Surprise Surprise!!

Please play a drumroll fanfare.  Maybe add some herald trumpets too!! 

Both floral motifs are done.  My deadline was to finish them by the first of July.  I can begin to finish each into a little fabric box.  The silk that is behind them will cover the boxes. 

After stitching the first one, on the left, I decided that I liked the way the two shades of scarlet gave the flower dimension.  For the second one, I decided to add some dark green to give the leaves dimension.  I know that I used white and and off-white for the lilies of the valley in the first one; I decided that I needed to use two other choices to show a little more contrast.  I think that the second attempt is still very subtle. 

After I took this picture, I decided to take a picture of my blooming orchid.  In that extra short time, Mooch found the silk and decided I put it out for him. 

 And here he is!!

Ba-a-a-aco-o-o-n!!

Following church today we went out for brunch with a friend.  Roger had French toast and our friend had a Belgian waffle.  I had a BLT and you will not believe how much delicious bacon was in the sandwich.  The mayonnaise was infused with truffle but it need not have been the bacon was so good. 

This is Sunday and I can hardly wait until the evening television programing on the public broadcasting station.  Last week I discovered Doc Martin; I can hardly wait to see the next episode tonight.  It is supposedly set in Cornwall.  The location shots look a lot like Port Isaac which we visited almost eight years ago.  One of the characters in the series is supposed to live in Delabole although it was never shown.  We have friends living in Delabole. 

Cherries and More Cherries

Here are the products of our cherry tree.

One batch of cherry preserves - - -

It has a soft jell which I decided not to correct.  It will be excellent cherry syrup on waffles and pancakes.  I guess that I should call it cherry syrup and not cherry preserves.   :-) 

One cherry pie and one cherry cobbler - -


Yesterday afternoon we spent some time with friends and brought the pie along.  The cobbler was for us.  I have to admit that the cherries are some of the tastiest ever.

The flowers are blooming and the cherries are ripe. 

This is one of my Julius Wadekamper hybrids.  I cannot remember its name. 

Another Wadekamper hybrid. 

Grand Cru:  I especially like the orange brushmarks on the petals. 

                                                                    Tiger Babies 

Jackmanii clematis in the early morning sun

This morning we picked cherries again and are sharing the remainder with the birds.  Yesterday I made cherry preserves.  We think that the jell is a little soft.  I decided to leave it that way; if it is a little soft, we can use it in place of syrup on waffles.  We still have enough cherries to make one pie and one cherry cobbler.  I understand that the spring caused the sour cherry crop in Wisconsin to be small.  It did the opposite in our backyard.  We have never had a crop as large as this one. 

My stitching progress is painfully slow.  I am beginning to wonder if I will meet my deadline. 

Saturday my new sunglasses arrived.  For some strange reason I seem to loose them every 24 to 28 months.  

Just a couple flowers for you today. 

Honeysuckle Vine

Forget-Me-Nots

This is sunrise on Lake Koronis last Thursday. It was more dramatic than that of the previous day. 

Do you remember this little verse? 

Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning. 

It proved to be true. 

No, Christine, we have very few warning lights because we have a rather stripped down car.  There is not much fancy circuitry in it.