Well, now that September is here ...

 August started slow. It ended fast. 

Crazy how that keeps happening. 

I will have to take a look at my phone camera roll and see if I took photos of anything interesting the last few weeks. It's starting to feel like a broken record around here: It's quiet and not a whole lot is going on.

So let's see ... 

About mid-month I was listening to Yarn Over With Us and they were chatting about some really affordable interchangeable knitting needles. 

I was enabled and bought a set. 

 I'm just now using them for the first time, while knitting, ripping, and then reknitting dishcloths. 

So far so good. I really like the cables.  The needle tips themselves are light weight and they have a little bit of grip on them. They aren't as smooth and as slick as my chiao goos, but that's okay. 

Our weather is still all over the place. The forecasters still can't nail it. This day we were supposed to have sun and nice temps. Instead we got clouds that were foreboding and no sun. 

We are still doing picnic lunches by the lake, after biking there. 

The bike rides may be winding down now, for a few reasons.

One, I decided to upgrade my e-bike. 

My sweet little Seabiscuit is off to a new home.  Down in Texas, if you can believe it. South Padre Island. 

The new e-bike has been ordered and it won't be delivered until October. 

The other big reason is that hunting season is just around the corner. Yup. Bow opener is Sept. 13. 

I don't know what's going on with the deer this year. They've decided my front yard is the perfect place to hang out and tussle. I shot a video last week and shared it to Youtube. 

They are fun to watch. 

Back on Aug. 19 I swung by Aldi after a doctor appointment. 

The season of the pumpkin pie spice is here. 

I'm not a fan. I'll take a good apple cider, however. 

I'm slowly working on a few fly ties. It's a lot of fun picking color combinations. 

About mid-month I've started feeling better, physically.  Most of my free time has been dedicated to playing catch up on a few things and cleaning.  I wanted to get a good deep clean in before winter set it.  Well, ideally before hunting and canning seasons started.  It's something to strive for. 

We've been pulling plenty of cucumbers out of the garden.  I think I'll wind up with a late bumper harvest of tomatos. 

When I was looking through my camera roll I was confused with this one.  Then I remembered it was a photo I took and sent to my cousin. She was asking if the fall colors had started yet. 

I have been crafting a bit. Not as much as I probably could. 

Red Panda, part of the Endangered Species club, 2024 Started: July, 5, 2025 Finished: Designer: Lindy Stitches Fabric: Hobby Lobby Aida Color: Ivory Fabric Count: 16 count DMC: B5200, 355, 310, 3825, 3776, 951, 3836,03, 436, Weeks Dye Works: 1236 (Mocha), 4111 (Lucky), 1267 (Kris' Bon Bon) Needle size: 26

I've been bitten by the crochet bug. On this past Friday I grabbed some dishcloth yarn and a crochet hook and started stitching.  Then I grabbed those new knitting needles and started a knit dishcloth.  Only I didn't pay much attention to the directions and messed up.  So I ripped it out and crocheted another dishcloth. 

I think I've made five dishcloths in total. 

The weather has been the main reason I haven't recorded a new flosstube or garden video.  I'm crossing my fingers that I'll have one lunch hour this week that is sunny and not overcast. 

Something ... odd has been going on the last couple of weeks. I noticed the number of views on my blog has spiked significantly. I'm wondering if I was linked somewhere? 

I guess that's all the news from Lake Woebegone. ... Until the next time ... Laters! 

Week not gone as expected

So the week didn't go as expected.  Though to be honest, I wasn't really expecting anything in particular. 

I apologize if the title of this post isn't grammatically correct.  Sometimes I feel the need to flaunt the rules to get my point across. 

Man, I can't believe it's Friday. I swear, this week flew by. 

Okay, how did this last week go ... 

Well, I'm going to get some news out of the way first thing. 

On Saturday we sent the majority of the flock to a new home. 

Yes ... that needs to be done every couple of years. Also, we decided to downsize flock size. 

We heard from the new home that the flock is settling in nicely.  That was good to hear. 

