October's TUSAL

This should fill up in the next month.  I am spending time with my DH in Maryland.  I have committed to have items for a Holiday Bazaar. Lots of work to do before the Holidays.

August ORTS and a Finish

August New Moon slipped past me and I am finally posting my ORTS for the TUSAL.  It has been a busy stitching month.  I will post more on this later.  I did finish the "Come Unto Christ" for a friend.  I really like the colors. I found that Hobby Lobby sales mat board and it was even 50% off.  Love that school started and I am tackling many projects that have been on my list all summer. Some will hold until it cools down though.

Another July TUSAL and a Month of Family

July has another new moon and time to post my progress to the TUSAL. I am making another "Come Unto Christ" and working on the Lizzie Kate's "Time for God". I love this piece and can't wait to finish it. After Sevrine does her school work and chores, her reward is to go swimming. I have been adding to my dish cloth pile sense it is an easy project to do while sitting by the pool. 

The colors are chocolate and blue.  I just need to add the beads and then it will be ready to frame and wrap.

Our July Activities

 We were lucky enough to have Ric here for the 4th of July.  The family gathered for a BBQ and swimming. This picture is Payton getting his back rub from Grandpa.  It seems that he is just like his father. All of my kids loved having their backs scratched and especially Kelvin.  Now we can add our grandkids to this routine.

         Kelvin, Payton, Hailee and Sevrine waiting for the fireworks at the Peoria Sports Complex.

Payton accommpied grandpa to the movie, Cars 2.

We celebrated Kaitlyn's baptism while Ric was home.  We all had a part on the program.  We are so very proud of her and she looked like an angel all in white sitting with her dad.

Kristen, David, William, Kaitlyn, Elizabeth and David's mom, Nancy

       Our family, minus Marissa who is in Virginia, and Sevrine who was with her dad this weekend.

We sure enjoyed getting together and especially having grandpa here. 

July's TUSAL

A little progress on "O Jerusalem" to add to my ORT jar.

The ORT jar and the TUSAL

You might not be able to tell but there are a few more threads added to the ORT jar.  I continue working on "O Jerusalem" along with my various knitting/crochet projects.  With the College World Series in Softball starting this week, I am motivated to get my housework and yard work out of the way so I can get some stitching done.  I'm itching to start something new and have gone through some of my 'to do' pile.  I will keep you posted on anything new that I find interesting.

Catching Up and a TUSAL

Today is the new moon and time to post my ORT jar.  I was fortunate to be able to stitch quite a bit earlier this month while visiting DH in Maryland.  I made some head way on "O Jerusalem" which has motivated me to keep at it.

I finished this to give to my SIL, Regina while I was visiting DH.  I have appreciated Steve and Regina including Ric in many of their families activities. It helps knowing there is family for him to be with while I am still in Arizona.

The first weekend we traveled south to Richmond to pick up Marissa. We then went to Colonial Williamsburg to visit the town. I enjoyed the reinactments, palace and capital with all the history that was covered. Even though we spent the day, we didn't see everything that was offered. I was disappointed with the weaving and dyeing exhibit. The woman didn't have much information and kept making excuses to what she was really showing.

While we were visiting Marissa, she gave us a private tour of the VA Capital. She has 24 hour access because of her job with the Lt. Governor. It was nice to see all of the artwork and the model of Thomas Jefferson's original capital building.  We loved the history that is so apart of the beginning of this country there in Richmond.

The last weekend we went into DC to catch the Cherry Blossom festival.  We had a big storm blow through on Thursday so it wasn't as nice as it could have been.  It was pretty, non the less, and a nice walk around the Tidal Basin. The 16 days went way too fast and it was hard to leave.  I did enjoy the time with Ric and I put my Kindle to good use.

Spring Stitching and April TUSAL

It is beginning to look a lot like Spring around here.  I have been working on booties for all the new babies that are due this month and the next. The little ducks will go to Sevrine's Kindergarten class.  You can't look at the brite little ducks and not think that it is almost Easter.

With April's new moon, it is time to post my progress on the TUSAL.  I have made progress on the "Come Unto Christ" and a finish to the "Irish Blessing" have added a little color to the jar.  I should get a lot of time to stitch in the next few weeks sense I am taking a much needed break to visit my DH. (the Bunny pair are Lizzie Kate's and were  done last year)

February Stitching and March TUSAL

It's that time again to post progress for the Month.  The TUSAL is slowly filling with this month's orts.  I"ve added to the browns and golds from "O Jerusalem" with reds and greens from this months stitching. I worked up hearts and gave them away before I got a picture.  The Sampler is a freebie I had on file from the Leisure Arts page and I have wanted to add to my Saint Patrick's day decorations. I am also working on a "Come Unto Christ" for a gift to a family member and need to have it done by the end of the month. 

I got invited to a surprise baby shower earlier in the month and put these together for the new mother.  I need to get more done sense there are a few more babies due in April. 

This month's book club book, "Girl in Blue Dress", by Gaynor Arnold, is a story based loosely on the wife of Charles Dickens. So far it has been a great story. The events of his life are true and it is interesting to see how this influenced his writing. Now I am eager to read and re-read some of his books.  I do feel a bit sad for his wife and how she was treated through the years.

February'sTUSAL

It is time to post my progress for February's TUSAL.  The details are on Daffycat's blog.  I have been working on "O Jerusalem" and it is a slow process.  I have a couple of small hearts I am doing and will post them when they are finished.  The snow people is a pre-blog piece.  I have the companion to it in my WIP's.

 Today Sevrine came home with her Groundhog. This is a so cute.  It will grow hair like a Chia Pet.

Lose Ends and TLSAL

I haven't been very good at blogging.  I have had a few things I wanted to blog about so this is the posting of a few things that I wanted to start the year off with. 
Usually the time between Christmas and New Years I try and put together a jig saw puzzle.  This habit started when I was a little girl.  I would set up my little table in our bedroom and spend the break putting together a puzzle.  The puzzle this year took a little longer but it eventually got done. 

Before putting the Christmas decorations away, I took a pattern from a set of towels I got to make a set of towels for my daughter in law.  Her kitchen is decorated in Coca Cola memorabilia and these will fit perfectly with her decore.

For the last few years I have picked a word that defines where I am and what I want to focus my attention on.  I got this idea from the novel by Debbie Macomber called Thursdays At Eight.  This years word is; per·se·vere   /ˌpɜrsəˈvɪər/ Show Spelled
1. to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

I like to think that I can maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, steadfast and immovable.  We will see what this year brings.

As for stitching, I have the goal to finish this piece.  It has been a WIP for several years and I am determined to finish it this year.  I love this picture by Greg Olsen.  It is entitled, "O Jerusalem".  Wish me luck!

With my goal of finishing my WIP's, I joined Daffycat's TLSAL. As I post my progress I will be eligible for some fantastic prizes.  Who doesn't like that for an insentive to stitch.