Jun 20, 2011

Marvelous Monday Update 6/20/11


I hope everyone honored the Dad's in their life yesterday. I went to see my Dad and take him a little gift. I got him a gift card to Menards and this...


Much to my surprise, he liked the book and duct tape more than the GC. He told my Mom to leave his duct tape alone. My Mom sheepishly smiled and admitted she "stole" his duct tape for something and then hid the roll of tape! lol


IN THE NEWS
My city had quite the commotion going on last week, starting at 6am Monday morning. A building built in the 1800's collapsed out onto one of the main throughfares. It was also located right across from the courthouse.


The streets surrounding that block were closed off all last week. The fire dept said there was danger of the north wall collapsing from the adjacent building (the building on the left side). If you look at the top of the photos, you can see where the wall was separating from the building.

Luckily no one was in the building and no one got hurt. There were people coming to downtown just to "site see", lol.


SCHOOL
Hard to believe it's midterm week already! So far grades are only in through Week 2... I'm holding onto 97%. I'm happy with that. :) The instructor did say that the midterm and final were going to be harder than the quizzes. Geesh, I thought the quizzes were challenging.


GARDENING
The plants and flowers are love-love-loving the rain and temps. The cucumbers, watermelon, and sunflowers are now about 4" above the ground. The herbs and spinach haven't come up yet so I'm thinking maybe the rain washed the seeds away? They were pretty tiny.

Here's a few more pics of my pretties:

Sun Drops

Hens & Chicks

Double-Knockout Roses

Coral Bells

Sedum


With these, you just stick the leaves in dirt and they'll grow. The wind blows them all over my yard. I even pick them out of the cracks in my driveway!


A VISITOR
If you haven't noticed, I love wildlife and nature. I looked out the back window of my four-season room and look who came to visit! I watched him hop all over the yard eating bugs before hopping up on my swing and then fly away.

Sorry the photos are hazy. I took them through the screened window.


STITCHY STUFF
Last week, I focused on the mailart piece. I've got one of the motifs done on the front... can't show pics, though. (I know, I know... you're sick tired of hearing that)

I was invited to join another mailart group, and in looking at their albums I've gotten a few ideas on how I want to finish my latest mailart piece. I am so excited to see how it turns out!

For anyone interested in some history of mailart, go HERE.

I did a tiny bit of stitching on Blossom (couldn't resist it). Here's what she looks like after a couple hours of stitching.


DIY
I started a new "project" over the weekend. I should have it finished by the end of this week. Are you curious? Do inquiring minds want to know? Want to see a preview? Of course you do!



Until next time,

34 comments:

Bette said...

Blossum is very lovely and your flowers are gorgeous!

Emily in NC said...

Blossom is looking very nice and the pictures of the bird came out great, what kind of camera do you have.. It is hard to get pictures of small creatures like that.

Jennifer's life and goings on said...

Blossom is turning out very nicely. I love coming to read your blog. I always learn something new from reading the links on the right side. I have been stitching for 21 years and I am still learning lol.

Kay said...

Your plants look beautiful! Glad to hear about your father having a good father's day. Your stitching looks great!

Anonymous said...

Hi Meari!

So glad no one was hurt when that building collapsed. And yes it sure looks like the other building will lose it's wall when they begin cleanup. And if it doesn't fall on it's own they will probably have to take it down so it doesn't do it when people might get hurt.

You're plants look so pretty! As does the cardinal. We have several here that I just love seeing.

Good luck with your schooling!

PattyS

Julie M said...

Hi Meari!

Sure hope no one was injured when the building collapsed!

Your flowers are beautiful, love the sundrops, so bright and sunny looking.

Blossom is coming along nicely in spite of you ignoring her for the most part!

Continued good luck in school!

Julie

Shelley said...

The Sedum is a beautiful ground cover. Wonder if even I could get it to stay alive, lol!!

Wow! That building really did crumble. Hopefully the other building doesn't callapse too...

God luck on your midterms.

Your making a hanger for your afghan. I can't wait to see how it turns out. You are so handy-dandy!!

Sunshine said...

Midterm already, Wow how time flies. You'll be finished with school b-4 you know it. Love the flower pics. I look forward to seeing your mailart piece.

Anonymous said...

Meari,

The whole duct tape thing is too funny!

Look at that building glad no one was inside or around it.

All of your gardening looks great!

Good luck with your studies. I know you will do just fine.

What a beautiful cardinal. I love nature. I don't take great pictures. There are some amazing birds here in the desert I would love to capture.

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Gabi said...

LOVE that duct tape. How funny is that.
The cardinal is gorgeous. I would love it to see one in person. We don't have them here.
Hope your study is going easy on you. Love your stitching, and gosh..that building looks amazing. Thank god no one got harmed.

chrisstitches said...

