Crafting in July

Ahoy! Thanks for sailing in through cyberspace today to see where I am near the grand Mt. Hood close to Portland, Oregon, USA., and to learn a bit about what crafting I have been involved in July 2020.

February 21, 2020, just before we were asked to stay safe at home except when providing or getting essential services, I filled the gas tank of my 2005 minivan.   Mainly since then, I have gone out once a week for groceries. One Friday several months later my youngest daughter came to drive me to the grocery store because I had pulled something in my upper right arm and was having trouble driving.  She drove me to a grocery store that took us past this nearby view of Mt. Hood where I used my iPhone to craft a photo.  July 24, 2020, the gas gage in the car still said I had a little over a fourth of a tank of gas but I had it filled again, five months since the last fillup!

Day by day I crafted tried and true recipes like these GF dairy-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies most of which are still in the freezer. I think I have concocted some sort of soup and salads every day as well.

In July when crafting a mile walk in our neighborhood I took a photo of these stunning purply blue Hydrangeas that are growing nearby.

From the tiny garden I crafted on the patio, the three Sugar Snap Pea plants I planted in the planter boxes produced these yummy pods and a few more.

Because I am not a very crafty gardener the hanging plant and the Cala Lilies at the front of the unit have been amazing to view and try to tend.

Although some of my Wednesday morning group of ladies who knit and crochet preemie blankets for a local NICU only met online in Zoom meetings these are one batch of blankets and hats that was dropped off in July!

A soothing satisfying craft for me is crocheting double-thickness potholders like the one in the photo above that I finished in July for a friend. The style is my favorite kind of potholder and one I made long ago and use all the time is in the photo with the cookies I showed you.

These blankets and hats were made by a new crocheter who is in her seventies.  Another friend from our Wednesday church group is a prolific knitter and crocheter and she also crafted these sweet rocks and dropped them off in my patio one day.  💕

During the hot days of July, I have also been crafting cool drinks of almond milk swirled with various kinds of frozen fruit. I am especially fond of melon and blueberries!

In this batch of blankets and hats that were dropped off are ones crafted on round plastic looms by a friend who has limited mobility in her hands. She enjoys making them and does so with love.

The little rose bush in the front of my unit is producing its second round of summer roses.  I crafted this display of some of them amidst blue glass on the kitchen windowsill.  You might really enjoy the rose's delicate lovely scent~ ~

One of my favorite spots on the patio is this corner where I crafted this pottery fountain made from a bowl that my mom bought from a potter in Nederland, Colorado where I lived for two and a half years in the early 1980s.

This morning I pulled the spent Sugar Snap Pea vines from the planter on the left leaving the Sweet Pea flower vines.   Do you think they will produce some colorful scented flowers? In the right planter, I have a Clematis vine mingled with Morning Glory vines. The Clematis has finished blooming for the season and the Morning Glory has not produced any flowers yet. I have had mixed results in crafting gardens throughout my years, but I am ever hopeful for good results!

The July online prompt I got from my Joy of Artful Worship facilitator focuses on crafting the following verses onto decorated index cards to share with others.

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 

1Corinthians 15: 1-4 NIV

16 For the Lord, himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thess. 4:16-18 NIV

Another thing I have been crafting in July is this blog post.  I have been using the new Blogger format and have not figured out how to sequence photos in the order I want, but other than that  I have survived😊

and you have too if you are reading this.  Bravo! Please let me know how you are crafting your life these days.

Gracie xx

Busy as a Bee on a Bloom!

Are your days buzzing with busyness?  Mine seem to be!  I have made some effort to try to get a clear photo of a bee this summer like some of the photos I have admired in other blogs.  This is the best I have managed so far.

The Hollyhocks prompt fond memories for me of my Auntie Ruth in West Boxford, Massachusetts, USA, who for many years had some like this blooming next to the side entrance to her Stone House Farm home.

 This past week in between painting and packing and cleaning chores for moving I was resting in a chair on the front porch when I saw a big fluffy mama raccoon and I think four of her babies scurry across the driveway intent on reaching the huge old cherry tree to feast on the very ripe cherries that are on the grass.  I just barely caught a glimpse of mama behind my garden cart and a baby's tail to the right of her.

Then I cautiously moved around the house and got this shadowy view of mama who was posed ironically by a "caution" tape workmen had put down while installing a new internet line.

While preparing to move I still have been meeting with my stitching friends at church who are committed to knitting and crocheting blankets for babies who are admitted to the preemie NICU at a local hospital.  My current blanket is at the bottom of the photo.  Do you see the squash on the table?  One of the ladies is not only a prolific blanket maker but is also an avid gardener.  She brought her surplus squash to share!  So kind!

The current heatwave we are experiencing here near Portland, Oregon, has been great for ripening our blueberries.  I wish I could share them with you because they are delicious!

Although we did not meet our goal of having the house on the market by July 1st, we are very nearly ready for realtor photos and the next phase of the moving process.  I miss interacting with many of you who have struck up a friendship with me through blogging and appreciate so much those of you who visit and leave comments here in spite of my erratic posting here and erratic commenting on your blogs over the last two years.

As I go now to paint two closet shelves I am wondering are you busy as a bee on a bloom?

Blessings!
Gracie xx