Hello 31 and 26 Goodbye 15 / Stitching

It's hard to get us all together, so when we do all get together, we try and make the most of it. We chose Harry's Savoy Grill to celebrate our 31st anniversary (March), Matthew's 26th birthday (June) and paying off our 15-year mortgage (April).

I'm also celebrating a finish, finally!

and a new start - Darling Buds of May from Blackbird Designs

My interest in stitching has been pretty slim lately.

I've been more interested in knitting.

And Bernie's interest in stitching and knitting has been very, very slim.

I've never had a cat that was a snuggler, so of course, I can't turn him down. Not that he gives me a choice - he just settles in without any discussion.

Hope your week is off to a great start. We are having a rare sunny day today -- yay!!!

May Things

It seems like it has been a quick trip through May. Too quick for me! May is one of my favorite months and even with all of the rain we've had, I wouldn't mind if it stuck around a little longer.

May has brought some good things and some not so good things.

The not so good things - allergies worse than I've ever had them. The whole itchy, watery eyes, runny nose, etc. thing and also making the list - replacing our air conditioner. Hopefully the last big house expenditure for a while!

The good things.

Good thing number one - spending Mother's Day with my son! He treated me to a trip to a new yarn store I had wanted to check out in Chesapeake City, Maryland. It is only about ten minutes away, and that could be a dangerous thing.

(although the bridge could be a deterrent if I choose to travel that route again).

I offered to let him wait in the car, but he came in with me and very patiently walked all around the store while I oohed and ahhed over all of the lovely yarns and other goodies they had.

I think I was pretty good. I bought some beautiful yarn of course and three different needle sizes I needed.

Do I know what I'm going to do with any of it -- not really, but I've been spending a lot of time looking on Ravelry.

Afterward, he took me to brunch at the Chesapeake Inn. We didn't have reservations and still were sat at one of the best tables.

Complete with a view of That Bridge! 😰I think the thing that bothers me the most about it is that it is only two lanes. Oh, and the low, see-through sides. According to my son, the view from the top was quite scenic!

Good thing number two - the start of Book Bingo! Thank you, Mary, for keeping this going!

And just in time for Book Bingo - the arrival of a few new books. I think they will fit into some of the categories.

I know stitching pictures have been few and far between. I am trying. But runny eyes and nose and workmen tramping in and out of the house make it a little frustrating - I am close to a finish though.

And wow, even more bloggers are disappearing. I think Blogger is trying to make it easy. I don't really understand what is going on with comments and I'm tempted to just disable them, but we'll see how it goes.

Until next time take care!

Time Away And A Reveal...Sort Of

It was such a refreshing time away - a little longer than expected, but just what I needed.

First was our stay in Wilmington, North Carolina.

I loved being ten minutes from the ocean!

And only a few minutes away from the downtown area where it was hard to choose from all of the wonderful restaurants.

(funny thing - I came back seven pounds lighter than when I left - I think it was all of the walking we did).

The weather was absolutely perfect - I couldn't have asked for better.

L-R Cape Fear River, Wrightsville Beach (2), North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (2), Greenfield Lake (3), Drinks our first night in Wilmington

The reveal, of course, sort of, is the picture of my daughter and me.

Yay, us, !!! we survived a very windy paddle boat ride on Greenfield Lake. I think the impetus we needed to keep paddling was all of the alligators we saw in the lake.

My behind paid the price for several days after - that seat was hard!

Part two was our stay in Myrtle Beach. Except for a stormy, very windy Monday, the weather again was just beautiful.

We stayed in a lovely condominium on the ocean and had the sound of the crashing waves with us twenty-four hours a day (those waves were especially spectacular on that stormy Monday). That is a sound I don't think I could ever get tired of.

It has been difficult to adjust to being back, but I think I'm slowly settling back into my normal routines.

I've discovered that I missed responding to several comments from my last post and I apologize - things got crazy right before I left for my trip.

I tuned out of all social media while I was away and was slow to tune back in when I returned home. I'm slowly trying to catch up with everyone and think I may just about be caught up - I missed you all. 🙂

Knotty Bunny and Fuzzy Balls

First, the knotty bunny! I usually don't mix alcohol and whatever I'm working on, but this piece required wine!

Every.Single.Stitch.Knotted!

Spring Delivery by Brenda Gervais

So glad to be finished with this one and proud of myself for resisting the urge just to trash it.

I saw this recently and would have to agree with it.

Really! So pretty, but I'm so tired of it. Hopefully, this is the last time it storms back.

And that is where fuzzy balls come in. We added them to our decorations this Christmas, and they are so cheery and warm (because they are fuzzy) -- and I may just keep them out all year. They certainly distract me from days with a lot of white stuff in them.

I'm getting ready to do something I never do - go on vacation (one where I actually leave the state). 😉

And the best part is I'm going with my daughter. We will be spending time in Wilmington, NC and then going on to Myrtle Beach.

I'm sure hoping the weather is a little warmer -- it certainly shouldn't snow. Right? And even if it does, I will still be with my daughter, and that is just the best!! I'm so excited!!

Catherine was kind enough to send me this book (thank you!), and I think I will take it with me. I'm looking forward to reading it - from what Catherine has said, it seems like just when you think you have it figured out -- you don't.

