RSC Blocks, Little Plaid Basket, Locust Trees, and the Ocean

Autumn has been moseying its way into central Ohio, even now at the end of October.  The temperatures are cool but the colors are still mostly green.  It's an autumn without the bright colors we associate with fall.  The colors and timing this year is similar to the the year I made the maple leaves quilt.  That year I decided if nature wasn't going to provide autumn colors, I would make them myself.  I think we'll still have green leaves in November again this year!

These six blocks below are probably the last I'll make for my Rainbow Scrap 9-patch quilt.  Last month Angela suggested sea colors--blues/aquas--but I had plenty of those and made these instead.  

Oops!  I finished stitching this Little Plaid Baskets with Zinnias block.  How can I have spent so much time with it in my hands and not have seen the problem?!

It looks like I'll be doing some unstitching soon.  (Color above is more accurate.)

Lizzy and I both talk about locust trees.  I love our honey locusts, and was surprised when she first responded with her intense dislike of locust trees.  What's not to like? I wondered.  She mentioned the thorns she remembers from childhood and how they stabbed her feet.  But ours don't have thorns.  With a little research, I learned that there are several kinds of locust trees.  Finally, a year or so ago at a nearby park, I saw what she was talking about.  Now I understand her dislike of the trees. 

In autumn the leaves of our honey locust trees turn a bright golden hue.  When they cover the ground, they almost seem to pave the it with gold.  I feel so wealthy in the fall.  The leaves add such brightness to my world.  Their only drawback is that they are not friendly to our house:  on rainy or damp days, they cling to our shoes and if we're not careful, come inside and fall to the floor leaving a mess.  Even with that small inconvenience, I love them.  (The photo at right was taken in a neighborhood a mile or so away.

And the ocean!  We went to the dear, dear ocean the first week of October.  I was thrilled to go!  After family events at the beginning of the year, I thought our trip last September was the last time in my life I would see the ocean in person.  It was wonderful to go again.  (The weather is better in September than October.  That is, if there isn't a hurricane.)

This was our view from the hotel room on sunny Tuesday morning.  You can see the rain streaks on the window.  They were easy to ignore with the gorgeous view.  We were on the third floor this year, so a better view but more steps. Later that day we walked through beautiful Thompson Island.  It's on the northeast corner of Rehoboth Bay with a path that meanders through a forest and ends at a tidal marsh.  It's an interesting contrast to have forest just a mile or so from the ocean.

The forest floor was covered with pine needles from the tall loblolly pines. (What a fun name!)

The next day was cloudy with a calm ocean.  I love the ocean no matter what the weather but boisterous waves are more fun to watch.  It was foggy in the morning and still cloudy after the fog dissipated.

It was interesting to see the little tide pools after the tide went out.  They were gone after a few hours.

Another interesting feature of the beach this year was the ledge the waves/tide created in thee sand.  It was less than a foot high and was only along a short section of the beach.

On Thursday, the waves were stronger and the sky mostly clear blue.

This is the path we walk from our hotel to the ocean.

And this is the path from the ocean to the hotel.

I've been back from vacation for two weeks but I'm having trouble setting aside the vacation mindset.  Responsibilities?  What responsibilities?  I just want to relax.  Do you struggle with the transition from vacation to real life, too?  I need to get on with making alternate blocks for the RSC quilt....

--Nancy.

To Dewey Beach, 2023

I love the ocean and I'd always thought of it as a bright, sunny place to be.  This time, I saw another view of the ocean.

To get to Dewey Beach, Delaware, last week, we drove through cloudy, rainy, cool Ohio, the Appalachians of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, then through Maryland, and into Delaware.  I love that drive.  When we arrived at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge I thought to myself, we're almost there!, forgetting that the ocean was still two hours away.  About an hour later, we saw this "Beaches" sign.  It always makes me chuckle with its collective, non-definitive noun.  The coastline is filled with beaches in both directions!  We only about an hour away!

