Garden Post - End of June 2006

Thought you might like to see the current status of the garden, at least in part...here are a couple of hot peppers. Well there really are 2 but I think you can only see one in the photo.
And here, one of the Grape Tomato plants. I think all four of the plants have little green fruits now. This is a red one, there's another red, and two yellow.
And here you can see what our weekend has been like. Just before this hit, the winds knocked out power, briefly (long enough to knock me offline!) and right after I took this photo, the heavens opened up in a deluge. Fortunately, there wasn't any lightening in this storm. That happened earlier in the weekend and cost me a night of sewing - I don't turn on a Bernina in a thunderstorm!

But the upside of that was that I got in some knitting on my sock that I didn't think I'd get to. My knitting takes a backseat the week or two before a major show as I try (always too hard) to stock up on every imaginable item in intriguing fabrics that Nana Sadie Rose makes. So if I get even a few minutes of knitting in, I feel blessed. Maybe I should hope for more thunderstorms? Um...I think one's brewing right now!
(((hugs)))

More Cat Show Bags!

More bags...I'm busy right now preparing for this show! All cat bags, all the time! Here you see the Sophisticats Kerri on the right, Ode to Cats Mera in the middle, and Two of My Favorite Things (Cats & Books) Mera on the left...Don't forget, if you're in the area, it July 1 and 2 and the Roanoke Civic Center Exhibition Hall.
(((hugs)))

Star City Cat Show Bags in Process!

Coming up (always a lot faster than I want it to!) the Star City Cat Show! July 1-2 at the Roanoke Civic Center Exhibition Hall and your's truly, Nana Sadie Rose, will be there with every conceivable cat bag, knitting accessories, and fabrics to create more - just in case you don't see a ready-made one to your liking!
I wanted to give you a sample of the Sadie Bag I've just finished...a nice solid for those who like to be more conservative in their bag styles...
But on the INSIDE? Well, just let your imagination run wild! lolol
I'll just show you HERE the main interior fabric I used...
Come see me? I'll be there for both days of the show! And if Roanoke is a bit off the beaten path for you, just visit my website (the button is over there) ---->

Balcony Garden Photos!

Well...it's been a couple of weeks, and things are beginning to look better in some respects...and worse in others! These are the yellow "grape" tomatoes and the basil (only 2 survived) with the parsley - and hanging above one poblano pepper.
Over here are the two red grape tomatoes, the catnip, the lemon balm, the anaheim pepper, a cilantro and I think there's a piece of the chives there, too. BUT...you'll see that there are now geraniums in the planter? Well, I was amazed to see the worst case of green worms that devoured my radishes down to the stems - in a little over a day! They ate a lot...and left me not a one. {sob}

Updated Sunny Saturday...

Ok...things do improve - and once again, it's craft that makes the world of difference in my world! Jog on over to KnitNana and you'll see what I did today...3 new Nana Sadie Rose bags in three sizes.

What makes the difference? Well, in my mind, it's centering my thoughts and breath and efforts on something outside myself, something creative: seeing colors combine, feeling textures, watching patterns coordinate. Even a bag that I've made many times, the Kitty City bag, constantly amazes me that just a tweaking of different interior fabrics makes an entirely different look.

So thank goodness, tonight is better! Yes, I still hurt, and there were times that the struggle to work in tight spaces makes me wonder why I do it (the little Pretty Pooches is a challenge when my hands are bothering...). But then I finish the bag. And that's ALL the answer I need! How cute! What a darling item for a little girl (and this one IS for a little girl).

What a difference a few hours can make!
(((hugs)))

It's a Sunny Saturday...67 Degrees, So Why Am I a Grinch?

I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. It's a lovely day. I have great music on the CD player. I have the day off. But right now, I feel as if it could be raining and 40 degrees, cold and damp. I'm aching, my hands are spasming into claws. Not a good day for this Lupie Gal.

Doesn't make a lot of sense when the mood doesn't lift for the basic good things, because the basic bad things are overwhelming...but counting my blessings usually helps so here goes:

I have a wonderful job, two home-based businesses I love, good friends, close family, kitties and grandsons who adore me. I have a stash of yarn and needles and patterns to make whatever I'd like, a roof over my head and food in the larder...appropriate medical care. Most of all, a man I love who loves me. Great, good blessings, all.

Okay. I'm working on it. Maybe the day will get better (I've already broken a glass cooking pot b/c my "claws" wouldn't hold it)...there is much kitty fur to vacuum, simple cleaning to get done, then bags to finish, a show to prepare for.

When there is a sense of foreboding in my life without cause, when I'm hurting too much to do basic things, this photo, given me by a co-worker, one we lost almost two years ago to cancer and is deeply missed by all of us, reminds me that there is courage to be found in looking up. In trusting in a power higher than where I am. In letting that power take the reins for a change. In letting go...

Thank you, Gordy, I miss your kind, softspoken wisdom. I miss you.