OMG! It has been forever. My job has indeed taken over my life as I now have gotten a second promotion and am working 37 to 40 hours every week. In one very special way this is a blessing. Full time workers get health insurance benefits! My health has improved. I have lost 25 lbs since January, my diet is better, and I am exercising fairly regularly. The focus of my "off" time has been on health these days, not art.

My gardens are just delightful this summer! Above and below are my spring iris, and a bud from the peonies that I just adore. The blooms from the peonies were so large they were 10" in diameter. The bee balm and the many coneflowers came back from last year doubling their size in the gardens to the glee of the many hummingbirds who frequented them. The blooms are already dieing off and the hummingbirds have moved on. However, I have a new pastime watching a huge family of native turkeys wander my and my neighbor's yards. We live on the edge of a large woodland area, so they have roamed down to our yards to feed all summer long. Two females had very large broods, which are presently mature enough to have their own broods. Yesterday, I noticed one of the more mature early spring babies with three of her own very tiny babies following her. I've tried to get some photos, but they aren't very happy about my intrusion into their space. I also, had a wren make a nest very close to the house inside my closed deck umbrella. The song of a wren is so joyful and the babies were truly a joy to watch as I was able to see them emerge and fly off to the trees with their mother. Mother Nature can be such a joy!
I recently took the photo below of one of my studio cats, Pete, formally named Peter Pan by my daughter, who actually owns the cat and two others. He is such a gorgeous cat and very well behaved. I find him to be such a sweet companion when I am working in the studio. He has plunked himself on top of my workspace, claiming the area for his own. My daughter, Andie, has recently decided that living at home doesn't suit her needs anymore, so she is looking for a place to move into with her boyfriend. At nearly 23 I guess it is about time for her to fly off on her own. But as I will miss Peter Pan in my studio, I will be missing Andrea much more.
With so little time to devote to my art these days, I am surmising that I will never get enough time to get "Peter's World" entered into a show. So I have decided to show some photos of what I have been up to. The photo below is of my son, Peter, posing on a bench at his Dad's house for me. I set him up the way I wanted the drawing to be, took several shots, and ended up with this one as my model for the drawing...

Peter is now 19 years old. He was 11 in this picture. As you can see, it takes me a long time to work through my projects!
Above and below are some detail shots of Peter's face. All the curves have been hand stitched and the smaller pieces in the face are reverse appliqued. I am leaving the body in large pieces to give myself some flexibility when stitching them down to the background of wicker and leaves. Its coming along, but slowly.
For those of you who like to buzz around to read and view other blogs, including mine, I have to apologize for such a long hiatus from writing. It has not been very "blog-like" to have taken so much time between posts. I will endeavor to be better about this. Thanks for reading and checking in on me. TTFN. Nancy