- Land of Flood and Drought - 2015

Retrospective (12/3)

Patch #309 Two floods too many

Original Post

Après la secheresse ...

Land of Flood and Drought - 2015 is finally hanging ...

Just as, after a full month with no rain, the skies have opened ...

- Inertia

Retrospective (12/3)

Patch #308 Ka-ching

Original Post

I am so far behind on my daily patches that I've become frozen in my tracks, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers while simultaneously dreaming up new projects.

Then there's this ...

This is what it will cost for our 60 and 62 year old selves to keep our current level of health insurance. I wonder if people with employer-sponsored health insurance realize that prices for individual policies are age-based.

Still, we count ourselves fortunate that we were able to retire early and follow our current creative paths while spending large chunks of time with our grandchildren.

I just hope we the people can manage to elect a president and congress who can work together ... perhaps then some of our more intractable problems can begin to make progress toward workable solutions.

- Three Rs

Retrospective (12-3)

Patch #307 Reading, 'Riting & Retired

Original Post

Reading ...

and writing ...

Nothing like having retired educators for grandparents, right G?

- Hanging around

Retrospective (12/1)

Patch #306 Another month ahead

Original Post 

Don's latest wood-grain landscape ...

made it onto the wall ...

but not without the obligatory (for us) multiple attempts to set the monkey hook  ...

After which we gave up and used a standard picture hook.

Then we headed to Austin to see G. Our after-dinner walk yielded up a nifty metal washer, perfect for Don's latest assemblage project (a Texas longhorn) ...

As we walked on, G tossed the washer, watched it roll to a stop, then repeated the process ...

I'm quite sure I never would have had the patience for the stop-and-going-ness of such a walk when I was a young parent. However, as a grandparent I found it utterly delightful.

- Happy Halloween

Retrospective (12/1)

Patch #305 The driest month ever

Because there can't be anything drier than 0" of rain.

Original Post 

- Watching for fall

Retrospective (11/6)

Patch #304 Southbound

Original Post 

Sandhill cranes are on the move ...

and spiders are aweaving ...

Summer may yet depart the hill country.

- Logan's bag

Retrospective (11/6)

Patch #303 Logan's bag

Original Post

I've been absent for a week, but far from idle as I had a very important project to do ...

Made from a rayon sarong that Logan picked out at the Kitty Hawk surf shop ...

it has shells we gathered on the beach ...

and a label stitched from the paisley stamp we found at Seagreen Gallery.

And even though the label is covering a hole on the inside of the bag, really I suppose the bag could work equally well inside-out ...

Sometimes obsessive neatness can be a virtue.

N.B. I just published a week's worth of posts if you want to take a look back.

- Dye-hard

Retrospective (11/30)

Patch #302 Peaceful paisley redux

Original Post 

Two summers ago, Logan and I gathered blanket flowers on the beach in Avon and dyed cloth

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2015/06/red-yellow-purple.html

getting an amazing purple ...

which faded to a less-remarkable purple-gray over time ...

Except, when washed it turned yellow-green ...

perfect for labeling the pink and green batik bag for Logan that is one day from done. Especially since the wood block paisley stamp was one of our Seagreen Gallery finds. 

- Isn't it nice to be home again?

Retrospective (11/28)

Patch #301 Pink muhly

Original Post 

We were greeted by this beauty when we got home ...

a wire grass that Don transplanted from a shadier part of the yard ...

This is the first time it has bloomed, so we can now identify it as Pink Muhly. And as Don fired up the grill, he called me out to see it "catch fire" in the rays of the setting sun ...

as smoke from the grill drifted above.

We talked over dinner, as we do over many meals, about the impending election. Fortunately, Texas has early voting, which is usually an opportunity to avoid lines on Election Day. But the turnout is already epic, so we found lines ... and signs ...

to keep us occupied ...

as we awaited the arrival of the Wimberley Fire and Rescue squad, who kindly broke in to our truck in order to rescue our keys.

- Ill-booten gotty

Retrospective (11/27)

Patch #300 Flounder gig

Original Post 

Between beachcombing, the Seagreen Gallery, and the KDH Art Cooperative, we came home with our usual assortment of stuff ...

Is it any wonder the TSA always searches our bags?