Where Did the Time Go?

Wow, where did July go? It seems like I was just posting all my end of month updates for June at the beginning of the month, and now we're at the end of July! How did that happen?

Well, we have been pretty busy, so I guess that has something to do with it. We decided to 'adopt' my cousin for a Saturday. We started by taking her for breakfast at our favorite diner.

Then we went to the aquarium, and really had a wonderful time.

I don't understand why aquariums all seem to have bird and butterfly areas now, but they are fun. The butterflies are beautiful and the birds are just really fun.

From there I needed an adult beverage, so we went to a local brewery and I enjoyed a flight.

Then we took her to dinner, and even got to see the big Duck, and finally gave her back to her parents.

I've also had a little reduction in stitching time due to the LIRR "Summer of Hell" train changes. Required maintenance was scheduled with lots of train changes, so I decided to take the bus instead. No room for stitching on the bus :-( but at least I wasn't stressed about not getting in to work on time. As it turns out, there have been very few problems with the trains, so I am going back to the train for the month of August. Let's keep our fingers crossed for me please.

In spite of the time reduction, I did complete a small for the Smalls SAL hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus. You can get more information about this fun SAL here. Isn't this little guy too cute? I think he is going to make a great Christmas card for someone.

And I'm happy to say I have had time to work on my Lobo. I've got over 3,500 stitches done since last month. For me, that is a lot, and I am happy. As you can see though, at a rate of 3,000-4,000 stitches a month, this is the project that perfectly qualifies as a WIPocalypse project. The WIPocalypse SAL is a wonderful SAL hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings. You can get more information about this SAL here.

The question of the month for the WIPocalypse SAL is what is your oldest and newest WIP. Well, I think Lobo is my oldest since I started it almost 3 years ago. My newest would be Tulip Bouquet, which I just started two weeks ago. After I finished my small, I wasn't sure what to work on. I need to get back to my Marriage Recipe, but I just wasn't feeling it. So instead I started Tulip Bouquet. Hope to make this into a pillow for my next door neighbors.

Well, that's about all there is that's fit to print. Now I have to start work on dinner. Trying a new recipe --- Bibimbap Casserole.

June Small - Just In Time

I wasn't sure if I was going to get this one done before the end of the month, but I pulled it through in the last minutes. Yes... I literally finished it at 11:55pm! I was totally on schedule until the cat got sick, and then it all fell apart. But I got it done... and I have actually been successful for a full half of the year and made one small, to use for a card next year, each month.

As happy as I am about staying on track, this is the sixth of six motifs, designed by Lucie Heaton, for The World of Cross Stitching. And now that I made them all, I'm sad that there are no more to make.

Luckily, though, she actually designs a Furry Tale piece for each month's issue, so I will be able to make more in the future. I'm thinking of making a set of hand towels.

Progress on Lobo also slowed up last week. Basically, everything took a back seat to the sick kitty we had. Don't know what he got into but he started vomiting and having diarrhea and would not come out from behind the couch. I took away his food for 24 hours, then started giving him just a little chicken at a time, and now he is all better. It's just so hard when the little furbabies are sick. I'm never sure if I need to rush them to the vet, or let it work its way through on its own.

Once the cat got better we decided to spend an evening at an Italian Festival at a local church. I don't remember church festivals serving wine and beer when I was a kid, but man it makes it a lot more fun for the adults! We had such a good time. I don't remember laughing so hard in a long, long time.

Well, now we have to start preparing for the 4th of July. Hoping to have a quiet day grilling in the back and just enjoying a day off.

Thank you for visiting! Have a great holiday for those of you in the US!