Stitching and the Week in Review

 I have a stitching finish. The sandpipers are from the Crossed Wing Collection. They are always so much fun to stitch. After all that creating for Valerie's name, the following just a pattern was sheer pleasure.

I like the frame color and wood, but wish I had gone with a little wider selection. I am not bummed though. I think it turned out well. I have hung it, but will wait to show until I am sure it stays where I hung it. I am 90% sure it will. 

I immediately started a dolphin like the whale I stitched here. Oddly ---as crazy as it might look, these are so much fun to stitch.... seriously almost addictive...very hard to put down. I plan to finish it the same way as the whale. There is one more of these patterns that I downloaded. It is a seahorse. I am not sure if I will stitch or not, but they are fun. You must stitch in small squares, but all that madness does have patterns. Swirls and so forth.

I shared I take a morning walk around the yard each day. I captured this early one morning this week.

Everything is greening up so pretty and there are about to be lots of daylilies blooming. I can't wait. We finally got much needed rain this week. All but Monday has provided showers, but in true spring fashion they are mostly crazy. Not just showers, but downpours with occasional winds.

I am still getting lots of roses. The heat should arrive next week and they will be a little less prolific in the high heat of summer. For now, I will enjoy them.

 

Monday was my calm day and knowing that rain was in the forecast for the week, I slipped off to the beach and got my first start on the tan. I do not care about the tan. It is a bonus to just loving the beauty of the beach. It was another gorgeous day. I took my chair this time.

I also ordered me a new beach chair for Mother's Day. I am going to be sitting in style this summer. Still no schedule for my toe surgery. It may be fall before that happens which will be ok too. Surprisingly I am very calm about it all. Nothing like big things going on to keep things in perspective. 

Jeff started his PT this week. Monday was mostly assessment. She firmly told him the knee that he has been going to the doctor for since 2017 needed to be seen about. It is making the back worse and she strongly suggested it was time to replace it. He didn't take that news well. One day at a time.

The PT is intensive for 4 days a week. It is not strenuous to the average person, but I would say it is intensive for him. Sometimes I just look and think how could someone so athletic could be where he is? It doesn't do much good to dwell there.  We made him a notebook of the exercises he will be doing for life or as long as he can AND I did them with him on Wednesday, the day he didn't go. 

We sold our Jeep 2 months ago. I didn't mention it, but he made the decision to let it go. It was a 1995 YJ Jeep which they only made for a couple of years back then. It was known to Jeep watchers/lovers because of the square headlights on the model. I always joked it was his midlife crisis car (not a bad choice though). It was a favorite for the dogs. You may remember we had to spell J-e-e-p for our Golden Retriever, Lemony because she loved riding in it so much. 

Anyway, Jeff has made him a great little workout place the garage with the absence of the Jeep and a place to sit and listen to his newfound like of audio books. They help with the bike rides. 

I did his exercises with him out there Wednesday. Mostly they are just big movements. Trying to keep the body from choosing smaller movements, but I actually think they are good for any of us that are aging. Balance too of which he has not a lot of.

He does them again the same day as his therapy too. The idea is morning and afternoon.

Lindsay had to go to a conference this past week in Orlando, so naturally Palmer got sick. I kept him home 2 days and made a few trips out to help get Tucker on the bus and all. Never a bad trip as I get to see the bay and the Gulf. 

At one point he was feeling better so I took him for ice cream. We have an amazing local ice cream shop now. It has been a huge hit here in town which is great because it means it will survive.

He is starting to look like a big boy!

Jeff and I had a party to attend so I will share a picture someone took of us. Not too bad of us. I am not photogenic at all.

Paul Allen and Katie are in Auburn this weekend for a baseball game. Miles go to see Aubie up close.

Looks like he enjoyed it. 

We have officially turned Katie into an Auburn fan. She was a Florida State fan, but didn't attend there so we have sold on her on Auburn. 

She sent the one of Valerie and said, "Let the indoctrination begin."

My heart just melted. She is so adorable. 

Mom's senior living place had a tea party for the mothers yesterday so I scooted over to go with her.

Enjoying the beauty of May and soaking up the goodness in each day.

A Quick Trip to Auburn

Jeff and I made a quick trip to Auburn on Monday through Wednesday. It wasn't really in our plans. That is a biggie for me to do something so spontaneous since I am a planner girl. We really won't be able to get up in May due to his physical therapy, so we decided to go check on some things and get some things also lined up too. He thinks some pressure washing needs doing, so we have someone coming next week for that. Paul Allen and Katie are going up the next weekend for a baseball game and then my good friend is going up for the week, so there will be a presence there in the month of May.

