Laborious Labor Day

It’s been well over a week since I’ve blogged, and while there’s been a lot happening around here, I’m pretty sure it’s only blog-worthy in summary. I’ll catch you up with some pictures and basics. As for me, I’m so glad that fall is beginning to make itself known and felt. It’s my favorite time of year!

******* The Garden ******

It’s keeping me busy. And now that the extreme heat of summer is past, even Bruce’s garden interest is once again revived. That’s good because I need him to annihilate chop down trim the weeds between the garden beds so I can harvest veggies without tripping or otherwise being dragged under by the unruly growth. We have lots of tomatoes and onions that I’ve been processing. For the grandkids and neighbor kids we have Jack-be-little pumpkins and bunches of grapes to pick on the grape arbor. Surprisingly (or maybe not), they all seem to love picking and eating the cherry tomatoes too. 

Our green beans and Armenian cucumbers were plentiful enough for us to eat and still have extras to share. The giant sunflowers bloomed magnificently. When their heads drooped, I cut them off (oh the humanity!) and set them out for the birds. And finally, this year we’ve been able to answer the burning question, “How much is too much spaghetti squash to plant?” The answer is 12 plants. Or maybe eleven, because one of them turned out to be a gourd plant. Gourds are inedible, but great for fall decorating! Don’t ask me how that happened, because we only buy seeds from nurseries. Anyway, we have enough spaghetti squash to last us all winter, plus we’ve been sharing with friends and neighbors and family and …you get the idea. Think zucchini. 

****** The Studio Remodel ******

How’s “studio remodel” for a positive outlook? Sounds better than “basement flood repair and recovery”. Well, it was no big surprise that our homeowners insurance didn’t cover one bit of the damage repair. Rainwater (or even sprinkler water) is like flooding, and unless you specifically have such coverage, fahgetaboutit. Good thing we didn’t wait on them; we got the insurance decision yesterday, the same day that the repairs were completed by our contractor and paid for by us. 

This is what the room looks like for now - a mess as we wait for the carpet guys to come back and re-stretch and trim the carpet. I can then use my new carpet cleaner (not the vacuum pictured) to shampoo the carpet.

The extra water-proofing and insulation ended up bringing the wall in a couple inches. That means I have less floor space in my studio - and it was a tight squeeze in some corners before. We were planning to get shutters for the window, but they mount to a window surround that would take up additional inches on the wall that would prevent a bookcase (for folded fabric) to be placed. So we have wide-slat wood (composite) blinds that will mount inside the window casing instead. We will install those this week.  Finally, I have new white flannel for the design board which has gotten filthy between years of use and all the construction mayhem.

Anyway, the smaller floor space means that one of my IKEA Billy bookcases won’t fit in its previous space, to the left of the window. And I hate that old oak bookcase I have, but desperately need the storage. So the plan is that once everything (window coverings, carpet) is installed and cleaned, we’ll move back what we can and then begin the process of assessing which storage pieces that I need and that will fit. But at least while that’s going on, I’ll be able to get back to basting and quilting again!

****** Sewing ******

I’ll show all my September orange Rainbow Scrap Challenge sewing on Saturday when I link up to Scrappy Saturday. But in the meantime, I’ve been sewing string blocks. I gave up counting somewhere near 100. Plus I already had that many on hand. I need to do a full count, but this is what they look like for now, sorted out by color on top of my treadle machine that is tucked safely out of harm’s way for now.

****** Family and Cats ******

Tomorrow we take Alfie and Darla to the vet for their annual physical and booster shots. Our fingers are crossed that they don’t need any dental work. 

My daughter Megan, who lives in Seattle, has gone back to school (nursing), so is just working part-time in a bank. They mask up and are separated from the public by a plexiglass screen. She is fully vaccinated, yet recently contracted Covid. It’s a mild(ish) case and she is already feeling better. She is out for two weeks or until she tests negative. And they’re still paying her, so she feels very fortunate. 

Bruce’s brother Marv is driving up from Arizona. He’ll be staying with us for a week while he visits friends and attends his 60th high school reunion. If his schedule allows, we’ll be having a family gathering  so everyone can spend some time together. 

So that pretty much catches us up. I’ll be back here on Saturday!