Vacation at the Beach

We're heading to Lewes Delaware tomorrow for a week. We go every summer and just love it there. It is a quaint little hidden jewel in the mid-Atlantic beach community.
Lewes is the first city in the first state (earliest town in the first state to ratify the Constitution). It was settled by the Dutch in 1631 and is rich in history and in charm. Lewes technically sits on the lowest edge of the Delaware Bay however on the far side of Lewes is Cape Henlopen State park which sits on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the best of both worlds - ocean on one side, bay on the other. The house we rent is on the bay side and the "park" is 1/4 mile down the road for enjoying the ocean.
Hoping for good weather.
Be back next weekend........

Feels Like Summer

Oh my gosh it is so hard to believe we had a partly sunny day today - Yeah - could the worst of the gray wet weather be behind us?
A sure sign of June around here is the explosion of day lilies!

I spent about 3 hours sitting on the patio relaxing and trying to get a little base color before we go to the beach for a week on Saturday. I don't tan much to begin with but want to be on the darker shade of ghostly white before we go - LOL!

While I was sitting on the patio I was enjoying one of my favorite summer flowers - hydrangeas. We have a lot of hydrangea bushes in our yard and the colors range from blue to pink to purple to white. It's funny because they change color depending on the soil and condition after they have been planted. We've bought a couple at the nursery thinking we were getting one color and the following year they bloom in another color and stay that way through their life-time. Ours are just starting to bloom now and I captured pictures of the pinker/purple ones.

More "Gray" Rug Hooking

Here is another of my "gray" pieces. At the moment I just have these two (the gray flower runner and this pillow) however I'm very tempted to do another. A lot of rug hookers won't use gray but I really love the way both of the pieces turned out and don't think the gray takes away or dulls the pieces at all. I tend to be a renegade hooker and don't follow the "rules" but in my opinion, as with any art form, one should be allowed free expression - there are no rules in my hooking!
I actually did not hook both pieces in the last few weeks either. I do work fast but not that fast! I did them last year as inventory for a possible upcoming show or for the local shop but I figured why not open them up to my Etsy audience too.

Gray is rather appropriate at the moment on the east coast. This has been an awful June (and I don't think May was that great either). Last night on the news they said we have had 1 day of full sun in June, and 17 out of 22 days with rain! Yesterday we were lucky - the sun peaked out a few times. The forecast for the week is partly cloudy too so there are peaks of sun predicted each day. The best is yet to come - the forecast for the weekend, extending into next week, looks most sunny and seasonal - yippee - just in time for our week at the beach starting Saturday!

Bayou Folk Art

I just found this wonderful new shop on Etsy that I just have to share with you. The shop is Pouxbelle, located in New Orleans, and is a vision of Louisiana folk art and wildlife. I was delighted to stumble across it and immediately fell in love with the whimsical, folksy art.
My favorite piece is this wonderful pelican. It caught me right away for a number of reasons - my Mom was born and raised in New Orleans and I have so many wonderful memories of childhood days there, and in the town in New York where I grew up, our high school mascot was a pelican! I just had to have this piece!

I am so drawn to the whimsy of Kerry's work. Her painted work is on salvaged wood from historic homes that have been torn down in the 9th ward of New Orleans. She also makes sweet little coin purses from vintage fabrics and hand-made textiles. Stop by her shop - I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Friendship

If you're ever in a jam, here I am
If you're ever in a mess, S.O.S.
If you ever feel so happy you land in jail, I'm your bail
It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships have been forgot
Ours will still be hot
A-lottle-dottle-dottle-dig-dig-dig
If you're ever down a well, ring my bell
And if you're ever up a tree just phone to me
A-yes-sir-ee
If you ever lose your teeth and you're out to dine, borrow mine
It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships have been forgate
Gate?
Ours will still be great
A-lottle-dottle-dottle-chuck-chuck-chuck
If they ever black your eyes, put me wise
If they ever cook your goose, turn me loose
And if they ever put a bullet through your brain, I'll complain
It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships have been forgit
Ours will still be it
A-lottle-dottle-dottle-hep-hep-hep
If you ever lose your mind, I'll be kind
And if you ever lose your shirt, I'll be hurt
If you're ever in a mill and get sawed in half, I won't laugh
It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships are up the crick
Ours will still be slick
- Cole Porter

I've always loved this quirky little song, and especially loved watching Lucy and Ethel on I Love Lucy singing it. Anyway, I just want to take this time to say thank you to all of my friends. I appreciate you all, and for many reasons: your love, support, humor, inspiration, talent, dependability and hope.

ANOTHER Gloomy Day

From WPVI Channel 6 local news/weather -
"DREARY & WET JUNE: Looking back at the first 16 days of June one can classify 7 of them as cloudy, which is just shy of half. Rainfall, as one would imagine, is running 1.6" above normal. So if it feels like its been a dreary and wet first half of the month you are certainly right."

This is getting very depressing!
On the up side, I hope Mother Nature gets this all out of her system before we go on vacation in 10 days!

Button Up Flowers

Here is another of my hooked ornaments/pin keeps!
Total whimsy!

