July has always been a month of celebrations in my family. There were so many plans to spend time with my three sons and their families. These plans had to be cancelled. This year, we have had to celebrate on Zoom.

Today, I should be sitting with my family on a deck of a cruise ship. Thanks to my son and DIL, we are making the best of a bad situation. We are not allowing ourselves to be bummed out by the cancellation. Instead, we are finding ways to make it fun. My DIL reminded me that it is all about how we choose to spend our time locked inside and away from each other. As she said, “life is good”.

What would I be doing on the first day of the cruise? I would probably be scoping out the ship and finding my way around. I would also be taking in the beautiful seascape and soaking in the sun and sea air.  To set the mood, I played Bahamian music in my sewing room. I drew a small seascape onto canvas. I used some of my new embroidery thread that arrived today. Then I added some water color. Tomorrow’s cruise itinerary includes listening to tango music. I was so looking forward to taking the lessons provided on the ship. I found some tango tutorials on YouTube. The heels might do me in. 🙂

In the video, I also included some of the embroidery projects from the week. Last week, I embroidered a selfie of my pandemic hairstyle. This week, I embroidered a selfie of my pandemic attire. Thank goodness for stretchy pants and leggings.

Since I am such a bird nerd, I have two more embroidery projects featuring birds. One is a tufted titmouse, and the other is a speckled fuschia.

This past Wednesday, I picked up my Lone Star Quilt from Linda, who did the longarm quilting for me. The quilt is now shipped and on its way to my niece.

The excitement for the week came when I went to pick up my two ailing sewing machines. They are now both working as if they are brand new. I am so impressed with Gromes Sewing Machine Company. They have set up excellent Covid safety measures. They allowed drive by drop off and pick up. It was good to see the place had their usual heavy traffic of business. When I told one of my sons that I had my machines back, he joked that he was going to have to clear out his cabinets to make more room for mug rugs. So, of course, I had to make him some!

A positive attitude has made this an absolutely fun day.

Stay positive.
Life is good.
Stay safe.