Here's the dirt

 In the field next door, work has begun. The first step seems to be moving and leveling dirt. The ground is really dry so it's all powdery dirt.

So, each day has been noisy equipment and a lot of airborne dirt drifting over and settling in my yard.

All this taking place over lovely sunny fall days, pretty much keeping me inside the house.

Sheesh! They must have every piece of equipment they own over there making dirt storms!

Everything was dirt covered...my cars, my outdoor furniture, the grass, even a light film of dirt on my windows.

I kept wishing for rain, but no, it really was a stretch of beautiful dry fall days.

It was one of those things that I couldn't change, so I just had to accept it.

Might as well just plunk down in my dirty patio chair and prop up my dirty shoes, socks, and jeans on my dirty glass table after a walk around the yard in the evening.

It was a real relief when things started winding down and I noticed they were cleaning out a dump truck.

On a more cheerful note, another beautiful sunrise. I never get tired of seeing them.

Actually this is an advantage to the trees being cut down next door. I can see this part of the early morning sky.

Yep, more soup! Cabbage soup this time...with ham, carrots, and onions.

Here's Puss, doing a nice Halloween cat pose.

I never have Trick or Treaters here. It would be kind of fun to see the kids in their costumes, but I don't envy those in neighborhoods where they buy many, many bags of candy to hand out!

Changing season

 I finished up this crocheted throw. It's been mostly finished for awhile...just waiting for me to crochet around the sides for a border.

It measures roughly 58" x 60".  I have mostly worked on it at my twice-monthly crochet/knit group, so it has taken a while to complete.

The pattern is an easy one. It's called a "moss stitch" and it makes a nice closely stitched blanket with no big "toe catcher" loops.

Here's a link to the free pattern...https://www.mamainastitch.com/folklore-mandala-yarn-blanket-crochet-pattern/

So with that finished, I needed a new crochet project. I  chose this one, Mountain Throw, from the same website.  I'm using the colors used in her original pattern.

This one's fun because there are a lot of color changes.

In the sewing room...I cut and sewed the binding on that small quilt I last showed you.

Now to stitch down the other edge by hand.

 That's a little peek at the backing fabric. The acorn print and fall colors are just right to work on at this time of year.

I'm seeing some fall color from the chair at my sewing machine.

Puss appreciates the view too, but it has made her very sleepy!

Here's a view from my kitchen window on another day!  It's a repair tech from Spectrum.

My internet kept going out. It turned out that an old patched up outer cable was causing the problem.

The young gentleman was extra nice...rigging up the new cable and then replacing my modem with an updated model.

Here are the book club selections this month...

"Hamnet", a good story, some truth, mostly fiction.  It's a tale of Shakespeare, his wife and family...plague, death, sadness, human nature, and a bit of extrasensory perception.

In the non fiction group we read "Crypt".  An account of several cases in which the study of centuries old bones revealed diseases and other causes of death, or in one case, the remains were not even from the historic figure they had been claimed to be.

Interesting, but a bit more history than I normally like to read. I always feel like a lame brain when the book club members soak all this information right up and excitedly discuss it.

I can't stop making soup! This one is beef vegetable.  Made from some leftover sirloin roast from the freezer. Carrots, celery, onion, canned tomatoes, corn.

I started to add green beans but the pot was getting too full.  It came out tasty, and a nice change from chicken.

Odds and ends

 

Costco was having a sale on glasses - buy two pair and get $50 off.  I just had an eye exam back in the summer so it was a good time to pick out new glasses.

It's always hard to choose. I mostly wear contact lenses when I go somewhere but on days when I'm at home, I just wear my glasses.

These were my favorites. I like the color on the frames...it adds some definition to my same-color hair and skin.

The second pair has a good sturdy frame. I think they are actually men's. Good for wearing around doing chores and stuff.

With savings on these glasses and a new battery for the Jeep, my Costco membership has really been worthwhile this year.

I've actually gotten enthused about sewing projects again. I finished assembling this small quilt top and got it quilted.

Those three pieces of fabric laying on top are some possibilities for the binding.

Right now I'm leaning towards the dark brown one on the right.  The black seems to harsh and the green is "bleh".

I'm continuing to hand sew these hexagons. It's a fun thing to work on while sitting out back in the evenings.

I had to lay them out together to see how they might look when I put them all together.

I'll probably choose a layout like this...adding a darker hexagon to separate them.

I have a while to think about it. A lot more hexies need to be sewn to make it big enough.

There was another beautiful early morning sky!

It is so amazing but lasts just a short time. As the sun rises the color disappears.

More soup. I know this looks like the last soup I made but it's different.  I was trying for chicken pot pie soup.

It doesn't taste exactly like I planned but it's pretty good anyway.

