Weekend Progress Report" Easter

In between errand running, garden clean-up and visiting, I have continued to work on the English Band Sampler this weekend.  Part II will be arriving in the SANQ Summer issue and I would like to have Part I completed before that time.  I have gotten to the more interesting and more complex section of the sampler: satin stitches, long stitches, Queen stitches and Algerian crosses have begun to crop up as well as more complex motifs in cross stitch.  I have decided to stick to the colors as charted.  The colors are typical of the 15th century embroidery on which the design is based.  I must say aesthetic sensibilities as regards color have changed dramatically since that time period.  The color palette is definitely not particularly pleasing but I have chosen authenticity over aesthetics for this project, at least as regards color.  

After Easter Mass, I set up the small composter we bought at Home Depot.  I had the spot in the backyard all picked out.  After an afternoon alternately stitching and relaxing with season one Picket Fences DVDs, my husband and I met my youngest son for our Easter dinner at his favorite Japanese restaurant.  I know sushi isn't exactly a traditional Easter meal but sometimes traditions need to be jettisoned.  I have never really liked ham since one summer in our childhood when my Dad's union was still on strike ... the contract ended December 31 and negotiations broke down sometime in January.  As the strike lingered on for months and months, the union officials decided to buy a couple of truckloads of canned hams and distribute them to the striking workers to help ease the pain of lost wages.  When all you eat is ham for a whole summer, it tends to lose its appeal.  My Mom was considered a creative cook for her time, but even she could come up with just so many ways to present ham.  I can still enjoy a real ham ... one that is slow cured, like a genuine Virginia ham or a ham from Amish country ... but most of what is available in supermarkets is anathema.

Today, I'll celebrate the first day of a week off from work:  I'll plant the pansies in the front planter box, continue my on-line search for the right planter boxes for the backyard, get some house-keeping and some more garden clean-up done and, finally, continue my work on the sampler.