Falling in...

We are slowly falling in to the routine of a new school year and fall schedule.  School, homework, baseball, scouts and time to just "be".  It is definitely a balancing act. 

This past Saturday, we decided to head to the PA Renaissance Faire with some of our friends.  What an interesting day.  There was a game of chess (played on a life-sized board with real people), jousting, the Queen's court and many, many shoppes.  My boys really enjoyed the honey shoppe - they enjoyed tasting the honey and were also intrigued by the bees.  Some real and some not so real....let's just say that the young lady working the shoppe was cute and dressed in a costume that showed her assests.  She also had bees highlighting said assests.  I'm not sure if they were temporary or permanent marks, but either way, they caught the boys' eyes!  ;)  There were many attendees that came in costumes and let's just say it made for an interesting day of people watching. 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Signs of fall are sneeking into the garden. 

One turned leaf..

The winterberries are looking brighter.. 

The sedum is very colorful.. 

The honeysuckle is climbing over my wall.. 

And from my kitchen window, I can see one of the sunflowers, grown in a pot on the patio from seeds sent to me by dear Myra.

This was a week ago,

And just this morning.

I plan on leaving it here so I can watch the birds eating the seeds during the coming season.

On the stitching front, I am slowly, but surely, working on the design from Heartstring Samplery that I mentioned a few posts back.

I'm getting close!

I was lucky again and was chosen by Cathy of the Inspired Needle to receive a copy of Penny America.  I have seen this on a few blogs and love it!  Thanks Cathy!

And from Cathi, I was chosen to receive this pattern.

I'll have to hurry up and get to this one!

The boys just walked in the door, so the chaos is about to begin!

I'll leave you with a picture of my PS Autumn piece.

I was wondering if anyone noticed that I left the pictures a little bigger on this post.  I am hoping that it makes them a little easier to see.

Happy Stitching!

What a....

Whirlwind!!  That describes the last week or so.  The end of the school year picnics, plays and loads of papers being brought home!  Not to mention the end of the regular Little League season, the start of tournament play for the older two boys, baseball camp and the upcoming scout camp.  And summer is just starting!!

Saturday we decided on a bit of an adventure.  We took the train into Philadelphia to visit here:

The Reading Terminal Market.

What a place!  The fresh foods, eateries and other vendors.  If I lived in the city, I would definitely shop here.  Here are some pics from inside:

 

 

 

We had some cheese steaks, meatball sandwiches and this:

One scoop of dark chocolate and one scoop of banana. 

Then I felt like I should buy this:

Can anyone else relate?  I know of at least one reader that I spoke with this week that might want one of these too!!

My oldest trying to look cool on the train.

The other two goofing off. 

And see that big gaping hole?  Two teeth lost this week, one while eating his meatball sandwich.

 

Our family day ended with this view from our front porch.  The city is a great place to visit, but the country views are the ones I love best.

Father's Day began with breakfast at Cracker Barrel, followed by a visit to Longwood Gardens for a quiet walk, an old fashioned ice cream stand for a treat (yes, I just admitted that I had ice cream twice in one weekend!) and then home for family time.  It was a wonderful weekend.

There has been some stitching too.  I managed to get my exchange in the mail today - just in the nick of time!  I can't show that yet, as this is a secret partner exchange. 

 I did manage to get the latest Truly Thankful edition stitched.  I love this piece!  We have been harvesting berries from our berry patch, so this motif is perfect!

I managed to squeeze my initials in here:

And the date over here: 

And since we live near Philadelphia, I think the eagle and the Liberty Bell are wonderful!!

I'm now working on the May Flowers Truly Thankful - I got a little behind with the crazy schedule we've been keeping.

Tomorrow is the first day of summer, so I switched out my Spring PS piece for a summer one. 

Aren't the colors pretty? 

And who doesn't love a bunny?   

I love the leathery look of this frame. 

And finally, I'd like you to meet Ned.  Ned the Gnome.  He's our indoor gnome and he gets jealous that the others are outside in the gardens and he's stuck in the house.

He usually resides here: 

Well, Ned has decided that this summer, he is taking a trip.  He let me take this last picture while he was waiting patiently for the mail lady to come and give him a ride. 

Stay tuned to see where he ends up and what he gets into!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Orchids and an Oldie

Today we loaded up the boys and headed to Longwood Gardens.  I wanted to see the Orchid displays in the Conservatory before they are replaced with Easter flowers.  See the wall in the back? All orchids. 

And the planters on the floor?  All orchids.

These next two pictures are enhanced orchids.  They are white orhcids that have been altered by injecting dye into the root system while they are growing. 

I can not remember what this next plant is named.  It caught my eye and I had to take the pictures!

Here are a few more orchids:

There were so many sizes and colors that I was thankful to have a digial camera.  I think I snapped close to 150 photos! One of my favorites is of my own flowers (well, they smell most like flowers after a good bathing!)

There has been a little stitching as well. The things I have been working on are for exchanges, and since I can't show those yet, I thought I would show an oldie that I bring out for the spring.  It is a Prairie Schooler design that I stitched back in 1998.

Thoughts and prayers are going out to all those affected by the disaster in Japan.  The power of nature is incredible when unleashed. 

May they find the strength to heal and recover.

As always, thanks for stopping by!