Some Stitching Thoughts (New vs. Old)

Some stitching thoughts for today.

Since retiring, I have picked up my cross stitching needle again. It may be the best thing I have done. I have fallen in love with it all over again. I don't have room for any stitching in my house as I was once an avid stitcher and filled up my walls.

I have a farmhouse though, so I can stitch samplers for it. I have projects lined up and work every night on them while Hubby watches TV.

I had probably put away stitching for a decade. I think I did a couple of things for my son's room in the early 2000's.

I felt so out of the loop when I started back. Thank goodness for the Internet and blogs and Youtube. I discovered Q-snaps that way. I like them so much better than my embroidery hoops. My biggest reason is now I can put a magnifier and light on them. Those two things are amazing. Thanks Arlene.

I have seen so many things to inspire me and get me rocking on my favorite past time. I love how many people finish their stitching rather than framing. I especially like this for seasonal items. Oh my, I have SOOOO many things I want to stitch that are seasonal.

Now, for as many things that have been awesome to learn about, there have been some things that have made me question myself as a stitcher and some things that are all the rage that I am not so sure I like.

For example, embroidery thread and different types of cloth.

Embroidery thread to me in the 1980's and 1990's was DMC. I have lots and lots of it. I see that have extended their color list because way back then I was pretty sure I had all the colors.

Y'all I love DMC thread, but now we have these overdyed threads... Weeks, The Gentle Arts, and Classic Colors.

Now, I do know that some of these have been around since the 90's. I just didn't know about them then.

This lovely cottage is from a magazine published in the fall of 1993. It uses Gentle Arts Threads.

Also back then was Aida cloth in different counts. Now, every type of linen and other things you can imagine. Aida cloth seems to be a thing of the past.

I have been pondering all of this as I have picked back up this hobby. I am a second guesser of myself anyway, so it is no surprise that I would spend time thinking about all of this.

First up is what I have decided about threads. A big ole strike for me on the newer threads is the fact that they are not colorfast. They are all the rage it seems with the big time bloggers and stitchers who seem to take this hobby of mine and make it job. I don't want it to be work, just a fun hobby.

However, being the researcher that I am I have read a whole bunch on it and there are far more of those out there who love these overdyed threads than those who don't. Well of those who talk on blogs.

I came to my opinion of them quite by accident. You see I did this sampler last year and literally loved it.

It had a bunch of color names I had not heard of, but I thought nothing of it because they had the DMC numbers beside them as well much like the old days patterns had Anchor next to DMC. I thought nothing of it. However, several of them had two colors of DMC and you had to use one strand of each.

I did just that and it was one of my favorite stitches.

I then read about all of these new colors and so recently when I did this bunny, I ordered the new kinds of thread. I noticed quickly they were real pricey.

I paid for it and this bunny was quite expensive. I even paused before I ordered and found all of these substitution guides for DMC conversions.

Gentle Arts to DMC
Weeks to DMC
Classic Coloworks to DMC

I decided I would try the new stuff out. I am now on a second project with these new threads.

I have reached my own conclusions on whether I will use them in the future.

I really don't like that they could run if they got wet especially if I use them on seasonal projects that I am not framing.

I think they are quite pricey. If I loved them, I would probably find a way to work around the price, but I don't just love them.

I think they are more knotty and break more easily.

I also don't think they stitch as evenly. Which would make me second guess my talent, but you know i have been stitching a long time. I have my ways and they work for me and I really like my past stitching, so I won't allow myself to think I am inferior stitcher. Probably not the best, but not the worst either.

My sampler that I used the conversions on by accident is a favorite of mine.

***There are a couple of colors where there is such variegation that there is no DMC substitution as in the Weeks Clam Shell.

I have decided that I will use DMC for most projects.

In this cottage (thanks again Arlene), it uses Clam Shell.

You can see Clam Shell on the side of the cottage.

I am unsure at this point if it is worth it. I think in this case it might be, so I will do a case by case basis. I think I will know if I think it is worth it at the end of this project. I am truly not sure I like the look. I see where they are going with making it look aged.

I will let you know my thoughts on this when I am finished with this project.

I also have decided I don't love all of the linens out there. Some are a big YES! I loved my books of the Bible on the linen.

