dog dayz of summer r closing & progress elsewhere

Here are some of our last, hot, afternoon, summer dayz…

Don't ask...we don't.

Cameron in the backyard with daddy and the dogs just last weekend. Cameron got such a kick out of the dogs being in the pool with him. The dogs…not so much.

These other lazy-by-the-pool photos were taken by our friend, Dave and his friend Lindsey. We attended Dave’s 10-year old daughter’s birthday and our boys had such a good time. Dave and his daughter Devinee really know how to throw a party.

To end the hot dayz of summer, today marked Jose’s return to school. Today was the beginning of 7th grade. I was a nervous wreck and I’ll tell you why. Ever since Jose was in pre-school/kindergarten we have always driven him to school. We depended on only ourselves to get him there; never having to worry about someone else or anything else to do that job for us. Jose has always attended Montessori and magnet curriculums, therefore, those types of schools do not offer transportation – you have to provide it.

So, for 6-7 years we have driven Jose to and fro. He’s never ridden the cheese wagon (as we call the school bus). Back up several sentences…I was a nervous wreck this morning. Literally pacing around my home waiting to get a glimpse of the passing cheese wagon through the storm door. And before this, watching him walk up our busy road (and I mean busy) to catch the bus for the first time until I could no longer see him. Jose is 12 and for the first time I had that feeling like as if he started school all over again at the age of 5. Why does loving children physically hurt? I’m just glad I made it through this day. And just think, Jose made it through better than I did and he’s the child, but as you can tell Cameron was pretty upset to see big brother go too. :o)

Onto progress…Here’s On Travel with Jane Austen so far. I love the house. It’s just so sweet. I stopped on it for a brief time b/c I wanted to finish-finish some things and I’m glad I got to those. I do feel a little more accomplished, although my mind is starting to wander again. LOL!

Dh is back from out of town today. I am jubilant over some upcoming social outing with my friends Sally and Susan and mom (I love them so). However, right now the boys are screaming for my attention (like they don’t get enough) so I must tend and mend…Talk soon!

a teeny tiny break

I’m sure most, if not all of you, are tired of seeing the same project over and over again, but I’m not. LOL Last time I tried to post JA sampler photos of the motifs I couldn’t get them to load, so here is the progress on those.



Just so much fun! I can’t say it enough. HOWEVER, I need a teeny tiny break away from the biggie and started Cast Your Spells by Stacy Nash that I recently received in the mail (another one of mom's love-y gifts to me). I have no business starting something new, believe you me, but I had to. It’s just too cute and I know it’ll go fast. Swear! It’s nice just to have something small for the hands, you know.

I started this yesterday afternoon while outside with Cameron. These days he loves playing in the car. He’s so boy. Anyhoo…it’s a nice little kit. It has the cutest beige/tan ticking to turn into a pincushion or whatever the fancy, but I’ll stick to what its purpose demands.

I’m so disappointed. I’m going to miss my LNS moonlight stitching on Saturday evening. I always go to this and I’m bummed that I can’t make it. I have other family obligations that should have my attention so I must go. It’s my FIL’s 60th birthday. My BIL and his fiancé, my friend, are coming all the way from Calgary to celebrate and relish in their vacation time here in the States. It’ll be a nice visit for everyone. Dh has taken quite a bit of time off for the occasion so a relief for him indeed. Starting August, however, dh will be commuting to Birmingham, Alabama for that entire month…but this is a whole other story to which I’m not about to get into right now. I’m going to keep this post happy. :D

Did anyone watch Miss Marple on PBS Sunday night? I caught it the next day via the laptop. I thought it was a bit creepy b/c of the eccentric personalities. They were so very bizarre. Btw, I want to thank everyone who visits and comments. I so appreciate the attention as I am aware of how many wonderfully beautiful blogs are out there and you've made a choice to come see mine. Ah, YOU are great!

Anyway…Talk soon!

motif-ing it up

So much fun this one!

I feel so good about my JA sampler. I’ve started on the motifs. I have more progress photos than this, but for some reason they were loading at the wrong angle. Has anyone else had that problem with Blogger before? I'll have to take new ones and try it again. Anyhoo...I’m halfway done with the house. You can’t see the other set of windows below b/c I didn’t want to unroll my rod – sorry. :-( I think I’m going to halt on the house for now and make my way towards the right of it to keep things in line and then make my way down my rod-n-roll.

