Kinda long..care for a cup of coffee or tea?

It's September! and fall is definately in the air in Washington .. the days are warm and the nights cool off .. the spiders are weaving crazy webs all around the house and you can smell fall in the air .. I love this time of year .. almost as much as winter.

I've had a nice few days .. DH and I took a short vacation .. with the remodeling we've been doing, and DH has been way busy with his business this summer, we just didn't get away for a long vacation .. but when the opportunity to pick up our friends from their Alaska cruise we jumped at the chance .. they were arriving in Vancouver, BC Friday morning. Originally we were going to head up to Vancouver on Wednesday .. but we decided to go to a sprint car race wednesday in Skagit. For those Nascar fans out there .. Kasey Kane was sponsoring a fund raiser at the track with Tony Stewart and a bunch of local sprint car racers. DH's favorite driver is Tony and we had a blast at the race, got a room at the local Holiday Inn and drove up to Vancouver in Thursday. Seattle is only about 3 hours from Canada .. it is such a pretty drive up to Canada .. I forget how green and lush it is .. we got caught in a bit of traffic at the border and beyond ... got to our room in the early afternoon, found a wonderful pub right next door to have lunch, it was so good we ended up going back for dinner that night lol We spent a few hours walking around Gastown, window shopping and people watching .. two things that DH and I really enjoy .. poof it's Friday .. the cruise ship arrives, we pick up our friends and head back to Seattle.

Saturday we spent the day in Seattle at Bumbershoot .. It's an art/music 3 day feastival in downtown Seattle .. we always see some awesome music .. this year was no exception .. Rodrigo y Gabriela to me was the most memorable performers that we saw .. here's what the write up said .. Sharing a love for metal rock since they became friends as teenagers, Rodrigo y Gabriela have traveled the world playing their rhythmic, Hispano-influenced, acoustic rock since 1999. Now residing in Ireland, they recently topped the Arctic Monkeys and Johnny Cash to reach Number One on the Irish charts .. if you ever get a chance to hear them in person, you will be blown away by their guitar skills .. sometimes their fingers were a blur!
The rest of the weekend was typical .. cleaning, laundry, and yes I actually stitched! lol .. I haven't really stitched on much except for the Pals Sampler .. it's coming along good, but I'm ready to be done with it and moved on to something else lol .. I am working on my F&S share, need to have it done this weekend yikes! The washed out squares have white in them that isn't coming through well .. here's my progress ...

and I got some new stash today! I got two new scissors, the Putford and the Hillier .. omg the Putford's are really small! lol .. then I got 3 new Lizzie*Kate's .. the 2007 Special Edition Chritmas Kit, Tiny Tidings XII and Boo Squared .. of course I want to start them all right now! lol

WOW, that was quite a book I wrote .. if anyone stayed with it the entire way .. thank you! *smile* .. but if you didn't .. who'd blame you! hee hee hee

Thank you all for the lovely comments about my PIF for Jamie .. and hope everyone had a great long weekend!
I'm grateful for my DH ...

I heard from Jamie that she received my PIF I sent .. I'm really glad you liked it Jamie, I had fun stitching the fob for you, even though the cording is a bit long! lol .. here's a picture of the fob and the other goodies I sent her .. 2 down, 3 more to go *smile* The design is from Lizzie*Kate's coffee leaflet .. stitched over one .. I don't stitch over one very often. For some reason the fabric was really easy to stitch over one on. I forgot to take a picture of the back of the fob, it has Jamie's name on it ..

The tin as a candle in it .. thought it was cute with the J on top .. and that's a miniture coffee cup I picked up ...

I've spent most of the day cleaning .. amazing where dust hides isn't it! lol .. we are slowly reclaiming the house after the remodeling .. sure does feel good! I'll take some pictures after everything is back in place.

I hope to get some stitching done tomorrow ... hope everyone is having a great weekend!
I'm grateful for PIF's ..