However, y'all I still like Aida!!! I don't go around the house and think how awful my old ones look. In fact, I really want to do this blue house on Aida even though it has been stitched on linen in the model. This was something I purchased from eBay.

I guess I was out of the loop back then as well.

Anyway, I love stitching and plan to continue using my instincts and loving the process of stitching which will mean I never produce the number of finished pieces that many of these bloggers are doing.

I am loving the process and the gift of relaxation it brings me.

That's a wrap on a long thought out post for stitching.

Off to enjoy the weekend.
See y'all Monday.
Sandy

How Will I Be Remembered As a Cook?

I read an interesting article in the most recent Southern Living magazine.

The article, "Tastes Like Home" was a special for Mother's Day. It was a compilation of stories about remembering your mother's signature dish or recipes that they cherish from their moms. Two of the four stories made me stop and ponder... 

Could those stories be my own children's stories? Is this how they would remember me?

Let me explain.

These were not your typical reminisces of my generation's mothers who cooked grandiose meals and had homemade cookies waiting for them when they arrived from school. (I am 56 for your pinpointing the generation I would be talking about). It was a remembrance from a 20 something and as I read the story it made me wonder if my daughter would have written it.

I was scared. Feelings of guilt first, then as I read I realized the authors were not portraying their mothers in a negative light. It was just very different.

Let's face it ladies of my generation, we are not from our mother's generation. We have raised our children in the 90's and the 2000's. Food is different and we are so much more mobile and busy (whether good or bad) than our mother's were. I don't think I am just speaking to the working outside of the home moms like I was either. It may be a southern thing though. After all we have wonderful weather that makes us get outside and play ball like crazy...even girl moms have softball and volleyball these days.

I fall into the category of the busy working mom who loved her little chickadees very much.

I know my downfall for a hot meal cooked up by this little mama began when the baseball nights became longer. The late 90's found me with upper elementary children. Convenience foods were just so easy to pack in the lunch box. Convenience foods were just easy to put in the oven and bake. Grabbing a quick meal at our local Taco Town on game nights was inexpensive and just plain easy.

Then middle school hit and the activities increased. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and teaching began to change. My husband was an administrator at a high school. There was just always stuff going on.

I know I am not the only one.

It wasn't just the opening line where the author had to text her sister to answer the question posed...did her mother have "A dish?
Another piece of the article from the first story really caught my eye too. Here is an excerpt...

The thing is, my dad was the more memorable cook in our family. He didn’t necessarily make dinner every night. My mom managed meatloaf and hamburgers and, yes, salmon croquettes—with the crunchy bone nuggets of canned salmon hidden inside—most evenings. But my dad made the cool meals. He would eat something once at a restaurant and re-create it at home, like the exotic huevos rancheros we had on a ski trip when I was probably 8 or 9 that he then made every Saturday morning until none of us could take it anymore. 

As I read the article, I panicked. What would my children say was their favorite recipe I made? Would they remember their dad's recipes more than mine?

You see, my husband did just what that article said. He loves to cook and grill. He was a great big help to me along the way.

I determined to ask my daughter as soon as I could what recipe does she think of when she thinks of me.

My daughter comes by my house for lunch about 3 out of 5 days. She works close by and is no dummy. Mom has leftovers now. I am retired after all. Also, my son comes many evenings to eat as well. Maybe I am making up for the many eating out meals we ate.

I asked her what recipe she thought of when she thought of me. She said well, mostly your desserts.
She listed off the many cakes I make - pound cake, yellow cake with fudge frosting, Italian cream cake, and oh...my banana pudding.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

She did have a thought for me. Not a blank like the first story in the series.

As we talked about the whys of the question and the article I read, she did say, "Well, Mom the barbecue baked chicken I am eating right now is one of your dishes. I make it all the time."

She also recalled my broccoli and rice casserole. She understood that I worked and we were busy, but we always ate together even if it was at Taco Town (our local cheap taco dive).

Either way it was a great article and I enjoyed seeing how a new generation thinks.
Here is the link to the article. You don't have to have the magazine to read it.

Southern Living - Tastes of Home

I feel a little better after talking to my daughter. I hope to keep on doing better with the home cooked meals now that I am retired. Never too late to start, and those of you who read me regularly know I am all about healthy now.

I also think this generation of girls (to me they are girls) are doing a much better job than mine. They are making better choices and trying to be more conscious of being healthier. A whole 'Nother story for another time.

