Livin' La Needle Loca

...and some catch-up. Yesterday was my birthday and I decided to take the day off from packing things in the studio. I did a little stitching, a little puttering, and then we went out to dinner. I took a few photos in the garden before I asked The Husband to take my birthday photo. The yellow hibiscus is still going strong: The Husband bought a basket full of red verbena and calibrachoa to hang in the backyard: and the Marc Chagall rose is blooming again. It was a big birthday, 75, and a tough one to wrap my arms around.  I am blessed with good genes, but still the number gets to me. My mom looked great at 75: and here is my birthday photo: I'm rarely happy with any photo of myself. This one turned out pretty well. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: My Recipes (cooking) Continued adding recipes from my Christmas cookbook and research some of the sources. I wished that I had done a better job of keeping track of the sources, but it...

 ...and it's Happy Gotcha Day for the girls! 5 years ago, we brought home two kittens to fill the cat-sized holes in our hearts. They were an early birthday present for me. 😊 We love them!! Now that our water is working better, the Husband is replacing some of the flowers that dies because he couldn't water the yard well enough. He planted a yellow hibiscus: and replanted the hanging baskets with petunias, vinca, and pentas. The gaillardia is going string: as are the Frida Kahlo roses:

...and I'm still trying to figure out what crafts I can do without my studio. It occurred to me that while I can do somethings in the living room, it is right inside the front door where the contractors will be going in an out to do their work. I don't really want to deal with constant distractions and potential dust. So it looks like my bedroom is the only choice. 🤷 At least I can see our backyard from the bedroom. Right now, in my line of sight are petunias a yellow dahlia, and a lot of marigolds (no photo).  Plus, there are snapdragons that I can see from the kitchen window.

 ...mostly because I missed Friday. The Husband and I took an excursion on  Wednesday to Filoli ( https://filoli.org/ ) to see the TROLLS: Save the Humans installation by Thomas Dambo. It took me a few days to process the photos along with helping move more studio contents. We enjoy Filoli's gardens and love wandering around the grounds. This was the second time I've been there this year. This is the first time that we've walked the trail on the grounds.  The troll installation was great! My favorite were Rosa Sunfinger, The Botanical Troll: and Ibbi Pip, the Birdhouse Troll: The roses and dahlias were in bloom. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a hot and sunny day. Getting decent photos was hard to do - lots of sun glare and shadows. There are a great variety of dahlias, including this Show n' Tell Dahlia and this pink dahlia: The roses were wonderful. This Queen Elizabeth rose was gorgeous: The bees were out in force. This on...

...I can't believe it's August! Our garden path in August: The naked lady flowers are blooming: the sunflowers continue to bloom: and the snapdragons are trying very hard:

 ...and a Tour de Fleece update. First the eye candy. Our yard is in and in-between state. There are only a few things blooming. In the courtyard, the hibiscus is blooming again: < and the purple calibrachoa is going strong. Tour de Fleece, 7/23 I started spinning Jingle Bells [ Ravelry ], a merino-camel-silk blend from Greenwood Fiberworks. Tour de Fleece, 7/24 I finished spinning the singles for Jingle Bells [ Ravelry ]:

 ...and Tour de Fleece 2025, 7/17. I spun the singles for Alice [ Ravelry ], another Falkland from The Yarn Wench. In the garden, an omega skyrocket is blooming by my bedroom door: Another sunflower has popped up: And the pomegranate bush is busy making the transition from flowers to fruit:

 ...on Independence Day 2025. Our garden path in the morning sun: Ageratum in the courtyard: Coneflowers: and a pink dahlia in our backyard:

 ...I missed last week, oops. :) I'm enjoying all of the color in our backyard. The plumbago is going strong: The pink dahlias are starting to bloom: As are the canna lilies: The sunflowers are popping up: and the vervain appears here and there. The cats love watching the lizards sun themselves by the bedroom window in the morning. It's real kitty TV our there!

 ...and finished objects! I've been spinning singles for a couple of weeks for 3 different tops. My go-to is always Falkland from The Yarn Wench. This is Simplicity [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: < Specs: Started 5/24/2025 Finished 6/4/2025 Falkland (4.0 oz.) from The Yarn Wench 81.25 yds., Bulky  I found a few pencil rovings in my stash. This one caught my eye because it's the color of the primroses in our backyard and it's name. This is Primroses [ Ravelry ]:  and the close-up: Specs: Started 5/26/2025 Finished 6/5/2025 Corriedale pencil roving (8.0 oz.) from Crown Mountain Farms Skein 1) 114.6 yds. Skein 2) 106.25 yds. 10 WPI  In the garden, the Love-in-the-Mist is popping up everywhere: And the chocolate sunflowers are blooming: We have a bunch of fruit ripening on our trees, like the Blenheim apricots. (Can't wait for these!)  Here's hoping that the squirrels and birds let us have some!