It's early...I know. I've been purchasing a few too many pumpkin heads lately. I see others around the web are also pushing for fall. It won't be turning cooler here for a long while...at least I can pretend inside my house. Thinking of the people in Tennessee who are hurting...such devastation and lost. It's heartbreaking. Enjoy the day, Robyn

Here we go...again

Yesterday I posted for the first time in over a year. I am using my new Mac. It is still unfamiliar to me and I am learning as I go. The published post did not look like the draft. It was one big mess so I deleted it. I'm trying again.

Like so many of you I have been doing a lot of stitching. This is Potter Hill by The Goode Huswif. It's an oldie and is so sweet and fun. I have the perfect place for it. It will ship out to Virginia for framing very soon.

This little buggy was my anniversary gift this year. Thirty nine years! Can't wait to fill it with tiny pumpkins! Annie turned thirty five the day after our anniversary. As always, her requested gift was "paper". Drawing paper, markers, stickers...these are the things that have fueled her creatvity and kept us going these many months. Annie and I were jabbed several weeks after Mr.MW. Annie was very worried about it. We prepared her the best we could and she rolled up her sleeve like a trooper...but not before she looked the pharmacist in the eye and told him, "I'm a screamer". Of course, she did not scream but Mr.MW and I got a good laugh out of it. We are still staying close to home. Florida is a big mess right now and getting worse every day. Mr.MW still does the grocery shopping once a week and I have Whole Foods deliver once each week. I am grateful for these services as it cuts down on exposure. After getting jabbed I made it to The Fresh Market twice and to the Dollar store once. On the trips to Fresh Market I filled the cart with plants and flowers and candles. It was all about a liberated splurge on fun stuff. Now, we are back to laying low. I don't know what people who don't pull some sort of needle or hook do to keep sane!

My sweet fellow still brings me flowers from Publix every week. I dried the roses and they were so pretty, but finally had to toss them because of dust. I hope you are all well...and sane. I'll leave this post up even though it is still squirrely.

Enjoy the day, Robyn

R.I.P. Mac

Hello, friends. Hope you are all well...and sane. 

My old Mac died. Mr. MW is gracious enough to share his laptop when he doesn't need it for work. I'm limited on visits and commenting. I don't have a phone...I know, I'm a dinosaur. I just don't need a phone. Anyone who wants to reach me goes through my email. 

I can't get to my photos. I was able to get some old ones from somewhere...out there in the ether.

Annie and I have been at home...and only home...since March 14th. We are keeping ourselves entertained and are making plans for our Halloween window. First, we have Annie's birthday celebration coming up in a little over a week. We are looking forward to the holidays. Thank goodness for Amazon and other on-line shops.

We finished up out sixteenth and final year on The Florida Bar Board of Governors. It's been an adjustment on top of everything else. Annie and I enjoyed all those lovely hotels and new places...plus a trip out of state every year. Every six weeks we were off to somewhere. Mostly, we miss our Bar family. Annie told me she is "devastated" not seeing all her pals. But, life goes on and she is a trooper.

Mr. MW does the shopping and is so proud of himself when he remembers something I forgot to put on the list. He loves to score a bargain and was giddy when he came home with four baskets of blueberries for $10. So funny. In a noble effort to keep me sane, he brings me roses every week. I've been drying them as they die and the rack above my sink, where they hang on ribbons, looks like an old Victorian postcard.

We have our first hurricane of the season approaching. Looks like it is turning and we are very grateful for that. Fingers crossed.

Hope to have a new computer soon. Our local Apple store has been closed for a very long time. It's not the computer that is the problem. I can get one on line, no problem...or even Best Buy. It's the setting it up and transferring everything from the old one. I will not go out...even with mask...so no one on one class like I had when I bought my last one. In the scheme of things...a minor inconvenience. It will eventually get resolved. 

To put things into perspective in difficult times, my mind always goes to Anne Frank and her diary. I've read and reread that book many times.When I was twelve, and read it for the first time, it made an impact on me that has stayed with me all these many years since. At the tender age of thirteen her world stopped and she became a captive of 

horrific circumstances. And yet, her life was so full of purpose. She left us a blueprint for making the best of a bad situation. May her memory be a blessing.

Have a good weekend! Stay well.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Another day...just like the last one

Hello friends...hope you are all well. We've added a rainbow, a polka dotted tree and a flag to our neighborhood mural. It's had it's picture taken by more than a few people passing by.

 Last Saturday we all stood at this window and watched the best parade. The little guy across the street turned three and was celebrated by our local fire department. His dad is the kind fellow who took Mr.MW to the E.R. and is a Fire Department lieutenant. Firetrucks with horns honking and lights flashing made several loops around the block...lots of big guys waving and hollering greetings to this sweet little boy. Lots of cars filled with friends...and kids were part of the parade as well. We smiled all day. It was grand!!! 

We're still working on puzzles. Our dining room table is "puzzle central". This beauty is next up...lovely feather with a bit of gold foil. I've ordered a special edition of Where the Wild Things Are from Amazon.  It comes out this month. It's a surprise for Annie...she loves Max. We have a Max doll my late mother in law bought for her when she was little. He travels with us and sits in console of the car to help navigate...an honored member of the family.

So...I'm looking for my new cross stitch project. Have you stitchers seen this Project Quarantine? 

 It's in my current pile.

I'm itching to get stitching since I finished His Eye is on the Sparrow.

I need to add my initials and date in the vine cartouche at the top. Haven't decided what I want exactly. 

I finished this last week and every day since I miss working on it. 

Next...