Off to meal plan,
Sandy

A Late Weekend Wrap-up

While last week was very tough, plans for the weekend had been made months earlier, so I had to try and handle grief along with the weekend plans.

Warning

This is a rather long post with no pictures. I guess we will see if you really enjoy reading my posts. 😃

Mother and I used to go to the Extraordinary Women conference each April for many many years. It was one of our little things to do together. Three years ago, we couldn't go because of my step-dad's cancer. Then it just seemed we never got our steam back to go again. We would talk about it each year, but just say maybe next year.

A couple of months ago, I decided I would get tickets for her March birthday, and that we would try and go as she is slowing down and I know there is coming a time when even if she wants to go she wouldn't want to climb stairs or have the stamina to go.

The conference was this weekend. I had absolutely no desire to go. She has been sick with a sinus infection and then with the antibiotics for it. Then, I had Lucy's passing.

I decided we would do an abbreviated version. Friday nights are always a speaker and then a concert by someone. I have seen Mandisa, who by the way is a must see if you ever get a chance. I have seen Francesca Battistelli who is also wonderful. This year was Sidewalk Prophets. While I would have loved them on any other weekend, I knew she wouldn't. On Friday evening, we went on to to Pensacola to let her shop and then to hear the speaker. We left early instead of staying for the concert.

We knew were going to do only half of a day on Saturday. The question was would it be the first half or the second half. When we saw the speaker list, we had seen the second half ladies before, so we opted for the first half.

I learned a few things this weekend that had nothing to do with my sadness. Mother handled the amount that we did fine, but she would not have really been too good for the whole day. She is in good health, but the last three years she has slowly gone down. She fell four years ago in a fluke accident, then a few months later, my step dad got sick. She has just slowly slowed up. She no longer walks like she did. She has lots of flexibility and can get up and down with ease. In fact, better than some half her age. She cleans her house from top to bottom, cooks for herself, reads, and does puzzle books (cryptograms). She does not seem to want to meet anyone new or socialize.

I am thinking her bus trip to Maine this summer with my aunt will be her last big hurrah for something like that. This is mostly older people who go on these trips, so it should be slow paced, but it should wipe her out. At least, I think it might.

Sometimes that body slows before the mind, and sometimes the mind slows before the body. Either way is stinky.

I had a hard time enjoying the conference this year for many reasons. I wasn't excited to go in the first place, then my situation, and then the fact that it is kind of hard to watch your parent slow down.

Two of the five ladies we heard were worth my getting out of the house for. Nothing earth shattering, but again my mood was not the best. Don't worry ladies...I am good. I am enjoying my time in retirement to study the Bible with more time than I have ever had.

There are just seasons in life that there are tasks to do. I am in a season of trying to care for Mama even though she is just not what she used to be. However, I am loving the season of being able to impart advice to my daughter who comes about three times a week for lunch. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

There was also one more big thing for the weekend. After church on Sunday, our lead pastor wanted to have the church staff to come to the farm for a get together. The lead pastor and family are dear friends of ours and are frequent visitors at the farm. A couple of weeks ago while there, he thought how good it would be to let the staff come and not have to do anything but just show up for an afternoon of fun. They have been working so hard in the weeks leading up to Easter. Many are young with families on a tight budget.

So, we hosted a cookout with them having to bring nothing. Fishing, 4 wheeler rides, rides similar to a hay ride, balls, and long walks were had by all. IT was a good outing for Lemony. All kids are drawn to a big ole Golden Retriever and she let all of them pet her.

That my friends was a busy weekend with a lot of tears in between for Lucy. I am better today. I am putting a book together in the next month for the kids and me of our dogs. They have been a big part of our family life. Looking at all the pictures has helped me remember her fondly and know that she is suffering.

If you survived a picture less post then have a great evening. I will try and do better next time.
Sandy

My Sweet Lucy

This is a hard post to start. I was absent last week. I just couldn't even read any of the blogs from my blog list until last night.
Y'all know my Lucy, the Springer has been going downhill for awhile now.

The last round of seizures about 2 months ago started the trek to getting no better. We tried a new medicine that had been very expensive until just recently. It has not been commonly used for dogs. I am happy for future dog owners that it will be available now, because it is a far better drug. It really seemed to be working, but the ravages of the side effects of the other drugs plus the damage done by the seizures were to much for her.

