Floral Wednesday

We have beautiful flowers growing outdoors:

And we have beautiful flowers indoors:

My One Flower Wednesday addition

Inchy Swap flowers from Ros.

It's nearing the end of the month, so many projects are in the final stages of completion.  More will be revealed in the next couple of days.

Stitching to my heart's content....Sunny

Smiles....and Frowns.....and Smiles

BIG SMILES:  It's Saturday!  The last three days were beastly hot, hazy and humid.  Too hot to do anything but get from house to car to office.  But not today!!  A 'cold front' went through last night and today's temps were only in the mid 80's with beautiful blue skies and white puffy clouds.  A beautiful day to be on the river. 

We had a spectator:

And a hitchhiker:

FROWNS:  But then we had to stop at a convenience store  so DH could get some cash from the ATM.  When I was backing out of my space, I saw another car backing towards me so I stopped.  Unfortunately, he wasn't watching, and he didn't stop.

I know that parking lot insurance claims don't end well, so there goes another deductible out of my wallet, and the insurance premiums will go up again.  I said some words that can't be repeated here, because this is a family blog.

Back to SMILES:  After we got home and unloaded the kayaks, I took another look at the bumper damage.  The dent had popped out!!!!  I think a little buffing and maybe just a touch of paint, and all will be well.  No need to get those evil insurance people involved at all.  The other vehicle was barely scratched, so I'm sure he won't report it to his insurance company. 

I don't think I posted my new BSA block that I received from Teresa a couple of days ago.  It's an awesome star:

This is my fourth Red, White and Blue star, and I just love it!  Thanks Teresa.  And if you're reading this Teresa, stop now.  Because here is the block that I made for you.

She requested this pattern in bright colors, and I hope she likes it!

Off to do some more stitching now.  We got home exceptionally early for a Saturday, so I have many hours to fill with fun stuff.

Stitching to my heart's content.....Sunny

One Flower Wednesday

I'm beginning a new Pink Project, and this is my second flower.  I worked on sewing hexies together this week, and got one entire row finished.  Since I've yet to find the perfect thimble, I don't use one as much as I should, so have a very sore finger!  I'll be fine in a day or two, and will get on to the next row.  Please tell me about your favorite thimble!  I have large fingers, and have only found one thimble that is super comfortable.  Most of it is rubber, with a metal tip.  But sometimes the back of the needle gets stuck in the rubber!

I saw this when I parked my car at work yesterday.  A few coworkers saw me with my camera, and thought I was nuts, but I think it's a decent picture. 

Off to work on a little cross stitch, then early to bed.  Thanks for stopping by!

stitching to my heart's content...Sunny

Star Spangled Sailabration!

The War of 1812:During the bombardment of Fort McHenry, the fort flew an enormous flag with 15 stripes and 15 stars. As long as it swayed in the wind, no one doubted that Fort McHenry remained in American hands. Anchored not far away were Americans detained by the British, among them Francis Scott Key. They watched the bombardment all day, heartened at the site of the large flag above the fort. Then nightfall came and with it suspense: would the flag be flying in the morning? At daybreak, Key not only saw the stars and stripes still flying above the fort, but the British weighing anchor. The city of Baltimore remained free. Key was so moved he wrote a poem on “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” and our national anthem was born.   (from Boatus.com)

Imagine standing outside Fort McHenry 200 years later, singing the Star Spangled Banner with thousands of others, while saluting a replica of that flag.  What a moving moment.  And that is exactly where I was Saturday afternoon.  We actually went to Baltimore to see the tall ships that had sailed into the harbor earlier in the week.  We saw a couple of ships:

But mostly what we saw were the throngs of people

The lines to do anything were phenomenal, so we decided to go back out to Fort McHenry for the Air Show.  We had actually gone there earlier because there was a free shuttle from our parking lot.  We walked all around the fort, but decided it was too early to wait for the air show.  We grabbed hot dogs from a street vendor, and a bottle of water before we hopped on the shuttle again.  Unfortunately, one bottle of water for two people in the sun for over two hours is a recipe for disaster.  I got overheated and had to sit under a shade tree for a portion of the show, but got back up and into the sun for the Blue Angels portion.  Just let me say......Oh. My. Gosh.  They were so awesome. 

