Monday, June 25, 2012

Our graduate

There's a lot to cover in this post, so I'll just dive in.  First, the stitching.  Here's And They Sinned up to current progress.



I love the lion!


And I forgot to do my TUSAL report last week.   Here it is, in front of my Emma Bridgewater souvenir Jubilee tin.


I also received a lovely present from Mindi of Joie de Vivre.   She gifted me with her Jenny Bean Spring Sampler chart, which she recently finished (you can see her finish on her blog header).  And she also sent me one of her handmade needleminders!!!



Isn't the needleminder wonderful?!  I love it!  Thank you soooo much, Mindi!  You're a sweetheart!

Now to family stuff.  The boy child had his last week of high school celebrations.  He had his prom on Thursday.  Here are a couple of pictures -- it was a big group of kids!


And the guys.


(Keep in mind, this was on a 97 degree day.  Poor guys!)

Saturday was the boy child's high school graduation.  And yes, he performed with his bass guitar and sang with the chorus even at the graduation ceremony.


(His mother is sad that the boy child didn't get his gold cords (the ones the other kids are wearing).  He should have had those gold cords too since he was in the National Honor Society.  But they didn't give them to him, and I didn't realize he should have had them and didn't complain and demand them.  Sigh.)

Here are more pics, one of the boy child with his dad, and one of the boy child with the principal.  (The principal made us very happy by managing to speak about the terrible results of how kids learn due to the No Child Left Behind law.  Such a terrible law!!  The boy child's class was the first to be affected every year of the class's career.)


(Pretend the boy child is wearing those NHS gold cords.  lol!)  The boy child tossed his cap at the end of graduation so he lost that (he held onto the tassle though).


There were many other pictures taken, but I won't bore you with endless pics.  

Mia had to participate too, of course.  Here she is, cuddled up in the boy child's graduation gown.


The girl child is still up in the air about apartments.  We are hoping she will get a certain one, but still haven't heard yet.  In the meantime, the girl child is off on her celebratory cruise with friends for the week.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week.  I hope TS Debby isn't too brutal to those in her path either.

For tennis fans -- yay!!!!  WIMBLEDON!!!!!!!  The best slam of the year IMO.  :D  Enjoy!


48 comments:

Annie said...

Your sampler is progressing nicely. Just lovely.

Great graduation photos. A lot of pink & purple at that prom!

Too bad about the gold cords. Oh well, we all know he's special!

Annie said...

I meant blue and purple! Brain not functioning perfectly today.

Vickie said...

What wonderful pictures. Those animals are fun and funky on your sampler. I had a dark green graduation gown also. :)

Vera said...

Hi Margaret, great pics as always. I, too, love that lion...I think I need to order that chart even if all I stitch is the lion LOL. Congrats to the Boy Child. I think the same thing happened to my son (cords) at his HS graduation. And Mia graduating!! Love those pictures of her.

Solstitches said...

Lovely graduation pics. Congratulations to your son.
Your ATS is fabulous. I'm really enjoying each progress pic.
Margaret

Loraine said...

Your ATS is simply fabulous. It looks like a fun stitch, so many things going on.
It's so weird to hear you talking about prom and graduation. That seems like a distant memory to us. Congrats to your son, they all look so handsome. Sorry he didn't get to wear the gold cords during graduation, but at least you all know how wonderful he is, and he doesn't get his self worth from things like that. That's a good thing!
I hate that no child left behind act law. I have a daughter with a seizure disorder, that struggles with memory issues. We spend half of the time getting her on "grade level", and she is missing so many fundamental principles, that I wonder what the point is. I hate that her scores affect the rest of the class too. It's an awful law and should be changed! All kids are different. They should not be lumped together. So glad to hear them starting to talk about it, perhaps law makers will change it.

Have a great day!

Dawn said...

Great sampler - and the lion really has personality!
Congrats to your graduates and to mom and dad for raising two great kids. Mia too, in a grad gown ;-)

BrendaS said...

