HOARDING THE LAST HOURS

As I walk around the yard and enjoy the flowers-the hydrangea,

and the balloon flowers, I remember that Central NY in July is one of the most beautiful places you can be!

I organized my rocks by type--it is hard to tell what they are when they are dry.  I did manage to find two that are granite with garnet chrystals--very pretty!

How can you tell what a rock will look like polished?

You give it a quick lick!

We head back to Florida this evening!  This has been a precious visit.

 

MOMENTOUS DAY!

Yesterday was a very special day for my parents;  they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary! This is the reason we are visiting this time!  They planted this tree last month when their great-grandson was here to help Dad plant the tree.

My sister purchased this plaque for them to commerate the occasion!

We went out to dinner at Canale's in Oswego, New York. (Bill and I, my parents, my sister and bil)

The lake was just beautiful at sunset time.

I did a little bit of rock hounding!

And then we had ice cream again!  

This is the lighthouse in Oswego where they have the HarborFest each year

Just so calm and peaceful....

And they still tease each other, laugh and enjoy their present 

while telling great stories of their past, too.

I wouldn't have missed this time for the world!

 

LEISURE AND LAUGHTER

If you wonder where the birds go when it is raining hard?

---now you know!!!

When it is clear out, you celebrate with ice cream!  (My parents!)

And singing happy birthday with nieces, great nieces, a great nephew a brother in law and my sister!

My sister's great dane--they are so much more than a dog! lol

Crazy kids in the pool that is so chilly after all the rain! 

 Bill supervised and cheered them on!  

Muchroooms (toad stools) grow tall and fast!

But the syringa like the warm/rainy/warm weather!  

 

A LESSON IN GAUGE

So Mom finished her dishcloth and even though we were using the same yarn and the same needles, mine was smaller than hers!  

Later in the day we were working out a granny ssquare layout for a baby blanket and we see that my squares are all bigger than hers even though I ws using a smaller hook than she was using!  We got tired of trying to figure it out and decided to sleep on it!  I hope to tackle it fresh this morning after church!

Yesterday, my sister had some demolition going on!  She lives next door to my parents.  The men had removed all of the decking from the house to the pool .  In a few days the pool will be removed, too, because they are getting an in ground pool!  Fun to see the work getting done for her while I am here.

 

NICE TO VISIt and NOT TRAVEL!

Mom's Hoya plant is in bloom again--I so enjoy seeing it when I visit!  What a beautiful 3" clump of flowers!

The kitchen window has some new African Violets--this one has to have the largest display of flowers I've ever seen!  Easily it is 5" wide and 3" high!

The robins were so busy this morning;  there was a bit of rain through the night and they were all looking for the worm!  I have enjoyed listening to the birds--it is so busy around the whole yard!

Dad's roses are not only beautiful but they smell delicious!

Mom and I bought 5 skeins of dishcloth cotton (one is still on her needles so not on the sill) and then will make a bunch of different combinations of these for the dishcloths we knit while we visit-

and laugh!

 

NO DRAMA - THE WAY TRAVEL SHOULD BE!

I manage a ton of knitting during the travel day;  

no delays, no lack of staff, no excuses! 

 Air travel needs to be with SouthWest right now, people!

I enjoyed the patchwork view of northeastern US.

And sitting outside after dinner and talking togehter,

 we had a beautiful display of sunset colors!

 

PRAYERS FOR SMOOTH TRAVELS!

I managed to get the two bobbins plied into yarn-7 ounces of 2 ply yarn.  I will let it set on the bobbin for a while.

The piecing and cutting are on hold for a bit, also.

We are taking a trip to see my parents to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with them!  I'm hoping for a drama-free day of air travel!

 

SHOWER RUNNERS

In September, we will be hosting a wedding shower for a young woman in church.  Her favorite season is Autumn so we found just the right fabric to make some table runners to accent the sage green table cloths.

My friend, Mary and I cut up the 14" x 84" runners

 and then turned a rolled edge on them!

That 7' lasted a long run until the corners! lol  But I am glad to say, the runners are done and stored until it is time to decorate.  No procrastination allowed.

I stopped to buy some solids to fill in the blank blocks for the court house steps scraps that highlights a shoe in each block!  This will be what I piece next!

 

BROKEN AND BEAUTIFUL!

I broke up a blue beer bottle I had on my wall of colored glass in the lanai to put it in the glass tumbler.

It turned out beautifully!  Soft and safe to handle! 

And then I added half of a clear glass vase and have some pretty white glass now! I looked for some red to tumble to have ready today but found that 3 of the glass vases I have are all 'fakes' in that the glass is clear and they have been dyed.  They would tumble like the clear glass and lose all of the color.  I will have to go thrift store shopping to find one!  (or more! lol)

We might not have any fireworks this year but look at this cloud--it was huge but back lit by the sun perfectly!

The free glass is finished--a nice supply to put in another wooden bowl!

And my rocks from Washington are done, too, and in their own special bowl so that I can remember which ones they are without relying on my memory! 

One bobbin finished with the KnitPicks Stroll bare roving I died.  I hope to finish the other bobbin either today or tomorrow!

A NEW SKILL

So during quilt group recently, I was given a lesson on collage in fabrics.  This is just a silly piece to give me the basics! 

 We had fun and I had a glimpse of the creative attraction 

found in this kind of quilting! And if you think you can't learn something new, check out this post about an 87 yo woman who has only been collaging for a few years!  What inspiration!

My interest was sparked from this kit I bought about 6-7 years ago but was too intiminated to actually begin it!  Leslie's lesson gave me the courage to open it up and begin to work on it!

 It took a lot longer than my piecing does but that is mainly because I am a rookie at this new kind of work!  

Today, I will be adding the legs!  

It is good to work at something new with fabric!

DAY ONE OF THE TOUR

After getting some morning chores done, it was time to head outside and play in the sun! I had a nice long extension cord so I could spin by the pool!

My view while I did my spinning!  I listened to an audio book for some of the time, too. So very relaxing!

And what I accomplished-almost half a bobbin. 

A great beginning!