A needed break

This past week was spent visiting our son, DIL and grandson in CA. I didn't realize how much I needed to just be away from the usual day to day happenings. We traveled to San Diego on Saturday with Hurricane Hilary in the forecast when we arrived. We took a detour on the way from the airport to a local frame store, The Frame Station, and chose a frame for the birth announcement. The store had sandbags by the door in preparation for the storm.

The bottom left frame was the winner. It should be ready for my son to pick up in 2 weeks. 

 Thankfully the hurricane was just a tropical storm when it hit CA on Sunday and it traveled inland from where we were in Carlsbad. There was only a little bit of wind and around 2.5 inches of rain. We stayed in and enjoyed lots of cuddles with our grandson.

On Monday the weather had cleared and we took a walk by the ocean. For some reason, I didn't take any photos. We saw several California ground squirrels and lots of other people walking....many with their dogs.

On Tuesday Hubby and our son got to play golf. When we heard that the hurricane was approaching Hubby was debating whether to bring his golf clubs on the trip. I am so glad he did as they had a good round and gorgeous weather. My daughter in law and I enjoyed a quiet day. I watched Lucas so she could exercise and get some other things done. So much cuteness.

On Wednesday we took a ride to Discovery Lake in nearby San Marcos. 

It was only about a 3/4 mile walk around the lake, but some of the views were very pretty. There is also a 2.8 mile hike, but it wasn't clear whether the trail would be stroller friendly. 

Afterward, the family indulged me with a trip to a local quilt store, Grand Country Quilts. 

It is actually two storefronts on opposite ends of a parking lot. The first was mostly primitive fabrics. It is really a very welcoming shop.

My son thought it was one of the best shops he had ever visited.

I bought two solids for a hand-pieced quilt that I have planned.

The second shop was for more modern quilts and fabrics.

This shop was bright, open and airy. I bought some novelty fabric that I hope to use in I Spy quilts for my grandchildren. I found hens, toucans, bunnies and adorable hedgehogs.

Both shops had well-attended classes in progress when we visited. I plan on returning to this shop whenever I can on my California visits. It is only a short drive from my son's apartment. 

Now that we are back home in NY I've gotten the crafting bug again. I worked on a crocheted hat for my mother-in-law while on the flight from NY to CA. 

I have made this hat for her previously, but she lost it. Her 90th birthday is this coming Friday, so I hope to have it done by then.

I have also been working on the knitted jacket for Lucas. I am currently working on the second front side. 

I am finally enjoying working on the Charmed Santa Faces ornament for one of our grandkids, not sure which one yet. The cross-stitching was just not laying right as far as I was concerned. I guess the trip to CA made me realize that it doesn't have to be perfect. Yesterday I finished the cross-stitching on Santa's face and started adding the beads.

I hope to finish beading the face today. Then I can move on to stitching the hat. That will be my Slow Sunday Stitching for today. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are working on.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stitch Along update

I still haven't really gotten my crafting mojo back. I have spent much of the second half of July and the beginning of August clearing out my mom's house and bringing items to thrift stores. It is done now. The house is for sale and should sell quickly. 

My daughter and granddaughter visited last weekend and took home some of the items that my daughter wanted from my mother's home. There are still a whole lot of boxes in my garage and basement that need to be sorted. Some items will stay with me, some will eventually go to my son and some still need to go to thrift stores. 

Virtually the only craft that I have spent any time with lately is October Morning. That is a good thing as I can post an update this week. This is where it was three weeks ago.

 I have made a decent amount of progress on it since then although it could have been a whole lot more. 

Here is where I am now:

Thank you to Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea for hosting this Stitch Along every three weeks and sending us the needed posting reminders. 

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, Helen, MaryMargaret, Cindy

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Not ready for Fall

I may be working on October Morning (you can see the latest update here), but I am not ready for all the advertisements and craft posts for Autumn crafts. Yes, I know that I would have to start now in order to have the craft ready for Fall, but I want to enjoy what is left of Summer.

I haven't been doing much crafting at all. Last weekend, we had new carpeting installed in our living room, dining room and connecting hall. That meant that my kitchen table looked like this.

Soon after this photo was taken, all of my dining room chairs were added to surround this table. You can see that we had to empty the china cabinet and the bar pieces. All of the glassware that was in the china cabinet was in dire need of a good wash. My kitchen counter was covered with cloudy glassware. 

I took a few days to carefully wash and dry each piece of glassware. There were also two bowls, a sugar and creamer set as well as some vases. Hubby cleaned all of the glass shelves and the window panes. My china cabinet sparkles now. 

I have been spending many hours at my mother's house going through countless items. I am taking many photos and sending them to my children to see what they want me to keep for them. There are collectibles, linens, games, puzzles and Christmas items that bring back memories. This is just a portion of the keep pile. It has grown since this photo was taken. The desk is the only piece of major furniture that I am keeping. I have loved this desk since the day that my mom bought it. 

I still have to collect my mom's photo albums. There are many of them. She carefully organized and labeled each photo. They start with photos from the early 1900s. There may even be a couple of photos from the 1800s. I forget now.

I have made a few trips to a local thrift store with clothes, accesories, linens and dishes. Her blankets went to a local animal shelter once they were washed. 

Here are a couple of neat items that I found in her house. These two photos are of a 78rpm picture record that I found.

Below is an afghan that my mother knitted several years ago. I don't think she ever used it. It is beautiful.

My children remember playing these games and want me to keep them. They are headed to my house! 

My mother made the pillow top and I finished it into a pillow some years ago. I found it wrapped in plastic on a closet shelf. It now resides in my bedroom.

Her house will be up for sale at the end of next week, so my work will soon be done. We have a local furniture store/mover coming in to take all the furniture. 

Hubby and I took a break on Wednesday and drove to the east end of Long Island for a lunch and a stop at a farmstand. Lunch was at the Red Rooster Bistro.

It is a kitschy little restaurant inside.

Hubby had the tomato and burrata appetizer and I had their Beet Salad with chicken added. 

We stopped at Northville Farms on our way home. We picked up a melon, some vegetables and a bag of North Fork Potato Chips. Yum! 

 I have added a very few rows of knitting on my baby jacket. I have made the buttonholes and am working on the armhole of one of the front pieces.

 Thankfully I am knitting a size that will be good for next year. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are working on.

Thanks for stopping by!