Donna Hrkman class ~ Day 1

Donna Hrkman is a true artist and now wool is her medium of choice.  She truly paints with wool.

Class started off with a sampling of her rugs and the stories behind them.  I will share a few of the rugs with you.

I never tire of sharing this rug of a World War I soldier that I have posted many times.  

Another rug that will bring you to tears.  A soldier suffering from PTSD and his bomb sniffing dog that brought him comfort.  Finished to look like a dog tag, the entire rug was hooked in a 2 cut (wool 2/32 of an inch wide).

"Remember them when they cannot remember you."

Mother Goose

Donna's self portrait.  "You don't want to see inside my head it's nuts."

The name of this rug escapes me but it is one of her steampunk designs.

She has three boys and has hooked a rug for each of them.  This is son Nick.

The back is just as amazing as the front.

It's hard to believe Donna started out as a primitive hooker using an 8 cut (8/32") and now hooks with a 2 (2/32") and 3 (3/32").

Here's the start to my Santa rug.  Lousy color, but the piece was left at class so no chance to get a more accurate depiction.  Donna is challenging me.  The eye was hooked in a 3 cut (3/32") and the largest cut I have used is a 6 (6/32").  I thought I could get away with using an 8 cut "8/32") on much of the pattern, but she has vetoed that idea 😁

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Around the Yard ~

Now that the mulch is all down (even though I probably could use a couple more bags ~ ain't happenin') I can concentrate on deadheading and just tidying up.  

Random pics around the yard today . . . in no special order.  My yard is small, but lots of perennials and yard junk.

My helper today who wasn't much help 😁

Martha Washington geranium.  I have never purchased one before because of the cost, but well worth it with its prolific blooms.

Love my head planter ~ found at Michaels.

Sweet little lamb ~ a gift from a friend who know me well.  (Thanks, Laura!)

Hard to see, but the brick says OHIO.  An old glass insulator on a piece of rebar used as a hose guide.

Maypop, also know as purple passion flower.  So very pretty but so very invasive!

Lake Erie this morning.

Monday - Wednesday I am off to a hooking class with Donna Hrkman.  She is a true artist.  I will be a fish out of the water hooking with a smaller cut than I prefer, but I have heard she is such a wonderful teacher that I want the opportunity to take a class with her.  You can view some of her amazing rugs here.

Two of my all time favorites.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Oh, the things you find . . .

. . . when you haven't cleaned out a cupboard in MANY years!  DSO and his son (God bless them both!), took the old stepback cupboard from the dining room and put my new old one in its place.  In cleaning out the bottom of the old old cupboard, I found birthday cards from my older son's 21st birthday (he will be 46 next month!!!), a card from my sister from 2000 and other paperwork from the early 2000's.  Kind of embarrassing to admit 😬

But this takes the cake!!!  An old cigar box . . . and in it a pencil pouch from when I was in the 7th grade, about a hundred years ago.  WTH??? Seriously.  Why do I still have that . . . and why was it in the bottom of that cupboard?

Here's the old old cupboard.  I still liked it, but was ready for a change.  I just need to get off my butt and get it sold.

And the new old cupboard.  With the closed doors, I won't have to dust 😁

In the last three days I have put down 25 bags of mulch (I had previously put down 30 bags) and my body is telling me enough already.  I am out of the mulch business.

Sue's diagnose was correct and I do have a heel spur.  I am doing what Dr. Sue said and my PCP confirmed to do what she suggested plus added some exercises.  I think it may be a tad better but it is still killing me.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

On our way to 250 ~

Every year DSO has a 4th of July cookout.  He is a most patriotic guy and lines his yard with American flags in addition to the large ones displayed.  He lives in a former shipyard and his front yard is a water filled channel.  Once upon a time the channel was a dry dock where they built 1,000' ore carriers.  When the carrier was finished, they would flood the dry dock and it would proceed upriver to Lake Erie.

The city puts on a great fireworks display and from his upper deck we have a perfect view.  There were many other private citizens also shooting off  huge fireworks.  I cannot even begin to imagine how much money individuals spent!

He also displays a listing of all the American casualties from the Revolutionary War to present day.  Some very sobering statistics.

About a month ago, my left heel started to be painful.  It has gotten really bad.  I mean bad like when I get up I can barely walk.  It does get better the more steps I take, but the pain never goes away.  I did not do a Google search because I was afraid of what I might read.  Ignorance is bliss, right?  Anywho . . . in a text I mentioned it to to Nurse Ratchet . . . er I mean retired RN Sue of Vernon Junction.  She said it sounded like a heel spur.  I did a quick search and it sure does sound like she has diagnosed me correctly.  I have my annual appointment with my PCP on Monday.  One more thing to discuss . . . sigh.

I hope everyone had the most wonderful 4th of July, doing whatever made you happy.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Happy 249th Birthday!!!

 

~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA ~

I am proud to be an American and live in this great Land of ours.

Nowhere else can a person go and enjoy the freedoms we have.

Thank you so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

A (very) Little Progress ~

Just wanted to pop in for a quick second!

I have been working on Proud Lion, but I sure haven't made much progress in the last week, but as I always say, a little progress is better than none.  I really need to figure out what color the lion's body is supposed to be.  Hopefully that is not wool I "borrowed" years ago.

I did another cross stitch on the rug linen.  I have a plan for this . . . well maybe . . . but executing said plan is another story!  (What appears to be brown yarn, is more of a barn red but I'm not in the mood to fight with my camera to get better color!)

I always say that once the 4th of July gets here, summer is half over.  Tell me it isn't so!!!!!!!!  We went from chilly and rainy to stinkin' hot and humid.  Today we got some much needed rain.  I am always amazed how quickly things dry out.  I'm sure the flowers are doing a little happy dance tonight.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

More Cross Stitch ~

You'd think I had not start doing counted cross stitch five decades ago.  I think I did more frogging on this piece than I have ever done.  Not sure why I kept making so many counting errors 😡.  It was supposed to say God Bless America, but I didn't plan my spacing so it didn't fit.

The colors do show up a bit better in person.  I haven't a clue what I will do with it.  Perhaps just tack it to a cupboard.

I thought this would be my last cigar box (#8), but the boxes are coming in a little more slowly than hoped for, so to help our cigar box "coordinator", I brought two more boxes home with me from guild today.

This may be my least favorite box so far 😒

The inside is just kind of blah.

That's it!  Only two more days of eye restrictions and I can wash my hair without help and not have to wear my eye shield at night.  YEAH!  But as anyone who has had cataract surgery knows, 2+ more weeks of eyedrops.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren