Goodbye July

I have a finish!

Sorry about the crooked picture.

Long My She Wave

Redbird Designs

This was one of the Get-Away pieces from last year - I finally got it finished!

Not sure exactly what I am going to do with it from here but it may (or may not) include one or both of these fabrics. I'll let ya know whey I fully finish it.

My hibiscus got of to a slow start but it has been producing one or two blooms every day. Today it has four! We had a little rainstorm and the grass was still wet so I only took a picture from the porch side.

Something has been rooting around in my flower beds again. Whatever it is is just digging down through the mulch to the dirt - but it has been all the way around the porch across the sidewalk and into the flower bed on the other side. Grrr. At least (so far) no plants have been harmed.

I was surprised at that little rain shower this morning (actually there were two) I was getting ready to head out for a walk when it came a downpour. Not long after I took the pictures it started again - pretty hard but short lived. The sun is in and out this afternoon and it's super humid. Maybe I'll get out and walk this evening - and maybe the skeeters won't carry me away.

Hot enough for ya?

It's not quite as hot as it was last week, but it's still hot! Mid 90's instead of upper 90s. LOL

This was the first bloom I had on my hibiscus this year. Looked pretty sad, huh?

Gave it a little Miracle-grow love a few weeks back and the blooms are looking better!

I have one or two new ones just about every day. These two are from this morning.

This plant (forget the name) is right next to the hibiscus and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

My elephant ears are doing well. 

I see a few crispy ones I need to trim off.

I'm still waiting on the cushion for my swing. Should be here anytime now.

We have been using this old one we had on a bench - its a little short.

I've been doing a little stitching but no finishes to show. Maybe next time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend Round-up

 Hello! Is it hot enough for ya?

 It's plenty hot in Texas!

Last Thursday we were supposed to go to a Bon Jovi concert. 

Of course that didn't happen. 

Instead, we went to Hot Springs with friends for a long weekend.

This was the view off the deck of our condo. 

These pictures were taken at Garvan Woodland Gardens

This chapel is right in the middle of the gardens. 

It was closed because of Covid, but we took pictures through the windows.

Is this not a beautiful place for a wedding?

As we were leaving, this guy was just wandering around.

Couldn't get him to show his feathers, (and we tried for quite some time!) but I'm sure it is a beautiful sight.

This has been on hubby's bucket list for awhile. 

He was having a blast.

This was never on my bucket list. 

There were 10 lines - I was counting down and ready for a drink!

The guys were responsible for our dinner Friday night. 

These two have been friends since elementary school!

(dinner was very good!)

My brother happened to also be in Hot Springs on Saturday and met up with us for dinner. 

Thankfully it was cool enough to eat outside (and right on the lake!)

It was really good to get away for a few days. We never turned on the television and except for social distancing and having to mask up a couple of times, we pretended all was right with the world. It was for us, for a few days anyway.

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th!

Happy Father's Day

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to the two most important dads in my life.

We don't get many pictures of my dad. This was taken at Brian's wedding back in November.

Another picture from the wedding. My kiddos with their dad. This man loves these young men with everything he has.

I hope these men know how important they are in the lives of their children.

We wouldn't know what to do without either of you.

Much love to you both!

(yes, we just got the last of the pictures from the wedding!)

A finish!

I finished this little cutie over the weekend. I'm loving it!

Jeans and Weenies by Plum Street Samplers

36 ct Bisque linen, one over two.

I did swap a couple of colors - my Used Brick was too 'rusty' so I used Cupid (old enough that it says Crescent Colorworks instead of Classic Colorworks!) and I used Chalk (GAST) instead of the called for Wasabi. I did go back and add another top cross on the eagles head so it would show up better. Some of the places where it called for black, I used Pea Coat (words and stars)

I don't yet know exactly how I will finish it off but I need something where I can swap them out since I have more seasons to stitch!

We had a really good weather day here yesterday. The temps and humidity were both down - it was so nice! I wish it could be like that all summer but both are heading back up again today. I hate Texas summers! 

What are you stitching this summer?

A Little This, A Little That

Good morning!

How have you been spending your time?

Things are opening back up around here but I still haven't been much of anywhere other than grocery shopping.

I've managed to start and finish two little stitches.

On the left is 4th of July Bird by Heart in Hand (I left off the bottom part so I could use it all summer) and on the right is Happy Happy Flag Day by the Trilogy. I still need to sew the buttons on both. Not sure how (or when) I will finish them off.

We did a little re-arranging on the front porch.

Moved the little garden house from the side to the front.

So we could hang a swing on the side! 

Don't you just love porch swings? I do!

Stay safe out there!

A Long-term Project!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day - those of you who are mothers and those who are lucky enough to still have your mothers with you.

We spent the day at home but I did get to talk to all my kiddos. I went and took new flowers out to mom on Friday.

I think I have one or two WIPs that are older than this one but I'm not sure if they will ever get finished (I need to dig them out and see how much I have done on them) Anyway - here is my 15 year project.

French Alphabet Sampler

Custom chart by Blessings Counted

I started this project on 11/11/2005

I worked on it in spurts here and there. This is where I was when I pulled it back out on 3/17/2020.

I worked on it exclusively until I finished it on 5/7/2020

I stitched it on 36 count Antique Cotton linen by R&R Reproductions

I used one strand of Gloriana silk floss over 2 threads. (on my computer, this photo is the closest to the actual color of the fabric)

I purchased 8 skeins and the photo above shows how much I had leftover. I might have done a little frogging and it might have some creative stitching here and there but it is finished!

Not the best picture, but here is the finished project! It is 23" square. Not sure when I will get the chance to get to the frame shop to pick out a frame and I have to figure out where I am going to hang it.

Happy to mark this one off the list!

Have an awesome week!