Monthly Archives: March 2025

four things | eleven

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Pepper and I got four walks in this week. One of them was abbreviated. A new house that is on our walking route is almost finished and the couple who are building it asked if I wanted to have a look around inside. I hesitated since I had Pepper with me but since there is no carpeting, I said ABSOLUTELY! I love newly constructed houses and this one had some really cool features. Of course I have no pictures but two interesting things that I liked were the glass-filled gas fireplace set into the wall and the mirror in the master bathroom. This mirror has the on/off stitch, dimmer and anti-fog “buttons” incorporated into the face of the mirror. I’ve seen pictures of those but never in person.

Yeah, I’ve lived a sheltered life.

what I’m reading

Our Book Club was postponed on Monday. Since there are only four of us and two were unable to attend, we decided to wait until next month.

what I’m watching

Two brothers cut down some twelve dead or dying trees for us. This is tree number 1. The tree with the double orange stripes was the second tree. As you can see nothing grows around that area due to lack of sunlight reaching the ground and the crowded plant life. Plus we have shale and very little soil.

These pictures have the stumps of eight trees. You can probably make out some from the trail of sawdust where the trees were cut into more manageable sizes. Most of the trees were a small diameter 6-9 inches.

The guys will be back another day to take down the other seven trees that are much larger. Three are completely dead and the tops of the other four are dead. I think he called those “widow makers”.

what I’m loving

Both my son and son-in-law celebrate their birthdays today! Happy Birthday, guys!

what I’m working on

Not much. I am the biggest procrastinator. I bought flannel at Joann’s a few weeks ago to make several dozen burp cloths for a baby shower. I washed all the fabric (and got enough lint to fill a king-sized pillow! Well, maybe not that much). Anyway, the folded fabric is sitting on one of the guest beds just waiting for me to get started.

The cutting table has stuff all over it as does the sewing machine table.

Patti nona

Just clean it, Patti. Just freakin’ clean it!

I’ll let you know if I get it done next week….

four things | ten

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Our weather was quite warm at the beginning of the week then took a turn for cooler, breezy weather Thursday afternoon. But the sun is shining and it looks warmer than it is. Such is Spring weather.

I host our Book Club Monday afternoon and decided to freshen up the front door with a new wreath.

Actually I made that one a few years ago until some birds started making a nest in it. I love the wild birds in our area but I don’t want them nesting, pecking, chirping, or pooping on my front door. Looks like I might need to polish the door knob again.

what I’m watching

Since Gene Hackman was recently in the news (RIP, Gene), Mr. Aitch found several movies Mr. Hackman was in. We just watched Enemy of the State starring Gene Hackman, Will Smith, and John Voight. We both remembered bit and pieces of it when it first came out but really enjoyed seeing it again.

what I’m working on

A fellow knitter asked me for a sweater pattern I knit in 2014 for my then one-year-old grandson. Isn’t he a cutie pie? He just turned twelve in January!

Fortunately I still had my notes though they needed some lots of clarification. I was able to reconstruct them in a couple of days and sent them to her. I also updated that blog post with a link to the pattern.

what I’m growing

I started a window sill garden.

Ignore the Jade plant in a glass on the right. It isn’t edible.

I saved two Romaine lettuce ends, stuck them in water and they sprouted. I tried this a few years ago and got enough greens for a decent sized salad. I tried to regrow them one more time but they were finished. My understanding is that one can usually get one “crop” by doing this so why not? I also have a celery stalk and a few onions. The celery is showing signs of life. The onions not so much though I do see some roots forming. Maybe I should put them in soil…

what I’m loving

The Bob Newhart Show from 1972-78 was a great TV show. Mr. Aitch and I didn’t watch it the first few years as we were in college and either didn’t have a TV or the time to watch it. We probably caught the last few seasons way back when and love streaming the show in the evenings. The cast was perfect. The storylines were perfect. The characters were perfect.

We’re only into Season 2 and look forward to finishing the series. It’s fun to see so many different actors appear as “patients” who went on to star in other shows.

Have an awesome weekend and week.

four things | nine

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It’s been a busy week but nothing Earth-shattering.

We (Pepper, me, and sometimes Mr. Aitch) walked four mornings this week. I hope to get another walk in today. The route is about a mile and a half. Once we get used to that, we’ll go farther.

Thursday was a spa day for Pepper (haircut, bath, nails clipped, and whatever else needs to be done) so Mr. Aitch and I got to enjoy breakfast out and do some shopping. We also dropped off a bag of clothes at Goodwill. It felt good to get rid of stuff.

