MAY

 

Hi! It's May! May, yes it's  May. Don't get me wrong---here at the Beach,  May is still spring---cold grey, windy, depressing. Rain, rain. But a tulip blooms and hope springs eternal. May is better than February. Maybe.

Yesterday on my walk I noticed that the few ornamental trees , planted years ago in the common area near my home, have overnight burst into leaf and bloom. The red leafed black cherry has , well, green leaves, where a day ago it was barren.

The ancient peach tree and crabapple have bloomed, the winds  scattering Mo's much loved pink snow [petals].

The giant dwarf  Japanese maple has abundant burgundy red leaves; even the ugly locust has knobs of green budding leaves and the chittering squirrel is back.

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I'm not fooled though! My flannel sheets went back on the bed. I did finally change out Winter Marsh quilt for this lovely pink make-do, a fave of mine. 

I call this quilt block Chimney Sweep or Album Block.

Juliann has an interesting post with another version called Granny Squares, inspired by crocheted afghans. Blog post link: HERE

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With trepidation and sadness I'm starting to plan my deck's container garden.

I'm being brave and carrying on but this may be my last effort to garden [and sew]. Sewing Hour just won't be the same without Mo,

We had twelve summers together--it started because I had a severe pain flare up summer of  2016, could barely walk/ no beach or swim etc.  I created a routine indulging his Pug mindset that so loved a strict routine--out at 3--he'd see me make his bowl of ice water and prepping the sewing box. Then we'd set up, gentle play time, brush his  copious fur, reward of small jerky chew then nap while mom sewed with occasional alerts of gulls or helicopters overhead. We'd be so quiet, what a joy--visits by bumblebees, hummingbirds, butterflies, ladybirds. The sparrows. all noted later in my scribble journal

Then, ice cream, just a spoonful, was delivered at 4.30 in his special snowman bowl. He'd see that bowl and just be so excited, he'd wiggle all over. When clearing away his things, I just could not discard that little bowl. By five-ish we'd head indoors, a rest [yes again], then dinner and walkies as the hot summer day cooled down. Pugs adore routine and can tell time--variations were greeted with sulks and refusals. Heaven forbid dinner was late! But also--he'd scorn his food bowl until 5.30 on the dot.

I had a dream about Mo the other night, he was glaring at me, in his special  communicative way and his mental telepathy voice in my head, whined:

 "Mommy I do not want a damn bracelet, I wants treats and my own bed!" It made me realise what a useless gesture the memorial bracelet is,  it's just for me. Self-indulgent.

Oh no, heaven is not measuring up??

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I made quite a bit of progress on the Boardwalk strips. This most recent batch is, I think, successful, finally. It's pretty!

I'm pleased! I think I have captured the feel of the original. [the blue plaid at the bottom front is another quilt]

 Inspiration quilt, no pattern.

I laid it all out on my bed

and took notes, made a list of the next steps, since I will be out of service next week to ten days due to my bimonthly medical infusion treatment. I hope I remember what the notes mean, lol. 

And still waiting for a different background fabric/ yardage for Posies.

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I did some food prep  yesterday and today. Made a big casserole in my Le Creuset pot. A silly but easy to eat comfort food, my grandma always made it for me when we'd visit. Something that said Love after the long tedious drive. [my dad would drop us off and go hunting or sailing w my uncle...] She called it goulash, much to my mom's annoyance. My mom made a gourmet Hungarian goulash w sweet paprika, and so dubbed Grandma's Hamburger Helper-ish food "Grandma's Dish": Ground beef, onion, pasta, can of whole tomatoes, water, herbs on stove top. A variation could have mushrooms and sour cream. Perfect kid food, or after medical day nourishment. (gets gloppy if overcooked w too much water, takes a focused cook to get it right)

I made salads too, in single serving containers: slaw and also Belgian endive w radishes and avocado, lemon vinaigrette. I do love the peppery crisp early spring vegs, this week's radishes are at their peak.

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Back soon though. I want to get back to posting on Fridays. Do you have a certain day you prefer to read new posts. Like w Saturday AM coffee? Or...? Pls tell me?

A May Basket block from a British quilting mag, so pretty.

Have great weekend and enjoy May/ springtime [or fall, of course]

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Boogie Nights ~ a Nature Walk

 

Hi everyone. Spring and melted snow and ice mark the beginning of my nature walks. I visit the dunes  often now that I'm walking alone, dogs aren't permitted on my beach, so Mo and I would rarely venture out there. In the daytime the beach dunes are silent and still, just the wind rustling the grasses and scrubby trees, maybe a few gulls or a hawk overhead. The storm-ravaged back dunes and swales are ugly and brown still, no water, no nesting mallards and babies. I'm dying to know what that red thing is, center right. Plastic--a kite?

 So days are silent, but the nights! Oh the nights must be very different, the dune world comes awake and must teem with activity, especially now, as the creatures hunt for food and mates and nesting spots.

Look at the evidence left behind. 

someone travels back and forth, back and forth, using the walkway as a guide.

Cats , dogs, mice and rats, raccoon and possums. 

The odd upper line of tracks here must be a bird with a tail that leaves a line in the sand? Or the possum, or a rat? 

Rabbits abound. In all my years here I have only seen one rabbit! And that was a moonlit walk with my mom as the crescent moon set with the waning sunset.