These photos are from the Web, because my camera batteries chose this inopportune time to die.  Although I think that was actually a blessing, because I think the show was much more enjoyable to watch without the camera!  What those guys do is absolutely amazing.  I haven't been to an Air Show for probably about 30 years, but I won't wait so long to go again!  We left before the very end to head for the shuttle buses.  We were both totally exhausted from being in the sun so long, and from all the walking we had done earlier.  We had talked earlier about how smoothly the city had everything running:  the parking, the shuttle buses, traffic control, etc.  Someone dropped the ball when it came to organizing the outgoing buses.  What a disaster.  I was worried there was going to be a riot as people were rushing and pushing to get on the buses.  I'm here to tell you, there are some nasty people out there!  My biggest concern was that I was going to pass out while waiting in line.  Remember that one bottle of water?  Well it was long gone.  I finally got up the courage to ask a stranger with a cooler if I could buy a bottle of water from him.  He gave me a funny look, but the water was handed over.  First, I rolled it all over my face and neck, then I actually shared a few sips with DH.  After all, he was going to have to drag my body out of there.  LOL!  But I survived, we finally got on a bus, and the rest of the day was uneventful.  Except for the part where I went to bed at 9:30 and slept for 10 hours. 

I didn't have the strength to do any stitching when we got home, but I did spend a couple of hours on Friday night, (FNSI) stitching hexies together.

I wasn't sure I liked the randomness of my hexies when I first started sewing them together, but as I get further into it, I'm liking it better.  But I still don't like sewing them together!!!!! 

A couple of weeks ago, DH discovered this in one of his herb pots.

This morning, it had 'mushroomed' into this!

And then he had the nerve to pick them, so I took the opportunity to photograph the underside.

Sorry, I've always had a fascination with such things.  Just look at how intricate this is.  Isn't it beautiful?

On that note, I really must go do some stitching.  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Stitching to my heart's content....Sunny

Withdrawal

Definition:
Withdrawal is a term referring to the feelings of discomfort, distress, and intense craving for a substance that occur when use of the substance is stopped. These physical symptoms occur because the body had become metabolically adapted to the substance. The withdrawal symptoms can range from mild discomfort resembling the flu to severe withdrawal that can actually be life threatening. 

Okay. Okay.  I couldn't help myself  My Fingers were itching and twitching, so I caved.  I found some scraps of pink fabric at the quilt show on Saturday. 

I said I was done with hexies for awhile, but I couldn't give up my friends over at One Flower Wednesday, now could I?

Ahhhhhhhhhhh....I feel so much better now. 

Stitching to my heart's content....Sunny

The PERFECT Day!

It doesn't get any better than this.  DH and I got up early this morning and headed to the Annapolis Quilt Show!  He dropped me off, and I spent about an hour and a half wandering around looking at quilts and shopping.  I bought a couple of older books,

And I looked at lots of wonderful quilts.

this is all cats entwined!

I remember this from the Hershey Quilt Show.

But the best part of the show was meeting Cathi from Shakerwood Woolens!  She's a real sweetheart!  I had to confess that I've never worked with wool before, so I started a small stash today.  Cathi had a beautiful booth, and it looked like she was doing a pretty good business.  No one around my area sells wool, so I really enjoyed looking at all the rich colors

After we left the Quilt Show, we stopped for lunch at one of DH's favorite places.

And what could make a great day even better?  You know what's coming, don't you.  Kayaking!  After all, we were in Annapolis, which  is pretty much surrounded by water.  We put in at the mouth of the South River.  I didn't take many pictures, because the water today was a little rougher, and I didn't get out the camera for very long.  Also, it's hard to snap a decent picture in a bobbing boat.  So no pictures of Osprey with chicks, or Herons, or Cormorants, or seagulls, or barges on the Bay, or mama horseshoe crab with baby.  I did snap a couple of shots just to show it was a beautiful day.

