mid July....already

Normal temperatures have resumed (low to mid 20's) and the smoky haze has cleared, now this is summer.   It's still very dry and much of the province is still dealing with forest fire situations.  We've had some rain but not enough to do much good.  I'm sure come September there will be complaints about "all the rain".   Until then, here's the place I enjoy most....

The blinds are a new addition this year.  We purchased inexpensive indoor blinds and mounted them on lengths of wood, added cup hooks and hung on existing outdoor hooks  .....done.    To angle them out and attach to the hedge I used lengths of synthetic raffia.  The outdoor lights are on a timer so they provide evening sparkle.

 

Next up, completed mailarts.  On the left the back of the stitched envelope and on the right the whole envelope before being stitched together (sent to Amy).  Below, centre is the lovely mailart received from Amy along with goodies.  Definitely a fun exchange!

And not to forget, blooms from the garden ......

Last chance to enter my birthday giveaway.  Be sure to read the previous post.

Happy July!

Sunday morning and it's overcast.  This should be a good thing except  the cloud cover is from wildfire smoke.  It's blanketing all the Lower Mainland area.  Hot times and bad conditions...and still this hot weather continues.  The long range forecast shows another week of heat to come.

The past few days I've found myself remembering the dates....last July  1st en route to Venice, by the 4th to Rome and then the ship at the cruise port heading for other destinations.   It was a journey to celebrate many things, birthdays, anniversary, my leaving work and family all ok.   How things have changed.   July 4th marked three months since Mom passed away.  No, there will not be monthly reminders but this one hit with a thud and I don't know why, just a reality check I guess.  Time passes, adjustments are made.  July 2nd marked three months since DH has been out of work (no fault of his, store closed)  It's been a wild ride.  There are still bumps along the way but we're doing fine.  We've been served two scoops of life.  And the cherry on top, family and friends.

For now, pictures from my garden.

 


The flowers on the left are a Peruvian daffodil.  And the berries, it's the first year for fruit.   One of our figs trees has figs.  Small fruit coming, so long as the birds don't discover them, it will be a treat to have fresh figs!

FIFA finals today.  It has been a pleasure to watch the games.   Next time the games come to Vancouver we will definitely try to get tickets.

Upcoming....birthdays.....three this month...grandson turns 7 on the 7th, me on the 10th (alright, let's leave it at over 60) and DH turns 60 on the 30th.  So to mark the occasions I'm going to put together a giveaway.  To use  one of Noah's favorite words   'Surprise'   ....my gift to you will be stitching and crafty.  Stay tuned.  I will do the draw on the 15th.

Summer Wishes

Sunshine....check.....unlimited actually for days to come.

Warm temperatures   ....check.... 28 in the shade, lovely but maybe just a bit cooler would be nice.

Cool drinks ...check ....iced tea made and in the fridge.  It's too warm for a glass of wine, maybe tonight though.

Freezer stocked...check ....we've become fans of Chapman's Gelato....yummy flavours!  No, that's not the only thing in the freezer!

Stitching to do...check....there are unlimited options here ....

With the a/c unit going in the living room, ceiling fan  in the family room and a large turbo fan the other end of the place overall it's comfortable indoors staying in the 24 degree range.

We've been following the Women's FIFA games to date.  Tonight is Canada and England, playing in Vancouver.  We're content to watch the game on TV.

No pictures today but next post I'll be able to show you what I've been working on and what I've received in the mail.

So, what are your summer wishes??

Summer's here...

Summer at last, long days and nights.... great light for stitching (many projects underway), knitting (yet to get going on anything) and time outdoors on the patio.

Our weather continues mild and dry.  It rained Friday night and as heavy a downpour that it was, it was a drop in the bucket of what is needed to return brown lawns to green.   There is another mini heat wave predicted for later this week through the weekend.   Summer water restrictions are in place as well.

One recent visit to the thrift store finally yielded a doughnut cutter.  They used to be a common but locally no success in finding a new one.  Gone are the days of a real department store (Woodward's and Eaton's are long gone) and the remaining larger stores carry limited product selections.  Another visit resulted in a hard cover Readers Digest cross stitch book.  It's nice to find a few treats without spending much.

In recent weeks hummingbirds visits are still infrequent.  At least one little fellow does drop in.  I've managed a couple of photos, definitely camera shy so needless to say photo quality isn't very good.

Meanwhile,enjoy your week!

A new day, a new month.

Welcome June .......sunshine is streaming in the kitchen windows.  There is plenty of blue sky with layers of white clouds and light breeze.  According to the weather report last evening, we will squeak another nice day before the rain returns.    Actually some rain will be nice as May was extremely dry and now the outdoor watering restrictions come in to effect as of today.

Yesterday was busy and very productive.   It was so nice to make inroads in the ironing....yes it does mount up.  I was most happy to finish my mailart and take it to the sub post office.  There were a couple of other small parcels posted as well including one for an exchange.  It's a good feeling to have projects done and mailed with time to spare.

