Day 248 of 2026

We have a flurry of birthdays this month. 

GB#4 is the first. 

She becomes our newest 12 year old.

 

Day 247 of 2026

The sky tonight was amazing.

 

Day 246 of 2026

GB#6 is curious about the puzzle. 

Teach them young.

 

Day 245 of 2026

I'm out and about downtown for lunch with Fireball. 

I've taken this picture before but can't seem to find it. 

If I come across it, I'll link it here so we can compare. 

I finally found it. Click HERE to see it in 2015.

 

Day 244 of 2026

I just finished the second row

 of my two row repeat of this blanket

 only to realize 

that there is not enough yarn for the next row, 

let alone another repeat. 

I am not too broken up about it though. 

It means I get to start the next color sooner. 

 

Day 243 of 2026

To end the weekend, Fireball and I spent some time before dinner

 looking for more clothes to donate. 

We managed one full bag and one very full bag. 

 

Day 242 of 2026

Newest color.

 

Day 241 of 2026

Early this morning at 12:12 

was the peak of a 96% partial lunar eclipse.

 It was visible here in Indiana.

 Shortly before midnight 

it occurred to me to look up how to photograph it. 

I took quick note of the equipment I needed and the settings to try. 

I went to the driveway and set it up. 

I got two photos that were fairly clear. 

I'm happy with my quick try.

 

Day 240 of 2026

USA State Flowers. 

The puzzle includes a list of each state and what the flower is. 

The puzzle itself it so beautiful. 

I have had my eye on it for years. 

I finally saw it at a sale price I've never seen before.

 

Day 239 of 2026

I was hoping to finish the puzzle tonight,

 but I did not make it before my deadline. 

I did get it finished about 45 minutes later. 

Full picture coming soon.

 

Day 238 of 2026

It was a quick trip to the store after dinner. 

We only came home with a couple extra things. 

No, seriously, just two things - tomatoes and bananas. 

It would be hard to make a BLT without tomatoes.

 

Day 237 of 2026

I like to work my puzzles by color or specific area or subject. 

I started with the reds and dark pinks. 

I'm now moving through the blue/purples. 

The pieces here are a bit washed out because 

I had to get out a daylight lamp in order to pick out the pieces I needed. 

This room does not have afternoon light, 

and you know my left eye needs lots of light to see. 

I'll try to get a true to color picture when I finish it.

 

Day 236 of 2026

It feels too early for mums 

but if they are not purchased soon after they appear in the store, 

they will be gone. 

I get them at Costco and they are about twice as big

 as any others I have seen for the same price.

 

Day 235 of 2026

Fireball and I had a good day. 

One of the things we accomplished was filling five bags

 with clothes for donation. 

Neither of us is done yet, 

but this is a good start and gives us 

confidence and momentum.

 

Day 234 of 2026

Puzzle update: 

I have sorted most of the pieces by predominant color. 

Right now I'm working mainly on red portions.

 

Day 233 of 2026

I'm using up the rest of the strawberries from another meal. 

Tonight they will become the topping for strawberry shortcake.

 

Day 232 of 2026

It looks like the last puzzle I did was in September of last year. 

Feel free to check out the "puzzle" label in the sidebar.

It's time for a new one. 

It may take me a bit longer than usual 

as I will be trying not to work on just the puzzle all day. 

I can't wait to show you this one. 

It's so pretty.

 

Day 231 of 2026

Our neighbor got a new roof today. 

 I really like the color they chose.

 

Day 230 of 2026

Sometimes it's necessary to tear something down

 in order to build something new.

 

Day 229 of 2026

I was hoping to finish color number 5

 before my cutoff for today's picture. 

I didn't quite make it but only have one repeat (two rows) left.

 I'll finish them before I go to bed. 

I am officially more than halfway done with this blanket.

 

Day 228 of 2026

As always I get inspiration 

from the color combinations I find at IKEA. 

While I found plenty in the textiles today, 

this one is calling to me

 for my changing of the dishes this fall. 

 

Day 227 of 2026

I have several project bags that have a different project in each. 

It occurred to me today that if I put a small tassel

 of the yarn used in the project on the zipper tab, 

I can grab the right bag without opening it

 or second guessing myself.

 

Day 226 of 2026

We had thunderstorms for the third day in a row. 

The hydrangeas don't seem to mind.

 

Day 225 of 2026

GB#6 and I just got home before it started raining again today.

 

Day 224 of 2026

We had very strong storms most of the afternoon. 

We lost power for 5 1/2 hours. 

I couldn't cook dinner. 

Here's the backside of a bunny.

 

Day 223 of 2026

I was not able to attend Flock Fiber Festival this year

 as it was too close to our San Diego trip. 

It would have involved a one day layover at home 

before flying back to the other side of the country.

M agreed to be my personal shopper 

and grab some things I had my eye on 

and to pick what she thought I would like

 when there were options.

 My happy mail arrived today 

and I am very happy with my haul. 

M is a great personal shopper.

 

Day 222 of 2026

What is summer without baseball? 

It was really hot but fun, and as the song goes, 

we did root, root, root for the home team, and they did win. 

It was a good day.

 

Day 221 of 2026

A day at the museum.

 

Day 220 of 2026

I need to make the shape at the top

 out of yarn but much smaller. 

