My plan for Sunday was to finish my current project. Then in the afternoon we would go on a trip somewhere nice, and in the meanwhile we could take some pictures for our Etsy shop.
Long story short, it did not happen. I spent hours arranging and rearranging embroideries for the front of the jacket, to match the ones in the back; I even missed my daily sunbathing on the porch. When I was finally happy with the result (just the design part, not the finished product), I stopped for a break and I decided to finish cleaning the bathroom. Then I accidentally broke a small flexible pipe in the process, and it started leaking – or more like, spraying water in a steady jet. Nick said that it happened because the pipe was very old and it needed to be replaced, so he had to go to the “men’s mall” for a new one. I went with him to see the plants, but there were just a few left and they looked miserable.
We had to run some other errands too: get а new waterproof bedding for Charlie, grocery shopping, etc. It all took so long that when we finally got home, it was too late for anything except for my evening chess games with Boris, and Nick still had to fix that pipe. As it often happens, the weekend was gone in a flash and we could not do most of the things we wanted.
We comforted ourselves with a Mexican feast – pizza jalapeño, corn burgers, fajitas and spicy tomato juice. Boris was happy at first but the pizza turned out to be too hot for him, so he had to run for some water to extinguish it. Now he already looks with suspicion at anything that might be spicy.
Boris is quickly becoming too good a chess player. He is “all chessed up”, as we call it: thinking about chess all the time, watching chess videos, learning new strategies, etc. He says that he even dreamed about chess and he imagined chessboards everywhere (like in the floor tiles).
We still play every day and he always wins, sometimes so crushingly that I say I cannot play with him anymore… but then I change my mind. He offered to give me a handicap, but I found this idea kind of offensive. I want to make sure that If I ever manage to win, it would be a real victory.
I found a cool playlist on Spotify, The Rockabilly Rebels; it really powers up my workout. At least this is a field where I am doing better than my kid – strange but true. I keep telling Boris how good it feels to be in shape, but he is too lazy to do it himself.
He tried the exercise bike once or twice… pedalling it backwards. When I asked him why, he laughed and said that he “tricked it” into showing that he burned calories when actually he did not. So much for the teenage fitness.
On Monday, we wanted to go out and play chess somewhere else for a change. I suggested one of Boris’s favorite places, a sloping meadow near the park. Someone left a huge truck tire there, we use it as a bench. But he said he had played chess online with some bot and he was too tired of it, so we decided not to go. It was better this way, because I had enough time to finish the front of “Midnight Song”, the embroidered denim jacket. Now I just have to think of something for the sleeves.
I think this detail looks similar to our flowering turmeric plant.
Am I the only one who sees the resemblance? Maybe the beautiful bloom has inspired me somehow to choose this embroidery pattern.
Yesterday there was a strong wind; combined with the heat, the feeling was tropical. As a friend said, “I feel like a grilled chicken” – I think it is very accurate.
Now the wind has stopped but everything is covered with pine needles. The pines grow in the Northern part of the yard. They are taller than our house, so in strong winds their dried needles drift over the roof and they litter the South-facing porch.
Tiny snails have attacked my seedlings again (pansies, cineraria, lobelia and another one that I can’t remember). I found two of the creatures and I dropped them back in the yard. I hope there were none left; I would repot the plants and l change the soil if needed, as this is where the evil things hide.
Fortunately, just a few snails can reach the plants on the porch. I gave up planting anything in the yard, as there are too many of them there.
I can’t believe we still have freesias in August! The seasons have shifted in the most peculiar way.
Gailardias really love the sun, so they are thriving.
I gathered some seeds for Shve again. She said gaillardia was her dream plant, but the seeds that I sent her before did not sprout. We will not give up, as I am pretty sure they can make it; they easily self-seeded here last year.
My purple ruellia is flowering richly. Is common name is “Mexican petunia”, but it is behaving more like some varieties of hibiscus.
When I got it last summer, it only had one bloom at a time; as they last for just one day each, they were rather scarce. Now it has grown and branched out, despite its small pot, and it has multiple buds.
I know that many of my plants need repotting. I always want more plants but our space is limited, especially during the winter months when they need to be inside the house, so I consider giving some more plants to our friends. In this way, I would have the energy to take better care of the rest.
Nick has a new badge making machine, and he started to test it. He made the first one with my “Peace tapestry” design, I love it!
I found this embroidered faux-leather jacket in a local classifieds website.
When I looked closely at the creatures among the roses, I found out they were… squirrels! So of course, I just had to have it. I don’t like wearing leather anymore, so I will up-cycle the embroideries as soon as I can think of a project worthy of them.
