Lazy Afternoons

It must be a good ten degrees cooler under the shade of the oak trees. It's wonderful to escape there when the sun is filtering through all of the leaves, making a very dappled shade. It's where my husband often finds me, stitching or reading, in the late afternoons when he arrives home from his day out in the world. Our cat Oreo is usually by my side wherever I am, just in case I need help with anything. He frequently dozes off and misses the butterflies and dragon flies swirling above his head while they check to see if he is a some sort of odd flower. He usually stays out with my husband while I go in to finish making our dinner or clear away the day's activities. Summer dinners are quick and light since it seems like that's the only thing they are willing to eat. The boys all like to eat fairly quickly during the week and disappear for a session of hitting golf balls, or some other sport. They stay out until they can no longer see in the twilight. I am usually driven in by the mosquitoes long before they are.

I spent yesterday waiting to hear when my Mother's appointment with the surgeon will be. It's a first/consult visit. Her primary doctor has found a mass in her abdomen which was confirmed by CT scan as a mass in her liver. There are so many open-ended questions when a patient is older. I know ahead that the slowness and red tape of the system will frustrate and annoy me. On the positive side, hovering by the phone gave me time to organize my cookbook collection and dust the books. I have quite a healthy collection. I was too restless to stitch.

No rain yesterday, so we turned the valves for the gardens to be watered by the irrigation system. My husband hadn't been paying attention to the sunflowers lately, and was quite surprised to see them over a tall fence of the garden. He has offered to help some with the weeding this weekend when he is home. We are also getting ready for our oldest son's birthday party which is here on Sunday. I doubt that we will be using the gardens due to the heat and the possibility of thunderstorms, but people always wander the gardens when they are here. So I do want them to look their best.

There's another Chatelaine cross stitch to add to my "must do" list - Pearl Lights. Such a wonderful design. The mandala designs attract me, as well as her other designs, but the lustrous silks that Martina uses in her designs are the real draw for me. I love to get out the silk overdyes and spread them across my lap while I'm looking at the patterns.

Dinner is in the crockpot (cranberry pork tenderloins), so I have a long stretch of day which will allow me to get things done. My little Jack Russell (Rory) is begging to go for a romp, so I'd better get moving.