Embroidery!

3rd DS has gotten engaged and there was a bridal shower for his fiancé last Saturday. 

The shower was planned quickly since the hostess was her sister who is due to deliver her second baby any day now.  And so I had a couple weeks to do some quick embroidery.

This is the last of the towels....the one that didn't get to go to MN for the shower cuz I didn't get it done in time. 

It was fun to do.  I hadn't embroidered for such a long time.  I have an extra towel left over....I might just do that one for myself!

Goodbye, Claus

It's a sad day at our house today. Claus was getting thinner and thinner even before we moved.  He had almost stopped eating.  There were numerous tests. One was even sent to Texas A&M.  But there wasn't anything physically wrong.  Just his emotional/mental issues come back to play havoc in his life.

Claus' story can be found here.  Claus was a sweet natured cat.  Meek.  Gentle.  Fun loving.  He loved to watch bird videos on YouTube.  Last winter, he used to sit on my lap in the evenings and I'd play a video or 2 on my laptop for him. 

But his emotional demons came back to haunt him. What caused that to happen? I have no idea. The move to the new house made the situation worse.  He rarely ate and was living under the bed.  Teddy even disconnected from him in the last days.  The vet said animals can emit an odor to keep other animals from being near them.

He was unhappy and so very thin.  And he was peeing on the floor again.

I agonized over what to do.  I got the opinions of my family and DH. In the end, I made the appointment.  I got him in first thing this morning. 

If there is a kitty heaven, I hope he is happier there than he was here in this life. 

Maybe he is watching bird videos on YouTube....  I hope so.

Moving time is close at hand.

The house is very close to being finished.

 

Both inside and outside.

There is a lot of landscaping yet to do but that can be done while we live there.

And so we are moving on the 15th!  I'm not going to be posting or reading or commenting anywhere until probably quite awhile after that date.  I'll catch you later! 

Bees 'n Lilacs

It took longer than usual but the lilacs are finally blooming.  

Things are a little different this year though.  

In years gone by there have been butterflies, butterflies, butterflies.  But this year I have only seen two.

But!  There are bees!!  Just look at this.  And listen to this.  That is not a lawnmower or a chainsaw in the background but the bees buzzing away.

 

  

Isn't that amazing?

Saturday Sky and a couple other things...

I loved Sandy's Saturday Sky but I don't think to do it often enough.  And today is an especially uninteresting sky.  But I'm still going to show you what we have going on for the next several days.

Grey and rain.

The start of this farming season is horrid.  There was snow everywhere still in early May and now that the snow is gone and the fields are just starting to get ready to plant...this happens.  Uff.

We are SO late.  But the farmers are holding it together.  And we desperately need the rain.  It was so dry last year.  If only it had held off for a few weeks and given everyone a chance...  /sigh

On a brighter note...well, maybe...I'll let you be the judge of that...

It's CMMDI Mega May.  I didn't think I'd have time, patience or the right attitude for knitting but as it turns out I really need that time in the evenings.

But to find the pattern to go with this yarn, (Malabrigo Lace), turned into a "Mega May Effort".

This is the list of patterns I have tried.

1. My Heaven Shawl
2. Rock Island
3. Flower Basket Shawl
4. Dragon's Blood

And the pattern that the yarn finally said "Ok, this is the one." is Citron.  It's the only one that has Malabrigo Lace as the suggested yarn.  Duh.  I should have looked for that first.

 

 

It's looking pretty good and is just what is needed.  Simple knitting with a little counting thrown in for good measure.  The hardest parts are the M1s and that is because of the slippery needles.

 

News about the house building is good.  The siding is going up and is looking good.  The hardwood floor is beautiful with the 1st coat of finish.  The woodwork is mostly up everywhere. 

 

The only thing that made me freak out was the sticker shock from the price of cabinet pulls.  But I pulled myself together, got my p**p in a group, my ducks in a row, my head on straight and lived with it.

 

Have a great weekend! 

 

 

More house pictures

A lot is happening now at the house.  And even since these pictures were taken there has been more.  It is fun, exciting and a little nerve wracking to see all the decisions coming to life.

Fireplace and built in bookcase/entertainment center.  It's made with cherry wood.  This is the Great Room.  The open space under the far left cabinet is where my piano will sit. 

We just love the fireplace.  The stone mason did an unbelievable job.

The kitchen is on the opposite end of the same room as the Great Room.  The back entry is through the door slightly hidden by the cabinets on the mid-right.

Cabinets are also cherry.

This is DH's office.  It currently is being used as a lunch room by the contractor.  The wood is Western Red Cedar. 

Another built in bookcase/entertainment center.  This one is in the den.

The painter has set up shop in the master bedroom for staining and varnishing all the woodwork. 

I love all the windows.  They are facing north which some seem to think is wrong but this way we have a view to the wide open spaces behind the house...

This area is the dinette/kitchen table.  The door goes into the pantry.

Dining Room.  It is storage for bathroom and laundry room cabinetry right now.

Stairs to the basement.

Hardwood floor.  The 1st two coats of finish will be put on it in a week to ten days.  They keep telling us that the appearance will really pop when that is done.

I'll be doing more pictures again soon.  It should be interesting to look back in a few years and see all the info recorded here...

Yup. They said it would happen today.

It's snowing.