Let hiking season begin!

It's finally cool enough for me to hike without getting out at dawn! This morning I hiked at Catalina State Park for the first time since May. It was only in the 70s and the washes were running from the monsoon rain. Monsoon season officially ended Sept. 30, yesterday.

It was Hike #45 out of the 70 I want to do by my 71st birthday on Dec. 20. That means a little over two hikes a week, which is perfectly doable now that it's cooler.

 

I was curious to see how the park had changed over the summer. Besides the streams being full, I found delicate purple and yellow flowers along the trails.

The mountain flanks are also covered in green from our six inches of summer rain.

I'm also continuing to sew for my holiday bazaar. Here are some toiletry/other stuff pouches with matching tissue holders -- travel kits!

Finally, this really speaks to me. Before I got my hearing aids this is how my life was.

Have a colorful day

Fall

 

I missed posting on the fall equinox because I was on the road to visit my mother in Oceanside, CA. Fall here isn't chilly mornings and falling leaves. It's sunshine, warm weather and playing outside in shorts and a t-shirt. That's Oceanside above, where the beach was speckled with sunbathers, surfers and people strolling on the strand last week.

And this is my yard, with more blue skies and temps in the 90s (it's "cooling" off). 

Fall means it's finally cool enough that I can come out of summer hibernation and sip my morning coffee on the patio -- in shorts and a sleeveless top. We don't do cozy sweaters here in the Sonoran Desert in the fall. I miss the brilliant fall foliage a little from when I lived up north, but I'd much rather have sunny skies and warm temps for getting outside all fall, winter and spring without having to bundle up. Fall means I can throw on shorts, a t-shirt, sandals and a sun hat and head out for the day.

On my walk this morning, I also thought about how fall is one of the seasons of our lives. I'm definitely in my fall at 70, with things on my body falling to remind me! My mother is in her winter at 94 but still enjoying life -- just at a slower pace. She's content to read the morning paper, do her word puzzles and chat with friends at meals. The staff at her assisted living home says she keeps them all laughing.

My daughter is in her summer season, blooming as a mother in her 30s. Little Juniper, 2, is in spring, with her whole big life opening up ahead of her.

Happy fall!

Making more snow ladies

This was the week of sitting inside during the rain and heat and making more snow lady wool ornaments for my holiday bazaar. Just these eight took the better part of several days, and now it's time to turn to something else for awhile. But I'll return to them later -- I still have lots of colors of wool to use!

This is my favorite, a spiffy white-haired blue-eyed lady in hot pink!

They're more labor intensive than you'd think. First I cut out the bodies and embroider the eyes and mouth with French knots and a back stitch. Then I tie on buttons to coordinate with the scarf and hat colors. The balls of perle cotton will be the hair.

Then I sew the front and back bodies together, turn, stuff, and hand sew the openings closed. This is a good evening television project.

The most creative part (besides the thrill of choosing the colors) is doing a variety of hair and hat styles. I did this lady's curly salt and pepper hair with French knots. I also tack the scarves down just the way I want them to hang with invisible stitches. I've come up with a handful of hat styles, and I'm sure there will be more! Then the final touch, the glueing on of the nose which will also be tacked down with invisible stitches.

I think I need to make some brunettes.

 

I also realize that I'm missing purple! That'll be next.

Have a colorful day

More monsoon magic

 

We had another monsoon dump yesterday that put a rainbow over my house and magic light in the sky. I got another inch in my rain gauge.

Meanwhile, on the east side there were three flash flood rescues within half an hour. Fortunately no one was injured except maybe the cars. 

On my neighborhood walk this morning I saw the remnants of the storm in new ponds and big puddles. I always think of reflections in water as magical.

This Mexican bird of paradise is reflected in what's normally a gravel walkway.

The barrel cacti love a good rain.

I think the pink flower is oleander. It added more color to my walk. And more rain is forecast for later today!

Have a colorful day

Holiday bazaar?

Here comes another fabric bowl. I can't stop sewing! I have so much fabric and it's too hot to be outside and working with my favorite colors keeps my spirits up while waiting for it to cool off so I can hike.

I'm sewing so much that I think I should have a holiday bazaar and sell some of it. But I wonder if enough people would come or if I'd be sitting here alone eating Christmas cookies. (I can think of worse fates.) And should I do one day or two? And right after Thanksgiving or the first weekend in December? Any suggestions?

When I lived in Illinois and Washington, I took part in a lot of group holiday bazaars with other artists, but I haven't found a group here. So I'm thinking of having one by myself -- lord knows I have enough stuff to sell! I would deck the house for the holidays and serve home made Christmas cookies and beg my friends to come and to bring their friends. 

My favorite item to make is the zipper pouch with a clear vinyl front so you can see what's inside.

I've made two with my chocolate fabric. I could put Hershey Kisses in each of them!

I have a stack of microwave bowl cozies, but I don't enjoy making them as much. A lot of gift stores here carry them for about $8 to $12 each.

Travel tissue cases are a breeze to whip out, so I could sell them for just a few bucks. I keep them in my purse, backpack and car.

 I found two wool needle holders that I made as samples when I taught how to make them in Gig Harbor. Might as well sell them.

I also found a pile of lined gift bags that I made a few years ago and sold. (Thank you again to all of you blog readers who bought some!)

And snow people ornaments!

So much fabric. I could sew the rest of my life and not run out.

Well, back to the bowl.

To see what some other fabric artists have been doing, visit Nina-Marie at:  /

Have a colorful day