Apple Blossom Time Day #4

Apple Blossom Time, Day #4

Apple Blossom Time...Day 3

   Today is Day 3 of Apple Blossom Time...

and I saw a couple of trees in blossom in Wally's yard!  When we moved up here to the little house in the little woods in 1962, Wally's parents had a small orchard between the horse pastures.  They would spray and trim it every year, and it produced some nice apples.  Now all that's left is a 1 or 2 old trees, some stumps and one new tree that Wally planted for Dot several years ago.  He still trims them yearly but doesn't spray any more (and he doesn't get good or many apples).  I read on Google yesterday that you needed more than 1 tree and some pollinators (bees, butterflies, etc) to get apples from your trees.  You actually needed a different type of apple tree to insure a good cross-pollination.  This may be that year!!  Today while we ate our BK lunch down by the river, Jeff pointed out a couple of what he thought were probably crab apple trees on the island in the river across from the Maytan Fishing Site where we were.  On the ride home, we noticed the orchard on the curve on Protection Ave across from Creekside Courts (the housing project) was in full bloom, too.  And I think I remember small orchard behind us here on Smallsbush, Eatonville and Burt Roads.  I think the bees and their buddies will have plenty to keep them busy.  At least, I hope so!
   We went out today to get flowers at Annutto's Greenhouse for the cemeteries (for my parents and for my cousin's dad).  I had read in the news that the veterans organizations weren't going to put American flags on veterans' graves this year until after July 4th (still part of the virus shut down).  When we stopped at Walmart I found 4 small (4") flags in a bundle for $1.98 and thought that 2 would look good in each flower pot so I got them, 

(Better than nothing, huh?)  A friend had told me that Mohawk and N Columbia had defied the order and already put the veterans' markers and flags out but I hadn't seen any signs of

that at St Mary's or the Orthodox cemeteries by the house and I haven't been to Calvary since last summer.  When we got home I noticed that St Mary's had put the markers & flags out today but I think I'm going to go ahead and put the mini-flags in the pots.  Can't ever have too many American flags around, can you?  Besides, it looks rather cute, wouldn't you say?
   I know we spoil our dogs, so because we left them home today we got them each an order of BK chicken nuggets ($1/order).  (Don't try to give them McD's...they know the difference and don't care for them!)  When we got home we found that they had helped themselves to the Nabisco graham crackers from the kitchen table...2 unopened bundles were gone. I had just opened the box today!

The box was ripped up and was on the living room floor with one of the brown wax wrappers and the other wax paper wrapper was in Jeff's room with the big jar of peanut butter...but the top was still on it!  Gee, they couldn't have peanut butter on their graham crackers. But it didn't stop them from scarfing down the chicken nuggets and some dog food!!

Apples?? Keep Your Fingers Crossed!

    Jeff told me this morning to look out of the window at the apple tree.  Now this is a miniature apple tree that my family planted in 1992 or '93 and while it has blossomed in the past, it has produced apples only once and that was the 1st year Jeff had a garden around it.  That year he had been fertilizing the tomatoes with 'compost tea' and wow, did they grow!  We had a jungle of tomato plants out there!!  (Look back thru the blog to the summer of 2011 to see the photos of that garden!)  Well, since the tomatoes were growing around the apple tree, it benefited from the 'compost tea', too, and that year we got 2 of the largest, most perfect apples I have ever seen.  There wasn't a mark on either one of them.  And when we cut them to eat them, the fruit was perfect all the way thru!!  But, that was the one and only time the tree produced fruit. 
   Other years the tree would start to bloom and we'd get a late frost or something else would hit it and that would be it.  When Jeff said this morning to look at the apple tree I did not expect to find it covered with apple blossoms!  It wasn't that way over the weekend so it must have popped out over night!

       Jeff thinks I should take photos every day so we can keep track of how the tree flowers.  I'm excited!  I hope we get more than 2 apples this year...maybe even enough for a pie!

Finished: At Last!

   I finally got my Guernsey Shawl finished and blocked.  It's based on Anne B Hansen's 'Guernsey in Pink' shawl but I used a Merino fingering yarn in Cadet blue.  The shawl is 44" wide and 14" high.  I'll be mailing it to the shop, Cooper Country Crafts in Cooperstown tomorrow.

The Countdown Has Started!

