I'm still here!

 I told you next time I would show some stitching.

 I've only got one this time, but next time I'll show my patriotic finishes - I have several! 

This was a get-away piece from 2008.

It was designed by Redbird and Company

(I have no idea if it is available outside of the get-away)

I finally got around to stitching it and it is mounted in a box from Olde Colonial Designs. (It was included with our supplies so again, no idea if it is available)

I don't know why it took me so long to stitch it!

My Mother's Day included hubby digging up some plants that bit the dust during our freeze this winter and replacing them with gardenias. There is a hibiscus coming up in the back and the Mexican petunias are coming up. There is also another plant that I can't remember what it is but it has orange blooms on it. They were all up and blooming by this time last year. They completely fill in this spot. I put some lantana in the blue pot. You can't see all the brown shrubs in this photo. They are showing a little growth on the very bottom so we will leave them for awhile and see if they can recover.

I also got two dwarf limelight hydrangeas. This is my first time to try these so we will see how they do. The hostas are finally coming up. There should be two more in there somewhere. I thought I had dug out all the elephant ears but there are a few of those coming up in this corner too.

Hubby also weeded the whole flowerbed and put out fresh mulch!

My mother's day surprise was getting to see this guy!

The other two called Sunday morning. We will see the oldest soon and baby boy took me on a (video) trip around his new neighborhood and new apartment. He also told me he is planning a trip this way in June! and I didn't expect to hear from Mr. Middle until afternoon (he works on Sunday mornings) but instead of a phone call he drove all the way here to surprise me! (my laptop battery died a few weeks ago and he is making sure we order the right replacement) Since he always works on Sunday, I haven't actually seen him on mother's day since we moved to Houston and he moved to Lewisville in 2009. 

He ordered my battery and showed me how to replace it when it comes in, then he took hubby to buy mulch since he has a truck and it would take a several trips for hubby to get it all in his SUV. He stayed until after dinner then headed back. It was a short visit but I loved every minute of it! 

We still have the back flowerbed to mulch and we are having a new bed built in the front but it's not finished yet.

It's been storming here this afternoon. Not sure how long it is supposed to last but at least my new plants are getting some water!