2022 Project 365 – Week Twenty-six

This past week has been really hard, nationally. I know that some folks think that the Supreme Court sending issues back to the states to handle is a good thing. But not every state legislature has the best interest of people at heart. With so much gerrymandering (I admit, it happens on both sides), I’m not even sure that the state legislatures are representative of their states. But I guess this means that we are all even more responsible for voting in all elections – not just Federal.

On another note, other than a couple of ridiculous pictures of me, this week is all flowers all the time. Which is how the end of June, beginning of July should be!

Sunday, June 26^th         
I roamed around the yard taking macro photos with my phone.
 

Monday, June 27^th
I possibly shouldn’t post this photo, but as you know #IHaveNoShame. I was listening to the latest Pendergast book and as usual something disgusting was happening. Later in the week I broke my rule about not eating while reading/listening to Pendergast books and I had Very Real Regrets. (But the book was excellent!)
 

Tuesday, June 28^th      
I’ve started putting my eye makeup on first (because I saw someone else do it – in case any of the eye makeup gets on her face), and I was on my way to work when I realized that I completely forgot to put on the rest of my makeup. Ha! I guess you can’t undo 40 years of doing something the same way that quickly.
 

I just LOVE these giant yellow daylilies!

 

Stopped by my dad’s house on the way home & took a photo of his gorgeous blue hydrangea. 

 

Wednesday, June 29^th            
It’s morning glory season. For some reason I just love the white center. I find it a bit mesmerizing.
 

Scenes from Dr. M’s dad’s house – with two different colors of hydrangea.
 

The Roy showed up & got what he came for – treats and lots of pats by Dr. M.
 

Thursday, June 30^th         
Well, see, I was just rather enthusiastically eating Cheetos at my desk at work, and somehow flang one into my cleavage. Sexy, no?
 

Friday, July 1^st        
No photo.  
 
Saturday, July 2^nd        
More macro photos from around the yard. It sure is pretty around here.
 

I sent this video to the person for whom I’m making this blanket. She’s pretty happy with it – I just hope she doesn’t mind that it’s taking forever to make. Each row takes about 40 minutes to crochet now.
 

Tomorrow is the 4^th of July and I am very glad to be off of work. And I’m happy to celebrate the grand experiment that is the United States – I just wish we could live up to our potential a little better. I plan to crochet and read and listen to loud bangs in the neighborhood. What are your plans?

2022 Project 365 – Week Twenty-five

People. I have done nothing this weekend but read and crochet. Didn’t leave the house for two days. Didn’t do a lick of housework. I was a total slacko and I have NO REGRETS.
Sunday, June 19^th         
Father’s Day bloomers – along with some pollinators.
 

Monday, June 20^th
Dr. M’s Other Brother Mike (note: not an actual brother) has been sick & not able to take care of mowing this ditch in front of his dad’s house. Dr. M was not about to try to use a mower, but our little weed eater wouldn’t be powerful enough – so he got a bigger model that did the trick quite well. His mom’s hydrangea was blooming AND the blueberries are ripe!
 

Tuesday, June 21^st      
I put those blueberries to use right away – YUM!
 

Things are just very heavy right now (and this was before the bombshell of Friday), so Dr. M made us a comfort food dinner.
  

Wednesday, June 22^nd            
Double Orange Daylily with Bug!
 

Went by my dad’s house during lunch for three days in a row just to get this monster finished. I was late getting back to work every day. Ha!
 

Thursday, June 23^rd        
No photo.
 
Friday, June 24^th       
I’m so so sad about the way we have let White Evangelical culture take over this country. And I still consider myself to be an Evangelical (sort of). This decision that overrides Roe v. Wade will cause death and misery. Especially because there aren’t enough services in place to help women and families who are forced to have babies. Not to mention the women who might die due to complications from a dangerous pregnancy. I could write a novel, but I won’t.
 

On the other hand, we made Mexican Street Corn in the air fryer, and watched Freddie Freeman get his World Series ring (it’s the first time he was back in Atlanta since he traitorously went to the Dodgers).
 

Saturday, June 25^th       
The Roy says, “Can Dr. M come out & play?”
 

Work has gotten chaotic again. The good news is that even though I was sure that my boss was trying to figure out how to fire me, in actual fact he was getting ready to ask me to take on some new duties, temporarily. I don’t know why any time there is drama at work I automatically assume it means I’m in trouble, but here we are. How about you? Do you have Imposter Syndrome too, or do actually you know how valuable you are?