   The countdown has started!  Sometime this week Cooper Country Crafts will be fully stocked and ready for business...by appointment only!  There will be a phone number on the door (318-858-0132) and all you have to do is call and arrange for a member to meet you at the shop.  I'm sure you'll be able to fine that perfect gift for Mother's Day on our shelves.
   In the meantime, I have to finish ALL the works in progress that are on my needles and work in ALL the yarn ends that I left hanging from what I did finish before I can stock my displays...yea, plural.  I now have 2 displays.  My usual hand-knit baby and children sweaters and hats and things and this year a new, 'Highland Knits', inspired by the books and TV show Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  It has been so much fun knitting 18th century scarves, shawls and fingerless gloves.  At first the colors or lack of colors was a little boring but as a history major I realize it wasn't as bland as they make it out to be.  Fabric artists always used natural dyes from plants to color yarn and while the colors weren't as vibrant they still were attractive.  I've tried to use a variety of subtle colors in my knitting.  The problem I had was Walmart wasn't stocking their yarn display with much of anything this winter.  I ordered some yarn from catalogs and online but that added to the cost and time.  Shipping was slow and often doubled the cost of a skein of yarn. So I made do with what I could find in the store.  Hope it sells!  
   Anyway, here are the 3 sets of gauntlets or fingerless mitts that I'll have in the shop.

It's Time To Open...with Caution

   This is how our shop looks from across the soon-to-be-paved Doubleday Parking Lot.  A friend of Judy, Rita, took this photo last week.  Abby our weaver has reworked our garden (behind the pile of dirt in the middle of the photo) because it 'suffered' due to the construction.  She moved some of our flowers and added others she brought from home.  Our garden has always been a bright spot in the parking lot and this year won't be any different!  Judy has the shop cleaned up and has asked members to start stocking.  She hopes we can be open by Mother's Day...but it will be by appointment only.  A phone number will be posted on a sign by the shop's door and if someone wants to come in they will have to call it and wait 5 or 10 mins for a shop member to arrive and let them in.  Hopefully, our local customers will understand our cautious procedure and stop by.  
   Jeff was suppose to go to Cooperstown Monday morning for a post-op checkup but when it was suggested to him that it could be done via Zoom or just over the phone, he said 'no'.  Actually, he hung up on the nurse from the cardiologist's office!  So today when we went to Herkimer to see our attending MD (a regularly scheduled appointment) we were told it was going to replace the post-op checkup.  Jeff's Bp and heart were both good.  He had some blood tests done and was congratulated for being smoke-free.  Barring any problems he doesn't have to see anyone for 6 weeks.
   My cousin, Ed, had offered to drive us to Cooperstown for that post-op checkup so tonight I called him and told him it was cancelled but if he still wanted to take a run to C'town one day next week, he could take me to the shop so I could stock.  He agreed and we decided to do it Thurs or Friday...Jeff decided he may even come along when he heard we were planning to stop for lunch either in Cooperstown or along the way.  Now I've got to get my stock ready to go!

Another Medical Episode is Over

   Thank God, Jeff finally is home.  He was discharged this afternoon and his sister and I went to Cooperstown to pick him up.  He told me around 11 am that he'd be discharged between noon and 1pm so Sherry did her errands before picking me up.  We stopped at my friend Maggie's on the way down because Maggie had been making fabric masks and had made some for us.  She also had a goodie bag with some homemade tomato sauce and meatballs so I didn't have to worry about supper tonight.  We exchanged jam jars...empties from me for ones full of her delicious strawberry jam.  We got to the hospital about 1:30 expecting to find Jeff ready and waiting to get dressed and leave.
   Ha!  I had been told by 2 different nurses to be sure to bring clean clothes for Jeff because he had nothing with him.  He was a wearing hospital gown, so I packed the duffel bag with clean jeans, cotton shirt, cotton t-shirt, underwear, and wool socks.  He asked for shoes and his teeth, so they were in there,too.  Before we left for Cooperstown I even called and asked the floor nurse how to arrange the clothes delivery.  She said to just walk up to the main door to the hospital, explain the purpose of my visit and hand the suitcase to the guard who would delivery it to the floor nurse.  HA!  again.  
  I did that and the guard called the floor nurse twice and finally it was decided that I should just put the duffel bag of clean clothes back in the car.  They had found Jeff a paper scrub suit and that's what he'd be discharged in.  OK.  Then the wait began.  I later learned from Jeff that all the nurse's aides had  'called in' and every floor/department was short-handed.  (He said doctors' were drawing blood for simple tests.)  Anyway, it took over an hour before Jeff was escorted to the entrance in purple paper scrubs with yellow slipper socks (!!).  His orders were in a plastic bag and were about 1" thick!  Why did it took so long to do the paper work to discharge him when they knew it was going to happen?
   As usual after a hospital stay, Jeff was hungry so we did a detour to Hartwick Seminary and stopped at McDonald's.  Then it was a quick trip to Herkimer and Walmart to pick up his new Rx's.  We got chicken nuggets for the dogs at Burger King as we went thru town.  Now he's taking a nap (both dogs keep visiting him to make sure he's still there).The dogs were thrilled to see him!  They jumped all over him and tried to sit in his lap (Zoey made it but Fanny was satisfied just to put her head on his knee.)  Now I'm going to heat up some of Maggie's spaghetti sauce and have a couple of meatballs for supper.  Tomorrow Jeff has to go to the lab in Herkimer for a blood test and maybe I'll stop at Hanniford's on the way home.  I'm glad this episode is over and hope it's not repeated very soon.