The pullets we brought home a few months back have been moved in to the coop. 

After a fresh clean out. 

The babies were checking out the run straight away. My son had tossed some lettuce and cabbage scraps. 

They haven't quite figured out food scraps and treats just yet. 

They enjoyed all the extra space and they figured out to go back in to the coop in the evening right away.  Usually the youngsters take a few days, at least, before they get it sorted out. 

Here's a short video of them enjoying the new digs. 

We did keep one of the older girls. 

She's still pouting and unhappy.  I'm doing what I can to help her during this transition.  

I've been spending extra time out in the coop. 

Let's see, what else have I done? 

Well, I *finally* made a batch of sauerkraut. No fancy, artsy photo of the jar.  I hand chopped the cabbage. It should be ready this weekend.  I can NOT wait. 

One of the sunsets this past week. 

We still have wildfire smoke affecting the area.  It's been making some spectacular sunsets. 

Oh, I forgot to make the video clip, but I had three or four hummingbirds at the feeder.  All chasing each other away.  I have one bird who keeps vigil over the feeder. 

They are such sassy little birds.

On Wednesday I had a dental appointment.  Beforehand I thought I'd swing by the cemetery and visit my Mother-in-Law.  Yes, you read that correct.  I go visit her. Not go to her burial site. 

Unfortunately, I got as far as setting down my stuff, and going to adjust something when the mosquitoes descended on me in a huge swarm. There was no way I could stay out there. 

I was awfully pleased to see that the shepherd hook and cardinal ornament is still there. 

The rest of the week didn't have anything worth blathering about. Just ... quiet.  We've been picking stuff out of the garden every day. I've been listening and watching the humming birds.  Spending time with the babies and giving my older girl extra attention and treats. 

Crafting has been going on. 

Working on my sock while I was passenger princess. This was on the way to the lake for fishing. 

On the cross stitch front I've been focusing on two projects. 

My "One Stitch at a Time" by La-de-da Stitches. I've reached my goal for August and will share it on the next flosstube. 

And "Daily Reminder" by Brenda Gervais. This is a stitch along I'm doing with Sarah's Stitchy Spot, Hobbies of Holly, Judy, bunny stitcher and another gal by the name of Marcy. The first three people are fellow flosstubers. 

Soooo, yeah. A quiet week that didn't go as expected.  Ha! 

Oh, I saw this on Instagram earlier this week and I thought I'd share it.

Fall is starting to creep in

 Yesterday I had an appointment during my lunch hour. As I was driving back home I saw a tree with that fall blaze orange at the top.  The leaves are starting to change! I'd have taken a photo, but I was driving and did not feel like pulling over and walking back to where I saw the tree. 

Earlier in the week I was walking around the back yard and acorns were dropping from the oak trees. It feels too early for this. 

Then one day, in the early a.m., it felt like a fall morning. Except for the humidity. 

August, when mother natures really shows she's off her meds.  Or something. 

It's been a quiet week, for the most part (keeping the trend going!) I have been mildly productive, however. 

Monday I finished my first summer sock. 

Tuesday I finished the last White Christmas 2022 ornament.  No photo of it.  That one is being saved for my next flosstube. 

Speaking of flosstube, my newest video is here. If you want to see the video, with full show notes, the blog post is here. I can't believe I haven't mentioned something I did to the blog yet. On the right side of the blog I have figured out how to embed the videos of my most recent flosstube and garden chat videos. You can see a tiny version of the videos if you don't want to go all the way over to Youtube. Ha! I felt so clever when I figured it out.  What I can't figure out is how to get the garden chat video to be the same size as the flosstube video. 

I spotted something today and I thought it was pretty neat. 

This whole summer we've been trying to befriend the crows. I toss a little bit of corn in a bowl in the back yard almost every morning. 

I call it paying the toll before I go out in to the back 20 each morning to swap out SD cards.  I don't know how much the crows actually get before the squirrels find the corn, or the chickens realize there's food somewhere. 

Today I was out on the trail, looking down to make sure I don't trip, and I spotted something that had no business being there. 