I won't go into too many details,  but the need for water was beyond crazy and it was hard to withhold water from her. It just drove her nuts, but drinking too much caused its own problems. On Monday evening last week, I had to spend the night with my mother because she was sick. I knew Lucy had been real lethargic and hated leaving her. I got up and headed home at 4:15 AM Tuesday morning to see about her, because she was getting up around 4:30 each day. I got home to Jeff having been up with her since 3:00.

I just can't write much more and most wouldn't want to even read it, but we lost her on Thursday. The whole family has been a mess.

I just cried all day Thursday and Friday. I tried to control myself on Saturday and Sunday, but it has been so hard.

I know that cancer had just ruined those organs.

We have had three English Springer Spaniels over the course of our marriage. Each one was so special and so loved. We have never been without a Springer for more than 10 months. They are definitely the breed for our family. Lemony, the Golden arrived in our lives 8 years ago. She has watched Lucy be sick for some time. I think dogs are very intuitive, so I know she knows. Lucy has spent the night with the vet a couple of times recently, so I don't think she thought anything of coming home without her on Thursday, but I had to run to the store on Friday morning. She didn't handle me coming in without her. I know she thought I had gone to get her. She has been mopey as well.

I found out that my neighbor down the street had lost his beagle on Easter Sunday morning. She was really old. The gentleman that owned her was a single older man. I know he is lost without her. I was passing by his house on Saturday morning and he was outside. I stopped and rolled down the window to let him know how sorry I was. He had heard about Lucy, so there we are -both tears rolling down our faces.

Lucy was the dog that a great book could be written about. My family all read Marley and really connected with the book from the first chapter when the author describes he should have known how wild Marley would be because of the daddy. That was so true of Lucy. Her daddy was the wildest thing we had ever seen.

My son is on the left. My house has always been full of boys. Paul Allen sent me this one. I had taken this picture.  I walked outside to see her sitting with them just like she was one of the guys. He still had it on his phone. I know it is in our albums. I plan to put the kids a book of photos with her and each one of them.

I remember trying to pick out the one for us. We noticed a roly poly little one and commented at how he was like our second one, Murphy. It was then I noticed a little girl sitting over by herself so quiet and what seemed to be like posing. It was if she were saying, "Look at me, I am so pretty, and I am so calm." We selected her. Jeff had said, "Yep, she seems like the calmest one of the bunch. Let's get her."

CALM has never been a word used to describe her. Energetic, undisciplined, stubborn, and yet the absolutely most loving. She was determined to make everyone like her.

I will stop for now. I will share some lighter things about the weekend later, but I will let that be my post for today.

Dogs touch our hearts and yes, I know they are not humans.

I miss her so badly. She was a big part of our family for a long time. It is always hard to say goodbye.

Sandy

Easter Weekend

It was a busy weekend, but all good. I knew going in I would have a busy one, so I tried to prepare myself last week. I love Easter, after all it is the greatest day for a Christian.

On Good Friday, I had to meet the plumber at my son's house to fix the kitchen sink...last plumbing problem I hope. Then the deck was finished and I tried to put some things back together (pictures of it at the end of the post). Hubby got off a little early so we moved some things back into place and decided some needed to go to the trash heap.

All the while doing those things, I was so mindful of what Jesus did for me. We had a quiet supper at home that evening.

I stayed home Saturday morning rather than going to the farm. I had gone on Thursday to water the garden, so I figured Hubby could handle it on Saturday. I did a bit of cleaning and food prep for Sunday.

That evening we had two of the five Easter services at our church, so I went to one of them. I served at two of the Sunday services, so I was quite pooped. I didn't really get to stop though. I had the family coming for Sunday supper.

Usually my daughter and my mom help out if they are here, but Lindsay had her in-laws here until Sunday after church. I was so excited that they were able to come down and go to church with them. They live in Atlanta. I had hoped they could stay Sunday evening, but the mom couldn't get off work on Monday. I think Lindsay was very tired. She has been hopping at work lately. Mom has had sinus issues for the last two weeks. We have a doctor's appointment this afternoon.
I did the cooking except for the pork loin and sausage which Hubby grilled. I didn't mind if I can have my small family with me.

