Back to reality

Summer is coming to an end but that does not mean the end to lovely days.   I love the change of seasons and though we are a more than a few weeks away from fall crispness, I look forward to it.

Our family vacation was everything I had hoped for and more.   Loads of laughs, loads of sun and fun, horseback riding, wave jumping, bogey boarding, loads of good food.  So much so we are already booking for the same time next year.  Made great memories for everyone, especially the little ones.

We got our bad luck out of the way on the ride down.  My son had a dead battery.  It would not even take a jump.    Dead dead dead.   AAA to the rescue. New battery ordered online and waiting for him at AutoZone in Nags Head and all was well.   So funny that we all left at different times and somehow three carfulls were at the Royal Farms just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel at the same time.  

Stitching, was not so good.    I took  Tra la la project to finish it up.    Amazing how on the deck in the sunlight the fact that I used two different whites popped right off the linen.  All the cream was frogged and of course I did not have the bright white with me.  That was ok because I put the project away/in time out.  

Fun at the shopping area

 

Beautiful sunrises

Awesome rental house

Great table for family meals

Quick thunderstorm and rainbow

Drove up past Corolla which means you drive on the beach.   Saw the wild horses.

Someone was very excited with a surprise stop for ice cream.

 I ventured to Kitty Hawk to the Wright Brothers Memorial.   Imagine my surprise finding a Singer treadle machine as part of the exhibit.  Right?    It is the sewing machine of Mrs. Addie Tate.  Wilbur used her machine to sew the fabric for the wings.   Mrs. Tate used the extra fabric to make dresses for her daughters. 

One of the hangars where Orville and Wilbur worked.  

Actual tools from the Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop that they used to work on their plane.

The designers of the monumental were from New York.  They were one of 37 companies that submitted drawings. Roasted & Poor were awarded the contract in 1930 with a bid of $10,000.  Rodgers & Poor decided on a geometric Art-Deco style.    Before construction could begin, the sands of Kill Devil Hills had to be stabilized.  Locals planted sea grass on the sand hill to stabilize the soil.  The granite tower is 61 feet tall and was dedicated in November 1932.   Approximately 1,000 people attending the decimation including Orville Wright.

Panoramic view from the top.   It was a climb but so worth the view.

In 1930, a boulder and plaqque make the take off point of the famed flights.  

Squeals of delight as my grand daughter mastered the bogey board.

Animal print face masks cooled sunburnt faces. 

Rich and William catch a sunrise.

  

Before we left, we took our annual first day of school picture which took some convincing.   I explained I doubted that would be any difference in their sizes in two days time.   

How else do you clean the brownie batter from the bowl?

Summertime stitching is so limited for me but that is AOK with me.    I’ve got a few days with some stitching friends coming up, perhaps I will get some stitching done there…..one can hope.   But oh no!   There is talk of us all starting a new sampler project!  Yikes.    I will be strong.  I have other plans I hope I can stick to. 

Thanks for stopping by to visit me and read about my adventures.    Keep on keeping on, …… and make someone’s day…..ask the cashier at the store how they are and tell them to have a great day and watch their frown turn to a smile because……kindness matters.   We are all together on this big blue marble…….   

Family Vaca and Some Stitchy Progress

Tomorrow we leave for a family vacation in the Outer Banks.   This year we rented something farther north in Duck, NC and hope we are not in the evacuation zone should a storm come up the coast.  Everyone is coming with various boyfriends and girlfriends.   Each couple responsible for a dinner one night.   No need to have me and my son tied  the kitchen!   Hope to get in some kayaking and definitely some hot tub time.   It is doubtful there will be little if any stitching accomplished.   One can be delusional and hope that early morning coffee alone time on the deck and stitching can happen.

I have some stitching updaters to share.   My French Alphabet repair.   After I stitched the motif in the area, I  backed it with light weight interfacing just to give it an extra fortification!   I really owe my friend Pat for helping me with this.  I can’t even remember where the two threads were broken.  

 

Best laid plans to finish the Tra La La winter scene in August have gone out the window.    I did put in some stitching but travel and babysitting ate into stitching time.  It is in the suitcase to go with me.

