Happy Birthday to our Steed!

Today is her 9th birthday!! Our baby is growing up and getting older and greyer! She loves her watermelon!!

She sure is determined!

Our pets bring us so much joy day in and day out, don't they? They love us unconditionally. Our Steed is our fur-child. The house is quiet when she's away, and much less exciting. She is always doing something to make us laugh and smile! Dynamo had Lexi when we met. She was almost 3 at the time. She is definitely a momma's girl now! She is with us no matter where we are in the house. When I go up to my craft room I ask her if she wants to go stampin' and here she comes. When I'm sick she's right beside me. When I'm in the bathroom, she sits on my feet (probably TMI - sorry Mom). She sees me cry. She sees me laugh. She knows when I'm ok and when I'm not. God gave us pets for a reason. I love that quote that says something like, "I wish I could be the person my dog thinks I am." Oh, so true! They are better than people. We sure can learn a lot from them. They are so forgiving! We take more from them than they ever take from us. They are the givers in this relationship, never asking for anything more than love. This is why all dogs do go to heaven.

Flower Friday - no market tomorrow!

Happy Friday, everyone! We're sorry to report that The Flower Patch will not be at the Petersburg Farmers' Market tomorrow, but we hope to return on August 7th! The flowers need a little break and some rain! Here are some pictures from the last two weeks! Enjoy!

Didn't these make you smile?

first ride

This is me on my Spot Longboard. It was our first ride together yesterday.

I think I'm just going to call him "Spot" until I ride him for a while and find a name that suits him.

Dynamo took these pics yesterday on the trail. Here I am coming down a hill...

And, here I am riding into the distance. Notice all of the big rocks. They are pretty cool looking.

Here I am going over a log (a little blurry).

Last trail pic.

And, when we got back to the parking lot a groundhog was chowing down on the grass outside the nature center. I snuck up slowly and hid behind the tree to snap some photos.

The ride was good. It felt good. We did a little over 6 miles. It's going to take a few rides to get Spot tweaked right, but the belt drive was pretty cool. It was quick to engage. The big 29 inch tires were awesome. I didn't even think about the roots on the trail because I knew I could go right over them. More to report after the weekend.

monkey-ing around...

Over the weekend I worked on this little guy! It's a pattern (modified a little) from Melly & Me called Magoo. Isn't he a cute monkey? I like that he has a jagged look. Here is a little closeup shot:

I hate to sew and then turn right-side out. It's just a nightmare for me and with his little arms and legs that would have been so frustrating. So, I decided I wanted him to look a little frayed! I think it gives him texture and personality!

The monkey is a gift for my Adopted Niece, Jordan, whose birthday party is this weekend. Her parents told me that she said "If Aunt Rachel gets me a gift I know she'll make it herself." Needlesstosay, the pressure was on to create a cool birthday gift. I hope he fits the bill. I think the wild Amy Butler fabric makes him special. I'm working on something else...If that works out I'll post it later this week.

Hope he brought you a smile like he did me!

now, here's what was in that box...

Remember the box from Friday's post?

Well, it was my new bike all the way from Colorado!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you see it in there? They did an awesome job of packaging let me tell you! While Mom and I were getting the flowers together on Friday night, Dynamo and Dad took care of putting my new awesome bike together.

Isn't he pretty?!?!?!

It's a Spot Brand Longboard Single Speed 29er! This rider review gives a good description of the bike, its capabilities, components, etc. Basically, it's geared to one gear...like when we were kids and only had to pedal and not think about changing the gears! I've only got one gear, so no changing just pedaling! I couldn't wait to get my 10 speed when I was old enough. Gears are supposed to be your friends, but lately they're not! I thought people who rode the trails without gears were crazy, but not now! I test rode Dynamo's Single Speed 29er (Sir 9) and it rocks! I actually seemed to ride faster uphill and overall on his bike than on my geared bike. It just handled so well. It also is because it was steel, not aluminun. The first mountain bikes were made of steel. It's just a different ride. So, I said I wanted to get one for myself. Dynamo did lots of research to find one that would fit me. I'm shorter so that posed a little bit of a problem.

Finding the right bike fit is all about the right geometry. There's a lot more involved than just getting on and riding. There's a thing called standover height, top tube length, etc. Those are really important for everyone, especially for a shortie like myself. Let me clarify...I'm only 5 ft 3.5 inches, so I'm not too short compared to the average female, but in the 29 inch tire world it's a little tough.

Speaking of tires...there's a big difference between this bike and the traditional mountain bikes...it has BIG tires! 29 inches! The majority of mountain bikes have 26 inch tires. The big tires make for an awesome ride. I feel like I'm one of those big monster trucks on T.V. rolling over top of those cars in the arena at the Coliseum (no, I've never been to one of those shows, but it looks awesome). When I rode over the roots on Dynamo's 29er they didn't even phase me. Plus, now I'll be higher up and away from the snakes. By the way...saw one of those on the trail two Thursdays ago! YIKES! Learn about the history of the 29er here.

The other big difference is that this bike is belt driven. Most bikes are chain driven. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

A belt-driven bicycle is a chainless bicycle that uses a toothed synchronous belt to transmit power from the pedals to the wheel. The belts are typically made by the same manufacturing companies that produce timing belts for automobiles, machineries, and other synchronous belt drive applications.

The application of belt drives to bicycles is growing, especially in the commuter bicycle market, due to the low maintenance and lubrication-free benefits.

So, now I should be able to really rock and roll!!!! I'll keep you posted on how the bike does on its first ride and what I decide to name him!

