Tag Archives: nature

This Week

I got through my first (work) week with my daughter away at college. I am proud of myself, not doing too bad. The tears still come now and them, but not like they did on Monday. Thank you for your comments and support, you all help very much. I guess she hasn’t forgotten us because she wants to text and talk on the phone. ❤ Thank goodness for that, and thank goodness for technology!

I want to share with you these photos I took of the sunrise yesterday morning. Yes, I was up early… We ended up having a beautiful, but hot day.

august sunrise 027

august sunrise 031

Some days after my morning coffee I also need a cup of tea. That was the case yesterday. For my birthday I received three varieties of Teavana tea. This green tea is my favorite; it is called Jade Citrus Mint. The most prevalent flavor is the mint, but it is a soft mint, not like peppermint tea. I love peppermint tea too, but this is different, which is nice. (My daughter left her teapot home for me to use. 🙂 ❤ )

jade citrus mint tea 039

Now for dolly news, I am working on some apple themed outfits. I wanted to get two made for the Little Darlings so that they could dress in their outfits together.

As I was putting the macro lens on my camera I noticed my straight pins in the pincushion. I’ve used these pins forever and am extremely happy with them. They were sold by the Stretch & Sew company, so they probably have a tip made for knits. These pins won’t ruin fabric, are extra long, and won’t rust. Unfortunately, I don’t think they are being made any longer. I’ve probably had them for 20-25 years!

glass ball pins 987

Lucy’s ensemble was finished first (last week). Each of the girls has a little basket for their perfect little apple. The baskets were crocheted with hemp cord and they fit perfectly in their hands. I made the loops just the right size for their thumbs to fit through too. Here’s a macro lens shot of Lucy’s apple basket.

08-17-16 003

As you all probably know by now, I am a sucker for cute fabric, and this apple print was a must buy. I took the hint from the bits of pink blossoms in the print and added the pink pin dot border.

08-17-16 009

I finished knitting Alice’s golden yellow sweater in the car on the way to our daughter’s university on Saturday.

08-12-16 001

08-17-16 013

I took this photo Wednesday morning. By the end of the day Alice’s sweater was complete with its embroidery and buttons. Yesterday I put the finishing touches on Alice’s ensemble and got photos taken of both girls.

lucy alice 045

lucy alice 208

More on their individual outfits in the next two posts. I will most likely have both of these available on Sunday evening.

I hope you all have, or are having, a wonderful Friday. We had rain overnight; outside it is very cloudy, still, and humid. It is a most peaceful morning.

Bye for now!

Rainy Sunday Morning

10 Replies

Oh, it’s been months since we’ve had a good thunderstorm! When I woke this morning the sky was gray and I could see the approaching dark grey clouds moving in from the west. I checked the radar on Intellicast and saw the band of rain approaching. Yay! We need rain so badly! When you haven’t had rain for sooo long it is a novelty, so I grabbed my camera and went outside. My favorite time is right before the storm starts.

storm 208

storm 211

Look at how dry our yard is! We really need a good soaking.

lookin in 220

It looks cozy and warm in our kitchen . . . and in my studio. Do you see Gina all dressed up in “Calico Cutie”? My dolls usually get a day or so to wear the things that I make. Then they are naked again, and waiting for the next one.

looking in July 2016 215

As I’m writing this post I’m listening to the cozy sounds of rumbling in the sky and watching raindrops hitting the pool. (My studio overlooks the pool and deck.)

Here are some other things that are going on around here. My husband is in the process of power washing the deck. On the recommendation of our tree trimmer we got a heavy duty power washer to clean our VERY dirty deck. Look at the difference!

deck 218

Our pool is extremely old, so we don’t want to put a lot of work into the deck, but the power washing helped make the deck feel like new, well almost. My husband got quite a lot cleaned yesterday. I love it! My view from my studio is greatly improved.

deck 216

Yesterday morning I spotted this chipmunk right outside my studio window. In the 8 years we have lived here this is the first chipmunk that I have ever seen on our property. I assumed that they stayed away because of all of feral cats roaming around. Isn’t he/she cute!

chipmunk 197

Sorry, for the poor photo quality. I took these through the window and cropped them. The chipmunk was pretty close to the house though; I had the wrong lens on my camera. Can you tell I love the little critters?!

chipmunk 193

On Friday I was working on a crocheted beret for the Little Darlings. It looks cute on Alice, but I think it is a little small. I will use it for either Millie or Ann Estelle/Patsy. Another day I will crochet another one for the Little Darlings, but make it a little larger.

07-14-16 180

I ended up knitting Alice a beret in the same yarn that I used for the sweater; I like it much better. I hope to have that outfit to show you soon.

The sky is already brightening, and I see a bit of blue out west. Hope you have (having) a beautiful Sunday!

Bye for now!

Chicago Botanic Gardens, Last Day

8 Replies

This is the last installment of photos from our visit to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Unfortunately my photos only take our visit up to approximately the halfway point, sorry. My camera battery was starting to lose its charge (I need a second battery) and I wasn’t sure I was getting decent shots, so I put my camera down and just experienced the gardens in real time.

After we left the English Walled Garden we passed by a hillside planted with zinnias, black eyed Susan, and those lavender fluffy annuals you see at all of the garden centers in the spring. Sorry, I don’t know what they are, never paid attention to them. Maybe you know? This hillside is covered with daffodils and tulips in the spring!

hillside garden 021

hillside garden 020

hillside garden 025

zinnia 022

I love zinnias and black eyed Susan and have grown them before, have you? The zinnias growing on the hillside were all the red variety. The photo above shows another variety of lavender flower growing amongst the two stars. I cannot recall the name of this one either.

black eyed susan 023 At the end of this hillside garden, my daughter spotted a squirrel in a tree. The little guy drew us both over to it. We were careful as he didn’t seem too afraid of us. When I lifted my arm he thought I had a treat and started to come over to me, but he was still cautious. I didn’t let him get too close, and luckily had nothing to feed him.

squirrel 040

squirrel 035

At first, he seemed to be hiding behind a branch, but quickly came out to see if we had any treats.

squirrel 031

squirrel 044

We worked our way towards the Japanese Garden which is on three tiny islands with only the first two open to the public. An arched bridge carries you over to the first and largest island. This garden is flowerless and a place I never appreciated until a few years ago. It is very orderly and is supposed to be peaceful. I’ll bet that on a weekday you can get the full effect of this garden, but on the weekends with little ones running around, nope, didn’t happen.

japanese garden 0051

One of the highlights of this garden are the two structures that are connected by a neatly raked sand garden and well placed rocks. At one end is a hut with built in table/chairs. At the other end is a little look out structure. In the spring this space is filled with cherry blossoms!

japanese garden 059