I didn't take ONE solitary picture yesterday, not one. I was just busy and never stopped. I was so sad when I realized I had not taken any pictures. That is really not like me at all. AND, the girlfriend came. Paul Allen brought her and we were so excited. She is really adorable. I had an opportunity to get a picture of her and I blew it.

Please tell me I am not the only one who has ever done that. You know I know it is the first time I have missed an Easter picture. I don't know what to put in the photo album. Blank spot with a note...Mom is losing it.

Let's see our menu consisted of..

Appetizer

Concecuh Sausage

Pimento Cheese

Crackers

Main Meal

Pork Loin

Mashed Potatoes (Mother calls them creamed potatoes)

Peas

Deviled Eggs

Rolls

Desserts

Chocolate Meringue Pie

Lemon Bars

So that is my Easter with no pictures😞

The message was so good at church. A good Resurrection Day spent serving the Lord and with family. Doesn't get any better.

Here is the finished deck and dock.

 

If you are wondering about the older looking boards at the bottom. They were not redone as they are all structurally good and will last a long time. They can be removed without messing the deck up in any way. 

A water picture from right in front of where Lucy is standing.

The next two pictures of what happens in spring in the Panhandle of Florida. Those live oaks that drip with Spanish moss that are we are so famous for drop their leaves. Yes, just like fall everywhere else. Hubby got up four bags from the lawn this weekend. They bud and the leaves fall off in the spring. We rake in April in September here.

This a close up of the top of one of the trees. I took it from the top deck on back. 

Thought that tidbit might be interesting for the northern friends. 

Have a great day y'all.

Sandy

Refurbished Our Leather Couch

We have had a leather couch, chair, and ottamon  that we bought way back in 2005 when a local furniture store was going out of business. It was a big purchase back then for us. I thought it was outrageously priced even on sale, but we had decided after much research that we were getting a quality piece of furniture.

I will stand by that decision today. It is like the old saying you get what you pay for.

After 12 years and lots of teenagers and dogs, I think it has held up pretty well.

This is it before the refurbish.

Doesn't look bad from afar, but if you look at the front seams on the closeups you will be able to see the wear and tear.

I will show you some closeups as well.

It has begun to show signs of wear some of which are due to my slacking on cleaning and conditioning it, but the biggest thing was the chair. My husband sits in it daily and it has basically conformed to his body and of course he leans to one side and it sits lopsided.

The chair was way worse than the couch.

So begins the idea that you need something new and of course you see all the new things out there and you begin to wonder if you need something totally different. After some searching and thinking about it, I first came to the conclusion that leather was a must for us.

One I would never ever be able to keep a light colored couch clean - I don't care what kind of spray finish is put on it. I would die with white slipcovers no matter how stylish they are. They just wouldn't work in my house.

Then  I began pricing new leather couches. Still expensive.

Two other things played into my decision to refurbish. I loved the style of mine and I had trouble finding something similar. Either too modern which wouldn't fit in the room or really big ones. I also brought home samples with colors. I thought about maybe going with more of a tan so it would be more neutral and then I could play the pillow switch out that everyone does.

I was never sure I loved the color of ours UNTIL I brought in the samples. I didn't like any of them. I finally realized all these years that I really liked the color of mine even though there are none out there in ANY magazines the same as mine.

I especially have been pleased when I changed out some things in the room and added blue. I think I had always been trying to keep it neutralized rather than accenting if that makes sense.

After I made the decision that I liked it, I looked into finding someone to give me a quote to refurbish and if it would look good, etc.


The guy that did it came by and gave me a quote and raved both the day he came to give me a quote and the day he worked on it about the quality of the leather. He said it was much better than a lot of the new stuff and that it is leather all over and that many have vinyl backs or sides.

Anyway for $700 I have a new looking couch and chair. I was super pleased. He pulled out each cushion and added new stuff to it the old. He said it was like putting pajamas on a bear to get it back in. I had no idea that the backs have zippers at the very bottom so that the cushions on the backs are removable. He cleaned it for hours and then restrained it. He says the stain will hold up better than the new because in the factory they spray them and he rubbed it in.

This picture was taken immediately upon leaving. He had moved the items all close together so he wouldn't mess up the whole room.

The backs are stuffed to the brim.

