Nobody here but us chickens on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello... well I normally write this post on Friday or Saturday but it is now 10am on Sunday and I'm just getting my butt in gear. This one should be a short one as I don't have to a lot to share. I've been plugging away on the Teresa Kogut Remember Me sampler and I finished up the Pickety Sticks quilt and took it to Delinda but forgot to take a pic of the finished top... not a big deal... it is still as wonky as what I showed 2 weeks ago and as I referenced then, it will only be displayed as a folded quilt...showing off that lovely border and trying to turn a blind eye to the OCD madness that is this strippy quilt. 

As for the weather it has been HOT... not as hot as those of you in the southwest but HOT for southwest OH. Keeping my fingers crossed that my at least 16 year old AC unit can keep up till the end of this summer. September is a mere 4 days away and for me September marks the beginning of Fall... the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!!   Pumpkins and falling leaves and pumpkins and cooler temperatures and pumpkins and pumpkins... yeah that sums it up nicely. I'll...well to be honest, my son... will be hauling up the Fall decor bins soon... right now I'm thinking about the Wednesday after Labor Day as a starting date... and it will probably still be upper 80's maybe even in the 90's and my AC will be going full blast but I'll blithely go on with my decorating.

And speaking of decorating... here's where I am at the moment... nobody here but us chickens!

The wall quilt...

The tier tray...

The big display..

Some closer pictures...

The little piecrust edge side table...

The small display unit...

Sorry I didn't move the side chairs out of the way to take the pictures... my left knee is acting up and I'm trying to stay off of it... got a cortisone shot about a week ago... hoping it kicks in ... if not, moving onto the gel shot... getting old sucks.

I didn't stitch or purchase anything new for these displays... I've been monogamous to the Teresa Kogut Remember Me Sampler.

Here's where I was 2 weeks ago...

And here's where I am now...

Progress has been made... got all the brick work on the house filled in, still need to do the windows... got the band of birds completed... and the alphabets and working my way down the borders on the sides.  Now I'd like to have this done by September 1.... but I think that's a pipe dream... I wanted to have this finished before I plunged into the SEVEN new samplers I'm starting for my 70th Birthday Extravaganza.... last night I decided that my best strategy would be to get the outline of as many flowers as I can on the border done... then when I come back to this all I will have is fill in... and I think that may be doable..  I LOVE this sampler... but then I LOVE the samplers I've picked for my 70th Birthday Extravaganza... 

Did I mention my 70th birthday is approaching?  LOL  What is it about a birthday that ends in zero that makes one  ponder one's life?  I reflect on mine and know that I am in a great place ... hasn't always been that way but it is now. I'm kinda shocked that I'm this old... my parents both passed before they were fifty,  I was only in my twenties. My only sibling was only 62 when he passed.  As a young child I didn't think I'd live to see the year 2000 ... and that passed pretty quickly, didn't it?   I know realistically the years I have left aren't as many as I've lived, so what DO I WANT TO DO?  I have the resources to do just about anything  I can think of, but my thoughts go to things I want in my home to make life as comfy and cozy as possible. Dorothy was so right "there's no place like home, there's no place like home"... and with that thought I purchased a new box spring and mattress for me and my lower back is very grateful. I want a new couch for my living room... an olive green couch or perhaps a turquoise blue couch... what about both??  Yeah... so I've found an IKEA couch which I can get slipcovers for from a shop on Etsy and I can get both an olive green and a turquoise blue slipcover for a good price.  Now to get the existing couch out of the living room. Have found it a home but it's new owner needs to arrange pick up.  

My next thought for the house involves all those flower beds... looking into a drip irrigation system or sprinklers. They couldn't be installed till next Spring but I'd appreciate not having to hand water everything.  I'm having the AC looked at next month... I know it will need to be replaced in the next year or so. From what I can tell it is at least 16 years old.  I thought about having some rooms repainted (its been 10 years) but they still look good and I don't think I'd change any of the colors, so that can wait. I do want Dan the handyman to pull up the carpet on the back steps to the basement and just paint them... I hate the carpet, it makes the stair treads narrow and a bit slippery... don't want to take a fall.  Mulling over having a cleaning service twice a month... bathroom and kitchen ... Nick and I can handle the rest. 

So with the house taken care of what activities do I want to engage in... well more of the same...more cross stitching, more knitting, more quilting. A rational evaluation of what I have says I don't need to buy another craft item EVER ... but that ain't gonna happen...LOL..and rationally I don't need anymore samplers or socks or quilts ... BUT I WANT THEM!!!  And I SHALL HAVE THEM!!  Occasionally I look around and think what's gonna happen to all this stuff when I'm not here?  I've advised my sons that they should feel no guilt or  obligation to keep any of it. I'm sure they'll keep an item or two but hopefully my habit of stashing stuff in sterlite bins will make it easier to transport them to Goodwill. I have a lot of stuff and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my stuff... but I don't expect my sons to clutter up their homes with my stuff. I am realistic... and totally at peace in that belief. 

On that note, I'll wrap this up today... hope things are going well in your corner of the world... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and plan to spend the rest of the day cross stitching on the sunroom porch... a great way to spend a slow Sunday!

happy stitching-

carol fun