DONE! With many other non stitching pictures

I have a major finish!! After over 2 years, and 105,300 total stitches, it's done! It really is spectacular looking in real life too! I am keeping this one, if you are wondering! ;-) I was working with a deadline as I am meeting up with another stitcher this weekend to see the Detroit Tigers. So that really forced me into finishing those last few pages as fast as I did.
This is a Mystic Stitch, called Seasonal Collide, the pattern is not available anymore. I think there was some copyright issue with the artist. So don't go looking for it! For once it paid off to buy it when I saw it, and not procrastinate.

Since my last post I also celebrated my 31st anniversary and my birthday! Have I said how much I love the month of May???

Carl bought me a new set of golf clubs (he makes them). We went golfing the day after my birthday and of course I played like crap, but I did hit the ball well in the fairways. I just need to take them to the range and hit them repeatedly to get use to them.


This was the first Memorial Day that my Dad was buried at the National Cemetery. Even though he died in April of last year, we didn't have the committal service until June 25 last year. The National Cemetery is only 40 minutes from my house, so I drove by myself to witness all the graves with flags on each one. It truly is an awesome site and it was really more emotional for me than I thought it was going to be. The last time I was there was during the committal and I'm glad I stopped to get the number of his grave. I really thought I would be able to find it without the number, but when I got there I was really surprised at how many rows beyond my Dad were there already! It's pretty depressing to know that that many more veterans have died over the last year. This is just one small area of the cemetery.
Another big project around here is to finally get my larger pond put in. We knew we wanted to do it, but we did the 1st phase last year, by removing the wooden deck and putting down stamped concrete. So this year is the pond. These pictures are the before.....now granted this was after we had removed ALL the perennials that we wanted to keep, so it really looks BAD!!!









Then this happened.....

and my poor fish had to live in here for a couple days......

And now it looks more like this....although the water is now clearer and you can see the bottom! The sound of the fall is just perfect, not a trickle, but enough to even enjoy from our open family room window. It's over 600 gallons, yes the fish stay in it all winter....even in the Michigan weather. And the fall will run all winter too. I have already seen the birds enjoying the waterfall area by getting drinks!

And here it is tonight, with the light going!



So now you can imagine Carl and I sitting on the patio, having a glass of wine and enjoying the sounds and sites of the new pond!
My granddaughter Amberlyn's 3rd birthday is today! We spent the HOT Memorial Weekend at a friends house and she was in the pool about one minute, when she walked right out the shallow end, around to the other end of the pool and off the board she went with NO hesitation! Man, I wish she had just a bit of fear of certain things. So far the only thing she is afraid of is our friend Bob, who owns the pool! And I mean TERRIFIED!!! Too funny.

And swimming makes you hungry, so you have to have a cupcake!

So here's to the start of a great summer! Thanks for stopping by and sharing my little part of the world.