The STING!

Well, finally here is my completed rug which I am calling America.  I guess that's a no brainer huh?  As you probably noticed I changed the design a bit and decided to make the finished rug which is about 12 by 12 inches into a pillow.  I've already had a couple of requests for the pattern and a kit or two ( I am working on this so beg your patience).  The lighter blue background wool is one I dyed  awhile back and do you think for the life of me I can find the paper I wrote the dye formula on!  Sheesh!  Lately things just haven't been going my way!  

Case in point.... on Tues. my friend Lisa Halverson and I took a nice trip out to my friend Sue's place for a nice day of looking at her antiques and the restored cabin full of antiques on their farm.  It was a beautiful day and while taking the short stroll from her house to the cabin I happened to walk across a nest of ground bees.  I didn't realize one had flew up the pants leg of my jeans until I knelt down in the cabin to take a photo of something!  OMG!  I knew immediately I had a bee in in my pants!!  The sting was for certain the sting of a ground bee for I have been stung by these vengeful little creatures before!  A couple of years ago one flew up the leg of a pair of white knit shorts I was wearing and stung me in the tender flesh of the upper inner thigh!  Now let me tell you that was no pleasant thing as the pain put me out of commission  for a few days and I actually felt sick for a couple of days.

So needless to say I felt a little worried after this latest attack and as I dropped my jeans ( Sue was yelling at me " get those jeans off!"..... right there in front of everybody!  Flashing through my mind also was the fact I had put on a pretty new pair of polka dotted underwear that morning instead of my usual kind of ratty ones with holes I wear around most days...... am I the only one?  LOL!

I digress...... so back to the "sting" ..... the dirty little ground dweller flew out of my pants and disappeared somewhere leaving me with two pretty good bites on the lower fatty part of my leg and another near the knee!

I have been nursing these bites for a couple of days now taking ibuprofen and putting hydrocortisone cream on them with cold packs.  They swelled up pretty good but fortunately I haven't gotten the flu like symptoms as in the past.  I don't think I'm allergic to bees..... the durn things are attracted to me though it seems!

Well, my mission to take photos of Sue's house and her cabin ( which are both just out of this world filled with gorgeous primitives and antiques) to share with you did not get squelched!  I bravely went on despite the numbness growing in my leg to take a lot of photos!  I will share them with you shortly but here is one to wet your appetite!  

Oh yes!  How is this for starters?  One of Sue's beautiful old blue painted cupboards with a stack of early painted pantry boxes!  She has an eagle eye for collecting the good primitives and has been collecting for many many years!  I know you will love seeing her house and cabin!  I will post as soon as I can ( I have been trying to get ready for a garage sale at my mother's tomorrow and not much fun with my bee stung leg).  

Bless your hearts for your patience!

Soon,

Cathy G

Special Thoughts and Remembering

Raining cats and dogs here today.  A candle is lit on the hearth and soft country tunes playing on the radio.   Reds, antique white, gold and faded Civil War blue wool strips lay in gentle folds like the flag waving in a summer breeze as they are run through my cutter.  

America.  Freedom. Our home.

Thank-you

To those who keep it safe.

To those who gave the ultimate

Remembering.

Today if you will keep Lori ( Homespunprims) and her husband Brian in your thoughts and prayers. 

And the many friends in blog land who need a special hug this weekend.  

((((((  You )))))))

Cathy G

Max Made Me Update..... finally!!

                                                      Max has been giving me that look.  "Mom, do you know how long it's been since you've updated your blog?  Aren't you going to tell them about my ear infection?   You could show them pictures of the garden you've been working so hard in the last couple of weeks...... Mom.... just post SOMETHING so they  know you're still alive!"

Okay Max. You're right!  I owe it to my readers to at least let them know I haven't given up on blogging.  I think I'll show them these new varieties of window box plants I found yesterday. The yellow one in front is Lysimachia.  The pretty purple one is Littletunia Blue Vein.  Every year I try to find something a little bit different to plant in the window box on the front deck.  

Have you noticed how the price of plants and even Miracle Gro potting soil have gone up?  It's very hard for me to walk through the garden centers and see all the different varieties and select only a few.  Luckily I have a lot of perennials that come up every year in the gardens.

Here is another fun variety of Supertunia I found. It is called Pretty Much Picasso. Maybe the names attract me as much as the colors!  I can't wait for this one to fill the planter with these bright pink and green edge flowers! 

Another new addition to my rock garden in the back yard is this water fountain with cherubs!  It was on clearance at the Farm and Fleet garden center for $39.00.   I love a water feature in the garden and have been looking at fountains for a couple of years.  They are always priced beyond my budget so I was delighted to have found this one so reasonable. 

The purple Iris are just starting to bloom.  They never fail to fascinate with their mysterious deep color and velvety petals!  Some day I would love to hook a rug depicting these exotic looking blooms!   Speaking of hooking.............

My lovely and exotic friends Eva, Lorena and Sharon are showing off their projects of late.  Eva has been recuperating from back surgery and a recent broken arm ( she fell off her bike)...  kids!!   So she hasn't been able to hook but is starting a little bird kit I made up for her.  Lorena hooked my Grinning Jack pattern in very unusual colors of black, white and gray with orange accents.  Isn't it stunning!!     Sharon is working on a pattern that she and her husband drew.   It is a likeness of their daughter's logo for a design business she has.  Sharon has beautiful loops and this is only her second project!  I am so happy to have a group of wonderful hookers who are meeting here regularly now.  We keep one another inspired and I can tell you I am the one who needs it the most!

Lastly I want to remind you of the May update on Primitive Handmades Mercantile   tomorrow.   I did manage to make something and will be updating my page sometime tomorrow afternoon.  I have Dr.s appointments all morning so hope to be able to update later in the day.  Here is a sneak peek.

We are having a give-away again this month where you find the letters and figure out the phrase to be entered to win!  Come join in and shop some of the best hand mades in town!!

See you tomorrow!

Cathy G