trifecta . . .

My blogging reliability has been incredibly negligible this year, and I really debated at some point whether or not to just give it up.  But I really enjoy writing, and I *love* having this pictorial/word summary to look back on; whether it's for remembering a trip or a particular project.  Or just to reminisce. ♥

This morning I debated on whether to add a third post to July, or save this for tomorrow and start off August well.  Eh.  We'll be traveling to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville tomorrow (about a 2 hour drive), so why put it off?  Here I be.

We'd hoped to go out on the boat this weekend, but after chemo last Tuesday, Todd was still struggling with fatigue, so we stayed home.  I got some things done . . . like taking down on the patriotic red, white and blue decor, and switching it out with summery sunflowers!

Lots of my decor is made up from "projects" of the past!  :)

With the temps in the upper 90s/100s, it was a good time to stay in!

I even revamped my tree!

And here's my latest sunflower finish all sweet and pretty with the perfect teacup and saucer.  

My daughter asked what I was going to do with it. I said, "Keep it!" She said, "Mom, you've got so much.  Start selling that stuff!"  And I thought about that for a while.  But what I realized was that I'd love each of my children and grandchildren to be able to have a little something from every season, that reminds them of me.  I'll keep it, thanks very much, until it's ready to be passed along. And things that they see in my home now, will definitely make for memories later.

Or, they can just sell them all.  LOL!  ;)

Finished up my two hearts for July.  These were my July UFO project for my Stitcher's Etc. group. Whew, just in the nick of time!

I cut and assembled the two for August, but I'll stitch on those on chemo days. I like having little stitching projects to keep my hands busy.

Yesterday, after church, we headed over to the Merkel casa for lunch and a laid back afternoon with family. I'd meant to get a photo of Todd with all four grands, but little man was falling asleep in his highchair, after lunch, so it was Pawpaw and the girls . . .

I did capture Ezra in his post-lunch glory!  He's such a doll baby!  

I can't believe he turns two in less than two months! It was a lovely afternoon, with everyone kicked back and just chatting.  

At one point in the afternoon, Edith suggested that everyone find a room to themselves and take a nap. She's my kinda girl!

I started this cute little mason jar sunflower piece last night.  It's a freebie from Pinker 'n Punkin.

Even my August calendar has sunflowers on it!  :)

Really darling, right?  I'm thinking I'll frame it with the fabric that backs my wool sunflowers, and use it as a mug rug.  Melisa's designs are all so darling.  And she is so generous with her gifts!

So I'm entering August all caught up.  Don't forget to say "Rabbit, rabbit!!" first thing tomorrow when you wake up! 

À bientôt!

:)

lo and behold . . .

It's almost August! How did that happen??? July started with a bang ... pun intended ... with our July 4th holiday and a lovely day with the family on the boat!

This crew loves being in the water ... it's hard to get them back out of it when it's time!  Little man thought he was big stuff, hanging out in the Captain's lap. LOL!

Todd's surgery was scheduled for the 5th, so we came in early . . . unfortunately, the surgery ended almost as soon as it had started.  We knew the surgeon was going to use cameras to look around; what he found was additional cancer mets in new locations, so he closed Todd back up and sent him home. 

Then my sweet Scarlet up and died on us.  We've since found out that certain Ford models, including our Escape, have major issues and Ford has a class action lawsuit filed against them.  Well great.  

She's a goner and now we're kind of in limbo, car wise.  She sure was pretty, though!

I've been working with a lot of wool and cross stitch projects.  Here are some finishes . . . 

This Glory, Glory cross stitch from Shakespeare's Peddler was in the Summer 2021 issue of PNPS Magazine, and I just fell in love with it!  I like getting the digital editions of this magazine because I can save them for forever, print the pages I want, and don't have to worry about where I'll stash it in my limited space!

I've had this sunflower piece hanging around for forever.  I cut and fused all the pieces on vacay in June, and finally got down to the stitching process this month.  Very happy with this finish!!

Just in time to switch out my patriotic decor for sunflowers all over the place!  I adore the sunflower print I used to back it.  It makes me regret just getting a fat quarter.  LOL!  By the way, this pattern is Caitlyn's Sunshine, by Karen Yaffe.  

I'd started with the patriotic bowl fillers in my last post, but just got them finished in time for Bastille Day.  LOL!  They'll be ready next year, for sure!  This pattern is also by Karen Yaffe and was found in the Summer 2023 issue of Primitive Quilts & Projects. Again, I do the digital issue; so handy!!  I was really pleased with how these turned out!

