 

We have had the house painted. It looks so nice!  I found the painters using Angie's List and they really did a good job at a reasonable price.  They next big project is having the water well put in. 

My healthy habits campaign is going well with the exception of the exercise portion.  Healthy breakfast, healthy snack, healthy soup or salad for lunch, water every day. 

My makeover for the guest bedroom is coming along. I am making a new quilt and pillow shams for the bed. The pattern is easy but it is queen-sized so it requires 56 blocks and will therefore take some time.  I still haven't been able to wrangle JMM into making the prints of the Italian doorways but maybe soon....

I have made the reservations for our trip to Yosemite next spring.  I think it will be wonderful.  

Since I had such good luck with my Soup Project last year where I learned to make one new soup each month, I have decided to do a Muffin Project where I learn to make one new muffin recipe each month. I got some muffin cookbooks from the library and picked out 12 mostly healthy muffin recipes. August will be Cranberry-Pecan muffins. I'll post the results and if they are good, I'll post the recipe. 

Lots of good reading. I seem to be in a History pattern: An Army at Last Light by Rick Atkinson and The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin are in progress. I finished Galveston and the Civil War by James M. Schmidt. What a pleasure it is to have time to read!

All is so very well here at OakMeadows. Lots of love and pleasant things to do in beautiful surroundings. Life is excellent.

What's Blooming around OakMeadows

It is HOT! HOT! HOT! But there are several things that are blooming.

First the crepe myrtles are at their best around the 4th of July. Love 'em!! And you can see that big old Texas blue sky with white puffy clouds.

Next we have the clematis.  We planted these because the Gulf Fritillary butterflies love them.  I think they have the most interesting blooms.





Finally, we have Gomphrena.  This is the first year we have had this heat loving prolific bloomer.

And I can't leave out the magnificent magnolia with its heavenly scent.

What's blooming around you?











Around OakMeadows

The big news around OakMeadows this week is the return of the Barn Swallows. They returned last year on March 10 and again this year on March 10. They are to me one of life's miracles. We have some warblers that I haven't been able to get a good enough look at to identify but most likely they are Yellow-Rumped Warblers.  Also the usual Red-winged Blackbirds, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Titmouse.  I must get out the hummingbird feeders and get them filled because we have had arrivals as early as March 18.

I have made reservations for our next birding trip.  We are going to southwestern Louisiana March 31-April 4. DD is going to be the cat concierge while we are away. On the list of places to see: McFadden NWR, Sea Rim State Park, Texas Point NWR, Sabine NWR, Palmetto Island State Park.  Of course, we cannot possibly do all of them but whatever we do, it will be good to be out in the beautiful natural world.

Reading two excellent books: The War to End All Wars by Hochschild which, of course, is about the First World War but instead of being about the chronology and battles, it is about the people behind the war, leaders, commoners, and resistors. Very well written and interesting.  The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert chronicles the 5 previous cataclysmic extinctions and the current mass extinction on earth. Very interesting and heartbreaking. 

Friday evening we are going to the Houston Symphony. An evening of Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi. Immersion in beautiful sound.

My quilting and painting projects are slowly progressing. My other big project: the guest bedroom makeover is also making slow progress. JMM has ordered the new blinds, I bought new bedside lamps, and next week I will be purchasing another bedside table so I can move the one in the back bedroom back to the guest bedroom where it belongs.  And I have decided on framing prints of antique maps to go somewhere in the room, haven't decided where yet.

Usual cooking, cleaning, laundry. I absolutely love being retired!!




Around OakMeadows

 

Around OakMeadows

Pine warblers have moved into OakMeadows. We don't see them every year but they have recently shown up. Pretty little birds!  The goldfinches are still here stuffing themselves with thistle seed. Just about the time they start putting on their breeding colors, they will leave us which just goes to show how ungrateful they are after all the thistle we have given them.  Cardinals, blue jays, doves, and the inevitable red winged black birds have been at the feeders.  We have seen the little skunk several times, a rabbit, raccoons, a possum, and the deer. Nothing unusual. 

We didn't get to go to Brazos Bend State Park as planned. The weather has not been cooperating. Foggy and overcast. And this evening we have a cold front coming through; I hope it brings some rain since we are still in drought condition. 

Speaking of travel, I think we are going to cancel our trip to Washington, D.C.  I'd rather spend the time, money, and effort going birding. Maybe a trip to the Louisiana coast. I know in June we will be going to a wedding in San Marcus and we will spend a couple of days birding the Texas hill country. 

