Endless Summer.....

The Beginning Of The End.....

I am Keenly aware, Dear Readers, that the Summer is drawing to a close. The School year is starting, the nights are getting longer and alarmingly chilly, and the deadline for my personal goal of completing the Summer Lilac Shrub is nearly upon us! And what better way to understand this Seasonal Shift, than to be stitching on a Tiny Christmas Stocking? The very essence of cold Winter to come is embodied in the Starry Winter Night! As you can see in the above picture, I have finished stitching the blue sky. I have made one artistic alteration to the original design, in that I have left a little bit of snowy "ground" behind the topmost house and tree, rather than have it terminate at the foundation as in the instructions.

I think my adjustment makes it feel

 a little more three-dimensional,

 and  tiny bit cozier too!

Now all I have left to stitch is the

 endless expanse of cold white snow! 

And as for the Summer Lilac Shrub and the

 Endless application of leaves and leafy stems... 

I did complete another batch of ten leafy stems.... but only barely!

I ran into a problem with the paint.

I have been using one tube of the chosen Chromium Oxide Green

 for all the lilac leaves and have been running low on the paint.

I have been trying not to switch to a new tube

 because I was concerned that the pigment would not match exactly

 and would be noticeable on the shrub.

But the tube is really nearly empty,

 so I finally pulled out the new tube.

 It is not the same brand but is the same "pigment". 

Yes, I can see a difference in the new paint....

The new paint is the green blob at the lower right,

 it overlaps the small patch of the original green paint... 

and I can clearly see a difference.

But I thought I had better give it a try....

 

I could tell it was not going to work at all!

 It has a much less opaque quality... 

leaving streaks of the paper showing through on the leaves.

Here is a comparison of the regular paint on the leaves.... 

no streaks and a lovely dense coverage.

(Yes, the paint I have been using is of a higher quality....

 I will need to get more!)

But could I squeeze any more out of the tube.... 

just to complete this batch of leaves?

Oh, the Drama....!

I dug into the cap with my brush, 

and into the pinched tube as well....

 gathering enough paint to finish this batch..... 

and maybe even next week's too.......?

Here are this week's at any rate... waiting to be shaped and glued....

And I did manage to attach about fifteen more leafy stems... 

or was it twenty......

You can see the improvement to the shrub.

 But the left hand side still needs a lot more added!

(Hence the Endless part of this summer....!)

And lest we be the only ones who are feeling the Chilly air and the change of the Seasons, you might be happy to see that Daphne and Renee had decided to show Grandpere the quilt they were making, even though it was still so incomplete.

"Grandpere..." said Renee earnestly

 "It is to keep you warm when we go to the Park!"

"Ah...!" replied Grandpere.

He really thought he had never seen anything so Beautiful...

 but could not find the words.

 

 

"Madamoiselle O'Malley says we can use it today

 when we go..." added Renee excitedly.

"Can we go now..." she added?

He could deny her nothing.... so off they went.

It was a chilly and overcast morning....

I should have worn a jacket... thought Daphne....

 and found a sweater for Renee!

(She was still getting used to this thinking of the child's needs...!)

But Renee did not notice, she only wanted to play with her friends the birds!

Daphne wheeled Grandpere closer so he could watch...

What was it about those birds that fascinated her so?

Perhaps it was the same fascination as he felt watching her....

She was so young and quick and Alive!

She grabbed the bread and threw it again and again....

The birds did not mind!

She is so young.... thought Grandpere.

And growing so fast...

 soon it would be time for her to go to school....

She is so Beautiful... thought Daphne....

 I could watch her Forever and never get tired!

"School..." said Grandpere suddenly.

No! thought Daphne..... 

She is not ready... 

I am not ready....! 

Although she did not speak aloud...

 it was not hers to decide.

But perhaps there would still be some Time,

 Dear Readers, before that came to pass.

We are, after all, talking about Endless Summer.... 

even though we know that such can never be,

 and is perhaps already Truly

 The beginning of the End!