These little hooked ornaments are so much fun!
Why not buttons for flowers, right? We need all we can get in the mid-Atlantic area for a little brightening up. We have had so much gray weather. The sun came out for 2-3 minute intervals today and I was lucky to capture a good photo out by the front walk.
Hope it is sunny and lovely where you are.

Rug Hooking Addition

I made this hooked piece last year and decided I should list it in my Etsy shop. The Gray Flowers (already in the shop) seems to be generating more views/interest than my stitching so I thought perhaps it would make sense to add this one as well. It is a little smaller than the gray piece however it can either be hung on the wall or used on a table top. This piece is hooked on burlap (burlap being the original primitive foundation for hooking many years ago) but the gray piece is hooked on linen. Both contain re-purposed and dyed wools, however this piece was hooked entirely with scraps! It is another of my original designs.

I'm working in the local shop again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a little diversion. I hope you all have a great weekend.
Cheers!

What a Nice Day

We woke up this morning to a horrific thunderstorm, literally with bolts of lightning all around, and subsequently lost power - NUTS! I hate that!

I had plans today to meet my Etsy/blog friend Lori Eurto in Philly too and was worried about getting showered (and blown-dry) with out electricity. The really strange thing is, every time we lose power it is only the houses on our side of the street - very annoying to look out and see neighbors with power, but I digress. I called my neighbor to make sure it was OK to run over with my blow dryer! I showered, went to my neighbor's for power, and then took off to drive into Philly to meet Lori.

Lori is one of those special people I have met on Etsy and blogging. She lives in upstate NY, and I live in suburban Philadelphia. How cool is it that we have actually gotten together 3 times in the last 9 months?! We had a delightful lunch in a fabulous Mexican restaurant on South Street in Phila and then we shopped, found a delightful coffee shop and sat outside and chatted till it was time to leave. I've said it before but it's worth repeating - I feel so lucky to have made some wonderful new friends as a result of Etsy and blogging. Life is good!

Life got even better for me when we were sitting with our coffees and I got a text from my son telling me he accepted a job with Villanova! I am so excited and proud. As you all know he just graduated from Xavier University in Cincinnati last month majoring in Sports Management. He had a phone interview with them, they asked him to come (from Cincy) Friday for a formal interview, and they offered him the job! I know he is between a rock and a hard place because he wanted to stay in Cincinnati, however, he made the right decision taking the job. In this economy stepping out of college getting a job in your field is a difficult thing to do and he is very lucky, and I am very proud!

It turned out to be a pretty nice day!

New Stitching

I had a productive weekend - stitched the "liberty" and pin keep over the weekend and put them together yesterday afternoon. I did not do a thing last night - almost feel guilty. You know, busy hands........

When I took my car for an oil change last week I drove 10 minutes further after to a great cross stitch shop (which I had not been to in ages) and picked up a few new patterns. I so much prefer stitching in the warmer weather because rug hooking is so bulky and hot with all of that wool.
I need to get stitching on a new piece.

Home Sweet Home (for the birds)

I was sitting on the patio having a cocktail enjoying a moment of peace before dinner and captured one of our current house wren families in action. What is so special about this particular family is the house they have taken up residence in is sitting on a shelf right over our dining table on the patio!

We've always had lots of bird houses in the yard and surrounding the patio however never one right on the patio. They are most often occupied by house wrens too. I decided to move the birdhouse this spring so it was more protected since it has weathered quite a bit, thinking it would just be decorative on the patio. Lo and behold, a couple of house wrens have taken up residence in the little weathered cottage.
I just noticed tiny bird noises for the first time yesterday so I know the babies have hatched. The wrens will remain extremely busy till their brood is ready to fly from the nest.
I was able to capture one of the parents poking its head out ready to fly (the 2nd picture) and another of one of the mama or papa arriving with some food (the first picture).

Watermelon Slice

This is what I hooked at my hook-in overnight last weekend. I started it Saturday and just finished it last night!
I'm taking it to the local shop to sell since she requested pillows. I apologize for the not-so-great picture - I wanted to get a pic taken on the Adirondack chair in my yard however it is raining and I need to leave soon to take my car for an oil change and drop the pillow off on the way, so the inside picture with bad lighting will have to do. Anyway, you get idea of the finished product.
Hope you all have a great day.

Jade Plants

I got these great cuttings from my friend Peg. She has 3 incredible jade plants in her lovely solarium/breakfast room. One is over 3 feet tall in a huge pot on the floor, and one is in a shallow dish on her dining table, and the 3rd is the miniature variety which I had never seen before.

I have not had a jade plant since college and I was delighted to get the cuttings. I think they look so pretty in the little cordial glasses on my kitchen window sill. I'm hoping they will root so I can plant them. I did a little on-line research and only found information about putting a leaf directly into soil and propagating that way. I did not see anything about putting a cutting into water - does anyone know or have any advice?

Strawberry Picking

I have a couple of cute hooked ornaments that are summery in nature and I thought now might be a good time to introduce them to my Etsy shop. I decided to start with a strawberry! Just a whimsical little piece of decorative fun which I hope others will enjoy too.