Am I the only one with a love/hate relationship with Sunday? This weekend was really great .. very productive and relaxing at the same time .. and now that the weekend is over, I so don't want it to end.. I could definately enjoy a few more weekends like this .. hmmmmm, maybe I need a vacation? lol

On the remodeling front .. we are sooooo close to being done with phase one .. yahoo! I found a real wallpaper dude .. he came out Saturday and talked about the problems the other guy was having .. basically the other guy wasn't waiting long enough for the paste to cure before trying to hang it .. made perfect sense to me after the new wallpaper guy explained it .. so he bid the kitchen and was close to what we had budgeted, and of course we are deparate to get it done .. so next Sunday my kitchen will be wallpapered and Monday the frig will be moved into place .. sure is getting old going to the dining room every time I want something out of the frig! lol Once the kitchen is done and everything is finally back in place .. all we have to finish is the deck in the back yard .. replacing all the decking and building new railings and stairs .. when we're done with the deck .. we aren't doing anymore until after the new year .. then it's one to phase two! lol gotta love older homes *smile*

I got stitching done this weekend too! No finishes .. but steady progress .. Here's the Pals Sampler ..

I also started stitching on my Fair and Square design for Amy, she's my exchange partner this round .. I've know Amy for about 8 years and I'm thrilled we were partnered up together .. I had a great time deciding on what to stitch for her .. I hope she'll like it.

Thanks everyone for their comments .. I do enjoy reading them *smile* .. and Ruth, I'll send you an email soon about the Ornament Book .. thanks
I'm grateful for professionals ...

I did get a little stitching done this week .. this is the PALS sampler, designed by Blue Ribbon Designs .. at the Pals retreat in October, this is going to be the middle for my signature RR that I'm participating in .. can't wait to see it surrounded by signatures of all my friends at the retreat :) I've been thinking a signature RR with all you wonderful bloggers would be fun too .. maybe a project for 2008 ...

and this is Merry Christmas by Glory Bee from the 10th anniversary JCS ornament magazine. Nice fun stitch that I think will go pretty quickly ...

Thanks for all the compliments on my finish and frame choice for Good Things .. funny, but I was reading another blog and she had finished Good Things too, but her's looked different than mine .. guess what? I totally forgot the two borders around the words! lol .. and not one of you mentioned my goof?? *smile* I really like the way it looks with the frame, without the borders, so I think I'm just going to frame it as is .. and next time I stitch it I'll add the border lol ...

Still having issues with the wallpaper in the kitchen .. this weekend is the end .. if I can't find someone to help figure out the problem, we're going to re-texture and paint instead .. the big problem is that I LOVE the wallpaper we found for the kitchen .. it's perfect for us and the space .. and I just am not ready to give up quite yet .. but it's driving me crazy having a new frig I can't use yet! ahhh the joys of remodeling! off to bed for me .. the dogs are begging! lol

Book of Ornaments??? Sounds interesting Ruth! I have one of Laurie's ornaments from last year .. but I don't have one from you .. that will be my mission this year! *grin*

Woo Hoo .. I'm an enabler!!! You'll love stitching it Monique :)

I'm grateful for my dogs ...

Woo Hoo we have toilets! lol Everything went pretty smoothly on Friday .. not everything gone finished, but I'd rather have it done right, then done quickly. The major problem is the wallpaper in the kitchen .. the wallpaper we picked ended up too thin .. it was showing all the blemishes of the wall underneath. So our installer started from scratch on Friday, efinishing the kitchen walls to get a smooth base for the wallpaper. Because of the delay with the wallpaper, I was concerned about the frig and what we were going to do with it .. omgosh I love Sears! lol .. at least I love the delivery guy .. he came in and saw where the frig is going, didn't want to move it in until the kitchen was complete, said it's too easy to tear vinyl flooring .. he told me that Sears allowed 30 days to move the appliances around, if there were issues on the original delivery date .. they moved the frig into the garage and when we are ready, they will come back within 24 hours of calling them and move/install the frig .. for free, well, not really free, but no extra delivery costs. Wallpaper should be complete Monday, frig should be installed no later than Wednesday .. it's a good thing *smile* .. and speaking for good things ..

I finished L*K's Good Things this afternoon .. this was a cute fun stitch .. I looked through my odds and ends of frames and found one that I think is perfect for it .. don't you? The design would make a really cute pinkeep to ... hmmmm, maybe a PIF??




Back to laundry and sunday night stitching .. I'm going to work on the PALS sampler and watch football! OMGosh can you believe its that time of year again! GOOOO SEAHAWKS!

I'm grateful for forward progress ..

