Sailing..sailing

Hello Stitching Friends!

I have been busy stitching away on Shores of Hawks Run Hollow.  I am now on the big block and am busily stitching sails...

Sorry for the crummy photo.  If Mike were here, he would make me take a better one.  But since he's not, you'll have to make do... ha! 

This is the previous block, all finished.  I do really like this one.  Love the house with the widow's walk.  It reminds me of Nantucket.  I visited there once many years ago, and have loved all things nautical for as long as I can remember.  It was always a dream of mine to live somewhere near the ocean, or near the water.  Instead, I'm still in central Illinois.  Not quite the same.  Oh well, I've enjoyed many vacations to water filled destinations. 

We had a lovely Easter here at home.  I didn't take the time to take any photos of the food, but it all turned out very good, and was enjoyed by all.  Then in the afternoon, our daughter, myself and our son's girlfriend enjoyed margeritas on the deck.  It was a beautiful day.  The flowers have all been blooming early here in the Midwest.  Actually I think this has been an exceptionally beautiful Spring.

I placed some pansies in an antique nail box, that was my Dad's, on the deck.  We have been enjoying them. However, I've had to take things in and cover others the last two nights, since we've had frost warnings. 

The lilacs have been really pretty too, but are almost over now.  However, the early tree peony is blooming.

The blooms are really big.  I picked these last evening after I got home from work.  I wasn't sure if the frost predictions would hurt the blooms or not.  And, I haven't had time today to go outside to check.  Hopefully they survived the cold night.

We have been busy working on scraping paint, priming and painting the outside of our house.  I have to admit Mike and our son's friend have been doing most of the work.  I will most likely be painting porch spindles and our outdoor shed in the near future tho.  We were very happy to be able to hire a friend of our son's that is fearless on a ladder to assist.  Mike is not overly fond of heights, and it seems to run in the family...ha! 

It seems like the days are whirling by at a fast pace.  But, we've been busy I guess.  We would like to get out to Pella, Iowa to see the tulips, but haven't found the time for that yet.  It's about a 3 1/2 hr. drive from here, so it will be a long day.  Not sure if we will find the time or not. 

I hope all of you had a good Easter holiday; and are enjoying the Spring weather. 

I've been busy reading also.  You can see in my sidebar some of my lastest finishes.  Some of my favorite mystery authors are releasing new titles this Spring.  So, I'm trying my best to keep up.  When is your favorite time to read?  I always take a book along to bed with me, and read until my eyes are too tired to read any more. 

I think I need to post more frequently and do shorter posts.  Sorry this one seems to have gotten long.  Happy Stitching!