FINISHED "TOM" ~ ~ ~

Well ~ I did it!!  I finally finished off my 'wild-cat' rug better known as "TOM" ~ he's Barbara Carroll's design.  He got pretty wild in color but actually, as everything got hooked in, the colors toned down a lot.  And here in our dark house, he doesn't look that wild at all!  He's ready for binding and I'm hoping to find time for that this weekend.

It's gonna be a scorcher here in Ohio this weekend ~ mid 90's with a heat index of over 100 deg.   Woo hoo!  I'm so looking forward to that!  This big girl can hardly take the heat so hopefully all our fun functions are inside ~ next to the air vents!!!  Can you believe how hot our summers have gotten?  I swear there must be something to the global warming thing!

Ta ta for now ~ happy weekend to you wherever you are!
Alice

O HAPPY DAY ~ ~ ~

That was yesterday ~ I hooked most of the day!  It was a  Great day!  I haven't hooked since the Kingwood hook-in and before that, it was in April when I started this pattern at Barbara Carroll's!  That's a long time to be away from the frame!  And I'm on my way back to the hooking room as soon as I finish this post!  Another happy day!  It is so easy to get out of the habit when 'life' dictates that we do other things.  On my sidebar, there is the logo of the "10 Minute Rug Hooker" and I definitely have not adhered to that at all ~ I thought about taking it down but it may serve as inspiration to a reader or even to me!

This morning, I took a picture of all the Black Eyed Susans ~ they're everywhere!!  Years ago, I planted a 6" pot from the greenhouse and if you have them in your garden, you know what happens!!  But they're such a bright spot, that you have to love them, no matter where they choose to grow!   This morning, I deadheaded some hostas and pulled out the wilting May apples ~ there was no  garden work all while the Seattle kids were here or last week on the 90 degree days!

These three guys are my three sons ~ Ted, Chris and  the little paleface is Tad, my oldest, who lives with us!  That boy goes outside rarely so this was just a great day for him ~ he got in the pool and had a great time ~ they even got him to go in Lake Erie!  While the Seattle crew were here, we spent three days at the lake with all their kids. One of our trips was to African Safari ~ what a scream ~ the kids loved it and so did I!  If you're ever in the Port Clinton area, you should gather up a carload of kids and go!  A lot went on that week ~ we had a cookout for all the kids ~ 25 of us ~ and had an 11th birthday party for Hunter, who has never celebrated his birthday with us here in Ohio!  We went to a family reunion for my former husband's family ~ they invite Sonny and I every year ~ we haven't been for quite a while but since all my kids were going, we did, too!  I always say that they can't get rid of me ~ we had a good time! 

In between paragraphs, I went to the hooking room for an hour and got quite a lot accomplished!  I could finish that rug, if I could hook the rest of today!!  Oh, well ~ off to take care of banking and then get my nails done!  I have to show that little house later today ~ I hope this is the new owner!!!!!!  A lot going on here, as usual!  We spent a really quiet weekend at the lake ~ quiet for us, anyway!  We did meet up with a group of people from home (Nancy, Martha, Ginger, Bev, Carole, Darby and Gene and Linda ~ it was great seeing all of you!)  on Friday night and that was very fun ~ went to garage sales on Johnson's Island on Saturday morning ~ that wasn't very much fun (we went around 11 a.m. and all the 'good stuff' was gone or maybe they never had any good stuff at all!)!  Johnson's Island was the site of a Confederate prison during the Civil War and has a Confederate soldiers' cemetery that is an interesting place to visit.  There are lots of cottages and big beautiful homes there ~ those people have the same kind of odds and ends to get rid of that we do ~ somehow, I thought it would be 'good stuff ' !!!  Then Sunday, we drove to Cleveland for a birthday party for our friend, Dick ~ hotter than hades ~ but fun to see him enjoy his day!!  Little League season is over so we have been game free for a couple of weeks ~ until last night's All Star game ~ grandson Jakob is playing but sadly last night's game didn't go so swell!!  One more chance on Wednesday! 

So that's our week in a nutshell ~ big shell ~ but I can't seem to condense my words!!  Happy summer to you!!
Alice

P.S. The MSHAW patterns are selling well ~ thanks girls for ordering!!

MSHAW PATTERNS ~ ~ ~

Finally ~ here are the MSHAW patterns that I have available now. 

This is Two Cats with Star ~ 22 x 34 linen for $56.00.

Flower Basket Hen ~ 22 x 30 linen ~ $52.00.  SOLD

Sunflower Crow ~ 12 x 18  monks ~ $22.00   SOLD

Rabbit Over Carrot ~ 12 x 18 linen - $26.00 SOLD

                                   12 x 18 monks - $22.00 (two)

Flower Basket ~ 12 x 18 linen ~ $26.00

Hen House ~ 12 x 18 monks ~ $23.00

                      12 x 18 linen   ~  $26.00  SOLD

Sunflower Crow Chair Pad ~ 12" round monks ~ $18   SOLD

Cat Chair Pad ~ 12" round monks ~ $18.00

Rabbit Chair Pad ~ 12" round linen ~ $24.00

Long Flower Basket ~ 6 x 36 monks ~ $39.00 (these two long ones would make good stair risers or door toppers!)

