The heat has started

 Temperatures are on the rise! It has been 100+ days and today is no exception, it is 102 heading to 106. I just am happy to stay indoors and keep busy. Here is what I have been up to:

Reindeer pals made from flannel

 

went fishing...

 

a pixie bag...maybe now they will not be misplacing my things!

 

look who moved in with me....with a story to tell!  I saw THE pattern on Facebook. The frog advertised was like but different. The frog pattern I thought I was buying had a hat on his head where you could lift and keep a thimble, his mouth opened and there you put scissors. The pattern arrived (Chinese) and what you see is what the pattern was and one of the template pieces was missing, #C, the belly. Of course I contacted the customer service email  twice.... no response. I reached out to PayPal to see if they could help. Very little help, actually none at all. PayPal and I are not on good terms right now for another issue. Well as you can see, I made the frog and made my own belly pattern. All in all, I am really happy with him . He sits at 3 1/5 inches and nose to butt is 4 inches. The hind legs spread out. 

That was how May ended....June has some new things already. That will be another day. Thank you for the lovely comments and emails regarding my grandchildren, The Horton Kids. I m glad to have you stop by today. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship.

Keeping busy but not out of trouble!

 The one thing that is a daily must for me is being at my sewing/craft table. I am very fortunate that I can. Time is mine for the doing.So, let me start with pictures and brief note....

Felt Tea pot with Teddy bear and Mouse

Sam and Sue Frog with their friend dressed in pink

Learning Sashiko stitching

Clamshell applique... no idea what it will be when finished!

Origami Triangle Box

So, that is some of what I am doing....learning.....trying. Dear friend Debbie (in Canada) do not let distance (1315.5 miles) interfere with our needles. We constantly share what we find and want to make. We usually make them at the same time...great moral support. What ? Guess I should explain.

                                                 

I was chopping aunt Aunt Cassy's Date Balls.....YUM... anyway, instead of using the knife that I always use, I decided to use the vegetable cleaver. Did I mention that it is very very sharp? Well all of a sudden there was blood bubbling out of my finger. Rushed to the bathroom to clean and wrap it. Back to the kitchen only to find more blood on my hand. Inspection showed the other cut finger.  Back to the bathroom!Actually I sliced off a piece of skin from each cut. Of course, I had to clean the cutting board and toss out the dates on it.I was prepared for Alan when he arrived home to lecture me. He just informed me that I should not be using that knife. I am almost healed. That is what has been happening here. Happy to visit with you as always. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship.

Time for adoptions

 Hello my friends. Did you think I would forget the Tiny Dog Adoption? I was just waiting to get it organized. There are only 10 so it will be first come gets first choice.....by email only. In the order of the emails, I will contact you with a link for you to make a choice.  This is free ... no charge or shipping cost.

Sam the frog now has trousers.... it has been chilly here in Arizona. I enjoy making these different creatures. I think he needs a lady friend. I started my Christmas ornaments...I know...what is going on? 

Every year I say start early and of course other projects catch my eye. It is on my New Year Suggestion List! The snowman is for a special girl and the elf boots, just because. Each boot hold a Hershey kiss. Yes, there are 2 different colors but I will make the matching color for them. I am working on another ornament, but it will be not for Christmas. A teacup, a mouse and a teddy bear!

This bird flew in last week. First time making wire legs/feet. He may fly to my tree.....

just like this woodpecker did!  I think a squirrel would be nice. Don't see any here in The Valley area. They are mostly in the high country....north of here. I saw one once while in the Grand Canyon.....

Okay....remember...if you are interested in a Tiny Dog, please email me. Thank you for your kind words and thank you for your friendship.

No resolutions for me

 Happy New Year my friends....I know, a bit late. Do you make new year resolutions? I prefer a list of suggestions. The definition of resolution: a firm decision to do or not do something. The definition of suggestion: An idea or plan put forward for consideration.  My list is usually 10 suggestions. Are all my suggestions followed...of course not. Anyway, just my thing.

Look at this 5 inch rose! It opened on New Years day.....good omen. Still have some roses blooming but now we are starting a cold spell so maybe time for them to sleep until Spring.I must say that I had a wonderful Christmas. Relaxing and fun. Santa really read my list! An update on me. It seems that my asthma has returned. For the 18 years living here in Arizona, I lost it. Back in Rhode Island I was coping with inhaler and breathing treatments. Now I am back on an inhaler and a med to help...so far all is good. Thank you for your good wishes.

