Rain

We finally got some much needed rain. 

 

I heard thunder this morning, so I immediately turned on the sprinkler

and considered washing my car to make sure it did not pass us by.

The early A.M. thunder left us high and dry, but we finally received

a little over one inch of rain in about an hour with an afternoon thunderstorm. 

Unfortunately, this cloud did not have a silver lining, the storm spawned some tornadoes

 about an hour north of us.  At least 12 homes were destroyed and 4 people were injured.

We have more rain in the forecast . . .

for a week from Saturday.

Summer Vacation Has Begun!

We are in our first week of summer vacation and while our summer plans are very low-key, we are very much looking forward to enjoying this summer.

I am working on a special stitching project as a gift, so I cannot post any photos of my progress, but  I will be picking up a couple of WIPs later this week and will post my progress, meager though it may be.

Hurricane season starts June 1st, and we are praying for a very quiet season and that the recent devastating tornadoes are not an indicator of the season.

I have been grateful for the unusually cool Spring we have had this year, just a few weeks ago, we were dipping down into the 40s at night and experiencing highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s.  The last two weeks have seen more 90 degree temps and an increase in humidity. 

How ironic that we are in the middle of a drought, having received only 30% of our usual rainfall for this time of year, while, the diversion of the Mississippi River at the Bonnet Carre' and Morganza spillways are flooding some communities just hours away with up to 15 feet of water. 

The opening of the Bonnet Carre' spillway has inundated Lake Ponchatrain with river water.  The lake is now almost completely filled with river water, this is no small task.  I think this will ruin our plans to go fishing and crabbing this summer, it will also cause an algae blooms later in the summer.

Our garden is really coming along, we will be planting our second wave of tomatoes, eggplant and squashes to stretch out our harvest.  Since my first planting of chives, thyme, parsley and cilantro were a bust, I will give it another try.

Blueberries!

Genovese, Purple Opal and Sweet Basils

Our Watermelon Patch (with a broken tomato branch that DS is trying to root)

Creole Tomatoes!!

Cherry Tomatoes

Our first eggplant of the season!

There are a over dozen squash growing just this one plant.

Sweet Mint - I am tasting lots of mint tea this summer!

I am also making plans for our fall garden with broccoli, cauliflower, mirliton (chayote/vegetable pear), pumpkins, butternut squash and potatoes.

My latest WIPs

Not much stitching going on, but I thought I would share what I have been turning my hand to . . .

Crookneck Squash

Creole Tomatoes

Eggplant

Also - - - watermelon, cantelope, cucumbers, zucchini, basil, parsley, cilantro, chives, sweet mint, thyme,

Holy Week - "But You Loved Me Anyway"

New Stash

If you have not been watching the Eastern Bluebird cam on my blog, the baby bluebirds are growing very quickly.  They are now fully feathered, although you can still see the feather shaft on the wing feathers, but they are flapping their wings in the nest preparing for that first flight.  They will be leaving the nest very soon.

Since DH borrowed my camera, he returned it with drained batteries, so I pulled in a substitution and used the photo function on the video camera to take these photos.  It takes much better video than photos.

On a recent trip into NOLA, I made a quick stop at my favorite LNS and picked up a couple of things . . .

28ct Cashel Linen (Taupe),
28ct 100% Linen (Shell, Monet Blue & China Pearl)
and Lizzie Kate's "Forgive Quickly"

The wonderful Marian from Gumbo and Grits sent me several charts from her stash that were on my wish list.  If you have not visited Marian's blog yet, check out some of her beautiful stitching.

Little House Needleworks "Heart of America"
The Sampler Girl "Fancy a Jane Day?"

The Cricket Collection
"On the First Day of Christmas", "On the Fourth Day of Christmas",
"On the Seventh Day of Christmas" and "My True Love Gave to Me"

Bent Creek "Winter Snapperland series"
"Chalet", "Sleigh Ride", "Le Rink" & "The Villa"

Little House Needleworks "Queen Bee" and "Chocolate Box" patterns

The Stitching Parlor " Mr. and Mrs. Darcy of Pemberly"
Rosewood Manor "And a Forest Grew"

Thanks Marian for your wonderfully generous gift!

I am fancying a "Jane Day", a cup of tea, a couple of Jane Austen DVDs and some beautiful linen and thread - sure does beat Calgon!

Oh, I almost forgot, I have one more stitching stash acquisition . . .

. . . sigh . . .

Hopefully these will speed up my stitching.

Media Monday #7 - Secrets Edition

Masterpiece Theater - Downton Abbey  I love period films and enjoyed this new series.  There is no shortage of family secrets.  Since the final show ended with the announcement that England was now at war with Germany, I am hoping that they have a second series to see how the lives of the Crawley family and their staff change with the coming of WWII.

Miracle in the Woods - An enjoyable "Hallmark" type movie.  Two estranged sisters are at odds over their recently deceased mother's will and discover a long held family secret.

A Lesson in Secrets (8th in the Maisie Dobbs series) - I LOVE this series.  Shortly after her mother's death, Maise enters service with the Rowan family.  One day the bright Maisie is caught in the library, the forward thinking Lady Rowan introduces her to Maurice Blanche who becomes her mentor.  Maisie balances her household duties with studies and is eventually enters Cambridge.  Maisie leaves college to enlist as a nurse during WWI.  After the war, she returns to complete her education and continues her mentoring relationship with Maurice, eventually becoming his assistant and a private investigator in her own right.  In this eighth book, Maisie is asked by the British Secret Service to investigate St. Francis College for any activities not in the best interest of Britain.  A member of staff is murdered, several others are hiding secrets and the popularity of the Nazi Socialist Party is increasing among the social elite as harbingers of the coming WWII become apparent.

This series is best read from the beginning as the backstory, challenges and changes faced my Maisie are what make this series so interesting.