"There are no passengers on Space Ship Earth; we are all crew." - Marshall McLuhan
Kit and I embarked on a crosstiching project that ended up being on more of a microscale than we expected. After many weeks of effort, I have finally completed it. Officially, it is a pincushion. They named the shape biscornu, and the second shot shows the unusual edge.
"Cherry Blossoms" Biscornu Pincushion
The bottom has the same intricate stitches as the top, without the benefit of the thrill of discovery as it comes together.
"Cherry Blossoms" Biscornu Pincushion
Here are a few pictures of the flowers blooming in my backyard today.
Daylillies
These are my favorite!
Daylilly
Cannas
My good friends Josie and Peter cut short their vacation to New Orleans to take the train to Houston and visit with us for a quick weekend. On Saturday we went to the Space Center Houston where their friend Scorch dreamed of flying on the Space Shuttle.
Scorch on the Flight Deck
Josie and Peter below the Atlas V Rocket
Sunday, we took them to Brazos Bend, this time remembering the binoculars. We saw not only a lot of alligators but also a new bird for Mike and I – a White-Faced Ibis.
Scorch at Brazos Bend
Alligator
White-faced Ibis
For Spring Break we decided to camp for the first half and rent a beach house for the second half. We started at Guadalupe River State Park. We brought a friend of Austin’s, Sam, with us. The boys had a great time exploring along the cliffs and skipping rocks in the river. They even tried to swim, but the water was too cold to stay in long.
Brandon, Austin and Sam
On Monday, we went ziplining outside Wimberly, TX. It was great fun, and not nearly as scary as I expected.
After ziplining, we headed to one of our favorite state parks, Enchanted Rock. We checked on our geocache while the boys hiked around, played badmitten with other teenagers at the campground, and attempted to temporarily redirect the course of the stream which flowed nearby. The area around the park has been experiencing a draught, and it was dryer than I had ever seen it. Most of the grass in the campground was a crispy brown. The only flowers blooming were cacti.
Blooming Cactus
The last three nights were spent at a beach house in Corpus Christi. On Thursday, Mike, Sam and Austin went windsurfing at Bird Island Basin (in wetsuits!) while Brandon and I played at the beach. Friday we visited the Texas State Aquarium in the morning and then rented Boogie Boards for an afternoon playing in the surf.
Saturday we drove home, grateful for our own beds and clean clothes.
