Around OakMeadows

Journal

Last week we went to see A Haunting in Venice. I was looking forward to seeing Kenneth Branaugh as Hercule Poirot. It was to say the least a disappointment. Over the top melodrama. We watched 30 minutes of previews and 30 minutes of the movie and left. The hot dog was very good though. 

JMM took Angie to the groomer at CBW. We switched from Kristy’s to CBW because it is so much more convenient but I am going back to Kristy’s. CBW charges $80 plus a tip and if I’m going to pay that much money, I want a much better cut than what CBW does. Kristy’s does a much, much better cut. 

I got my latest quilt back from Karen Shively and I must say that it turned out even better than anticipated. Speaking of quilts, I am sending one to Cecelia to be auctioned at their church’s silent auction in October. I was planning to send it to Sue Silverstein for her immigrant families but I’ll send her another one. I’m working on cutting out for 3 lap quilts. The fabric is from a package of French General fat quarters. After that, I want to make table runners. 

We’ve had more hummingbirds than usual this year. Maybe because of the drought, there isn’t as much blooming. Speaking of blooming, we have had bumblebees all over our purple salvia and our plumbago is outdoing itself this year since it loves the heat. JMM planted several more purple salvia and 3 more plumbagos. 

I think my 19 year old clothes dryer is on its last go round. Of course it would go out on a Saturday when it is impossible to get someone out to take a look at it on the weekend. (Just like the dog always gets sick on Friday evenings.) Monday morning, I will see how soon someone can come out. We currently are drying clothes by spreading them out on chair backs and around the house. JMM is looking online for the best new dryers in case this would cost too much to repair. To be continued.  

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Books I Read in January, 2023

 

Books I read in January, 2023

The Puppetmaker’s Daughter by Karla M. Jay⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(JMM read aloud)

Katie, Up and Down the Hall by Glen Plaskin⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (audio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Life Around OakMeadows in January,2023

 

Life Around OakMeadows in January, 2023

Birds

Bluejays 

Crows

Goldfinches 

Cardinals

Turkey Vulture

Black Vulture 

Caracaras 

Red-tailed Hawk

Mourning Doves

Collared Doves

Blue-headed Vireo <<== New addition to Life List!!

Red-bellied Woodpecker 

Carolina Wren

Meadowlarks 

Mammals 

Raccoons 

Squirrels 

Around OakMeadows

 

 

Angie

Our sweet Angie has been sick. JMM took her to the vet Monday. She has an infection which the vet says probably started in her gums or teeth. From there it moved into her throat and ears. She’s been on Augmentin since Monday and is noticeably better. Even though we had her teeth cleaned last April, in a couple of weeks after the infection clears up, we’ll have her teeth cleaned again. 

We had a terrific rainstorm yesterday. For the first time in our 50+ years of marriage, JMM headed us all to the closet because of tornado warnings. The storm didn’t last long but the wind and rain was terrible. We didn’t have any damage but I see from the news that there were several tornadoes in the Deer Park/Pasadena area. Today has been beautifully clear, sunny, and crisp.  

I’m taking a week off from my Tovala dinners to cook for JMM. We made the Shrimp Chowder this evening and toasted some sourdough bread. Very good. Yesterday we made a loaf of banana nut bread for JMM. 

Still cutting out pieces for the next quilt. I love French General fabrics that I’m using.  After I get it all cut out, I have to take the sewing machine in for a cleaning and adjusting the tension. It’s not a difficult pattern to cut out but I don’t have the energy to do much at the time. 

Life Around OakMeadows - December, 2022

 

Life Around OakMeadows in December, 2022

Birds

Cardinals 

Bluejays 

Mockingbirds 

Chickadees 

Goldfinches 

Black Vulture 

Killdeer 

Crow

Meadowlarks 

Barred Owl

Grackles 

Caracara 

Red-tailed Hawk

Great Egret

Laughing Gull (Galveston)

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove 

Collared Dove

Carolina Wren

Insects

Cloudless Sulphur 

Gulf Fritillaries 

Monarchs 

Queens

Longtailed Skippers 

Common Buckeyes 

Little Sulphurs 

Giant Swallowtail 

Mammals 

Raccoons 

Deer

Armadillo 

Squirrels 

Around OakMeadows

 

Journal

Went to the optometrist today. I’ve been having some burning sensation in my eyes.and blurring of vision. I’ve put off going for months but finally decided it must be done. I must say that eye exams are much more thorough than they used to be. I had my eye pressure measured, my retinas photographed, the usual “which is clearer #1 or #2” (when they really don’t look all that different): and several other tests. Anyway, the burning situation is age related dry eyes—>Refresh eye drops at least twice a day. The blurring vision—>cataract surgery probably in a year or two. New fancy pants lenses—>trifocals, transition lenses to slow cataract progression. An last but not least new frames for to replace my 20 year old ones. $600 after discount and insurance. Whew!

I’ve started cutting the pieces for my next quilt. I ordered the fabric directly from French General. I have too much trouble finding quality fabric that I like in the quilt stores or Hobby Lobby so now that I know how to order directly from FG, getting fabric is so much simpler. I washed, dried, and pressed the fabric to get it ready to cut. I also ordered a new Olfa 60 mm rotary cutter. It is such a pleasure to cut with a brand new blade. Today I cut the 30 center pieces for the 30 blocks. 

I am watching #4 on my list of 100 best movies, Gone with the Wind. So far I have watched The Godfather, the Shawshank Redemption, and Schindler’s List.  All excellent. Between Netflix, Prime, and my list of 100 best movies, there is always something good to watch.  

That’s about all the news from OakMeadows. 

The Ten Best Books I read in 2022

 

Ten Best Books I Read in 2022:

Nonfiction 

Passage of Power by Robert Caro

Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer

The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Fiction 

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Apples Never Fall by Lianne Moriarty

The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger

The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough 

As always it was difficult to choose only 10 as there were several others that could easily have been included.  Usually I prefer Nonfiction over Fiction but this year I read some really good fiction.