Hello!
Just
to let you know that I am still breathing on my end and hope you are on yours.
We
are definitely having the hot and humid heat waves of summer- what I call the
Philippine weather. If a week goes by without some rain (thankfully, we are
still getting some rain showers) I have to water the garden tomatoes &
peppers, my roses, all the transplanted flowers, and the redbud trees Dwight
helped to plant along the driveway in May. The roses have been so beautiful
this summer. Now the Rose of Sharon's, tall phlox, the lilies ranging from soft
yellow- mixed with burgundy to dark burgundy to orange all along the outside of
my picket fence, daisies, lavender, and mints are all blooming and giving color
everywhere.
The
raspberries have been covered in berries and have kept me busy picking them as
they ripen along with the cherries, green beans and peppers. I've also been
harvesting ripened tomatoes. What bliss! There is nothing like the taste of a
picked warm tomato and fresh garden stuff.
With
it too hot to work outside, except first thing in the early morning hours, I
focused on the inside. Dwight sanded my China hutch so I could paint it a
medium blue (it was stained dark cherry) to help lighten up that corner of my
dining room. You know how I dearly love color. Even though the paint was an
expensive brand- I can't believe the price of things now-a-days, the paint was
thin like water and hard to work with even with a sponge roller as it was so
runny. I complained to Dwight, who took over, telling me that I was making a
horrible mess and that the paint was the way it was supposed to be. Now I've
been painting walls and stuff around the house for years. All I've got to say, is that when one coat of
paint won't completely cover something and has to take two coats, it's not very
good pain from my point of view. So much for modern advancement. Now that the China
hutch is painted, it looks lovely.
Towards
the end of May, after finishing planting all my sunflower, marigold, and
pumpkin seeds, I ended up with a right-hand bleed for the first time- most
likely from overworking it. Of course, my left-hand thumb joint flared up too.
So, there I was trading ice packs back and forth between both hands. Dwight had
to end up braiding my hair again as well. That Sun, with ice packs, I was only
able to play the piano with one finger on each hand. I felt like I had
regressed to the level of my young piano students. It was quite humbling as normally I play
chords and do runs.
Once
my hands got back to normal, I began another inside project, this time the
pantry. I moved all my canned stuff- that now is covering the back bedroom
floor and half of my dining room floor. I want to get the shelves painted
before the canning season hits big time. I got the ceiling painted and the wall
between the shelves. Last week, I first kiltzed, and then painting all the
shelves along the wall. They are one
foot apart so there isn't much space between when you paint underneath. I had
to crouch, paint up-side-down, kneel, and lay on my back and side. It was slow
going. I was so happy when I finally got
the first complete coat on. Now I need to caulk and give it another coat.
Wouldn't
you know it, if my left hip didn't decide to act up? I've had problems with
arthritis in my right hip, but my left one has always been OK. I guess all the
stress put on it painting those selves caused it to bleed internally. As if to
sympathized, my left hand has swollen up too, so I'm unable to use a cane to
help me walk. I'm back to living with ice packs day and night, extra pain meds,
and spending most of the day in the recliner. Needless to say, my painting
project has come to a halt. It's quite
frustrating but I have to behave myself until my hip gets better. I wasn't able
to make to church Sun.
I
had also begun a couple mini-quilt projects to put on the back of my living
room chairs, couch, and recliner for the summer. It is an ideal way to try out
new quilt patterns.
Annette
and Curtis, with little Ellie, had a safe trip back home from the
Philippines. They were quite happy to get
back to air conditioning. It was a special time with Annette getting to spend
her first Mother’s Day with Dawn. They also brought Katie along back with them
for her to go to a youth camp. Katie was here for about a month. Dawn flew over
for a week to fly back with Katie. They all came up for a visit before Dawn and
Katie had to leave. It was so nice to have them all here again. Dawn and Katie had a safe flight back. Thank
the Lord; they have been getting rain again in the Philippines, so their well
is slowly filling back up where they don’t have to carry as much water each
day. They had a very dry six months.
Dwight
got slowed down on his pocketknife making when he got an elbow bleed. It is
finally about back to normal after a month. It takes time and patience for a
bleed to stop and the joint to heal, and then not to overdo it and get it
bleeding again. Dwight has never
advertised his pocketknives- it’s all by word of mouth and from his FB page. He
has orders for over three years and with some waiting to get on his waiting
list. At first it was stressing Dwight out trying to push himself into going
faster as everything is handmade. He now does it as he can. All his pocketknives are a work of art. I am
quite proud of my artsy talented boy.
I
need to hush up and get this out in the mail. Already the 4th of
July is over. For all that is wrong with
our country, I’m still very thankful to live in a free land.
Until
next time~
Dorcas
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