time alone...

Such a quiet morning.  The critters in the woods haven't even really woken up yet.  My little hummingbird that visited until bedtime last night is back bright and early. I never realized they chirped until last night.  She's been singing to me again this morning, announcing her arrival and departure.  I am going to make more sugar water for her in just a few moments and fill the feeders both again, she's almost emptied the one we filled on Saturday.  Must be getting ready for her southern flight. 

I saw one of the squirrels a few moments ago, but haven't heard their raucous play yet.  I guess they are just waking up too.  The only sound is the insects chirping and echoing back to one another.  I love mornings like this.  

Hubs is visiting Sis in Alabama this weekend, so I am solo with the pups.  I was pretty wiped out yesterday, he'd made his family quilt and I promised to get it quilted before he left.  I knew it wouldn't take more than 4 hours total. 

I had more than enough time, things were going super smooth and it should have been finished before dinner and BAM things started heading downhill.  I had to remove about 2 full rows of a 69 inch wide quilt because the machine wasn't holding tension.  Talk about frustration.  And it couldn't have been the easy peasy removal, it had to be the difficult some stitches were super loose and some were super tight... two hours later I was beyond frustrated and could see the disappointment in his eyes that he might not be able to take it with him to show his sis.  Those are not challenges I take lightly. 

Hub's "A Star is Born" quilt!

Ended up a small piece had fallen out of my binding casing during one of the bobbin changes, I didn't discover it, until long after I finally had the tension issue sorted out.  By that time, I was getting a touch tired and just popped it back in, without considering all the adjustments I'd made to get it stitching right again.  Yep, some scenario.  Uggghhhh.... frustration.

I finally got it all fixed and working right and all of the bad stitches pulled back out, and put the final hand stitch in the label at 1:15 am.  A bit of a late night for me.  Unfortunately, I was pretty wired from being awake past my bedtime and ended up ultimately getting only two and half hours of sleep.  It was quite a day.  

Even running on lack of sleep I was so happy to get his quilt finished up for him.  He did such an amazing job, it's only his sixth quilt, and each one impresses me even more.  He picked the colors, and his choice for the borders really made it pop! He doesn't give himself enough credit. 

Four days alone, spread out to do whatever I would like feels like a bit of paradise.  Don't get me wrong, I love my time with Hubs.  He is my absolute heart and best friend.  But sometimes having completely unstructured time is good for the soul. I still need to feed my puppies and play with them, but that is different. Being only responsible for yourself is different. 

Yesterday, I did some cleaning, canning, napping and knitting.  I spent hours sitting on the deck in silence last night with a small glass of wine and my pups.  We enjoyed the sounds of the night as the sun slowly sank and then turned on the lights and simply sat.  It was peaceful and gave me a chance to just soak up the silence and peace surrounding me. 

This morning, I have puttered in the garden, watered the freshly planted beans (it's totally an experiment, my horticultural beans had started to sprout... so waste not, want not - hopefully we will have enough pleasant days to get a fall harvest), talked to Hubs and sat here drinking my coffee while listening to the woods wake up.  The birds are just starting to sing, soon the sun will be fully over the horizon, not just kissing it and the world will be fully awake. 

Today will be busy, because much like most days I have some canning to do, I picked up a bushel of apples at the Amish market and I plan to make a bunch of applesauce.  I also want to  find a source of crab apples,  Found a recipe that I really want to try, I just don't happen to have a crab apple tree.  Anyone have one that wouldn't mind sharing??  The difference is that one of my friends is going to come for a visit and help me.  I can't wait!  Since we don't work together any longer, I really don't have much of an opportunity to spend time with her. 

My world is so different now.  My personal bucket is filled to over flowing daily.  But, I miss the folks that I hardly get to see anymore. I'm thankful to be able to communicate with them daily, but nothing beats quality one on one time.  That's why Hubs is out of town.  He's been missing his sister a lot lately and wishing the miles weren't so great between us. I completely understand. 

Can you see them? 
They are about 15 feet from me.

The chill in the morning air is reminding me to call for a load of firewood this week.  Soon it will be fall and the chill will turn deeper.  I have heard that you can tell the kind of winter you are expecting by the size of the acorns on the trees.  The bigger they are the more nature is preparing for the animals to be able to survive a long cold winter.  We have a huge oak tree in the back yard, I've admired it for 8 years, I've also wondered why I've never seen acorns on it, last night while sitting here I noticed that it not only has acorns it has an abundance of HUGE acorns on it. I don't know if it's an old wives tale or not, but I guess I should be ready for some quality inside time. 

Oh my, looks like I have a pair of hummingbirds darting around now.  I took a few moments pause to fill the feeder and now we have lots of company.  I love watching them get a drink and then fly up to the light string and pause for a rest, while chirping away. 

At some point tonight I will finish the last 3 inches of my Icelandic wool sweater that I am making for myself. I was so excited to find the wool at a reasonable price.  I'd heard so many great things about it and really wanted to try it.  I did a simple pattern that wouldn't take forever, just in case I hated it and had to list it in "that" sweaters column.  So far, I am in love.  It's a top down, so I was able to try it on after finishing the first sleeve.  The yarn is not at all soft and fluffy, but it is light and warm.  It's a traditional wool, so it is a bit scratchy, I'm hoping some of that softens up a bit when I soak it before blocking it.  We'll see.  Either way, I'm in love with the pattern and the color and can't wait for the chill in the air that will allow me to wear it. 

I rarely make things for myself, I am forever giving away the things I create to others.  I've shifted.  I am working on all the me projects that have been sitting around waiting for someday.  My socks, sweaters, scarves, mittens, quilts... it feels good. I don't know why I never thought about doing it before. 

Once I finish this one, I have another yarn that I have been waiting a year to use, I will cast on for the next sweater.  I'm trying to determine if I have enough of this beautiful yarn.  It's a handspun that Hubs bought me last year at the Kinmundy Cabins fall festival.  I fell in love with the color, so he decided I needed all of it that they had. I guess we will find out.  If I don't have enough, I could always make the collar and cuffs a coordinating color, or maybe I will make a sweater vest with it.  This one is soft and cozy, I can't wait. 

super hot peppers for drying

As much as I want to linger and observe the hummers and morning awaken, its time to start the day. Those apples won't magically become applesauce.  And I have a lot of things needing harvested and processed too from the garden. Time to start the other things that bring me joy... I hate to leave the beauty out here, rain is moving in, so I won't be able to sit here and savor the beauty tonight. 

Enjoy your magical weekend, find the things that bring you joy and pursue them with wild abandon.  And find a bit of time to spend truly by yourself without any other human, no matter how much you love them, it definitely refills your bucket so you have more to give to others later. 

love and prayers...