Went to the Beach

Hi! The fog is billowing in again today, it is an oddly familiar scene, warmer air hits the cold ocean and we get fog.

The good news is the winds have subsided [you rarely get both gale winds and dense fog] and so on the day after Memorial Day I decided, Okay it is summer! I am gong to the beach. I think I have become a trifle agoraphobic over the three months of quarantine---I feel strange going to my beach or going out in my car; I have to pep talk myself into doing more, if only essentials. Instead with the virus, the big trucks, the cold cold days and high winds, I had been putting all my focus into walking Mo. Today Mo quite rebelled, as if, Mommy I am a chubby adult PUG; two miles is too much for me! And he sat and sat and wouldn't budge even for the offer of a wonderfully smelly Pupperoni treat. I had to coax him home by the nape of his harness, it wasn't pretty.

So the beach is looking good to me. [photos are't blurry, that is how the fog looks.]

If a smidge neglected.

No lifeguards yet, resident-only [and guests] access, checked by a uniformed guard instead of the bikini clad teenager whose summer job it usually would be.

The beach is, as always, essentially empty.

The roses are in fragrant bloom.

I loved this ephemeral installation of shells and treasures.

Next time I will bring a painted clam shell to add.

Back home Mo is still pouting,

though we made up and he went for a brief after dinner walk. He'll have a check up in a few weeks; I will ask the vet to be sure Mo is feeling okay---remember he fell down the stairs a few months ago, may not want to walk because he is in pain?

More iris, the brown and yellow iris suddenly bloomed this week.  The lilies of the valley are blooming too, so sweet and old fashioned.

And for the quilters or others who are interested, here is a link to a dealer in antique quilts. This past week he showed a selection of iris quilts, just wonderful, all so different yet so essentially IRIS.
FB HERE  or if that FB link doesn't work, here is the seller's eBay store, with gorgeous quilts, tho I guess the iris quilts have sold. HERE

And though I am assiduously keeping my focus on finishing Baby Pineapples, here is a sneak peek. So cute!

And poor Baby Ps, when we decided to make this a big girl quilt, not a crib quilt, I ordered more of its solid grey for the long wide outer borders. But no!---doesn't match/ dye lot? I ordered again from a different source; but all fabrics online seem to have a 3-4 week wait for shipping and 10 more weekdays in transit, so despite my efforts, Baby Ps will be set aside after I sew the last turquoise border. It is hard to wait---we are a bit spoiled about online ordering nowadays.

Here  are my blue batiks, for my Blue Pineapples throw.

Have  good weekend, welcome June!

kindness installation at the beach

[kindness seems in short supply online lately. It is very hurtful to be told we are stupid and gullible for isolating or wearing masks, that ''people die all the time, what's the big deal? And it's, you know, only old people or unhealthy people who die anyway." That is not just unkind, it's cruel.]

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...finally!.......

different beach, another time

from Nicky in S Africa

Memorial Day ~ The Airshow

Good morning, friends, on this first weekend of summer. As I rehang my wooden American flag in honor of Memorial Day, the skies are sadly empty and silent. Usually the Beach skies are  efilled with roar of the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, as the performing military jets practice for the big Memorial airshow at a nearby state beach park.

Not this year. The show attracts hundreds of thousands of beach goers, and would not be safe or allowed.

Instead the two jet squads did a flyover in April, to honor the hospital workers on the virus frontlines. Enjoy the video, it is quite spectacular, especially to see the two ''rival'' crews fly together. Amazing cockpit filming too.. Please take a few moments to watch.

Remembering especially my dad, who made my flag---and who was an AF pilot.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

in case the Blogger vid doesn't play, here is the You Tube link.

https://youtu.be/1JESy0CnYPw

Out and About ~ May Rushes By

Hi everyone! And welcome to new readers and commenters.

from Penny in SA, a morning cappuccino

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The past two days here have been oddly summery, not really warm but that balmy softness of summer has permeated the air. Is it vestiges of Storm Arthur, his outer reaches, bringing us tropical air? This afternoon the wind really picked up, bouncing the tiny green leafed branches of the ugly locust tree. Again it looked like June or July---but when Mo and I went for his dinner walk, I found the wind howling from the east [rare] and very nippy again.