A dime! How stinking cool!

I kinda recall earlier in the summer my hubby coming back into the house one morning with something he found near by the bowl, but we weren't sure if it was a gift from the crows or if it was just a coincidence. The dime couldn't have fallen out of my pocket yesterday because I had no pants pockets and the jacket I wore had nothing but the SD card in it because I had just washed the jacket. 

It was a beautiful morning, but for the humidity. I was trying to capture the colors in the sky. No dice. 

Since I still had time before work I went out and puttered in the garden for a bit. Got out there and found an open gate. Doh!

It must have been open since last night, at least.  It looks like the chickens got in there and snacked on my brassicas.  Those brats!

I did harvest some tomatoes and cucumbers. Oh and a few peppers. We've been enjoying salads with fresh toppings. 

Before I settled in for the evening I *finally* picked out colors for my "Daily Reminder" cross stitch by Brenda Gervais. 

The colors are certainly bright! 

Flosstube 33 - Monogamy

Thank you for watching my video. I am so glad you stopped by! If you like what you see, please subscribe and click the notification bell to be notified of when I load new videos. I blog and write up more detailed shownotes at AmniconStudio.blogspot.com. You can sign up over there to receive blog posts by email. I'm on Instagram: AmniconStudio Email: AmniconStudio at gmail.com **Current Works in Progress (WIPs)**

❏ White Christmas 2022 ornaments - Gingerbread girl Gingerbread girl started July 31 (overall project started) Dec. 2, 2023 Designer/Source: Primrose Cottage stitches Fabric: 14 count aida opalescent DMC in called for colors

************************************************

❏ Red Panda, part of the Endangered Species club, 2024 Started: July, 5, 2025 Finished: Designer: Lindy Stitches Fabric: Hobby Lobby Aida Color: Ivory Fabric Count: 16 count DMC: B5200, 355, 310, 3825, 3776, 951, 3836,03, 436, Weeks Dye Works: 1236 (Mocha), 4111 (Lucky), 1267 (Kris' Bon Bon) Needle size: 26

Previous update

**********************************************

**Finished Objects (FOs)**

❏ Licorice vanilla socks Started: 5/3/25 Finished: 7/28/25 Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll "Licorice Tweed Yarn Colors: Charcoal grey, with flecks of color Yarn Purchased: Yarn was given to me

Previous update:

****************************************

❏ White Christmas 2022 ornaments - Bird houses Mailbox started July 20, 2025 (overall project started) Dec. 2, 2023 Finished: July 30, 2025 Designer/Source: Primrose Cottage stitches Fabric: 14 count aida opalescent DMC in called for colors: B5200, 310, 321, 435, 562, 722, 728, 761, 818, 898, 954, 3841 **The big FO**

❏ Dancing stars quilt Started in 2023. Completed 7/23/25 **Other things I've crafted** ❏ Scissor Fobs

The blog entry I mentioned is here: https://amniconstudio.blogspot.com/2023/10/sharing-what-makes-you-happy.html

