My painting niece

Today I'd like to show you a couple of paintings that my niece has painted. She's taking art in high school and she is really good! I haven't been very good at avoiding the flash from the camera when i took these photoes, but I'll show them anyway...

The first one is a garlic, the second is a torso..

I have been reminding her- on numerous occations that I'm turning 50 next year and that I'd looove to get a painting as a gift.

I'd also like to show you the boquet that my daughter made for us for our wedding anniversary this summer. She works at the local flower shop on Saturdays and during vacations. For this one she picked roses and som big leafy plants in our garden and when my husband and I came home late in the evening after dinner and movie she had put this on the table with a card. Wasn't that wonderfully thoughtful?

Today I have been so busy you wouldn't think it possible to cram that many activities into a Sunday that even started late.. (I had morning coffees until after ten before I started anything!)

I baked 40 rolls, I slow cooked a spaghetti sauce that I made from scratch. I painted in my youngest daughters bedroom ( it's a slow process, have had too many other things on the go lately, to be able to concentrate on it, but now we are getting somewhere...) and I cooked some more because my husband now works out of town and needs to bring a couple of suppers with him when he leaves here Monday or Tuesday morning... He has a microwave in his room where he sleeps over so that he can reheat his meals)

I still have two pairs of pants to hem for my friend's mother.. And I do not particularily enjoy that kind of sewing machine work, but it isn't a big job -so no reason to complain...

But first I have to visit a few blogs to see how their weekend has been like.

100 posts so far!

I have -with this posting, reached 100 posts on this blog.

I started working at home today (have to go to work as of Wednesday, but I had some things to do before that even... just to tell you folks out there that YES! Teachers work more than you know!!!) At first it was a nice day for sitting on the porch with the computer, but as the day progressed it got somewhat cool in the shade, and then the wind picked up and my papers were hard to keep in place. In the end I had to surrender and place myself at the kitchen table. Worked form 10 to 3 (as you can see on the photo the craft basket was right there- but I got too wrapped up to take a brake..)

Early this morning my husband got up to go to his new job. it's a two hour drive, this is his second week and he will -as of tomorrow- get installed in a room where he will stay overnight from Tuesday to Thursdays during weeks that do not involve businesstrips abroad -there will be quite a few, a bit more that in his previous job). I woke up a bit too much so I turned on the light and read my book for an hour before I went back to sleep untill 8. Then my oldest had to get ready for work (summer /weekend job at the florist's)

Any of you as big a fan of Harry Potter as I am?

I have about four - five books sitting in my book shelf waiting for me to finish this one so I can read them... Don't know how that will work out now that i go back to work.. But who knows- I might get into a reading frenzy. it has happened before.

Baking in the making!

I'm going to have a couple of friends for lunch tomorrow so I am baking rolls and an apple cake. My oldest is appointed best roll baker in the family so she did most of the work with that dough.

Now we are just sitting back waiting for marvellous results.

...... and I am sweating like a pig. I must be going through menopause galore! I've already showered once this afternoon, now I am drenched again. Worst: I sweat from a bit above the hairline and it makes my hair wet, I look flushed and I feel like screaming with despair!

Maybe some of you know what I'm talking about...

I better stay in my recliner for the rest of the evening just moving the crochet hook in order to finish my niece's 18th birthday present( she has wished for one..I would never have guessed that she wanted something like this from an old aunt!):

I have actually completeted a few more motifs since I took this photo... the middle of it has five motifs (here you see one missing from the middle row..) and I have now started the decreasing, leaving me five more motifs to do before I am done.

August here- and we've had no summer!

...But what can we do about that? Nothing. Moving on and not thinking about it too much is what I need to do. August might get nice...

I haven't posted since may 28th. Got a little tired of it. keep thinking that I should change to another blog service, but don't give myself any time to explore the options...

I was planning on doing a lot of painting this summer, had several pieces of furniture that I wanted to paint on the porch.. But when everything was wet all the time I moved ito the garage with a couple of pieces- and the rest is still not painted. ( I don't enjoy painting enough to go at it eagerly when it's so wet my glossy white oil based paint doesn't even dry within the 24 hours promised on the can! Here is the bench I painted anyways..: I started in the living room, but it stunk and it was too cold to keep the door and windows open. It will be used for more plants when my outdoor plants move in towards September. here are some of my surviving plants from last summer- not doing too bad this year.. I'm proud as a button!

So how did I spend the month of June?
-I sorted all my wool needlepoint yarn.

Got my hobby cabinets in order, and started a new crochet project : It will be a tablecloth in the end.

Also bought a new tackle box to keep my sewing supplies in.

And for my mother's birthday I sewed this apron that she can fill with stuff when she goes out on the porch (she needs her hands to hold on to the door)The fabric is old, she remembered we had it for a kitchen curtain at the cottage at one time.

I got lots more to tell, but I'll do some more posts in the next few days...

Will only add that my husband is now back to work after having been off since he had the bad car accident in october last year. And he is in fact starting a new job tomorrow! it's with a different company- but the same job, selling valves for maritime use on the international market, but his base will be out of town for three days and home office for two. He used to travel quite a bit, now it will involve a bit more travelling, about 100 days a year. But that's okay we are used to him coming and going like that(- and I don't have a long driveway to shovel in the winter anymore! )