Technology

 

I guess I haven't been getting out much so maybe that's why I'm so easy to impress.

August is my birth month so that means going to renew my vehicle license tags.  I knew the county clerk's office had been closed because of COVID19  but is now reopened.

There is always a line to renew tags - a lot of people waiting in a small space. I figured I would be waiting outside in a marked off safe distance line at the annex building.

But no, when you walk up to the building, there is a sign with a code to scan with your smart phone.

After scanning, you receive a message assigning you a number in line and what number is currently being serviced.  

You can wait outside or in your car and keep checking your phone to see what number they are on, then finally they send a message saying mask up and come on into the building.

I had about a 40 minute wait but I think I liked it better that the usual way of sitting in that small stuffy waiting area with everyone staring at each other.

Some people did have problems with the code scanning though. Either they didn't understand what to do or had an older phone or no cell phone at all.  There was a representative there to help those who needed it.

Right across the street from the annex building is the library and some benches in the shade of the building.

When I sat down there I noticed this...a library book vending machine!

I walked up to take a closer look at it . One could check out books or DVDs using their library card. Each item was in it's own slot on rotating shelves.  

Just make your choice and your book drops into a compartment that opens.

I had to give it a try and checked out a Martha Stewart book on organizing your home.

Think it will help?

Anyway, I never want to shy away from trying out new technology.  

My latest credit card has the chip that you can just "tap" on the card reader.  I am always watching for a chance to use that feature so I can get used to doing that.

elephant quilt finished

 Not a quilt for an elephant of course, but a quilt with an elephant on it!

A few weeks ago I wrote about starting on this quilt and posted this photo...

It wasn't until after I had added more fabric to each side that I realized I'd sewn his tail in the wrong place!

Careful there!

I had to do some un-sewing!

I had originally found the elephant pattern in this book..

But I didn't care for the way they had the elephant oriented.  It's either a short wide quilt or a wall hanging.

So, I got the idea to use just the elephant part and add some pieced blocks, top and bottom, to make a crib sized quilt.

In the same book thre were some circus tent blocks that I thought would be perfect to go with an elephant...but nope...as much as everyone loved seeing circus elephants in the past, now we realize how badly the elephants were treated.  I didn't want that negative association on a crib quilt.

But, a few pages later in that same book I found another idea.  This quilt pattern featured rows of small blocks - each row finishing at 40 inches. All I had to do was add extra fabric to each side of the elephant section to bring it up to 40 inches and it would work out just right to match up with some of the row blocks.

I made a sketch but later decided to leave out some of the pieced rows to keep it from getting too busy and taking focus off the elephant.

And here is the finished quilt...

Three of the fabrics came from one of those "Three Yard Quilt" bundles that I like to buy...the blue polka dot, the white with blue print and the gold stripe.

I was worried that the white elephant print fabric might look weird since I'd used a gray background for the big elephant, but I think it came out okay.

So glad I realized in time that I had that tail sewn on wrong! Sheesh!

And here comes my nosy kitty waiting for a chance to get black fur on my quilt!

I machine quilted it with my usual meandering design.

I had a little boo boo on the back and quilted a wrinkle in. Later I hand stitched it down and made it a bit less visible.

The size is roughly 40" x 54". 

I used nearly all the leftover fabric to piece together the back of the quilt. I didn't want to add it to my scrap fabric bins because they are bursting at the seams already.

Now it's ready to be mailed to Baby Carson!

This was a very fun-to-make little quilt and pretty quick too.  I am kind of anxious to make another one in girly colors...a pink elephant!

But first, I have more tops to be quilted.

around the yard

We've had lots of thunderstorms and rain showers this summer allowing all growing things to live up to their potential.  My Gladiolus have the nicest blooms I've ever seen. 
They just bow down with the weight of the flowers.

A few more Glads mixed in with the Crocosmia...

A bright fuschia pink colored Glad with the red Crocosmia. The gaudier the better for me!

Below is a blooming May-Pop vine.

I have had better luck with Elephant Ears this summer too.

My container-grown Japanese Eggplant is producing.  Their beautiful dark purple color is as pretty as any flower.  They do need to be watered between the rains though.

But the storms can also cause problems.  A big chunk of one of the sassafras trees cracked off and landed on the pool house roof.  The Sasquatch got it down for us.

 

It was bigger that it looks and heavy too.  See the red circle below? It fell from there.

No visible damage though. That's fortunate!

working on some quilts

Earlier this spring, I did a lot of sewing and finished a few quilt tops but I didn't get around to pin- basting them with their backs and batting until recently.

Now there are five of them waiting for quilting!

I think I showed you this one.  I had it rolled up on a pool noodle in this photo. I laid out the batting and backing for it and smoothed it all out, then rolled it up again.

It will have to be pinned before quilting.

 I pieced together some batting scraps for this one. It will be the one I quilt first. when it's completely finished I will show it here and tell a story about it.

This one is from a kit.  You can see it's a little poufy in the middle. Hopefully it will flatten out with quilting. 

I'll show it afterward too and talk more about it.

This next one will be a donation quilt.  I could only find this photo from before it was fully sewn together. It also got a scrap batting (Franken-batting).  

I think it will be cute and I'll show it again when it's quilted.

The fifth one waiting to be quilted is top secret for now and it may be awhile before I can say anything about it.

Since I'm so far behind on finishing all of these quilts...I thought "Why not start another?"

Well, this one will be for a baby who has just arrived.  I didn't even know he was expected so I wasn't ready with a quilt.

Here's how I've started...

The elephant is pretty big...about 27 x 36 so I'll add a few rows of pieced blocks and it will be toddler sized.