Quilting is moving along at a glacial speed. I don't know why the little table runner is taking so long to do!  I have several projects mulling around in my head that I would like to get started on if I could get the runner finished! I want to do a baby quilt and I want to do a travel quilt using the patches we have accumulated on our travels all these years. 

I am really enjoying reading Basilica by R.A.Scotti about the building of St. Peter's in Rome. Quite a cast of characters. I finished listening to Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham on audio CDs. It was fascinating to learn about that brilliant, complicated man.  I have a book coming from amazon.com and one coming from the library. So many books, so little time!!

Cooking has been just the usual fare, no new recipes or dishes. I did bake chocolate chip cookies and this morning it had 3 overripe bananas so I made a loaf of banana nut bread. 

JMM is happily settling into retirement. He usually does outside work all morning, comes in for lunch and a nap, and then reads and helps me get dinner together. Oh, that reminds me, our DD recommended the television series Sherlock and we got the first of the series on Netflix DVD. It is excellent! We watched the two episodes on that DVD and are looking forward to the next. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

Around OakMeadows

We have had temperatures all over the scale this week. Down in the 20's a couple of nights and now we are supposed to hit 80 tomorrow. We have signs of spring--the dandelions have sprung up deep green blotches on an otherwise brown yard. It is also the time of year to be thankful you are not a male mockingbird. He begins announcing his territory well before dawn and spends the rest of the day chasing other mockingbirds away.  It must be exhausting.

My bedroom painting project is well underway. JMM very kindly does the brush and roller washing up for me and that is the only part of painting that I don't enjoy doing. It always surprises me how much better the wall looks after painting than before. The other side of that, of course, is how awful it makes the wall beside it look so you can never stop with just one wall.

It has been too cold to quilt much of the week as the cold just makes my fingers too stiff. But I should be able to get a lot done before the next cold front comes through. I hope to have the table runner finished by the end of March so I can get going on the Travels Quilt.

We have had the usual Blue Jays, Cardinals, Collared Doves, Titmouse, and Chickadees at the feeders; the Goldfinches are still with us and I am glad because the weather is still so horrid up North. We were very surprised to see a group of Cattle Egrets last week; they usually stay down in South America for at least another month.  The gorgeous Sand Hill Cranes are still out in the rice fields; JMM counted 30 in the flock. I wonder when they will leave.  Mammal sightings have included a small skunk, a rabbit, and the usual deer.

The flower beds look horrid with the dead lantana and milkweed stalks. I am thinking of paying someone to just come clear it all out and be done with it and have it all ready to plant. JMM will burst a blood vessel though--but he will get over it.

I read an absolutely fantastic book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I just couldn't put it down. I will write a review later this week as I am still digesting it. Other reading: I finally finished all 700+ pages of Empire of Liberty by Gordon Wood; it was an excellent history of the years after the American Revolution through the War of 1812. It was so well written and such an interesting period about which I knew zip, zero, zilch. Just getting started on Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder and am wandering through Winter Hours by Mary Oliver.

Daughter and SIL are looking to buy a house.  I always enjoy house hunting. My friend (and realtor) Vicki Haislup and I are having lunch to discuss what is available. Houston is a booming city and it is a sellers market. I am not sure if they will be able to put it all together and be out of their rental by June 1. We shall see.



Around Oak Meadows

Around Oak Meadows

We went to the Rio Grande Valley to do some birding in the warm, sunny south Texas parks. Ha! We froze our buns! But we had a good birding trip anyway. One thing that made it so pleasant was that I have discovered the Marriott Residence Inns. They are wonderful! I could watch television without disturbing JMM, there was a buffet breakfast and dinner, and best of all there was a handicapped accessible bathroom so I could shower easily! 

We went to the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and the Estero Llano Grande State Park. My favorite is the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park where you are able to watch the beautiful Green Jays, Great Kiskadees, and Chachalacas up close and personal. Another thing that made this trip so pleasant is talking with the volunteers at the parks. Without exception they are friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.  Most of the ones I visited with were from the north, down to escape the northern winter. I bought tee shirts and mugs and JMM bought pins for his pin board. I had the bright idea of stitching park patches from our travels onto quilt blocks and making a travel quilt. We shall see how that idea progresses. 

As always, it was wonderful to get back home. Pictures will be up this afternoon.  In all honesty, the pictures are not all that great. It was overcast and we didn't bring the tripod but how could you not take pictures of green jays and Kiskadees? 