We knew there was a great possibility that we wouldn't have bright, beautiful, sunny days at the beach this year.  Ophelia had just bypassed Dewey a few days before.  But looking at my phone's weather app and seeing how often it changed from rainy to partly cloudy or partly sunny, I was hopeful that the rain and clouds would be on their way out by the time we arrived.
Not only was it grey and cloudy, it was also rainy, windy--17 to 22 miles/hour winds--and cool--in the mid-60s.  The weather app also told me that there was a flood watch which soon became a flood warning.  Our hotel was on the beach (with an ocean view room).  Should we be concerned?  I asked several people about it and they said it wasn't a big deal.  The hotel's receptionist told us that the water probably wouldn't get to the dune.  If you enlarge the photo above, you'll see a fence just in front of the dune on the ocean-side.  The waves reached that fence but no higher.  I was surprised that the water continued to rise even after high tide had been reached. 

On Tuesday we walked on the beach with a temperature that felt colder because of the wind.

We walked the beach for half a mile or so, then gave up fighting the wind and went back inside.  What does one do on a cool, grey, windy day in October when at the beach?  We headed to the state park's bay-side marina where we found hundreds of boats tethered to dock after dock.  Such a lot of boats!  It was not as windy there.

Next, we went to a small section of a state park where the path meandered through a forest then into a marsh area where we saw tiny fiddler crabs busy hunting for food, or doing whatever crabs do.  It was a wonderful walk, also warmer and less windy away from the ocean, and the rain held off.

On Wednesday we saw a glint of the predicted sun around 9 a.m.
By 10 the clouds had thinned a little giving space for the sun to shine through.

Then clouds returned....
until the weather changed again.  It was still cool and windy but it was wonderful to see sun and blue skies.

We came home a day early:  Thursday was predicted to be as dark, grey, and cloudy as Monday and Tuesday.

I love the ocean no matter the weather.  This was the first time seeing it look grey, with a grey sky above.  I always wondered if the ocean picks up some of its color by reflecting the sky.  Blue sky, blue ocean.  Grey sky, grey ocean.  True or not, it seemed to be accurate this time.  As much as I love the ocean I'm disappointed that the few days we were there weren't sunny and a little warmer.  Had we been there a month, last week's few days would've been a pleasant change and I would have been thrilled to see them.  I'm glad to have seen them this time, and pleased we had part of a day with so much sun, but I'm looking forward to another ocean visit which I hope will be really sunny.

This week the Dewey Beach weather has been perfect!  I'm so happy for the people who are there now.

I'm returning to quilting activities now.  I finished last week's Scrappy Stars but haven't photographed them yet.

--Nancy.

The Ocean and a Little Plaid Basket

I love the ocean whatever the weather.  I love that the ocean is always the same, yet always different.  Do you know what I mean?  Our first full day in Florida was deeply overcast with heavy clouds and a brisk wind.  But it was beautiful, warm, and comfortable.  I was surprised at how bright the ocean was even with the clouds above.  I forgot the sun can burn even through the clouds....

The next day was sunny and bright.  We took an umbrella out so I could sit in the shade to watch the water or and read.  It's very relaxing to me to watch the water and waves.  The ocean has such power.

I was surprised to see the waves breaking both far from shore and at the shore.  They were boisterous on Wednesday.

I was also surprised to see rafts of seaweed floating on the waves and littering the beach.  There were very few shells, though plenty of jellyfish tangled with the seaweed.

In my last post I asked if any of you had had experience taking scissors in your bag on an airplane (as opposed to packing them).  Some of you said it was no problem to carry small scissors, others said they'd been confiscated.  I decided to put my scissors in our checked bag on our outgoing flight.  These, below, are the scissors I took.  (I made a little guard for them--mostly to guard everything around them from being poked--using the end of a toothpaste tube and staples.) 

I asked a TSA agent at the airport about scissors and he confirmed that I could carry my scissors with 2" blades in my bag.  On our return flight I put them in my bag and they were not confiscated.  I should mention that the requirements for flying with scissors that I mention are U.S. rules.  If you're flying in another country, check that country's requirements. 

I did no stitching on the beach.  The ocean held my attention but besides that, the wind blew at 15 mph or more and I couldn't imagine trying to keep a thread untangled to sew. 

I stitched in the evening at the hotel, then finished here in Ohio.  I still have to cut out behind the applique pieces.

