A tree grows.....

 Can you believe it is almost Christmas?! Somehow this month has been another fly by. I have been feeling unwell these past 2 months. Coughing and nos runs/stuffed; all over blah. Finally went to the doctor. He ordered a chest x-ray and antibiotics as well as two other meds. So I have been just shuffling along. I have however, sat at my sewing/craft table and ....

the flies all have Santa hats.

A new bug has moved in. He did have a Santa hat but obviously it fell off and  Murphy found it. Then I found it chewed up! Then I had the thought...I need a tree.

So of course I made one. Slowly things are appearing in the tree. In another post I will show more of the tree.I don't want to push too many pictures on you.

While I was "resting" I found this guy and just had to...had to make him!
After Christmas there will be more about him and his friends. So here I sit getting ready to pick up my needle and thread and listening to Christmas music. As always, it is nice to chat with you. Thank you for your kind words and thank you for the many years of friendship we have shared.

Merry Christmas to all.....we will chat in the new year.

The babies have arrived

Our holiday weekend is over. The weather was superb. Alan and Lisa are back to work...Murphy, at the moment has moved from the bedroom to the sofa. I have been awake sine 2:30...no, not with back pain but a headache. Yesterday Alan took me to Dr. Paul and I got injections to the right backside. So far it is almost pain free as I did nothing in the afternoon so the meds could work. Today will also be an easy day. There is swishing happening at the moment but the machine does that.
As of yet I have not had coffee ☕! or my toast. So that is next. Oh, the babies! Actually they are lots and lots of Praying Mantis. Guess you would like to meet them....all of them so far...

No....I did not count try to count them, but there are lots of them moving about. They will remain in the container until Alan returns home at 3ish. They look to be about 3/4 inch. I will be sure to capture their release into the garden.
Well that is it for now. I really need coffee and toast. Glad you could visited today for the announcement. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship...and for following my new crazy household!

We are expecting!

What a beautiful day....sun is bright and warm and there is a light breeze. The garden is coming along nicely. Still have plants top get and fencing to finish but the corner is looking really good. I have not been feeling quite myself these past few days. So I think it is the virus...no. However, I plan to stay home when possible and relax.
Are you wondering about the announcement?

Did not realize the container was turned...but you can see what we are waiting for. Praying Manis babies for the garden. Yes, it does say 100-200 eggs but surely many will not hatch. There is a "nut"
type shell .. dark corner lower left... and it is sitting out in the lanai. I just had to have one for the garden!
A few weeks ago I told Alan that I wanted a Keurig that also steamed milk when we needed to replace the one he brought with him here. Sure enough, it was time last week so on line purchase from Best Buy and curbside pickup...

I am really enjoying making my coffee. It also has an expresso setting...Alan likes expresso, me just occasionally. The steam milk setting is for cappuccino or expresso. I love gadgets of all kinds.
For a time yesterday I was feeling less lightheaded so I decided to bake...

This is one of my favorites to bake....decadent for sure and hard to stop eating! Did I mention it went well with the mug of coffee in the above photo?
Time to get back to just relaxing as I have a headache and Murphy is already napping. Glad to chat with you today. Need to catch up on everyone's blog posts. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship. Be safe my friends💖

The week ends.....

I am still here.... thank you for asking and caring. I just needed time to gather thoughts. My hand is really feeling okay. This means back to beading and stitching. The back not so good. I will be having some tests so that my doctor can properly get to what is causing my pain. We do know that arthritis is a part of it but there is more going on. He has thoughts and has plans but we will wait until the tests and results are in. I am so appreciative of your thoughts. The week past also brought me tears and frustration. When I could not walk or move my thoughts went to how I am not happy feeling helpless. Being alone and not able to do what I want or more importantly what needs to be done. I have been very frustrated with myself. Yesterday was a nice morning. Dianna and Cassandra (Cassandra works  at Jo Ann's) came by for a visit. I was up early and made an apple pie for us to have. Good to be with friends.
Not all the week was  unpleasant.....the bunny arrives almost daily around 7AM and sometimes it is in the evening. He made a meal out of one of the plants in the garden. We scare one another … he pops out of the grass and then scoots to the other grass across the garden. The Doves are back with a new nest--- same nest. The children have yet to venture out of the garden for more than an hour. Today a suitor appeared.... going to be a long Spring/Summer with these birds.

