Ann's face and last concerts

Well, I knew my laziness would cause problems.  I was going to take a pic of Ann with her face last week, but I had to cut the face out and I was in a rush, so I didn't do it.  So I'm showing her now -- here she is in all her glory.

It's really bugging me -- I thought I used the correct count fabric for this, but Ann's head looks ridiculously big.  Hmmmmmm.  Well, I guess I might have to size her head down or something.  Oh well.

ETA: The head was on paper, and I had to cut it out.  It's just printed on the paper, no stitching or anything.  I am supposed to glue it onto the fabric with fabric glue, but I am planning on letting my framer do that.  Just have to make sure not to lose the head in the meantime.  lol!  I'm thinking maybe I can copy it and shrink it in the copying process???

No rest for the weary around here.  We got back from the girl child's graduation Tuesday night.  Missed the boy child's senior award ceremony.  His drama club teacher texted him to tell him he'd won the National School Orchestra Award.  Here's the blurb about it from the program which we received with his award:

This award is given to the outstanding senior in the high school School Orchestra in recognition of individual excellence and contributions to the high school orchestra.

We are proud, of course.

Then Wednesday night the boy child had his school chorus concert - yes, he joined the chorus at school as well.  Here he is in action with the chorus.  (They had a very small guys section this year!)

He also played bass for one of the songs.

Thursday night was the boy child's school orchestra/jazz ensemble concert.  It was bittersweet since it was his last one.  He was praised by everyone for being a fantastic bass player -- it was good to hear he is considered a great player.  Here are some pics from the evening.

Getting ready for jazz.

With the orchestra.

And here are a couple of videos if you're interested in hearing the jazz ensemble.  The boy child did a great job!  Sadly, it's a bit hard to hear him -- I guess video cameras don't record bass very well.

It's crazy times here.  I still can't believe there is only one more school day after today for the boy child.  His senior prom is in a week and a half and he graduates a couple of days after.  

Apartment hunting for both kids is going on apace.  The girl child will start her job in July and will need an apartment.  The boy child needs an apartment at his college since dorm space is limited and he didn't make the cut.  I, of course, am freaking out.  My children are growing up and I'm not ready.  Luckily, they are.  

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Yes, we are proud

I'm late posting this week, but I have a good reason.  I'll tell you about it after I show you my finish.

Ann Pennsylvania Peacock by Little by Little

35 ct fabric (not sure what it is)

fibers called for

Yes, it's finished.  I have to put the face on, which is printed on paper.  Haven't done that yet.  I love this sampler.

Ok, if all you wanted to see was stitching, you can skip the many many pictures ahead.  :D

So why am I posting on a Wednesday instead of on Monday?  Well, the girl child's graduation was on Tuesday, with festivities happening Monday as well.  (Sorry, Diamond Jubilee.  Missed seeing most of the Queen's celebrations, sadly.)  So I am going to post tons of pictures with as little text as possible.  

You now get to find out how bad I am at editing myself.  I hope Blogger cooperates with all these pictures.  lol!

Monday was Class Day, with a famous speaker involved.  See if you can recognize him.  (Yes, it rained for a big part of the event, so even though the event was outside, we wimped out and opted for the indoor simulcast.  I know, what wimps.)

I'll give you a hint on who this is.  Steve Carrell.  :D  What a great speaker!  And we found out afterwards by googling that he graduated college the year after me!!

Eating lunch after the Class Day event.  My father and stepmother came out for graduation too.  (It had stopped raining by then.  See all the orange rain ponchos they handed out to the brave ones who sat outside?)

Graduation Day in front of Nassau Hall.

Another famous face.  Aretha Franklin got an honorary Doctorate of Music.

Love these pics of the kids after the ceremony.  They're waiting to march out Fitz Randolph Gate (a very symbolic moment, representing their leaving Princeton as graduates), and a graduate has started a beach ball going over the kids' heads.

Pics of the graduate with family and friends.

The girl child with her boyfriend.

Two graduates with their brothers.

The diploma and certificate.  (The certificate is to acknowledge a minor.)

Shades of Rafa?  (A tennis reference, it's French Open time.)

The girl child sad to leave her eating club.

And yes, we are very proud of our girl.

Mia was very lonely without us around.  Her routine was interrupted, and she wasn't pleased.  But here she is before we left for graduation with her boy.  Yes, that's the boy child's bed.  They tend to sleep together.

A boy, his bass guitar, and his cat.  Plus various items that are kept on his bed.  Ahem.

Sorry for the long blog post.  The boy child's graduation comes in a few weeks!!  The girl child is driving home today with the last of her stuff from college.  Time to find a couple of apartments, one for each child.  Yikes!

Thanks for all your wishes for my recovery from the surgery.  I'm almost back to normal, survived the graduation and all the packing I did of the girl child's things.  Although I am tired.  lol!  The test results were all good, so all I have to do is heal up.  Yay!

Thanks for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week!

(Graduate class of *62, class of '81, class of '83, and now class of '12.  Yay!)

Maine!!!! Mia and stitching too.

Sorry I missed posting last week.  We were on vacation up in Maine.  Ah, Maine!  We've been going up for the last 11 years.  I can't believe it's been that long, but when I think that the boy child was 5 when we started, well, it makes sense!

Before we get to the Maine pictures, I thought I'd show you my Family Sampler progress.  This is what I accomplished before we left for vacation.  Mia is actually pretty good at letting me stitch this small piece -- as long as she's sleepy.  lol!

I'm filling in the background of the top portion before I tackle the bottom portion.  Once the fill in is done, you won't be able to see the threads that are carried across the back.  :D  It's on 40ct silk gauze over 1 with Belle Soie silks.

While on vacation, I took advantage of having no curious Mia around to start on Ann Pennsylvania Peacock, by Little by Little.  Here's my progress on that.

I'm stitching it on a mystery 36ct fabric using the called for GAST and DMC threads.

I just love the colors in this piece!

You want to see where I did my stitching while on vacation? 

Nice, huh?  We rented a beautiful little house in Boothbay Harbor that was right on the water, literally.  The views were spectacular.

That's the dock connected to the house.  The kids took advantage of the dock for swimming -- some of the grownups did as well.

And after swimming, one could take advantage of the hot tub by the house.  Luxury!

Here's the view of the house from the dock.

The picture was taken at low tide.  The water at high tide goes right up to the house. 

Anyway, we all had a great time.  We rented the house with my sister's family so their kids and our kids got to hang out.  And the girl child got some cooking lessons from her uncle.

Which was great for me -- usually I help the uncle with the cooking, but I got off this time!  :D  And the uncle is a great cook (that's pound cake in the picture there.)

While we were gone, my friend Kathy (no blog) and her son took care of Mia for us, coming over to the house to feed her and play with her.  When we got home, we were amazed at how much Mia had grown!  Her little kitten face even looks more catlike than before.  It's hard to tell from pictures how much she's grown, but I'll show you anyway.  Here she is right before we left, sleeping with the boy child.

And here she is in a picture taken just a few minutes before.  Yes, she's sleeping on my lap right now while I type this.

That's my laptop behind her, and my huge midriff in the foreground.  See how big she is now?

I'll leave you with one more idyllic picture taken from the house.

I miss it already!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I will be stopping by blogs and visiting on a regular basis now that I'm back!  Have a great week!  Don't forget to watch the US Open!!  Tennis -- yay!