Beth Twist of Heartstring Samplery has created a companion piece...Consider the Lilies. It is the same size as HEIOTS but the colors are more pastel. The focus is on flowers where the majority of motifs in HEIOTS are animals. At this point, all I have is the pattern. Everything is on back order because of the virus. Hoping to see the linen and needed thread arrive sometime in June. 

So...

 I have a decision to make. Since my last project was so large, I think I might enjoy George & Martha...it's nice and small.

Cross stitching has become my favorite go to stress reliever. It's easier for me to pick up on the fly and makes less of a mess in my house than rug hooking. These days my furniture is covered by plain old dust rather than wool dust!

I hope you all are keeping busy during this trying time. I have to admit it makes me smile when I hear parents home with their kids, trying to help them keep up with their school work. They have gained a little insight into what teachers experience. And they only have a few kids! That saying, about those who can't...teach...maybe after this it will be stricken from the lexicon once and for all! Good riddance. 

My one and only student is getting very tired of staying home. She asks me every day can she go to Michael's when this is all over...she needs stickers.

Take care out there...stay well.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Hello, again...how are you?

Hello, friends...keeping busy?

Annie and I have been decorating our front window. Using construction paper and glue sticks, we have created a cheerful mural.

Still a work in progress, we add a little something new every day. We've titled it "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood". We have the best neighbors...more on that in a bit.

We can finish a five hundred piece puzzle in a little over twenty four hours. Luckily, I ordered several from Barnes and Noble after Amazon ran out. It's one of those things that there has been a run on. Also hard to find good construction paper and you can forget about sidewalk chalk. Because Annie is a paper hound, we always have plenty of art supplies.

Next up...courtesy of the Easter Bunny.

Making progress on HEIOTS. Sorry for the dull pic...it's a cloudy day here. Someone asked me the size of this beauty...24.5 by 36 inches. It's a biggie.

Tree was not that bad once I got my rhythm. It has been a wonderful, soothing escape to work on this lovely piece.

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These are a few of the things we have been doing to fill the days. The smallest and most unexpected thing that has filled our days...and nights...has been a small calcium deposit my husband had the misfortune to develop in his kidney...a kidney stone. 

It was a harrowing experience for all of us, especially him! Two weeks ago it began with my poor fellow writhing in pain and a trip to the E.R...the last place you want to go during a pandemic. Fortunately, we have the best neighbors. Across the street our Fire Department Lieutenant, who is also a paramedic, monitored him all day and finally slapped a N95 mask on his face and took him to the E.R. Lots of tests, imaging, prescriptions...and lots more pain...a few days working from home and this week we seemed to be in a better place. Our neighbor next door is a physician's assistant and checks in, too. It surely is, "A beautiful day in our neighborhood."

We all had little sleep the first week, but are beginning to settle down now. I've been eating my weight in baked potatoes smothered in butter...sometimes with sour cream. My drug of choice.

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My heart aches for all the souls this virus has claimed...their families and friends and loved ones are in my thoughts. Looking toward a brighter day... always hopeful for an end to the suffering.

I cannot say enough about the admiration I have for first responders...like my neighbors, they are in the trenches every day. And also for the grocery stores and the delivery services that we have depended on for the last few weeks. Annie and I are both immune compromised so we have not been out in several weeks. With my husband out of commission, we are most grateful for home delivery from Publix, Whole Foods and Sprouts. Keep those potatoes coming!

Hope you are all well and keeping busy.

Enjoy the day...

it's beautiful,

Robyn

P.S. Hope to get around to all the blogs I've missed with all the happenings here.

Hello!

Good morning! Hope everyone is staying home and staying healthy. What a challenging and scary time!

We are suppose to be here this week. We had reservations to spend the entire week at the beautiful Williamsburg Inn and take in all the sites of this American treasure. Instead, we worked a thirty six inch puzzle of fifers and drummers on the green. Some day...

The disappointment of scuttled plans pales in comparison to the anxiety and fear I have felt these past days. Keeping my family healthy is my top priority. I'm sure we all share this ultimate goal.

Explaining all this to Annie is a full time job. She is always full of questions, but these days there is an anxious edge to them. 

We have been doing puzzles and watching movies. Reading and coloring are also diversions. 

And I have been stitching on HEIOTS.

Pulling needle through linen is the best way for me to settle my frayed nerves. Unless, it involves this bloody tree. It is huge and menacing, and has forced me to stray from the program and stitch a motif or two just to get away from it for awhile. (Marly...Samplers and Santas...a fellow tree struggler, you are not alone.) Starting today, I'm forcing myself to work only on this tree till it is done. My personal mantra..."I can do hard things."

My freeform daffodils make me smile!

My thoughts are with those who are suffering...from illness, uncertainty, lost wages...from the sheer desperation these days bring. The unknown is a terrifying place. 

Take good care, my friends...and wash your hands.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Early morning views...

The sun coming through our front window cast some lovely shadows this morning. 

I continue to stitch a bit here and there on HEIOTS. Some days I feel like I'm getting somewhere...other days, not so much.

  

Most importantly, I still enjoy stitching on this huge piece. I always feel better when a motif appears where there was plain linen the day before.  

This long legged fellow dropped by to greet the day with us. 

It's not unusual to see these guys walking around the neighborhood.  They move so slowly, but can take flight in an instant if need be.

The morning sun rays hit a favorite photo of mine. My girl giving her Ted a kiss. That little pucker gets me every time! I had this photo cut as a silhouette when a well known silhouette artist was in our area years ago. Where does the time go?

And speaking of silhouettes, this gent looks toward a new day.

Hope all is well.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn