hand eye crafts

These type lists usually fascinate me.  (Some of them turn out to be the equivalent of roadside tourist traps.)  Here are two things from today's feed: Do you think he sang along with the "bahm-bahm-bahms"? This is astonishing.  The next time someone asks what a light year is, this should be the new answer.

It's been a while since we visited Equine Alley.  The newest addition is this little fellow: How cute, huh? A rainy afternoon, which sent me to my desk on the back porch to color. None of those adult coloring books for me.  (Though I do have one on standby for practicing finer motor skills.)  Familiar "rough" paper and big spaces to fill in, thank you.

 My son took my daughter to see Rhys Darby last weekend as a birthday gift.  And wouldn't you know, they ran into friends. I didn't even know Darby did stand-up.  Apparently, they enjoyed the show. Very much a nothing day here.  Thursday's the day I water the plants, so there's that.  I'm having trouble hooking into the book I'm reading. It may be the writing style (or lack thereof?)  I am at the chapter about the  Bell Witch , so as a Tennessean I should be happy or proud or demanding a  Netflix special or something.  I'm just reading, though.

Still on the couch thing.  This is my heartwarmingest yet. I love the whole thing.  The print, the framing, the lamplight...  Galileo thermometer, framed Calvin and Hobbes strips, my father's cane/walking stick collection.  It's just over my right shoulder, and it will be glanced out often, I'm sure. Not a whole lot else going on.  Yesterday, I baked a loaf of crusty honey bread that is SO good.  What is it about crunchy crust bread?  So delicious. This came across my Instagram feed, and seems like the kind of project you could figure out without a pattern. Do you agree?

Certainly I've discussed being a fan of Ava Gardner here.  Today, thinning out photos on my phone, I came across what may very well be my photo of her. Not a speck of makeup.  Maybe her brows?  She could be breathtaking all dolled up, of course, but I like her here. I did some reframing today.  Got through the last of my parents' frames, moved prints from one frame to another. . .  There are still a couple of prints that are homeless.  Wall space is at a premium, so some things are trading places.  So many holes in these walls! The second sock has been cast on, though not a lot of progress has been made.  It's not Second Sock Syndrome, I don't think.  That's not been an issue for me in the past.  Watching the NASCAR race tomorrow might throw it into gear. See what I did there?

I got new glasses! And they're purple! I still have another pair on the way.  These have already given me a new-and-stronger glasses headache. My succulents are doing well, and my air plants are, too.  It's a humbling experience to have an air plant die.  It is a rewarding experience to have an air plant "pup."  "Pupping," I have learned, is when air plants reproduce by budding. This one is having twins! The ones that I keep on the back porch do better than the ones in the house.  I don't know if it's heat vs. air conditioning or what, but I try to rotate them.

I got this little handleless tea cup with adorable koi in the bottom: Also, sock #1 is finished! Still not butterfly-ish, but nice sock stripes.  

The backdrop behind my desk is done.  Not the best quality photo, and accept my apology.  I had just spent entirely too much time trying to get them sort of even with one another, and wasn't the most patient of photographer.  Perhaps I can get one in the daylight.

Is it hot where you are?  It is so, so miserable here.  And it's only June!!  Thankfully it was "only" heat from the sun, no humidity.   Therapy today, then to get an eye exam and pick out some new glasses.  It's always exciting, getting new glasses, isn't it?  My vision has deteriorated more than I realized, especially in my left eye.  But I've got these to look forward to: There's another pair that I can't find on the Stanton Optical website.  I'll let you see them when I get them. My socks are coming along nicely.  I've turned both heels, and am working on the foot.  The fact that I'm this far along with bearable discomfort is such a relief.

 It does take longer to frame cross-stitch than maybe it should.  The frames for these two could be switched, as you no doubt have noticed.  I still have a couple of cross-stitch pieces that I don't have frames for.  They're shaped kind of awkward, so it will be a minute before they're suited up. Another part of the day was spent pruning some things out in the yard.  Weird vine and tree-like things had sprouted through a couple of holly bushes and the gardenia bush.  I don't think I'll ever quite understand why people enjoy yardwork so.

The square needles are  helping;  I've just about finished the ribbing.  It took three tries to get the cast-on right.  As rusty as my knitting is, my casting on is even rustier. Casting on is also more painful for some reason.  The strangest, most random things give me grief.  Putting earrings on may be at the top of that list. The yarn is not terribly butterfly-ish, at least not yet.  It looks more like candy corn, or something else Halloween-y.  Cobwebs and candy corn.  Somebody get out the dye pots --- I feel a new colorway coming!

Last night, I hand-wound sock yarn for my next knitting project.  (A phrase I wondered if I would ever use again.)  From  Purple Lamb Fiber Arts'  butterfly collection: Just some uncomplicated two-needle socks, on square needles, which I'm hoping will help my fingers.  They've always made knitting more comfortable for me.

I finished the hat! A bulky weight hat just in time for Summer! I cannot tell you how glad I am to have actually finished a knitting project.  My fingers hurt all the way, but it got done.

Someone  is making a quilt called "Dear Jane." I was immediately reminded of this: Oh, my Daddy loved these.  Well, anything coconut, really.  And I can taste these just looking at them.  It was hard not to eat the whole rich, delicious thing at one time. Each day, I try to do something to work on my fingers.  The TENS machine, coloring (particularly with colored pencils), rolling pennies (picking up change is a real challenge), and yes, knitting.  It's going not too badly.  The hat that's been here forEVer is at the decreasing for the crown stage, so more is getting done than had been.  I think I'll challenge myself to socks next.

Here's the frame at work: This is one of my favorite Animals-on-Couches yet.  It's so quiet and soft.   I got out today to run a couple of errands, and traffic was awful.  Like, students are back awful.  This town has been in disarray for so long: tearing up streets, rerouting cars, tearing up the rerouted.  Not to mention all the houses and apartment complexes going up in what seems every empty space that can be found.  There honestly aren't that many ways to get around this town, and they are all choked right now.

This I understand, yet at first glance it seemed odd: ⁹ How was it left at my door?  Laying flat. Thankfully, my parents favored large frames, so I've been able to use some of those for my Animals on Couches collection.  Still, I have had to buy a couple, and this is one.  Promise to show you how it's put to use. I bought a little TENS machine to see if it might help with my fingers. I don't think it does;  I've used it a few times and my fingers are still numb.  I've also used it on my neck during tension headaches, though, and it did make a difference there.   The vaccines still had me in bed all day and night Saturday, but Sunday only the arm soreness remained.  I don't think I "have to" get any other shots --- that kind of depends on which online questionnaire I take.

June gets to bust out all over, while the other months have to sit quietly.  Who decided that? (I also just saw, while doing the image search, that there's a TV network called "june."  Wow.)