❏ Needle Minders **Future projects and plans** ❏ Stitching one or two Halloween charts with Gianne and Ashley from we stitch and we know things. Which one do you like out of the Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2025 issue? Happy Malloween Little Mushroom Ghost Graveyard Biscornu Hallow's Even Sampler The Messenger Blessed Be ❏ Neon Cicada, after seeing it on Katherine;s stitching chronicles. https://www.etsy.com/listing/4302044070/neon-cicada-cross-stitch-pattern-summer I purchased the canvas on Amazon: https://a.co/d/2gvO64e ❏ Still need to pick Color for next element on Birthday SAL. ❏ One Stitch at a time ... work on the house and maybe the flowers at the bottom. Thinking about pulling out the WIPs wheel and giving that a go again. There are some WIP s marinating that I should pull out of hibernation and work on. The charity group I mentioned is Make Bundles for Babies - https://www.makebundlesforbabies.org/ There is a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/makebundlesforbabies/ **Haul** Snowy Season Cardigan - MJs off the Hook designs https://www.etsy.com/listing/1875965523/crochet-pattern-video-snowy-season Owls Cross Stitch Pattern PDF BUNDLE https://www.etsy.com/listing/1794947090/owls-cross-stitch-pattern-pdf-bundle Rescue is my Favorite Breed - AZ Family Zoo https://www.etsy.com/listing/1839478824/rescue-is-my-favorite-breed-quick-stitch Mini Masterpieces - TheStitchPatterns https://www.etsy.com/listing/1035491062/pdf-book-mini-masterpieces-cross-stitch Walk with Nature - SamBrie stitches https://www.etsy.com/listing/1899187751/walk-with-nature-pdf-cross-stitch-chart **Other Channels Mentioned** Patty -  @StitchingWithMyKitties-xe8qz  Gianne and Ashley -  @Westitchandweknowthings  Katherine -  @KatherinesStitchingChronicles  Coggie -  @Thehighfiberdiet  Sarah -  @SarahsStitchySpot  Holly  @hobbiesofholly  Judy  @Stitchingbunny1127  Sarah -  @Sarahthenorthwoodsstitcher  **Shoutouts** New-to-me floss tuber Leslie  @anurseandherneedle  Another Wisconsinite! Kim -  @TheSnitchStitcher  Jessica -  @LumiStitch  Stephanie -  @CrossStitchtheGlobe  Denise -  @BlackRibbonStitchStudio  Dottie -  @stitchingscottie4505  Gary and Ronnie -  @GaRonStitchery  Maddie -  @Kittystitch  Mair -  @sincity_crossstitcher  Caroline, Elizabeth & Aimee -  @Threadgremlins  The easiest ways you can support my channel: * Subscribe * Comment * Give this video a thumbs up * Share with a friend ***Thank you so much for being here. Happy crafting!😃***

Quiet weekend

 In my last post I mentioned " will be quiet around here," has entered the conversation. 

I've gone on about the weather since early June.  We've had so much rain in June and July.  This past week there was no rain and it was a real treat to have a break from what was starting to feel like never-ending rain.  The chicken run is drying out. 

Anywho, the quiet times continued this weekend.  The weather stayed nice. The smoke from the wild fires was around a bit, but not as bad as it has been. 

Saturday we went fishing.  I am proud to say I caught a fish on one of my hand-tied flies. 

I didn't keep it though.  The fish weren't really biting and there were so few it didn't seem worth it to bring them home. I suspect our fishing trips are done for the season. 

My husband worked on his truck for a bit. He's been having a blast "tinkering" with his truck. 

He's *so* gonna say something about my saying the work tinker! I just know it. Ha! He's been doing maintenance-type things, like changing the oil and things that will keep the truck looking it's best and running tip-top for years to come. 

I made up a picnic lunch and we rode our bikes down to the river. There was a group of women who were wearing birthday hats and balloons and one of their kayaks had a "happy birthday" sign attached to the side of it.  I said "Happy birthday!" and the birthday girl said thanks and that they tried to do something really fun and make it be as obnoxious as possible. I bet it was fun cruising down the river and people wishing her happy birthday. 

I spent some time in the evening cross stitching. I was watching car shows on Youtube and stitching away. 

Now I've got to tell you that I've recorded a flosstube video prior to writing this post and it's going to show past progress of this piece in the video. So you are getting a sneak from the future before seeing the video. ... Or something. It's hard to record and then try to not show progress. I figure not everyone is watching the videos and reading the blogs.  If you do see this before seeing the video, pretend to you didn't get a spoiler alert, when you are watching the video, all right? 😃 Thanks! 

Sunday was more quietness and chillaxing on my part.  

We made a quick trip to town.  When we got I made up some sandwiches for a picnic lunch and we rode our bikes to the lake. 

It was a beautiful time at the lake.  The breeze was blowing just enough. Not too many boats on the water. 

I decided to try something I haven't done in ages.  I cross stitched out in the wild! 

It was so fun and the light was good! If you know, you know. 