We chose the location today because we were hoping to see the Thomas Point Light.  But we couldn't see it.  I just noticed that it's barely visible in the sailboat  picture.  I tried to blow it up, but it's not a very clear picture, so that didn't help.  And if you're wondering about the clouds, our summers are Hazy, Hot, and Humid.  Our skies tend to be a murky shade of gray most of the time.  I always appreciate a blue sky with puffy white clouds.

And now I'm feeling the effects of sun, fresh air, and exercise, so I must go get cozy with my pillow.  I'll leave you with a quote I saw today:

"Solving the world's problems, one square at a time:

Sunny

Mail Call

DH didn't stop at the mailbox last night because it was raining so hard when he came home.  Lucky for me, the mail carrier had left a nice little box at the door.  Inside was this beautiful squishy that I won from Barbara at To Stitch or Not to Stitch.  I borrowed her picture because she's far more artistic with her photos than I am.

If you like cross stitch, or if you just like looking at pretty things, you should pop over to her blog to look around. 

I'm at home today, waiting for the arrival of a plumber.  We've tried for the last two nights to get our kitchen sink drain unclogged, and it was time to call in the pros.  You know how they give you a time range - late morning  or early afternoon??  It's usually pretty annoying, but I decided to look at the bright side and use it as an excuse to spend the day catching up on some sewing projects.  Yeah for plumbers!!  I just washed up a few dishes in the bathroom sink to get them out of the way.  If you need me for anything, I'll be in the sewing room!

Stitching to my heart's content......Sunny

One Flower Wednesday

Here they are folks - my flowers for the June Inchy Swap!  We got our assignments on Sunday night, and I nurtured flowers into blooming on Monday night.  Please pop over to Karen's blog to find links to more pretty flowers. 

I spent several nights this week making half hexies as well.  I think I have all I need now, but can add more later if I miscalculated. 

Now all I need for my quilt is about 200 single petals.  I'll make up a batch at a time as I need them.  No more procrastinating now - I've got to put it all together!

A friend sent me an e-mail last week asking if I could make a star block to help out a quilting  friend in need.  Of course I said yes.  Then I got a reminder e-mail for another project that I had totally forgotten about.  Luckily, I could make the same block for both projects, and so I whipped up two stars and got them in the mail.

I bought this fabric a couple of months ago for a BSA block, and it was very uncomfortable living with my other fabrics, mostly soft colors, so I was happy to use it up and send it out into the world.

Last night I kitted up my Ornament of the Month, a PIF project, and a CTTY Project.  So I'm off to the races for another month.  I was hoping to do some machine sewing tonight, but we're having plumbing problems in the kitchen, so I've been bailing instead.  Fun.  Not.  I guess I'll work on one of the smaller projects for a bit before  I head for bed.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stitching to my heart's content.....Sunny

The Company Picnic

I live in a world where the company picnic is typically a pot-luck affair at a local park.  I am currently working for a large global company (although as a temp) and today's company picnic was held at Hershey Park.  DH and I don't usually go to amusement parks because A.) we're cheap frugal, and B.) I don't ride on the rides!  I don't find feeling terrified and/or nauseated a fun way to spend my day.  However, the price was right today - FREE! - so off to Hershey we went. 

Hershey is known for its roller coasters, which we watched from the safety of the tram and the monorail

A ride to the top of the Kissing Tour gave us a scenic view of the park

We also took in a show at the Aqua Theater, and were treated to a catered picnic lunch at one of the pavilions.

And a trip to Hershey Park would not be complete without a ride through Chocolate World, where you can see how the wonderful chocolate confections are made.

Of course, the Chocolate World ride ends at the entrance to a lovely shop filled with overpriced souvenirs and CHOCOLATE!  Because our outing had not cost us a penny up until then, we allowed ourselves some overpriced chocolate.  It tastes better when you buy it at Hershey!!!

Contentment is a bowl of Hershey Kisses........Sunny