Month: August 2023

It’s been a long time since I posted. I’m always a little torn about posting when I don’t really have anything to say. But, nevertheless, here goes.

I’m continuing to enjoy my summer, but I’m feeling sad that the evening light is rapidly fading. It’s always nice to have the heat of summer ease off, but it makes me sad to know that it will soon be dark before my work day ends.

And this year, with all the pickleball I’ve been playing, I’ve started to dread the winter months where my play will have to be limited because of the lack of indoor pickleball opportunities.

In the mean time I’m making the most of the lovely summer days. I’ve been really fortunate to have my teacher get me into an indoor pickleball group that plays at a HUGE church not far from my house. They are better pickleball players than I typically get to play with so it’s been really challenging… but a huge amount of fun!!! I played there this morning and had an absolute riot… and I’m totally exhausted! It’s really fun to see my level of play pick up wo that I can play competitively with higher level players.

So, besides pickleball, what’s been going on? Mostly dogs.

My boys had their annual check ups last week. Everyone checked out although Rico has gained four lbs!!! So he’s on a bit of a diet to get back to his slim and trim physique. We had to wait a long time at the vet. I’m really glad I took a toy in with me to keep Bender and Rico distracted during the long wait.

Since Bender turned 10 in April we did the senior blood test, urine test and fecal test. The great news is that he pooped AND peed right after we left the vet’s office, with a vet tech in attendance. That way we had the samples we needed!!! Win! Plus, it’s really nice to have a senior dog come away with such a glowing exam!

Over the weekend I decided that these two boys were disgusting and I brushed them both and gave them hose baths in the back yard.

Wet and clean Bender…

They were both in need of brushing. I got a grocery bag full of hair out of them, and I could have gotten more but they were both pretty irritated with me by that point. It’s nice to have them both clean, soft, and fresh smelling!

Luckily, all the walking we do means their nails never need trimming!

I had a lovely visit from some old friends about a week-and-a-half ago. I was in a choir with Brent and Jerry for quite a few years when I lived in Salt Lake City. They make their way to Portland every few years and always schedule time to get together with me when they’re here. I hadn’t seen them since well before the pandemic. It was really fun to see them again.

We had a great time reminiscing about old times, choir trips, and friends.

We’re having a lovely cool week. We’ve had some heat recently so it’s nice to see it cool down. We’ve even been getting some stinky smoke from British Columbia and Washington state wild fires.

And Bender’s favorite part of summer is apples. Here he is enjoying the last apple to fall from our tree this season.

Last Thursday night poor Rico kept me and himself awake a good portion of the night as thunderstorms rumbled for hours!

It’s so hard when dogs are sensitive to thunder. I’m really glad that, even with all our rain, we rarely get thunder storms. But the one the other night was a good one!

This week is my final work week before I head off on 2.5 weeks of vacation. We’re all very excited about it. Even Rico! When I asked him if he wanted to go on vacation, this was his reaction.

“Well, yes! Yes I DO want to go on vacation!”

This afternoon it looked like someone was already on vacation!

Here I am, continuing to enjoy a lovely summer in Portland. It’s been hot the last few days. Over 100 degrees, as a matter of fact. It’s supposed to be cooling off on Thursday. I will be ready for milder temps. And the air is really dirty and smoky. today We’re supposed to see that clear up as well.

So, guess what I’ve been doing. Of course I’m working. But I’m playing A LOT of pickleball. And with my continuing lessons I’m really seeing some improvement in my game! I also located a new drilling partner from the club who is interested in getting together a couple times a week to practice. We got together on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday morning. He enjoys drilling just like I do. And he’s really appreciative of the drills I’m bringing to our practice. We ended our practice on Saturday with a few games with some people who were at the courts, and then went and had a casual dinner at a nearby pub.

They do say Pickleball is a very social activity! I was thinking earlier today how many new people I’ve made friends with since I started playing. It’s been so good for me after the isolation of the pandemic. And I love that complete strangers will just ask you if you want to play a game or two.

My teacher was telling me the other day that I’m too impatient… that I want to see too much improvement too fast. I found this image and shared it with him. He said it was me to a T!

I was on the courts for a lesson at 7:30 this morning and practiced until a little before 9. then we played a couple games before I headed home to work.

I had some friends over on Sunday evening for a birthday celebration. I was really hoping we could eat outside on a lovely evening, but it was still 100 degrees when they were here. So we ate in the house, but the dinner was good. And it was simple, which makes me even happier. I make the same meal for my friend’s birthday every year: Grilled salmon, oven roasted potatoes, Waldorf coleslaw, and desert is fresh peaches over vanilla ice cream. All accompanied by a nice bottle of wine.

