Shoulder Cat

 There is a project that I should have been working on the last few weeks and one thing or another has delayed my starting it.  I now have until Thursday to complete making an Elizabethan coif.  Not just making one, but embellishing it with embroidery.  The embroidery is the time consuming part.  The embroidery will not be as elaborate as what I have been looking at for inspiration, or as well done.  I'll be doing it in stages, just in case I am not able to finish the embroidery, so that the coif can be sewn together and hopefully not be lopsided by Thursday.  I got to visit someone today who helped guide my process and will be there for me if I need knowledge, supplies, or encouragement this week while I work on this project.  For this I am thankful and happy.  Other happy things for today:

• More things that I planted are sprouting.  

These are giant zinnia,
or at least that is what they 
will grow up to be!

• Winston, the orange tabby, decided that my sitting down with fabric and embroidery supplies was the perfect time for him to want attention.  

I thought he was going to climb
on my head for a moment!  😂

• Gideon and I went out for a little walk this afternoon so that he could continue on his scouting quest of cleaning up litter.  Last week we started on the property and today we walked along the sidewalk.  He was able to finish and get over 200 pieces of trash.  He was so happy to complete this.  He picked up some more as we headed home.  What a fantastic human my grandchild is!

☮

Currently listening to: The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Stay safe!

Happy Earth Day

 For Earth Day Keziah and I set to work outside in the cold and snow flurries (!) and started clearing out the dump part of the property.  Over the years, former residents have pulled things out to a section in the back and left it there.  This weekend we hope to get a bunch of the junk into a Bagster or somewhere to recycle, reuse, or repurpose.  

Keziah took this 'before' picture of the area.

This is after we were done for the day. 
The stuff in the back, we haven't gotten to yet.
The pile toward the front, has been pulled out.

Tents that we pulled out.
Very gross.

More of the pile from above that we pulled out.
There is less undergrowth now.

It is hard to tell, but there is a big pile of leaves that got raked out.
We also took down saplings, multiflora, bittersweet,
and other random invasive type weeds.

I feel like we have maybe pulled stuff out of about one third of the area.  It was probably only about one fourth of the junk though.  I found some good sized pots that I might clean up to plant things in later.  Other happy things for today:

• Next week I am going to try to take a long walk on either Monday or Tuesday.  The walking challenge I am participating in this month is themed around doing a pilgrimage to Canterbury, as in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.  In New Hampshire there is a town called Canterbury that is about fifteen miles from here.  Ideally I will walk there next week.  Anyhow, I drove there today to get an idea of what the roads will be like.  There didn't seem to be any huge obstacles and only a few miles that were more narrow and winding as the roads got closer to town and away from the city.  I learned some things I will need to do to prepare that I may not have thought of had I not driven it first.  
• Flowers, along with the bluets there are some violets coming up.  

• For Boy Scouts, Gideon is working towards earning a thing for cleaning up trash.  He needs to collect 200 pieces of trash.  Gideon, Zed, and I walked around the property to begin the process of fulfilling this requirement.  Gideon counted 54 pieces before we came in for dinner.   He and Zed have the mechanical grabber things to pick things up with.  Gideon pretended to be a robot or Dalek and had a lot of fun.  

A whole bag!

☮

Currently listening to: Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer.

Stay safe.