The hummer spent most of the day on Thursday standing guard over his kingdom. This is one of the wall planters that will be coming down soon.... of course now I feel guilty taking it away.
The Brother Alan has offered to make Limoncello with the lemons I have when he is here in May.... hope he has learned to make it correctly. The last time I had a taste of it (years back) it was very potent. It could knock your socks off.

While tossing out the trash the other day I found this very large … about 1 1/2 inches big moth at my mail slot. I think it is called a White Line Sphinx Moth. Always something in the garden or surrounding area. I am not fond of flying things...well any bug to be truthful.
We are in a cool down. A few days of 97 then the 80s now the 70s. Next week back to the 80s.
I will be going through my stash this weekend and donating to a local school. So, that about covers my week. I will be positive about the back issue. Glad to chat with you today. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship.

Alice, White Flies and Snails

Another glorious start to the day. I love when I can open the sliders and the front door and feel natural air flowing in. The A/C will be off at least until this afternoon when the heat returns. Today they say again in the mid 90s, still above average for October.
The sprinkler leaks seem to be fixed as Don stopped buy to check them and adjust them for me. I obviously still need to learn more of what I thought I knew. There is however another issue that is not improving.

See the light colored leaves almost in the center of the picture? It is a White Fly infestation and it is on both the Yellow Bells and the Honeysuckle (same plant family). I have been spraying every other day and keeping it trimmed but they are not leaving. I think they may have to go...the plants that is and something else found to replace them. Always sad to loose established plants, but this is not something I want to spread to the rest of the garden. The Honeysuckle

which is along the wall (Yellow Bells in the center garden) is so large rooted as it has been here the longest, would just be cut down to the ground and kept at a short growth. The Yellow Bells can still be uprooted and removed. You can see the damage better in this picture.
The Snail Vine

is growing by the foot almost daily! Here it is attaching itself to the Fountain Grass. Everyday I convince it to attach to the arbor only to find it on the grass in the morning.  I am very happy it is growing so well. It may be called Snail Vine but it certainly grows quickly. Yesterday morning I sat outside on the front porch with Alice

and another motif is finished. I will be returning there soon to see how much I can stitch before coming back inside. I am planning to browse through my patterns and only keep some of what I have which is too much. I am sure I can find homes for what I will not want to keep. I think the magazines will be weeded out soon also. So, watch for the de-stashing. I find my interests are changing at the moment. I will always love cross stitch, but there are other areas that are calling to me.
This weekend I will gather and mail out my Denny's Angels. Just passed 4 months that he is missing from my life.  People have come and gone since those early sad days but I am lucky to have faithful friends who help fill the void. These angels are my way of saying thank you for the comfort and friendship I have from friends near and far. I told you about Debbie who has stayed by my side long distance, there are others...like Vickie. Here is a blog friend who has her own busy life but manages to visit my blog daily and always leaves me a comment of encouragement and kindness. Special people indeed.
Well, time to get dressed...do not think the neighbors will appreciate me outside in pajamas. I really want to enjoy the morning temperatures. So glad we had time to chat. Thank you so much for the emails and kind words. Most of all, thank you for your encouragement and friendship. 

Words of Affirmation is complete

Well, at this point it is. This project as I mentioned before was started a few months before Dennis passed. He was very much a part of color, embellishment and ideas and also where to hang it. I thought I would show you the full banner and then for the week or so pick an area and tell you about it.

