Roll Out the Boulders

 

And we'll have a barrel of fun!




 Well, sort of....Yesterday the much anticipated "hardscape" work was done. The ever reliable and expert large equipment owner/operator Joe Johnson
brought his excavator over for it's little work out.



 As usual I tried to sweet talk him into leaving it here. "We have the room Joe, we'll go out and tuck it in every night, promise." No go of course, but it is always a happy time when we see Joe. I use to board my horses at his wonderful family ranch just two miles down the road and still miss seeing him on a daily basis.

Not only did he go fetch big rocks with ease, he stopped and took the time to push and spin those rocks in place all the while helping with artistic advice.



  We had a lot of fun and while I know Joe had worked stacked up on the mountain that likely spilled into today, there was no rush here getting those boulders into the best possible position.



 And boy, can he finesse that HUGE machine.



Here is Gene with the largest of the rocks, placed perfectly, of course.



  He then dug a nice roomy hole for the tree and stuck around to help Gene get it planted.





 Boy, if machinery suffers from envy, Bob the tractor must have felt pretty low, but on our farm, he is a mighty.



After he took the big equipment over to it's next job, he delivered 3 yards of very nice topsoil. While I wined and dined with a friend over dinner in town, Gene spread the mound out for me. Today is raking dirt into place and getting some of the plantings in place before the temps again climb into the high 80's/low 90's. It was almost 100 in town. Quite the change from last week when we were still in turtlenecks and thinking about heat.

It has been a really fun week overall but to do it justice I'm going to save it all for the next post. Plus of course, there will be plants to show in their new digs...figuratively AND literally!

Parting shot: Pet Rock

What, No Game 7?

But hockey fans were treated to 6 nail biters at least. Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks. You played some very fine hockey indeed. That goes for the Boston Bruins too.  Tuukka, I'm still naming the next dog after you! :)

 

Now I suppose it really is time for the boys of summer to take center stage, but for the life of me, I just can't seem to get excited about baseball. In fact, other than the pay checks it seems to me baseball players themselves aren't particularly excited about baseball. Hockey, football, and basketball players all really seem to love their sport, they smile, they get excited, they act like a team. Baseball players, not so much. They practice spitting and rarely look happy to be sitting there. Oh well, football season starts in early August, I can survive a month and a half. :) Heaven knows, there is plenty to do.

Here are the plants waiting for dirt and rock work.




 They have been sitting there for over a week and other than a test nipping of one of the Bayberry's, the deer have not bothered with them. They have been picked out not only for their importance in the small landscape garden, but for their (hopefully) deer resistance.



There are 3 Bayberry bushes. Not to be confused with Barberry. Bayberry berries are boiled and the wax used to scent candles. Three Mugho Pines, which will be kept trimmed to remain low and a Curly Top Cypress, round out the evergreens. A Witch Hazel, variety "Diane", Pieris variety Mountain Fire, two wild variety roses, "Rosa Rugosa", one a white double and the other a close to wild cultivar with a single pink flower. They have beautiful, large hips. Two additional Arctic Willows, a common variety Lilac, basic light purple, single flowers, 3 Kinnikinnick, a low growing native which hopefully will provide interest over some of the boulders that will be moved into place, lavender and some low growing Shasta Daisies. The single specimen tree, which you don't see here (the roses are not pictured in the group either), is a Paper Bark Maple. No doubt there will be additions once the foundation plants get in and we see the space for real instead of just on paper. I promise individual pics when it is all planted. I want to try out the Panorama option again on the Fuji camera too!

The sewing room has been busy. Miss Bea had a rough week and a half, off her food and lackluster. At 17 she is starting to suffer renal problems and I stuck close to home while we started her on medications and tried to kick start her appetite again. She will be going on a special diet this week from Royal Canin. Fingers crossed she will eat it because she has absolutely no intentions of eating Hill's KD Science diet! But the fabric stash certainly was depleted while I worried and watched my little blonde bombshell for signs of improvement!  The Simple Tunic was cut in voile and color blocked.

The flowers are actually rather angry looking insects, but a pretty print overall in unusual colors.



 A Decades of Style top was completed in some fun cottons. I even did the fancy cuff treatment on this one.



 Both tops are paired with newly sewn linen pants in a summery Sea foam color. Lastly, this working muslin of the Bold & Beautiful Kimono Jacket.



 It was fun and challenging.



 She uses some interesting construction approaches, coupled with the sparse unadorned directions and it made for a real concentrated effort.



