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.