Reading this week:
     Empire of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood.  This is taking a long time to read but it is excellent. It had no idea what a turbulent, interesting time the post-Revolutionary period was!!
     Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham. I am listening to this one audio CDs and can certainly understand why it won a Pulitzer Prize. What a complicated, interesting, brilliant man! 
     The Leafcutter Ants by Bert Holldobler. Beautiful book, full of pictures, diagram, and charts. Learning a lot about ants; first of all, how many millions of years they have been busily doing their thing. 
     The Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict of Nursia. I like to read this every year. Just nourishing to the spirit. 

Around OakMeadows

Around OakMeadows

This has been the week of Blizzard Part II. Monday I ran around doing errands and stocking up at the grocery store so that I wouldn't have to go out in the coming cold weather. I got it all done just in time because by Monday evening the temperatures were falling and the wind howling. Tuesday was so bad that schools were closed and Joe worked from home.  It is days like Tuesday that make me so very thankful that I am retired and don't have to worry about getting to and from work!

Wednesday was Joe's retirement party at work. I went and met everyone and took some pictures. Then Thursday Vera Taylor took us to lunch to say goodby. Friday was his last day at work. He came home at noon and has been smiling ever since. 

Joe got a Roomba for us. He has set it up and had it vacuuming the house. It is fun to watch and when it finishes, it takes itself back to its docking stand and recharges. The cats are totally disinterested. 

I have gotten virtually no quilting done and have no real excuse other than general sloth.  Lots of reading though. I absolutely love Mary Oliver's poetry. 
She captures the essence of what she is describing. It is almost like  catching of whiff of a scent that transports you to a thought or time.  I read her book of 
poems A Thousand Mornings; I will return the library book and buy a copy to savor again and again. 

Cooking has been minimal this week with all the celebrations and eating out. I made  Beef Stroganoff on Tuesday and baked oatmeal cookies. Comfort food for cold weather. 

We are getting ready for a trip to the Rio Grande for birding.  We will make Brownsville our center and make trips out from there. We will be staying at the Marriott Residence Inn.  Joe is in charge of where we go and what we see. I am taking plenty of reading, quilting, and an audio book. We are also taking a folding chair that I hope to be able to use in the shower; we shall have to see how that works....

Around OakMeadows

Winter is definitely here--31 on the porch. The wind was just ferocious last night as the cold front moved through. We are snug and warm inside. My cat, Bandit, pitched a fit to go outside last night but immediately changed his mind when he got into the cold, wind, and rain and decided that life on the electric blanket was a better choice. 

We had our daughter's dog, Daisy, with us last week. She is an aged cocker spaniel--deaf and arthritic-- but such a sweetheart! Loves to go in the car anywhere, anytime, loves to play ball, and loves to eat anything and everything. 
We had nice weather so walking her was not a problem.  She is back at her real home but I am sure she knows she is loved here too. 

My Invacare scooter which I refer to as My Precious has been malfunctioning recently so I had the repairman come out and take it into the scooter ICU. It is 10 years old and rather battered up with use but it is the best scooter ever and I don't think you can even buy one like it anymore. Always expecting things to take longer and cost more than estimated, I settled in to be without it for a couple of weeks. But to my pleasant amazement, they brought it back completely fixed in only 5 days. The total cost was $225 and well worth the money to have My Precious back and functional. 

I had to have a breast ultrasound Thursday because I have a fibrocystic area in my right breast. I have had it for about 12 years. It isn't my favorite way to spend an afternoon but it is necessary since my father's mother died of breast cancer. I was aggravated by having to pay $310 because we have not met our insurance yearly deductible.  

Quilting has taken a back seat this week but I did manage to get the table runner layered and ready to pin and baste. Slooooowly she goes.....

Good reading this week: 

Empire of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood has been such an enlightening book for me. I always supposed that the Founding Fathers just all got together and worked out the best way to set up and govern the newly formed nation.  Not exactly. They were as fractious as politicians are today. I knew about the Hamilton - Jefferson divide but I didn't know how uncertain the election of 1800 was, I didn't know how much Jefferson disliked Chief Justice John Marshall, and 
I didn't know how contentious setting up the federal and state judiciaries was. 

Countdown by Alan Weisman was another excellent book on the overpopulation problem. All our efforts at conservation and climate change will be useless unless population is lowered. Every 4 1/2 days we add another 1 million people on the planet. 

I made one new recipe last week, the Slow Cooker Old-Fashioned Beef and Noodle Soup. It was delicious. Next time I make it, I will use about half the amount of noodles called for though. 

JMM has one more week at work before he retires. I want him to just enjoy having time to putter around. He is planning to work 2 days a week to bring in some extra cash so that he won't have to dip into his 403b funds until he is 72. We shall see.  Next week he has his retirement party and another 2 days he is being taken out to lunch. I hope he enjoys his retirement as much as I love mine. 

