Monday, July 25, 2016

Back Home Again


We are back from a wonderfully relaxing vacation to Siesta Key, Florida. We had such a good time. We spent our mornings at the beach, enjoying the warm, clear water, hanging out at the condo in the heat of the afternoon, and then going out for dinner at one of the fun restaurants on the island. I decided not to take my camera and just took a very few cell phone photos.

Some people have asked why we go to Florida in the summer. The answer is simple. We go to be on the beach and play in the water and in the summer we are assured it will be warm! When the kids were small we would go down in January to stay with my in-laws at the condo they rented. It was always hit or miss as to the weather. It's also much more expensive in the winter. Except for the lack of birds (we love to go birding) summer is best for us. And as it turned out, it was cooler and less humid there than it was in Indiana. Go figure!

Before we left we worked hard on the gardens and yard so we would not come back to a jungle. Not!!! It rained at least 3 times while we were gone and everything went wild! And now it's too hot to weed. I tried but I can't be out in this heat for very long, especially working. So I wander around taking pictures and trying not to feel bad about all I want to do. Here are a few:











These lilies are over 6 feet tall!

And now I have to share a couple of grandbaby pics, because well, these kids are so darn cute!

Tad has become a little fish this year!



Jasper

Klaus
Son Eric with Klaus
Trixie is almost 4 months old!
Sorry, I sometimes forgot to wipe the lens - it's so humid! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!


Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Bee Themed Bag

If you had ever been to my house, you would know that I love all things related to bees and beehives. I even have a room devoted to my collection - the small bathroom.









The above photo is a close up of our latest find. Actually, my husband picked it out at an antique store we were browsing and he knew that I would love it. I do! It is stamped "occupied Japan" on the back. It's not rare - I found several on ebay. But we did get a good price for it.

So anyway, I've been searching for bee related embroidery and cross stitch patterns. I found this one from pinterest and decided to stitch it up and make it into a drawstring bag. I love how it turned out!






I stitched it on some linen that I found at Walmart. (They had several different colors of this linen for under 4.00 a yard. I bought some of each, but wished I'd bought more. It's all gone now:(
Going through my fabric stash, I found this bee fabric. A perfect match! It's a great bag for storing my  ongoing needlework projects . I had so much fun making this, I've decided to make a bunch (in other designs too) and selling them. Two of my favorite things - embroidery and sewing. I could do this all day!!!