Monday Update

Dear friends,
I'm so glad to be back online, after my failed attempt at an update this weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to begin the week anew with a visit to the blogger-world.
Friday and Saturday night both were spent at a friend's house having a whirlwind cookout weekend! I'm not sure where the time went, but it was absolutely a blast. Of course the men decided it was high time to pull out all the motorcycles and vehicles and decide who could do the better burn out. Let me tell you, the smell of burnt rubber is not on the top of my list for future Yankee Candle scents, however they seemed to love it.
Saturday morning and early afternoon were spent at work, fortunately I did get to sleep in just a bit. I was able to stitch a little between work and play, but only just a bit.
Sunday was somewhat more productive at home. Our neighbor gave us a patio table and 4 chairs that she wasn't using any longer which was a huge blessing. Just the day before we had discussed the need for one as the last time we had people over we were severely lacking in the outdoor seating department. Sadly, one of the chairs has seen better days and will probably be irreparable, but the cost on us is now SO much less that I'm not even against purchasing a whole slew of new chairs now that I don't have to buy a ridiculously expensive table.
I washed/wiped down all the chairs and the table, although I did have to wait for DB to make it home to help me put the top on the table. Now it's all set up and ready for our next BBQ! The citronella candle has proven itself worthy of the stupid amount of money that they charge for one anymore. I can't seem to get rid of the mosquito population that seems to be multiplying in my backyard faster than in the rest of the state. Any suggestions would be more than welcome!!
I managed to locate the dog park in town and decided it was high time that the GSD got out of the house and played with dogs his own size. My Chihuahua had a break from his brother as he was left at home this time. Normally he does join us on our outings, but being a new dog park, I wanted to check it out first.
The temperature did decide to hike itself back up a little higher than it has been, and my hairy beast of a dog was quite warm. They do have a spot for the pups to get their own water and a few visitors were smart enough to bring plastic containers for water which he happily drank about all of. Of course I did refill them since there were so many that looked pathetically hot. I've always felt bad for dogs with tons of fur in the summer...
All in all a fairly productive, and busy, weekend. I will leave you with the progress made on the Angel of Christmas (photo to be posted later tonight so keep a lookout!)... I'm getting dangerously close to all of the backstitching that needs to be done. This may be an interesting endeavor as I have yet to attempt this before!

I started with the gold thread too which adds a nice sparkle. It'd a little hard to see in the picture but it really makes the project pop!