End of Summer Update

I'm back! Yay!

And *summer is over! More yay! Tiger Lily started blowing her summer coat in July. I suppose it's sort of "old-wives'-tale-ish" on my part, but I have noticed that when she loses her summer coat mid-way through, we get an early start on winter (which around here, is early December). Fine with me. I'm ready for a blizzard.

*Meteorological summer started 1 September. Yes, I'm a weather nerd.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I've been spending this summer doing some redecorating and cleaning out for a possible spring move. As is often the case, messing with any household project of any size can be like accidentally knocking over the first domino in the line, and then watching helplessly as the cascade of falling dominoes runs madly throughout the entire house. That's where I am right now. I was only re-doing the living room, but had to move some cabinets out, which required finding a place for them elsewhere, which ended up being my sewing room, which then required a major re-arrangement to accommodate them... you get the idea. I think I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and none too soon. My stitching and blogging about stitching has been sadly neglected.

Mr. Wonderful's birthday was last month, and we did manage to get out for a little day trip to celebrate. I got this adorable 4.5" pitcher. In one of my earlier pottery posts, I was fussing about being nuts about pitchers but not really having much use for them. It was hard to justify buying them. Then I decided that loving them was all the justification that I needed, so here we are. Life's too short to deny yourself charming little pitchers. (If you want to see some of my other pieces, click on the "pottery" label at the end of this post or in the right sidebar.)

While we were out trekking the countryside, Mr. Wonderful survived a ferocious chicken attack!

In the surest sign of fall, college football is back! Saturday we went to the Texas game (we are both Texas grads). Of course they lost. We still had a good time (except for the hour and a half rain delay), and we're both just killing time until hockey season starts anyway.

In my last Clover and Lace update I optimistically (and delusional-y) announced that I only had two more lines of verse and the border left and that I could probably finish it by the end of the summer. I knew--even as I was typing it--that I was kidding myself. With everything else going on in this house, I have managed to stitch exactly one, o-n-e, line of the verse. It's not even worth an update. However!

This! This is worth noting! Brooke Nolan has started a new six-part series: Woodland Santa & Friends, available in her Etsy shop. It is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. Parts 1-3 are out, and they are available separately or in a bundle. Part 1 is Santa, part 2 is Freddie Fox, and part 3 is Rebecca Rabbit, and y'all they have little outfits! So, so, SO cute! The morning they were released, my cousin texted me a picture and I immediately went out and got my supplies together (I was about to leave to run errands anyway, but you know, that went to the top of the to-do list.)

Did I have time to start them? No. Did I have a zillion other things to get done in the house before I could give myself permission to start them? Yes. Did I have another WIP I need to finish first? Yes. Did I buy them and all the supplies anyway?

YES.

So that's where things stand at my house. 

Big living room redeco: almost done

Big sewing room rearrange (caused by big living room redeco): uh... let's skip that one

Clover and Lace WIP: one line of verse and border left 

Christmas stitching: should've started two months ago

Oh, and Mr. Wonderful and I have another trip to Seagrove, NC planned for this month (see this post). 

But I did get my blog updated!