Saint Clare

Hello boys and girls. I haven't posted since the 21st, a week ago, the day I moved into the 6th decade. Well, technically, I'm 40 with 20 years experience. I've been busy getting outside projects completed so I don't have a summer like 2010. Waiting, waiting, waiting, while staring at mud with no where to sit. I hired a new landscaper and he's already completed three projects so we should be done soon. Yes I work with them or watch them because I've been stung too many times, regardless of how good looking they are.  What?   I finally finished planting the flowers in pots.  One of my favorites is this little rusty paint can on a small hook. 

I pour old paint on to cardboard appliance boxes and when dry, burn.  I hate to throw the cans in the garbage (no recycling in my township) so I decided to let them rust, poke holes in the bottom, and plant! 

My other wire baskets I line with two layers of burlap, fill, and plant.  I put slits in the fabric and poke starts in the sides, eventually flowers cover the entire pot and no one sees the burlap.  Doesn't matter to me since I like primitive style crap anyway.   I've covered plastic pots with burlap too, and tied it on with raffia or jute.

 I haven't put this swing out for the last three years.  We had it custom made for mom, and you can see the handle on the post that she used to pull herself up.  Big swings were too unwieldy for her so I found someone to make a single.  We had it positioned to watch her from the kitchen window so I see it all the time, very hard.  But I love to swing in it like a little kid and remember how she enjoyed her special spot.  You can see another new paint can that hasn't rusted yet. 

Anyway, I'm haven't stitched and I'm really upset with myself.  But before I get into that, a blogger mentioned getting another pair of scissors recently, a new style, and I thought I would embarrassingly show you mine....

Fiskers.  Orange plastic Fiskers.  Did I hear tsk tsk tsk?  Are you embarrassed for me or am I not the only one that uses orange plastic scissors???  Should I treat myself to a pretty pair? 

Tonight I will work on that Pears Two chart since the supplies were pulled a while ago. Part of why I'm procrastinating is having to find the linen, figure the size, and CUT it. Grow up girl. It does no one any good sitting in a drawer. If a project was ready to go, I would certainly have started it, but I really hate searching through linen and trying to figure out the count. Excuses excuses. So this came to me when I was digging a hole.....do we have a patron saint to pray to when we are in stitch distress? You probably all know that we do, but I didn't.   She is Saint Clare.   I found her story here and I enjoyed the article. Another article from the New York Public Library is here. Technically she is Saint Clare of Assisi and developed Assisi embroidery. If you are like me and unaware that stitchers have a patron saint, it is pretty interesting to read.  Never did I expect to find her when I Googled for patron saints.  Maybe she and I will have a long talk tonight. 

Thank you for visiting, commenting, emailing, and putting up with stitching absentia.   Not sure if that is the correct term for my affliction, but I don't care.  I own it.  And it ends tonight!!!