Starting to Build the Ark

No, fortunately we really aren't starting the boat building . . . yet.  But we did have rain all day yesterday again.  Temps are still staying cool which we wouldn't mind at all if we weren't trying to grow a good chunk of our year's food in the garden.  Old-timers in the area say they can't remember ever having a summer like this one has been so far.

But this morning dawned with the promise of a sunny day so we were out splitting wood at 7:25.  Our blessed Firewood Fairy brought us two more loads of logs yesterday.  We guesstimate he's given us about $800 worth of wood so far.  We are indeed fortunate and grateful and appreciative.

Our strawberries are finally starting to come in . . . about a week later than usual.  (Kind of curious they are not nearly as sweet as they should be.  Lack of sunshine?)  I knew some needed to be harvested today but it was late afternoon before the plants dried out enough for me to pick.  I also harvested a big bunch of kale and a good sized bowl of baby Swiss chard, Osaka purple mustard and mizuna mustard.  I've been sauteing a skillet full of one green or another (or a combination of a couple) in a small amount of bacon fat with a chopped scallion or two to accompany our eggs we have for breakfast nearly every morning.  The serving of beautiful, fresh greens just makes me feel STRONG!

Yesterday (during the rain) I got some time in my quilt room to work on a flannel blanket/rug I'm making for our granddog to use when he's here.  It doesn't look like much right now, but will shape up as I get more done on it.

It's done using the frayed-edge technique (picture above taken from a book) and it should have a cozy feel to it when finished.  I did some more work on it tonight after I took the picture of the strips on my design wall earlier.  It took much more time to cut out all the rectangles than it is to sew them together.  Now the process is going really fast.

The weather people are saying we're to have another day of sunshine tomorrow so you know we'll be doing some more wood working.  Our large wood shed is just about half full . . . what a relief it will be to have it completely full.

I've noticed I've lost a little bit of weight lately.  I'm still eating like a horse, especially with good vittles starting to come from the garden, but I think I've been working like a horse, too, so it all balances out and still allows my decrepit assortment of work pants to hang a little loose.  Better loose than tight with all the bending involved with gardening and wood working!