Over the past week I've worn shorts and flip flops and layers including blizzard weight down parka and wind pants over sweatpants, wool socks and boots, and every choice in between. You just never know. And when it's cold but there's a late 830 sunset, I find  my inner clock very confused---feels like 3 PM in November but is 9 PM in May. What's a girl and her doggy to do?

Mo and  of course go for our walks. We are finding bits of spring, like the aforementioned tiny leaves on the trees. I always loved the  traditional legend, that Native Americans knew to plant their corn when the leaves on the trees were the size of a squirrel's ear.

More Van Gogh iris. Now is their big bloom time. The blue is very hardy here.

Below, one of Van Gogh's Iris series, glorious color. I put a link at the end of the post if you wish to see more of his iris paintings.





And in the beach lane one day we got a rare glimpse into someone's slightly open grey wooden gate. Yes, we peeked.

On the back of the door was a  heart shaped planter, wood and tin. Lovely! I have one similar, to try this idea?

Late fancy tulips.

Grape hyacinth, the tiny bells are such a beautiful blue.

Lilacs in bloom, despite the chilly days.

I still do not have the nerve to pick up treasures. I always forget an extra bag. Many round shapes have caught my eye, washers mostly, but also a gold coin and a gold hoop earring.

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Meanwhile I stopped working on Baby Pineapples because I was hemming pants for a friend.She is always there for me if I need her, so I am happy to help. But it was hard, my machines are set up for cotton piecing; high tech stretchy sportswear fabric was a challenge. A typical virus annoyance, for her---no tailors open, no drycleaners, to fix her spring pants! We rely on our small businesses far more than we realize, I think.
As I did the sewing I had time to think about the bright mustard and blue Blackbirds quilt.

I tried to recut the long rectangular block with the velvet star, and still couldn't find sections to easily cut or even piece to create the needed 9 x 15" background. The J Crew blouse had cut darts, princess seams and was a size 0. Discouraging.

Then I had a eureka moment.
I was making When the Wild Geese Fly, in bright mustard yellow instead of cheddar.

But no! Wrong wrong wrong.

The idea of this quilt is a Winter quilt...an early sunset on a grey day when everything is dark--brown fields, black branches,  indigo shadows and grayness; that odd white sun [I was set on the wrong track by the idea of ''the sun must be yellow'']---with, who knows, maybe a hint of palest barely there pink? Long wavy skeins of geese and winter ducks silhouetted in the last cold breaths of the sun.The blackbirds who do not migrate  [crows, starlings?] that feed at sunset on the frozen marshes.

That is what I want this quilt to convey.

I put the blue velvet stars away for now. They will become something, someday. I am so glad I caught my wrong path in time and rethought this project.

Another project for a friend, my grocery shopper. We both love batiks. Prices tho are sky high, two  30" pillow zippers cost 25.oo, wow. And batiks are running around 12.oo a yard.

Mo wore his earflap hat tonight for his walk in the 35 mph cold wind.  But no coat.

I hope your week is good!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....

beach pictures today from Penny's daughter Nicky in South Africa; isn't this beach amazing! Umhlanga beach, South Africa.

Note the ships lined up on the horizon, just like mine, a world away.

and from Kelley in Southern California. This was the Pink Super Moon a few weeks ago,with the stately blue heron standing in the moon's reflected path. .

***more on Van Gogh's many iris paintings, over 100! The lesser known paintings are quite fabulous and beautiful, worth a look: HERE

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What we call a ''clear'' storm, high winds, sunny skies, huge waves:

"High Surf Advisory issued May 19 at 9:08PM EDT until May 20 
at 6:00 PM EDT 
...REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...Large breaking waves of 6 to 8 feet in the surf zone.
* IMPACTS...Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions andlocalized beach erosion.
A High Surf Advisory means that high surf will affect beaches in theadvisory area, producing rip currents and localized beach erosion.
..............................................................I hope the nesting birds are okay!