Wanna go for a walk?

Those are magic words to a little Cavalier's ears.  Once said there is a five second delay while Daisy processes what those five magic words mean and then she bounces on your head like Tigger.  Soon you are covered in a mass of puppy kisses.  She is practically chomping at your heals to get out the door.  Wanna join us for our walk?

Where a bear will wave a little hello.

Wild roses are in bloom.

Blackberries are starting to grow.

There are old familiar smells.

Adventures that lie ahead.

Pink roses stand tall.

At the park you can take a little break in the grass.

And watch the kids swing and slide.

Enjoy the neighbors pretty gardens.

Back at home fresh blueberries wait.

I think she thought some rabbits or crows might stop by for a visit.

 

Tiny red strawberries can make an excellent snack.

Pink Azaleas bask in the sunlight after all the cloudy days of late.

And one little yellow quince waits for fall.  (But let's not rush into that just yet.)

Thanks for walking with us!

Petunia Bookmark

June was filled with exciting travel so this little guy, using Alicia's headband pattern, was stitched in all sorts of wonderful places.  Time was found on a long flight, during train rides across England, and in the evenings at the B&B's after a long day sightseeing.  You see the travel was so exciting it was hard to embroider for longer than 15 or 30 minutes at most. But each moment stolen to stitch added up to create this beauty.  The lace at the top was gifted to me from my grandma's stash.  It will be fun to see it peeking out from a book. 

Now I am trying to find a book to read.  In all honesty it's been a long time since I've sat down and read a book.  Reading finds it's way into my everyday life but recently it's been only blogs, magazines or home decor books.   The Wind and the Willows and Watership Down both made it home with me on recent trips to the bookstore.  Have you read either of these?  I'm looking for a book to get swept up in, one that you don't want to put down but also a classic title.  Any ideas for me?

Also did you hear about Borders closing it's stores?  This made me sad as I worked at a store in Colorado on and off for three years in college.  I loved it.  There was/is something about the smell of the books.  Helping customers find that one book, you know that one with the red cover by that one guy, was like a treasure hunt.  Working in the children's department meant I was able to watch the joy kids got at learning to read, and share with them my favorite childhood stories. When I first moved here I would go into local Borders store almost daily just to be amongst the books and have a piece of home with me somehow.  I knew the place and all it's little secrets to hunting down titles. Hopefully another bookstore will find it's way into that space otherwise it will be a great loss. 

The Pantry

This wasn't on my list on Friday but I've been meaning to share this with you for some time.  Back in the spring I had a major clean out of the entire kitchen.  Literally everything in my kitchen was pulled out of the cupboards and sitting in my dining room.  It took me nearly a month to go through everything, edit out some of our kitchen supplies, and reorganize it all back into a place that was more functional for our needs.

One of my favorite transformations was the pantry.  Trust me when I say you're glad I didn't take a before picture.  It was awful!  Paper bags from the store held beans, rice, and nuts.  Cans were stacked up to the top, wobbly and always threatening to break our wedding china that used to sit a few shelves below.  Grocery bags sat in a giant pile on the floor, along with other random supplies so that one had to hope the pantry door closed again after opening it.  Such a pain!

Now everything has it's place.  I can't tell you how much easier it is to find things. It's a relief to not have to pull half the food out of the pantry to reach that one can of tomatoes in the back.  Now if only I could get the rest of my house this organized. 

In case your interested:

White plastic storage bins and glass jars are from The Container Store.
Shelf lining paper is from Fred Meyer.
Baskets, not pictured, that house paper bags on the floor of the pantry are from Cost Plus World Market .
Grocery Bag Tube hanging on the wall is a pattern from Sew What! Bags

Updated:  I'm having some issues with being able to comment back to you under the comments section.  Thank you for your kind comments on my last post.  It's so nice to know that people are reading these ramblings.  For those of you who asked the banner picture was taken in the Lake District of England.  The lake is Esthwaite Water. 

Even more unfinished business

Hello Strangers!

Us at Moss Eccles Tarn

There is a lot of unfinished business around here.  A giveaway winner to be announced, sharing of June's Embroidery Companion Sew Along project, a glimpse at our AMAZING trip to the UK, a review of that 30 things list, and didn't a blog anniversary go by unnoticed.  Anyways let's just say there is much to catch up on.  How about we meet up here on Monday and we'll start crossing off some of this unfinished business of this list, shall we?
Have a great weekend until then!!!