Even though it isn’t officially autumn, you have to admit…September is getting there. It’s getting dark noticeably earlier. And the nights have a chill that I love. When it hits 64° outside by 9:00, I turn off the fans and fling the windows wide open so I can hear the night sounds. I figure, if it’s ten degrees cooler outside, I can justify turning off the AC and enjoy that wonderful cool air.
When we bought the Lincoln last month, I was not impressed with the tires so my sweetheart, being the frugal shopper he is, started the “Great Tire Hunt of 2022” and found a deal. They arrived Wednesday afternoon, so he enlisted my help in the endeavor yesterday. I couldn’t figure out why he needed me till he reminded me he couldn’t fit the tires in the trunk and he certainly couldn’t put them on the leather interior. After driving a pickup for ten years, I just don’t think like a “car driver”.
God was really looking out for us when Spirit nudged me to get new tires. The front tires were fairly new but they were snow tires…knobby, noisy, and soft. They’ll wear down too fast driving year round. We were told the back tires “had plenty of tread”. And indeed, by looking at them, they did. But getting them off the car and inspecting them up close, they were terribly dry rotted and the tread was beginning to separate. But now we have safe new tires that are quiet and provide the smooth ride a Lincoln is known for. When I was driving around testing out the new tires, her name came to me. “Louisa the Lincoln”. Works well with “Freda the Ford”, right? Louisa was one of my dearest friends in the world…a true Southern lady. Perfectly apt for this little Southern Belle of a car.
I worked on the quilt till Mr. FixIt called me to come pick up the tires. While I was in town, I decided to check out Bolts & Quarters…the big quilt shop in Parkersburg. Oh. My. Word. Danger, Will Robinson! That place was total eye candy. The rainbow of fabrics took my breath away. Every pattern you could imagine and then some. And the machines??? Get out! Who pays $10,000 for a sewing machine? Apparently a die hard machine embroidery artist, that’s who. Ohhhhh….if I were twenty, no THIRTY years younger with unlimited funds, I’d have a sewing/craft room that would make your eyes pop.
When I got back home, I finished “Step Two” on all sixty-four squares. Today, I’ll start cutting them up in “Step Three”. I looked around at my humble little sewing nook and my $50 prize Singer I picked up on Marketplace and said, “It’s good enough for me!”
Once the sun headed over the hill past the far field, I jumped back on the tractor to mow the other half of our five acres. The closest thing to a calamity to happen this time was nearly mowing over a Praying Mantis. I stopped a fraction of millimeter from sending him to bug heaven! I’m so glad, too. They are not only magnificent creatures, but they eat the bad bugs.
The other day at the local quilt shop, someone mentioned they hadn’t seen a single dragonfly this summer. As I was coming around the pear tree with the tractor yesterday, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and there was a dragonfly. I smiled and mowed on to the last warm and sunny spot left in the field and within seconds I was totally surrounded by hundreds of dragonflies! They danced and swirled and the sun glinted off their iridescent fairy-like wings and I was mesmerized. I started a Facebook Live Video to share the experience with you all, but the quality of videos was reduced so much, there was no way you could see them. And, I didn’t realize how bad my face looked on the video. I’ll take a picture and share with you soon, but this chemo cream is knocking the socks off any skin cancer cells within a mile of it. I look like someone threw battery acid in my face. So, I took down the FB Live that recorded, but here is a video. If you look closely, there are little dots out in the field as well as the ones up close…all dragonflies!
Once I was finished mowing, I helped Mr. FixIt trim one of the huge forsythias along the roadside of the yard with the pole lopper. I’m telling you, you could go out there with a flamethrower and a week later it’s taking over again! It’s like living in a tropical rainforest here. Before we knew it, the sun was going down and we were done for another day. We’re older now. We still get a lot done, but we’re a little slower at it. And there may or may not be a heating pad involved later in the evening.
As I was putting my sewing away and turning off the lights, sewing machine, and iron, I made an executive decision. I know myself well enough to know I can go off on a tangent and hyper focus on one thing, letting everything else slide. I have invested in all this beautiful yarn, so I’m going to knit one project, then quilt or sew something. Back and forth. Share the love…and the obsession! We’ll see how that goes, right? lol
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“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:23-24 ESV