LOTS Going On!

Redone front porch with one of my Mother's Day plants

Boy, have the past couple of months been busy!

Sarah's plant to me

I ended up not stitching at all during the month of May. We were working on home improvements at that time. Jack completely rebuilt the front porch with help from Chance. It greatly improved the look of the house. Jack also put new linoleum in the bathroom and replaced the toilet. We discovered that there was a leak underneath the toilet that was rotting the floor beneath, and Jack had to replace a portion of the base of the bathroom floor. We were also doing a great deal of yard work at that time. Jack and Rachel got me matching hanging plants for the front porch for Mother's Day. Sarah also got me a plant. I originally put her plant in the kitchen window, but it struggled there, so I moved it out to the ramp, outside the backdoor and now it is doing GREAT! It has gained alot of height. It lost its light purple flowers, when it was in the kitchen window, but I know it'll bloom again. :)

As May ended, so did school. Rachel finished her first year of high school and was looking forward to summer. Softball season started. Games two to three times a week, depending on the week. Rachel's team went undefeated during the regular season, which ended last week. Most of their games were won by a very decisive margin. They are in tournament now. They won the first game of Tournament 0-16 and the second game they won 7-8. The championship game is Saturday morning @ 10:00. The Tournament is what they call "double elimination", so Rachel's team, Jorgenson Electric, would have to be defeated twice on Saturday to be in second place, but honestly, I cannot see that happening!

Rachel in some of her gear

Rachel has also become a cadet with a local fire department. She is very enthusiastic about this. She feels like she wants to be a paramedic or fire fighter as an adult. She plans, after high school to go into the Coast Guard, to learn even more about helping others. In June she attended something at the University called, Illinois Fire Safety Institute,(AKA, IFSI) to learn how to handle certain types of fires and situations. She was gone for four days. It is evidently one of the best training situations in the United States.

Jack also finished remodeling the seats of the boat. He and I actually did the sewing together. He was using his machine and I was using mine. the bench seat I showed you a couple posts back is 48" wide. The two seats we sewed in June we put on swivels, so they can completely turn around so if you want to fish from a different direction or one person watches the person on the skiis or tubing, so if they lose their grip, the boat can/will stop and pick them up. We finished everything on the boat just in time to watch the Fourth of July celebration on Lake Vermilion, called, 'Thunder on the Lake". It is the fireworks show of all fireworks shows!! Absolutely gorgeous!!

Diaper Cake at the Shower

Sarah's baby shower was this past Sunday. The group was smaller than we
expected, but it was still alot of fun. We each created a saying on a white onesie. The one I made said, " I (heart) Mimi sew much! I put a couple of x's and drew a picture of a needle and thread. Jack made one with black

Yummy Cake

lines to make it look like a prisoner jumpsuit and put the phrase, "I just did nine months on the inside". These boots on the cake are real, and trust me, Dahlia will be wearing them!

 Sarah had her final ultra sound this week and one of they things they determined was a guestimate of her (Dahlia's) weight. They believe at the time of the ultrasound she was 6lb 1 oz. Sarah isn't due until August 10, so she will probably be somewhere in the seven pound range when she finally makes her appearance.

A couple weeks ago Sarah stopped taking care of her in-home care client until after the baby is born. She is still working her other job, but has cut way back on her hours.  She tires quickly now, which is understandable. After Dahlia is born, and a few weeks old, she plans on trying to get on with someone using her CNA skills. She passed the State test for that after she found out she was pregnant. Needless to say, I am very proud of both of my girls! :) 

Completed Rose Bowl

I did start cross stitching again in early June and finished "Rose Bowl" a few days ago. I did take pictures of my progress as I went, but didn't have time to update my blog. Stitching is so calming to me. I think I'd rather do cross stitching than anything else I can think of!

Someone on one of my Facebook groups posted a picture of a shirt that is for sale. I WANT IT!!! It says,"I cross stitch so I don't choke people". Choke people is in bold letters as is cross stitch.

Baby Announcement

The day after I finished "Rose Bowl", I started Dahlia's birth announcement. I think it will be a quick stitch for me. It is a kit called, "Balloon Ride". It has three animals in a basket that has a 'ribbon' for the name of the child and three balloons attached to the basket.  I already have two of the three animals stitched. Since Sarah is so into horses, I wanted to stitch a birth announcement with a rocking horse or the like, but couldn't find one. This picture is a 5x7. Sarah loves it. That's the important thing!

McGlasson Wedding

I also sent the framed wedding announcement to my sister, since she was attending the wedding. She took a picture of the project, but you cannot see the frame. I am hoping for a picture of what it looks like in the frame.

I am very jazzed!!  I have been members of a group on yahoo for several years. The owner of the group has a stitching retreat at the end of May, beginning of June every year. I will be attending next year!

Well, I believe that gets you all caught up on my life the past couple of months. Please take care and have a wonderful day!