And in the "it may sound silly" column, I have figured out how to add the reply option back to my comment section. It seems like a good way to respond to those of you who are no-reply bloggers. So, if that applies to you check back. 🙂

Until next time I hope that maybe a little bit of spring has come your way!
Take care ~

Uncle! / Three Pointless Reflections

Pointless Reflection #1
Here come nor'easters four and five, so I guess sliding into Spring snowless isn't going to happen. Winter is really reluctant to let go, and yes, I am more than ready to say, uncle, as I'm sure many of you are!

And I know March is supposed to be kite flying month, but these winds we have had are crazy!

Still looking for a Robin, but the only Robin I've seen was my sister a week ago.

Pointless Reflection #2
This time change has really done a number on me.

By the time I finish the daily things I have to do and finally get a chance to sit down in the evening, Bernie settles in my lap, and we both have a little snoozy time. I absolutely cannot keep my eyes open, and Bernie's purring lulls me right off.

I know at some point I will adjust, but it bugs me to waste the time.

Pointless Reflection #3
I seem to be in a real rut with my reading.

I keep plugging away in my search for a really good book, and while a few books have had promising starts, they just seem to fizzle out somewhere along the way. The most recent and biggest disappointment was The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I just can't figure out how it was rated so highly. First, too much domestic violence! And I just couldn't like any of the characters. At times I almost felt the book was written by several different people. Not even sure why I finished it other than I feel like I have given up on too many books lately.

Oh well, I'm sure in time I'm bound to stumble upon a good one.

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Enough pointless reflecting! I do have a tiny bit of knitting to show (which also puts me to sleep - too relaxing). I had to temporarily move on from Stella as there was a mystery involved with it. I seem to have gotten a bad skein of yarn and kept finding myself holding short pieces of yarn. More yarn is on order, so in the meantime, I've been working on The Miller's Daughter.

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And to bring a bit of color into this neverending winter, I've revisited The ES Spot Sampler from Of Female Worth.

Thank you to those of you who take the time to stop by and leave a comment and to those of you who just stop by. We all have busy lives, so your visits and comments are so welcome!

Take care, everyone.

Sometimes Februarys

... Are for helping someone begin the next chapter in their life.

I used to laugh as I ripped the AARP junk mail in half and threw it out. But after a month of helping my daughter to pack up and move, I'm not laughing anymore. Maybe I'm older than I think? My body has sure felt it.

But the satisfaction of seeing a lightness to my daughter that I haven't seen in a long time has made it all worth it. And of course, spending time with her and shopping for new things has been fun.

I really haven't been home very much this month, so I don't have too much to show in the way of crafty things. I have been working here and there on a few things but mostly on Ann Rayner from Threads Through Time.

Oh, those alphabets! Alphabets despite being quick to stitch are not my favorite things. So, I had to wander down and take a break from them. Thankfully, there are so many beautiful elements to this sampler -- no shortage of fun things to stitch. 🙂

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... Are for celebrating a birthday. My husband is not on a daytime schedule so as you can tell we do our celebrating during the nighttime hours. That black forest cake is delicious at any time of the day or night.

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It is a beautiful sunny, warm day here. I am still waiting for that one big snow event we seem to get every year. And it is possible for that to happen in March -- it has before, although I'm hoping we will just slide into spring snowless. 

I'm hoping to catch up with everyone and see what you have all been doing. I seem to have fallen behind in my blog reading -- again. 

Until next time ~ take care!

Adventures At Home Depot

About a week ago, right before the latest fictional (thankfully), predicted bad weather event, I realized I was running low on bird feed and kitten food for Bernie.

So, first, off I go to Home Depot. I am relatively strong from lifting feed for the horses but still usually engage in a wrestling match to load the bags of seed in the cart. If there are cameras in the outside area, I'm sure someone was thoroughly amused.

 While checking out, a young man (thank goodness for commas) who works there said he would load my purchases in my car. I told him thank you, but I would be alright -- I was really thinking where were you when I was wrestling these things into my cart. But, he insisted so out we went.

As we were approaching my car, I hear horns blowing and wonder what is going on. Well, what was going on was someone desperately needed something from Home Depot and wasn't going to let a little thing like two people and a cart get in their way.

The truck clipped the young man helping me first and then of course me. So, down we both go, people, jumping out of cars to see if we are alright. Thankfully, other than being a little stunned (and would later discover I was quite bruised and stiff in parts I didn't know I had) we were otherwise okay.

No good deed. 🙄 Anyway, next stop the pet store. Upon checking out, a lady much older than me said she would carry my things to my car. I'm thinking wow! I must look pretty bad today.

Anyway, I enjoy feeding the birds and quite a few squirrels.

Squirrels are very welcome at my house -- no squirrel thwarting devices here!

And while I don't get cardinals in the numbers Cindy does, I do get quite a few. I have no pictures of the real thing but I recently finished -- Little Red Bird by The Little Stitcher.

And here is Bernie, totally unaware that I risked life and limb to ensure his belly remains full so that he has the energy to do naughty kitten things like try to climb the curtains.

I might add that this wasn't my first adventure at Home Depot -- but it will most assuredly be my last because I won't be shopping there anymore.

Back in the summer I was there looking at flowers when I found myself in the middle of a shoplifting event. Aside from the broken flowers I was shoved into, there were no other injuries -- just stunned that people really do those types of things.

I would like to take a minute and thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all of your kind thoughts and prayers. Things have leveled off a bit for now, and we are all just taking one day at a time -- trying to live in the present moment.

Until next time, may you all have only good adventures!
Take care ~