Here's how I'm going to do it. 

I have traced the original (too large) shape. 

Per my calculations,

 my new shape needs to be 40% of the original size. 

I have calculated what the vertical 

and horizontal measurements should be in inches. 

I wrote that down on the original paper. 

Since my original size is bigger than one sheet of paper,

 I marked a cutting line and added diamond marks to line up later. 

I cut my original in half and made copies of both halves at 40%. 

Out popped my tiny copies which I will tape together 

using the diamonds for matching up. 

I will use my now reduced hand written dimensions

 to check for accuracy. 

All that is left to do is make my little yarn piece 

using the tiny pattern to check the shape and size as I go. 

Expect progress pictures.

 

Day 219 of 2026

We had a visitor in the yard this afternoon. 

He was camouflaged quite well.

(zoom in if you can't see him) 

He was definitely looking for some lunch. 

I have completed filling in the photos 

from my time away on days 204-210.

Go take a look.

 

Day 218 of 2026

The squishy puzzle floor is going to be a great addition

 to our baby play space.

 

Day 217 of 2026

GB#6 in the yard discovering a leaf.

 

Day 216 of 2026

Tomorrow will be my first day with GB#6 since I've been home. 

I've got the cutest new board book,

and I can't wait to read it to him tomorrow.

 

Day 215 of 2026

These little toast crackers are so good, 

but I can't buy them here. 

It's hit or miss for Little E to find them

 but when she did recently, 

she bought a few boxes to bring with her 

when she came for our Big Adventure.

 

Day 214 of 2026

I made tacos tonight

 and found I needed to start the most basic of grocery lists.

 

Day 213 of 2026

We came home from our Big Adventure 

to new flowers in the garden.

 

Day 212 of 2026

I've started color number 5. 

(Photo taken 7-30-2026)

Computer issues prevented me from accessing my blog yesterday. 

Issues have been resolved. 

I'll begin posting One Big Adventure pictures tomorrow.

 

Day 211 of 2026

Painterly

 

Day 210 of 2026

We are on our way home but need to stop here 

for a very short layover. 

Do you know where I am?

Day 209 of 2026

We have a free day before we head back home. 

My plan was to drive north to see two houses I used to live in

 and drive by the schools I attended 

during my thirteen years of living in California. 

Ultimately, considering traffic and other time constraints, 

I decided I would be happy to just visit the closer of the two locations. 

It turned out to be a great decision. 

We had time to walk around the campuses at our leisure. 

My former home has a sale pending so the owner,

 who happened to be there, 

let us come inside and take a self-guided tour. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to reminisce

 and talk about her history there and mine. 

Above is my former high school campus. 

When I moved to Indiana during my sophomore year, 

I remembering being startled that the lockers at my new school

 were inside the building. 

I remember explaining that ours in California were outside 

and my classmates were just as startled as I had been.

Day 208 of 2026

At the end of the last day of Comic-con, 

we knew we would need some rest, 

so Little E got us tickets to see Hadestown: The Musical 

at a movie theater nearby. 

Fireball and I have not seen it on stage

 so it was all new for us. 

It was really good.

Day 207 of 2026

The panels are my favorite part of Comic-con. 

This one was called Eisner's New York 

highlighting the work of Will Eisner over his career.

It was fascinating.

Day 206 of 2026

If you've been following along for a while 

you may have guessed

 that we are at Comic-con again this year. 

Many people are dressed in character, 

but I rarely think to get a picture. 

I did get this picture of Fireball with TMNT Raphael.

Day 205 of 2026

Since my serger wasn't working just before our time away, 

I was not able to complete

 all the clothing items I wanted to complete. 

One item was another shirt for myself 

so I made sure to have everything cut 

and all my sewing supplies packed. 

This is what hotel room sewing looks like. 

I am hand sewing the shirt

 in hopes that I can still wear it here. 

As I sew past pins, they get pulled 

and temporarily stuck in the knee of my pants.

Day 204 of 2026

 

Fireball and I arrived in San Diego yesterday. 

Little E joined us late last night. 

This is the view from our hotel room. 

We'll be here all week.

Day 203 of 2026

 

I've finished four sweatshirt pillow covers for Little E.

Day 202 of 2026

The shirt came together better today. 

It's ready for buttonholes.

 

Day 201 of 2026

My day started out pretty bad. 

Can you see what's wrong with my machine here? 

After a new needle and several times rethreading, 

it's still not working properly. 

From there things only got worse. 

I found that the markings and some of the directions

 for the shirt I am making are incorrect. 

After a deep dive online, I found a post that explains

 what happened and how to fix it. 

Tomorrow's another day 

and I hope to power through and finish the shirt.

 

Day 200 of 2026

It's been a while since I've knitted anything. 

My hand has been giving me some pain 

so I thought it best to give it a break. 

Tonight I was able to get color number three finished. 

 

Day 199 of 2026

I want to make Fireball a shirt. 

I bought the pattern and the prescribed amount of fabric. 

I have begun laying out the pattern on the fabric

 according to the diagram. 

No matter how many times I measure the fabric 

and review the pattern layout, 

I keep coming up short. 

I suspect it is a pattern-writing error 

and will look into that at a later time. 

For now Fireball will be getting a short sleeved shirt.