Lots of chatter - and pictures (non stitching) (life happens - no stitch pic)!

So this is going to have lots of photos, so now you're forewarned ... and not much stitching going on here as of late :-(

but lots of other stuff happening - hence, the lack of needle to thread!

Earlier this year when I really started searching for the flower frogs, my DH told some of his co-workers about them (co-workers who go to flea markets regularly) and look what one of them found - for fifty cents! Can you believe it? So now I have two..

But wait!

In the meantime, I had been looking at them on eBay too - most were very pricey, especially when you added the shipping. Then I found a grouping of flower frogs - that with shipping worked out to just about $2.75 each...so I did something I have never done, something new and kind of uncomfortable at first...and this is what I bought.

I have sold things on eBay, but never bought. It seemed like it took forever. She put in the posting that she worked a full-time job and would not ship until the end of the week. I won the bid on a Tuesday - so it was a few days before they even shipped. But when I received them - WOW, they are all in great condition. The oval one will be harder to find a base for, but the rest are pretty nice size. The smallest one is 2.75 inches and the largest a little over 6 inches - so now I have enough that I can share. I'm thinking maybe for auction or donation prize at my guild, one for a friend or two for their scissors and then maybe a giveaway (is there one in my future)???

On the stitching front, I have been basting a long, long piece of linen for a friendship sampler I will be starting in September - that's been it - boring, no picture! I can't wait to start it though - it's with the group of gals I get together with as often as possible...(I will miss you all on Monday - more on that later). I have my fibers, I have my band kind of planned, I am basting and I hate doing that! But on to better things soon!

Last weekend my baby (my only) turned 17. I can't believe he's almost a legal adult. Where did the time go? Sometimes I am glad to be this far; if you asked me 10 years ago, I wasn't so sure we'd both make it here, sane. He has a cousin who has a birthday about a week earlier and we had a boat/pizza party. The boys decided to have a pizza party in the water - here's a shot of that - what a hoot!

Happy birthday boys! Especially to my DS, Jordan. I love you and am proud of the young man you're becoming.

He asked if I would post about his passion - fish and reptiles - so here are his tanks (excuse the glare, the drip marks, etc.)

This is the big one - over 50 gallons - and tons of really cool fish - some just had babies and they are fun to watch.

This pic is of the proud parents. Now don't get me wrong, he drives me nuts sometimes with the fish changes because some don't get along, the algae, the broken filters, and on and on...but they are his passion and he works hard to maintain them and plan out the plants, rocks, sand, etc.

They are fun to watch too - some of them have been fascinating, others not so much. The bad glare is of the 10 gallon tank - DS took this over when my dad died a few years ago. This tank was the precursor to the large one!

Shell dwellers live here in the small tank - they move the sand all around to suit their needs - it's actually kind of cool as they move all of the sand and shells around, which sometimes I think makes DS crazy as it doesn't stay as he designs. The fish is on the far left of the photo - the others were hiding, I guess.

Then there is LG; that would be Leopard Gecko. I know, original name, but it fit ;0} and it stuck. He's 5 years old and was only about 1.5 inches long when he came to live with us. He's now about 7 or 8 inches long. He's cool! He sheds frequently and that is very interesting to watch. He goes from very opaque to beautiful spots and coloring!

So I guess I am justified in feeling like I live in a zoo some of the time!

So why am I not stitching with my pals this Monday - have to go to registration with DS for his senior year. He has some scheduling issue that I know are going to be hard for him to take care of without an adult present - they won't argue with me - and he won't argue with them! I have the whole day off, but may go in to work in the afternoon if we're done early and save my vacation time. Final registration - whew!

I have saved one more thing to tell you about and include a pic... I WON A GIVEAWAY - thanks Susan for this pattern - very cute.

I also won a giveaway on Susan's blog and am
not sure yet if I will attempt the wool pillow and the cross stitch - or just the cross stitch. I have not done anything like this wool applique but I know that if I take it step-by-step, I will figure it out. I have never purchased wool like this before, I am sure my local fabric stores will help me out. I think the pillow would look great with my other seasonal pillows in my family room (see in several previous postings). What do you think?

Well later today (as it's after midnight and I've had issues tonight posting) hopefully I will get some stitching in (besides basting) and hopefully maybe even a little sewing. I have to go to the funeral home in the afternoon...the grandma of a friend of mine died this week, she was in her 90s and such a sweet lady. She will be missed!

Have a good week. Hope you put needle to thread, whether with a machine or simply with your hands, enjoy!

Sherry