Time for Cleaning and Organizing

My friends left yesterday to go home to Tennessee and I miss them already. We had such a great time together. They are planning to come back for at least a month next summer and have a long list of things they want to do and see. And hopefully, the other members of our high school friend group will be able to come out and join us so we can all be together.

I have been in Energizer Bunny mode for the past few days. I worked out in the (sadly neglected) garden for a few hours on Friday morning. The cabbages look fabulous, but they like this cooler weather. The squash and tomatoes are coming along slowly. I organized the pantry and rotated the canned goods; even if the crop yield is lower than usual this year, I think we’ll be okay. We still have quite a bit left from last year. The husband and I picked another four gallons of raspberries last night after dinner. We have to do something about that berry patch, though. It is almost too overgrown to get into. I pruned it way back last year but that just seemed to make things grow. I seem to be forever pulling out raspberry suckers in places they shouldn’t be growing.

There is a ground squirrel in my herb garden. 🤬🤬🤬 I spotted something brown scooting around in there on Friday but couldn’t tell if it was a regular squirrel or a ground squirrel. I saw it again yesterday and it is definitely a ground squirrel. A few lettuce seeds sprouted in the gravel paths between the beds and I think it has been enjoying the salad bar. The husband has promised to dispatch it if he sees it.

I cleaned and organized my sewing room, too, although that is an ongoing process. I collected and organized all my fitting books and teaching materials so they are all in the same place. I am not sure what it is about this time of year, but this urge to purge excess stuff always hits around the middle of the summer.

And there has been sewing! On Friday afternoon, I worked on quilting the Halloween table runner:

I need to get some orange thread, though. That is not a color I keep on hand.

Yesterday, after my friends left, I got out the Free Range Slacks pattern and cut out a store sample. I am using some Kaffe Fassett shot cotton, which is a lovely fabric but very lightweight—almost like a cotton lawn. I assembled the pants to the point where I need to sew the crotch seam, which I will do today. I also have to get another quarter-yard of fabric, because I didn’t have enough to cut the waistband.

We found out that someone shot and killed the grizzly bear that has been roaming the neighborhood. While it makes me sad for the bear, that bear had developed a taste for chicken and the person who shot it did so because the bear was trying to get into his chicken coop. We would have done the same thing.

I have two entire weeks coming up with nothing on the schedule except my pillowcase class next Saturday and I plan to keep it that way. I’ll work outside or do paperwork in the mornings and sew in the afternoons. I have to get my class proposals in to Sew Expo but I also want to keep chipping away at my sewing to-do list.