Summer, wind, and upcoming new releases

Here we are in the middle of July and we are so far enjoying the weather. We've had a few hot days, but nothing like what some of our country is suffering through. Overall our year so far has been cool, with a very late warm up for the garden. My tomatoes and peppers are not happy for that. The pumpkin, however, is taking over everything! If anyone has any good pumpkin recipes I welcome them. The munchkin was fascinated with the "Giant Pumpkin" seeds and I can definitely say there was truth in advertising on that packet of seeds.

This past month we went to northern Idaho for time with family and a new friend. We met Deb, from Tempting Tangles, and had a great evening with her and her husband. It was neat to meet a fellow stitcher, and see all of the lovely projects she is working on. My plan for the vacation was to get in lots of stitching. That failed. This was for the best because we spent lots of time with family and out in the gorgeous nature that surrounds us. Honestly, who can get much work done when there is this to look at:

We went riding through the hills, seeing deer everytime we went out, and enjoying the beauty of His creation. It's humbling to think that scenes like this were created for us to treasure. The munchkin picked wild strawberries, chased butterflies, and hiked the mountain with a curiousity and boundless energy that only a child could fully experience.

I did find some designing stitching time over these past months and have three new designs coming out in a couple of weeks. All that is left to do is format, print, package, market, stuff envelopes, send out newsletters, and then hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I have. Hubby will be able to help with some of it and the munchkin will take seriously her job of sticking stamps to the 300+ newsletter envelopes. One project that I can share today is "Be Not Forgetful", stitched over one, for the 2012 trunk shows. My scissors are in the picture to show the scale, it's pretty small!

The other three pictures will be released in a week or so. Then it's time to start stitching on designs for late September. I found so much joy in the treasure hunt of the last Building Block that I will have another one coming out at that time.

This past April we learned a new weather term: micro burst. It is what happens when there is a localized downburst of wind. We were driving home from running errands, being hailed on, and joking that it was a good thing we weren't in Texas because this was tornado weather! We pulled up to the house just in time to see a swirl of leaves, and then a good chunk of our roof and siding blow off and into the neighboring properties. Our siding was found over an acre away, some stuck in trees, and the shingles were just about everywhere. Bright side - insurance has been wonderful to work with and our adjuster has been very understanding. Down side - the "thunk, thunk, thunk" of the nail gun. Our roof is now rated to 160mph and I can only pray that it is never tested. Siding should be replaced in the next couple of weeks and I look forward to having the house put back to normal.

That's most of our updates on this end. The munchkin is still good, loves to read, devouring books, and as energetic as ever. She is struggling with allergies and ear infections, both of which we're trying to get under control, but loves to run, play, and is blessedly an active child. She is enjoying lead-line time on the horses at a neighbor's farm and finding new ways each day to surprise and challenge me. Life is good. Stressful at times, hard, and a genuine struggle some days, but still good.