all the things . . .

Remember that cute Halloween fabric I got a couple of weeks ago??

Really cute, right??  Guess what I found out on accident . . .

It GLOWS IN THE DARK!!!  Is that not the best?  You know what that means?

It means I went back and got MORE!  Haha!  And as per usual, I found something else I *needed* while I was there.  

Joc sent me this photo during the week . . . 

Ezra's little bed, all ready for little Ezra!  The pillow sham turned out so sweetly! 

I've been so puzzled trying to figure out why, of my two hanging pots of impatiens, the one on the right does so much better than the one on the left.  I think I may have figured it out.  What do you think?

I guess I need to switch them up every once in a while!

Friday we hit the lake again.  Sometimes, since I read or stitch most every time, it feels like all my lake pictures are the same, week after week.  But I will share this sunset . . . 

The sliver of a moon was shining so brightly!  And though you can't make it out in the photo, Venus was also very prominent in the sky. 

Sawyer had his first soccer game of the season yesterday!

I still cannot get over how grown up (and handsome!) he is!  James tells me Sawyer is a good player and tireless ... just like his daddy was.  I hate that I'm not able to go to a game.  

And can I tell you just how GLAD I am that college football season is back??  Roll Tide ROLL!

Todd and I have been enjoying Game Day parties for two.  LOL!  It's a good life!

:)

good things happen . . .

To those who wait? To those who do?  Randomly?  I dunno.  All of the above, I guess!  This month kicked off with Easter, and we celebrated with the Merkel family at my folks' house.

Assessing their plunder!

It was a lovely day . . . the weather couldn't have been more beautiful!  Or at least, so I thought.  We had Monday off, so Todd and I took the boat out.

That was pretty exquisite, too! 

We found our first hatchling in the turtle sanctuary and moved him/her over to the nursery.

They are always so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when they make their first appearance in the Spring!

I convinced Todd to do a thing for me.

I desperately needed working space in the Nook.  Desperately.

Now I have it!!  I'm so excited!  At some point, when the weather is a little warmer, I'll go back through the tubs and organize them a little better.  But I'm very, very pleased with both my storage *and* my new found working space in the Nook!  Plus, I have a lot more space for storage than I thought! *wink*

So immediately I had to do something fun to celebrate . . . 

These Moda blocks had been on my to-do list for a while.  And these colors are yummy.  The photo doesn't do them justice.  And I know I'm always saying that purple is my favorite color, but I really think it's blue.  Blues draw me every time.  I adore purple, but I want to quilt with blue.

I also got a new rotary cutter, which I LOVE!  It is a delight to wield.  Seriously.  If you've not used these, you should give them a try. It cuts like a dream.

I got some more 'spring' color to add to our yard!  

Usually we do hanging baskets for Mother's Day, but I was ready for some color NOW!  Heh.  I love impatiens ... and they last all the livelong summer!

Speaking of plants, usually Todd waits until after his birthday to plant our little vegetable garden, but this year, he went ahead and got it in a little early.  

I should get more pictures.  He's expanded our raised beds and it's looking so good! This is one of the new beds, in which he's planted three blueberry bushes.  Whoop, whoop!!  We love blueberries, for sure!

Finally (and I'll wrap this up), we got a load of supplies delivered for the construction of the bathhouse!  We are so, so excited about this!  

The completion of the bathhouse will complete the vision Todd was given for the camp when we first started out here as camp hosts, 12 years ago.  Two bunkhouses and a bathhouse; a place where churches could being kids and youth and enjoy God's creation. And God has been so faithful!!  Work won't start until May, but building materials are hard to come by and Todd wanted to get them early, instead of taking a chance he couldn't get them when he needed them.  Yeah, we're very excited!

:)

ides of march . . .

March came in like a lion and it's staying that way.  LOL!  We were glad to enjoy the time change ... or rather, we enjoyed the daylight that came at the end of the day. 

And we got a full moon, to boot.  A full moon on a clear night always makes me smile!

Along with the time change, spring flowers are popping up all over the place! These also make me smile!

Okay, no flowers, but a sweet view!

Something else popped up . . .

Whoohoo!!!  We're so unbelievably excited!!  And a little bit in shock!  Hahaha!! 

