Cross stitch and Lighthouse Views

Hi to all my cloud friends!! I hope you are all getting ready to have a wonderful week-end!  Here in the Pacific NW, the weather is just incredible, maybe even a bit warm for me.  I love the 70's but the 80's are getting a bit warm. I finished Miss Mary Jane this week and started a small patriotic piece by BBD.  Today the DH and I were on duty at the lighthouse.  We do this once a month from April to Sept.  What a beautiful day at the beach! I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 A finished Mary Jane Smith!

 I did change a small portion.  Where you see my initials there was a very strange looking girl, no arms.  Plus it was all in over one.  I didn't think it was worth that effort.  I do like the way the initials look in that small space.

 This is my current project.  I'll have photos in a day or so.

 I stitched this a long time ago.  I think I will get around to finishing it this year.

 Welcome to the Point No Point Lighthouse!

 I have shown lots of pictures of the lighthouse so today I am focusing on the drift wood furniture and sculptures by the Keeper's House. We have no idea who has done this work.  You can rent half of this house. What a great place to spend a hot week-end!

 Room for a snack or an adult beverage!

 Do you see the eye on what I think might be a  porcupine??!!?

 Mount Rainier.  It is quite a treat to see the mountain from this far away!

 Makes me want to sing,"Oh beautiful for spacious skies......"

 View from the door

 View from a window! I'd say not a bad place to spend a Fri. afternoon!!!!

Thanks so much for joining me and have a great week-end!

A Gift and Some Stitching

I very quietly celebrated a birthday last week and my DD made a wonderful gift for me.  She had been experimenting with copying NW native designs in wool.  The raven is a very important symbol to the NW tribes.  She presented me with the most beautiful raven! 

Isn't it just lovely !  I am very proud of her talent as an artist.  Of course, this is a one-of-a-kind.

Now on to some stitching.  I am really getting close to finishing Mary.  I was in a mood to do something more patriotic but decided to finish her first as I am within a week of being done. She is growing on me. I am now doing some of the over one verse-not my favorite part!

As you can see, I have the red flowers in the middle to finish but decided to get to that over one verse.

Finally, here are a few flowers blooming in the garden right now.

 

 

Thanks so much for joining me and have a wonderful week!

Memorial Day 2015

Many of us in the U.S. are taking time today to think about the many men and women  and their families who have sacrificed so much for our nation.  While it is a time to remember those who did not come home, it is a time for our family to be very thankful for the one who did come home, Major Jeffrey Stvan.

 Jeff flew 2 tours in Iraq in  a Blackhawk helicopter.

 About a year ago with our grand daughter Hannah.

 A few years ago when he became Major with Caleb.

 Last Fall enjoying some football together.

 Last July he married Kacey  and gained another son Ian.

Thanks for joining me today.  Tomorrow, I will do a catch up post on stitching.

Stitching and Flowers

Greetings to all my cloud friends! I am tring to post at least one time each week.  Since I am working on that larger sampler, there isn't as much to see in the cross stitch world. 
It has been a busy week still working on my step-mom's situation.  Things are still coming up that need our attention.  I will be very glad when we get things into more of a routine. We have totally taken over any business that she has.  She is not even able to write her own checks any more. It complicates things as we are so far away.
Anyway, I am still busy with Mary and I still don't love her.  We will just have to see.
Isn't it hard to believe that Memorial Day will be in just about a week??!! I'm getting the itch to start a patriotic design.  That will be a good topic for my next post.

 This is so much brighter than it shows.  Last night while watching, "Outlander" I got most of the left side finished.

 I think this turned out just right for the oval antique frame.  This year, I hope to do my patriotic decorating  so it will be up from Memorial Day through the 4th of July.  Then I can do the summer decorating. All that decorating keeps me out of trouble!

Just a few of the pretties from the garden this time of year.  I hope you have a wonderful week and thanks for joining me!

Back Home!

We are finally home from our very difficult trip to Alabama.  The purpose of the trip was to shut down my step-mom's apartment as she has been moved to skilled nursing care.  We are not sure she knew who we were.  That plus, I found it very difficult to get rid of her things while she is still alive.  I was not able to do any commenting and I have missed all of you and your blogs.
I do have some stitching to share. I saved all of the berries on the Mary Jane Smith Sampler to stitch on the plane.  I have also decided my summer project for the antique oval frame. I was going through charts and found the "Souvenir's of Summer "  booklet by BBD.  I am stitching Summer Song.  It will go well with any patriotic decorating that I decide to do. 
My last pictures are taken in the garden and on the deck. We came home to very dry conditions.  It did not rain while we were gone.
 I hope all of you that have children had a great Mother's Day.  I spent mine with my DD and had phone calls from my son and DIL as well as my sweet little grandson! All in all it was the perfect day.

