Time to Focus

Although its been a busy and hectic summer, it has also been a productive one. My husband and I have covered a lot of ground and made a lot of progress in these few months. He has been prepping a basement for renovations (not ours) and I have been maintaining our home, finishing rug hooking projects and starting new ones.
The summer started with a yard sale at our daughter's house.






A few short weeks later, after their house being on the market for several weeks, an offer was made on their house and it was sold. Yippee! Hooray!!





Too bad we didn't know about the sale before the yard sale, but everyone rallied together to pack and move our daughter and son-in-law out of their massive house. As always, everything got done, summer vacation started, and I went to Green Mountain Rug School for the first time. It is something that I have always wanted to do, and my husband joined me.
I designed this "Peacock Feathers" rug wall hanging, brushed up on my dyeing skills and met many nice hookers.

With some of the wool I dyed a bright blue at class, I decided to hook "Whale of a Time" intertwined with some of my drab wool. From feathers to fish, it seems.



I weathered an oak frame and it will be a pleasant surprise for our friends to find in their Cape House in Wellfleet after a visit this Fall. Ssh...it's a surprise. I enjoyed the result so much, that I hooked another "Little Whale" for a certain somebody.



While I wasn't rug hooking and my husband wasn't working, we were able to plan a few get-a-ways to search for treasures and to relax.
A rug hooking shop in Maine,



Then, a French Brocante shop,



Ohh La Laa, what nice French Faire!

I found this rustic Farmhouse rolling cart for some goodies we found in Amish Country, I added a few pieces I had laying around as well.





I had to take advantage of the nice warm weather to finish a few projects I had always intended to finish. An old seat cover I hooked that needed repair paired with a nice old oak frame...perfect.



An old rickety mirror frame that I refinished and put a back on and converted into a chalkboard. So many phrases...endless possibilities around the year.



I'm not a follower of horse races, but this I believe was the trifecta, three pieces all in need of attention, finished in one day. Whew, glad that's done.



Before I retired, the blooms came and went, I never had time to pick, create a vignette, explore the possible photo shoots and choices to decorate our table. That has changed!

My table has never looked better, and I can't believe what I have around the house to decorate with.





Every once in a while I change up my Hoot Owl Trios, which I list on Etsy and Ebay. These Black-eyed Susans did the trick.






I started this Bonsai in late April and it is still alive...just another thing I always wanted to try.







Some lovelies I dragged out of the dust to create this photo, everyone needs a little inspiration now and then.



Yes, this summer has certainly ticked off all of our boxes for sure. We had great times with our grandchildren, including a camping vacation and going to the beach and all the "night swimming" and sleepovers they wanted.





As summer winds down and Autumn approaches, I hope that we can keep up the pace and reach all of our goals. We have had the nicest weather and hopefully the transition will be long and slow.



And that we will make wise choices and continue to work together.





I am canning tomatoes and salsa this week in between hooking a more seasonal motif.



Thank you for stopping by for a visit, I hope you will leave a comment or just say Hi, perhaps follow if you liked my blog. I am still new at this and the technical skills required, but I strive to inspire you to create, use what you have, and plan a get-a-way as often as you can. Enjoy the "back-to-school" routine and the harvesting you may have ahead of you.
So now, if you will please excuse me while I get back to my canning. The salsa awaits...


I welcome any questions or ideas you would like to share, and hope your creative juices are awakening as much as mine during this wonderful time of the year. 



As my grandson would say, "Bah" for now. Marilou