Long hot summer

and I can be found in the pool most nights.....that kind of answers where I have been.  I have kind of retreated from stitching a bit.   What? you say!    It is still my passion but I have been trying to be less of a couch potato.   Increasing those steps on my FitBit; walking up to the police station to mail a letter or bill; doing the Leslie Sansone 1-2-3 mile walks on YouTube.   Remember, use it or lose it!    Secretly I have an ulterior motive.   In October I am going to Vegas with friends from high school - some of which I haven't seen in 40 years except for FB.  Never been and geeky me is looking most forward to seeing Hoover Dam.   I know, so lame.  Don't fret, trying for tickets to Jersey Boys and Celine Dion too.  Anyway I don't want to be the classmate that can't keep up.    Hey!  I'll take motivation in any form.   Also, with Mr. Wonderful away and me picking all his tasks around the house chips away at my free time.

Laughing at his daddy

I was treated to a household of children again last weekend.   All my kids and their families came home for the weekend and we had some more baby Will time.   We took him in the pool for a good hour on Friday night and he was just thrilled and slept well that night too.

His Winston Churchill look, paying homage to his English background

Consider yourself lucky....I took about 250 photos and culled out the blurry ones and dog photo bombs and ended with about 150 great shots.....

This is my current stitching project.   This is the July Cottage of the Month from Country Cottage Needleworks.     It was from my PenPal, S. W. from New England,  for my birthday.   I hope one day to meet her....... Starting this made me remember I started another patriotic chart she sent me that has fallen down the abyss of the WIP spiral.   Maybe I should search it out and finish it......

For the most part I stitch patterns as charted using recommended colors.  There are occasions when I run amok and need to compensate but that's not my initial plan.    This time the two blues called have very little contrast so I frogged what was supposed to be the darker.  It certainly doesn't match the pamphlet photo.   I substituted the WDW Navy as shown below.    

I also think I may not stitch "July" but rather substitute a third burst of fireworks in the center, maybe with some silver Kreinik.  Hmmm, worth thinking about. 

This should be a quick stitch.....if I would just sit down to stitch (and not fall asleep with the hoop in my hand!)  There was a time when I could have whipped this out in a week.  

Happy stitching one and all stay cool or as the case maybe, stay dry!