I did fully finish the Vintage Rocking Horse from HOD’s June Patreon.   Not the way Cathy did it but I am AOK with that.   I attempted the suggested finish but struggled with it being too fussy.  I just wanted to be done with it so I did what I knew. 

I managed to get the July Gingerbread House ornament stitched.    I just love the colors Cathy choses.    Boy, that door and the bottom of the house look a little wonky.    Trust me, it is the photographer who didn’t smooth the fabric and  not the piece.  

I haven’t started the August Gingerbread House but it is also in my suitcase.   I been catching up on the weekly videos Cathy does.    I am still enjoying the tips and tidbits she offers.  She is such a giving designer and a great teacher.  

I had  thought I only needed a quick two to three hours to spruce all the flower beds but it turned into 4 or 5 days days of 3 or 4 hours each.   Either I cannot judge how  much there was to do, how much time I  needed to do it or I move a whole lot slower than I used to.   Let’s just say it is a little of all three.   So a week worth of yard work cut into stitching time.   I started early enough to work in the shade and I hydrated the entire time.  Good thing I like a good sweat!  Just one more bed to go but it is not happening today.  One thing, all this rain we have been having has made pulling any weeds easy.  

I did finish reading “Theo of Golden”.   Not my usual reading type but definitely a good read.   I listened to  “Beautiful Day” by Elin Hildebrand this month.   Her books are always a good summer read/listen.    Playing now as my audio book selection is David Baldacci’s “Walk the Wire”.  His books are always riveting and a change of pace from summers in Nantucket with Elin.   Between yard work and being behind the wheel, I get a lot of audio book time.   

As many projects I get done, there are that many more on the list.   I always have a to do list.   Mr. W says I ‘find jobs’ which means I ‘create’ them.  I am just a project driven person I guess.   I have to scratch my head and laugh to myself when people say “what do you do all day”?   I don’t know but I can tell you it is always something.    But it is all good.   As always, thank you for stopping by and for your comments.   I appreciate each and every one.   For now, keep being grateful, keep being positive,  keep being kind and keep on stitching.  

Colonial Williamsburg, Day 2

I need to back track a bit and tell you about where we stayed.   It was the quintesential 1960’s motor lodge.    It was the sweetest place with the only complaint, the WiFi was horrible.  

After breakfast with friends, we wondered the shops adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg.   

Not one to pass up a craft store, we ventured in.   We were first captivated by the window display.    

This gentleman is knitted!

Even the Declaration of Independence that he was reading, was knitted.

Of course the wallpaper was a cable knit pattern - not knitted but awesome just the same.

We went into the Bruton Parish Church which still holds weekly services.  

How cool was it to actually sit in the pew that Thomas Jefferson once sat in every week.  

We went into the Governor’s Palace.  

When the Governor, who was loyal to the King, fled the Palace, he left 540 swords, sabers, rifles, muskets and munitions.

Touring the Milliner’s Shop, we learned they had the same issues with getting linen that we do today.  

We learned a lot in the wig makers shop as well.  

Not to let any grass grow under our feet, we stopped at Mount Vernon on Sunday on the ride home.   I can’t believe I have never been there.    I had been there for lunch but never toured the estate.   Unfortunately, this being the summer of rain, a storm blew up and we had to cut the visit short.  We did have time to tour the mansion and take in some of the grounds.  

Old meets new.   Mount Vernon in legos.

Guess I could have cropped my finger out of the photo.  

I like how I captured the docent, in costume, sitting outside.

Use the handrail going upstairs and touch the same handrail touched by Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lafayette, Thomas Payne and other founding fathers.

The craftmenship always amazes me.

While many pieces are not original to the home, the sideboard under the mirror is.

As are the chairs, original to the home.

Original marble fireplace in the banquet room was a gift from Samuel Vaughan of Essex, England.  He was a wealthy merchant and a friend of George Washington’s.   He shipped the piece in ten crates arriving in February 1784.  

Again, thanks for traveling along with me.   I have lofty ideas of being about to get in a few stitches between now and the end of the month.   Oy!  Stay safe, stay hydrated, be thankful and keep on stitching.