Lots of birds at the feeders. Goldfinches, titmouse, cardinals, bluejays, doves.  Raccoons and squirrels. Haven't seen the possum or armadillo lately. Maybe they hibernate, don't know. 

Around Oak Meadows

 Birds around OakMeadows--It was unusually cold last week so we really kept the feeders stocked. We were rewarded with lots of feathered beauties. 

     Ruby-crowned kinglet
     Bluejays 
     Cardinals
     Savannah sparrows
     Goldfinches
     Collared doves
     Titmouse
At the pond we spotted
     Great blue heron
     Great egret
Joe says that he saw a flock of 70+ trumpeter swans flying directly over the property. At one time they did winter down here but are not common. Perhaps last week's polar vortex blew them down here. He won't let me add them to the OakMeadows list because he is unsure. 

Joe is counting days to retirement--18 days to go.  He says as the time gets shorter, it is harder and harder to go in each morning.  He has worked so hard all his life that I hope he has years and years of happy retirement.  He had his 67th birthday Friday.  I baked a German Sweet Chocolate cake for him. We had Sunday lunch at The Olive Garden with family and friends totaling 18. It was so much fun. 

Quilting project is a table runner for the dining room. I have the top pieced.  This week I want to get the backing and batting cut and get it layered, pinned, and basted.  When I get it finished I want to get some new candles and holders to put on the runner. 

Lots of good books in progress
     Empire of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood
     Countdown by Alan Weisman
     Mrs. Tim Christie by D.E.Stevenson
     Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn by John Maxwell

Last week was so cold that soup was a necessity. I made Turkey and Wild Rice in the Slow Cooker.  Oh Lordy, was it ever good. JMM brought home a loaf of sourdough bread which we toasted and buttered.  Oh so good. 

We are dog-sitting the world's best dog, sweet Daisy, while her companion people are off to London and then to Spain.  Fortunately, it is not raining so walking her hasn't been a problem; I simply cannot manage the scooter, the dog, and an umbrella, not to mention closing the door after we go out.  Anyway fingers are crossed for continued sunny weather. 

We had a load of mulch delivered for the flower beds and around the trees. Joe is taking a few wheelbarrows to the beds each day so he won't hurt his back.  Right now with everything killed back by the freezing weather so it is hard to picture how beautiful and green everything will be. In the meantime, mulch, mulch, and more mulch. 

     
     

Around OakMeadows

It has been a busy morning. As usual, on New Year's Day, I took down all the Christmas decorations and packed them in the plastic bins. Inevitably as soon as I get the bins stacked in the closet, I find something that should have gone in the bottom bin. I wonder what it will be this year??

JMM was so excited to see a Great Horned Owl in the big live oak tree very early this morning. Probably the owl was snacking on field mice during the night. I was very lax last year about keeping our OakMeadows bird list up to date. Hope to do better this year. 

I totaled up the December expenses and the only expense category that was over budget was Eating Out. Guilty. I do have an excuse-->My birthday at Goode Company Seafood was worth every penny. I am sure that Heaven will serve Goode Co. Seafood Gumbo. (Otherwise, I don't want to go...)

The Irish Chain quilt re-binding project is taking about 10X longer than I thought it would. But that is often the case with my projects: they cost more and take longer than I think they will. Friday I am going to Quilter's Emporium and see if they have any fabric for the baby quilt that I want to do next. If not, I will plunge back into my stash of squares that I have already cut out and make another scrap quilt. That reminds me, I was looking for my Simple Baby Quilts book and knew just where it was, only it wasn't there.  So over a period of a couple of weeks, I turned the house upside down looking for it. Found it. It was right on the shelf where it was supposed to be all along. Need new glasses I suppose. 

I made the best roast beef for dinner last night. I used my Le Creusset heavy Dutch oven and PW's recipe and it was wonderful. I roasted onions and carrots with it and poured the gravy over leftover mashed potatoes. Divine. Leftovers for dinner tonight. My next cooking project will be JMM's birthday cake--German Sweet Chocolate cake. I wonder how many GC cakes I have made over the 
years for JMM's and Paul's birthdays?? At least 50. 

I am reading Empire if Liberty by Gordon Wood. It is the second volume in the Oxford History of the United States and covers the period from the end of the Revolution to the War of 1812. I had no idea what a tumultuous period that 
was!! Very interesting how the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans squared off on just how the American government was going to be put into effect. I am about 1/2 through it. Excellent!

Around OakMeadows

It is cold and wet outside. Nice day to stay inside and read, quilt, and cook. 