Leather is a difficult choice, but if you make it you need to like it for a long time. You can buy an upholstered couch for less and change out more often.

I did condition mine very regularly until about three years ago when life just got too busy. I think the leather would not have looked so poorly if I had kept that up. The stuffing probably would have needed help either way.

The guy that did mine recommends conditioning once a month and cleaning every three months. He says not buy the products that have cleaner and conditioner in one bottle.
I will be a little more diligent with it this time around, but I am pretty sure I will have this couch and chair for another decade plus. Like I said you better like your choice. If you do, then the extra money is worth it.

I am keeping them covered during the day for the doggies👍

Cross Stitching, Flowers, Trees, and Deck Update

I finished the bunny in time to enjoy for Easter. I set it up on the easel for showing y'all, but I am hanging it on the cabinet in the dining room for Easter and probably all of April.

I have so many things lined up to do that I am having trouble staying with one, but I don't feel like I make much progress if I have too many projects going at once. I will probably work on the Christmas cardinals that I didn't finish before Christmas and a patriotic one.

A few thoughts about the crazy weather...

I have decided that some flowers and trees were just as confused by the winter/spring craziness this year. We basically didn't have winter except for two very cold weekends in which we got down to the record breaking temperatures that killed lots of my plants that I don't normally move in around here. However, I hardly wore anything more than a sweat shirt this winter. Then there is February which should have been cold and I wore shorts and took walks on the beach. It is no wonder that the plants don't know what to do.

These flowers were completely duped by winter...azaleas and camellias. My azaleas were completely done by the end of February. The camellias couldn't decide whether to bloom or not. The ones in the yard were worse than those at the farm. They did bloom, but not nearly as prolific as last year.
Even the pansies this year seem confused. They bloom one week only to nearly die the next.

My major disappointment this year was the bulbs. I had planted tulips and more daffodils in the ground. The daffodils did bloom but looked puny. The tulips broke ground but never bloomed. I was extremely sad. I will plant the tulips in pots again like last year. I REALLY missed them.

On the other hand, the roses, geraniums, and hydrangeas didn't seem to fall for any tricks. They have been about normal.

I think the trees have all budded late this year. I really thought the Natchez crepe myrtle in our front yard wasn't going to bloom, but it broke out almost overnight. The birds are so excited about that. There is a pair of cardinals that love that tree in the summer.

The live oaks have not dumped their leaves, but I feel it is coming any day now. Live oaks are like the other oaks in the fall ...leave dump like snow falling in the spring.

The deck is coming along what seems slowly, but should be finished by the end of the week.

Some progress pictures and some big mess pictures. I probably need to get rid of some flower pots and some old patio furniture. I will analyze all that next week.

The mess is all on the second level. Can't even really get to my plants to water them.

Two progress shots from yesterday.

I have a busy day lined up, but I will be back tomorrow with a share about my my leather couch refurbish. It looks amazing.

Sandy

Five for Friday

I think I will throw out a Five on Friday...

#1  I finished my bunny stitch. It is adorable, but most definitely not my best stitching. I just fell in love with the pattern, but it is on 32 count linen. For some reason, it was hard to see or at least more than usual.

My shadow is across it:)

I will finish it in someway today. I am not planning to frame it or even make it into something that will fit in a frame. It will most likely hang. Well, we will see.

#2 Lucy, the Springer will be 12 tomorrow. She is doing much better, but just let me say diapering is not a fun thing. I thought I would never do that on a regular basis again. She is fine with it. Stands there like a champ.

Here she is as a puppy...

She would bite the tail of our other Springer and then rush and get under the table. He couldn't really get to her well and she knew it. Always the mischievous one.

Another...

#3 Construction Stuff.

I am hoping we get a lot done on the bottom deck today. I have a feeling it will be almost done, but will require the rails and so forth next week. I am super excited. No pictures yet.

I have workers lined up for fixing our foundation problem. They say it is an easy fix, but we have to dig up my front flower bed, so I will be trying to help on that. I am fine with the shrubs, but I may have to dig up what roses that I am able to grow here. I love roses and this yard, does not have a suitable place for them. I had 14 lovely named roses at my previous home. I miss them. Oh well, they are scheduled for 2 weeks away, so I guess I need to be praying for mild rains and not gully washers.

I also have a worker lined up to get my son's door and sheetrock patches done next week. 

