Prairie Schooler Stitching and a Little Relief from the Heat and Drought

I stitched 2 small PS pieces this week for exchanges.  The first is from the "September" leaflet and will be sent as a raw block for the recipient to finish as she desires:

Next up is from the "October" leaflet.  I'll have to finish this one as some kind of ornament.  Since I'm "finishing impaired", I'll procrastinate mull this over for a while before attempting it.

Nikki (Country Cottage Needleworks) released another model I stitched for her..."Give Thanks".  I would have never thought to use those colors for a Thanksgiving piece but I love it!   She also released another of her city pieces "Afternoon in London".  I love her designs!

For more info about it:  Country Cottage Needleworks


After a few weeks of intense heat and many weeks since our last rainfall (grass around here is getting dry, brittle, and crunchy) the skies opened up and the temperatures cooled down.  Our neighbor measured >5" of rain just yesterday.  (It's raining today too.)  We seem to either get no rain or tons at once.

The lake level had finally returned to an optimal level but after yesterday's rainfall it rose again another 18".  (Drainage from the neighborhood contributed to the water level.)  My poor husband spent a lot of time out in the heat last week powerwashing our bulkhead and dock and now it's covered with water again and will have to be redone after the water level recedes.

At least it's a little cooler than it has been lately.  Hopefully it lasts for a while.

Last week:

Today:

I've been craving banana pudding recently so finally gave in and made some from scratch.  It was very good...and pretty easy to make.  We ate it so fast that I didn't take a picture.  I'll probably try making chocolate pudding today.

It will be a quiet weekend so I'm hoping to get a lot done on the model I'm stitching.

Happy Stitching!

Quiet Week

We're enjoying a quiet week...and DS is starting to act bored.

DH and I celebrated our anniversary Monday by going out to eat.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  Unfortunately, even though we've eaten at this place many times before with no problems, the service that night was TERRIBLE...from waiting way to long for orders to be taken, food delivered (and incorrectly--the ceasar salad had no dressing), and waiting so long for the waitress to take up our check.  DH is very easygoing and never does this....but it was so bad that he left a tiny tip this time.  We're hoping that was just a bad night but we'll think long and hard before going there again.

It's been really hot and humid here in SE TX but I managed to drag myself out every weekday morning for my fitness walks.  That shower afterwards sure feels good after getting all sweaty!

I got to stitch some more this week.  I'm awaiting an order from 123 Stitch including Betsy's House and also the materials needed to stitch an old Carriage House Samplings pattern I borrowed.  In the meantime I stitched part of Prairie Schooler's July for an exchange block.

I also worked a bit on my LK Fat Guys and Snow Belles project, working on the Snow House block.  (I have a theory that if I'm thinking about snow, it may help me think it's not quite so hot.)  The lighting for this picture isn't great but you get the idea.

I also pulled out my wip of One Nation (ByGone Stitches) to work on for a bit.  It had been so long since I worked on this one that I'd forgotten that it's stitched with one strand on 36 count.

Nikki released a design that I model stitched for her, Stars and Stripes.  This was a fun one to stitch and so cute!

You can see it all framed up on her website here:

Country Cottage Needleworks

On the cooking front...I've been seeing banana pudding recipes posted a lot lately on Facebook and it's made me want some.  So, I looked up a recipe online and made some today.  I don't remember the last time I'd had some but I don't remember a meringue on top, but that's what this recipe called for.  It was really good but I think next time I'll just stick to making the pudding and skip the meringue.  (You know, the way we eat things like that as a child is the "right" way.  Besides, it was INSANE to have the oven on when it's this hot.  lol!)

Until next time.....

Happy stitching!