Love following your stitching & other tidbits of life. We are getting the rain too.
chris b

Anonymous said...

I loved your gift to you dad. I would appreciate that too. That building collapsing is amazing. I wonder what that means for the buildings on either side of it. Your yard looks beautiful. Blossom is divine. I love your signature at the end of today's blog.

Tina

Anonymous said...

Your flowers are gorgeous. Good luck on the mid-term test. I am pretty sure you'll do great on it. Wow, it's a good thing no one was near when that building fell. Are the others on both sides still in use? Was that building still in use?
Blossom looks great. I am curious to know what your next homestead project is. Looking forward to seeing it when it is completed.
Betty in AZ (ILCS)

EvalinaMaria said...

Meari, all looks awesome! We do not have cardinals here so, of course, I am very jealous! I absolutely love them!

Akila said...

The blooms look so beautiful, especially the Sedum.
Dying to see your mailart and the DIY.
Thanks for the history of mailart. Lovely reading :)

Mouse said...

Heheheh I like your dad ... there is two things you should have in your tool box and duct tape is one of them ... building looks a wee bit poorly there .. glad to hear no one was hurt ... love your flowers and your wee little bird and your stitching is coming along lovely :) take care love mouse xxxx

Nikki D said...

Meari,
Your plants look absolutely stunning!!!

Vicky said...

I love the cardinal, they are one of my favourite birds, I just wish we had them in Australia :)

Anonymous said...

Happy to hear your Dad like the book and duck tape. Glad no one got hurt when the building collapsed. Your picture is coming along very nice. I saw a cardinal in my tree and by the time I got to the window it flew away.

Marl

GoldenAngelsWorks said...

LOL about the duct tape.

There is a show dedicated to man and his duct tape. I am not sure if you have seen it so here you go....

http://www.redgreen.com/

Sue said...

Wow, Meari! That was quite a collapse! Luckily, no one was hurt.

Your flowers and bird photos are beautiful. We had a cardinal sitting on the rail yesterday at Sherri's house eating a grub. Kraig tried to get a photo but it flew away....darn!

Your Geisha looks beautiful and the new piece looks vaguely familiar? Is the one you have stitched before???? HMMMMM?

Hugs,
Sue

Anonymous said...

Meari your blog ias always a treat to read - Blossom is coming along beautifully - get on with that project already and stop keeping us in suspense!!!

Tara

MaryT said...

Meari have you or your dad ever seen the Red Green show? It's on PBS and he does everything with Duct tape.LOL I love Blossom she is goingto be really pretty.
Mary Louise in IN

Anonymous said...

I have some of the same flowers you have!!! You should see the size of my hosta plants. They love my yard. I have been very busy with my daughter flew in from CA and we had a funeral with all the other life issues to deal with. Busy busy. Love your stitching too.
Hugs Nancy Cricket Tucket

Berly said...

Wow, your green thumb is doing well! Blossom is looking good too!

Anonymous said...

(We have Fathers day in November in Finland)

That bird is lovely and so its your flowers too and I really love your stitching, its coming Perfct

Tinna

Nancy M said...

This was our 1st Father's day that we didn't have a Father to honor. So it was nice Brett came home and spent the weekend golfing and fishing with Carl. We have almost the same flowers in our yards! Nice to see you doing some stitching, even if you aren't sharing yet!

Nancy in IL said...

Meari, I loved seeing all the natural scenery around your house - the flowers and other plants, and of course, the cardinal. I don't get so lucky around here. Robins are about as exciting as it gets.

Blossom Splendor is gorgeous, and your fabric matches the threads so well!

What has me stumped, and I can't wait to see, is your DIY project. It really is interesting!

Donna said...

Ok, I guess fair is fair. This past winter you had your share of ice and cold, while we had it relatively warm. So I guess it is fair that you are having nice cool weather while we are having *GASP* 108 degree temps. Your plants and wildlife are beautiful.

Angie said...

Glad nobody was hurt in that building collapse. Love the photos.

CJ said...

Hi Meari -

Reading your blog is one of the highlights of my week. I am finally catching up on my blog reading. I love the pictures of your plants. I am going to see if we can grow Sedum around here. I need something hardy in my flower bed. The heat and drought are just
drying everything up.

I look forward to your next update. Have a great weekend.

CJ

Katrien said...

Good update on Blossom.
97% is fantastic, and I'm sure you'll do great at your finals.
Lovely pics of the plants.

Anonymous said...

Love the garden and wild life photos! It is was no one got hurt in that building. I also had an old building near my train station drop two floors. Wonderful fathers day gift!

too_busy_to_stitch said...

Oh, isn't that cardinal lovely! We don't get them in the UK unforutnately - our 'winter' bird is the robin, which I believe you tend to get in the Spring. Our garden is full of wild-life - love it - we get badgers, foxes, squirrels and lots of birds too :)