 Summer Song using the suggested floss and a scrap of linen that I had, I think it is antique ivory.

 All the berries on Mary Jane finished!!

 My dear kids know what I love-FLOWERS!!! Tulips from son and DIL.

 So many tulips I had to use two containers!

 Beautiful Rhodies from my DD's yard!

 I love these iris. I think the colors are magnificent!

 If you have followed my blog for long, you know I love the Fall and Halloween.  I planted these two containers last Fall.  This is what they look like today.  I hate to pull the flowers out for my summer planting!!!!

Thank you so much for joining me today and have a wonderful week!

Where does time go?

Hi there cloud friends! Time is just flying by.  It looks like I have been neglecting my blog so here is a quick catch up.  Last Wed. I had my one year checkup for my good old replaced knee.  The Dr. was very satisfied with my progress.  The best news for me was that my right knee looks good!!!  I really feel for people that have to have them both replaced.  I thought it was a big nasty ordeal. Of course, it didn't help that all the pain meds made me sick.  Well, on to happier thoughts.  I have continued to work on  the Mary Jane Smith Sampler.  That's one reason I haven't blogged as much.  There just isn't enough to show very often when you are doing a big sampler.  I have to make a trip to Alabama again.  So I am keeping all the flowers on the border to stitch on the plane.  This will not be a fun trip.  My step-mom has been moved to  the skilled nursing(in the old days , the nursing home )part of her complex.  We have to go down and clear out her apartment.  She is very angry about the whole thing.  The only good part is we will be spending the time with my sister and BIL who live in Florida.
 I am adding some pretty garden photos.  I am really enjoying watching spring come to so many of your gardens!!

 I am not loving  Miss Mary.  However, I saw it finished in a shop and thought it was great so I am continuing to work on her.

 I forgot to show you this wonderful egg my DD, the artist of Woolpets, made for me this Easter. Isn't it wonderful?

 The Wisteria is blooming.

 The first Rosa Metabulis.

 The Golden Rain Drops crab apple has been beautiful this year.  I was weeding under this tree and thought there was a bee hive in the tree as I heard so much buzzing.   No hive just hundreds of bees! I moved away very carefully.

 The peony is now in full bloom.

Thank you so much for joining me today! I hope your spring is as pretty as these lilacs!

A Finish, A Start, and a Walk!

I hope this has been a great week-end for all of you.  It has been spectacular here.  Actually a taste of summer with sun and temps in the 70's.  We have spent lots of time outside getting the deck and the yard ready for summer.  In the yard, we put up the bird bath and fountain.  Tomorrow we plan to fertilize all the plants.  That's going to be a big job!!
In the stitching realm, I finished one design and started a new one.  We all seem to have different habits for stitching.  I generally do one design at a time.  I stitch almost every evening from 7:30 or so till about 10.  My DH loves TV, I can take it or leave it except for a few programs.  Anyway, that's how I got started stitching in the evening.  I would do more at times during the day but good old arthritis only lets me stitch for a few hours a day.
I'm also including a few pictures we took from a walk last week.  We went to a state park called Penrose Point.  It's about a 2 mile walk and much of it is through the woods and often there are water views.  It's a very pretty walk.

 Bittersweet September is all finished!  This is a BBD  from the Ladies Prim Society.  The only changes I made were the linen, 36 ct. to a 32 ct.and the color of the pot on the roof. I am trying a new finish for this design.  I will show you as I get it finished.  I'm not in a hurry as I will most likely use this in the Fall.

 The start of Mary Jane Smith, and I did the traditional happy dance when the border met up just right! I think this is going to be a fun sampler to stitch.  Did you notice, no house?  After the huge white house and the house in Bittersweet September, I am taking a break from houses.  However, not for long as I love houses in samplers!! 

 Two big apple trees and no house!

 We loved the way the clouds were reflected in the water.

 Dead trees provide homes and food for the wild creatures and the birds.

Have a great week and thanks for joining me!