Old and New

It is my forth time to give away a cross stitch project as a present to people I care about. No qualms about it! The feeling of happiness and contentment is unimaginable whenever I see the fruit of my passion through the eyes of others. It makes me want to do more and more.... 

I made this cross stitch last June 2010 during my stay in my hometown in the Philippines. It took me only a month. It's called "Little Angel". The chart is from DMC Philippines. 

 I did the framing too. It is cheaper, quicker, and more personal. Well, I did a pretty good job and I saved a lot. I chose neutral colors to bring out the beautiful color of her hair. I gave this to the Coleys. They are Travis' great-grand uncle and aunt from Georgia. They are something! I fell in love with them. I am glad that I have decided to give it to them for their grand children. 

It breaks my heart every time I stash away my Fairy cross stitch. It is my special project. I am almost done but still a long way to go. And I still have to get that thread conditioner for the long-awaited metallic threads labor. Sigh! 

Finally, I have chosen a project for the wedding. Thanks to Terrie Lee Steinmeyer. It will be my first time to stitch her design. 

It looks really simple but I am going to use and learn new stitches such as the "lazy daisy". Travis and I knew that this design will be appropriate for the bride and groom. To be remembered, I hope! 

And these are my clothe and threads. I used a linen Lugana 25ct. My first time to use this type of clothe and a 25ct. My, my, my... wish me luck! DMC regular floss are always my threads. I am more comfortable with them as it sticks on my fingers. And the colors are really lovely. No special accessories needed. 

I have started this new project last Sunday, 24th of April.

... And look where I am now...

Passion is my will power! It boosts my adrenaline to the limits. I guess I can finish this earlier than expected. Lucky for me, I have all the weekdays for cross stitching because I have to take a break from my quilting and studying. My fingers are not yet totally healed... but I can still stitch because of itch. 

In the Garden

Last week was my toxic days. I was busy being a homemaker and busy finding a road for my career in nursing. What I learned is that you can never do both. Toxic it was! I learned my lesson. I'm glad Travis dragged me away from the turmoil. So lucky to have him in my life. 

We then ventured to Dallas again for the weekend. And it was refreshing for me. We don't mind being on the road for hours because we get to talk more and we get to help each other. Travis is the driver and I am the guide. Before we travel, I make sure everything is packed "minimally";  "road maps" are available; and motels or hotels are booked and paid. I love traveling light... be it in land, sea or air. Also, map is essential especially on road trips. Thanks to Google for that! I enjoy looking for road signs with Travis as we drive along. Sometimes, we do miss a turn... but it's like making real life decisions. We make mistakes, we argue about it, then we learn from it. There will always be some bumps on the roads. But you will always find your right way. Of course, you need to have a place to stay even for a night or two. Actually, staying in a hotel is really romantic. You have all the time for yourselves. 

I learned about Dallas Arboretum from the March issue of Southern Living magazine. Not only are the flowers flirting with me but the experiences of what the park could offer brought us there. It was a beautiful sunny day. 

One of the flowers that I took notice are the snapdragons. The variety of colors that it offers made it outstanding. I love the pink ones! We took 300 photos of flowers alone but I can't show them all here. Sorry. There were a mixture of scents and colors everywhere. I didn't even mind the heat of the sun. Thanks to sunblocks. The beauty everywhere is exhilarating! 

 I love this Poet's garden. It made me think of Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare. Simply passionate and full of love. So English by the way... especially the roses on the walls. 

They also have Fairy Tale Castles for children and "feeling like children". I love the little mermaid castle because of her awesome chair. The little girls around us knew their princesses. So cute! Below is a rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk... not sure if those vines are beans. 

This is a photo of the various "trial flowers" that they have. So glad we were not allergic to pollens. There were lots of flowers. I love to buy them but not for sale. I believe they will have an open house on May.

The park has lots of water fountains but I like the one in the photo best because it has a lone duck swimming around it. Travis and I threw four coins for our wishes. One of my wishes didn't come true apparently. Sigh! 

Travis likes this pond  among all the other attractions the park showcased. He stayed here for 30 min taking pictures of the fish. This is one of his passion and dream project. 

The Texas yellow roses... the flower that I look forward to growing and tending very soon.... I love it's exquisiteness and perfection. Just like my dear Texas!

Home Gardening...

Two weeks ago, we did the preparations then shopping. I urged Travis to do his thing because I know he loves gardening so much. He adores nature like he adores me... with gentleness, nurturing, and kindness. We decided to pick our own plants and seeds. We chose different places on where to plant our vegetables and herbs. No flowers yet... We are going to check out a good place in Durant where they sell nicer and cheaper flowers. You have no idea how excited I am.

The first bloom of spring in our yard. Isn't she gorgeous? Just the perfect color that I love!

I hope you can see the rose buds too from this photo. I can't wait to see this rose bush in full bloom. I was told that this rose bush was planted by Sherman, Travis' late grandfather. He also planted all the trees around us now... cedar, oak, etc... I guess I knew now where Travis got his passion. 
 

My husband made his garden beds near the big old shed, along the driveway, because it has bigger space and away from the big trees (not away from Kaeleth though). He and his dad planted some vegetables such as cucumber, tomatoes, jalapeno, green bell pepper, yellow bell peppers, and onions. 

I love the way Travis made his beds because it was carefully and passionately made. They need to put some fence around it to keep away our dogs and other wild animals.

Last year, he planted some melons but the mules ate them and that broke his heart. Now he is so particularly careful with his new ones.  So he made his beds near our bedroom so that he can see them every morning when he wakes up. The other reason for that is because the ground is full of sand, not soil. Not beach sand, but old sand from their old swimming pool (during his childhood days). He said the mules won't have the chance to bore a hole under the sand. Smart guy, eh?!  Beside the melons, he made me a garden bed for my strawberries because I love them. 

You may wonder why there are dry leaves on the melons bed. Travis said it is something about fertilizing it. I forgot what "m" word was that he said. Look at that strawberry of mine! It got the color already. 

My part of a home gardening is at the back porch, outside my laundry room and in front of the kitchen window. I am into herbs so I started my herbs with this commercialized all-in-one bed. I wanted to start with seeds and not from the nursery. I got me an oregano, chives, parsley, and cilantro. 

I know it will take awhile for my herbs to show some leaves but I love the challenge of patience. It needs to stay in-door to keep away from direct sunlight for now. Travis planted a cilantro and strawberry in pots so that I can grow them at the back porch. I am so happy! 

In a few weeks we are going to shop for more herbs and flowers. We just need to do this step by step. It is not easy as how it looks. Gardening needs patience, tolerance, hard work, and lots of bending... oh, yes! There were muscle aches the following morning. Well, we both need the exercise that we have been planning for. Gardening costs a lot too. We spent more than a hundred only on plants and soil. The most expensive ones are the strawberries. 

This is it! We just need to wait and see. Happy gardening everyone! Plant wisely.