Visiting with Friends

My friends take good care of me. Robin said she would come over this week to help me with anything I needed because I had mended a dress for her granddaughter on my serger. She showed up mid-morning yesterday bearing lunch. I had already been out in the greenhouse for a few hours labelling and organizing plants for the sale, so I suggested we go in and sew. I pulled out the blocks for the king-size quilt I want to put in the craft co-op sale, dumped the strips of fabric onto the bed, and we got to work. I sat her down at my Janome 6600P—she has the same machine at home—and I sewed on my little Necchi. The two machines sit perpendicular to each other, so we were able to sew and visit at the same time.

When we started, I had 36 of 64 blocks made. When we finished, around 3 pm, we were up to 49 blocks with another half-dozen started. Getting this quilt done for the sale is well within reach now.

She brought the most delicious chicken dish for lunch. It has three ingredients: diced chicken, a jar of jardiniere vegetables, and rice. That’s it. So simple, but so yummy that I had two helpings. I may have to add jardiniere vegetables to my list of things to can up this fall.

After she left, I did chicken chores, tidied up the sewing area, and threw together a meatloaf for the husband for dinner. At 4 pm, I went across the road to my friend Anna’s house and we sat and drank lemon balm tea with lavender honey and caught up with each other. She has a small garden plot in front of her house and wanted some suggestions about what to plant there. We did a bit of brainstorming and I am going to start some beans and corn for her as soon as everything is out of the greenhouse.

I don’t often have a day like that, but in the midst of all this madness, it was a welcome break.

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We are getting the smoke from the Alberta wildfires. The husband called me outside yesterday morning to “look at the orange ball in the sky.”

The picture doesn’t do it justice, although you can see how smoky it is here. This is bizarre for mid-May.

My new sewing machine appears to be stuck in North Dakota. The tracking number goes to a page that still says it was supposed to be delivered on May 17, but its last known scanned location is May 12 in West Fargo, ND. If I don’t get an updated delivery date soon, I’ll call the store and see if they can find out what is going on.

It is supposed to be in the 80s through the weekend before a cold front comes through and drops the temps a bit. Considering that I was wearing my wool peacoat at last year’s plant sale, I’ll take the weather this year.