Memorial Day

Hello Stitchy Friends,

Sounds like we will be experiencing some hot temperatures this Memorial Day weekend.  At least on Sunday.  Mid-nineties. 

Today is my last day at the library before the holiday weekend.    It's a beautiful quiet morning here.  I woke up a little earlier than usual, so I actually have time to enjoy some coffee and fun time at the computer before rushing out the door. 

We have had a stray cat (male) hanging around our house for the last couple of months.  We fed him each morning, since we are too soft-hearted to do anything else.  But there was no way we were adopting him into our home.  Four cats is enough, probably two too many.  Then there was the fact he didn't get along with any of our cats, and they fought at every opportunity.  Much hissing, growling and worse.  It got so our cats didn't want to go outside if he was around. So, after talking to some good friends of ours that live on a farm nearby, they agreed to take him to live at their place.  He will continue to be an outside cat, but will be fed and have a place to be inside when he wants.  We thought it was a much better outcome than staying here. 

So, last evening Holly and I were able to entice him into the cat carrier and off we went.  It was a successful move for him I think, and he took it very well.  So, Sly, best of luck in your new home.  Holly named him, because we name every animal don't you know, even if it isn't a permanent resident... 

I have hopes of filling in more of the bottom of the block I'm working on this weekend.  Mike is talking about a road trip on Sunday to find something interesting to take pictures of.  I said fine, I'm up for a ride.  I will take my stitching along and work on it while he's shooting pictures.

Hope you all have a great weekend, and find some time to be with those you love and follow this creative passion of ours.

 

Still working on shores...

Hello Dear Stitchy Friends!

I finally was able to find on the new blogger where to edit currently reading information.  I have been busy reading books...trying to make a dent in the stack at home of new titles waiting for me.  I am gaining on it....

I have been busy stitching in between all the other boring but necessary tasks to keep our daily lives from turning into a complete mess.... 

I don't have any pictures to share in this post, because my camera is currently unavailable.  *sigh*  I know posts aren't much fun without any pictures to see.

I am busy at work on the bottom left block on SHRH.  It is all done except for the rocks and water at the bottom.  So I am busily stitching boulders in the evening. 

We've been busy at the library preparing for the summer reading program.  It is hard to believe school is already out for the summer.  The reading program starts next week.  We're also planning a companion program for adults.  If you're interested in seeing what our library looks like, visit our website, www.galvalibrary.org  We are in a 100 year old Carnegie building.  We have beautiful woodwork in our library, complete with massive wooden pillars inside.  My office is very small, but we love our library.

I promise for the next post I will have some pictures to share, and I hope I will be able to report that the current block on SHRH will be complete. 

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Still sailing along....

Hello Stitchy Friends. 

It's been awhile since my last blog post.  Since my last update on Shores, I have managed to finish the large double block of the ship.  It seemed like it took awhile to fill in all the ocean water at the bottom, but it was mindless stitching where I didn't have to look at a chart.  So it was easy to take along with me. 

You can see at the corner of the picture the start of the next block.  With my shortened version of this piece I am on the home stretch, only two more to do after finishing the one I'm working on now. 

Mike and I travelled up to Minnesota to visit my sister, brother-in-law and family the last weekend of April.  It was nice weather and a great chance to get out of town for a weekend.  We had a good time, as always when we go visit our Minnesota family.  Lots of chances for stitching together with my sister and niece, which is always a good thing. We also had fun playing with the little ones.  Good food also.  My sister is a great cook. 

After returning home, it was back to our routine.  We are busy at the library preparing for the summer reading program.  It is hard to believe it's time for that to roll around again.  The theme is cute this year, 'reading is so delicious'.  So, the staff has been having fun planning decorations and programs.

It is a quiet afternoon here, our daughter is at a wedding of a friend, and Mike is at work.  I'm home alone with these sleepy babies....

  Not sure where the fourth cat, Ranger is.  Most likely upstairs, asleep on our daughter's bed.  Annie is the lilac point siamese at the top, Simon is the white cat in the middle photo, and Joplin is the seal point siamese at the bottom.