I'm having trouble getting motivated after relaxing on the beach, and even though it was relaxing, I came home tired.  I think it's the flying that makes me tired.

We arrived home to grey skies and cold weather but yesterday it was sunny and about 70 degrees.  I thought maybe the groundhog was wrong until I noticed that we're to have cold weather again in the next few days.  We had rain today.  It's been an unusual winter.  Onward, onward....

I hope your day and your week have been good.

--Nancy.

Coral & Grey Quiltlet and Vacation

Over the past week or so some have come from Wendy's blog, The Constant Quilter, to see if I've posted a little quilt for September.  I'm late (very late), but here it is.  I finished it on the last day of September, the day we drove home from the ocean, but didn't get it washed, dried, and photographed till this week.

I love those crinkles and I think this close-up photo gives the best view of the colors.  If you haven't been to Wendy's blog yet, I recommend you visit.  She's been ill for several months but she still hosts the miniature link-up and makes a tiny quilt, herself.  

This quilt finishes at about 11¾" x 14¾".   The batting is a piece of thin cloth from who knows where.  I didn't want the quilt to be too thick or stiff because there's already a double layer of fabric in the top itself if I include the seam allowances on the back.

Vacation, Such as It Was.
Sometimes vacations don't go quite as planned or imagined, and this was one that definitely did not.  I told my daughter I thought we should be able to have a do-over.

When we arrived at Dewey Beach, Delaware, on Monday evening, the ocean looked like this.   Beautiful!

On Tuesday, we awoke to clear skies and gentle waves.  Our hotel room faced the ocean so even when we weren't on the beach we could see it.  It was wonderful to have the constant view.

This is the third time we've gone to the hotel where we stayed and we've liked it well enough to return, but maybe not again.  After spending the morning and part of the afternoon on the beach, we left to visit a few shops.  We came back, returned to the beach till sunset, then went back up to the room to collect our things to go back out for dinner.  I came down the steps at the hotel and walked across their low deck toward the room with ice.  I stepped off that little deck not seeing that it was a step down, and tumbled.  Probably a tumble of slapstick quality, if truth be told.  I was able to get up with help, but unable to stand because of the pain.  I sat for a few minutes, my daughter brought her walking sticks, and we continued to the car.  But the pain!  (Some of you are probably shaking your heads....  But I couldn't have made it back up the stairs just then.)

On Wednesday, we took the Lewes/Cape May Ferry to Cape May, New Jersey, only because we'd already reserved spaces for ourselves and the car.  The weather was cooler and breezier than Monday or Tuesday and I was glad to have taken my sweater.  And the walking sticks.  The ocean sparkled.

We didn't have specific plans for Cape May so visited the first attraction we found, the Audubon Nature Center.  They were very welcoming and helpful and gave us directions for other places to visit, including Cape May State Park.  We didn't have binoculars but enjoyed what we saw, including an abundance of Monarch butterflies.

I was especially taken by the shadow of this flower/seed pod on the leaf.  I always think nature is amazing but things like this dazzle me.  I have no idea what plant this is.  Anyone know?

On the return trip from Cape May we were heading west, directly toward Delaware and the sun.  It was the first time I had ever seen an ocean sunset.  Wow!

Thursday brought strong winds—14-20 miles/hour—and boisterous waves.  From our hotel room we could tell it was windy.  See how the grasses are bending?  This is a still shot but they were waving in the wind. 

On the beach it was almost too cold to stay out long.  The sand pelted our legs and the waves rolled in quick succession, one upon the other before the previous had reached the shore.

It was sunny and then it was cloudy.  The ocean fascinates and amazes me.

We planned to go out for dinner around 6:00 or so but went to the beach.  After a while I told my daughter I was going inside.  She stayed out longer.  But not long after I got to the room I started to feel unwell.  My side hurt.  And then it hurt worse.  It reminded me of the pain I had when I had a kidney infection over a year ago.  I sat on the bed, then laid down.  And then I was so hot and in even more pain.  When my daughter returned to the room she insisted we go to the ER.  When we arrived the waiting room was packed and the person at the check-in counter said the wait could be several hours.  But what could I do?  Where else could I go if I had a kidney infection?  After the generosity of a few blankets I eventually fell asleep in the waiting room.  A while later someone came and took me back to a room.  After more warm blankets, an IV, a variety of monitors, pain medication, and a CT scan, I learned that I had a kidney stone.  They released me between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. with directions to pick up prescriptions the next morning and visit my primary care doctor at home.

