School's Out!

 My last day of work was Friday. I am off for the Summer.....probably for good. I have been hemming and hawing about whether or not I should stop working. I have a zoom meeting with the teacher's retirement board on Friday. I am not eligible for much of a pension as I took a 25 year hiatus to raise my children. With our first grandchild due at the end of August in another state, I really want the freedom to visit her whenever I feel like and not just squeeze it in on the weekends or school breaks. That 3+ hour drive does not allow for just popping in to visit. I also want to be able to visit my son in California at my leisure. Again, not just on school breaks when everyone else is traveling. 

Yesterday, I took the time to make a few lists. I am a notorius list maker, but doing so usually clears my head somewhat. So what lists did I make? Well, first was a list of household chores that I would like to complete. Some are long term, some for now. Then I made several lists of crafts I want to complete. So there is a cross-stitch list, a quilting list, a knit/crochet list and an "other crafts" list. Let me tell you that each list has at least 10 items on it. I think I need to buy a journal of some type to keep track of all the WIP crafts that I have, all the kits I have, all the crafts that I have already bought the supplies for and all the ones that I have longed to complete in the future. Right now my lists are just on a few pieces of notebook paper that could be easily misplaced. 

The lists did help me realize that I have plenty to look forward to completing. Retirement will mean I can actually have a hope of working on many of the crafts that I long to complete. 

I am currently working on another embroidered bib. This one has an adorable lamb on it. The outline of the lamb is mostly blanket stitch. I am getting better at it stitch by stitch.

I am stitching the outline of the lamb in a light blue and have chosen a pink and a rose for the flowers. The pattern faintly shows two different colors needed for these flowers. I think perhaps they are supposed to be orange and red, but I wanted a more pastel look. Since there are no directions, I am doing my own thing here.

I picked up October Morning again since finishing Santa. You can just see the outline of a mailbox emerging.

My daylilies have started to bloom.

I have a few more astilbe in bloom too.

They are two slightly different colors.

The bowl of begonias that I potted is starting to fill in.

Finally, my coneflower is blooming. Oh how I love its color.

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I think I will try to add some more stitches to October morning. 

Thanks for stopping by!