I have not worn a watch I retired....since 2015. Sis Lyn sent me this watch which works with my Samsung phone. Very like an Apple watch. Still getting used to wearing it, but I love it. I love that I can easily change the photo.

As many of you know, I have not been tatting or doing cross stitch for some time. First I needed a change and secondly, hand/finger issues get in the way. But I keep busy with hand sewing and knitting and my miniature dolls rooms. Next I am working on a Fairy village. I will be doing some Sashiko stitching also. My tree has been growing....still a work in progress. Remember my Tiny Dog from this post, well, now there are 10 Tiny Dogs

 They will be available for adoption soon! So, if interested, stay tuned for info. For now their faces are hidden!

This is Sam... a little 5 inch frog who is can sit or stand on his own. Soon he will have coveralls and maybe a sweater....I think maybe a little lady will join him. The directions were not hard to follow..there were a few lines that were not as clearly written and the video to assist the knitting, well it did not match the written directions.  I have been knitting since a young girl and also taught knitting for a local knit shop, so I am able to get through the hiccups. Challenges are always good. Glad you stopped by today. Thank you for your kind words and thank you for your friendship.

The camera and computer are speaking again

The winds of March are still hanging about. I looked out to the garden and things are here and there. I thought I secured everything. The chimes are sounding lovely. I can tell how windy it is when the buoy bell begins to sound off.... then it really is gusty. So far just gentle sounds.
The other day I discovered that I was out of dried Rosemary. So on the list it went. Like most crafters I hated to toss out the container... we all know how many uses we can find to use them.  It was washed and left to dry which reminded me of my garden.

This is my Rosemary bush in the garden... it is about 3 feet wide and as high. So I decided to pick, wash and dry some.

This morning I removed the Rosemary from the stems and now the kitchen smells of Rosemary. My hands still smell also even after several hand washings. Tonight my garden Rosemary will be added to my pork chop. Next will be to dry some of my Oregano.
Usually when I have a computer problem I call The Geek Squad, they remotely fix the problem and all is well. Wednesday,  the guy at the other end of the phone did not know what to fix... could not fix it. Off to Best Buy yesterday afternoon. It took Ethan just 5 minutes and he figured it all out

Finally after  7 years of daily use, the cable is worn out. This is a Memory Card Reader … this eliminates the cable ad now voilà, all is good again. Well, with the camera and computer that is.

This is the start of my embroidered towel for the kitchen. Plans are to continue this weekend. In the meantime, Spring has arrived at the hacienda...

The Sisters and the Angel are on the mantel. Dianna gave them to me and has a matching set! When a candle is lit in the Angel it casts a lovely light. Normally these are atop my bedroom curio. I like to change decorations around the house. Everything looks new again from a different spot. The frog family also has a new place...

They moved to the Sidebar in the dining area. These are very special to me. They belonged to my Grandma Piccirilli. When I was a child they sat in her kitchen above the stove. I always wanted them and when she passed my dad got them for me. A sugar, creamer and tea/coffee pot. They probably are around 90 years or more old.
So, that is what is happening around here. No plans for today or the weekend. Hope the days are less windy so I can enjoy sitting outside. This wind causes lots of sneezing for me. I do have to fill the birdbaths so the Doves have a supply for drinking in the garden and the Mockingbird has a place to bathe out front. Always so nice to have you visit with me. Thank you for the kind words and for your friendship.

Horses, a bear and a frog

Prediction is for a 107 temp day but it is quite nice right now at almost 7 AM. I will grind the beans and brew some coffee and sit at the sewing machine

and sew Glenda's teddy bear. I really enjoy creating these bears and always loved to make cloth dolls. There is that special satisfaction when you make something and then see the smile it can bring to someone. Speaking of cloth dolls, the doll is refreshed and back in the rocker..

pig tails all fluffed out and smelling of Downey. I was asked for the measurement of the rocker...at the high point of the backrest it is 19" and the seat is 7 wide and 10" deep....just enough for a little body.
When I bought the chair and then the curio, the furniture place gives you a stuffed critter for spend $100 or more....