End of September

 Summer is winding down.

I spent one last morning by the pool with my coffee before the pool guys came to shut it down and put the cover on.

Looking left, you can see the old deck is completely removed.

The time was right to close the pool. The super hot days ended abruptly with cooler temperatures moving in.

Always sad to see the pool covered though.

Just so you know...I didn't plant those Zinnias there in the stepping stones. They came up from previous years scattered seeds. I can't  bring myself to pull them up, so just walk around them.

And here is my new tiny deck. Only 6 by 8 feet, no stairs. 

A father/son team built it in a day. They didn't speak English, so lots of smiling and nodding. I'm happy with their work.  A bit of trim work still needs to be done.

The photo makes the posts look crooked but they are not.

Puss wonders what the heck has happened!  She says it with her ear position.

She used to go down the steps before if I'd have the door open. Things change, Puss!

Though I'm happy with this part of the work, I wouldn't use this contractor again.

Not enough communication, sloppy on the clean up, and things not finished up nicely at the end...like the electrical wiring, the trim of the house, and the old posts sawed off stumps sticking up.

The price was reasonable...but you get what you pay for.

On a happier note...a beautiful sun rise!  So much color!

Changing by the minute as the sun comes up.

A good way to start the day!

Trouble in Darlaville

 Trouble here in Darlaville. Home repairs.

Can you see this squirrel hanging on to the door frame here on the screen porch?

He didn't cause the problem but he alerted me to it.

He made his way through the side of the house into the area between the first and second floor.  Not the attic...but between the ceiling downstairs and the floor above.

Puss and I heard him scampering around in there. I went upstairs looking around thinking he had got in up there (down the chimney), but nope.

It turns out that moisture had rotted out an area where the deck attaches to the house...a large enough area for the squirrel to get through.

It was right below the door.

I had a contractor out to see what needed to be done. He said much of the deck would have to be removed to get to the area that needed repair.

Another choice was to get rid of the deck completely, which is what I decided to do.

I think we added the deck in 1997 or 98, so it's nearly 30 years old.

I don't really use the upper deck or the screen porch...other than a place to put my garden tools and other assorted junk.

The screen porch was nice, years ago. Lonnie and I would sit out there in nice weather and he would use his grill in there. When his family and grandkids would come over for a swim and a cookout it was a perfect gathering spot.

Things change.

Anyway, the tear-down guys were working during those horrible 90 something degree days. Just a few hours at a time. It was a hard job...mostly because the deck was covered in a metal roofing material to keep the screen porch dry below.

Rotten.

The beams still looked good but many would have had to be removed anyway to get at the rotten area.

Sort of sad to see it being torn down and of course I kept wondering if I'd made the right decision.

Here is the rotten area. Whew! That's been going on for awhile. I guess that mischievous little squirrel did me a favor by drawing attention to this problem.

Another worry with the old deck was this tree pushing into the side of it.

You can see that big gash in the bark where it had begun growing around the deck floor.

I did ask for a small deck to be built so that upper door wouldn't open into nothingness.

I'll show that next time.

August and September

 I have a couple of things still from August.

I had a nice visit from a niece (husband's side) and her three young adult kids.

They live out of state and I hadn't seen them in years. I was touched when she contacted me and wanted to stop by.

The young ones were very polite and respectful. They made conversation and didn't look at their phones. Just a really nice family!

A rainbow. It's beautiful even when arching over heavy equipment!

So that has been my view all summer. No more work has gone on over there. Just some bushhogging a couple of times.

August was my birthday month. It was a happy one with cards and messages from friends. It was a quiet relaxing day at home (my favorite thing).

The Sasquatch showed up with a huge watermelon to celebrate. It was a sweet one and much healthier than a birthday cake.

Not a great photo...but turkeys up around the bird feeder.

Here are the book club reads for September...

Shoe Dog (non fiction). Memoir by Phil Knight, one of the founders of Nike.

I enjoyed this book. Mr Knight is a man who believed in himself and had a lot of determination and drive to keep going even when circumstances were not looking favorable.

He wanted to produce good shoes.  It's an inspiring story of his success.

The fiction book was The Impossible Thing, a story based on the now illegal practice of collecting rare bird eggs.

In truth, people really took risks to find these eggs...including being lowered over cliffs to rob the nests.

The book has a large cast of characters and takes place in two different time periods. The author does a good job in building suspense and revealing the story a bit at a time.

It's not cool weather yet, but I had the urge to make soup.

Sort of cream of broccoli with rotisserie chicken added.

I used plain Greek yogurt for the creaminess. I've been finding ways to use it ever since I bought one accidentally at the Costco check-out. (It mistakenly got pushed back with my stuff on the conveyor belt).

It's a good way to add some extra protein.