Sparklies

I thought I was at the end of my shawl knitting, but not so. I think it needs to be longer. I really like my shawl to wrap me. So onward with that at the moment. Woke yesterday with a headache and upset stomach so I did nothing....absolutely nothing and today I am fine. On Wednesday I visited a bead shop which just opened on our side of town. I signed up for a class (on the 19th) but purchased my supplies...

oh so pretty...I will keep it mum for now. It will be my first attempt at this type of beading project and I only hope I can do it. Stay tuned for the finish! I also pulled out my project for punch needle and as before have left it again. I do not feel confident to try this...and I really do not know why. I know that I can do it, but keep hesitating. Our temps reached the first triple digit for the season at 101 Wednesday...and today we may have a rain storm...and the temps will be cooler. Winds are already kicking up. No wonder I had a headache! I feel bad for the Doves in the nest...trying to stay cool one day and the need to warm up the next. They are growing quickly and probably will soon be off. It seems like we have had a bunny explosion around here...so many young ones hopping about.

they are so darn cute. Everyday they gather in the courtyard to find munchies. Unfortunately the coyotes also know they are plentiful, so the circle is set. For now, they seem safe. Today is a special birthday...my sweet friend JeanneG is 90 years old. An independent lady who still lives on her own and still drives and volunteers at our library. She is always pleasant and smiling and so delightful to be with. Jeanne works on quilting and cross stitch and even has done some needlepoint. We try to get together at least once a week to stitch which usually becomes a chat session. I am so very lucky to have her for a friend. I will have to get an updated picture of her.  My laundry is already done, but I have not yet watered the garden and checked in with the Dove nest. I guess I should do that now....so glad we chatted today. Thank you for your friendship and kind words. Have a great day.

A rag doll

This April 26th was my niece Natalia Rose's 2nd birthday...

she belongs to The Brother Alan's daughter Elyssa. Although I have not met this little angel, I feel as if I know her by the pictures Elyssa posts. I decided to make her  this

a rag doll that I first made many years ago (still with me). This is a fun doll who can be handled roughly and survive. I chose lavender floral print (Natalia wears lots of purples) for her jumpsuit, and dark brown cotton for her hair. I embroidered down the front and around the sleeves and ankle with pink. If one day the doll is undressed, they will find that I signed the doll's butt with our names and drew a heart on the doll's chest. I hope Natalia enjoys playing with her. My shawl is almost to the length I want....I have enjoyed working on it daily.  Oh, yesterday while Mrs Dove was out and about we took a peek at the twins...

They did not seem to like us looking into the nest! Every so often they pop their heads up. The parents seem to leave them for a time now, but not for too long. They still take shifts sitting in the nest. Yesterday Mr H finished painting the orange tree trunks...a special paint;

this is done every Spring to prevent the trunks from getting to much heat in the summer. This year all the trees were topped and look strange, but it won't take too long before there are full again. Unfortunately, these are ornamental orange trees so they are not good for eating. Today is already starting off warmer than yesterday with expectations of reaching in the 90's today. Now that the temps will begin to rise earlier, Mr H had given me the task of going out and watering the garden pots early. It is almost 9 am and I have not done so....guess I best get out there. So nice to chat with you as always thank you for your friendship and kind words. Have a wonderful day.

Storm, birds and cucumbers and May

April showers ...April certainly went away with a rain storm....and today

we have a very cloudy start to the day. I do think the sun will pop out soon. We had been out yesterday and on our way home when the lightening and rain started and then the thunder....when Arizona has a storm it really goes all out. We certainly need all the rain we can get. Not sure what the skies hold for us today, but it is definitely cooler right now. This seems to be a good day to get some finishing done. How about an update on Mr & Mrs Dove.

It is amazing how birds tend to their nests. Every day the male sits in the nest and as evening approaches the female takes her position and he is off. Briefly yesterday there was no one guarding the nest so Mr H got a chance to check and there are twins! I have not seen the morning switch only the nighttime.

  Recently we have a Raven who has taken to our Ficus tree...

He is very loud and chatty. There were 2 of them in a courtship in the courtyard the other morning so maybe they too want to start a family here! Just what we need....they can lay up to 7 eggs! We seem to be attracting all of them this year.

May SAL is complete and on display. I am enjoying these monthly designs. The spacing of the releases (the 10th day of the month before) are just right. Someone from the group posted her finish in a great frame set up from Ikea...I think I would like to find it. We do have an Ikea  but I may just go on-line instead. It is a flip system and has 12 frames.
Look what I found this morning

I gently lifted the cucumber vine and there are a couple already growing. Okay, I know it is just about there. There are 4 vines so I do hope we find more. Everything in our garden is growing so well this year. Mr H is very pleased. Once the summer heat starts it will be a different story. I think one of the reasons the plants do well is that Mr H draws off some of the pond water when he cleans it and then uses that to water the plants. All that fish stuff is great fertilizer. I guess that about covers it. So glad you could spend some time with me....thank you for your friendship and kind words. Have a wonderful day.