checking in

 I'm afraid that sewing this week has more or less been a pipe dream once I got Skyler's #2 perch cover done.  Oh it looks so much better though I wish I had figured out how to round the corners a bit.  The thing was I was not sure exactly where the overlap at the top was going to be happening so that didn't help in locating the base part.  Needless to say, he is enjoying BOTH locations.

I had then turned my attention to making a sort of slip cover for Oscar's mat but with a zipper at one end so it can be removed and washed.  The original mat did not have that capability.  So far he is not scratching at it like he is trying to dig to China, like he does in the car crate!!  He seems to be quite cozy on the fleece cover.

 
I had to laugh at Oscar the other night though.  In the picture he is not facing the camera because he is playing with his little rawhide bone.  I was at the kitchen table keeping him company and reading a book in the Kindle app on my tablet.  Well, he got the bone stuck in the wire frame somehow there where the door closes.  He is on the outside of the crate trying to pull the bone through the rest of the way and pulling for all he is worth, to the point where he had pulled the whole crate, rugs and all over towards me at the table, a good foot or more away!  Strong little dogger with strong jaws but I already knew that from playing tug of war with his sockie or that little toy from the Dollar store.  Thing is, if he gets a hold of either of his toys he runs them back into the crate and it is hard for me to get them back out of there.  He does not quite "get" the concept of fetch---drop it at Mom's feet and she will play some more with you, LOL.

Today the fan blew a cover of a disposable knife I had used to cut some brownies I had baked for the sew-in tomorrow and he found it, hauling it off to his bed.  Same thing with a powered drink tube.  He thought they were his, I guess and was storing his treasures.  Worked till I spotted them anyway.

Mostly it has been cutting back weeds, spraying weeds and yard work around here.    It had been about 10 days since the back yard was mowed but Michael had not mowed next door either.  I needed to put some bug spray down in the back yard in Oscar's prime spots but knew the grass needed to be cut first.  I figured I would get the push mower out and take care of it.  I couldn't start it and had to called Robert over to help me.  First of all, I forgot to prime it and 2nd, I was about out of gas.  Robert came over on the rider and told me to unlock the back gate and he would take care of it while I ran down to the filling station.  He got it going and I did some trim work---but then killed it when I was about done and couldn't get it re-started.  I must not have the muscle power to get that pull cord snapped tightly enough or something.   Robert, good neighbor that he is, went ahead and mowed next door when the step-daughter who actually lives in the house said Michael had had some surgery this past week.

If I haven't been outside walking the dog, whacking or spraying something outside I have been washing sweaty dirty clothes.  Or bath towels.   I don't know when I have sweat so much but this is the first summer that I have really had to spend this much time outside.  It does not help that we have been in a static weather situations of high 80's/low 90's as daytime highs and lows in the 70's for a week or more now.   Then it is varying degrees of humidity to deal with too.  Yesterday was worse than today, in fact I was just sure we were in for rainfall but it did not materialize.  Let me state again, that I did not move South for the summers. I could sweat just as easy in Illinois, LOL.  Oscar and I didn't let that stop us though as we did the park scene two afternoons in an row, two laps around the local park with about 10 stops to let him tinkle on the first lap.

I had thought for the last two days that I would get around to dusting and vacuuming but that has been a pipe dream too. I started out the day by making some homemade pimento cheese spread and then promptly made a sandwich for breakfast.  Then a double batch of cookie brownies to take for the sew-in treat.  We have been doing "on your own/brown bag" this year rather than having to have a hospitality committee feed us.   I also made a batch of chili just because it sounded good to me and I had some ground beef that needed to be cooked up.  I'll heat up the house a bit more a bit making some corn muffins to go with it.  Nothing really sounds good much lately.  I eat because I have to and sandwiches are just easier.

Yesterday afternoon Aline called and asked if I wanted to run out for a sandwich with her and Jane.  While I appreciated the invitation I was right in the middle of cleaning out my bedroom closets with some thoughts that I was going to head in to DJ's right after that.  Hate to impeded forward progress with the less is more approach.  But DJ's clothes??  I had been avoiding that---open the door and think about it and just close it .  I was just not ready yet.  I made myself deal with it yesterday, close to tears but I made it till later in the evening.  The whole room smelled like him once I had opened the doors and aired it out.

 It's summer and he had a ton of short sleeve shirts in there doing no one any good.    I made several trips to some of the donation bins near here but the bulk of the items I divided up between the Baptist Service Center near here and the All Saints Interfaith Center for Concern.  I had taken his coats and shoes to the Baptist Service Center this past winter.  I told them I would be back but I was not ready  4 1/2 months later, I was.   There are a few items in there that I cannot let go of yet.  No one would want them but me but I have some sentimental attachment to them. I think I am allowed that.   I delivered the items to both spots this morning.  One kind lady told me that DJ will live on in fulfilling their mission to help others in need.

 I still need to pick a project to work on at the sew-in tomorrow, pack up my supplies and load the car.  Who knows?  I might even decide that I am tired of looking at that dusty coffee table and do something about it and floors.  Always something around here.