Well, Hello Dolly!

After what has been a very dry spell, Hurricane Dolly has come to our little corner of Texas bringing showers. She went in around Brownsville and then into Mexico then over to New Mexico and now is coming back through North Central Texas. It was such a wonderful surprise to wake yesterday morning and see the streets wet from rain. It was only a small shower, but so very welcome. The sage (see picture above) has been blooming like mad for a week, and we couldn't figure out why. It blooms usually two days or so before rain. There were no forecasts for rain in our area. The weather forecasters said west or north of us. But it did rain! And it rained a really good shower again in the evening. I'd gone to the fabric store to pick up some embroidery floss and could see the black rain clouds coming. Just as I was leaving there were huge raindrops falling and I was so happy again. It is the simple joys of watching, smelling and totally enjoying rain for me. I have pictures in the camera, but haven't had time to download them. They only show rain falling in the pool and a couple more.

I still haven't gotten started on the vast embroidery projects I have planned. The knitting needles and yarn keep getting in my way. Hubby asked me to look and see if I had all the embroidery stuff I needed before I bought more and there were the knitting needles and some yarn that had been hanging around for years. Anyway, I'm reteaching myself to knit, and occasionally it is a good thing the internet has little videos showing how to do a stitch. The leftover yarn is now scarves for this winter. I'll snap a few pics to bore ya'll with my handiwork. OH yes..my daughter called last night to inquire about the scarves and wanted to know if I could teach her to knit. I told her I could try. She requested I knit her something, but only in natural materials, which she would be happy to purchase. I wished her good luck in her quest. There are so many really soft man made yarns now, that I'd so not want wool. I'll give it a whirl, but I'm teaching her with a plain Red Heart yarn so she can see what the stitches are.

While we were attending a luncheon last Saturday I mentioned to a gentleman in our group that I'd started knitting again. He said his wife was knitting a lot these days, because their church is involved in a project making layettes for newborns at our charity hospital. He told me that if the baby doesn't have clothes to leave the hospital they wrap them in newspapers. That was the saddest thing I've heard in a very long time and I just could not fathom that our county didn't have receiving blankets in which to send a newborn home. Anyway, I'm not a member of their church, but may be soon. While I was at the fabric store I picked up an ad and they are going to have flannel on sale this Saturday for $2.99/yard. I don't know how to crochet, but I can put a pretty blanket stitch on them to finish the edges.

A friend is moving to a retirement center this weekend and I'm taking her to lunch today. Her husband died about a year ago and the house is very large for her. This center is a really nice one out by a local lake and she wrote in an email that I must come visit, because she has a great view of the lake. She was on the waiting list for nearly two years. It just bothers the heck out of me, because she is only a few years older than I. The main thing is, though she have a smaller house in a very safe environment. They have a guarded gate and you have to have business in there to get in. I'm happy for her. I'm not ready to settle that far down yet, though.