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June went by in a flash. The month was hectic and somewhat sad.....
Needless to say, I didn't have a lot of time for crocheting but did manage to do a few things to use up some of my stash. I had problems concentrating so I did little projects that didn't require much thought.
I don't really decorate much for Independence Day and I've always wanted to remedy that so I made a 4th of July wreath...
and a garland....
Both projects were super easy. I made the stars using the same pattern I used for my January winter garland.
Given the amount of time invested, I think they turned out pretty well.
I also continued working on my crocheted wire hangers and jar cozies. I use the large jars for bath salts but the small ones look lovely with tea lights shining through them. The coat hangers are slowly being swapped out for the ugly ones I currently have in my closet.
Interesting how simple crochet can pretty up something you'd normally throw away!!!!
I don't do Friday Favorites very often but decided this little gadget was worth a post.
Can you guess what it is? An omelet maker... We got it for Christmas this past year and love it.
The best thing is, I use liquid eggs so all I have to do is saute some veggies and top it with shredded cheese....how hard is that...NOT!
and I have this little plate of yumminess in about 5 minutes!
I top it with a little picante and it is sooooooo good!
If you are artsy, don't forget the Christmas In July swap I'm hosting! Sign up HERE
Dean and I decided to take these two kids blueberry picking last weekend
but they opted out..... They whined....it is too hot! It is too humid!
So Dean and I went alone. It WAS hot and humid but two hours later, we came home with TWENTY THREE POUNDS OF BLUEBERRIES!
Yes....no typo there... 23 POUNDS! Want to see what that looks like in the sink?
So while Matt was stuffing his face with fresh berries
I got to cooking and freezing....and it took all day. Seriously. It took forever to process that many berries!
I made blueberry bog and Dean made frozen blueberry yogurt. Then I tried an easy blueberry jam recipe and made 3 jars of lovely blueberry jam...it is delicious! I'd never made blueberry jam before but I have to make more. It was so simple...blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and water. It turned into something fabulous!
Ok, so 23 pounds sounds like a ton of blueberries, but I seriously want to go back. It takes a ton of blueberries to make anything, especially jam.... and I want to make enough for a dozen jars and still have enough for snacking and baking and smoothies and...and...and....
Apparently, we are blueberry obsessed in this house!
It is funny, how things you grew up with and took for granted means so much more after someone dies. You may not even realize you took it for granted........
That is how it is with mirrors. As a kid, I didn't have much use for them other than to try to gain control over my unruly curls or glare at my freckles! As I aged, I switched from my hair and freckles (we made a truce) to wrinkles and other imperfections.
Until now. Now, each time I pass a mirror, I am reminded of what daddy always said when saying goodbye. He said it to all of us, all the time, without fail. The words might be different, depending on if you were on the phone with him or leaving to travel home, but basically it was the same.....
"Go look in the mirror and tell yourself that your daddy loves you."
Sweet and simple but totally genuine.
When I gave Dean an "Orchid of the Month" club, I planned on buying him an orchid each month, along with accessories....you know, the normal stuff that goes along with a hobby.
I touched base with my brother who said he'd bring a few orchids to Florida for Dean next time we all got together. Of course, no one knew it would be for the sad occasion we spent together.
Well, Art brought Dean 12!
While Dean was doing the "happy dance" I was panicking on where to house them all. Daddy hung his orchids in trees and put them in a green house to overwinter them. Art does the same for all 300 of his plants.....obsessed much Art?
Anyway, since we didn't have enough trees to house them all, we made this instead:
We happened to have everything we needed on hand. Coat hangers, lattice....and orchids. It took us 4 hours and patience to put it together. Most of our time was spent bending wire and re-potting most of the orchids. Once the orchids were all re-potted and the babies (keikis) were split off, we ended up with over 20 plants!
Dean's hands were pretty sore the next day since he did the bulk of the wire twisting, but he enjoyed the morning...
And the back of the fence line looks lovely...
I hope to find a reasonable greenhouse for Dean by summer's end but for right now, the orchids are healthy and happy. Thank you to Art for giving Dean a great boost to his hobby (orchids ain't cheap, y'all!) and to daddy for being the original "Orchid Man."
A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine had a birthday.
She loves frogs and I had planned to make her something... but when I got home from Florida, I realized my "mojo" didn't come home with me!
I took a few days to just absorb everything that had happened and finally last night, inspiration struck. (That came in handy since today we are getting together to crochet.)
She loves frogs so I dug through my stash and found the perfect fabric to make her this little apron:
here is a little close up....the frogs are super cute
I hope she likes it!
Daddy died June 8th. He was a good, kind man who loved music, nature, good food and life.
It took me awhile to post this. It is funny, the things we avoid while grieving. Writing these simple words are really a bit too much right now but I felt the need to honor him with just a note today....more later. At 88 years old, he had enjoyed a full life...but letting go is always hardest for those left behind.
He was Daddy, Dad, Father, Papa and then Big Papa to us as we grew up and as our families grew. But to me he has always been Daddy.
You are missed.