Husband is counting days until retirement - 53 days. He will be 67 on Jan. 10, 2014 and will retire February 1. He is planning to work 2 days a week as a contract worker. I think that will work out just fine for as long as he wants to do it.  

I'm reading Empire of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood. It is the second volume in the Oxford History of the United States. It covers the period from just before the Constitutional Convention to the War of 1812. I am amazed at how interesting that period is and how the Founding Fathers were working out how to make a new nation as they went along.  For example, no one knew how the new President should be addressed. The governor of New York was addressed, His Excellency, so they figured the president should be something more impressive than that. My favorite suggestion was from John Adams who thought His High Mightiness, the President of the United States, and Protector of Their Liberties, had the right ring to it. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the President of the United States was, if not exactly agreed upon, allowed to become the usual form of address. The book is almost 800 pages and I'm on 102 so there's a ways to go. Hope it continues as interesting. 


Birds around OakMeadows are the usual suspects: Cardinals, Bluejays, Titmouse, Chickadees, a group of Yellow-rumped warblers, and some Meadowlarks.  We have the thistle feeders ready for the first sighting of the Goldfinches; they usually arrive just before Christmas. The Jays are cleaning out the peanuts as fast as I put it out. I have a suet seed block to hang now that it is cold enough not to melt. 

We had 5 raccoons up at the very tippy top of the big old live oak tree the other night.  Sure enough, down at the base was a coyote. There may have been several but we only saw the one. 

My minimal Christmas decorating is done. I decorate the fireplace mantel and the dining room. I gave my daughter all the Christmas tree ornaments and she uses them on her tree. Christmas presents were ordered online and should be here later this week. I used to do a Christmas letter and Christmas cards but stopped that a couple of years ago. Daughter and SIL are coming here for Christmas dinner. They are bringing a ham and I am doing the sides and dessert. 

I am working on the the last block on my quilt. Then I will bind the edges and it will be finished. I think I will give it to DH for his birthday. My next quilting project will be to re-bind the edges of my Irish Chain quilt. The quilt itself is in very good shape but the binding on the edges is worn out. After that I want to make a baby quilt and then another patchwork.  Quilting is my form of therapy. 

That's what is going on around here these days. Very pleasant days they are. 

Around Oak Meadows: The Pond

There is a pond behind our property. When we moved here the pond was clear and lovely. Thanks to our neighbors pouring fertilizer on their yard, the pond is no longer clear and lovely.  There are still some wading birds who come looking for frogs and small fish but not as many.

A little flower power

It has been Hot and Dry this year but we have still had lots of beautiful flowers here at OakMeadows.

Raccoons

I saw the sweetest thing this afternoon. Bandit and I were out under the trees and I was busily trying to identify a bird (turned out to be a tufted titmouse, 4 of them). I was so intent on the bird book that I din not notice the mama raccoon and her 5 babies as they were on their way to the tree with their feeding tray until they were about 5 feet away from me. All 7 of us just froze in place when we saw each other. Then zap went the babies up the nearest tree just like mama taught them. Mama moved quickly to behind a tree a little further toward the woods and one by one the babies went down the first tree and up the second where they softly chattered to each other, I suppose calling out to be sure everyone was accounted for. Then quickly everyone moved off into the thick underbrush. Just darling. (I was glad to see that Bandit had sense enough to leave mama and baby raccoons alone!!)

Early Summer at OakMeadow

One of these days I'm going to learn how to attach photos to my blog so I I can show you just how beautiful it is here. In the meantime, I'll just keep telling you.

The tomatoes are spectacular this year. We are harvesting all we can eat and the rest I take to work to give away. One cherry tomato plant must have 100 tiny green tomatoes; these seldom make it into the house as they are so easy to pick as they ripen and just pop into the mouth.

The front porch baby barn swallows have flown. (And we have cleaned up the mess of poop on the porch under the nest.) The back porch babies are working their parents to death to keep them fed; there are 4, I think. It will be another week or 10 days before they are ready to fly. I wonder if we will have a second brood like we did last year??

The vitex is covered with spikes of purple blooms but what is really interesting is that as you go by it, the bush seems to be humming and almost vibrating. It is, of course, the bees gathering the heady nectar. I wonder if they tickle the bush as they move in and out of the flowers.

The daylillies are in full bloom. We have some yellow and some orange.

As my mother used to say though, "Into every life, a little rain must fall." And into our lives, the evening mosquitoes have come. No lingering on the porch after dark these days! As they think of me as a food source, so I like to think of them as food for our baby swallows.

Thought for the day:

"Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving." - Kahlil Gibran