Rajah's Ride, Country Sampler and the Weather in Nod

...in no particular order....

But, let's start with Rajah's ride anyway.

In my last post I mentioned that there were a great many things going on in the background of my world that I doubted you would care to read about.

Your comments and responses were so very heart warming.

Many of the things are trivial...many are unpleasant...and most I feel would likely be "TMI."  But several of you asked specifically about Rajah's dryer ride.

Well, here goes.

Rajah has always had an affinity for hanging out in the dryer.

I have been warned (repeatedly) by well-meaning, animal-loving, friends how dangerous this can be.

I know.

After a life full of animals and pets, many years of schooling (including at the school of common sense), and too many years of experience, trust me, I KNOW.

But I NEVER leave clothes in the dryer once the cycle has ended. (On the rare occasion I have forgotten and have, I rewash the clothes and start over due to wrinkling, etc. so it's a torture I'd prefer to avoid.)

And, besides, I'd obviously notice a 20+# cat in there when I put the wet clothes in.

Except I didn't.

 

I had stripped the guest bed and dried things on the line, but one blanket I do in the dryer.

After several loads of washing sheets, pillowcases and protectors, mattress pads, etc., the final load was the blanket.

I tossed in the dryer, turned it on and walked away.

And heard, THUUMP......TTHHUMMP.....THHHHUUUMMP.

Thinking there was something wrong with the dryer, I walked back to the laundry room and shut down the dryer....

THUUUUMMMMPPPPPPP.

...opened the door...

thuuump...umpp....

And out from the wet folds of the blanket - a bit disoriented and even a more bit put out - crawled Rajah.

In my defense, he had not been caught napping in the dryer in a long, long, time but how I did not notice him in there I do not know.

In any event, he does not seem any worse for the wear...and he's forgiven me.

I think.

In other news, I made my (second) annual trip to Country Sampler in Spring Green. (For those unfamiliar with Country Sampler, it has no connection with the magazine publication.  It started as a quilt store and then morphed into a quilting/cross stitch store and has become a destination mecca for many stitchers worldwide.)

I wish I could say the trip was uneventful, but things in my life never quite seem to be "uneventful."  I drive an older vehicle (2016) and the gps in it has never been updated.  (It is a foreign model, and the nearest service dealer is 2-1/2 hrs away.)  What should have been a 3-hr trip ended up taking 4 hrs due to a bridge that was out.

The detour wound me through roads with hairpin turns, sharp drop-offs and absolutely no shoulders to pull over on nor any towns or civilization to speak of, with my gps constantly trying to redirect me back to the way I originally intended on taking because it wasn't picking up the detour.

Gah!

After about 40 minutes, I finally came to a widening in the road with a bar and 3 houses and pulled over hoping to get some reassurance I was heading the right way.

Upon closer inspection, however, the bar had both a "for sale" and a "closed" sign.

And let's just say the houses were a bit too sketchy for even the likes of me to approach even if any of them had looked inhabited...which they didn't.

Worst of all, my phone had absolutely no network down there, so no outgoing calls or internet (including gps via phone) other than 911.

I still had a little over a quarter of a tank of gas and kept going and finally did get there. But seriously???

The time there was thoroughly enjoyable.  We stitched, we shopped, we were serenaded by a very gifted musician playing in the little park area outside the open windows of our rooms above the shop, ate homemade ice cream, and shopped and stitched some more.

The shop, of course, was full to overflowing with temptations and deliciousness -all decked out with a patriotic, summer vibe.

{Yes, I have a twin to this sweet angel girl....}

I did not purchase much...just a few pieces of linen, and some fabric - and a pattern I've wanted for some time.

And a whale...yes, I purchased a whale.

His name is Humphrey, and he will go to live at the lake...eventually.

The trip home was (blessedly) less eventful having received help researching an alternative route.

It wasn't quite as scenic as my original route or the detour but beautiful, nonetheless.  At least there were shoulders to the roads in some places.

So I am home now, playing catch up with all the background noise.

The trip inspired me to drag a few (very few) pieces of my summer/patriotic decor up from the lower level on my bi-daily trips down there to empty the dehumidifier.

{Vintage cross stitch flag}

I have heard in the news and read in posts and comments the severe heat waves many of you are enduring and lack of rain.

I truly wish I could share some of Nod with you.

I am currently wearing two sweatshirts and waiting for the next wave of storms to roll through.

We are in a flood watch right now...some areas due to get up to 4" of rain in 24 hrs. I have had to hook the hose contraption up to my sump pump pipes again - something I typically never have to do once the spring thaw is done.

Plants are drenched and drowning, but I took this photo of my roses-and-wisteria-gone-rogue before the skies opened up.

Wishing relief to those whose who need it.