All good things......

... sigh. Well, I was forced out of my resort. My sister arrived from DC Thursday night and we swept our way inland from blissful hammock moments to yard deconstruction in semi-humid heat.

Some last images of paradise --

Want to have breakfast with me on the guest house porch?


Or how about joining me on the guest house swing?


I learned many things house sitting. For instance:
I learned how to handle the clutter of grandchildren's toys:

Yup, that's the shower stall all the toys are kept in. For the record, the DVDs and video tapes are in the same bathroom's drawers.

I learned that the best place to keep your frogs is....

on your wall paper! lol

I learned that a raccoon with talent can do interesting things to an orange

Yup, that's still hanging on the tree.

I learned that the reason we (the family) rarely made the famed family recipe for "mock chicken almond" was that we never had enough freezer space. One recipe makes:


I learned that I might need to get the next layer of cable -- I need the Science Channel and the Travel Channel. Damn!

And most importantly,
I learned that I really want them to want me back!

The final accomplishments of my time in paradise are

That's one of Isa Vautier's freebies in Vicki Clayton silks over one.



Now just bits and background for my little flightless friend. The canvas is from Gimmies. The stitch is a modified, slated cashmere (I think) and the threads are Lola rayon (pain in the assets) and Fyre Werks Soft Sheen.

There's been no stitching since Shangri-La, just cleaning and catching up. Tonight was dinner with my aunt and cousin --

That's the sis, the cousin, and the aunt. It's not a flattering picture of any of them, but the choice was an unflattering pic of all of them or flattering pictures of two of them and a hideous one of the other. I decided this was the best route. They are gathered around my sister's slide who of her recent trip to Bhutan. One important thing to know about Bhutan -- life's way better for the rooster than the hen.-- You see, as Buddhists, the Bhutanese eschew all carnivoristic tendencies. When Bhutanese go trading near the border with India and encounter Indian traders selling chickens (and roosters) they trade for the roosters and bring them back home and leave them at a temple with the monks to take care of. They are called "rescue roosters." They only rescue the roosters because it wouldn't be fair for there to be boy and girl poultry living with celibate monks. lol