We were busy going more than relaxing but I did find some time to just sit, read, and think.

Gus and I took our walks of course and saw a few things to share.

I came across this flower and oh did I stop!!!

I mean it is purple...think Donny Osmond's sash purple.

It is similar to the Mandevilla that I see here in the big box stores that are not made for our growing zones. I used my handy dandy app to identify it as Clematis. I know many of you know it, but I was not familiar with it. BUT, I needed to be.

I went home and did research for it. I made my way out to the local nursery in Auburn and promptly bought me some of this goodnesss even though I have said I am downsizing plants, etc., etc., etc.

It says it grows in zones 5-9 so it should be a go. I also watched lots of videos to make sure I was doing all the right things. 

I have been outside most of the morning today planting new stuff. I will wait to share it until it has been planted a week or so, because nothing ever looks too happy after being moved from their pots to a new pot.

I have shared many of the homes in the Auburn neighborhood before. It is such a nice place and I seriously have to pinch myself sometimes to think that I live in the most amazing place on the planet...the Panhandle of Florida, but that I also have a home in Auburn. We really do get to see 2 such different landscapes. 

However, I don't think I have ever shared the pink house. There has to be one house in every neighborhood that is a little different. Jeff is not a fan, but I am. She had a Dolly for President flag outside all during election season...gotta love that --- 

Check out the toadstools. Now that is in Auburn, Alabama but she has got some Florida yard art going on there. Chairs on the porch have some hot pink cushions and once I could see in her front room and lots of abstract and color art adorned the room. 

I added some pine straw to our front beds. 

I really took this picture coming back from a walk to see if the chair on the porch looked ok?

The porch is very narrow so the black rocking chairs we have out back won't fit, but I really wish they did. This is very much a front porch sitting kind of neighborhood.  We had gone looking for some black ones while out and about to which I saw nothing I loved. I came home and just decided to try out the ones we use on the back. We keep the chairs in the garage when we are not there to make them last. My eventual decision was those were fine for when we wanted to sit out front. A win...saved money and these are comfortable. 

What you can't see from that picture is that the gardenias planted across the front are about to be an explosion of white blooms. I hate I missed it but my friend will get to enjoy them.

The Confederate jasmine growing on the fence is blooming and smells so good. Just imagine a week from now with all those gardenia blooms. People will want to stroll by our house.

I found part of a robin's egg. Such a pretty color.

Next up is an example of how different going north 3.5 hours can be. Get a load of these pansies.

Pansies will fizzle out here when the calendar turns to April. I grow them in FWB from mid October to mid April and switch over to vincas then.

I might also have bought another bedspread. I go in spells where I go for months buying nothing and then I see stuff and go nuts. I swore I was through trying to buy something for the guest bedroom aka Lindsay's old room.  

Now, the problem with the picture is that it is hard to notice how cute the bed is with a twin size mattress standing up in the room glaring at you...

I will share again when the mattress being saved for Palmer's big boy bed is purchased and this leaves my house.

And since we have switched to interior picture talking, I love to sit on the end of the couch and look out the windows at the neighbor's bird feeder. It keeps me entertained and I love that I can open that door and let Gus out without having to go out with him since the new fence addition takes care of him leaving. He is a good dog, but he does like to run up the street and see if our friends are there from Huntsville. Remember we have been friends forever and they had to move to Huntsville years ago, so Auburn (specifically this neighborhood) is our meeting place.

This house is a testament to how dark colors can be so nice. This room and the upstairs bedroom which is a dark paint are the coziest rooms and everyone always says how much they love them.

There is lots of natural lighting to help make it not too dark.

I do find I love to go and just read, stitch and nap here.

I will share my plants soon. I will be checking in with everyone soon. I didn't take my computer with me, so hang on I am coming.

I have 6 roses in containers downstairs. They love this time of year. I love it too.

They won't look this way much longer. 

On a side note, I always watch for these little guys.

They are in abundance here and on most everything. Pots, porch railings and the one I always check first....the trash can lids. Our lids have a lip to lift it and they love to get under those which means you can get quite a scare unless you are Miles. 

Miles thinks they are cute and need to be caught and touched. He doesn't understand why Mimi screams when I touch them which is why I never lift the lid before pounding on the top to scare them.

Spring is a lovely time of the year. Although I was quite surprised by how cool it was still in the mornings in Auburn. Definitely a change of pace for us when we get to go up. 

Jeff starts his PT for Parkinson's next week and Mom has not been feeling too well these past couple of weeks. I did get a change in her blood pressure meds so hoping that helps her. I don't often know what to pray but God knows what is needed so I am trusting in Him.

I love May,

Sandy