Summer... Lots of Activities

NATURE
One of the birds built a nest on the backside of the birdfeeder I have hanging near the window of my four-season room.  I've been documenting the babies over the past week.

June 20th

June 24th

June 27th

This week both of them flew the coop.

THEATRE
I've recently attended two plays at local community theatres. Both were a bit controversial, but the actors/actresses did a great job.

“Over the Tavern” is a comedy set in Buffalo, NY during the Eisenhower years of the 1950’s and introduces the audience to the Pazinskis: Mom, Dad and their four children (Eddie, Annie, Georgie, and the hero of the play, 12-year old Rudy).  Rudy is a precocious kid who starts to question his family values and the Roman Catholic Church.  He believes God put us on Earth to “have fun” and tries to figure out why his family isn’t having any.  There is a lot of interaction with Mother Superior at school and dealings with living over a tavern owned by Dad and Grandfather. 

Some people left at intermission due to the Catholic portrayals.

“I Never Sang For My Father” is a drama that probes the epitome of a dysfunctional family… disquieting alienation that can exist between a father and son, a separation that time and old age can sometimes only deepen, despite the best intentions of both.  Gene, a college professor, has tried all of his life to find love and acceptance from his father, a successful, highly respected man, who is sometimes callous, unloving and selfish. Upon the untimely death of his mother, Gene is forced to help his father through his dark days. His sister urges Gene to break the ties for good, or else he’ll wind up as bitter and cold as their father.

The play hit some areas close to home for me that I actually cried.

 CARS AND BALLOONS
The weather was sunny and hot, but I still ventured out to enjoy the activities offered in my area.  Two car shows and a hot air balloon festival with blues music.

Car Show sponsored by local classic car club
 

Car Show at Blues & Balloon Festival
 

STITCHY STUFF
Part 7 of the Words 2016 SAL seemed to go much faster than the previous two sections despite having to frog part of it. Who sent out the frogs?

I've finished the final section - Part 8 and am working on finishing up the border.  The frogs came to visit twice!

FREEBIES
Combine a dream and flowers, what do you get? A pretty freebie offered by DMC.

Click HERE to download the PDF.



Until next time....

Things That Make You Go Hmmm!

When I went home for lunch the other day, I opened the garage door to throw some stuff in the recycling bin. In the middle of the floor I saw a huge amount of gravel (my garage is concrete!) surrounding a 1” hole (the hole was already there) in the concrete. 

Originally, I thought the circumference of the gravel was about 15”.  It actually more like 20"!  The BF stopped over to look at it. He thinks I have a gopher using that hole.  This weekend, I’ll be mixing up some hydraulic cement and pouring it down the hole.  Bye bye, critter!

CLASSICS & CHROME
Last weekend, the BF and I went to the Classics & Chrome Car Show which is a fundraiser for a (college)prep school. The school's website says they "nurture intellectual curiosity, stimulate personal growth and encourage critical thinking and innovation" for students ages 3 through grade 12. There were over 100 vehicles on display, ranging from motorcycles to hotrods to classics.

Same model car in the original movie, Christine

Detailed paint job on a classic 'wagon

There were even mini rods

More photos of the car show can be seen HERE.

STITCHY STUFF

Several people have asked about the SAL for Fleurs et Papillons. A German Yahoo group called Sticklounge is hosting the SAL. The group is limited to 50 English speaking members. Each SAL chart is given to participants one section at a time. When you stitch the section and post it to the group, you get the next section. There's also a time frame to get the stitching done, otherwise you don't get the entire chart. Angie SB also sells the chart on her blog found HERE. The chart actually calls for 4 colors, but I've changed the colors to suit my taste.

I worked on Fleurs et Papillons last week and until last night, this is what it looked like:

The photo is a bit dark so you can see the white lace. In normal light, it's very hard to see. I frogged it all last night and stitched it with a champaign-gray color (not sure why it looks brown!) which shows up much better. What do you think?

Until next time,