Valentine's dinner...and flowers

As I previously mentioned, Mike made dinner on Valentine's Day. Here he is, looking a little grumpy, probably because of my comments...

...on how he is so messy when he cooks. He only had 4 of the 5 burners going here.

I broke out one of the tablecloths we bought in India.

And the flowers? Not for Valentine's Day. I got 3 books, one about the Wizard of Oz (one of my favorite movies) and two about Istanbul, where we hope to go later this year. The flowers to which I refer are the camellias blooming in my front yard. Although we have had record setting cold this winter, these lovelies are a sure sign of spring.



Unfortunately, after spring comes summer...

Back on track

So, my whole "blog every Monday and Thursday" thing didn't last too long, did it? Well, I missed a week, but I am hoping to get back on track. A friend, who is also from the midwest, sent me this yesterday:

I found this beautiful summer poem and thought it might help make your day. It did mine, and it's very well written.

' Summer in Texas '

SHIT!
It's Hot !
The End!

It's true. I was driving home the other day and was surprised at the temperature on the bank sign. So I looked down at my climate control and sure enough...106º

Needless to say, I have been spending most of my time inside, in the comfort of air conditioning. I can't imagine how anyone ever lived here before the invention of A/C. I did sneak out one afternoon to take a picture of my quilt top before I sent it off to the quilter. The sun is actually behind it, so you can really see the pattern well here.

Purrkins gave it his seal approval.

My birthday was last week and this is what I asked for.

After 20 years together, Mike still refuses to buy me appliances as a gift, even if I ask for them. I have wanted one of these forever. He said, "Buy it for yourself." So I did (I have learned a thing or two in 20 years).

The mother of all irons...it has a 1 liter water tank and a 6 foot steam hose. I particularly enjoyed the instructions which state "Never iron or steam clothes while they are being worn." It doesn't say anything about using it on hair, like we did back in the sixties.

I rarely iron except when I'm sewing, but then I want something that does the job right without having to refill the water reservoir all the time. I was so excited to use it I made all three of these mystery blocks in one day. This month eleven, so I got a bonus block, and hadn't made up last month's yet. One more month to go. I can't wait to see what these all look like together.

At least my mandevilla like the heat.

My new (old) project

I saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday and despite some range of motion issues, he gave me permission to go back to work. With only two weeks left of my "leave of absence" I had contemplated starting another quilt, but I have had this gnawing at the back of mind. I did a block of the month at It's a Stitch several years ago in Moda's Paris Flea Market. I then took a class on how to quilt as you piece. It is a very laborious process which I realized I would never actually complete. So these blocks as well as all the fabric to complete the quilt have been sitting in my guest room closet. Last weekend I pulled them out, ripped out what I had done in the "quilt as you go" class and set about piecing this quilt top in the normal fashion. These are eleven of the twelve blocks.

And here is the basic layout of the quilt top.

This is the piecing detail.

And this is how far I have gotten...halfway there! I hope to finish it before I go back to work June 30th.


When I was outside taking that picture I rescued these poor things from the scorching 95º we have had for the last several days. Summer has definitely arrived on the Gulf Coast!

Catching up

Ironically, the tomato plant I planted last September before Hurricane Ike has yielded me the most tomatoes of any I've had since we moved to Houston almost seven years ago. I guess it's true that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." We have been enjoying these lovelies all week. There was another ripe one, but a snail got to it first :-( I have my eye on several green ones, which I'm guessing will ripen quickly in this 90º weather...trying to look on the bright side.

The warm weather has also yielded some lovely garden blooms. My orchid has bloomed for the fourth year in a row. Only two flowers this year compared to four last year, but still pretty. Maybe if actually fed it or something it would be more productive.

Same goes for my gardenia. It has been the same pot for several years and might get a very occasional application of Miracle-Gro when the mood strikes me. It it a very scrawny looking plant, but has managed to produce many very fragrant blossoms.




I got my latest quilt back from the quilter and am in the process of sewing on the binding. It is so warm here that even with the A/C on I can only stand having on my lap for short periods of time. Here it is hanging outside...looks a bit washed out by the bright sunshine.


I wanted to see what it would look like on the bed...

...with a cat under it.


After I took those pictures, I realized that I had a shot of Mike's nightstand. Just to be fair, here is what is on mine. The squirt bottle is used for cat behavior modification (keeping Graycie off the dresser).


Next up I have two mystery BOTM which I haven't even looked at yet. I am trying to be disciplined and finish up one thing before starting another!