ATS is looking fabulous Margaret.

Great pics of your son. Congratulations to him!! WOO HOO:))

Myriam said...

Congratulations to your son!
Mia too cute !!!!
Good work with your sampler! Bravo!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

ATS looks great, Margaret! I think the Lion is my favorite charachter on the sampler and I'm so glad I've already stitched it 'cause seeing yours would make me want to do it, for sure!

AAWFAA is also looking great - the eyes on all the charachters are just priceless!
Great pics of the BC - what a great time! Sorry about the gold chords but I'm sure everyone knew anyway!

Deborah said...

Love the sampler! The lion is wonderful. Great pics of the boy child.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

What??? No gold cords for NHS? I agree you should have commplained!

Sampler looking great.

I think Mia also enjoyed graduation

Laurie in Iowa said...

Your ATS looks fabulous. I love that lion too. You may just inspire me to start my ATS!
Loved seeing the prom and graduation pics of your boy child.
Mia is as adorable as ever... she's going to miss the boy child when he goes off the college. You'll have to comfort one another. :-)

marly said...

Looks like it's over and done now and maybe you can relax a little! Your ATS is marvelous - can't imagine the amount of time involved. Congratulations to your talented son!

merumo said...

Great progress on And They Sinned. Have you started thinking about the next one yet? And nice gift and fun family stuff always help, right? Congratulations to your son!! Hope Mia hasn't figured that all about yet...

D said...

... and ignore that sofa cushion that I was carrying under my tee shirt, um, in case anyone got sleepy during the ceremony... :D

Melissa said...

You must be having so much fun with ATS! It's so bright and colourful!

Lovely photos of your boy's graduation! And Mia is right in the act too! So sweet!

Deb said...

Your making great progress on ATS Margaret even though you've had a lot going on lately.

Great graduation pictures and prom pics. That is awful about the cords. I wonder why they didn't give them to him. But at least you know he should have had them and that's all that matters!

Cari said...

Of course your sampler is progressing nicely! This is one beautiful piece and your work is amazing. I love the graduation pics, and the ones of Mia too!! She just has to get into the act doesn't she? Hugs dear friend and happy stitching !!!

Carol said...

Wonderful progress on ATS, Margaret!! I can't imagine stitching a piece that large...

Congratulations to your son--two very big "rites of passage"--the prom and graduation. And now on to college. Hard to believe it's gone so quickly, isn't it?

Mugwump Woolies said...

ATS looks so wonderful! That lion is the best! Congrats to your son...and Mom and Dad!
The sun is shining today!!!
Have a great week,
Robyn

Mouse said...

oooo well done on your stitchy progress :)
wonderful memories for your DS on his graduation day and he really should have had those golds ... hope DD gets her apartment :0
and helllooo Mia :)
love mouse xxxx

Ruth said...

Congrats, Mom! You made it!!!!! Cords or no, it's an accomplishment for all of you. Actually I think there may be something odd about graduation cords in general -- At college I was given my honors cords and epaulette *after* graduation when I turned in my gown, with a kind of sheepish "oh, sorry we really should have given you these sorry we screwed up." I was no less giddy -- mom was annoyed however because now they weren't in the pictures :) So, mom, don't worry-- everyone who matters knows he's awesome! :)

Oh, nice stitching too! "See" you at Wimbeldon! ... and then I suppose we'll meet over the Olympics too?

Patty C. said...

Beautiful sampler!

Liz said...

Congrats to your boy child, great photos Margaret. I don't know what that law is but is sounds like it might be another beauracratic blunder for the educations system, we have lots of those here too..
Lizzie
xxx

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

Beautiful pictures! I love Mia all curled up happy as a clam.

Loretta a/k/a Mrs. Pom said...

Congratulations to your son and to the parent-types! How marvelous to have two major milestones at once. Must be overwhelming!

Mary said...