Tiny prints are probably mice. Then along the boardwalk are toads' prints or frogs', which live under the boards. Hard to see, I'll get a better close up after the rains.

These are prints of a large raccoon, below. I have never seen a raccoon; one possum, in my yard! And a muskrat visited for a while after H Sandy.

I stare and wonder, take pics. How will these creatures survive with no vernal ponds? The sals are, I presume fresh water from rain, but perhaps not; salty or brackish is more likely. Still, most years there are tadpoles and butterflies, and water ducks like mallards nest and raise families.

Later, as my tea brews, I search out my guide books.[ oh---another cupboard that needs sorting, I see].

And the winter weed book must be with my journal supplies.  Another day I headed inland. The forsythia is a favorite of mine. 

And what is this lovely shrub? Mimosa? I'll ask google lens. "Viburnum" it says. The shrub is ancient and two stories tall.

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The rain persists so the afternoon sewing is resumed. So far I am persevering on Boardwalk. Right now it's pretty awful, I know, I know! Bummer.

Not a pretty workspace

and not a pretty progress wall.

I'm still in the planning stage for Posies as I await the background neutral print. The choosing and planning is my favorite part of quilt making, so I'm in no rush. This is posy centers and leaves.

I pulled out this mini quilt pattern by Julie Porter. Pieced flowers but different. 

The birds I plan to sub for Posies' star borders. My sparrows instead. [will they come now that Mo is gone, they loved his treat crumbs and water dishes. I have not yet seen them, sadly.]

I love this little quilt, it may go to the front of my To Do Someday stack.  I love the colors. And I'm pretty sure low volume and improv will not be a path I choose going forward. Addicted to cute and colorful, I admit.

From IG: I took a screenshot of this interesting small quilt. Make-do but planned. A good project for all the repro prints I have collected, patriotic and historic aren't fitting my mindset these days.

And a fun idea for my little friend and me this summer. She draws adorably. Though I know her mom and dad don't like to use quilts, so I'll keep it myself I suppose.

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Nothing fun in the food category this week. My friend installed a new high tech smoke alarm and now I'm afraid to cook in case it sets it off. Hopefully he'll stop by tomorrow and explain  all to me again, boy do I feel stupid.  I thought I could turn it off w my phone, but no. Scary, scary.

Today's rain is odd. April showers, not a storm. Big blobs of rain interspersed with tall swirls of fog. Looks like ghosts. 

Have a good week. May is almost here.

love, 

lizzy

gone to the beach....

the sky is not always blue, is it...

In and Out, Out and About ~ Spring

  Hawthorne or ''shadblow'' on the dunes.

Good evening, friends. Things are perking up here, what a good thing! Even a diehard spring-hater like me  can enjoy warm days and sunny blue skies. Okay the wind is howling, but still. I even got very brave and took down some of the storm windows and bubble wrap insulation and Opened The Windows. Crash! Today, barely forty degrees, w a freeze warning, 30 mph wind, bloppy rain. I must trot out my favorite spring quote, slightly edited by me:

Dorothy Parker: "Summer makes me [happy]. Autumn makes me sing. Winter's pretty lousy, but I hate Spring!"  

Still, it was nice to be out and about with my friend L, just like old times. We went to local jeweler to pick out a special charm in Mo's memory. It will be added to the fine chain necklace I always wear, never take off--that represents my children.

 I did love the dog bowl, so very Mo.

I also ordered via Etsy a lovely memory bracelet to add to my bangle collection. The words are from ''our song''...

Quick run to Old Navy again, got some everyday pants to try. No pics, way too big. Then on to the little crappy Trader Joe's for fresh veg and flowers. I love spring radishes and these bags of small single serving avocados 

Mixed nut and dried fruit trail mix, endive, asparagus, tiny red potatoes, ciabatta and cheeses. And this decadent sauce. Soooo good.

Spring flowers to brighten the house: 

Don't they just shout, Bramble Berries!

And ''pink'' daffodils, too.

Switched the dining sideboard display the lovely blues.

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A change from Boardwalk, I started pulling fabrics for Posies:

My colors! Inspiration from my deck gardens and tiny bouquets:

Andy Warhol's Flowers.

Fabrics....

For the flowers. The black and cream ditsy [tiny baskets] is the probable background.

Flower cents and leaves/ stems.

This is the soft neutral I had intended to be the background, but as so often happens w stashed fabrics, I don't have enough and it must be 15, 20 years old. I found nothing equal and went [in my mind] w the little baskets instead, for a more modern look.

"Tiny Baskets''
, from TQC:

I didn't order but I bookmarked this darling little print, so cute for a border or backing?

Okkkay, that was fun, choosing fabrics is my favorite part of quilting! You may recall I hate to machine sew, lol.

Have a lovely week, enjoy the flowers and the birds.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

other friends' beaches a mile to the west...

and mine, look at that blue sky! And goes on forever, not a soul in sight, just me.

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A final amusingly grumpy Spring quote, from John Updike:

be warned of rather crude use of language

“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the old bitch; she doesn't want to do it, not again, no, anything but that, but she has to. It's a fucking torture rack, all that budding and pushing, the sap up the tree trunks, the weeds and the insects getting set to fight it out once again, the seeds trying to remember how the hell the DNA is supposed to go, all that competition for a little bit of nitrogen......”

― John Updike, The Witches of Eastwick