Then I did something I rarely do.  I asked my hubby to take a photo of me. 

Um, yeah, there was some hilarity in the process. 

So, yeah. A good time was had by all. 

And then my e-bikes battery exhausted on the way home while I was going uphill. Oh my gosh. Fortunately I was less than a mile from home. 

Last year I saw this video of a guy who was riding his e-bike on an off road trail and having a blast.  Then his battery died and he acted like he couldn't hardly pedal his bike and I thought "what a wuss." 

Guess what? Trying to pedal an e-bike with a dead battery is no joke. I think I lasted half a block.  It was like trying to pedal through mud.

Lesson learned.  Make sure the battery is charged up before going out. 

Then, later that afternoon I had a row with the rooster.  I can laugh about it now, but I'm sure at the time I looked absolutely ridiculous.  Then the little brat spent the next hour crowing his head off like he won, or something. 

This morning I woke up, got up and set to writing my to-do list for the day.  I felt ready to grab the week by the horns straight away and ended up getting a LOT done before clocking in for work. Then for work I was knocking things off the to-do list, left and right.  It was a productive day. 

I really like when weeks start off feeling like this. Then I feel like I can get SO much stuff done.

The weather has forecasted rain for several days this week.  I'm hoping to get some outside stuff done before the rain starts up again. Wish me luck! 

Settling in for quiet time

 "It's pretty quiet around here," or "It's going to be pretty quiet this weekend," seems to be a running theme in conversations I've had lately. With the excitement of summer starting long gone, and the Fourth of July passed, things seem to be settling down and "not much going on" is happening. 

All that to say, yeah, it's been pretty quiet around here this past week.

This past weekend we did some fishing. I'm loving this photo I took of my husband. I was trying to take a photo of him but the sun was in my eyes and I couldn't even tell what I was taking a photo of until I got home and looked at the photos. 

While fishing I tried out one of the flies I tied myself. Unfortunately the fish weren't biting. 

We went out for a bike ride to the lake both Saturday and Sunday.  Which also meant picnics. 

Our picnic lunches include simple fare and sandwiches and are easy to throw together. They are SO tasty after biking for five miles, give or take, in what ended up being the two warmest days of the summer so far. Yeah ... we got some heat! 

The breezes while biking felt good. 

This past Monday was publishing day and I've been slowly gearing up for the next issue, which will be a larger issue than usual.  Work has been quiet and I've appreciated it.  I was able to play catch up on some things that have been languishing on the to-do list. And go hang out in the archives for a while one day. 

The smoke from the wild fires has been hanging on all week. It's starting to affect me now in the way of migraines. Ugh. 

It's been making for pretty sunrises and early morning skies. 

One of the mornings when I was heading out to collect the cards from the game cams I happened to see something off in the woods. Can you see it? 

How about now? 

My distance eyesight still kicks butt! 

She spotted me and we both stared at each other before I decided the mosquitoes were too much. 

A Feffer cameo, of sorts. 

He loves corn. I've had that bucket full of corn and fruit and he noses right past the fruit and starts chomping the corn. 

Cherries were picked this week. 

While I was harvesting cherries, I heard one of the chickens in the raspberry patch.  I tried to take a photo. ... 

She can't really be seen.  She blended in to the shadows pretty good. 

And then she popped out and looked innocent, like she just hadn't been trying to nibble the low hanging raspberries. 

The rooster was hanging close by.  Apparently he needs to keep an eye on me? 

No matter, I got the cherries picked without any help from them. 

I'll be making some sort of jam with these this weekend. While I was pitting them it felt nice to be doing something "normal" that I used to do.  My energy levels are creeping back up.  

I spent some time out in the garden this week, trellising the tomatoe, admiring the cucumber plants ... enjoying the view. 

and admiring the hollyhocks that bloomed. It's pink! 

So, yeah ... quiet around here ... I suspect August will be a quiet month. Especially since I won't have the rush of harvesting and preserving produce from the garden.  I've accepted that not all years can be winners. 

Speaking of the garden ... 

Tomatoes. 😃