Saturday, February 21 -- halfway

A flaming sunrise this morning, too bad the colors last for only a few short minutes.






The week has pretty much flown by, we are now looking forward to Martha's arrival with friends on Tuesday and planning two very different tours Monday & Tuesday.  We'd hoped to work one of them into this past week, but the tour guides did not have enough folks registered to proceed. So, we'll go when we CAN!

With next week being so full of committed time, I figured it best to get the second planned laundry done (knowing this was easy, we'd packed for a short week, saving several pounds of weight in the suitcases).  It's a check in/check out day, and I alarmed one of the bellboys by rolling my OWN suitcase down the walkway.  He sprinted across the driveway to save me from myself, but eventually I was able to soothe him by assuring him it was only laundry.

Today the lavanderia was all business -- no amateurs arrived.  A chatty lady was struck by the utility of bringing the clothes down in a suitcase, and was complimentary of my needlework.  A gentleman came to claim his dry clothes, announcing that his family was leaving at 1P. 

Mostly I was the sentinel though, and was able to complete the outlining of the alphabet letters on my sampler.  I'm hoping to get that panel completed before Martha and friends arrive, as one of her friends is a very talented crafter and I would like to show some real progress from last year.  I'm sure she will find it mysterious that I can't "find time" at home!

Back in the room, as always enjoying the breeze and fresh air, I got to work on one of the three small "decorations" in that panel, and completed the tiny seahorse.  Now I have just a shell and a starfish, and outlining the three items, and I'll be able to show it to you!  I chose this piece because of its designer, who has a reputation for creating very detailed and beautiful pieces.  Now that I am experiencing one, I can say -- AND HOW!  These little "decorations" are worked over a single thread of the base cloth, so I have to pay attention to minimizing eye strain and ensuring that the light is coming from a good direction.  It feels like I'd better hurry up and complete this one...


Having completed the seahorse, I turned my attention to dinner.  Claudette had stayed at the pool when Linda came up for lunch, feeling she needed a break from ingestion.  Our plan was to make the final two dishes that we'd shopped for, but when the first one was completed, it seemed quite sufficient.  So our dinner was Seared Zucchini with Onions & Chorizo, with the remainder of the rice. 


You might recall that we were graced with fresh roses at our Valentine's Day dinner ... and we're thrilled that they are still beautiful all these days later.  They seem quite pleased with their container, so complementary to their own long stems!

By the time we finished dining and everyone got a turn at the laptop, it was a little later than average ... lots of good conversation, but late to bed.  We'll see how the morning develops!