Let me tell you, it's rough being a cat at our house....ha! 

Thanks to Joan's blog post about her trip to Osage, Iowa, I was happy to see that a stop there on our trip to MN wouldn't be out of our way.  So, my dear husband agreed to stop there on our way North.  I was pleasantly surprised to see such a nice shop.  The Stitchery Nook is the name of the shop, it's just off route 218 in Osage, Iowa.  I can see this being a good place to stop and stretch our legs on our northern trips..... :) 

Then we took a different route home and drove on route 61 along the Mississippi River.  It is such a pretty drive.  That takes us through La Crosse, WI.  So, of course I scoped out the stitching shop there years ago.... Crosse Stitchery.  I mean, if your town is named LaCrosse, it only stands to reason it should have a cross stitch shop there....right??!    I am going to have to learn how to put links to websites...  but I'm sure you will be able to find the shops etc. online.

I just picked up a few charts at each stop. I forgot to get a picture of those, but will share them with you later. 

Hopefully it won't be such a long time between posts next time.  I will try to do better!  I have been keeping up reading what everyone is doing on their blogs.  Lots of beautiful projects out there!  It keeps me inspired. 

I have been reading also.  It seems like everytime I think I'm getting caught up with the new titles, more come in at the library that I have to bring home to read.  One of my favorite sayings is "So many books...so little time".  I have a poster to that effect in my office.  I've been diligently posting my books on good reads. 

I think I've rambled on long enough, and probably have bored you silly.  But want to close saying hope all of you Moms out there have a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!

Happy Stitching!

Sister, sister...

Hi Stitchy Friends!

The weekend has gone sailing by again.  Why do those days seem to go by so fast?  Since Mike and I don't work on Mondays our weekend is ending tonight. 

As I mentioned before we have been working on getting our house painted.  The paid laborers finished today.  There is just some miscellaneous details left to be painted.  I have a lot of wooden porch spindles to paint, porch railings, cellar doors and porch and deck floors.  But, there is no big rush.  The house looks so much better.  I'm still not totally in love with the main color, but I think it will be ok.  It's a little more yellow than tan.  I did match the blue trim with DMC 931.  I took my bobbin of floss to the paint store counter and said, this is the color I want for the trim.  So, the house is kind of a tan/cream/yellow tone with white around windows, on corner boards, eaves etc.  The blue accent is just at the bottom of the windows, front door, mailbox, etc.

Here is a shot of the front door.  It will need a second coat, since I painted this blue over black.  But I think it is going to look good.

Now, onto the fun stuff...  My sister and brother-in-law were here for a short visit from Sunday evening through lunch time today.  They stopped on their way home from their vacation in Nashville while driving back to Minnesota.  My sister is an excellent seamstress and brought me a surprise.  She made a project bag for my stitching.  I've been admiring the wonderful project bags I've seen online for awhile.  *hint *hint...ha!  Well, she took my hinting and came up with her own design. 

I love the fabric she chose. 

There are mesh pouches inside, and then she embroidered a design and my initials as you can see in the photo above.

There is also a removable project bag that you can tuck inside.  I am looking forward to using this!
Thanks, Karen!

We also had a fun time on Saturday, when we went to a first birthday party of a friend.  His Mom had used the theme of A Very Hungry Caterpillar.  She had so many cute ideas with food and decorations!

All in all, it was another full weekend.  Now, just to get ready for the work week to start tomorrow.  I haven't had much stitching time this weekend at all.  But, I had to post pictures of the cute project pouch.  I'm really pleased with it. 

Hope you are all finding time for some Spring stitching!

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! 

Where does the time go??

Hello All,

Not a very original blog post title, I know.  But it's been a month since I posted last?! I always have the best intentions, to be a more frequent blogger, but life seems to get in the way. 

This early Spring weather has been unbelievable around here.  Such warm temperatures, and everything has been popping out this week.  Daffodils, tulips, red bud trees, magnolias etc.  We are planning on a short road trip tomorrow to get some Spring pictures.  Things seem to change so quickly. 