ATS is looking great! The lion i one of my favorite motifs.

Congrats to your son and his proud parents too. What an exciting year for your family!

valerie said...

Congrats to the graduate! Sorry about the gold cords but the important thing is that he made honors and graduated!

ATS is looking great. You've gotten a lot done!!

Cindy said...

In my house we call ut the every child left behind law. Share you thoughts. Congrats to both kids. You are hardworking parents and deserve personal congrats.

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

oh I love your stitches, and beautiful pictures ! félicitations !
bisous de France

Sylvia said...

Congrats to the boy child on his graduation. Sorry he did not get his well-deserved gold chords. Too funny that Mia got into the act as well.

You officially caught me on ATS - I am currently stitching the lady, although I do have most of the grass done below. LOL. Oh well. Yours looks great.

Veronica said...

That lion really is cute and the sampler is gorgeous! Lovely progress :)

Beautiful photos. Too bad about those gold cords.

Mia certainly wants in on the action ^.^

Hugs,
Veronica.

Giovanna said...

Congrats to your son! Great progress on ATS, such pretty colours.

Chris said...

It looks like it was an exciting week! Congratulations on your son's graduation. The pics of graduation and the prom are fabulous.
ATS looks great!
I hope that everything works out for your daughter.
hugs to you and Mia!

Catherine said...

Oh my gosh! I just love that lion! There is something about his expression that just makes me smile!
What a great looking bunch of kids! Congrats to your son on all of his accomplishments!!
That Mia ~ she sure is going to miss her boy!

Siobhán said...

ATS is coming along so nicely! I love that lion!

Great graduation and prom pics! Congratulations to the graduate. :)

Cathy B said...

Congratulations to the graduate. The school year lasts much longer on the east coast - I think our kids have been out of school for two weeks already...

Love ATS.

mdgtjulie said...

Mia is just soooooooo cute!!! I love how you show pics of her every time. I often show pics of my Yes Dear too. And grats to the boy child on his graduation. That's awesome!!!!ATS is huge!!! Just looking at the pics makes me say, "Wow, that's big," lol. (And I'm totally a BAP girl, so that's really saying something!!) Keep up the good work, and you'll have a finish soon!!!

Melanie said...

Wonderful photos of everything!!!! Congrats to your son!!! TOTALLY TOTALLY AWESOME.

Lois said...

What great pics. Congrats to the boy child! Loving your progress on ATS! Keeping my fingers that the apartment works out. Wimbledon....yes.....I'm glued!!!!

Cathy Lloyd said...

I understand your distress about the cords Margaret...both my kids had those and I would have pitched a FIT if they didn't have them! I had to pitch fits 2 different times for both of them to keep them in NHS too...yeah...don't get me started! LOL! The boy child is simply darling! Congrats to all the grad festivities! It is fun! ATS is stunning! Have a very nice week!

Penny said...

You are making good progress on ATS!
Loved seeing the graduation pictures. That is quite an achievement to make the National Honor Society!! Definitely not a fan of the No Child Left Behind law! Green seems to be a very becoming color for Mia. :)

Dona said...

Margaret, those were great graduation and prom pictures. You would never know it was that hot on prom day. They look so cool, calm and handsome. Glad Mia got to participate.

Yay! Wimbledon! You know that I am crushed that Nadal didn't it through, although it was an awesome loss!

barbara said...

Congratulations to your son, and to you for your fine progress on this wonderful sampler!

Anne said...

Oooh! That lion is fabulous and fiesty!! ATS is looking amazing! Big congrats to your son on graduating! Too bad about the cords! How can they miss something like that?! I would've raised heck!! Hahaha! Mia in her graduating robes! So cute!!

Isobel -Argante- said...

Your sampler is amazing...
Congrats for everything :-)

Isobel
The Primitive Hare

Brigitte said...

I love those graduation pictures, it's great to see so many happy and smiling faces. Congratulations to your son!