Just In Time

The polenta is simmering, the lamb marinating and just enough time to sit and blog a bit before dinner is served. It's "Single-man's Holiday" at our house again. All of Joe's buddies who are divorced or otherwise unattached spend the day feasting at our house as most have no other place to go. Just in time this little Barbara Ana Design "Spring Biscornu" was finished yesterday.

Still need to stitch it up, but I'll consider it finished for now. Just in time for Thursday's deadline, I have picked out my Carriage House Samplings stocking for Annemarie's SAL. I've chosen "Primitive Stocking" on brutally coffee-dyed 28 count linen and my own stash selections of Valdani threads. I replaced the Weeks Dye Works "Charcoal" shown in this photo with regular DMC black. It was just a tad too close in shading to the olive green. Notice the magnifying glass? Yes, I am truly OLD!! That and the needle-threader have become my newest stitching companions.For some odd reason I felt the need to start yet another project. "Mon Amie Pierre" on an ancient piece of raw linen with a lovely Valdani floss called "Antique Violet". The alphabet was just calling out to me from my big binder of on-line freebies. I finished up to the letter "O" last night. With all the other WIPs hanging around here I hope this one doesn't fall by the wayside. I really love the color.
Lost another very promising gymnasts last week. The littlest girl in the center of the photo, Karenna, has left us for another gym. She has chosen Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, which is known world-wide for it's elite and international champions. Hopefully they will be able to take her further then we could. She is a lovely girl, but missed so many practices that it was hard for her to make the progress that her talent allowed.

My last stitching project of the weekend were some alterations on a prom dress. This is Jill's daughter's dress for her Junior Prom. Yes, Jill!! The former co-worker who made my coaching life such a mess over the past several years. She just called me out-of-the-blue and I couldn't turn her down. Work is work and hopefully she'll recommend me to other people.

On this Easter Sunday I think of the people in my grandmother's hometown of L'Aquila Italy. This is also the home of Veronica of the Quaker Inspired Blog. From what little Italian I can read (and the help of Alta Vista translator) it seems that she is OK and still on-line. If anyone knows of ways to help the people of this region please let me know. I send my good wishes to them and know God is watching over them.