Stucco Started!

After many false starts..........the stucco finish is going on!

It is just what we hoped it would look like!

Tomorrow, we are heading to Georgia to visit Bruce and Marsel and the grandkids for a week. I will be blogging from there. The guys are going to keep working on the house while we are gone-we will be coming home to a finished exterior on the house; even arches on the front veranda!

( The expectation and excitement of seeing the house will soften the pain of saying goodbyes!)

A Night on the Town

Bill and I went to an evening, outdoor wedding in St Augustine tonight. (I did mention a sunburn in the last post!)

I wove a bag to go with my outfit-I used the pretty greens that I have been given! And I wore the olive green, alpaca Pi shawl.

In fact, I wove quite a few bags ........ to the sewing room tomorrow and give them their shape!

There is a Monday flea market that is opening soon and I am going to look into a booth to sell these..........will keep you posted.

Playing Hookey!

Caleb came for a visit and we decided to try out those garage sale water skis he bought last month! It was a perfect day for being on the water; 95 degrees, little breeze and low humidity.

The clouds rolled by but didn't threaten any storms. (No , the stucco contractor didn't come today either, he , too, decided to play hookey as he has gotten used to not working.......grrrrr!)

Caleb last used water skis when he was at Bible camp 8 yrs ago. I'd say he did really well-up the first time! Now he did quite a few falls , too, but it comes with the territory and I predict many sore muscles when he wakes up tomorrow!

After an hour, he got pretty fancy and took a spectacular fall on the St Johns to prove it!

We docked the boat for lunch at our favorite restaurant, Corky Bells.

The greater Egrets were all along the shorelines, treetops and islands today. So graceful.

The shoreline is so green and all the Cypress trees are leafed out after their bare winter garb. We rested on the ride home down the St Johns and Dunn's Creek and then Caleb skied on Crescent Lake before calling it a day. (We do not entertain the idea of skiing on Dunn's Creek because it is alligator alley! And yes, there are gators in Crescent Lake but they do not swim in the middle during the day....so the locals say!) The new trailer guides Bill bought sure made loading the boat back on the trailer a breeze! (See first photo) Great idea, Bill!

Sun-kissed and fresh-air-tired, we are calling it a good day.

(PS-I got my spinning time in this morning.........and now there are 300 yards of Suffolk yarn; waiting for the dye pot!)

Catching Up with Projects

I have been rather eclectic in my interests this week. I pulled a bunch of tee shirts out of the toss pile (stains, rips or old) and cut them into strips to use for a rag rugs. My grandmother used to cut strips like this and then crochet them into oval rugs which she then gave to for each of her grandchildren. I think she would have appreciated what I am going to do with these, too. Bill took this picture of me because he said I looked so peaceful and I never have pictures of me on the blog........I told him I was peaceful until he took the picture.
I am still spinning for the Tour de Fleece but the wool has been white so it is boring to post pics. I am also spinning my handprepared Florida Suffolk fleece and it is natural colored and so not too exciting to see either but I am making my allotted time each day. So far I have 1200 yds of the superwash that will become a woven lace shawl. (see the latest Handwoven magazine and you will know what I am planning.)
I finished the teal/brown overshot weaving. I will tackle sewing it into a few coin purses tomorrow! (I ended up weaving a yard of 8" fabric)
I warped up the loom so I can weave some more plastic bag totes! I saw this idea on one of the blogs I read but can't remember which one so if it was your idea, claim the fame in the comments! I sat on the exercise ball to warp all the heddles, I was able to pivot comfortably and it was just the right height for perfect vision! I did laugh-if you know me , you know I am allergic to 'exercise' and so to find a pleasurable use for this ball is indeed funny!

I have woven two so far today. It is so satisfying to see them roll off the assembly line! I have accumulated quite a palette of 'fiber' for weaving.

Bill has been mowing each morning this week; first our place, then the Lake Como house and then today at church. It has rained each afternoon and so the stucco work has been put on hold until it is dry-it is hard to be patient.......

Great Day!

If your day was only half as excellent as mine, yours would have been perfect!

I was prepared to rip all the threads off the loom because I just couldn't get those warp threads untangled but this morning I gave it one last shot and------------SUCCESS! I am so glad for my patience this one more time. It is an utter delight to weave this. Both feet work different sets of shuttles, both hands have to handle shuttles without tangling, the mind has to keep the treadling song straight and well, it happens. Beautifully! (This is the 30wt thread project to make fabric.)

I was so happy after weaving, I hit the mending trail and conquered that pile. Did laundry and then did some fun sewing/quilting. It has been a long time since I have done piecing and the little crutch pocket only teased that urge awake again.

So I cut up the scraps from a quilt I made and keep on my couch and finally made the pillows to go with it.

I pieced and then quilted them and then got out the serger and put the pillows together. I have them on the couch and it looks good!

Soffets are blooming all around my house! So are the storms but hoping to get that stucco color on soon!

Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mom!

My parents enjoyed a celebration of their 56th wedding anniversary today! We love you.

Shamed to Admit It......

But I saw this bag of plastic bags on the way out of WalMart in their recycling pile and I wanted them; too embarassed to walk over and look through the pile, Bill did it for me! Now that is love.

I sorted through the pile and took out the ones I wanted.

And organized them, and the rest go back to the store. Until next time............