Mother's Day Gift of Stash

I am so happy that I received this pattern as a Mother's Day gift from our son. I've had my eye on it for quite sometime now! I doubt I'll get to it for a long while, but it's nice to know it's waiting there when I'm ready to tackle it.  Maybe I'll get to it sometime this year? I will probably use DMC and not the silk threads that so many use. Just call me practical! Do you think I'll like it with DMC?

Life has been full of activities in our yard. We've been working on our backyard corner for quite some time now, and it's looking so much better. It's wonderful to have a husband, brother, son, and son-in-law who all pitch in helping us with these projects. If you want to take a peek at it, here's a link for some photos: Backyard Corner Redo

This spring has also brought a completed project that's been waiting in the wings for at least ten years. We've had our backyard deck redone, and it sure looks better.  This time we've used composite materials, so it shouldn't have to be done again for a long time.  We also had contractors do the work, so that made the whole thing much easier.

The link if you wish to take a peek: Deck Before and After

Summer vacation is right ahead now, and that's foremost on my mind!

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

A Hidden Treasure

The days are extremely hot--over 100 degrees, and I have been busy with work.

I wanted to share a beautiful piece of stitchery that my niece inherited. She pulled it out of her closet one day, and there it was...in all its glory. It's yet to be framed, but here it is Lavender and Lace's The Bride:



Her husband's grandma stitched it, and after she passed away somehow my niece ended up with it. What a treasure to have!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Stitching Inspiration and Running Around with a Camera

I just had a blast playing around on Flickr while watching American Idol. I put together a mosaic of some of my favorite photos from Flickr. These were stitched by many different people, and the credit goes to them. To see their work up close, just click on the link below the mosaic.






1. Little House Needleworks "Sea to Shining Sea", 2. Flea Market Souvenir - FINISHED, 3. Home Of A Needleworker (Too!), 4. Moira Blackburn Birthday Sampler, 5. Village of Hawk Run Hollow (Carriage House Samplings), 6. Rites of Spring (Blackbird Designs), 7. where my heart blooms, 8. evening shades the garden, 9. friends are the flowers, 10. Right side, 11. Shores of Hawk Run Hollow (Carriage House Samplings), 12. Night & Day by LHN

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My husband has really gotten interested in photography, and he recently got a new camera. Last night he and I both ran around the yard taking photographs of what we saw. I love the time of day when daylight turns to evening, so it was truly a lot of fun.

Here's a peek into our back picture window. I love the way the lamps' light bounces off the glass:




I was happy to take this photo of the magnolia tree that we planted several years ago. It's really grown!


I stopped and noticed that a plant that had recently looked half dead was now blooming:



Out front I was glad to see our garden window looking better. My husband has been refurbishing the trim along the bottom of it. It turned out to be quite a job. A two hour project turned into a two day one!



The plants on the porch are potted in some funky pots, that's for sure. I'm not big on everything matching, although I do admire how that looks. Some of the pots were painted and decorated by our daughter, so they are precious to me. We planted the marigolds before Easter:



The front planters are blooming a bit. These planters used to be full of huge, overgrown junipers. We're so happy we redid them several years ago. Our next big outside job is to have the house repainted, as these photos will show:



I took the next one as I love seeing lit windows at twilight




A bit later we took one more photo. The clouds here rarely look this interesting, so we couldn't resist:



Thanks so much for coming by today!

This and That

The days have really flown by recently. The weather was crisp today, and we even got a bit of rain a few days ago. It was so refreshing to have our weather be more what one would like it to be in January.

I wish I had some stitching news but on that front I can only share a pattern I really would love to do someday. I first saw this one stitched up at my not-so-local needlework shop. It's called Common Ground by Just Nan.

 

The colors all look so striking together!


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My great-nephew Ethan continues to grow each day. Here are some photos of him from when I saw him awhile ago:




I'm sure he'll be going home soon. For more photos and updates, visit Windy's Blog.

Here is a photo of his big sister Hannah(wearing the tiara I bought her) along with my daughter when they came by about a week ago:



And another one with my niece Windy reading with her:


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We had a great time yesterday at my brother's house in honor of his wife's birthday. I have a few photos from the festivities but none are truly 'blog material'.

Well, perhaps there are a few of them that might be suitable but that will have to wait.

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About a year ago my husband, our son, and my brother spent a weekend painting our bathroom and bedroom. I hate to admit it, but the wallpaper in that room had hung since we moved into the house in 1990. I am a bit too laid back about getting things done, that's for sure.


I finally bought a few new things for the room. Here's a photo of a pillow I bought that coordinated with the quilt I'd already purchased. Yes, I know I could have stitched one up myself but I thought this was beautiful, and it was already done! The colors of the quilt and pillow make me happy.



The weekend seemed to fly by so quickly, and tomorrow it's back to the grind.

Thanks for stopping by here today.

A Quote I really Like...

Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

I saw this quotation in a magazine today, and it really struck me. I love it! Maybe I'll incorporate this into my House and Garden Sampler.

I love looking at decorating magazines and seeing beautiful home interiors online. While looking around online I find so many beautiful home photos, and these views are courtesy of Coastal Living online. I love the bright aspects of these rooms:

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Yard Before and After

I thought it might be fun to share some before and after photos of a small corner of our oddly-shaped backyard. We bought this house almost 18 years ago, and at this point the home is 51 years old. When we bought it the yard was overgrown here and there, and due to many life circumstances it was never quite the yard we wanted. It still needs some work, but it is better than it was!

A few years ago, this is what the corner of our yard looked like. This area is right behind our garage. We sit at the end of a cul-de-sac with a long, narrow backyard. Please brace yourself for this photo, as it looks so trashy and ugly. I'm a bit ashamed I lived in a home where part of the yard looked like this:

 

The first thing we got was a new wall, and some new more 'neutral' awful fiberglass. Our neighbor insisted on the fiberglass, and I have always disliked it. My husband worked hard at clearing out the weeds and he also rototilled the entire area.

 

After this we added our own lattice to cover up the fiberglass. My daughter and I painted the lattice and the nearby fence. Actually, I did most of it. It's when our daughter was in a law enforcement academy, so I got up and started painting the fence at six o'clock in the morning. I did that in honor of her dedication to the academy!

 

Then we added some plantings along the back fence (photina), some climbing roses along the lattice, and a magnolia tree.

 

About a year later our future son-in-law helped us plant sod:

 

Here's a close-up of the climbing roses and crape myrtle we planted almost three years ago. We took this one last summer, and now they're looking almost overgrown:

 

Here's the area and how it looked last summer. It makes me yearn for relaxing summer months when I look at this photo:

 

That's our before and after story of our little corner of the yard. Somedays I feel as if my wheels spin and I get nothing done. Seeing these photos helps me see that we actually do accomplish a few things around here!

I hope your week is going great. Thanks for all your comments and words of encouragement!