My batch of stuffed peppers (mini peppers) go bigger and bigger....it's what happens when you keep adding items to the cooked rice......lots of filling equals lots of peppers.   We'll enjoy some this week and I'll freeze the rest.

Friday we took my Dad for a drive and went to a veggie market.  This market is about 20 minutes away by car.  It's a lovely location half way between Surrey and White Rock.  The open fields all around and with views of the local mountains well you feel 100 miles away from anywhere.  Fresh veggies are just a bonus.   Bit by bit we try to include 'a road trip' for Dad.   It can't be too long but we try to find something different for him to enjoy.

Now that the other projects are on their way, I can got full ahead on my Christmas in July exchange. This will be fun to do.

DH made the coffee this morning.  A second cup  poured and it's time to take it outdoors ....and water the garden.

Sunflowers in my garden.

last week of May

It's Monday, again, so soon.  

Recently I stitched a LK travelling pattern.  With a few changes I made this.   Framed and ready to go I took a picture with it in the box with the intention of getting another shot later.  The later shot happened but didn't come out as well.   The wedding was lovely.  The day was great.  And it was sunny!

Another recent finish as yet unframed.

My Patriotic mailart is ready to be sewn together.  Once mailed and received I'll post a picture. It's been fun to do.  

And from my garden.....

The poppies are a new addition this year.  One plant has orange and red blooms.   I'm still working on a vertical theme as there is only so much space on the patio.  Finally found a pineapple sage plant along with a thyme, cilantro, dill and chocolate mint to add to the herb garden.  It's so nice to be able to go snip some fresh parsley and dill from the garden.  The strawberry blooms are so pretty.

In the big picture I guess we're doing ok.  We seem to be adapting to life without Mom, yet I feel she's nearby, just to keep track of us! Our concern shifts to my Dad as his health is less than 100%.  It's a fine balance, respecting his space and privacy and yet being there too.  We leave within walking distance a building away so it's easy to find reasons to stop by.

Tomorrow is a carryover from Mother's Day, a high tea lunch with my daughter.  As we're meeting at the restaurant I plan to leave home a bit early and make a couple of stops along the way to White Rock.

Have a good week!

mid May grey's

Let's call it mild, not warm outdoors.  Although it's not raining at the moment the skies are bland, that greyish blah.  I can't complain really as everything on the patio is growing/blooming  and there is color....definitely makes me happy.

Mother's Day was nice but different.  Mom was with us in spirit.  She was missed.   Daughter, son in law and grandson's came for lunch.  As was his way, Dad came over after lunch and visited.

Nate helped open my gift bag. Taking out the tissue paper was the best part for him, then done. Noah's turn on the same (repacked) bag wasn't the tissue paper but the framed picture inside.  We 'reviewed' each photo.  In each card was a gift certificate, a mother-daughter lunch (we're going later this month) and a stitching gift certificate.

Sunday also brought special outdoor visitors.  First, the return of a hummingbird to the feeder. Several visits during the day/evening.  And not really so special, Murray the mouse.  Darn creature doesn't seem to run away too fast.  No, it's not going to become a pet!

Stitching projects update.  My mailart is stitched and ready to sew on the backing.  Wedding sampler framed and wrapped for the wedding this weekend.  Frogging again on a larger piece.  I've gone through patterns and have come up with a couple of small projects to work on next.

We're still going through and sorting/condensing stuff.  It's nice to have more space.  Taking stock of what we have... priceless.  The thing that I've missed the least is the old microwave.  The shelf now holds my cookbooks.

Wishing everyone a good week!

and the travelling pattern goes to .....

Meari!

I have contacted Meari and the pattern will be on it's way tomorrow.  Happy stitching!

sunny Friday

The forecast is for sunshine and warm temperatures right through the weekend....yeah....patio time!

And in the gardens outside our windows.......

 Blossoms, lots of them.  The colors are beautiful.  They didn't last long.







And on our patio....

My favorite, now in bloom.  This lilac started from a cutting and is now about 5 feet tall and growing well in a large tub.

New additions this year.   It's fun visiting the garden centres but  it has sure been an eye opener with the prices this year.  Thus far my purchases have been limited.  I'm good with that.  

Every now and then we have visitors to the complex.  It's amazing that a heron would be in a residential area.  This one stayed on the roof for a good hour or so.

And once in a while we are lucky enough to see this...  last week, early evening, looking east, one rainbow and the start of a second.   As for the pot of gold....

Stitching projects are well underway, a Patriotic mailart and a wedding sampler.   Photos of these will come later.  With  some warm sunny days ahead it must be time to bring out the knitting needles.  So many projects, so little time.

Wishing all the Mom's a very Happy Mothers's Day!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend too!

LK Travelling pattern

I've just finished stitching the Lizzie Kate "Love is Best" pattern.  It's quite delightful and quick to stitch.

Thanks to Kim M Wisdom with needle and thread for drawing my name.

So who would like to stitch this pattern next???  I'll draw a name on Saturday evening and that way the travelling pattern can hit the road again soon.

Be sure to check out Kim's blog.  Sign up's are available till May 7th for a Christmas in July swap.