From Lowly to Amazing

I am painting our bathroom floor to hide the stained and dirty old ceramic tiles....Sherwin Williams to the rescue with some enamel in terre cotta to give a whole new look! It will need two coats for full coverage and full endurance. It is so nice to have intense colors in my home! When we lived in NY Bill needed all room colors to be light because there wasn't enough outside light but here where it is sunny almost everyday, he has agreed that rooms that are color-rich look great! (I will start on the second coat on Monday.) Then on to the walls..........Hooray!


This afternoon we enjoyed a front seat view of the Shuttle launch-it is really something to be able to see the contrail right out our backyard:

Our first view just over the trees.........


We see the glow of the booster rockets............

This is our last view and just 30 seconds later........

the only thing we see is the contrails............

It is an amazing sight and we are glad to be able to share it. I have been amazed by our Space program since a child......even watching the moon with my Dad at my side when the first astronaut walked there and he convinced me I could see Neil Armstrong waving to me......

Gone Fishin' Part II

Bill just bought this motorized craft home-the two boats and the trailer were a package deal and if you have known my husband long, you will know that I call him my Wheeler and Dealer. This is one good example of why--Bill was doing some yardwork at church with our Pastor when Bill caught sight of the boats for sale next door. Pastor said that Bill's eyes glazed over and 'he was like a moth drawn to the flame!' I think he described Bill on the scent of a deal pretty well!

Soon to be "Gone fishin'!"

Bill picked up some deal on this pond boat...a flat bottom aluminum beauty! I might go in the small lake near our house with him...........maybe! He tries to entice me with a..'you can bring your knitting!' but I am not that crazy!

Yes, that is Bling inspecting the new contraption on our property --and there is no way he would go out on the water with Bill....he is definitely a home-body! (Bling, not Bill I mean!)

Learning something new.........

Hey, I know this is knitting and I already know how to do that! But, I am knitting a circular shawl and it is a lace pattern that is not for the feint of heart! I have tried to knit with this spider web thin yarn before and it has beat me every time. (Ripping out is tough enough without having to go blind also!) But I have succumbed to the siren call once again because of a recent posts on a friend's blog plus an ad from KnitPicks, one of my favorite yarn catalogs. I had to give it a try! I ordered the pattern (it is an instant download-if I had waited the courage might have waned!) and pulled the yarn out of its banishment and I began. I did have to rip out several times and found that I could not get it going in the middle of Bill's stories so I found a place to hide and pulled off a couple of inches! I did not do a victory dance , though, because I am familiar with the treachery of lace knitting and sure enough I ripped just as much as I knit the following day. I really needed some wooden needles to begin with because the metal double pointed needles were miserable but I did persevere....I could hear my Mom saying, "The first rows of any project are the toughest!" I finally began to see a pattern emerging and it even looked like the pattern! I am still leery of any friendship with this lace yet but it is starting to look like its supposed to so I am commited now! I do not look like I am enjoying myself because everytime Bill walked by and saw me knitting he asked if I was mad at something! Huh!

FO's

FO's in the crafting world are finished objects......I have been going through my pile of started things and finishing them! It has been a very productive few days:

This is a wallhanging with the experiment in dyeing with shaving cream that Mom, Marsel and I did a few years ago. I finally put the blocks together and quilted it-

This one is at least 10 yrs old already! It was a class I took at Tri County Sewing in one of our Viking Clubs called Broderie Perse-cutting out and applying to fabric.

This wallhanging , too , was from a class at Viking Club for our embroidery machines.

This is a table runner I made a few months ago when Mom was still in FL with me. I finally added some quilting . This is for church but I borrowed it to finish it!

I finished the hand sewing while sitting in the yard yesterday afternoon and listening to a podcast on quilting. Very relaxing and even enjoyed a few visits from the cats.

Bill was having a good day on the project end of things, too! Here is a sumary of his day with the exclusion of tractor time (bush hogging).

Early morning began with work in the attic-he is going to add a ceiling fan with heat lamp to our bathroom but had to first insulate in the attic-there is very little up there and it becomes like an oven as the day wears on....

Next, he finished replacing all the brake lines on the old Windstar so he can put it up for sale. I will go out later with him and play at pushing the brake 'all the way down' so he can adjust the brake fluid.

Just before dinner preparations we set up this canopy so Bill can set out some of his garage stuff---> he is still struggling with his lack of space for all his junk, I mean treasures. The mower and atv are under there with a few assorted goodies!

Just before bed we heard funny noises over our heads and Bill smiles-he had left the ladder up to the attic and our curious cat, Bling, was up there investigating. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get him out because he has become a very southern cat and no one can 'rush' him anymore!

Remember....

It is human nature to forget, to take our days for granted. It is good that we, as a Nation, set aside a day to remember all that has been secured for us, to recognize the great cost.