The small horse is about 16" high and came home with the chair and the taller at 20" came home with the curio. You get to choose from a few different animals that change throughout the year. There was also the gold or white tigers but the horses were my choice. The brown one is sporting one of Denny's bandanas.
The pond needs some finishing landscaping but this guy has been sitting here for 12 years and before this he sat at our pond edge in RI

Each year Denny would paint him to bring him back to life and he has sat at various places along the pond edge. Somewhere along the years he lost his left foot...but still poses comfortably.  I will need to paint the trim at the top of the wall before I can add plants and such around the pond. Most likely I will head to Home Depot tonight or tomorrow for paint and a new nozzle for the hose.  Yesterday morning Dianna and I spent time roaming around and then lunch. I started not to feel too well so I came home early and sure enough my blood pressure was a tad high. Feet up and plenty of iced water. I hadn't really drank much all morning.  I am feeling much better today. I had thought about early yard work but no, inside and sewing will be my task. I am so glad we had this visit. Thank you for the kind words and most of all your caring friendship. Lets have a good day.

A little bit of rain

Around 6:30 last evening a downpour...first rain of the monsoon season around here. It lasted about a half hour. This morning is clear hot and humid with winds expected. So, the umbrellas will probably remain down for awhile.  Glad I went to the market yesterday so I can stay put today. I woke around 3 am-ish with a light headache....I am already feeling better but I would rather just try to relax today.  By relaxing I mean a little tatting and needlework of some kind. Keeping my hands busy. Yesterday was re-arrange the houseplants and re-pot 3 African violets. I then forgot them outside in the heat... never said I was good at re-potting...that's right Denny did those things. One of the plants that has a new spot is my spider

 I have brown tips on the spider plant so I trimmed it and thought a change of scenery might help. The stand is just under the master bedroom window and on the bottom is The Frog...

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I fell in love with this frog a few years ago and Dennis bought it thinking it would go outside...no, indeed not. He has lived on this stand in the kitchen with a different plant. Now when I sit in the chair of business, he stares at me but at the same time he makes me smile. Smiles are good. His name is Prince...as in kiss a frog to find a prince. Denny told me not to bother as he was already my prince. Sometimes gems flowed from his mouth.
Today's word is Blessed

In the dictionary it says that blessed is bringing comfort or joy. Denny brought both to our marriage. We laughed together so many times and we cried together. He was my comfort and joy. It simply has a green button to match the thread......simple.
I really should fiddle with the pond this morning, but it really is very humid and if I have issues then I just might do away with those swimmers! Anyone have pond or very huge gold fish bowl...there can be yours! I must get on with my chores, vacuuming and laundry. Then on to tatting or whatever needs a needle. It has been great having you stop by...a new blogger stopped by and her name is Sally Ann over at My Tiny Home...stop by and say hello. Thank you for all the kind caring words you send to me and most of all thank you for your friendship. Let's have a good day.
 

I have show and tell today!

First I want to say a huge thank you for the concern/advice regarding my eyes. I am feeling much better now that I have been using the eye drops. Secondly, I returned to have my eyes re examined and am comfortable with the situation so I ordered my glasses. Hopefully in 2 weeks they will be ready and I can return to cross stitching. On to the fun stuff~~~~~~
I joined in the thimble exchange that KimM organized. I sent to 2 gals, both in Spain. I received my thimble from Montse in Spain yesterday...

Wonderful gifts with the thimble.... a pattern booklet and several other patterns and she even stitched something for me. I also received an email from someone who read a post of mine someplace and wants to do a thimble exchange! Of course I said yes. Then I convinced my sweet little frog pitcher to become a pincushion...

These frogs I have mentioned somewhere along here in the past.... they belonged to my paternal grandma. For as long as I can remember they were in her kitchen above the stove. When she died I got them....I loved them as a child and cherish them now. Sadly I have no one to pass them on to.
Anyway, the little one now has a pincushion made from a scrap of fabric that I have had for ages. Just the right print and look.
As I have not been able to cross stitch, I decided to hand stitch.

I gathered ups some scraps and 2 cd's and beads and a piece of Teneriffe, buttons and trim and this is what I did...a bit of crazy quilting into a pincushion. So, vision or not, I have tried to keep busy. I plan to do another one soon. Today we are having a cloudy day...nice for a change. We might even get some rain. I must dash off now as I have a meeting with one of the homeowners and then with my computer guru to help with my external drive that I just plugged in. A busy morning. I had the week off but will be going in tomorrow....usually Saturday's are busy. So off I go~~~~~~glad to spend some time with you. Hope you have a wonderful day.