It's finally finished ...

I feel like I've been stitching on this Quaker (Praiseworthy Stitches ... The Simple Gifts: Love) for a SUPER long time ... it's ready for a dye bath and pressing and blocking ... then to find a frame ... always the toughest part ... if hubby wasn't up to his eyeballs in re-glazing the 150 year old windows for my greenhouse (not something he expected to have to do when this little project first started), I could probably talk him into making one for me.

So, the greenhouse continues ... we'll re-glaze the last three windows tomorrow and will pick up all the framing materials at the lumberyard in the afternoon ... Monday we can begin painting all the lumber ... I want it all white inside and out.  Hubby will begin framing next week ... I'll begin painting windows next weekend (new glazing must dry 7 - 14 days) ... hubby predicts another month before it will be all finished.  The re-glazing and the weather has really slowed our project down.  We'll be glad in the long run that we took the time to do the re-glazing now.  The old windows really needed it in several places so he removed it all and replaced it.  That's just the kind of guy he is ... a bit of a perfectionist (oh yeah!!!) but he would never admit it.  The stained glass window that he bought for me (what a guy!!!) has been taken to the repair shop and won't be ready for another three weeks.  I can't believe I'm going to have a stained glass window!!!!  Right above my potting bench.  How fun!!!!  The floors are done ... and of course, I forgot to take pics tonight when I was out there watering the gardens earlier ... not that there's really much to see as we'll leave the sand on the bricks til the greenhouse is finished.  I'll get some pictures tomorrow for everyone who has asked to follow our progress.  The floor in mostly brick (given to us by a friend that had it left over after he finished his patio -- gotta love the free stuff, right?) and the front of the greenhouse has pea gravel in the floor so that I can water freely. 

We've been spending quite a bit of time tending to the gardens too ... the herb bed is fantastic this year ... oregano has returned in a couple of spots, which I was glad to see although I've heard it's aggressive ... the orange mint also returned and I have to think it's also aggressive as it seems to have spread ... ALOT!!!!  The hyssop, lemon balm, and lavendar have also returned ... I keep waiting for the year when our harsh winters finally does my last remaining lavendar plant in.  The chives have returned in abundance and the first batch goes into the dehydrator tomorrow morning.  Newly planted in the herb garden this year -- lemon grass (perennial), cutting celery (annual - in a pot tucked up close to the lilies and daisies as it tends to droop in the hard sunlight), dill, lemon verbena (in a pot this year so I can move it inside this winter), a Tiny Tim cherry tomato plant (freebie from the greenhouse when we bought our veggie plants ... we get one every year), fresh basil, and a Brandywine heirloom tomato plant that I grew from seed that I bought at Landis Valley Farm in Lancaster, PA.  The new raised beds in the vegetable garden are exciting.  I love not having to bend over so far ... and the maintenance (ie., weeding) is next to nothing ... gotta love that.  The peas are now about 18" tall or so ... we should see flowers soon ... the radishes have all been harvested (YUM!!!) ... the tomatoes (Roma and heirloom Brandywine) are all planted ... the gherkin cukes (dill pickles this year!!) are coming up ... the zuchinni are up ... the carrots (second planting) are sporadic ... don't know WHY I can't ever get a good start on carrots ... no matter how hard I try ... the bunching onions are looking good at about 4" tall.  The broccoli and cabbage seem to be taking their time ... probably trying to figure out our 65 to 95 degree weather ... lol!!!!!  We went from early spring to early August and the hot, humid dog days of summer in the matter of two weeks!  Next week we are supposed to settle in to more normal temps in the mid 70s.  Hubby's Walla Walla onions look fantastic ... and his pepper plant medley is looking good too.

And we have a wedding on Wednesday!!!  By Wednesday evening, I'll be a (gasp!!!) ... a .... a.... a.... MOTHER-IN-LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  lol

A fun gathering, a greenhouse, and a wedding ...

I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted!!  I have been busy, busy, busy!!!

Isn't this a GREAT house?  I love it and couldn't resist snapping a quick pic while on the backroads somewhere in Pennsylvania.

I spent the last week of April in Lancaster, PA with some of my favorite gals in the whole wide world!!!  We had so much fun shopping, eating, and laughing and talking til the wee WEE WEE hours of the morning. 

 We  crafted together most evenings -- fun, fun!!  We did wool applique, needlefelting, and got a good start on a memory book of our trip.

This is one of the gals' truck ... she drove back home to North Carolina like this ... bet she got some looks on the freeway.  You should have seen some of the great junk she found!!!  We all wanted to just shop out of her truck.  ha ha

It was a wonderful trip filled with special memories ... I'm already looking forward to our next gathering in 2012!!!

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A GREENHOUSE!!!  Yep!!!!  Hubby is building a greenhouse for me!  It will be made from wood windows taken from a house built in the 1850s.  I'm so darned excited, I can't stand it.  This is the only picture I have uploaded ...

Since this picture was taken, the foundation has been poured, the grass removed and dug down about 10" and filled with gravel ... waiting for the brick to be laid ... tomorrow I begin scrubbing the windows (YUCK!!!!) and hubby will begin making any necessary repairs and re-puttying where needed.  I'm sure the chippy paint is lead based so we'll disturb it as little as possible and get it sealed up nice and tight in a fresh coat of semi-gloss white exterior paint.  I'll post more pictures as we move along ... a fun summer project for hubby and I ...

Aren't I a lucky gal to have a hubby that would build a greenhouse for me?  I feel so special and loved ...

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And the most exciting news EVER!!!  We're having a wedding!!!  Joshua and Angela are getting married!!!

 I got my wish to be Nana to Brick and Piper!!!  Hubby and I both feel very blessed to receive such a pretty, sweet, and smart daughter-in-law with two wonderful children into our family.  It will be a small afternoon wedding in early June.  They had hoped that Quinn would be home for the wedding before leaving for Okinawa but it doesn't look like that will happen. 

Quinn is doing great at tech school in Texas but still has three blocks to finish before he graduates.  He anticipates being home mid-June.  Can't WAIT to see him!!!!