Spring Flowers

The temperatures are erratic here, but the flowers and trees are budding and bursting out in all their glory.  The flowering pear in this picture is between our house and our neighbor's. 

Here are some of the other beautiful flowers in our gardens:

I snapped these pictures of Kelly yesterday afternoon.  She had a difficult time standing still; she was having a wonderful time, enjoying my husband's company and playing.  She wore herself out, and laid on the floor most of the evening.

I'm heading off to the orthopedist's office this afternoon to get my knee shot full of Synvisc again, so I'll be off my feet for a few days.  My plan is to work on wedding flowers, since I think I've finally gotten some decent floral tape.  (But that's a story for another post.)

Seeing Clearly

I got new

so now I can see my needlework better!  Hooray!

Back soon - hopefully - with more progress on the wedding sampler.

Shopping!

Although I wasn't feeling well, I had to go out on Friday to get medication for my husband. Since I was near to the new Hobby Lobby, I told Sarah, who accompanied me, that we had to take advantage of the situation. Well, let me tell you, we loved that store! They had a little bit of everything, including some brands I hadn't seen elsewhere. I picked up some cute buttons, a tube of my favorite Monaco 28 count evenweave in "Tea", some charms for scissor fobs, cardstock for Christmas cards (guess I ought to get moving on those), a background stamp, and a punch.

I also picked up these cute brads, which I intend to turn into decorative tacks.
Lastly, I spotted these wonderful scissors. They were a bit pricey, but so pretty, and since I got some money for my birthday, I indulged myself. They are Silk Screen Scissors, and the pattern simply called "Multi Colored."

(Mostly) Cleaned!

As I mentioned earlier this month, I have been cleaning and sorting through a lot of STUFF in the craft room. I finally have the table/counter cleared off so that it can be used again! I know it doesn't look that way in the pictures, but my sewing area (the sewing machine and serger closest to the 90 degree angle) and the stamping area really are usable. Now to do some creating!

Self-Portrait

On my new camera, there's a setting for taking a picture of yourself. I decided to give it a try; this is the best picture I could get! I had my hair cut on Wednesday afternoon, so this is how it got styled. I usually just wear it in a half pony tail. We'll see how it looks when I do it myself!

New "Baby" & More!

As of Saturday afternoon, I am a new mom! Here's a picture of my baby:I was at Sam's Club, and thought I'd check the cameras, conveniently located near the entrance. Since their website had said the camera was only available by mail order, I wasn't hopeful that they'd have it in the store, but there it was!

I made the big mistake of installing the software that came with the camera, which is why this post isn't being written until now. Not only did it take over the computer, but it took me nearly an hour to get pictures from the camera to the computer. Only then did I think to see if Picasa would recognize the camera, which it wouldn't, so I checked the help files and found out that if I uninstalled the Kodak software, Picasa would indeed recognize the camera.

Remember the decorative boxes I mentioned here? Here are some pictures of them.
The top:

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One of my stops on Saturday was A.C. Moore. I wanted to get another 5" spring embroidery hoop, as I get tired of moving the same one from one WIP to another. Turns out they plan to rearrange the embroidery aisle (I asked) and a bunch of things were on clearance, including the embroidery hoops, of which I got several at 99 cents each. They also had variegated DMC floss for 17 cents, so I picked up 7 skeins, as well as the two packages of Aida cloth - one is 14 count (the seafoam green) and the other 16 count. These were $1.84 each. I've always wanted to try the green color, so this was a great find.

It's been so very hot, in the 90's. Once again, I am thankful for our central air. One more really hot day, then 87 on Tuesday. After that, the temps will return to the upper 70's and low 80's, and we'll finally be able to open the windows again.

So many things I need to do, but despite feeling better emotionally, I'm still not being very productive. Gotta work on that. Sewing, dyeing cross stitch fabric, washing the kitchen window (have to get the ladder out to do that), planting flowers, planning meals, doing laundry . . . I'd much rather curl up with Callie.

Where has the week gone? Oh, yeah. Two trips to the hospital - one for Phil's oncologist, and the other for chemo today. (Good news! Phil's doctor has cut his chemo down to once every two weeks, feeling confident that Phil's counts will be down when they come in next week) After both afternoon appointments, we ran errands. On Wednesday, I was able to plant some flowers and do some other garden work. As I turned over the rocks ringing the side garden to pull up the landscape fabric underneath it, this is what I found:Sugar ants! Hundreds of them. Then they started crawling up my arms. And if that wasn't bad enough, some of them bit me! The more rocks I turned over, the more ants I found, so Sarah suggested getting the Raid, which we did. I sprayed and sprayed until the can was empty, and most of the ants were dead. I wanted to change the shape of the garden anyway, so those rocks will not go back into position!

Phil and I went to Goodwill after chemo today as I was looking for a denim skirt to replace the one that I got rid of when I lost weight. I actually found one, and a belt to go with it, since it's just a tad big. I also spotted a large rectangular basket - probably big enough for newspapers - for $2.99, so I picked it up. We can always use baskets for storage.

Tomorrow we're having company for dinner, the first time in what seems like forever. I've planned a simple menu: spaghetti and ready-made (frozen) meatballs, vegetable, green salad, Butter Dips (from an old Betty Crocker cookbook) and dessert, which Sarah will make.

We're entering a heat wave, complete with high humidity and the threat of thunderstorms. We broke down tonight and turned on the air conditioning, and it's comfortable in the house, so we all should sleep well. It was not fun vacuuming in the heat tonight.

I hope to get in some stitching time over the weekend. Or maybe I'll work on sewing the capris and split skirt I cut out last night. Oh, and I should finish cutting out the two shirts that are on the cutting table.

Guess I won't be bored!

Creative Needle Magazine

Deby wondered where to get a copy of Creative Needle magazine. I got mine at JoAnn Fabrics. You might also find it at one of the craft stores. We have a grocery chain that carries a wide variety of magazines, so that's another possibility. If all else fails, you can order directly from their website - it's the May/June 2008 issue.

I'm off to do some cross stitching!

Camera Woes

My plan was to share some pictures with you. But the camera batteries died, and so I'll have to wait until Sarah gets them charged again.

This is only one reason I've been contemplating the pros and cons of purchasing a new camera. Phil and I have looked at the one I want at WalMart twice, reviewing the features, comparing its ability to take good closeups with others priced similarly, and getting information about the batteries. I had talked with Sarah about her taking the Fuji we currently have; at first, she was opposed, wanting to hold out for a small digital, but we discussed it again on Wednesday while we were out shopping, and she said that she'd take the Fuji after all. So now I have to make sure there's enough money in savings to cover the cost above what I am willing to take out of the money my parents gave me for Mother's Day, and then make a final decision.

You know those decorative boxes - photo, suitcase, hat - that you can get at the craft stores? I finally broke down and bought two of the suitcase ones (two different sizes) for some of my cross stitch supplies that I keep in the bedroom, where I do a lot of stitching. They have white and white stripes and roses, with gold handles. One has charts, and the other, a bunch of miscellaneous supplies. They look much nicer than the tote bag and piles I had before.

I turned Dear Friend into a pinkeep today. It came out wonderfully. I only wish it didn't take me so long - probably 4-1/2 hours. Does that seem excessive?

Sweet

Look what showed up in our neighbor's driveway tonight . . . sweet, huh?