I have been diligently stitching away on Shores of Hawks Run Hollow.  I will go find the camera, and take a progress picture to share in a moment. 

I went to a great yard sale yesterday and found some fun things.  Some easter type things and a Spring themed wreath that found its way onto the front door.  I don't go to many yard sales, but this particular person has a sale a couple of times a year, and I try not to miss it, since I usually come away with something I'm happy about. 

This is a sweet little pottery bird I bought.  After getting it home, I was pleased to discover it was made in nearby Bishop Hill at the Pottery there.

This is the companion pitcher, also made at the Bishop Hill Pottery.

And this sweet little nest shaped basket had to come home as well.  I thought it looked cute with my Spring cross stitch display.

This is the third square on Shores, that I was working on in my last post, all finished now.

This is the block I am currently working on.  I was glad to finally get the bricks filled in on this big house.  I am currently stitching the grass in.  I still have some words to complete on this block also.  After this one is done, the next is that humongous ship that takes up two blocks....  I have a feeling that is going to take awhile.

I've also been busy reading.  I recently finished The House on Tradd Street by Karen White.  I really enjoyed this.  I brought the next two home from the library in the series.  I try to keep up with a lot of the new releases at the library.  At least by the authors I enjoy.  So, at the present time, my shelf of library books is pretty full.  They seem to come in bunches.  If you are a reader, you should check out Good Reads.  It's a great site to keep track of your reading and share updates with friends.

Our daughter's best friend was here the other day with her little boy, who is such a cutie.  I have to share a picture of him.  He is going to be 1 year old in a couple of weeks.

He is such a sweetie.  Our daughter babysits for him once in awhile, so I enjoy it when he comes to visit. 

I have been trying to catch up with everyone's blogs over the last few days.  I had fallen behind in my reading.  I had to laugh over Edgar's description of SABLE.  Which by definition is Stash Above and Beyond Life Expentancy.  I can identify with that one for sure.  And, why do I eagerly look for what is new and upcoming??  There are still a couple of things on my wish list from the Nashville Market....

But, for now, I will be disciplined and work on Shores.  I want to get it done before moving on to other projects.  Because, when I don't stay with something, I fear I won't be motivated to go back and finish it.  But, I certainly enjoy looking at all the beautiful pieces all of you are stitching out there!!

Well, here's hoping I will be checking back in with another post before another whole month passes.

I hope you are all enjoying some beautiful Spring weather in your neck of the woods. But, most importantly finding some time to stitch on whatever your heart desires!

Progress on Shores...

Hello Stitchy Friends.

Happy Saturday to all of you.  I have been looking forward to this weekend. It will be a long one for us.  I had Friday off and will not be back at work until Tuesday.  (yipee!)  Mike has today off and is due back at work Tuesday as well.  Good planning on our part, since today is our 28th wedding anniversary!
Wow, the years go by quickly, don't they?  It doesn't seem like it should be that long.  But, we have a son that will be 24 this July, and a daughter that will be 21 in August. 

We are planning to go out for a nice dinner tonight, we haven't decided where as yet.  It's a beautiful sunny day today, altho a bit colder than what we've had of late.  We did receive about 3" of snow overnight on Thursday.  It made everything look so pretty.  I wish I would have taken the time to shoot a couple of pictures.  It was a heavy wet snow that clung to the trees, bushes and fences.  Not so pretty today, and it's melting quickly. 

I've been stitching on Shores.  I have been enjoying this piece.  I'm still on the third block. 

I am ready for Spring.  Last weekend when out shopping with our daughter, I found this sweet little basket.  It came home with me and sits on the table by my stitching chair.

When I was uploading these pictures from my camera, I found a picture of our son and his girlfriend.  I realized I haven't shared a picture of them yet.

Well, Mike is saying it's time to leave, so better close this post. 

Hope you're all having a great weekend, with lots of time with those you love, and doing what makes you happy.