 And so worth it. I think it has gained "favorite garment to date" status. I want one of these in black and have been saving some fine black linen for something special. A match made. Sunday I went on a cutting frenzy and got 6 other items cut out, mostly for fall.



And speaking of fall, I know summer must arrive at some point, but it has been cool and rainy here, a very unusual patch of weather for us. We even had the heat on for a day and a night. I'm told though, that by weeks end, temps will be back to normal...hot!

Parting shot: Ain't no way to hide those begging eyes....

Sunglasses Ready?

Because we have some bright fabrics coming up. Both are versions of the Simple Tunic from Bold & Beautiful by Habibe Acikgoz.  The book contains 15 patterns and most I like. Some would need alterations to make them work for me. If I haven't said before, these are loose, unstructured designs. Not to everyone's taste or aesthetic, little shaping or tailoring, but if the layered look (Lagenlook) appeals to you, this is good value for the money.

The first top I did in red linen, and cut pretty much to the pattern. I didn't do the tails on this one as I wasn't sure I liked them. Instead I sewed them together to make a standard seam.



The second I did do the tails and I do like them better. The top hangs better. I also lengthened it, or maybe I should say made a shallower curve.



 To this one I added a fun and useful little pocket using the orange linen and an accent fabric in grey and white.



 I love orange so I am quite comfortable wearing this almost neon color even out of hunting season!

I also want to showcase a lovely little quilted piece gifted to me by Judy over at Fundamentally Fiber.



 It arrived while I was on my trip hence the delay. Boy, this woman can quilt ( and quite the weaver too!), the piecing on this Mariner's Compass is perfection. The colors just beautiful, and it will get top billing in my sewing area for inspiration. Thank you Judy, so very much. You didn't need to do it but I love that you did.

This past weekend, I had a plant scavenger hunt. Mary had made a list of all the plants that would work on our trip to the local nursery. I had done a little homework on some additional plants and some phone scouting for certain types/cultivars and of course, price shopping. I hit a number of places, some had specific plants that others didn't have, some had better prices and some had better looking plants. It took 3 trips,everything but the specimen tree and a few shrubs are home. The new car got it's first real dual duty work out. The dirt and rock work hopefully will happen Thursday or Friday and I can start getting these plants in on Saturday.  Gene has started in on the final stages to complete the deck. The top rail is on and the cables will go in as time allows.



And how about those Bruins! I swear, I have got to make myself something fun in gold and black. Win or lose, if you like hockey this series is showcasing some great playing from both sides.

Parting shot: Whatchadoing?

Ben AND Jerry

Ha! Not quite what you were thinking huh? Please meet the new additions to the Davies clan. Ben is the brown,



 Jerry, the black.



 And this was about as close as I could get to these two little terrified boys after their earth shattering ride away from Momma and home yesterday. They each got tucked into their own crate that occupied the back of the Subaru (the OLD Subaru),  and made the hour and half ride from Hugo to the Greensprings in silent terror. Hopefully, they will grow more comfortable with me and their surroundings soon. Treats and patience have a way of doing that. These two are Kinder goats and have been wethered. Pretty cute!

The whirlwind known as life hasn't slowed down one bit since I got off the plane May 25th.  Errands off the mountain are a time sink, and there have been plenty of those! I did do a little stash building at Fabric of Vision, although the pictures came out lousy.





 Let's add in farrier appointments and a surprise visit by Pacific Power. They have been back out to survey the damage done in the rain by the crew replacing the downed tree and snapped power pole last fall. They will be fixing it all up nice in the next week or so.
Missing cats, cold weather, moving trailers and plow vehicles and downing a dead Cedar have rounded out the activities.





Last night was the closing Swig & Stitch event, a mixer at a wonderful local winery. 30 some odd sewists got together, swigged a bit and laughed a lot at Dancin Vineyard.  It was a fun night and I got home just a tad past ten. A late night for me.

Today, I'm getting some garden planning help from friend Mary, and boy, do I need it. Next week, some top soil is coming and we'll be doing boulder moving. Should be interesting.

Tonight the Holy Grail of hockey, the opening game of the Stanley Cup finals.
If you knew I was a die hard Patriots football fan, you won't be surprised to hear that
I am also a Bruins hockey fan. The light dinner is planned, the beer chilling, the schedule
cleared, because after all, it is the cup!

Parting shot: The evil rotten cat who had us worried for almost two days, back in the hood.

