Weekend Joys

 How's this for a convention?!  One of their number had stolen the carcass and dropped it in our driveway where the rest of the flock decided to fight for it!   It was an interesting to watch..until they decided to hang out after they had eaten it all and then scoured the front yard which bothered the cats.  I didn't get bothered until they decided to hang out on the roof-boy were they noisy!  I went out and clapped my hands and shouted until they all left!

 Look who came for the weekend!  I got to try the new sock on his little foot!

 Ashley and I got some quilting time in.  She needed some refreshing on the math and then she really took off!  We had a great time running to the sewing room when we had a spare minute!  She even did some early morning sewing when Will woke up on her early morning duty day!  I was very proud of her accomplishments!

 Will played around us very nicely, it was very encouraging to have him be able to entertain himself!  I encouraged Ashley to make a cut pile on one sewing time-even in 10 mins you can cut a lot!  Then next time she had a few minutes she could piece a block-soon the blocks would be done...in this time of her life, she is not going to be able to sit for hours but the habits I learned early to make even a few minutes count, it gets the job done!  Less Pinterest for inspiration and more cutting and piecing will get the job done!

 Saturday Morning, Matthew and I went out by the pool area to let Will blow off some energy!
He is definitely a morning person!  We enjoyed the beauty of the irises!

 Such perfection in symmetry!

 The orchids are beginning to wane but still add their color and beauty to the patio.

 See what I mean?

The ground orchid is in bloom and it is nice to see both orchids shining-I think I am going to add a whole bunch more to this area-I enjoy them all so much!

 While I was enjoying the fauna, Matthew ran a mile chasing this speedster!

 He ran all around for more than an hour!

 He did stop for a pit stop at the fountain to splash for a few seconds!

 Then he was off again!

 Just outside the pool area behind the garage, we are trying to get another garden planted.  This is one of the Hollyhocks I started-it is just over 4' now and blooming-I am so proud!

 There is no aroma but plenty of color which is what I enjoy the most!

 In the afternoon, Matthew braved the cool pool temperature and took a swim!  The rest of us just watched!  (We have had a whole week of cool temperatures and cooler night ones;  I am missing the warmth of the average Spring!)

 After Sunday church and dinner, and Will's nap (mine, too!)  we took Will outside for an egg hunt.

 It didn't take long for him to figure out the purpose of the game and best of all, to find the candy in each egg!

 I couldn't keep up with him, he darted from one colored egg to the next!

 He didn't want to be slow down and put any egg in the basket-he just dropped them after emptying them and ran to the next one!

 He did get sidetracked with the little hill in the yard-grunting and groaning all the way up so that he could-

 run back down-again and again!

 He couldn't quite reach the one in the bin so he climbed in and

 ate it right there!  It is fun to look at life from his point of view!

Yes, he had a great time and so did we!
(The weekend had some hard parts for me;  I cannot lift and that includes this grandson.  I usually carry him a lot-we both enjoy it.  When he falls , I pick him up for a snuggle-I had to get creative for that snuggle--I sat on the floor for hugs, knelt for quick comforts and shared standing up hugs while one of his parents held him for me!  I did miss our morning alone time but I can't watch him alone because I can't 'up' him.  Now on the flip-side of this, I learned how to receive tons of help from my daughter-in-law, she really picked up the slack by rushing here and there taking care of things.  The whole weekend was a huge encouragement to me-thank you !

It's Friday Again!?!

 Sad news-this is the last pic of the chicks.......they are not with the parents anymore.  I feel very sad about the loss.  Speaking of loss, I have good news that the MS is not in my spine but the MRI did show a bulging disc in the middle of my back and that has to be dealt with before I can continue with the MS evaluation.  I will be going to Neurological Surgeons in the end of May for their 2 cents (or in today's market, $2000......)  I am learning to pace myself and to adjust the MS meds and the pain meds.  The doctor doubled the amount of meds I am taking during the day and it was... in the vernacular of the '60's--a bad trip!   I am finding that if I just space the single doses closer then I tolerate the pain better and can still retain some cognitive powers!
I tend to be silent with pain and lately there has been an extra dose of that-it just takes too much mental power to chat!  Please be patient with me while we work to make me a whole person again!