2022 Project 365 – Week Twenty-four

I took a couple of days off this past week & it was most excellent! My only complaint was that I had to put makeup on & leave the house every day, but otherwise it was nice & relaxing.

Sunday, June 12^th         
No photo. I stayed home from church & apparently did nothing photo-worthy. Well, Dr. M posted a photo of a rash on his leg asking for advice (we were a bit worried that it might be shingles). It turned out to be a reaction to stinging nettle. Rude!
 
Monday, June 13^th
Family Mexican night & I tried the corn. It was SO GOOD but I was laughing so hard I could hardly eat. And I’m pretty sure that a guy in the next booth was videotaping me. It wasn’t until I was halfway through that it occurred to me that I could have cut the corn off the cob which would have been MUCH less messy. Ha!
 

Tuesday, June 14^th     
New hair!
  

Wednesday, June 15^th           
Seen around the Bug homestead.
 

Thursday, June 16^th        
I was off work today! I did a photo shoot for my latest two squares, and I went to my dad’s to visit & work a puzzle. I think maybe that was it? I did crochet some.
 

Friday, June 17^h      
Dr. M & I went on a mountain ramble, but before we even left the house we saw this terribly cute little toad! It was no bigger than my thumbnail.
 

We drove up to Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were a little late for the rhododendrons (last year we were early), but we saw a few of them, plus mountain laurel, fire azaleas, phlox, and a small bear!! I had a mildly amusing long caption for the photo I posted on the socials, which you can read here.
 

Saturday, June 18^th       
Washed my hair & turned into a teenage boy.
 

Went to my dad’s to give him his Father’s Day gift and card. And work a puzzle. (And, yes, visit with him & Sue.)
 

The Roy! 

Today is Father’s Day & my mother’s birthday & Juneteenth & I hardly know which way to turn! Lots of feelings about all three of those holidays. I know that Father’s Day is on your radar (whether you celebrate or not), and I know my mother’s birthday isn’t on your radar. But is Juneteenth? It mainly feels like a day of mourning for me because as a nation we have so far to go.

2022 Project 365 – Week Twenty-three

I had a rough week of randomly not feeling well – which I mostly blame on the iron supplement my doctor told me to start taking. And that’s all I have to say about that!
Sunday, June 5^th         
I have a hair appointment this coming Tuesday & I’m thinking about getting it chopped off since it’s not really long enough to pull back effectively & it is HOT. I was trying out a little (tiny eensy bitty) bun, which lasted for about 2 hours.
 

Monday, June 6^th
The Rudbeckia in our front flower bed has been so pretty!
 

Tuesday, June 7^th     
The Thirsty Squirrel!
 

Wednesday, June 8^th           
Dr. M says: I wouldn't call our back deck a botanical garden, but it is interesting when you embrace focusing on the beauty of small things. We range from sweet geranium buds to blanket flowers, garden catchfly, forget-me-nots, sweet william, and more. We also have our glorious new petunias, along with survivors from years past. And wild strawberries.
 

I was talking with my cousin about needing to clean out my closet & mentioned all the black shoes littering the floor in the bedroom (because there is no room for them in my shoe rack). I texted this photo to her later that evening. Ha!
 

Thursday, June 9^th        
Black-eyed Susans!
 

Friday, June 10^th      
I was telling a coworker that I felt bad that I didn’t have anything to wear for pride month & then I found this in the back of the closet! (You’ll recall that I used the remnants of my temperature blanket to make it.)
 

Saturday, June 11^th       
I wasn’t feeling very well so I spent some time baking on the deck, listening to Ms. Pinky (the pink geranium duh) call Ms. Rita (the vermilion geranium) a hussy because she just flaunts herself at this time of year.
 

Later on we had a Roy visitation! He gets SO EXCITED to get a treat!
 

I felt better today (didn’t take my iron last night). I’ve got a big day at work tomorrow so I’m not going to take it tonight either. It was weird because it didn’t bother me every day. But because I am a Drama Queen it was extra annoying. On the other hand I’ve lost a little weight. I will say that it hurts my heart to not follow my doctor’s instructions to the letter because Rules. How about you? Do you take your doctor’s recommendations as Scripture or as more of guidelines?

Book Reviews – the April/May Edition

Well this is going to be short & sweet. April & May were so busy that when I wasn’t working I apparently didn’t want to have anything to do with reading. Well, and I also reread a couple of books that aren’t going to be listed here.
 