After four hours of sleep we left to drive home on Friday morning.  And I awoke on Saturday morning missing the sound of the ocean waves.

What a vacation!  (For those of you who said you wished you were also going to the beach, I'm glad you weren't with me!)

Yesterday I learned that there are/were two kidney stones.  Tomorrow I hope to learn whether I fractured a bone when I fell.

What a vacation!

I hope you had a good week!

--Nancy.

Oh, What a June!

Early in the month our trusty, old, 1998 Honda CR-V (we call her R-V-etta) died.  When we learned she needed a new transmission we decided it would be better to buy a newer car instead of having R-V-etta repaired.  Oh, sad day.  She has over 311,000 miles and she's taken us to and from work, on trips around Ohio, and safely across the U.S. several times for over 200,000 of those miles.  How I love that car.  We're a one-car family so there was a bit of stress involved in getting a rental, then shopping for a car.  (Car shopping is always stressful for us, no matter the situation.)  We found a 2006 CR-V with 151,000 miles.  I hope it lasts as long as R-V-etta! 

Three days after buying the 2006 CR-V (yet unnamed) we drove to Lexington, Kentucky, to visit with our daughters and grandchildren and take them and our son-in-law out to dinner.  Fun times (but no great photos).

While our younger daughter has been home, she and I drove to Malabar Farm, home of author Louis Bromfield.  It's currently a state park, still operating as a farm. 

The silo with some of the barns behind.  The animals at the farm include horses, ponies, sheep, pigs, chickens, cows, and a cat or two.

The Big House.  We didn't tour it this time but from previous visits I know it feels very homey and comfortable.  This is the home where Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart were married.  Many other Hollywood stars, friends of Bromfield, visited.  We understand that anyone who came to stay was asked to help with the farm chores.

On the way up to Mount Jeez and views from the top.  It was a beautiful day, cool for June, with mostly clear blue skies and a lively breeze.  We understand you can see three counties from the top of Mount Jeez, one of Ohio's highest elevations.  This is a wonderfully green June in Ohio.  We have a friend who grew up out west.  When he was living here he  complained about how many trees there were and that there was too much green!

The Produce Market Stand. 

This structure stands over a spring where the water is diverted into a trough that was used to hold fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh and cool.  It is said that Bacall and Bogart both worked at this stand.   Can you imagine stopping to buy vegetables and finding them there?!  See photos of the produce stand then and now here.

We also drove to Buckeye Lake.  A few weeks ago the wheat was green.  On the way to the lake we saw it was golden and looked like it was probably ready for harvest.
Because some aspects of quilting are portable I made progress on several quilts.  I pinned and sewed together hourglass blocks.  I thought this was a fun view of them folded after pinning.
And I finished quilting Autumn Maples.  Don't you love those windy curves?

Today my daughter and I collected some sweet clover.  It's really a weed--an untidy one--that grows wild in the countryside and sometimes in untended areas of the city.  When I was a child we used to visit my aunt who lived in rural Pennsylvania.  In summer it always smelled so fresh and sweet near her home.  I once asked my father what smelled so good.  He told me it was sweet clover.  At the time I thought white clover was sweet clover, which we had plenty of in our yard, and I couldn't understand why our yard didn't smell as wonderful as my aunt's.  I finally learned exactly what sweet clover is, and now I try to cut some every summer, weed or not. Sweet clover has a chemical called coumarin which produces the wonderful fragrance.  Other plants with coumarin that smell similar are sweet woodruff, meadowsweet, angelica, lady's bedstraw, and sometimes some kinds of fresh-mown hay.  The fragrance seems to come after the plant has been cut and is drying.

For all the reactions my skin has to plants I'm grateful that I don't get a rash from my favorite perennials:  sweet clover, lavender, honeysuckle, violets, and lilacs.

And that was my June.  I hope yours was a good one!

--Nancy.