God reminds us in His Word to remember-to mark what has gone before and to give thanks to Him; I hope you stop today and acknowledge God's hand in our Nation's history and ask for His continued guidance for our future.

Sewing Day

I love the routine of Saturday mornings; cleaning, organizing the week's clutter and doing laundry and in between.......I sew! I pulled out several quilted wallhangings that I had pieced but never finished. Well I layered and quilted three today plus I put together these blocks that I had made so many years ago and made a table runner in time for Memorial Day. I gave myself the freedom to 'whatever' with the quilting-in the class I took a few weeks ago she commented on not being rigid and enjoying the design-advice I needed. As soon as I put the binding on the other ones I will post them , too.

RAIN!!!

We haven't had any rain since April 4th and it was a beautiful thing to behold this afternoon! For an hour it rained and thundered and we were sitting outside enjoying it until the lightening got a bit too close for comfort-I shot this picture looking out my front window....we received an inch and a quarter-it will make such a difference; thank you Lord!

BEACH VISIT

First thing we saw when we got to the beach were pelicans and right behind them surfaced a pair of dolphins! They all fed in this area for about an hour. It was so nice to see, I stood and watched for a long time while the boys swam and then threw a football to dry off. We then took off for a long walk and collected shells and saw this baby shark-about 15" long.

We came upon this sandbar and the guys couldn't resist a visit. They had a bit of company because the water was very calm-and the sandbar caused a few waves for fisherman in boats, jet skis and even a surfer.

The current was very slight and they had a good swim and then walked up to the sandbar-they were about a hundred feet from the shore now.

Bill joined them when they yelled that the current wasn't a hinderance and had a great time shell hunting while they were there, even a wrestling match. I waited on shore!

See the little waves but many boats....they swam back and joined me quite refreshed and ready for more walking.


We walked along the shore until we were backtracking down the intercoastal water of Matanza River and saw a school of stingrays....we kept Matthew away from them but Bill got close enough for a picture-see how long their tails are; the stinger is about 10-12" down the tail from where it is attached to the body-it is not on the very end of the tail, contrary to popular opinion.



We left the river shore and took the boardwalk back toward the ocean. We saw so many clumps of these daisies...such a happy color!


Then we enjoyed the many little lizards darting among the flowers...

And just look at the wild passion vine-it was stunning!


Caleb finished off our beach time with a bit of skimboarding....I didn't include a shot of his spill right after this....

We finished off our day with a great dinner and 2 rounds of Wahoo in which my team (Matthew and I) lost both games! Oh, well , it was perfect day anyway!

Floor Upgrade

Bill surprised me with a trip to Home Depot for some new linoleum floor tiles to replace (cover up!) the awful stuff we now have in the kitchen. So we went from this----->

To this----->

I feel like a queen in her palace! A very stiff, sore one tho-I worked for 8 hours to get all the tile put in; calling Bill to come in and help me when I needed to move the stove and fridge out and then back. I am not going to do anything that requires me to bend over or kneel today!!!

New Wheels!

Bill and I started car hunting on our anniversary (May 1) and yesterday we picked up our new purchase! It is a Toyota Yaris sedan. We are going to double our gas mileage with this little guy. Amazingly, it has more leg room for Bill than my Amanti and the ride is equal to the larger car. The designers did many things right with this car. The dealership in Daytona called and we went and transferred our paperwork, said goodbye to my last car [I do bond with my vehicles and it is hard to say goodbye!), here is the old (the silver one) and the new (red) waiting for me.....]

and drove to the beach----> when you are that close to the ocean you have to visit! We had a relaxing walk along the shore and then sat and watched the pelicans have a feeding feast. They would fly about 20' above the water and dive straight down and catch something everytime! We would see them tip their heads back and swallow each time; the seagulls hung around them hoping they would drop something-it was very entertaining-sorry that there are no pictures, I left the camera back in the new car! Bill drove home from Daytona last night but I am going to find an excuse to drive it myself this morning, I think a trip to the library calls!

First Anniversary

My oldest son, Jared and his wife, Krystle celebrate their first wedding anniversary today!

Congratulations to you both! Sending hugs to you!

Gone Fishin'!

We went to Ponce Inlet for beach walking and fishing. Bill and Tom caught some ladyfish, catfish, bluefish and a stingray. They didn't keep anything-just catch and release. Becki and I walked , swam, hot tubbed and babysat....quite the day. We had the use of Becki's (she babysits for them) friend's condo and grounds so we got to see how the 'other half ' live. Great place to visit but it doesn't hold a candle to my little piece of Eden! The guys did their fishing on a pier out on the intercoastal waterway -here's a pic:

We ate at a restaurant called Aunt Catfish on the other side of the intercoastal and went from starved to stuffed in 45 minutes! What a nice day!

