Sharin'

                          

We had a sewing room day!  Marsel finished putting borders on her quilt and then we loaded it on the frame for her to start to quilt.

I forged a plan to make the quilt to use in my new bedroom.  Two blocks down and only 62 more to go!  We did pretty well sharing the sewing machine, cutting matt, rulers, etc!  The kids mostly played well and in between rain bouts, David and Bill burned another pile of brush which helped to discharge some excess energy.

I also started the next dish towel and gave Marsel her first weaving lesson.  She is a natural!  The pattern for this one is hopsack.  It looks like a gingham, doesn't it?!

Additonal Family

Bill's sister and husband came for a visit today!  Doug hasn't seen the house and when Barbara was up (she spends some winter time south of us) last year she said she would bring him next year and she did!

After a tour of the house and the grounds, my parents joined us and we drove to Corky Bells for an early dinner.  (Doesn't the family resemblance shout out between Bill and Barb?!)

The sun was very warm but the wind did its best to snatch away all the comfort! 

Girl Stuff

                                           
Abigail and I did cleaning and dusting then we did some sewing!  She sat on my lap and helped steer the cloth under the needle.  It was such a wonderful time and the joy on her face when she put the clothes on her doll, well, it was priceless!

We then moved on  to the loom; I have wanted to finish the dishtowel and cloth on the loom so Marsel can take them home with her!  I haven't grabbed much loom time lately!

 But Abigail climbed right on my lap and was the 'beater girl' and we developed a good rhythm together! 

I will be weaving one for my sister next.  I think it will be a huck weave......

We have had a pretty regular visitor lately, a stray tom we call Stubby.  He has a very short tail, 6", very short legs and no neck to speak of!  He is gentle and teases for Bling and Nyki to come out and play.  Abigail loved to see him come to the door like this and put his paw up on the glass like he was knocking!

David and Bill mowed, cut, trimmed, stacked limbs and bush hogged at the pond.  A real guy day!

Marsel came home in time for dinner-the reunion was a happy sight!

Colors of February-Florida Style

Florida plum tree is in full bloom and the bees are so happy!

We have recouperating citrus trees.

And very sad citrus trees. ( Tangerines all rotten.)

The Christmas berry bushes are in full berry.

The sago palms have taken a hit but after a good pruning, they will bounce back this year.

The azaleas are blooming right on schedule. 

The camellias are still in full bloom!  They began blooming in December and despite the many hard frosts they have perservered in their bloom season.

The koonti ferns are doing their Spring thing!

The bamboo are always a visual delight!

I don't know what these little wildflowers are but they sure are pretty.

The robins are prolonging their winter stay.  I think we should judge the length of winter by their stay instead of the woodchuck's shadow!  Since this is the coldest February in Florida history, I would say their presence is an excellent marker of the cold spell the Eastern United States is experiencing!

Thanks to Sue of LifeLoomsLarge for this across the globe posting !

Give her blog a look for the tour.

T I M B E R ! ! !

                               
The men trimmed back some tree branches so that there would be plenty of light/room for the new pool screening.  The East Palatka Holly has been reshaped to resemble a weeping willow!  These trees are known for their excellent adaption to rigorous pruning and are often found in the shape of a big lollipop so we will give it a try!

David is quite the worker, hauling them down to the burn pile and hacking away with a hammer.

 (He craves an axe in a bad way but we were pretty sure that he must be a little older before he wields one on our watch!)  The old well house is all gone!  It looks so much more open in the backyard area.  We just have to wait for the pool permit to be approved so the contractor can begin work!

David also enjoyed the science of a magnifying glass and burned little holes in the leaves on the ground!  (This was a flashback to all the leaf burning designs my guys left through the years!)

We left the men to work and visited great grandma for a visit to a neighborhood playground.

The monkeys enjoyed hanging around!

I finished the graduation sashes while the kids napped-church night tonight; dropped in the chair after I got them to bed tonight!

"Aventures...."

This day was full of aventures........no, I didn't spell adventures wrong.  I have a 'full of life' grand daughter here who flavors every moment with her sayings!

Because it rained last night, Bill and David were able to burn the branches David has been collecting around the yard.  (They even stand the same.......this generation thing is amazing to see up close!)

David caught his first chameleon and shared it with us.

We made some lemonade from the lemons off my tree.  It took a lot of sampling to get it just right.

We played in the bamboo grove........it is now the fort and the center of much imaginings!

The highlight of the day was the pulling down of the old pumphouse in the backyard.  Abigail posed in the doorway;

she was the princess calling for her prince from the castle tower....

The guys succeeded in pulling it down and then hauling all the blocks to Bill's roads out back and the rest in the trailer for a dump run.

The girls watched from a safe distance!

Our neighbor called to say they had a few new baby goats if the kids wanted to see the kids!  They did.
They even got to collect the chicken eggs-what great farm fun to enjoy.

As the men cleaned up the mess in the yard, Abigail and I made some meatloaf for dinner.  She is a natural in the kitchen.  (She ate a huge dinner and wore her praise of a great meal with gentile humility.)

After a quick run to the bamboo fort, I was able to corral them and get them bathed and pj'ed and storied and in bed.........

I am knitting a little bit in the evening but mostly I am ready for bed! (This is about 4' across now)
(No wonder you don't get a lot of knitting done in the evening Daughter!) 

Being Grandparents is Grand

We have the kids for the week while Marsel spends a few days on a mission of mercy.  This morning was warm and sunny-welcome back Florida! 

I also had the pleasure of  doing their schooling this morning ( they are homeschooled.) 

Abigail enjoyed a bit of mud pie fun just as the the sprinkles hit.

I made two window shades for the kids room.  I hope I have the hang of it now, because I have a lot of windows to go!

Bill , Dad and David finished the backyard just as the rains hit.  Dinner is out of the way, we are going to watch Toby Tyler (old Disney movie) and then head for bed!

Movin' In and Then Some

I am amazed at what a week has wrought around here!

We moved all our stuff out of the old room and into our bedroom. The closet door is on order at HomeDepot. 

The sewing room is no longer doing double duty as a guest room, too!  I have all the room for sewing, wool prep and quilting!  I had fun rearranging and going through piles!  (This room and the back half of the house will be getting their face lift next month.  We will be getting the wood flooring and redoing the walls just like the front!)

We have brought furniture out of the garage and back into living quarters.....

The guest room is all ready for company, this was the bedroom furniture we received from my in-laws upon our marriage almost 34 years ago!  It fits just wonderfully in its new surroundings!

I haven't had much energy for any craft accomplishments; instead, a couple of ibuprofen and my recliner is all I can muster by day's end. 

We are taking a bit of time off from our 'house mania' because Marsel and children are in town!

It is Lookin' Like Home!

While the men layed the floor in the family room/kitchen, we moved our new (CraigsList) bedroom set into our room and the cats put their stamp of approval on the arrangements!  Mom, Dad and I cleaned, vacuumed and waxed the set and transferred from the old into the new all day!  Can't wait to sleep here tonight!

Bill and Dad moved to the backyard to move the sewer pipes over so they will not be in the pool-to-be  area!  They will be working on this for a while.........they found 3 old point wells (pipes) and accidentally cut into the second bathroom pipes.......always interesting when you dig!  (Dad is feeling better from his cold but not up to snuff yet)

After dinner (a sub 'cuz I still don't have a kitchen!),

we moved the appliances back into the kitchen, reclaimed the diningroom and.......

.....made the family room again! It is really shaping up around here!