Finally, something to blog about

Well, it's four weeks tomorrow that I had my surgery, and the physical therapist says that I am right on schedule. I am able to be out of the sling for increasing amounts of time, so I have managed to take some pictures. I always think that blogs are more interesting with pictures, don't you?

We spent some time working in the yard last Sunday. Mike planted these mandevillas for me on either side of the garage doors. The idea is that they will grow up and over the top of the doors and meet in the middle. I have seen this elsewhere, and really like the effect. I will keep you updated on their progress.

These are our Belinda's Dream roses. They are Earthkind, developed to do well in this hot, wet climate. I neglected to prune them this year, but that doesn't seem to have inhibited their progress.



Every year, after our forced amaryllis have finished blooming, we plant them outside along the north fence (there were some growing there when we bought the house so we have just kept adding to them). I think, coming from the "frozen North" we are intrigued that we can grow these outside.




This is another flower that is not hardy up North, but comes back every year here in Houston, the canna lily.
This is a macro shot of one of our Turks cap blossoms.


Our old compost bin has seen better days, not to mention that it is full!

So we bought another one, just like the old one, and set it up.

Okay, I know, new compost bin, not so exciting, but new couch, now that's exciting! Remember when we ordered it, December 30? They told us it would be 2-4 months. Well, today, four months to the day, it was delivered. I am sitting on it as I type.

We have already decided that we need to get a new coffee table...not sure what style the old one is, but definitely not Craftsman. We could go back to the Amish Craftsman, but might just order this one.

Hmmm...maybe a new rug too.

This and that

Here is mystery block #3...like I said, not fabrics I would have ever chosen. I guess they go with the others. It will be interesting to see what future months bring, and how they will all be tied together.



I FINALLY finished this scarf. I don't know why, but I just can't bring myself to knit in the summer, even with the A/C on. Now that it has cooled off a bit, I managed to get it done. I may get to wear it next month when I go up to MSP to visit my daughter, and then will just give it to her.



Mike bought me a new amaryllis bulb (and even planted it for me :-) It is called Red Lion and will be a solid red, unlike last year's. We still need to get some paperwhites.

This has already shot up several more inches.

Gratitudes

After 12 days with no phone or electricity (the latest estimate for power is Sunday), I must remind myself that things could be a whole lot worse. When my patience starts to wear thin, I remind myself of all that I have to be thankful for in the midst of all this...

• We came through the storm with no bodily harm and only minor damage to our house.
• My refrigerator hasn't been this clean since it was new.
• Ditto the freezer.
• Our electric bill will be really low this month.
• Ditto the phone bill.
• We never lost water or gas.
• It could be a LOT hotter outside.
• I got my iPhone when I did.
• When I went into the garden to survey the damage I found this...

Birthday goodies

I hinted, well more than hinted, that I wanted a new iPhone for my birthday, the day after it was released. I must give Mike credit for even trying to get me one. He went to the Apple Store in the Galleria, but said that the wait in line was 4 hours. The next day he went to an AT&T store where they had 16 phones for the 25+ people in line. I guess I will be buying my own when all the hype dies down. He did bring me these gorgeous star gazer lilies, one of my favorites.

And while he was at the Galleria he bought me some more of my new dishes, so I now have 8 dinner plates, 8 salad plates and 6 pasta/soup bowls. I thought it would be easier to take a picture of them on the floor. The cats were interested, wondering why there were empty dishes on the floor.

Marjorie, my dear friend of 40+ years, sent me these delights. Her very talented husband Peter made the ladybug house. It is just too cute! I told her that I can't actually use it, because the sun down here would fade the paint, but I am going to find a shady spot for it on my screen porch. And look at those cherry boots...I can't wait for it to rain!

She is very artistic and talented as well. She made these adorable earrings for me.

No iPhone, but lots of other treasures!

Orchid and orange

Someone gave me this orchid as a dinner party gift three years ago. They said, "Just throw it away after it is done blooming." Even the grower's tag on it said essentially the same thing, but hey, they just want you to spend another $25. And why would I throw away a living plant just because it didn't have any flowers on it. I know just a tiny bit about orchids. What I did with this one is to put it in the back guest bathroom with no heat for the winter, then put it on the screen porch once the weather warmed up in March and gave it some water. This is what it looked like on April 12.And this was taken May 3. This is the third year in a row that it has bloomed for me (not counting the blooms it had when I got it). It still looks like this. It must be loving the tropical weather we are having...80º and 80% humidity this morning.
And since everyone was so impressed with the picture of me with Will Shortz, here is a more recent on with another famous celebrity. He was doing a book signing at Central Market. Doesn't he look thrilled?
And that was before I took the picture of his equally famous shoes.