Scrap Bucket

Yes, dear readers, this is where I keep the bits and pieces of my collage work.  The scrap bucket.  There is also a scrap basket and a recycled salad container full of pens, pencils and glue stick.  I usually work on the collage journal after dinner but before the 8 pm television shows begin.  If I had scraps of fabric, thread and beads and buttons in containers, I would be making fabric collage.  And now that I think about it (thank you) I may switch over to fabric.  Easy enough to take the paper scrap bucket to the workspace and bring out the fabric scrap basket.  I can even bring out a few precut pieces of white felt for backing.  I also have the applique circles to attach to the backing squares.  My "French" project.  Haven't worked on that since returning from Georgia last fall.

Yesterday.  The entire day was spent making three separate batches of grape jelly.  Twenty one jars of various sizes.  Water bath canning.  Lots of dish washing.  But the day went by so quickly.  The days at work are endless and my days at home go by so fast.

I found G's keys.  I started with the recycling container and emptied it to see if the keys had fallen in there when he was in the garage doing the dog food.  My second stop was the return deposit bin and last, ugh, would have been the stinky garbage can.  Luckily, I found the keys halfway down in the returned cans/bottles container.  Then G lost them again.  Oh.  Finally, the keys were found again and put into their rightful hook by the door.

G got home late again.  He leaves the house at 5 am and returns at 5 pm.  Not a good situation for a man with one working lung.  I think he fell asleep watching DWTS.  I was working on my journal and reading a book on "getting older in the garden".  About having to make decisions in the garden based on what you can no longer do.  Downsizing from a large perennial garden to more shrubs and less flowers. Getting rid of things that require a good bit of maintenance to things that take care of themselves 80% of the time.  I have been jotting things down in my journal.  I think this would be a good class offering at work.  Downsizing.

Our water bill arrived.  We must have really watered the garden this summer.  Double the usual amount. And the semi annual property tax bill, with a $200 increase yet again.  I have to add writing checks to the "to do" list for today.  Iron G's work shirts, plant some things where the moon garden was, make chili (using the bell peppers from the garden before frost kills them) and it would be nice to include something just for me to the list.  What could it be?  And Riley wants to go for a long walk before it rains.  My day.

One of Riley's dog friends was by the back door again last night.  Wanting him to come out to play.  While I think this visiting is kind of sweet, I worry about this dog running loose and crossing a well traveled and dark street to get here.  I think about finding his dead body along the roadside one morning.  The dog has street smarts and stays one step or two in front of the Animal Control officer who is trying to catch him. His "people" live in the posher houses across the way.  The entire family seems stoned or mentally lacking.  The dog never stays long enough for us to call AC or to catch him.  Street Smart. Riley really likes the dog.  Sort of a burley "tough guy".  Older and meaner than our sweet Riley.

The organic red kidney beans are bubbling away on the stove top.  I didn't pre soak.  G left me a multi grain bagel for breakfast (he might not like multi grain) because I washed and nicely folded three shirts for a returning employee.   I didn't iron them but I did button all the buttons.  He probably thought I forgot and was pleasantly surprised to see the pile of clean shirts by his placemat.  I did the folding and buttoning at midnight while watching the Good Wife from last week.  Time to do something productive.  And have some cereal.