Happy construction days.

#4 My daughter continues to work on her yard. She is so funny. She is ultra shocked at how much stuff costs. I am like, yes, I know dear.

They got the front sodded where the new palm tree went in, but I haven't taken any pictures yet. I did snap a few of her back yard. I think I told you her husband is in construction and they started a new job on 30A (the famous beaches around here with all the little communities like Seaside and Watercolor, etc.) They had dug up some pavers, so he brought two truckloads home for her to use.

Here are some backyard photos.

The dwarf lemon tree already has lemons.

The other side.

She strung up some lights along her back fence. She also took some paint and painted her clay pots. I had some left over outdoor paint. She is always looking for the econo way to do things. She was shocked at how expensive flower pots were, and I had told her geraniums do well in clay pots here. The geraniums are adorable in them.

I love watching my kids grow up. I am not sure where the time went though.

#5

I have mostly stayed on top of my chores this week. I was trying out a different routine, but I didn't like it. It was one of those do a task a day like all dusting. I would never ever see a completely clean room, so I need more motivation than that. I need to just stick to my plan. It is all about being home long enough to actually do it.

I saw God's hand on things this week. Things I had prayed about for a long time. We can get discouraged, but His timing is perfect and He has plans that we just can't know about. We just have to trust and dog gone it, we don't like to that sometimes. 

That is five for Friday and I am about to get moving on the rest of the day.

Sandy

A Random Post

A little update on the goings on in my world. Yesterday was another stormy day, so I spent a good deal of my time praying it would not be torrential rain, but a light rain until I could get the repairs to the gutter and underneath the house done. It is hard to get anyone to come right away. You are on a waiting list and while you thing your problem should supersede all others, that is not the way it works. Imagine that😊

The house held together through it all and I have workers lined up...just don't know where I am on the list.

The deck is coming along. They have the dock done, but got slowed up with two rainy days. I am looking forward to being able to sit out there. It has kind of been a messy little place on the lower level for awhile. There is no stress relief in a messy zone. Pictures of the progress coming soon. It has been too rainy to take any.

We did take a boat ride on Sunday. I didn't mention it on Monday as I had a lot of other stuff on my mind. IT was a beautiful afternoon, but I thought it was rather chilly on the water. Even so, I enjoyed it.

Almost middle of picture you can see their fins.

Of course, no trip in the bay is complete without dolphins. Dolphins do not cooperate for the camera though. They will put on a show for you until you bring out the camera, and then they play hide and seek. Have camera ready...underwater...get tired of trying...pop up!!!

The picture below is a testament to why we are called The Emerald Coast.

It is a beautiful area to visit, but I wish you could get people to understand that the water can be a dangerous place. They pulled four out of the water this week, and one died. You have to pay attention to the flags.

We also had a shark biting this weekend. Sunday afternoon in the wonderful green water, a teen from Kentucky was bitten. She survived, but I am sure the beach will never be the same for her. She was in waist deep water, but they are there. Most times they don't bite, but she did think smart and hit him. My brother in-law who is 70 rides his bike to the beach everyday. He says they nudge him all the time. Me, I don't go in past my ankles. I have seen too many pictures. I don't care what the statistics say. Most definitely there are bad times to go ---feeding times or near the fishing pier. I can't believe how many swim next to the fishing pier. NOPE...not me!!! Anyway, I am so glad she was ok.

I received welcoming news this morning that the call back on my mammogram was all good. Just a benign cyst. I blog for the community. Sweet little Roxy from Living from Glory to Glory emailed me this morning to check on me. She had written a post on reminding us ladies to get those yearly checkups and I commented on hers, so she knew I was waiting on the results from an ultrasound. I love that my little blog friends care and I really believe pray for each other, because I know I DO!!!

I am so close to finishing my little bunny. I have had quite a few interruptions so I have not had a lot of stitching time. She may have to stay out past Easter if I don't get her finished today.
MAYBE a picture tomorrow.

Everyone have a great day.
Sandy

A few more pictures for you...

Sunday morning wake up view.

Stepped out on the porch. I love how the Pioneer Woman always shares sunrises and sunsets . 

A Stormy Day

Yesterday was quite an eventful day. I won't go into much detail, rather I will tell you the more uplifting story that came later.