Pineapple House ~ 6 x 36 monks ~ $39.00

Sunflower Crow with a One of Kind Border Design ~  18 x 23 linen ~ $35.00    SOLD!

So, these are the patterns I have in my shop right now ~ one of each except for two of the Rabbit over Carrot that I noted in parentheses.  Email me at gfraizer@neo.rr.com and let me know which ones you would like ~ I'll add tax and the shipping and let you know the amount by return email, send me a check and your package will be on it's way!  I'm really happy to have some of Margaret's patterns ~ I will order more as we go along and if there is something in particular of hers that you would like, she will draw it for me! 

Happy Hooking ~ Alice

THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING ~ ~ ~

Just a quick post with no pictures!!  I just couldn't do it ~ after, I wrote this, I had to add some garden photos just to liven things up!! My Seattle kids have been here since July 3 and left on Monday ~ it has been a whirlwind of activity and it's amazing how quiet the house is now!!  Yesterday, I just listened to it! They were on a mission to do as much as possible in 9 days and we were right behind them for most of it!  We did opt out of a trip to Cedar Point on a 98 deg. day ~ how smart are we??!!! 

So I'm getting the house put back in order, laundry done, and back to the daily stuff of office work and gardening.  And I have new patterns to show you ~ patterns from MSHAW and I just got a shipment of patterns from Deanne Fitzpatrick ~ I love the work of both of these pattern designers.  As soon as I get my feet back on the ground, I will list them here on the blog and on my website, too!

I hope you're having a fabulous summer ~ it has been pretty hot in Ohio ~ cooler the last week but I hear the 90's are on the way!!  That 's it for today ~ more to follow!  And by the way, no hooking ~ I haven't hooked since the Kingwood hook-in ~ I need to get back to it! Have a great day wherever you are!

GARDEN PHOTOS, ETC. ~ ~ ~

This pink hydrangea is so beautiful right now!  And the wonderful thing about it is that it hasn't bloomed in years!  I mean lots of years!!  It was blue when we planted it, then turned pink in the next few years (they need a certain kind of acid to stay blue) and then it just quit.  This spring, I thought about transplanting it ~ deciding that it didn't get enough sun ~ and lo and behold ~  it came alive!  I just love these beautiful blossoms!

Along the front and side of the house, is this hydrangea hedge that I planted one by one.  If you double click the picture, the close up shows it much better ~ another source of garden joy for moi!

And all of that hedge came from this one plant ~ I call it the Mother Plant!  You can pull a stick of this plant out of the dirt with some root system on it, plunk it in the ground and soon, you will have a really nice plant!  It's amazing really how good it takes hold!  In front of this Mother, is gooseneck loosestrife just beginning to bloom. It's an interesting flower if you like something that spreads ~ everywhere!  The blossoms do look like little white gooses stretching their necks ~ pretty ~ but very invasive!

And one more garden photo ~ oakleaf hydrangea!  The blossoms are cone shape and the leaves oakleaf shape ~ imagine that!  We brought two pieces of root home from a friend's house in Cincinnati and now they are two big beautiful bushes.  I gave my friend, Vivian, a couple of pieces ~ I wonder how they're doing? 

Last week, I went to an auction in a neighboring town of this beautiful big mansion!  See all the people?  That was about a third of the crowd there to watch this home sell.  It was built in 1898 and has had only two owners ~ now it has three!  On his way to a golf outing that morning, Sonny mentioned that he hoped I wasn't going to buy that house!  Sure!  I was curious to see what it sold for and hoped to get inside.  There was a line a half block long to take a tour and when I was about 20 people from the door, they ended it so the auction could start!  It sold for $340,000, which in this economy and in this area, was really good ( it would cost way over a million or maybe two, to build today). I'm sure the family was happy for someone to make this their new home!  I didn't stay for the furnishings ~ beautiful for sure ~ but very Victorian to match the house!  Of course, I saw people I knew ~ it was an entertaining morning!

Saturday afternoon, Sonny's niece got married in a field by a creek on the family farm!  They moved the wedding guests out to the site on wagons with hay bale seats ~ pretty interesting ~ most of us stayed right there for a bird's eye view of the ceremony!  It was such a hot day ~ we had been to two of those beloved ball games that day and this was late in the afternoon.  I had too much sun ~ got a case of the vapors ~ and had to go home early!  I left the old guy there for the kids to bring home and retreated to my air-conditioned house!!  Years ago, I had a sunstroke, of all things, in Aruba and I haven't been the same since!  The sun and I aren't very compatible ~ even with a hat ~ which I wore to the wedding ~ and my dear husband just loves!! 

I'm getting ready to pick up four grandchildren ~ we're having lunch and then another field trip!  It's a beautiful day ~ sun shiny ~ mild ~ it'll be great!  Tonite, a ball game ~ Jakob got chosen for All Stars and we're very proud of him!  Saturday, my Seattle kids are coming home for 10 days!!  I better rest up! 

Hope your summer is fun and going swimmingly!  Ta ta for now!
Alice

P. S. To my Canadian relatives, and readers ~ HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!