WEEDING, PLANTING, AND ACHING BONES

Geez....two days ago it sounded so great to get out in the yard and start planting and rearranging some perrenials. While treating myself to a trip to the nursery on Friday afternoon...I couldn't seem to fill my shopping cart up fast enough with perrenials, annuals, herbs, and even...gulp...a couple of vegetable plants. In my overactive imagination I had visions of beautiful gardens....herb gardens, vegetable gardens, butterfly gardens..and on and on. When I unloaded some of my earthly treasures on the backporch..I took a good look around my yard and holy smokes.....I couldn't believe how much work I had to do before I could even think of planting...was I CRAZY?? I wanted to load everything back in the car and ask for a refund! But...as things settled, and my heart stopped racing...my husband reminded me that this is what we wait for all winter long. Well..maybe he does..because afteer 6 hours of bending, lifting, stooping, and yanking..my whole body is aching! we were only able to get about 1/3 of the yard done this afternoon..so I guess there is always tomorrow...Better get a really big bottle of Motrin!

I had to take a picture of this sweet little pansy that must have reseeded itself last fall. It is the prettiest little flower and growing in between the bricks right off of my back porch step. I think I'll leave it there for a while..it seems to have found a happy home!

This week, I started my little grand daughter, Olivia's, birth sampler. Now don't laugh...Olivia is going to be three years old, so to say I am a little behind is an understatement! But Olivia has a little sister, Isabel, who was born last July...haven't started that sampler and then we had a another baby girl, Charlotte, who was born last month...haven't started that one either...so I figured I had better get on the ball. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day..I try to get in about an hour of stitching or rug hooking every evening..but I am so tired after work, I usually fall asleep in my stitching chair around 8 pm. Boy am I getting old!

I am using motif's from the new booklet by Blackbird Designs, "Honeysuckle Manor". I love the colors in the sampler and I thought it would be a nice one for the girls. As you can see...I have the dreaded "hoop" marks on my fabric, but I have to use a hoop..can't help it! I am also using 14 count aida....which is so much easier on my eyes..and I find I can stitch a heck of a lot faster. I only wish I had purchased all of the hand-dyed floss that was listed. I used mostly DMC floss with the color conversion...but I did purchase 3 Gentle Arts skeins and the colors are so soft and the variations in the thread is just beautiful. Well...I'd better get back to the sampler...I've got lots of stitchin' to do!

A TOWNSEND...IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING!

I know, I know it's been like forever since I last posted...almost three weeks to be exact! I have had a rough couple of weeks...busy at work, busy at home, yard work, inside work, then to top it off, I experienced a horrible case of "viral gastroenteritis" last week..in other words...I ate something that was contaminated by someone not washing their hands properly or at all or the food, itself, was contaminated. Either way...it cost me a trip to the emergency room last Tuesday morning and then three days of misery! Yuck...I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy! All this while my new Townsend sat in my hooking room....UNTOUCHED! I finally was able to use it this past weekend and what a joy it was! I think my hooking even looks better...my strips are even, no fraying, and it cuts like butter!! I purchased it from Ault's Rug Hooking Store while they were up here at the hook-in in Saline. Larry gave me a trade in allowance for my Fraser so the decision was easy..especially since all my hooking friends think this machine is the best invention since sliced bread!