Finally some sun

I've been walking, doing yoga, reading, having soaks, still basically looking for any relief for my particular kind of annoying pain which may be some type of neuropathy. Medications so far have not been effective.
It's been a week so I thought I'd pop in to say I'm still here and still doing some sewing when I feel inspired.
This morning I walked to the hairdresser for a haircut and took the long way home. After lunch I made these most delicious banana bran muffins with cocoa and chocolate chips. They've got to be healthy with the bananas and the bran, right? I could be renamed the muffin lady I post so often about my various muffin recipes! What I do is wrap each one in cellophane to freeze and then when my husband packs his lunch he can choose from the bag in the freezer.

I just found the recipe in the latest Chatelaine magazine that arrived in my mail yesterday. I'm enjoying one with a cup of tea on my deck as I write this. Delicious!
Yesterday I cleaned up my small gardens against the back of my house. It was so good to finally get outside.

The allium and tulips are up. I fill in later with a few annuals and even some veggies, making good use of a sunny spot.
To show you why I'm so happy to get out into these small gardens, here's a different view.

Half the yard still has snow. My compost bins are still buried and frozen. Summer comes slowly here and even more so this year.
I haven't done anymore on my tree but I am going to cut out a moon shape and try it out in a spot behind some branches. Just thinking is progress for me these days!
I did pull out two Gelli printed tulip pieces while I was cleaning and couldn't resist doing something with them. So far I've painted the lighter tulip shapes with my Neocolor II crayons and then added a bit of free motion stitching.

I bordered each one with a black and white print. Originally I thought of wall hangings but I'm trying them out as another table runner. The plan is to add pieced borders, then another plain border. I want to sketch/ thread paint the tulips with black thread once it's sandwiched.

What do you think? Runner or wall hangings? I like having the combination of art and usefulness on my coffee table.
I'm writing this on my deck and took the pictures with my I Pad so I know they're not the best. I'm happy to at least be writing a little something. Ooh, the sun just came out from behind a cloud. It feels so good! I'm a shade seeker all summer long but right now the warmth feels divine.