Golf Quilt

Another quilt is finished!

( I don't know what it is with the camera but I have help for the photo shoot every time!)

I designed this one on Quilt Composer software with fabric I had given to me quite a few years ago. (Thank you Greta, via Marsel!) It has waited patiently to come to life!

Here is a more accurate renditiion of the colors and a close-up of the quilting lines...it is a large stipple design that came with my quilting machine called Meander. Also, you can see that all the fabric have a golf motif in them , hence the name of the quilt. I had intended this for the Matthew and Caleb but Bill is hinting that it would be nice for his chair..........doesn't it figure! The boys come for a golf game with him tomorrow and I will let them figure out its ownership then!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

A tribute to my Mom for being such an incredible influence in my life! You have taught me to love and laugh; when to be stubborn and when to give in :') , how to see beauty in all things and to appreciate where I am even if on the way to something more........I love the time we share and the joy of creating all our handwork and the encouragement you give me through all things in this life............I love you, happy Mother's Day indeed!

Thank You , Lord.....

....for giving the gift of children and family, for having the privilege of being Mother.

Hair Coloring 101

If you color your hair, tune in ; if not, skip today if you want (unless you know someone who colors and could benefit from this!)

Now for this month's money-saving tip:

This applies to any brand of hair color you use. Measure out half of the amount of coloring medium-you might need to save your bottle this time and halve the amount next time, if you don't have a container to put it into. I save my dispenser bottles and use them for my wool dyeing so I had some on hand!

Next, empty half of the coloring agent into the first bottle and then put the remaining tube and the first bottle into the box for next month's use.

DO NOT MIX THESE TWO AND SAVE THEM!

Store the unmixed but halved ingredients until you need them in 4-6 weeks. Now,color your hair as usual-there is plenty to color your hair and you will not waste so much down the drain! This would not work if you have long hair but by the time we are coloring to hide the grey, our hair is usually shorter anyway! This tip was shared with me by my friend , Becky, and I have been doing it this way for 6 months; my hair does not need coloring more often-it lasts just as long as it did when I used the whole bottle-we just save $50 a year now to keep me 'grey-free'!

Bill's Hobby

While I have been exploring the world of quilts, Bill has been working on the cars that are not working in the yard and getting them up and running so they can be sold-here is the brown olsmobile called 'Da Beast' by our son when he was in college in NY!

It is now sitting by the front road with a for sale sign on it! Horrah!

We are cranking into a full summer temperature around here-90's everyday...it is beautiful out but we do need rain-haven't had any since April 4th! We run the sprinklers every evg and morning before the sun comes out.

This is a new hibiscus we bought in February and it is covered in blooms....love that red!

A Yarn Begins...

The brown and pink yarn is ready for the needles....now to decide on a pattern.

I need to promote swatching at this time! I love to pick up needles that fit the yarn's weight and cast on 25 stitches or so and just knit-I get the feel of the yarn and how it works. I had thought to knit this into a short, lace cardigan for Abigail but the lace work looked too thick and the colors caused the lace to get lost so I scrapped that idea; tried just stockinette but while it looked good, I am afraid I would get bored so I tried some cable work and now I think Ihave it-a stockinette body of the sweater with a cable edge all around! Now to The Sweater Wizard for the pattern tweaking and I will be knitting in no time. I have my gauge now 'cuz I have played with a swatch-see it really is a good idea! Swatching isn't a waste of time-it really saves time in the long run!

I have another quilt on the frame just waiting for me to figure out the quilting designs.....

I made 2 pillowcases for a couple of boys at church and forgot to photograph them-you would think I would remember to do that by now! It was made out of some dinosaur fabric with a black band and I embroidered their names on it . I had made a skirt like Abigail's ( the pink and brown one that inspired this yarn) for their big sister so I felt I needed to give them something, too.

Matthew and Caleb called and said they are going to stop in for supper tonight if I am willing, since they both have to work this Sunday........sounds good to me! I am off to make cookies and rolls to go with the chicken dinner!

HOT OFF THE FRAME

I just finished sewing the binding on this quilt! It is called State of Grace by Cozy Quilt Designs using the Shangri La fabric collection by 3 Sisters. I am going to keep this one on the couch in the livingroom. I quilted it with the oak leaves pantograph that came with my frame, and in the borders I used a design off the internet by Simone Struss called Metropolitain (not a typo-she's French!) I am going to load the next quilt on the frame tomorrow!

This close-up shows you the quilting better......I used YLI machine quilting thread in Dusk.

I tossed it into the washer and dryer after the first picture and the close-up shows it in its puckered state-it looks like an instant heirloom. To quote Martha Stewart, "It is a good thing."

May 4th is a Big Day to Us

We became parents at 11:02 am 31 years ago today..........give Marsel a hug if you see her!