A Smokey Day
It not only looks hazy outside, it smells like a smoldering garbage fire . . . directly from Canada. The day is cooler but not a very good trade off.
We had errands this morning here in town. Though we had been to the grocery store several days ago . . . we needed to go back. Last night after looking in the refrig and the pantry shelves, I hit Mom’s church cookbook. These recipes are the tried and true that sustained farm families. We needed to stock up on some stables. Dennis does go with me into the store. Some items are on top shelves and other items such as a gallon of water for his CPAP machine need his heft. We had a list and as we surfed the isles I could direct him left and right. It is a good idea for Dennis to know his way around the store . . . and participate. I do know when he has gone on his own he is not bashful to stand at an endcap and snag one of the worker bees and ask. Good for him.
Today was the last day of sewing on the 42″x 82″ tablecloth with an additional 6″ drop in the border. I know the first time Carrie uses it, there will be spills and whoops. It may be thrown in the washing machine, it has been pre-washed to set colors, and forgotten in the dryer until someone runs out of underwear. That will not bother me one bit.
This project was my liftoff to return to the curious person I was in 2020 with all things thread and fuzz. I needed to prove to myself that I can get it done. I now know and believe with all my heart that challenging my left arm and hand with sewing is nothing but . . . this or better. The hand tried and did well. I can’t imagine not encouraging and engaging it. There were some aspects that I looked at and thought . . . hmm. I learned much. I am pleased that when I took this photo of the miters of the tablecloth top and the hem, laying them up close and personal, I was still pleased that I tried something new and it did not disappoint. As I said . . . this or better.
Tomorrow with my 3M lint rollers I will work the back side of the tablecloth and take care of unwanted threads. I love those rollers. The last step will be pressing the cloth with my Best Press. A light starch does wonders to allow stains not to penetrate as deeply. Mom used to lightly starch our pillow cases and the necks of Dad’s blue chambray work shirts. Farm kids didn’t take a bath every night and with few fans the pillows absorbed a lot of the warm to hot nights. As far as Dad’s shirts . . . the neck bands wore better before they were so frayed they would need to be taken off and turned over. Helping Mom do that was indeed an insult to sewing.
Take heart the heat is going to subside for a few days. Remember and never forget . . . it’s the attitude we live by and not the altitude. Humility is a wonderful attribute.