Pretty!

I have a new book in my library and I'm looking forward to using it!

Gates

Things have been moving forward at home, despite my lack of updates. The car and pedestrian gates are finally in place and they look pretty good, if I do say so. Now all we need out front is a little stucco, some post caps, and some decorative stonework and we can call that area done.

To all my bee-keeping friends

February 10

Happy Saint Haralambos' Day! This saint is the protector of bee-keepers and shepherds.

.

A cross of fire and jars of honey for St. Haralampiy (St. Haralambos) Blagoevgrad -10.02.2012

Thousands of jars with honey and burning candles are arranged in the form of the Holy Cross in honor of St. Haralampiy. The ritual is unique and takes place only in the Blagoevgrad Church -Vavedenie Bogorodichno (The Blessed Virgin). There is a belief that the fiery honey cross brings health and a good crop to the beekeepers. They say that the blessed honey has healing and magical powers.   http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/405/Blagoevgrad— in Blagoevgrad.

House Update

Since I last posted about the house, the front privacy wall has been finished and only needs the gates, which are expected shortly! (They will replace the functional, but very ugly, ones in place now.) The wall itself needs stucco and the columns will be stone-clad. It should look very good. The last cable on the front of the house will be removed in the next week and will be replaced with an underground electric cable. No more power outages due to strong winds.



As you can see. the conservatory is also structurally complete and needs only finish work when the weather warms up a bit.

 We still need to finish the second-floor balcony, which is missing the floor finish and railings. It's a two day job, once it's a little warmer

The conservatory is full of all the stuff from the living room, because that room is in the middle of finish work - the drywall is getting tape and mud today, the wiring & sound system are finished, and the floor will go down as soon as the painting is finished. Then the furniture and books can go in and the builders can move on to the kitchen and dining room!

Since we're having a very mild winter and it's snow-free, here's a shot of the lawn in all its "glory". It doesn't look too bad, especially since the dog (good boy, Archie!) dealt with the miserable moles. Terriers can be quite useful!

The pile of lumber and roof tiles in the left corner will someday be a summer kitchen. It's sitting on a concrete slab and the water and electrics are already in place. The "lovely" little outhouse will go the way of the dinosaurs at the same time and will be replaced with a proper bathroom for the summer kitchen. The wall here will also get the same stucco and stone treatment as the front wall. On the right is the start of a long perennial bed, which has nearly a thousand spring bulbs, plus poppies, chrysanthemums, lilacs, primroses, and roses so far. We'll be starting perennial seeds in the conservatory next month and will fill it all in, cottage garden style, as the spring and summer progress. The ugly pipes in the foreground are the basis for the irrigation system, which will all come from the well. That should help keep things green in the heat of the summers here. The apple, peach, and quince trees all need a second pruning to get them back in best form, but all of them produced well last year and hopefully will for many more years.

Actual sewing content!

I spent most of today on a silly, but fun, project. I decided that I wanted to make something heraldic for the Twelfth Night A&S competition - so what to do? Well, what could be more fun than a pair of dog coats with Emma's device on one and mine on the other? They are both cut out and half assembled. I've used wool that I had on hand from earlier projects and am hand appliqueing them using silk or wool thread, depending on color. I hope to finish them both tomorrow and put together some documentation based on one illumination and reference from the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries and the book The Hound and the Hawk. I'll post photos when they are done.

Life gets in the way...

of blogging! The first half of the month of October was spent in South Korea for my son's wedding and the second half was spent catching up back at work from all that I had missed in the previous two weeks. The wedding was amazing and worth every second of catch-up work. I now have an amazing daughter-in-law to go along with the excellent son-in-law that my daughter had already provided! Here are a few pictures to prove it really happened!

Mom and Logan        

Mom

                                     

The Altar

The Bride and Groom!

The wedding party at the end of the ceremony

Arr, matey!

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day, so I figured I needed a new pirate name! 

My pirate name is:

Captain Bess Kidd

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!