Meet my new baby

His name is Rory. He is 11 weeks old. And I am one very happy Mom. Isn't he precious?

I miss my Maggie and was ready for a new "furbaby." I was actually thinking of getting a cocker this time. (I have had Irish setters for over thirty years.) Last weekend I went to a local dog show and talked to a few breeders. While wandering around I spotted a camper with a bunch of Irish puppies being exercised. Well, of course I had to look. Now all puppies are adorable. I know that. So I didn't say anything to the breeder. Later that afternoon I stayed to watch the setters. The woman with the puppies was showing an absolutely stunning dog who I thought was breathtakingly beautiful. She was just the type of setter I like.

Well for the next day and night I couldn't stop thinking about those puppies. So I emailed the breeder. Three days of back and forth emails and phone calls and a ten hour car trip and Rory came home with me yesterday.

Rory, my little boy, wouldn't be my boy if not for the world's greatest brother! You see he, my baby brother, bought my Rory for me. Greg, if you read this know that you are the BEST BROTHER. Thank you Greg.

I hope you all don't get too bored of photos of my new baby. I promise to include some stitching in the next post.

Until then............

Love and stitches,

Kathy

and Rory too

A very special gift, thank you and other stuff

First I want to say Thank you to everyone who left a comment to my last post. While I know the hurt and grief will get easier with time your gentle words, prayers and caring also help in so many ways. I treasure your friendships and keep a special place in my thoughts and prayers for each of you.

I hope you all have taken a look at the beautiful stitched piece at the beginning of this post. For a few weeks now a very dear friend of mine has been dropping hints that she was sending me something just for Mother's Day. Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I got the mail Saturday afternoon and opened the package. (Hand me the tissues.) Dearest Deborah, the sentiment, the stitching, the framing are just perfect. I really don't think I will ever receive anything again that will mean as much to me as this does. I love you dear friend. Many of you know Deborah and know that she has been ill for a long time. Stitching is her anchor and lifeline but she can't do as much as she once did. To receive something that she stitched, well, it is the most wonderful thing. (Oh. the bush that I leaned the beautiful piece in is one that my Mom planted when we moved into our home. The white snowball bush smells heavenly and was one of my Mom's favorite flowers.)

Even though we had nice weather this weekend I just couldn't find the energy to do much in the way of actual weeding or gardening but I did get some photos of what's blooming at the moment. The above is a Pink Lady Slipper, a rare plant. This is only the second time I have seen one in my yard.

The lily of the valley are just starting to bloom and also smell lovely. This is part of a huge patch of them growing right outside my back door.

Another favorite of my Mom and me is the bleeding heart. I have three large plants around the gardens. This is just one small branch. I also have a small white one.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. And to all my dear friends here in the States I hope you had a loving and blessed Mother's Day. Now to go and check out everyone's blogs and finishes so I can get inspired.

Until next time...............

Love and stitches

Kathy

A little update

The sun has finally come out. After rain and grey skies for the last week (and it feels like a month!) the sun is shining. But not for long. We are supposed to have more rain starting tonight. I really do hope it stops by the weekend. I am so tired of the dampness.

I've been a bit down and blue for the last few days as well. Maybe it's the weather but I don't think so. I am missing my Mom something fierce. Today, the 6th, it is five months since my Mom passed. And I am hurting. Plus it is Mother's Day this weekend. We always did something special together. Whether it was just watching a movie, making a special dinner or, like last year, sitting on the deck in the sun and enjoying the beautiful day. But last year was also a rough Mother's Day evening. After a lovely day my Mom was really feeling good. Until about 11 PM when she went into respiratory distress and her second attack of congestive heart failure. That whole night was a nightmare. After calling the ambulance (and the cop yelled at me because our hallway was narrow and it was hard to get the stretcher into her bedroom!!) I sat with Mom in the emergency room until 5 AM when they moved her to ICU. That hospitalization last a week and had been her third one that year.

So my mood hasn't been the greatest. Too many wonderful memories and yet too many painful ones too. I am hoping that Sunday will be nice so I can go to the cemetery and plant some flowers for my Mom and sit with her for a while.

I have been stitching but no photos. I've been spending all my stitching time on a special project. When it arrives at its new home I'll be able to share some photos.

Until next time........................
I miss you Mom.
Love and stitches
Kathy