Pretty Things

True beauty from the street


Architectural details of times gone by


A promise doubled


A simple, vintage, blue bowl


An antique wedding dress (1889) and a child's chair





Until Next time...Happy Needling!!!

Father's Day Outing

I hope all the dads out there had a nice Father's Day, no matter how you celebrated.

Gene and I decided to take a ride on the motorcycle. We got lucky with mostly clear skies, warmer temps, and light traffic. Strange how the bike felt almost foreign after not riding for so long. And I noticed right away that I'm going to have to toughen up my buns. After only a few hours my backside was screaming at me. LOL.

I'm hoping that we get back into the 'swing of things' and start riding more often. Gene bought his bike new in 1985 and has over 190,000 miles on it. When we first met he was an avid (almost obsessed) rider. I even rode my own bike (1983 Sportster) for a while. [But that's a story for another time.]

When we got married we chose the month of July so that we could take a two week anniversary trip yearly. And up until we moved to Texas, we did. That might not mean much until you understand that in a typical two week bike trip we would cover about 4,000 miles. Our longest day on the bike was a 750 mile straight shot to get home (in the rain and cold). Yet, in the 5 years we were in Texas we rode less than 1,000 miles TOTAL! How sad is that????

Anyway, we had a wonderful time being back on curvy roads, surrounded by open space, fresh air, clear skies, and quiet (except for the bike, of course). The only thing that could have made the day more perfect is if Mathew had been with us, or if he had even called or acknowledged Gene in some way. Especially since Gene was practically his FULL TIME dad for 10+ years. Oh well......






Until Next time...Happy Needling!!!

Round Robins Done

This is my finished CQI Spider and Webs block. I'm so very pleased with the end results. The ladies who worked on it for me did a fantastic job. What magic they can work. I can't imagine it looking any better. Thank you so much Lauri, Janet, Lindy, Gerry K, and Marya.

Here is the before and after:





And while I'm glad to have these RR's wrapped up, I'm already missing something to work on. I might be forced to dig out one of my many WISPs. LOL. Or maybe get these last 2 blocks framed and on my studio wall. Now that's an idea!!!!!

Until Next time...Happy Needling!!!

Round Robins - Wrap Up

Finally, I'm getting around to posting photos of the round robin blocks I've been working on. And also the finished block that I've gotten back.

This is Cathy's Hearts II block. (You can see Cathy's whole block and more details at her blog.) I worked in a number of different areas on this block, just trying to fill in the blanks (which there weren't many). I added the SRE anemone and the purple roses, the hand-dyed Venice lace, beads, and ribbon, both lace flower motifs and beads, the pink metallic thread on the existing lace, the red and white SRE rose trail, the key charm and ribbon, the 2 button hearts, the bow lace and trim, and the seam treatment on top of it.


This is Janet's Spider and Webs block. I added a gold metallic web at the lower left hand side, a blue metallic web with spider on the lower right hand side. I also added the amber lace motif with bullions and beads. To the right of that I added the black butterfly and the vase as well as the flowers and beads in the vase. The last photo is Janet's block finished and on its way back home.




This is my finished block - and I LOVE IT! I can hardly believe how beautiful it is. I admit that I expected great work from the ladies in this RR but I am absolutely floored by this. I can't begin to thank them enough but I will give them credit here.

In addition to working individual corners: Karen (bottom left), Cathy (upper left), Carol (upper right), and Debbie (bottom right), they all contributed to working the center heart and managed to turn my once empty, naked, heart into a true treasure.








(naked block)



Until Next time...Happy Needling!!!

In the Kitchen

Even though we've gotten settled in (more or less) since our remodel, I haven't really spent too much time cooking. Oh, I prepare meals but I haven't really spent time cooking. Last night might have been my turning point, or at least a start at getting back to our much loved Sunday Dinners.

We start with the salad:
Red leaf lettuce (whole leaf), cantaloupe (cubed), mandarin oranges (canned/wedges), artichoke hearts (from jar with olive oil, thinly sliced), stuffed green olives (finely chopped), red onion (thinly sliced), assorted nuts (chopped)



Drizzle on the dressing:
Olive oil, spicy mustard, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, fresh garlic, sweet red and Ancho chili pepper spread (Harry & David), mandarin orange juice



Must have homemade biscuits:
Bisquick, 1% milk, baking powder, cheddar cheese, melted butter (2 coats - 1 top and bottom during baking and 1 after)



Now for the main course:
Long grain and wild rice (Rice-a-Roni), cilantro, onion (finely chopped), fresh garlic



Pork tenderloin with peppercorn marinade



And don't for the get wine:
We chose a wonderful Cabernet from McManis, a California vineyard



BON APPETIT!!!!!!

Until Next time...Happy Needling!!!

Home on the Front Range

Not that there has been a lot going on around here lately, but I thought I would share a few posts with you today.

Here is our neighborhood fox out sun bathing. We have seen him/her out more and more lately. Usually carrying a meal back to the family. There is a mating pair and three kits. I couldn't find my camera the other day while they were all out playing on the green. Too bad...the kits are so cute!

The golfers in the last photo patiently wait for the fox to move on before teeing off.



Yesterday we also got a peak at one of the baby doves in our pine tree. We worried that there might not be any babies this year because we kept seeing broken shells in the yard. As you can see, mom and dad are never far away.



I don't know if you watch the weather or not but we've been having some really nasty storms lately. Tornado warnings seem to be a daily occurrence. One actually touched down in Firestone, which is only about 10 miles from us. Pretty spooky!!!! And look at the weird stuff the clouds do.



Then it clears and we get this.



Today it's clear and sunny. We're on average with rain fall. The trees and bushes are blooming, and the roses are starting to open up. So for now, we'll be saying so long to the colder weather and hello to the 80's. But I have to be honest, since moving here in August, 2008, there really is no such thing as a bad had here - along the Front Range.


Until Next time...Happy Needling!!!