Summertime and the livin' is easy!

And the kiddies are having fun at Nana and Poppa's house!

My Beautiful Grandpuppy

What's not to love?  120 lbs. of pure mischief ... look at those eyes! LOL

Helping Mommy paint!!!!

Holding the dishwasher door open for Mommy

Hey, what's going on in here?

I know, I can't help it ... I dug another hole for you to plant something in, Mommy!!!

A Busy but Productive Weekend

I was out in the front garden last weekend pulling weeds and trimming all the topiary balls.  What a job but it is done and I can relax for a little while!! LOL

A New Year Has Begun ...

For our quilters' guild, that is.  How fast this past year has flown by.  I have learned much in my year as Co-President of our guild and feel ready and confident to take over the reins as President.  I have a wonderful team of officers serving on the executive committee with me and feel their support which, of course, builds up my confidence.  Onwards and upwards!

Traci, my daughter, organized a family barbeque and swimming party at her home yesterday and another daughter. Jennie,  and I celebrated our birthdays together there.  It was a wonderful day and I loved seeing all of the family ... wow ... what a large gathering we make!

Great news speaking of our family's numbers ... daughter Jennie is expecting her fourth baby!  Yes, that's right ... we will be the very happy and proud Nana and Poppa of 9 beautiful grandkidlets!  How fun is that!

We have been home from the rv for about 2 weeks now and have a week left before we head out again ... this time to Sunshine Valley and then onto Camperland in Bridal Falls.  The grandkiddies will be taking turns on coming up to stay for a couple of days  with Nana and Poppa.  The waterslides are there in Bridal Falls too so that is always great fun for the kiddies, amongst all the other mischief we get into!

We enjoyed having Emma and Lauryn over a few days ago and we had so much fun together as you can see ...

Emma making bracelets 

Emma and Lauryn outside having lunch

Emma and Lauryn showing off their pirouette scarves Nana made for them ... that is not the way to wear them girls! LOL

A new way of watching t.v.

On the Mend!

I got my stitches out today from my hernia surgery and I have to say 8 days after surgery I feel like a million bucks!  I mustn't lift anything more than 20 lbs. for 6 weeks but that shouldn't prove a big problem.

Our Nine Patchers quilting group got together again today to stitch and get caught up on everyone's happenings.  Always a lot of fun and laughs to be had.  We had a small gathering today but still found lots to laugh about.  I love our little group - we are such good friends with one another! ;-)

Tomorrow I have a lady coming around to look at my B-Line with a view to purchasing it from me.  I think she will be very happy with all that I am throwing in with the deal and at such an exccellent price for her too.  She is a member of our guild so we both feel very comfortable dealing with each other.

I watched a fabulous instructional DVD this evening with Nancy Chong, quilt appliquer extraordinaire!  She is fabulous and her method of double applique is amazing.  Do take a peek http://prqc.com/  I am all ready to tackle my first double applique project tomorrow!  It's going to be another fun day! ;-)

All for today though ... bedtime is calling .....

Sound Advice

Hernia Surgery out of the way!

Well, after waiting approximately 7 months, I have finally had my hernia repair surgery.  I went into hospital on July 10th to have this done.  Hubby and I came back down to the rv the next day as I was feeling pretty good and just needed to relax.  Can't seem to do that at home! LOL

I have to go back to see the surgeon this coming Wednesday to have the sutures out.  I might be staying at home at that time rather than coming back to the rv for a couple of days more.  I am recovering very nicely, albeit a little sore when getting up from a sitting or lying position.

The weather has been great so I have been able to spend lots of time relaxing outside on the chaise lounge.  We have had a couple of spectacular lightening and thunder storms in the evening when the whole rv lit up with each crack of lightening ... quite a different effect actually.

The summer is well underway and so is our wonderful rv'ing season! ;-)

Yep ! LOL

Bearded Lizard

I have just finished making this for my grandson, Austin.  He is super crazy about reptiles and actually has two geckos which he loves. 

I started out by sketching the lizard onto fabric that had already been prepared for inking/painting (PDF) and then using Tsukinenko inks proceeded to "paint" him.  I wet the areas that I wanted to work in with a brush and water - another method is to use Aloe Vera as the base instead of water.  I then brushed the watered down inks all over and just let it do its own thing by allowing the colours to bleed into one another.  I did the same with the background fabric too.

After the inking was completed, I then free motioned all of the lizard scales - a tedious job, but it made "Larry" come alive!  I then stretched and mounted this onto an 18" x 24" canvas.

My grandson was so pleased when I presented it to him and immediately wanted his Mom to hang it up in his bedroom which made me smile!

I also took this into our guild meeting last week and was very happy to receive such wonderful comments.  They were so thrilled with this new art media that they have asked me to teach a workshop in the use of Tsukinenko inks, which I am delighted to do for our members.

Another Sunny Day!

What a lovely bright sunny morning we have woken up to.  I think they are promising temperatures to hit mid 70's today which will be lovely and perfect for lounging around outside and reading!

The fireworks were amazing last night.  Long after we came back to the rv they were going off.  It sounded quite eerie being in the rv and hearing all the explosions actually.  I commented to DH how wonderful it was to know that they were only fireworks going off and that we were not living in a war zone.  How dreadful it must be for those having to endure that! ;-(

So, today we are looking forward to another day of relaxing outside - doing a little reading which will no doubt end in a wee nap!  I can't seem to read for too long before nodding off - hubby is the same way! LOL

Kitties are in their glory and are outside in their huge cages enjoying the sunshine and watching the birds.  Being totally inside cats at home, this is such a treat for them! ;-)

The Sun is Shining!!!!

We are still down here in the RV in Ferndale, Washington and it is a very special day for our American cousins today ... it is the 4th of July! ;-)

The fireworks started about 9 p.m. last night ... I can only imagine what it is going to be like throughout the day and evening!  There will be a parade going through the rv resort today which will be fun, especially for the kiddies and some kind of a celebration this evening.  The most important thing is that the sun is shining which will make everything and everyone happy!

Enjoy this beautiful weather everyone!  I think summer is trying to make an appearance! ;-)

Relaxin' in the RV again!

We hitched up the RV and left on Fridayfor some more fun in the sun.  The weather has been a little on the cool side but promises to heat up beautifully for the remainder of our stay here. 

We are looking forward to seeing those members of our family who can make it to come out for the day here and there with us.  On Tuesday, I have a dear friend coming down to spend the day with me and play catch up with all of our various goings on.

As you can see, the troops have settle in nicely! LOL

CATV NAP!

HAPPY CANADA DAY FOLKS!!!!