Todd and I had a lunch date at Sam & Greg's on the square, in Huntsville.

They have terrific pizza . . . and the best gelato!

It was lovely outing with my best friend! ♥

James and Kim took the kids to their first wedding . . . 

LOL!  Sawyer is dashing, but both the girls are a little overwhelmed!  They're coming to visit this summer.  I'm beside myself!  It will have been over eighteen months since we saw them last, when they finally get here.  

Mid-March also means it's time to change up the decor a little.  Merging seasons.  :)

A little Valentine's, a little St. Patrick's Day, a little Spring, and a little Easter (jelly beans)!  :)

The Nook is still a hot mess, which means I've gotten NOTHING done in there.  But I need to take care of it.  I can feel the need to create becoming a burden on my soul! Does anyone else get like that?  So watch out, Nook ... your time is coming!

:)

heartily stitching along . . .

I've had to work all four (10-hour) days this week.  It's been long!  LOL!

I made just a little progress on my Love Sampler project.  It's really so sweet to stitch on . . . 

But not as much progress as I had planned. Scrolling through Instagram on Sunday, I stumbled upon a Blackwork SAL hosted by Peppermint Purple, and I chased that squirrel down.  I have been fascinated by blackwork for some time, but hadn't ever tried it.  This seemed to be the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

At first I though starting six weeks behind might be a problem, but it stitches quickly and I'm caught up through week #7.  

Go me! (It was really easy to catch up.  Each block represents one week.)  I'm using Cosmos Seasonal floss (1 over 1) in 8056.  I really love the subtle movement of color!

In other stitching news, I got some happy mail . . .

Kathy Schmitz was running a special:  spend a certain amount and get the heart stitchery free.  So I got the birdie stitchery and the black floss.  

They're really cute.  Pre-printed ... you just outline stitch in black and frame!  Voila!  I thought it would be fun (and now I have two to play with)!

Been having fun getting Valentines together for the local grandgirls. They stopped by for a quick visit at work yesterday . . .

They're so fun!  And they all MATCH!  Even mama matches!  ♥  I found some really cute vintage cards to gift the girls . . .

And made some heart-themed baskets filled with goodies . . .

Just simple things.  But sweet!  And speaking of sweet, look what *my* Valentine sent me!

Aren't they beautiful!  Gives me lots of reasons to stop and smell the flowers!

Signing out ... have a great weekend and a Happy Valentine's Day!

:)

stitching therapy . . .

Two days in a row . . . please don't pass out!

I wanted to share my finished "Cattitude" piece from Saturday's workshop.  I had a little Nook time yesterday afternoon and managed to get it quilted.

Nothing fancy ... I did a little stitch-in-the-ditch machine quilting and then I tied it with yarn (because Gwenevere loved playing with yarn and string) which felt like the perfect touch.

Really pleased with this finish and have it hanging over my laptop!

I couldn't do the workshops on Friday, but I saw a lot of the finished pieces from the afternoon session.  In fact, I shared a picture of Meg's 'word quilt' in yesterday's post. I got the itch to do a word quilt of my own, and while I was brainstorming for an appropriate word, I realized I needed to stitch while the stitching is good.  Tomorrow is D-Day . . .

I know, right?  If they'd skipped everything between "shoulder" and "procedure" it would have meant the same to me! But what it will mean is limited mobility for at least five weeks, aka, no stitching. As I thought about all that, the perfect word hit me . . .

Heal! And since I had taken the photo workshop, I pulled up a png of a band-aid and printed it off to lend a visual to the project.  That was a fun and easy finish, too, and it's hanging over the space where I'll more than likely do most of my "recovery" for that first week! This was my pre-surgery therapy. Very fulfilling.  :)

It seems like there's always something blooming at the camp . . . but these yellow water lilies were so beautiful, I had to share them:

And in the same area (the turtle sanctuary), the lettuce had gone to seed and produced some beautiful purple flowers:

Yellow and purple are a favorite color combination of mine! That lettuce has never flowered before. Funny how nature works, isn't it?

Not sure when I'll be able to manage a keyboard, so it may be a little dry here for the next week or two. But I'll be reading (if not commenting).  But when I do post next, I'll expound on this pretty little picture . . .

Fits right in with my lilies and lettuce, no?!

Have a GREAT week!

:)