Finishes and Flare--a picture post

I promised some pictures of things I had finished lately.

This is the October floss tag from Heart's Content. It was a very quick stitch and I am looking forward to finishing it as soon as I can get ferried into Metro Crazyville for the interfacing and thingy to do the hole at the top (I'm having a moment here with the name of those things). I am looking forward to doing the whole set, they would be really cute for exchanges or just as a way to "purty" up my threads.

 And, at long last, Icy!  Started January 1st, 2010, done May 28th 2012. I think this is the only January 1st start I have ever managed to finish. Ooops!

 It was a big chart and a challenge--the rayon was a worthy adversary from over the sea (literally--I had to order it from Sew and So)--but it feels so good to have finished it finally. I will get this one framed, and it will make a pretty addition to our winter decor.

In case anyone is interested, here is what the front of the house looks like, decked out for summer.

I almost feel ashamed because the actual flower bed has nothing in it at the moment, and so many people post pictures of immaculate gardens full of beautiful flowers (my mom and MIL are bothered by the lack of vegetation as only flower lovers could be, LOL), but I couldn't figure out what I wanted it to look like during the late spring, and, I mean, realistically, this is not the year to sweat the small details. Maybe next year, unless my mother was being serious when she said she would come out and plant flowers for us, which she claims she is. We have the ornamental grass, we have the petunia baskets and that railing planter (the thing was a waste of money since nothing actually survives long-term in it, but it was too expensive to just chuck it out, fortunately it's probably going to break one of these days), and I love the pinwheels. My MIL gifted us with a bunch of seasonal flags as a bridal shower gift and I love how cheerful they are. I have great plans to plant more bulbs this fall, along with some pansies and mums, and maybe beg a cutting off my grandmother's peonies next spring, so it's a slowly evolving work in progress. And, considering I dug the bed without a proper shovel, pregnant, in one day, it's a fine flowerbed for what it is. When I met Left-brain, this was a house that shouted "single guy seeking a wife", and, slowly, it's starting to sing, "a family lives here." And I like that.