Birthdays, kayaking, family & friends and the promise of spring....

  It's a lovely day here in Florida. Supposed to be up in the 80's today.. I hope to spend time in my sewing room, working on a few things. But let me get you up to date with what's been going on around here.

  Pruning trees, celebrating my birthday on the water, and dealing with Covid...both at work and at home...yuck..

All of the above are pics from my backyard this morning. Our dogwood is blooming, my big ole bamboo froze (but there's green in there...so hopefully it will make a recovery....)  You can't see the yellow honeysuckle flowers, but they are there...I will post when it is in full bloom. Reminds me of my mom's forsythia bush growing up. I loved that bush....I knew spring was here when the yellow flowers appeared.

  My regal companion Slash (yes, he was named after the famous guitarist...) is ever present when I am outside. He runs around like a Flash, zipping around the yard and gathering his toys, repositioning them in the yard for the feral cats that live near us to play with. He does like to share. Believe me, he is not usually this calm. I usually get blurred pics of him as he is ALWAYS on the move....

Fiona, however, prefers to sun herself on the back porch and watch Slash zip around. Poor baby has worse Florida allergies than I do. Her eyes are forever red and watery when the pollen count is high...and it's supposed to be in the 80's and dry today.

The picture below is of most of my family on our kayaking adventure on the Rainbow River for my birthday. My boys all know how much I love to be on the river, so we all got together for a celebratory float on Feb. 13. Nicole and Xander were missing, but hopefully soon they will be able to join us. I cannot wait for my little pumpkin to be out there with us. 

Once I figure out how to post the videos, I can show you that Tim and Steve are still kids at heart...even though it was overcast and cool, they spent a lot of the time IN the water. 

It was a great day with my most favorite people. Not many other folks on the river, either, as it was Superbowl Sunday. It was nice having the Rainbow to ourselves. Soon the weather will turn nice and the tubers, boaters, canoers and fellow kayakers and paddleboarders will crowd the river. 

  There is a certain cove on the river that is home to my favorite blue heron. He did not disappoint and was there. I love his elegance and beauty. 

And then we went to the house to fry a turkey (one of my favorites) in our oiless  fryer and have a mini superbowl party. It was made all the more special because my favorite little man, Xander, was there. He is such a happy little boy, constantly on the move and always makes me smile. I was baby sitting him one day, he ran up to me all of a sudden, threw his arms around my neck and gave me the biggest hug. First time he did that all by himself. Made my week. 

  Here he is running around the house in my marine pith helmet... all I could think of was Rick Moranis as Big Helmet in Spaceballs. 

My almost 17-yr old Pauly Walnuts was not impressed

But little man had a blast, so that is all that matters. 

I also was able to go out for drinks with a couple of my friends. Could it be that the world could be slowly returning to normal? I sure hope so. I so miss hanging out and having times out with my family and friends. 

Ok, it's time I hit my sewing room so I have some crafty things to show you next time. But I will leave you with a couple of pics that make me smile the most

And Nicole sent this to Bob and I captioned "when your HOA says you have to water your lawn" Yes my friends, it has been THAT warm in Florida...Sure did make me laugh on Monday.

Happy weekend and keep on smiling!!!

Til next time, 

ponykeg  💘💗💕

 Good morning fellow crafters!

   I realize it's been quite a hiatus I have taken from the blogging world, but I am hoping to be back in the swing of things....These past few years have definitely been challenging, fun, frustrating and joyous! 

 We have taken up kayaking. We live close to the Rainbow River in Florida. It's the clearest water I have ever seen. I love being on the river and taking pictures of the wildlife (especially the birds), It's so peaceful and relaxing. 

This old man heron is my favorite. 

  I have always enjoyed being outdoors...and this is a way I can enjoy the summer days in Florida, lol.

  I have also taken up quilting, thanks to my former boss lady at the VA. I have become obsessed with fabric. I have collected a few sewing machines and an embroidery machine. It's such fun. I have made quite a few panel quilts and one really big pieced quilt...involving pink, white and the Dallas cowboys...white is an ok color, but anyone who knows me, knows I despise the color pink. I am also a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan. So this 75 x84 inch quilt took me two years.....

And I made a zipper quilt for my daughter in law when I found she was pregnant in 2019.

Nicole likes tie dye and hippy colors, so I found these colors and made it for her. 

I am still crocheting, albeit sporadically. I purchased a shed for me yard to store my yarn so that I could store my newfound passion for fabric in the house. Right now, I am working on RepeatCrafterMe gnome of the month squares. They are cute and fun to make. Check them out here:

January Winter Gnome Crochet Hook and C2C - Repeat Crafter Me

And now on to Xander!

Grandson Alexander Orion was born at 7:45p on September 4, 2019. He has been an absolute joy to our family since that date and time

Xander loves music, being outside and generally being a kid. He's a busy bee AT ALL TIMES...and I love it! 

  Ok, I just wanted to touch base with you all and see if I remembered how to do this! I will work on my blog and share me projects and life stuff with y'all. Stay safe and have a great day!!! And remember...

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO MAKE IT A GREAT DAY!!!

Beth