The Gems

While I'm visiting home, one corner of my room is devoted to treasure.  This stuff usually ends up being shipped since I am an excellent hunter and gatherer. ;-)  Last year it was the metal lobster, this year a varied assortment of some great clothes saved from the cleaning and organizing purge, (Thank you Mom, I love the Burberry trench coat!), and a fair amount of saved boat booty.

My Dad was going to let his hand woven rugs go with the sold boat. I was incredulous!



What do these people care about the time and effort put into making these for BYGONE a few years ago? So when he asked if I wanted the rugs. it was a resounding YES! I mean how many people can point to two beauties and say their Dad wove them? Not many, and they are little pieces of art in and of themselves. In the attic was a wheel from the previous boat. I know I can do something with that, if only to trigger fond memories of visits past. Yet to be photographed is some spectacular art pieces that came off of BYGONE. Soon, I have to get them up. Then of course, the extra set of towels that were on the boat and in my bathroom colors of yellow and greens, trinkets, all weather gear for Gene and this year a fun wind chime was waiting on the dresser for me, likely picked up at a boat show by a thoughtful parent.



 It is tuned to sound like the Boothbay Harbor buoy. It takes a stiff wind to ring it but when it does, you would think you were off the coast of Maine.

It has been a terribly busy last week and I now know how Goldilocks felt! I have been scouting out new cars. When I bought my Subaru Outback in 2001 there wasn't much choice for smaller vehicles in AWD or 4WD. You could get a truck or a big SUV. Now everyone has a smaller SUV type vehicle or crossover.  I looked at Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Mazda and of course, Subaru. In the end, the Subaru was still the best fit for me.



 It is more car like but with excellent clearance ( and really good AWD), has the generous cargo room, the "just right" comfortable seats and the lower, closer to the ground feel. I do so love a station wagon, the original dual purpose car.



 I have to give a shout out to Cascade Auto Group/Subaru in Klamath Falls and Will Newman in particular for low/no pressure sales, excellent online quotes and a perfect buying experience in general. How many times can you say that about a car dealership? I swear, at some of the dealerships I felt like I needed salesmen proof armour, spells against the dark arts or maybe a spray to repel them like mosquito's...;) We opted to keep the old ride too.



 It's nice to have an extra car for those messy jobs, when the main one needs service or just to do duty up here on the mountain for the mail runs.

The week was not without some sewing though. Two little tops made it to completion, both from stash fabric. The A-line tank is made from the leftover red jacket lining.



 

 The  two tone blues are silk from a sari and sash I was given years ago.



 The fabric was a bugger to work with I might add.



There is still scads of the lighter teal and it will be heading into Mary's stash the next time I see her. I think I've stuffed enough into this one post for now...

Parting shot: Cooper, an original all terrain ride!

Fleshing Out the Details

In my back home post I promised some pics and I'm ready to deliver! This one is going to be all over the map, literally and figuratively. So lets start back in the lovely city of Beverly MA. I mentioned my Dad passed on another fabulous camera to me, a Fujifilm Finepix S4200. It takes panoramic shots. I played with it the day we put BYGONE in the water. This is Beverly Harbor



as seen from Jubilee Yacht Club.



 On a side note, it was the last time I will be seeing BYGONE being launched in the spring.





 My Dad made the decision to sell her last year and she sold while I was there. We had a beautiful first ( and for me last), outing on her



 and I have some wonderful goodies to remember her by. Look for a second
"details" post.

On the home front, I have managed a little sewing. I got a couple of tops done using the current Indygo Junction pattern of choice. One done as a pullover in a very light weight Japanese cotton



 and the other a light to mid-weight cotton canvas. That wild animal print
I purchased over the winter.



 Saturday I spent cutting out some things for summer wear.





I culled a lot of tops and blouses from last summer, some stained, some I just decided I could do better, (into the Goodwill bag they went). and some after a season found themselves in the "barn wear" section of my closet.

While I was in MA I managed to piece together a simple quilt top.



 I need to get some batting and get moving on it. I'm thinking about using a thin wool. I'll have to see what's available. I have the backing fabric all ready. Maybe once the Stanley Cup playoffs are done with. ( Yes, we like hockey here too). Go Bruins!

Thank you all who commented on my back home post! It's good to hear from you all after such a long break from blogging. :)

And finally, I spent some more time with the boys outside. They have been very sweet and loving. Gene meets all their needs food and water wise, but has little time to just hang with them. They miss that. Horses can be surprisingly cuddly. Dandy likes to rest his head on my shoulder, Cooper likes to rest his forehead against my back and they both like to be sweet talked to and have those special itchy places scratched. 

Parting shots: Mane: Now you see it.


 Now you don't!