Since we turned the clocks ahead last weekend and lost an hour of sleep, I wanted to nap every afternoon. I didn’t except for yesterday. Our wine, cheese, and cracker lunch helped me nod off for about half an hour.

what I’m watching

We watched the series “Cross” on Amazon Prime. I have not read any James Patterson books so I’m not sure if the series was true to the story lines. We both like mystery, suspense, and action shows/movies but this was dark. Very dark. If they produce another series, we’ll pass.

what I’m loving

Fridays during Lent. I don’t have to think about what we’re having for dinner. It will be fish of some sort. Last night we had batter-dipped cod, boiled potatoes, and peas. Easy. I just peeled a couple of potatoes to boil, then drained, and buttered them. The fish was baked in the oven and the peas heated on the stovetop.

what I’m celebrating

Yesterday was Pi Day and what better way to celebrate than with P-I-E! In fact, we had turkey pot pie earlier in the week.

I couldn’t decide whether to bake an apple pie or a graham cracker pie for Pi Day. I didn’t want to peel the apples and I didn’t have enough milk for the graham cracker pie. So I did the next best thing…I cheated!

We needed milk and a few other things from the market so…I bought this. Mrs. Smith’s crusts aren’t as good as mine but this was easier. And really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

what’s got me chuckling

A sign on a neighbor’s tree.

Enjoy your week and don’t go too overboard with the green beer!

four things | eight

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March is finally here and spring is just around the corner. The snow flurries we had Thursday are just a memory. The wind has picked up so even though the sun is shining, it’s still cold. This is what March is all about.

what I’m loving

Our new dishwasher was installed this week! YAY!!

It was a “special” order because of the color – black stainless. It’s right next to the refrigerator so I thought it should match.

It’s got three racks and holds much more than the old one. The inside is stainless as opposed to my old one which was white so that makes it seem darker, however, it won’t stain! Looking at you spaghetti sauce and wine drips. I read the manual and evidently some models come with a light inside. I didn’t know that, did you? I never had a light so I don’t miss it but the next one….

what I accomplished

I finally finished the yarn swift bag that I started in January. The fabric is a heavier weight cotton from my stash and at least 35 years old. I bought it to make curtains for my daughter’s bedroom but never did. The lining is cotton from my M-I-L’s stash (also old). I sewed a pocket on the inside with a snap flap to keep the dowels and washers in for easier access. The cardboard square helps stabilize the bottom.

I miscalculated where the grommets should go and didn’t leave enough fabric to fold down for the casing for the draw string. It took me two months to figure out how to fix it. I cut out the grommets, added another piece of fabric to hide the hole, bound the top edge, and sewed on a casing. I had some nylon cord for the draw string and a spring action cord holder (or whatever they are called).

what I’m giving up

Lent began on Wednesday. No, we didn’t have pancakes on Pancake/Fat Tuesday. Actually I didn’t know that was a thing until ten or twelve years ago. My understanding is that (before my time) people gave up butter, eggs, and sugar for Lent so they indulged in pancakes before having abstaining from those foods. In my family we gave up candy. Our parents didn’t give us a choice – we were told that was the edict from God.

We also don’t eat meat on Ash Wednesday or any Fridays during Lent as a form of penance in honor of the death of Jesus Christ. Before 1966 Catholics didn’t eat meat on any Friday but Pope Paul VI changed that to just during Lent. Fish sticks, mac and cheese, tuna noodle casserole, salmon cakes, or meatless spaghetti were common Friday meals in our home.

So for Lent this year I’m abstaining from two iPad games that I’m addicted to and candy…not all sweets, just candy. I have a stash of chocolates in one of the drawers next to my knitting chair. The temptation is there but so far, so good. I’m also getting back into walking around our neighborhood (weather permitting) everyday. Maybe by giving up candy and burning extra calories by walking, I’ll lose the five pounds (or more) that I gained in December.

what I’m working on

Our house sits on about eight-tenths of an acre. That might sound like a lot of land or not so much. When we built our house, we tried to keep as many trees as possible – less to mow, shade in the summer, birdwatching, etc. The downside? More leaves to rake and twigs and branches to pick up!

Over the years we’ve lost some trees, some dead or dying and some that grew too tall and close to the house. We had seven trees removed last summer. Yesterday I marked more trees that (IMHO) should come down.

A few of the dead trees are too big for Mr. Aitch to cut down and several are too close to our house or our neighbor’s fence and shed so we need to get a professional to take those down. Wish us luck in finding someone to do the job!

Have a great week…and don’t forget to turn your clocks an hour ahead tonight.

Patti nona