 Mornings are my best physical times-so I do some house work and then change it up with some fiber love-I do this standing up and that feels good-sitting is the worst!

 I also loaded up the table runner and got that quilted-also a standing up job!

 I even did a slightly modified binding on the machine so I didn't have to do the binding by hand which is my usual way since the hands are not as coordinated right now!  It turned out just fine!

 I also added borders to the Tumbler block quilt and got that loaded on the frame-I do a row or two and then move on to something else.  I look like a mouse in a maze darting from one thing to the next but it is the only way I can operate right now!  Mind you -this is a post about the whole week and not the usual one day for me!!!!

 I dug through my stash and found this group for the next lap quilt-I will be using the apple core die with the Accuquilt for the pattern.

The Vodka Gimlet sweater which was knit an inch beyond the waist is no more.....I totally lost the love;  I hated the waist pattern-yuck!  So it is history.   I found a new worsted weight yarn pattern from Cascade yarns......it is nice to have power over something!!!!

Another Trip

We took a 2 1/2 hr dr up to Live Oak for pictures today......bad choice after the busy week.   

The silver lining on the day was this-Ella got in and out of this little car a million times waving and saying bye and then running to give hugs and kisses goodbye......precious!

 I did finish knitting on the blue jean socks-done!

 At home, I remembered to get a photo of the roses in bloom!

 They almost glow in the dark like this pic looks! lol

 I did a bit of spinning with the new attachment-yes, no fatigue and a wonderful relaxing moment!

167 yards of fingering weight Dor Galen yarn-probably a pair of mitts.......

As the Week Unfolds

 The chicks are certainly growing and getting less fearful as they visit!   I enjoy seeing them each day!

 I was able to piece the new tumbling blocks.  I have found that my hands work very well on the well established motions like knitting-mostly muscle memory, but I am fumbly with the sewing when I have to make minute motions and pick up pins, etc.

 I am extra careful when working with the rotary cutter, that is for sure!  Now it this table runner is added to the quilting pile!

 Still enjoying looking out to these each morning!

 The Live Oak trees are in full seed pod explosion!  Can you say pollen?!!!

 Tonight Nyki lay in wait for some unsuspecting subject-she got Big Grey!

 She sprang out of the box so quickly, I didn't even have time to catch his retreat!  lol  She was very happy with herself.

The new spinning wheel accessory came in the mail today-it is called a Woolee Winder and removes the need to stop spinning to move the yarn build up on the bobbin-no more small hand motions required as this continuously feeds the single back and forth on the bobbin like a fishing reel!   Just one more way to keep me spinning even without the coordination of feet and hands!(I gave it a try tonight and found my hands spin just fine-another muscle memory motion for me, and it eliminates the need to treadle which is just plain uncomfortable right now!  I am spinning the bump of Indigo dyed Dor Galen here-very nice experience so far--now if I can just stay home long enough to give it a good go.....!)

Vero Beach Visit

 We took the 3 hour drive to visit Bill's sister and husband today.  The ride was torture-even with all my accouterments!  (cushions!)  The walk on the boardwalk along the beach sure was wonderful.  There has been a lot of wind this winter and the beach is no longer level because of it!  Very unusual pattern for the beach!

 There was an absence of blue sky but it was warm anyway for our walk.

 We took our traditional picture!  So nice to get together with them!

 We stopped to enjoy the beautiful tall dune sunflowers when we noticed the sky behind us was dark;  very dark.  The men took off at a trot to get the vehicle and pick us up.  Unfortunately, the skies opened up on us before they can to our rescue!  We got soaked!  Good laughs.

 We went to a favorite restaurant for lunch, Nino's Pizza, and enjoyed soup and stromboli for taking the chill away.   I loved seeing the coconuts in the trees!  We are too far north to have this kind of palm so it was a treat for me to see these.

 We enjoyed a sightseeing tour after lunch.  The many side streets were canopied with live oaks.  Beautiful.

 We saw this cabbage palm with the strange cactus growing up its trunk!

 Yup, cactus growing up the trunk!  Who ever heard of a climbing cactus?  I will have to do some research to solve this mystery!

I did a little knitting  on the way down and finished one sock.  On the way home, I got the toe done but the pain meds kicked in and I slept the rest of the way home.  Now that is the way to get car travelling done-out cold!