bee creative

another day

Today I made it to a little farmer's market/farm stand that isn't too far from me, an easy walk with my little red wagon.

The dahlias were a treat.

I also got tomatillos, sauce tomatoes (to freeze), small prunes (to dry), cucumbers (to pickle) and shallots

There were a few things in the garden to harvest too.

Blackberries (weed), 2 more prunes (bringing the total to 15), 1 Gravenstein apple (total 5), 10 pears, the  last of the blueberries, potatoes, and a few more tomatoes. This is the first year the Gravenstein has produced apples.  Hopefully there will be more next year. 

It's been a "little bit of this and a little bit of that" year in the garden.

Yesterday Mom had cherry tomatoes and aronia berries to share.

The tomatoes went into the dehydrator and the berries were made into syrup.

I strained out the berries and froze them.  Maybe for muffins?

The syrup was a treat too.

fences

I thought...maybe the Farmer's market this morning? It wasn't a great choice for me when I didn't have a car.  Just a little farther than I want to walk to and then walk back from with purchases.

But now there is a car...so maybe?

But I just didn't want to go this morning.  I don't want to put a mask on again today. Don't want to navigate the protocols of social distancing. Just don't want to after having been at work for 5 days doing those things. 

I wanted to be at home. 

And so home is where I stayed.

I was reminded of my "Don't Fence Me In" quilt that doesn't have a back or a front.

but has holes that need mending (Lola and her nest making).

And is covered in scar tissue.

 

 

 

 

missed a stripe

I miscounted, only 18 stripes.

I had a scrap of silk floating around on a pile and thought, "Why not?"  It's easy to do since I am already working on a base layer. 

I read somewhere (I know I should have a link) that building Log Cabin blocks this way is actually traditional. 

That way a greater mix of scraps can be used. 

I like it.

summer in a jar

Goldenrod.

hearts

Another old journal page, cut into a heart and then glued on top of a doodle in my current journal.

Lola's heart patch.

Since reading Jude's post this morning I've been thinking about the word "love."  I don't think it's possible to use it too much with the people that matter to us (making sure that people know they are important, that they are valued, that they matter), but it is possible to use it too much as praise. It can get all messed up with validation and motivation.  Especially with young people.

And yet it always is something that I appreciate hearing. And there are things we, as a species, don't love enough (planet Earth for example).

It's a slippery word. 

Still thinking...

 

reflecting

This morning, while journaling, I wrote, "If I added a finger to my hand I'd be able to count on one hand the places I've been since March."

It's not quite true, the count was eight when I really started considering.

Still, eight places in 6 months.

Today I spent a very wonderful few hours at my brother's, one of the eight places. 

(The other places: work, the grocery store, the farm store/pet store, the farm stand near work, buying a car, and getting a hair cut.)

It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.

I've had this fabric in my stash for a couple months.

There was no resisting. 

It will be the perfect fabric for the other side of my "Good Enough" quilt which I've renamed "GOOD enough COVID 19."

I keep making little paper boats and calling them life boats....

 

build a boat

Knit a sea...

subconscious

Block four. 

This one tilts a lot.

It contains scraps from other projects, including 6 pieces of clothing that I am still wearing.

The word I am considering today is subconscious.  

I've been doodling in my journal a lot lately...

third patch

I need to cut more wide strips.

Thinking about the word "subversive."

light and dark

I much prefer to take pictures outside, with as much natural light as possible. 

A couple mornings ago I was looking at an orchid that had been given to me and that I had placed in the window and thought, "Why not?"

Unaltered.

Layered.

Layered and with a filter.

The filter actually makes the screen behind the orchid visible.

And something full of light, not in the dark, a "Non-stop Begonia."

That might be an exaggeration, but it sure is reliable.

They both lift my spirits.