Monday

I've decided that I'll use the day of the week as the post title. It forces me to concentrate on what day it is!

Today's addition to the tree....

I'm about to start on a planting project. I usually buy my plants from a garden center, but the current situation has forced me to plant some seeds and start my own plants. I'm kind of excited about it. I hope it works.

These are some of my seeds. I have two hanging bag planters that I put on my fence every year. You fill them with soil, and insert the little seedlings in the 10 holes down the front. The holes are little cross hatches...

After a month or more the plants root and grow, and this is how it looks..

Then they really take off...

I can't wait for them to grow! Another plant that I'm attempting to grow is celery. Has anyone tried to grow it from the celery stump from your bought celery? I'm hoping this will work. The middle is starting to push up, so I hope to see leaves soon. Then once it's a plant, I'll put it in the ground. 

See you tomorrow!

Sunday

Today's yarn bomb is a simple purple band. I was kind of busy today, and my creative muse wasn't calling to me. 

I washed my floor today. I had my kitchen and dining area completely redone about 2 months ago. I used to have a light colored tile floor in both rooms. I now have commercial grade laminate that looks like wood. The problem is that it doesn't show dirt like the old floor. So I am fooled into thinking that it's cleaner than it really is. I found out today that it was in great need of cleaning! Guess I'll have to improve on my cleaning schedule.

One habit that I've picked up while in self-isolation is cooking comfort food. I made tuna casserole tonight. I used this recipe: Grown Up Tuna Casserole . It was so good! I did fiddle with the recipe a bit by adding 1 1/2 stalks of chopped celery with the onions and mushrooms. I also added a lot more mushrooms, and about a 1/2 cup of frozen peas. The recipe says you can add 1 or 2 cans of tuna. I used 2. 

Didn't have any crunchy onions for the top, but the cheese was just fine. Husband went back for seconds!

I hope everyone is well. Tomorrow, I'll show you my planting project. Have a good night!

Saturday

Today, I tried my hand at knitting a version of the Japanese cherry blossoms. 

The tree that I'm yarn bombing is a dogwood. It's getting bigger blooms now, and some of the branches may be obscured. I have to be picky as to which branches to bomb. 

Here's a cardinal sitting in the top half of the tree. You can see all of the flowers coming into bloom. 

Lastly, I wanted to show you my pug Bella. A few years ago, I had another blog. I blogged about my three dogs. Bella (pug), Penny (pug) and Athena (Boston terrier). I lost both Penny and Athena last year. They were 13 and 14, and old age caught up with them. But the last of my Knucklehead Sisters is still with me. Bella is now 14. She was a rescue when I got her. She turned out to be quite a mischievous pug! She once climbed onto my kitchen table and ate 1 1/2 pounds of pine nuts when I wasn't looking. 

She's not so much of a mischievous pug these days. She still has her moments of energy, but mostly sleeps and tries to avoid Reggie. We make sure that she has her space most of the time and she seems like she's happy.

Bella(left) and Penny(right). Penny had such expressive eyes! She was also a rescue. She had her quirks, but was a good dog. She was completely blind the last year or so of her life. 

This was my Athena. She was my sweetie. I miss her and Penny, but I know that they had a good long life with us. 

So now we have these two. Bella and Reggie. One is 14, the other 6 months. They get along pretty well considering the age difference. This picture was taken a while back. Reggie is much bigger now. here he is just the other day..

He does love his antler! My husband says he looks like a warthog. 

I hope that you all have a great weekend. Stay safe!

Friday

Today's addition to the tree. Some color, but not a whole lot of creativity. 

We went to the grocery store a 6 a.m. There were a few others there. No flour was to be had, so my baking might slow down. I have some left, but could use another bag. Ah well, we have a home and food. Some small sacrifices are inevitable in this strange time.

I put a pork tenderloin in the crackpot with some Asian style marinade and one sliced onion. Also added a garlic blend from my spice rack. It was husband approved, and we can get 2 more meals out of it. I froze a third for later.

Ice cream was pretty much sold out too, but I scored 2 small containers of gelato. I warmed up some frozen berries and sprinkled some magic stuff on top.

Magic stuff....

This stuff is so good. It comes in a grinder and it lasts forever. It's good sprinkled on sugar cookies, too.  Kind of pricey but lasts a long time.

Tomorrow, meet Bella.

Thursday

Today was a day mostly spent inside. We did walk Reggie. I had a curbside no-contact delivery from a good friend today. She is a very generous person, and has sewn 200 face masks for hospitals. She also spent her day today delivering some to many of her friends. We do not all live in the same area. This must have taken her hours to do. She delivered four to our door. She truly is a selfless person.  

I'm honored to be her friend.

Here's today's yarn bomb addition. A little sign of hope. 

Wednesday Somewhat Outdoors

First, I knit a little owl for the tree. No pattern, just kind of winged it (no pun intended). I did have to go on YouTube to figure out how to crochet a flat circle for the eyes. I haven't crocheted for decades. Five decades, to be exact. I was surprised at how it came back to me.

My husband and I went to get topsoil, mulch and a few plants at a garden center this morning. They have a safe and easy system. You go on the website, pick what you need, call them and order and pay over the phone. Then the next day you go to the center and park in one of the numbered parking spaces. You call a special number and give your name and the space number. They come out and leave the stuff by your car. Then when they leave, you get out and put it in your car. I bought two basil plants, a pepper and a lavender plant.

They'll stay on my shelf inside for now.

My new garden boots came today! Aren't they great? The ones that I bought a few years ago at Target gave up on me and split down the back. So this time, I paid a little more for these Muck Boots.

You can wear them two ways.

Years ago, I bought an antique metal gate piece at a local antiques depot. I had it propped up in the garden, but really wanted it anchored. So last fall, I bought two posts and some clamps at the store and today we put it up at the end of the patio. I might put some fairy lights on it. Who knows...

Lastly, I bought a couple bags of my favorite snack. Dried organic mango strips. They satisfy my craving for something sweet and chewy. When I looked at the bag, I noticed that the company had a sense of humor....

Also this little riddle at the bottom..

See you tomorrow!

Tuesday Is For Cake

Giving in to my ongoing uncontrollable urge to bake, I made a cake today. I used an old fashioned recipe for hot milk cake.  I usually make this and serve it in squares with no embellishment. But today, I made buttercream frosting. Just because. 

Hot milk cake is one of those recipes that requires ingredients that you most likely have in your pantry and fridge. And if you don't, it's not to hard to run out and get a few. 

I use THIS recipe.  My mother used to make it. I feel like it's one of those recipes that's getting lost in time, with the box cake mix being so easy. But honestly, this recipe is easy and it tastes better than box.

I made a super easy addition for the yarn bomb tree. Just garter stitch on big old needles with an I-cord wrapped around it.

I have not made much progress on my current sock project. I did get past the heel, though. 

I need to pay more attention to my non-tree knitting, I think. I have a knitted top that I want to make for the warm weather. It's a cotton tee. More on that later.

Have a good evening, see you tomorrow!