EGADS .. I have toilets in the dining room and a frig in the living room and cats that are playing little kittens on the tarps lol .. I think they like the sounds the tarps make when they run across them! lol The floors are all in and I really like them .. the kitchen floor is a bit darker than I'm used to, but DH and the boys love it and I'm sure it'll grow on me .. especially when the wallpaper gets finished (hopefully tomorrow) and the kitchen gets but back together. I'm taking the day off tomorrow (friday) ... a lot is happening tomorrow .. the wallpaper installers come in the morning, the frig is scheduled to be delivered between 11 and 1 .. and the toilets are supposed to be reinstalled between 12 and 2 .. anyone will to place bets that at least one thing doesn't go right tomorrow? lol ..

I haven't done any stitching for the last few nights .. but I did hear that my exchange arrived at Nicole's house today .. here's a picture of what I sent her .. I had a lot of fun putting this exchange together .. the scissor fob is one of my favorite SB designs ...

and here's pictures of the wonderful exchange Nicole sent to me .. I just love the sheepy scissor fob and all the RED :) and the beaded fob is wonderful .. it has a threader on one end .. I just love it! Thank you so much Nicole :)



Happy Friday everyone .. thanks for coming and visiting .. I really enjoy all the comments .. and yes Monique .. a frig from 1978 .. surprised me too when it dawned on me! lol .. and hopefully we have a few more years with it .. it's going in the garage as the beverage frig *grin*

I'm grateful for stitching friends ...

Another finish YIPEE! I finished JWB's Reindeer Sunday night .. this was a fun stitch, but kinda frustrating at times .. lots of stitch 4 stitches, cut and move on to the next 4 stitches .. but I love the way he looks .. so regal! Will be a nice addition to my reindeer collection *smile*

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words about my finishing I did over the weekend .. I can't wait for them to arrive .. I do hope they like them.

Nancy, that you for the information about the Teacup/Coffee cup pinkeep .. now to keep my eye out for it .. maybe it'll show up on Ebay someday :)

Sue, I love your idea about stitching all three coffee designs on the same piece of fabric .. decisions decisions, and thanks for coming to visit.

Sally and Cheryl, I understand that LHN is doing Tea designs as well as Coffee .. how fun will that be!

Well tomorrow is a big day around here .. more remodeling .. Wednesday and Thursday we're are having more new floors put in .. this time it's the kitchen, laundry room, powder room and Robert's bathroom .. new vinyl floors. And on Friday the new Frig arrives! OMGosh this is a big deal with this family .. we bought this frig back in 1978 and it's still working! Of course I don't think there's a plastic piece inside that isn't broken. We are finally winding down on the remodeling inside .. still have a deck to replace, DH and Chris worked on tearing the decking off last weekend, we know have half a deck and some very confused dogs! lol .. actually all the animals, 4 and 2 legged are confused these days! lol

I'm off to stitch .. something easy .. I'm tired but want to stitch, so I think I'll work on Good Things .. it's pretty mindless, but cute!

Thank you for the comments and nice to see new faces posting ... I do love this blogging family of stitchers :)

I'm grateful for a DS and his friends .. they helped move tons of things today to get ready for the floors ...

Doing a little happy dance this wonderful Sunday evening .. the highlight of the weekend was that I finished both the PIF and my exchange piece .. and I'm quite happy with them .. I hope the recipents like them and I sure hope they don't fall apart when used! lol *smile* I'll post pictures after they have been received. The rest of my weekend was not very exciting, but productive. My stitching room had been pretty trashed after serving as a catch all room while the hardwood floors were being installed upstairs .. the last of the "junk" was finally moved out and so I took a lot of the day Saturday to put the room back in order, major organizing and a good cleaning .. the one big trouble with having a lot of collections/nick nacks is they do have to be dusted from time to time *smile*

I think I'm going to settle in for the night .. I'm going to stitch on JBW's Reindeer and watch Lifetime .. I really have been enjoying some of the new summer shows. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'm grateful for small accomplishments

One of my passions/addiction is coffee .. I love drinking it, I love collecting coffee cups, but now I have more to add to my addiction of coffee .. have you seen this yet?



OMGosh!! it's wonderful and it's one of three coffee designs that Little House Needleworks is doing .. I just put myself on auto for these design (with Down Sunshine Lane). I've already stitched Spot of Coffee (just need to frame it) and have Coffee Menu in my stash .. now with these other new coffee design .. I might have to rework my kitchen wall to display all these yummy designs .. I'm in coffee heaven! lol

This week has been pretty good for stitching .. I started L*K's "Good Things" .. it's a very fun stitch. I also put a few stitches in my Pals sampler and finished stitching one exchange and one PIF .. now I just have to finish them .. which is the thing that takes the longest for me .. I am soooo finishing challenged .. it takes me a long time to get the confidence to cut the stitched piece .. I'm always afraid I'll cut too much and not have enough room to finish it .. I'm taking the day off tomorrow, I have a dr's appt in the middle of the day, so I think I'll try finishing tomorrow .. have all day to take my time .. hopefully I'll be happy dancing by the end of the day with two finishes lol ...