Speaking of July 14th, that's the day I took an unexpected trip to the emergency room, and didn't come home for five days.  The diagnosis was ischemic colitis — which was a first for me.  I'll go back in September for a scope to see if they can determine what's going on.  My son made me laugh when he said, "[Mom,] if you are going to get sick.... let's try to be more original.  I feel like colon issues are a bit overplayed in this family atm."  He ain't wrong!  I did get some lovely art work out of it . . .

Gotta love grands!!

I didn't get to fly to California to see my dear Olivia in her ballet performances in Alice in Wonderland, but thanks to technology, we did get to stream it after the fact and enjoy it.

She danced as a teacup, a playing card, and a lobster!  She's not just a great little ballerina, she's so animated—it was such fun to watch!

Todd started chemo back up this week.  Five rounds between now and the end of September.  

They've dropped to one that was taking so much out of him, so hopefully he won't get as sick and fatigued as he was.

We decided to step back in serving as church missionaries, and will return to our home church for the time being.  We said goodbye and thank you to Lakewood Baptist, where we were currently serving, this past Sunday.  

It was pretty emotional for both of us.  Todd will continue to do ministry, but more on a consulting basis.  We're looking forward to some down time in our home church.

Two last things . . . I got a little surprise this past Sunday when I took the cover off the grill to cook some steaks . . .

I screamed.  Good gracious, did I scream.  Mostly because he caught me off guard.  Or at least that's what I'm telling myself. Todd pushed him off the ledge into the leaves below.  I hope he doesn't decided to come back!

And here's what I'm working on now . . .

I've got a set of 12 wool hearts that I want to gift next Valentine's Day!  I'm committed to finishing two per month. One is done and this one makes two.  I need to get moving!

Enjoy the last weekend of July . . . school starts here next month!  Egads!  Before you know it, it'll be Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas!!  TTFN!

:)

half gone or half full . . .

Rabbit, rabbit!  It's hard to believe it's July 1st and we're halfway through the year already!

June was busy, but good.  We got the very good news that the PET scan images were good, so Todd was cleared for surgery.  That will happen on July 5th ... in four days.  It's a major surgery.  They'll remove the right lobe of his liver, his gallbladder, and ablate any mets they find on the left lobe.  They think there might be one, but they've never been able to get a good look at it, so that's the first thing the surgeon will do.  Todd will be in the STICU for three days post surgery, and then moved to a regular room for another seven.  BUT, if it means he'll come home cancer-free, then hallelujah!

We started June by celebrating Edith's graduation from Kindergarten.  

She's a rock star!

Next, we celebrated Olivia's NINTH birthday (from afar, which I hate, but I'm so glad for technology that allows us to be in on the fun, even if it's from afar)!

The sweet birthday girl enjoying one of our gifts.  She's a rock star, too!

We're both really enjoying the time off from chemo.  He's starting to be back to his old self!  We were able to enjoy a week on the lake, which was really nice!  

We've rented this same home for several years now — in June and then last year we added October.  It's a beautiful location, a simple home, and a terrific boat house.  It's really lovely.

Todd did a lot of fishing . . . 

I did a lot of project prepping (so I have plenty of things to keep my hands busy during surgery and hospital stay) . . .

This is a UFO from 2010 - Jaybird Quilts Hexagon Quilt Along - that I *remembered*.

And some fabric/scissor shopping (would you believe I forgot to pack a pair of scissors????) . . . 

Yes, lots of reds, whites, and blues (but, true to form, also some pumpkins—who am I, right?)!  I saw some really cute patriotic bowl fillers in the Summer 2023 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects, and I knew I wanted to play around with them.

And so far, so good!  They may not be completely finished by the 4th holiday, but it'll be close!  This will be my Slow Sunday Stitching, for sure!  :)

We also had the grandgirls over one day to play and splash!  

We celebrated our anniversary while we were at the lake ... but no pics.  I was so sick!  It went from a stomach virus to a gastrointestinal virus and I'm still not quite fully recovered!  Yuck!

Things at the camp are going well . . . turtles are out and about (and starting to lay eggs!) and things are blooming! We had a wet June ... things are green and gorgeous!

And I'll leave on this sweet note . . .

Hard to believe this sweet (and saucy) baby boy will be TWO in just a few months!

Happy July!  Happy Slow Stitching Day! Happy Independence Day!  

:)