I’ve been enjoying left overs for my lunches this week.

While my friend was here she asked if I would make her a table topper for Christmas. I have made her two in the past.

She wants one made in the same shape but said she wanted something with burgundy colors for the holidays. So I just took her back to my sewing room and we opened some drawers and pulled some fabrics. Here’s the first pull.

That’s probably not the final selection of fabrics, but it’s a good start. I think this collection of fabrics will work really nicely in a 16 patch.

I think my friend enjoyed helping pick out fabrics. She’s not as bold with color as I am so I think one or two of these make her a little uncomfortable! I think she will like them better when they are finished in 2 inch squares.

My tomatoes have been going crazy and they’re so good! I had so many that I took almost two lbs to my pickleball teacher this morning!

Rico had his regular sheep herding lesson on Saturday. It wasn’t nearly as warm as it’s been the last few days, but he still gets hot.

My boys have their annual vet check ups on Friday. I decided to take the entire day off. I’m guessing some pickleball will be played!

My upcoming vacation is on the calendar and my friend has made flight arrangements. I’ll be taking 2.5 weeks off. My friend will be here for two weeks. So we’re planning what we’ll do while she’s here and we’re planning what quilt we’ll make.

It’s Sunday night and I’m mourning the end of the weekend.

The big news for this week is that I finally decided to jump in and hang my scrappy KFC trip quilt above my bed. I needed more curtain rings for this larger rod. The package I had was only seven rings, which wouldn’t be enough to hold up this quilt.

So I ordered some from JC Penney and picked them up yesterday. It didn’t take long to get the rings in place and get the quilt hung this afternoon.

And I have to say… this makes me pretty happy!!!

I posted this photo on the Kaffe Fassett Collective Facebook page and one person commented, “A bit much.” It made me laugh!!! Like something made from these gorgeous fabrics is ever too much!!!

And that, you may not be surprised, is the only fabric-related thing I’ve done this week.

Instead, I’ve been playing A LOT of pickleball. I played Monday evening, took Tuesday off, played Wednesday evening, had a lesson early Thursday morning, then played a few games, then did some practice with a friend Thursday night. Then I met my teacher this morning at 8:15 for a quick lesson, then we played until noon! I’m exhausted and will probably be in bed early tonight. Well, early for me.

A fun thing happened during pickleball today. In one game I got what’s called an ATP, which stands for “Around the Post.” In pickleball, when your opponent hits a ball that goes wide, you can hit it around the post of the net and back on to their court without going over the net. The shot is typically very low and difficult to return. My ATP was the game-winning shot. The club celebrates ATPs with a photo of the player with a trophy.

I didn’t get to keep the trophy. How sad. It was a fun way to end a really good game.

I’m really seeing the result of my lessons during games. I played the first four games with my teacher today and then we split up. I think I only lost one game all day!!! And that was only by 2 points. It’s really fun to get to play with my teacher. He gives gentle suggestions during the game that help me remember what we’ve been working on.

It’s so much fun to see my improvement. And several of the people I play with have mentioned how much better I’m playing.

Yesterday, Rico had his sheep herding lesson down in Molalla instead of our regular spot. On the way home I stopped at a friend’s place in Canby, Oregon, to pick black berries. She has a lot of black berry bushes and had told me they were really plentiful.

Here’s a view of the driveway that takes you to the back of her two-acre property.

The plants lining that driveway are blackberries. They are pretty much everywhere in Western Oregon and Washington. They are not native and are terribly invasive. You see huge mounds of them all over the place.

Another fun fact about blackberries is that they have terrible thorns. They almost reach out and grab you and hold onto you! My arms and legs are pretty scratched up today.

I had one in my back yard years ago that literally ripped my pants right off of me!!!

My friend was right… there were a LOT of berries available for picking!

The berries can be very delicate when they’re ripe. I had juice all over myself!

I managed to pick four good size containers in the time I was there.

Look at how gorgeous these are!!!

And they’re so sweet and delicious! Nothing like eating a beautiful ripe berry right off the vine while it’s still warm from the sun!

Once I got home I froze the berries on cookie sheets first so they wouldn’t be frozen in one big clump.

I ended up with six quart bags of berries in my freezer. These will be so wonderful in the cold winter months!

My small cherry tomatoes are doing really well. I’m also getting larger tomatoes now from a friend who lives a street over. The arrival of those larger tomatoes means a BLT must be eaten! I had my first one of the season yesterday for lunch and it was sooo good!

Back to work tomorrow. We are scheduled to go live on our new database tomorrow, and there’s a lot of work coming up this week.

I have scheduled some vacation in September… 2.5 glorious weeks! My friend will be visiting again and we’re making plans fr what quilt we’ll make when she’s here.