These hot July afternoons are good for staying inside and sewing so hopefully I will be able to make some progress on these six quilts!

the patient

 I haven't been a hospital inpatient since my sons were born.  That was over 42 years ago!

But, one morning I woke up feeling very short of breath and like I was all puffed up. I had gained 3 pounds in 2 days!

  I had been noticing that I was huffing and puffing when climbing stairs but one tends to think that just comes with getting older and being out of shape.  But this day it was worse.

I thought maybe I had an intestinal blockage or something- and that it was keeping my lungs from expanding.

All morning I kept talking myself out of going to the emergency room.  Finally I went, but sat in the parking lot awhile considering turning around and going back home. 

Now I'm glad I went. It turned out that my heart was beating way too fast and was in atrial fibrillation. It could have led to a stroke. Fluid had collected all around my heart and also in my lungs.

I had good care at the hospital and they took steps to get everything running properly again. I ended up having to stay a few days for more tests and to get the right medicine dosage established.

I am mainly telling this because...

I urge you to Trust your Gut Instinct. If you think something is wrong - go get it checked out.  Don't wait around!

I have to say the bed was comfy and I got a lot of sleep.  The oxygen line wasn't ordered...one of the night nurses came and put it on me because I kept snoring and setting off the oxygen sensor alarm.

I thought this is supposed to be the "Golden Years?"

Why do they have to put all this stuff on ones right (dominant) hand?  It makes it hard to eat and hard to take care of things in the bathroom...and you can't wash the hand anyway.

And the IV line right in the bend of my arm?  The place where it's going to be jostled around the most and you have to remember to "keep your arm straight" so you don't pinch off the flow.

See how I have my purse in bed with me?  No, it's not weird. I sometimes do it at hotels, too.

This is the hospital version of a meal for a diabetic patient.  Starchy rice, starchy bread stick, the chicken had breading and sugary fruit for dessert. 

 One evening a nurse asked me if I'd like a snack before bed. The choices were pudding, ice cream or graham crackers with peanut butter...All sugary and carby!

But I had enough to eat even with avoiding the bad stuff.  It was nice to eat something besides my own cooking.

Here is a sort of funny part of the story.  I had to have Lonnie bring a few things for me...including under garments.  I was on the phone with him directing him where to look in my closet for the underwear I wanted him to bring.

He said..."Okay, I found the white ones...and here's some with shoulder straps."

What?  I assure you I do not have any underwear with shoulder straps!

I told him where to find a tote bag too, but I guess he was tired of looking because instead of bringing a nice zipper bag (which I have many of) he shows up with this huge, transparent, open top, crinkly plastic bag...with my unmentionables casually tossed inside. Sheesh!

shown here with a tee shirt inside for demonstration purposes

Really, I wasn't mad about it...more amused than anything and I was glad to get the stuff.

But... I think I will fix up a small bag of necessary items to keep in my closet so if something like this happens again it will be easy to locate when needed.  Maybe a change of clothes, under garments, chap stick, dental floss and so forth - and a paperback book.

I left the hospital with my crinkly plastic bag, a fist full of new prescription drugs, and an ugly bruise where they went through my wrist to get to my heart for imaging (the right wrist of course - then told me not to use it for the rest of the day).

Overall, I was glad to have everything tested and checked out and the good news is there are no heart blockages.

But I would be happiest if I could now stay away from hospitals for another 42 years!

what? more soup?

Yep,  I don't know why, but my husband will say he wants soup for supper nearly every day of the week. Even as the weather warms up he still thinks about soup.

That's okay with me!

So, I made two soups again.

This first one is a spicy one...chicken, canned tomatillos, tomatoes,onions, jalapenos.

This one is more hearty, ham, cabbage, potatoes, onions, carrots, plus a few leftover peas.

I stocked up the freezer again with some in pint containers and some in quart containers, but I'd better start thinking about what good combination I can come up with for the next soup cooking day!

blooms indoors and out

This year I managed to actually put fertilizer on some of my plants - including the indoor ones. It certainly makes a difference.

I have a lot of windows in my house but not many good places for house plants except here by our back patio door, where I have a few pots of different succulents.

My Aloe Vera plant sent up a tall flower stalk. The small tubular flowers took a long time to open and were not at all showy, but still kind of interesting to see it happening.

My Sansevieria (snake plant or mother-in-laws tongue) also bloomed.  Frilly white flowers that dripped sticky nectar.

Outside the Clematis is blooming.  The bright green leaves are a different plant that has a nice lemony smell - but I can't think of the name right now - maybe Lemon Balm?

These yellow Coreopsis came from the mark-downs shelf at Lowes last fall. They were mis-labeled and not what I thought I was buying, but I like them. I've had them before and they do self-seed and spread around the flower bed.

The Orange Lillys or Ditch Lillys always bloom around Fathers Day. I have them in a couple of places where they won't crowd out other plantings because they can be real bullies.

Nepata or Catmint (not cat nip) by the back porch. Bees of all kinds just love this.

I am excited about this next plant. This is one my friend, Isolde, gave to me. She started it from seed. It is an oriental vegetable called "Bitter Melon".  I had never heard of it.

I know it looks like I planted it in a weed patch here but I wanted to go ahead and get it in the ground before the temperatures get too high.  I will weed and mulch as soon as possible.

Just a while ago I commented here on how the field next door to our house hadn't been bush hogged in several years.
Strangely, just after that, someone was over there cutting about a hundred foot wide swath.

I am happy to be rid of all the blackberry vines that would snag me when I drove by there on the mower, but I sure don't want to see neighbors moving in this close!

I'd rather deal with blackberry vines!