Catching Up

 3 posts in 3 days! It is not a trend.

I just felt I needed to get down a few more things about April before we get half way through May.

Indulge me if you will in some weather talk which is really just noting what I see in the bayou and the neighborhood. Many things are late this year. Now mind you, it was warm in February and things started blooming, and then we got a cool snap here in north Florida that zapped some things. My dwarf bottlebrush bushes were already blooming when that cool snap occurred and it zapped the blooms. Now, I only have blooms on the lower half. Those hummingbirds if they show up are going to have to fly low.

The live oaks have everyone talking. They are late dropping their leaves and especially their little fuzzy wuzzy worms. They have not done so at the same time either. It is full blown mess out front with them right now and the ones in the back by the water haven't even dropped the worms yet. They look like autumn trees. This is all done by the 3rd week of April at the latest around here. 

CRAZY!

The day lilies are slowing blooming, but I feel like they are late as well. 

The lemon tree still has lots of blossoms which smell divine and I feel they like should already be turning into lemons. 

Oh, it all gives me something to observe. I love the spring and we have been eating out on that back porch as much as possible I just wash the pollen off the table, and then we eat.

I am so glad I downsized many of my pots of flowers. I have been left with a manageable amount that I just love to tend. I have only 3 small pots that I change out now. Good thing, because the price of those 3 pots to be redone was noticeably higher. 

On the bayou, the mallards are back and happily floating around for my pleasure and the stingrays were out one morning early. I had gone out to water the plants downstairs and looked out to see them.

Do you see them?

They are hard to see in the water that early in the morning.

The one bit of sad news is the cardinal didn't lay her eggs in the bush. She built a nest, and then didn't follow through. I don't know if she just decided it wasn't a good spot or if there was just too much activity there. There were workers out in the circle as our neighbors all seem to be updating their homes and seawalls and such. I was so sad. Cardinals, bluejays, and mockingbirds are in abundance on my street so I would have loved some sweet little ones. Oh we have bluebirds which are usually here earlier each spring. Like I said, I have had plenty to observe. 

When I was fully sure the cardinal wasn't coming back I told him he could trim the shrub and that is when I found her abandoned nest.

Jeff and I are going to join the neighbors in a few home repairs. We have done one already. This is probably something no one has noticed in any pictures, but our kitchen island had a white countertop with two rather not so pretty features to us. I am sure we noticed it far more than anyone coming in. The counters were made of Corian in 1984 and still look amazing, but on the island they had to pieced back then, and the adhesive that held them together and went down the center had yellowed. Nothing made it better. I had just lived with it. Like I said probably no one noticed unless they were standing right there. It also had a built in appliance which didn't work. It was a mixer, blender, juicer, food processor ---you name it. It lifted up and all the pieces to it were in the cabinet below it. Jeff hated it more than me. I had long since thrown all the parts away. 

We replaced the island countertop with something new. I knew I couldn't match the white, so I decided to just look at other options. I went with just being an accent but blending with everything there. 

Here is the new island top. 

Because of the appliance that was in the other top, we had power. Rather than having another hole that got dirty around the edges, we had a plug put in the cabinet. (sitting on top in the picture below is the floor tile to see how well it match)

Now, this wouldn't have been the top of thing on my list, but it was on Jeff's so I just went with it.

What is first on my list? Getting the last of the carpet out of our home in the master bedroom. I think it has finally been here long enough and with dogs to make it a very high priority.

Then we need a new railing on the second level porch on the back. 

That is the most immediate list. I think we will shoot for getting both of those done over the summer.

To close out, we celebrated Katie's birthday on a night out. We usually do birthdays as home, but we went to a local seafood restaurant last week to celebrate. This is the only picture that we have. Jeff remembered to grab a picture. What is happening with me on that end? 

You may notice that Tucker is next to Katie. I lost out to Aunt Katie. Pooh...

This little munchkin is on the move even when he is sicky.. 

That is a wrap on April. Welcome May and warmer weather and all the sunshine things.

Finally! The Heron

 The heron is completed. It is not perfect and technically not finished since I have to stitch a small dragonfly. The gigantic heron is complete though so I feel as if I should do some sort of celebration today.

I have no idea how many stitches are even in it but let me just say it is a lot. I loved stitching the water lilies, which is where I started. They are so realistic and were just a treasure to watch form with needle and thread. 

I also loved stitching the neck and head.

We won't discuss the part that slowed me up and made me want to stop more than once. It is complete. I almost feel like a little schoolgirl having finished a sampler or MAYBE I do, since I don't really know how they felt. I imagine that I do. Finding all my mistakes...one of which was not centering it and coming close to the edge on one side. I feel more joy that it is done though. 

Some might remember I bought an egret pattern too. No, I will not be stitching that. I just don't think I can bear to handle all those shades of white. Although they can't be worse than all those grays in the body and tail feathers.

Like I said, I feel like I need to just sit back and kick my feet up after such a feat of stitching.

I am going to wait on framing him until I have shopped the antique or booth place near Auburn. They had some amazing frames in thereyonce so I think I could possible find one and then have a foam board cut to fit it. Of course, I have to finish the dragonfly. 

Woohoo....Celebrate good times..