Let's have a coffee date!

 This type of blog post is for when I have a lot of little things I want to share, or when I feel the need to catch up. 

So, grab your coffee/beverage of your choice and join me. 

It's been a while since I've written.  I have a few of little tidbits to say, so let's have a quick coffee date!

If we were having coffee ... I would give you a bit of a health update. I'm better.  I'm not going to say I'm healed.  Not yet, anyway. I've seen a handful of health care providers over the last few months, including one specialist. I've done a lot of reading and research and I've started some supplements that I think will help my body in the long run. Having a bit of a medical mystery going on has been incredibly frustrating and I think it's going to be a long time before I can say I'm healed. I have something going on that I think is the result of the long-term infection. So, for now, I'm better than I was. 

In the meantime some of my pep has returned and I don't feel a constant feeling of being worn down and exhausted. Just the regular exhausted. 

If we were having coffee ... I'd tell you my hubby woke me up one morning a few weeks ago and said "get in loser, let's go buy you a greenhouse."  

No, it wasn't really like that.  We were on vacation and it was a Friday morning. ... He walked into the bedroom, noticed I was awake, (I was processing being awake) and he said something along the lines of "Hey, let's go get a greenhouse for your birthday, and build it over the summer." Totally unexpected and a heck of a way to start the day. But I loved the idea and got up straight away and downed some coffee.  I've been wanting a greenhouse for such a long time. 

So we went and got me a greenhouse! 

We started working on it that day and thought we'd take our time.  It pulled together so much easier than expected. I belong to a few hobby greenhouse groups on the book of Faces, and to hear some people talk ... 

My husband got the foundation set up. (You like my sassy stance?)

Then the walls and roof went up lickity-split. 

The next day we finished the little things and ran to town to get materials for shelves. 

As soon as the shelves were complete I started moving a few things in. 

I'm really excited for the next seed starting season and I want to try my hand at starting some perennials this year and plant them in the fall. 

Unfortunately, we have had rotten weather the last several weeks. SO much clouds and rain. Which means not a lot of sun or desire to spend time outside.  In fact, last night the region had the next round of nasty storms go through. I've been keeping an eye on newsy things online and seen/saw there have been a lot of washouts, flooding and people needing help with flooded basements, etc.

This morning the newsperson said today is the 12th anniversary of the major flooding of 2012. THAT was a crazy time.  Maybe you remember hearing about the seal that was out on the highway? 

My work building flooded as well.  

I'm ready for things to dry out a little bit, for a little while. 

If we were having coffee ... I would say all the rain has been good for the garden, but it's also making the garden not grow very quick. It feels like the garden is a bit behind right now. 

AAAAnnnnndddd ... I don't have any recent photos of the garden. 

These are from a couple weeks ago. 

I have a few things that I'm experimenting with.  In this photo you can sort of make out the "little greenhouse" as I'm now calling it. I debated on taking it down. However, I have a few garden things that I need to store somewhere and I'm not willing to start filling the new greenhouse up with things that will make it cumbersome to be in there. 

I do like seeing all the green in the yard and all the trees. 

Way in the back I have cucumbers and squash plants growing in the containers in the back.  

Sometime soon I will take proper photos of the garden. 

If we were having coffee ... I'd chatter about how my crafting hasn't gone like I planned this year, thanks to the health stuff.  For a while I didn't touch anything.  Then crafting was sporadic.  

I was feeling a little bit of stress an anxiety about this.  Then I remember/reminded myself that there are no deadlines on the things I'm working on.  Only goals that I wanted to reach by the end of the year. 

With reminding myself of this I started feeling better about the whole thing. 

A few nights ago I completed the last block on my sandpiper quilt. 

Now to assemble the quilt top.  I have the sashes and borders ironed and ready to go.  I'm debating on the backing. Go with something wild and unexpected, or be sedate with my color choices for both the backing and the border? 

I do want to update my goals list.  That will be for another day.  I need to gradually get back in to the habit of writing. 

If we were having coffee ... Speaking of goals ... Social media is reminding me that the Tour de Fleece is just around the corner. Do I bother with it this year?  I can't remember if I did anything with it last year.  I haven't touched my spinning since ... February ?  Back when I first learned to spin (100 years ago), and heard of Tour de Fleece, online teams and whatnot were not nearly as ... "fun" as they are now.  Tiaras and T-shirts with fun logos and the year stamped on them.  Looks like TONS of teams you can choose to spin on, and a butt-load of prizes and giveaways. 

The one spinning group I'm a member of on Fa*ebook has been pretty quiet for months and months. I don't know what's going on there. I suspect there was a change in adminning and the new person may not be as active on social media. That's fine.  At this point I'm using social media now mostly to look at pretty things or to be inspired.  Sometimes to know what is going on. 

If we were having coffee ... Books ... I started listening to an audiobook yesterday, "A Single Thread." I'm about an hour and a half in to it. The voice actor is good. I heard about this book from a flosstuber.   It's been tough on the book front.  I haven't known what book genre I want to listen to.  I've started listening to a few audiobooks but haven't finished them.  One, "Speaker for the Dead," I had started listening to a few years back, and never finished it.  I started listening to it again and with being more "seasoned" of a reader, or more life experience (whatever you want to call it) I found myself hearing what  the author is saying about a few things and it basically left a bad taste in my mouth and I wasn't really enjoying the story anymore.  

If we were having coffee ... I'll give you little update on the chickens.  

We rehomed our older girls and Roo.  Someone called us up and asked us if we have any adult roosters available.  We said yes, and then said "Hey, do you want his girls, too?"  

"Sure, the person said."

We still have a Barred Rock rooster and 10 hens. The hens are fat and sassy. The rooster is a jerk to me.  It's the first time I've had a roo that sees me as a rival, I suppose you'd call it.  I have to walk around with a stick in my hand, at the very least. Otherwise he feels like facing off with me. My son named him but I can't remember the name, for sure.  James Charles?  I guess it's a youtuber, or twitch streamer? ?? I no longer know who or what is it and happening. Or, trending ... 

There are also some babies that joined the flock this spring.  Totally adorable.  They don't care for being held, though.  They are free and wild buns, apparently. 

Speaking of buns ... Feffer is still with us.  I think he's at least 6 years old now.  Maybe 7? 

He goes through spurts of being friendly and wanting scritches, and being an aloof bun.

Regardless of his mood, he's my good little boy and I tell him that every morning when I go out to see him and the chickens. 

I'm trying to think if there's anything else I want to ramble about. I'm sure there's something and I will think of it as soon as I hit publish. 

Crafty news I'm going to break up a little bit and put in a few blog posts so I don't overwhelm myself trying to write one massive blog post. My hope is that breaking this up will help me update my goals list, figure out what I'm working on, what other things I want to make, and maybe make a gameplan so I can get my ducks in a row and be bit more organized on the things I have on the mental "I want to make this" list. Like, I want to make some project bags and have the fabric for them.  Then there's a few little things I want to make that are crafty and will help me while I'm being crafty. Like a phone pillow and a little fabric ort tray. Oh, that reminds me ... do I want to buy the snaps or should I just sew the corners? I doubt I'll ever travel, so maybe there's no need for snaps.  See, what I mean? 

Okay, I think that's everything I want to blather about. Yeah ... I'm off to go get my ducks in a row. 

Later!