I awoke to Lucy making a mess. No seizure, but a mess that made me start scurrying to clean it up. Let's just say my morning did not start on the right side of the bed or on the right foot😁 It may have involved some poop.

The little stinker is doing a ton better, but dogs can be work.

Several things happened in the course of the morning, to keep me from my usual routine. No Scripture time for one!!!

I took Mama to the dentist. We were hoping to get back before the storms came. I DID manage to get her home and inside before the bottom fell out, however, I didn't make it home before that happened.

I am driving slowly back to my house. I pull up into the driveway to see what I knew wasn't going to be good. There wasn't even any need to worry about running in and not getting soaked. I was pretty sure I would be getting real wet.

I won't bore you with the details that you would need to see the layout of the land to understand anyway, but there was an industrial strength gutter bowing and buckets of rain coming down in one particular place.

Not a good place. It was a familiar scene from the spring of 2014 right before my step dad passed away. I thought we had fixed this.

I ran in and went straight to the front foyer to look out closely at the area. Not a good thing. I ran downhill to the fishing room which leads to a basement area. I was scared to open the door, but glad water wasn't gushing through it like the spring of 2014.

I opened slowly and good hear the trickle. A trickle is good compared to the previous event. I could see the stream of water that was still a small stream...no gushing.

I immediately called Jeff to come home. 20 minute drive. Yikes.

I positioned a few key things in place in case it got worse. Towels...shop vac.

Then I proceeded to go out and get the ladder ready for him to check it all out.

Why was that gutter not working?

It decided to start lightning at this point...yes, while I am on the ladder realizing I am a midget.

I have a healthy fear of lightning after all, Florida is the lighting death capital of the country and I actually been shocked before. Oh, and bless the little girl from Kentucky who was bitten by a shark this weekend. She survived, but will likely never want to come to the beach again.

Jeff arrives...inspects the inside and says we will just have to wait until the lightning stops.

I had to crawl around under crawl space in dirt ...I am very GIRLY... not my cup of tea you know. When your husband is too tall, that midget thing works against you, so down on my knees with flashlight, camera, and who knows what else....

The gutters didn't work because we had some soffit replaced about two months ago, and they didn't put the clips back up. The soffit people are coming in the morning to fix that. I am hoping they make it before the rain. It is supposed to be really bad again on Wednesday. Maybe it will be late and come on Thursday.

The water coming in underneath the house will have to be addressed. Hubby has to find someone for that.

The only good thing I can say about that is I am glad we found it now before hurricane season.

This house never had any problems for 30 years, then the year I was going through so much it was like the house began to have every problem in the world.

So, now back to the uplifting part of the story, Yesterday, was a day just gone wrong and most of my day was spent in a frantic unsettled way. Things just kept coming to keep me in disarray. The storm just happened to be the biggest one.

This morning, I knew I would get up early and attend to my quiet time before I did anything else. I also have made sure I had other priorities done before I opened a computer screen. I haven't even touched Instagram yet.

Anyway, had I read my Bible study yesterday in I Samuel, then read the prayer that goes along with it...this is what I would have read...
BTW, I love collecting beautifully written prayers...it is just something I like...maybe like poetry...just a love of words.

Heavenly Father, I need you today as I face struggles and trials that are overwhelming me. Help me be awarer of Your presence as I pause for a moment to reflect on Your goodness. Guide my thoughts and decisions. Lead me in the direction that honors You and provides for my protection. Nourish my should with Your Word, so that I may be strengthened and prepared for what lies ahead. In Jesus name, Amen.

Now, I know God forgives me for a day missed without going to Him first, but oh how He always does have a Word that is so perfect for the day ahead.

Trust me when today's reading touched me and was meant just for me. Taste and see that He is good.

I have spent some time in prayer this morning as well on some issues and reminded myself....Not my will, but Thy will!!!!
I even wrote that in my journal.

As I have been typing this post, I just received a phone call for the last bit of business of Mom's that we needed to settle since the passing of my step dad. It was an issue with a bit of land... The paper work is ready and they are mailing it out today. I am so relieved. Beyond even what I can type.

I am going to go get busy on my household chores for now...I am trying a new plan. I will let y'all know if it works. As I get older, this big old house is hard to keep up with, yet I know order keeps me lots more peaceful.

Leaning on the everlasting arms...
Sandy