Mary Wigham - a California Girl!

Here is Wawanna's story:
Well, it's official, she is finished! I plan on framing her sometime this winter. I made a few changes here and there, mostly moved the motifs apart two or three spaces which made her a little larger, but not significantly. And I added initials of family members, friends and present 'fur-baby' puppy dogs. Each group of initials is in a different style. I also added my age in the top right of the piece, since I have just turned 65 , which is a pretty significant birthday for me. This is the very first time I have actually worked entirely through a piece without stitching on other projects in between. I am very proud of that, but being in the SAL and seeing the progress of others kept me greatly inspired. Oh, all those lovely colors, every one a great beauty! Thank you a million time over for making this possible!
In case you are getting envious of Californian surf, sun and fun, Wawanna goes on to tell me:
It was extremely hot here in Southern California with the temp at 107. There was a brush fire two weeks ago in our community of ranchers here where we live. Within two hours it had burned a significant amount and took one house. It came up so fast with the Santa Anna winds that it raced up an incline and 'ate' that house before the fire department could be of any help! They did get it stopped eventually but the roads into our community were closed for a while. It took two airplanes and two helicopters dropping fire retardant to tamp down the fire - the smoke was billowing up for a while. Everyone was calling and trying to find out where the fire was, how bad it was, and where was it headed. The ranches go from 5 acres up to 80, with lots of livestock - mostly horses. We all panic when we see smoke.