Sunday Sermon - July 25

Location: Central Hill (Windsor), Virginia

3/25

Materials Used:
Stampin' Up! - Urban oasis dsp, very vanilla cardstock, basic black cardstock and classic stampin' pad, cherry cobbler cardstock and classic stampin' pad, glitter, Fifth Avenue Floral Stamp Set, glitter, In a Word Stamp Set

JBS Mercantile - red polka dot border sticker, red label sticker, star sticker, mini memo note page

it finally arrived...

So, when I got back from lunch today it was here. My new surprise was waiting for me here in my office. I love the FedEx man. On time delivery!! Yippee!!

I've been waiting for this box all week. Dynamo has been tracking him from Colorado. Would he ever arrive? My co-workers are probably tired of hearing me talk about him. Well, I'll show you what "he" is on Monday. It will be worth the wait...

2/25

Materials Used:
Stampin' Up! - Very vanilla cardstock, urban oasis dsp, glitter, riding hood red striped grosgrain ribbon, cherry cobbler cardstock and classic stampin' pad

Thrifted - sheet music

1/25

I recently got an order for 25 appreciation/thank you/you rock cards with the specific request of "NO PINK". That's going to be a little hard for me, but a challenge is good!

I'm sure you know this already, but I'll share anyways. It's important to think about the person who will be giving the card and what their personality/style is when designing cards for someone to give. I'm calling this project the 25 Project, so as I get each card completed I will title the post according to the number of the card in the series (i.e. 1/25, 2/25, etc...). Enjoy!

Here's a closeup...

Materials Used:
Stampin' Up! - basic black cardstock, urban oasis DSP, very vanilla cardstock, kiwi kiss classic stampin' pad, basic black classic stampin' pad, Inspired by Nature Stamp Set, Congrats stamp set, old olive grosgrain ribbon

a birthday monkey

Dynamo's brother, Craig, has a birthday today!! So, here's his card! I had to use black because that's Craig's color, but I just couldn't bring myself to stick with all black and grey. I had to liven it up a little. I love the sock monkey...he's so fun! It reminds me of when I was a kid. I can't believe they're back "in." This sock monkey has lots of accessories. In the new catalog he even has more! Wow!!!

Here's a closeup of the card too...

Materials Used:

Stampin' Up! - Sock Monkey Stamp Set, Kiwi Kiss Classic Stampin' Pad, Basic Black Stampin' Pad, Urban Oasis DSP, Basic Black cardstock, Blender pen, Baja Breeze Cardstock

Unknown - Green ribbon

over the weekend...

...we had a mini-cation as we call it.

We took a long weekend and went to Wilmington, North Carolina! Above is a pic of us at the riverfront after dinner.

We stayed at the C.W. Worth House Bed and Breakfast in downtown...

We had a little time at Wrightsville Beach and also decided to make the short drive down to Southport and Oak Island!

It is so very hard to take pictures of ourselves! Sorry that they're always from the same angle!

Dynamo told me to snap a pic of this "dummy" hanging on one of the poles outside of the Yacht Basin Provision Company in Southport! It's a pirate chic! Pretty cool!

Above is the Riverboat Landing Restaurant in Wilmington! The riverfront is a busy place with tourists everywhere!

The beach at Oak Island was so nice and quiet compared to the hustle and bustle of Wrightsville Beach.

I'm sorry if you think it's a little weird to show our feet, but I thought it was sweet, so I'll share the pic!

And, as my chauffeur was driving us back home we saw this...

A beautiful end to our fabulous mini-cation together! When's the next one?

artistic etchings birthday

I really like how my birthday card for Alicia turned out! I'm so sorry the picture quality is so-so, but I had to snap it with my camera phone. I've been really impressed with the Artistic Etchings stamp set from Stampin' Up! It really has lots of versatility.The "H", the oval die cut adhesive (with brown border) behind the "H", and the small adhesive rhinestone are all from my monthly kits by JBS Mercantile. Even though this project is not necessarily vintage, I did distress the edges. I couldn't resist! I like vintage a lot, but Stampin' Up! is very crisp and clean, so incorporating the vintage items from her kits creates a nice balance for me. You will find that I use lots of products from there. And, I just had to use the sewing machine on the old olive ribbon! Sewing just adds an extra touch!

Materials Used: 
Stampin' Up! - concord crush cardstock and classic stampin pad, old olive classic stampin pad and grosgrain ribbon, artistic etchings stamp set, happy everything stamp set, poppy parade cardstock, cherry cobbler classic stampin pad, circle designer brad, tab punch, 1 and 3/4" circle punch, small square punch, very vanilla cardstock

JBS Mercantile - "H" die cut adhesive letter, oval die cut adhesive, adhesive rhinestone

Sunday Sermon - July 18

Location: Suffolk, Virginia
Photo contributed by Kristi Sutphin, Suffolk, VA

hairspray

The Prince George High School Summer Fine Arts Academy performed HAIRSPRAY, the musical, on Wednesday evening. We saw a flier for it in Petersburg at Demolition Coffee and decided we'd go out and support the kids and make a girls' night of it! So...Mom, my cousin Miranda, my mom's best friend, Pauline, and I met at the local Italian restaurant in downtown PG and then headed over for the performance.

Here...Pauline, who we call "Mole," and Miranda were waiting for the start of the show. They are so goofy!

We were SOOOOO impressed by the performance. Those kids were FANTASTIC!!!! What talent we have right here! I was so proud to be a graduate of PG!!! Great job!! We didn't want it to end!

Here we are...Mom, Mole, and I in the parking lot after the show! Miranda was taking the pics. What fun!!

Flower Friday

Happy Friday, friends! Here are some pictures from last week at the Petersburg Farmers' Market. The Flower Patch will see you tomorrow morning, bright and early at 7 a.m. See you there...early!!

Thank you for coming to see us each week! We love our customers!!!