Marshmallows, Mermaids and Moonlight

 

{When your cappuccino matches your mug....}

 

I took a quick trip up to the lake over the holiday weekend to sort a few things and soak in a few last rays of the summer sun.

The weather was distractingly amazing.

{Heron on the sandbar} 

Unfortunately, I know I cannot store enough of that energy for the winter ahead.

We have already had frost and there are frost warnings in effect for tonight again.

Back home, I am trying to "sort a few things" as well, but with little-to-no success.  

Many of you, I know, are "sorting" in your own ways - downsizing, purging, minimalizing - as I well should be.

The "need" becomes more apparent with each day that passes, and, at times, the motivation increases as well, but I'm not quite there yet.

If you hadn't figured it out by now, things come slowly to me.

And, most often, I do what I should not do and put myself more than a few steps back.

I have too many collections and I have mostly done well at not adding to them. But every now and again I give in to a weakness.

I can't tell you when I last added to my marshmallow tin collection - other than last week when I added this one.

Nope...I don't like marshmallows particularly - but I do love these old funky tins.

This one will likely end up in the back row - once I wrangle the ladder inside.

(You're right - one probably won't see it back there - but I'm about the only "one" who even knows there's a collection of marshmallow tins up there.)

But back to sorting!

For me that involves tying up loose ends and taking care of things that have lingered about too long.

Like my mermaids. 

I stitched these many years ago - when we first purchased the lake house I believe. (There's not a reason I can conceive of why I would choose to stitch mermaids if I did not have a home near water. And, no - that was NOT the reason we purchased the lake house.)

Anyway - they are finally framed.

First up - The Mermaid of Salem Bay (pattern by The Primitive Hare).

This is stitched on 30 ct "Pirate Linen" also by The Primitive Hare (2 over 2 with a gazillion quarter/half/three-quarter stitches and backstitching and beading). 

I had a meltdown when I ran out of the overdyed floss called "Mountain Mist" and could find none remotely close to what I had started her with as the dye lots had changed dramatically.

Marly (Samplers and Santas) came through with many skeins of not only Mountain Mist, but other colors she thought would work.

She was right.

Marly is always right when it comes to color.

I'm not typically a bead person, but the beads made this design.

And what's better than 1 mermaid?

Two, of course.

This is, obviously, another Primitive Hare design.

This one is called Oceanarium and is stitched two over two on 30 ct. "Ancient Stones" linen, also by The Primitive Hare.

Again, lots of quirky stitches, backstitching and beading.

I should have done a video so you could see how the beads twinkle - but I didn't.

If these make it to being hung on a wall, it will be at the lake house.

They don't quite "fit" here in Nod.

And, lastly, moonlight.

Last night was a full "blood" moon - and a total lunar eclipse no less.

While the eclipse wasn't visible to us here in the states, the moon still put on a spectacular show.

 

...and now back to sorting.

😒

Hats Off to Uncle Sam...Yeah, I'm Late Like That....

I apologize for being so very long gone.  I do have a very good reason.  Trust me.  And not because I am a lawyer.  Life has just veered off course again...but this one I somewhat saw coming. I just did not want to acknowledge it in the ways I needed to.

Anywhat.

I am, as you have, by now, figured out, "back."  I had submitted my issue about my "disappeared" reading list to Blogger/Google Help...and, after several days weeks, they actually responded and informed me they had resolved the problem.  A rare, but so much appreciated, "Woo Hoo" moment. The "Whoops" problem, however, still persists.  My request to make the error message less irritable apparently, too, was ignored.

I have done little and accomplished even less recently that would hold your attention most likely.  I did finish up a Blackbird Design design I had been wanting to do for some time.  Now, well, like many other things these days, I am not sure why.  

{"Hats Off to Uncle Sam" by Blackbird Designs}

I also finished up (stitching anyways) "Oceanarium," a design by The Primitive Hare.

Kind of cheesy sayings I know, but I stitched it as a companion piece to "The Mermaid of Salem Bay," also by The Primitive Hare.  

I'm over my mermaid "thing" now.  Really. Truly.

The Buttercup (Ranunculus) has spent its beauty...

And the Bittersweet is coming into its colors:

Short-lived, however, as a hard freeze is expected by the end of the week.

I will leave you with a photo of my beloved moon.  I missed the "full" harvest moon as it was raining buckets here, but this was last night, so close enough....

Even when you can't see her, she is magical.