July ’25 Update

July was another month of crafts, carillon, and generally having a lazy summer. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Craft Updates

I finished up the last little bit of the Grand Canyon project, and continued the stitch-a-long project (both pictured above.) I then began a new project, the Morning Glory pool from Yellowstone (pictured below). It requires 25 colors, and amazingly, even though I own so many DMC colors, I still had to buy about half the palette! Eventually, I’ll have them all, like Pokémon. I thought I was getting close to that point, but apparently not!

I also got around to rearranging the way my projects are displayed. I had all the fabric collages mixed in with the satin stitch landscapes, and I was quickly running out of room. Now, the fabric collages have their own little space on a narrow wall, and the ever expanding satin stitch collection will have plenty of room to grow! (pictured below)

Pride

Despite June being Pride month, Rochester celebrates in July. Kim and I had quite the time. Between the shuttle abandoning us nowhere near the festival and the heat, it was a rough day. I may have gotten a bit of heat stroke by the end. But I had fun with Kim and friends, and got to enjoy more of the performances this year! I also had a lot of fun playing with colored hair wax and giving Kim’s hair the full rainbow treatment!

Anniversary

July is also the month of my anniversary with Kim, the 14th being both the anniversary of our first date and our wedding! We’ve been together 11 years, married 7 of those years, and we’re still going strong. We got dressed up and had a nice dinner date at Black and Blue to mark the occasion, as well as traded copper themed gifts. I got her copper poppies (one of her favorite flowers) and she got me a few things, including a nice little copper dish engraved with our initials and our wedding date, which I use for my wedding rings.

Carillon

While it has been nice to practice during the summer, since I’m able to walk in to the practice room almost any time I want because nobody else is around and using it. The downside is that it’s so hot in there! I brought in a fan, but even then, it still pretty stuffy and warm, so I didn’t practice as much as I would have liked. Also, there was less pressure to practice as I didn’t have any lessons planned. I worked on perfecting the last song I posted about, and got to perform it up in the bell tower at the end of the month with a one-off lesson. Otherwise, I’ve been attending the weekly carillon concerts and hearing the range of the instrument.

Pets and Visitors

Fourth of July is always a very trying time for us, so Brienne spent a lot of time “velcroed” to Kim and I, because the neighbors enjoyed setting off fireworks many days and evenings earlier in the month. I’m very grateful we upgraded to the king bed this winter, so we can have plenty of room when Brienne decides she needs some comfort at night. Our geese visitors have disappeared, but now we have a woodchuck who seems to have moved in under our shed. Some days I call him Woody, other days he’s Chuck. He just better not be digging any holes under there that will impact the support of the shed, or else he’s going to be called Dinner! I kid, I kid! I’ll just evict him and make him find a new home if he doesn’t behave himself.

Wrapping Up

Otherwise, this month I spent plenty of time chilling by the pool, in my hammock, and even a bit at the beach. I had a long weekend for the fourth of July and then took a staycation the last week of the month. I’ve been getting caught up on some TV shows and reading that I’ve been meaning to do, as well as continuing my crafting. I’m enjoying the slower pace at work during the summer months. One other fun thing of note – Kim and I tried out the Krazy Arrows at Lasertron, where I found out my archery skills from my youth are still pretty sharp, if I do say so myself.

Plans for August are pretty light, although the semester will start again, as will my weekly carillon lessons. (I may even get my own personal access to the tower for my when I practice!) Otherwise, there’s a friend’s birthday party coming up at the end of the month, along with some time holding down the fort while Kim visits friends in Denver. I’m trying to relish these last few weeks of summer before the craziness of fall hits. Keep cool, gang. See you next month!