It is about 13 wide and 36 long. Denny thought it would be good to hang it on the closet door...a place where we would encounter it many times. His plan was to mount it differently than I did but for now this is how it is hanging.  This truly was a labor of love for me to work on. Each word has a special meaning for me and also because Denny really liked the project and gave input. By the way, it looks crooked but it is not...I guess I stand off kilter. I say it is complete and it may be so. However, I may find a charm or two to add. There is one thing I did not make yet...a yo-yo. Dennis mentioned it would be nice to "put one of those cloth circles" on it. I had a busy day yesterday. Dianna and Bob came by so Bob could fix the running toilet....Thank you Bobby! Then he also hung my new hummer feeder in the kitchen window out of the sun and helped with my front walkway. Dianna and I have been friends for a long time (worked together at Jo Ann's) and even worked on projects together. Now I can add her Bobby to my list of caring friends. I have been overwhelmed with the caring messages and kindness of all. Don stopped by to check the watering system to help me make some changes. It will make my care of the yard easier.
I love my Dragonflies and I received 2 beautiful pins.

This one is from a long time Rhode Island friend, Janet.  I will always think of her when I wear it.
Dear friend Glenda saw this and thought of me....

So pretty. Cards, messages, flowers/plants and emails have brightened my days. Dennis did not want any commotion. "Just cremate me and put me in a box on the book shelf with Sherlock and Zoe (our pooches). No service , maybe you could have a party with balloons (he loved balloons at parties). Having him home with me has really brought it to reality. I am never really alone~~~~~~

A package arrived from cousin Janice (in RI)...

Is this not the cutest thing! He/she is solar powered and has an on/off switch at the tip of the nose. Part pipe, part metal and a glass bottle for a butt....just too ~~ too cute! Now I need a name for he/she.....it could really be either. I must tell you that at 3:30 this morning the winds were crazy. One of the closed umbrellas fell over, the bushes and trees were whipping around as well as a few other yard things. Now it is quiet....not a leaf is moving and it is cloudy...after all, this is Monsoon season so maybe we will get rain??? or not. I have been working on Denny's Angels and hope to start at least one Denny Teddy Bear soon. I always liked keeping busy and more so now. Did I mention that I have one more cupboard in the garage to clean? It is the cupboard with the cooking stuff...pans and things. Did I mention I found the last (I hope) electric drill which brings my collection to I think 4. I know there are way too many frying pans out there. Yes, he enjoyed gardening, electronics and buying pots and pans for his cooking. I think a Fall garage sale is in the works! For now, I will straighten the house, make my bed and get a bread dough ready for baking tomorrow. Right now I need my coffee and my tatting. You are all so special tome...thank you for the kind and caring words and emails. Most of all thank you for the love and friendship. Let's have a good day.💖

Just buzzin' by ~~~~~~~~

So glad yesterday is gone. The morning started out okay. Lazy and quiet. Then I decided to post here and that is when it started. The monitor would not turn on. This has happened a few times and the Geek guys told me to shut down and unplug it from the tower and power source, wait and then plug it all back in. Not what I want to do but it has worked except this time. The monitor was 3 years and 1 week old and still with warranty. So off to Best Buy and they offered me a replacement. The model was not available so Mr H chose another Samsung and home we came. Did I ever tell you Mr H is a saint? He is...so patient with me. Hooking it all up we discovered the DVI---- HD or whatever connection was not compatible. Back to Best Buy thinking we needed to get a different model. No, just a new cable. They did not have it but another near by store did. Off to the next BB and $30+ later we are back home. Hooked up but the monitor would not come on. Back to BB because  a) they could not explain this over the phone,  b) Mr H, who has set up many electronic devices could not understand what they were explaining,  c) to have a Geek come to the house would take 4-5 days and $50.00. The Geek Gal at first was "lost" then "found" and back home again this time it works! A slight problem, getting the adjustments right...adapting to a new look... Anyway, it is a work day but before all that happens I would like to show you....

my newest pincushion. A bit of embroidery around and then the bumble bee....

the first time using the Angelina fibers.... next time I will be braver and press more into a fabric and the overall technique will be better..... all in all I am pleased with it. The next bug on my list is a dragonfly.... Eventually I would like to try Goldwork and more Stumpwork. I just want to try everything! I really must start wearing blinders so I will not be tempted. I must leave now. I am making my Jo Ann's shopping list of this and that supplies. I am enjoying my 2 days a week for as long as it lasts. More time to do this and that! Thank you for  spending time with me today...hope you have a wonderful day.