The Matzah Ball ★★★★, by Jean Meltzer. A Jewish best-selling Christmas romance novelist is asked by her publisher to write a Hanukkah romance. She is flummoxed at the idea because even though she’s Jewish she doesn’t find Hanukkah very romantic. Then she comes up with a brilliant (to her) idea – finagle her way into an old boyfriend’s Matzah Ball (a party for Jewish people to make up for not getting to go to Christmas parties). Shenanigans ensue. In a lot of ways this was a traditional romance romp – but the main character has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and it was handled so nicely. I liked the dash of realism.
 

The Lincoln Highway ★★★★★, by Amor Towles.  This is the same author who wrote A Gentleman in Moscow which I loved, and this one is just as good. It starts out in 1954 in Nebraska, where 18 year old Emmett has come home from a work farm after serving a sentence for manslaughter. He father recently died & the family farm is about to be foreclosed, so he plans to head west with his 8 year old brother to seek his fortune. However, two “friends” show up after breaking out of the work farm and things don’t go as Emmett planned. For one thing, he & his brother end up riding to NYC in a boxcar. One theme that runs through the book is the Odyssey, and that’s exactly what this is. Each chapter takes up the story through a different character’s eyes. I listened to the audio book, which I highly recommend.
 

 
Accidentally Engaged  ★★★★, by Farah Heron. Reena Manji is a typical Muslim single woman living in Toronto – her parents are very invested in her life. Which is why she wants nothing to do with the latest man that they’ve decided to fix her up with. Except, even though he has a lot of secrets, he is very cute and their personalities click. Plus Reena loves to bake break and Nadim loves to eat her bread. Then an opportunity comes up to enter a cooking show contest, but it requires that Reena be part of a couple, and Nadim is perfectly happy to pretend to be engaged to her. I thoroughly enjoyed Reena and Nadim!
 

Citizen K-9  ★★★, by David Rosenfelt. The K Team – a private detective team that includes a retired police officer and his K-9 partner – is hired to crack a cold case about a couple of people who disappeared from a class reunion 7 years ago. The mystery was actually pretty interesting – I didn’t guess whodunnit until the very end. But I much prefer Rosenfelt’s other series about Andy Carpenter the attorney. His wife Laurie is part of the private detective team, but I guess I like Andy better than I like her. Ha!
 
I’ve finished two books so far in June, but lord a mercy they are both QUITE spicy. I’ll be blushing the whole time I write about them. I know you can’t wait!

2022 Project 365 – Week Twenty-two

I’m just exhausted by our country. It’s so hard to have any hope for our collective future. Sure, my life is currently fine – but it’s not me and mine that I worry about. I hope I’m being my usual Drama Queen self. I guess time will tell!

Meanwhile, in my little corner of the universe, we had flowers and crochet, rain and HOT days.
Sunday, May 29^th         
1968 temperature blanket through April. I feel bad about how long it’s taking me to crochet this blanket, but as you can see it’s going to be a monster (probably rivaling the Monster of 2016). So far the recipient has seemed happy with how it’s coming along.
 

Monday, May 30^th – Memorial Day     
We started out the day taking lunch to Dr. M’s dad. It’s always nice to take a little road trip with Dr. M – even if it’s just to someone else’s house.
 

Then I went to Daddy & Sue’s house to pick up some things I’d left there on Saturday and we finished a puzzle! This is the last Thomas Kincaid one – we’re moving on to other scenes now.
 

Finally, I did a photo shoot of the latest two afghan blocks. I’m pretty excited about how this blanket is going to turn out.
 

Tuesday, May 31^st    
No photo. Busy Busy Busy day at work!
 
 
Wednesday, June 1^st          
Today I pulled something in my back while sitting in a chair. Wait! I also turned over a document on my desk! And my body was like, “Simmer down lady.” (Note: later it felt better so it must have just been a twinge of some sort instead of an actual pulled muscle.)

 Thursday, June 2^nd        
No photo.
 
Friday, June 3^rd       
Daylily after the rain.
 

Saturday, June 4^th       
I enjoyed some deck sitting time after an absolutely crazy week of work (Lots of new hires and fires to put out. Wait – that sounded like the new hires were on fire. Well, some of them were going to work at the fire department, but there were no actual fires involved.). These are all photos of plants I could see from my chair.
 

Meanwhile, Dr. M took some photos from the front yard. The daylilies are going strong and the Black Eyed Susans are about to pop!
 

I went to church today (an excellent service), picked up fast food, wrote this post, and am planning on working on that ginormous blanket for a while. But I’m feeling VERY NAPPISH. I never take naps – I have trouble sleeping at night if I do – but it just might happen today! How about you – are you a napper?