Saturday me and the boys were at a birthday party all afternoon. Our little friend turned 10. Her father is a good, good friend of mine and dh. It was a fun-filled day for sure; tiring too. It was a pool party so the kids had lots of fun and the adults grilled out and laughed it up. Met some new people too. The day got away from us b/c we forgot to check our mailbox. So today we got our mail and look what was inside…

I can’t wait to start this little needle/pin cushion. Looks like it’ll be a quick one. This evening me and the boys ate at my parent’s house and I didn’t make it home in time to watch PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery which is airing Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories. I’ll have to catch this one on PBS.org. You can watch them online after they’ve aired. I’m off to sit and stitch for now. Talk soon!

a new toy and progress stitching to boot

Knock! Knock!

Who's there?

Quad!

QUAD WHO???

QUADING-CAMERON!!!
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I didn’t get any new toys, but I have made excellent progress with On Travel with Jane Austen by The Sampler Girl.

I’m the stitches out of this one! I just can’t drive myself to work on anything else right now. I’m about down to all the motifs. Woo-Hoo! Dh will be home soon which means time to prep the din-din ~ boneless pork chops tonight. Talk soon!

an afternoon with jane

I told myself I wasn’t going to do this before I read the book, but after six-plus months I couldn’t help myself any longer and I succumbed to the temptation. I watched "Sense and Sensibility" with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman. I cried. I laughed. I sighed. I held my breath. I even clapped.

I haven’t really enjoyed a film like I enjoyed this one. I’m ashamed I waited this long to capture the essence of what Jane Austen was saying. What a storyteller. I realize this is only an adaption of her novel, but I will definitely read the novel sooner rather than later. The period in which her novel is wrought, I can’t help but feel a tad bit jealous that I wasn’t born another time. The clothing. The emotion. The cottage – oh the cottage! What I wouldn’t give to live there. The still of the sisters and mother working on their needlework was peaceful. I was so moved and felt connected. At one point I was on the edge of my seat trying to soak in the scenery and house décor. The wallpaper. The tapestry. The furniture.

I was sincerely captivated by the sisters and envied their relationship. Each actress did a marvelous job at convincing me of their disposition and I loved them all. I hated the dreadful sister-in-law, and so much that I’ve even forgotten her name. But my absolute favorite character is the Colonel. Such a lonely, quiet sufferer who truly, without a doubt, loved Marianne with his entire core, and that made him sexy. I knew there was more to him than meets the eye and when he sent Marianne the piano I knew their fate. Now that is love and I cried.

While enjoying the film I worked on On Travel with Jane Austen by The Sampler Girl. I am using the called-for threads with the exception of changing three to the alternative DMC colors. I made changes to some cross stitches themselves. Instead of the cross stitch I changed it to the satin stitch, but still used the colors for that symbol; just a different stitch. I did this with the triangle-like band (above "Sunday"). I love how it's turning out. Other than this, we're as good as gold. Oh, and I'm using 32 ct Parchment instead of what the model is done on.

Stitching on this piece makes me happy and I’m calm. Stitching in general is therapeutic, but when I work on On Travel I can’t help but feel at peace and at ease. I think of nothing else and I cherish that sensation; for lately I’ve been high strung. But for now this is the only design I stitch on and I’m okay with that. Even though I’m a multi-tasker and like having more than one thing going on, my other projects can wait. Besides, they’re not going anywhere ~ they have no legs. :o)

Talk soon!

location, location, location

That’s usually what’s important when moving, right??? Well, we’re not moving, but my needle is. LOL

I’ve completed the first verse (missing one motif for now) and have relocated further south on the sampler. I’m patiently waiting for the remainder of my threads to come in the mail. They should be here soon…I hope. I’m thoroughly enjoying this sampler and it’s quickly taking shape.

What else? The weather is hot and humid. It’s difficult to be outside so we’re indoors mostly. Jose is almost done with summer school and I’m relieved. My wedding anniversary is upon us come July ~ four years. Woo-Hoo! Fourth of July is near so dh gets some time off. I miss seeing my friends Sally and Susan. I just love sitting, stitching and conversing. And I wish I lived closer to my mother, like next door close. I'm all out.

Question for all of you. When selling on Etsy, do ALL items have to be handmade, designed, created, etc? For instance, can fabric and linen be sold?

Talk soon!