Running, Sewing, Folding, And Growing.

Feeling better

Dressed for the chill

Cheryl has been feeling better lately, and as a result... we have been increasing the mileage.  Today we ran 6 miles.   The Des Moines  Marathon was yesterday, and someone we know was supposed to run it.  If we got her name right,  she must have had a pretty good day.   We can't wait to see her when she returns to HyVee to ask her about it.

Time to stretch... 

And show off those legs.

In the mean time, Cheryl has her mind set on next years races and is training accordingly.  The weather has been nice...for running.   Cold mornings and cool days.   I hear that the temps are going to rise a bit later this week.

Cold enough for long sleeves.

And gloves!

Other than that,  Stockings have been picking up.   Yesterday we sewed up thirteen.   And have a couple more on the docket for tomorrow.  The stockings took slightly longer to sew up than we had anticipated.

Stockings!

Drives Cheryl crazy.

 I guess it has been a while since we did that many stockings at one time.  Even Cheryl got a little "giddy" after we had finished.  This is a moment I wanted to mention:   I believe they build sewing machines to discriminate against men! Oh sure, we can fix them.   But using them is challenging with meaty paws.

Made by men FOR men....

  Luckily,  someone invented a means to get that thread through the needle using a small gizmo.   It helps me quite a bit because one:  I can't see the tiny needle hole.   And two:   Even if I could see it,  I have to contort my hand in such a way to push the thread through. My wrists ache if I have to do that three times in a row.

It's a Machine!  Hooray!

 

Still,  I like sewing on the buttons...   And using the Embroidery Machine.  I guess the mechanical gene still drives us somehow.

Pelican

Luna Moths.

And then there is the Origami.   I fill in the time that Cheryl spends answering questions, scoring papers, ordering materials, and creating stockings... with making and folding paper.   The challenge is finding things to fold that interest me.  Sometimes the complexity does not matter.

My tomato Experiment.

And lastly,  with all this rain I have been harvesting the seeds off of the creeping Cardinal vine.  And I have been excited to see the tomato seeds sprout in my experimental nursery.  ( The rain destroyed my little greenhouse, but  I did manage to get some sprouts to grow before then.)

Our Tomato color palette for next year. 

I can hardly wait for next years planting.  (I say that....Now.  I'm sure things will change later.)   My goal is to get the heirloom tomatoes to grow in the various flavors and colors.  I'm not sure if I will bring any to the farmers market, but we shall see how many I can actually get to grow.   I'm not really known for my green thumb.    Still,  It will be a fun process.