Hope everyone has had a great week, including some stitching time. I'm off to watch Burn Notice .. very good show!

I'm grateful for my passion of coffee ...

Woo Hoo! I received my first ever pinkeep .. it was a PIF from Cheryl and I just love it! Red if my favorite color :) and I love the design ... it's "The Three Emblems" by Papillon Creations, a freebie Cheryl found .. isn't it wonderful *smile* .. thank you so much for stitching it for me Cheryl!

Happy Birthday Robert! My baby turned 19 on Thursday the 27th .. it's hard to believe he's all grown up .. this is one of my favorite pictures of him .. taken on his 11th birthday .. I'm so proud of him. He's grown into a nice young man, with a great sense of humor, very nice friends and still enjoys being with his family. He's off school for the summer, but his attending a community college in our area and wants to major in Sports Journalism ...


and this is Robert in one of his casual graduation pictures ... I hope for all your dreams to come true Robert .. in everything you do .. love you, Mom ...



I've been stitching but it's going slowly .. my rotation is all shot to hell .. mostly because I don't seem to be stitching everyday, which doesn't fit well if you are trying to rotate projects .. so right now I'm just concentrating on a couple of PIF's I want to finish and get mailed and the PALS sampler that I want to get finished before the Fall Fling in October. And my stitching room is so disorganized right now and it's on my nerves .. I really need to spend a day cleaning and getting it back in order so I can find things .. never enough time for it all! lol

I hope everyone is having a great weekend .. and getting lots of stitching done :) I do love the comments and visits from all of you .. thanks for taking time to check in with me ...

I'm grateful for my boys ...

I was tagged by Kim to list my "Last Seven" So here it goes...

1. Last dollar I spent: $15 - monthly coffee club at work .. I was a couple of months behind!

2. Last time I ate fast food: Saturday night .. DH and I had taco salads from Taco Time and watched The Good Shepherd

3. Last thing I ate: A Rainier cherry while I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner

4. Last song I sang to: lol .. I sing ALL the time! I think it was Little Big Town's "Little More You" .. awesome group by the way .. 2 guys/2 girls and their harmony's are incredible!

5. Last time I bought clothes: Oh that's easy!!! Friday night my good friend Lisa and I went shopping, dinner and a movie .. let's see, I bought some new underware, two shirts, and a cute gray sleep pants/shirt. Oh and we went to see "Evening" .. has anyone else seen it? Very good movie .. just curious what others thought ...

6. Last time I felt envy: That's a tough one .. I really try and not feel envy .. but we all do, don't we .. I think the last time was Friday night at dinner when Lisa was telling me about the cruise she and her DH are taking in August .. they are going to Alaska for 10 days! ok .. I admit it, I was GREEN! lol

7. Last time I paid bills: Sunday .. online

I'm going to tag a couple of ladies .. I really do like reading tags and getting to know you all a little better .. but I know some of you don't like to be tagged .. so if I tagged you and you don't want to .. no worries, you definately won't hurt my feelings *smile

I tag ... Sally, Michelle, Lizzy, Sonya, and Vonna

I'm grateful for blogging ..

We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave .... and we aren't liking it at all! lol .. most of us that live in Western Washington are total wimps when it comes to temperatures over 90 and the last couple of days have been just like that .. hot and sticky and icky .. and most of the homes here don't have central air because we get soooo few really hot hot days .. so after a couple of night where it's cooled down to like 75 outside and 85 inside we haven't had a good nights sleep and I'm cranky because I want to stitch but it's too damm hot to put a needle in my hand *grrrrr* .. today was cooler, a bit overcast and in the 80's .. the weekend is supposed to get even cooler .. maybe I can get some housework none or some yard work and definately some stitching! ok, enough whining here lol ...

I did finish Heart in Hand's Flags on the 5th .. just need the star button .. I love these quick stitches *smile*

Sure glad it's almost Friday!! I hope everyone's had a great week .. and thanks for leaving comments .. I do love hearing from everyone *smile*

I'm grateful for cooler nights ...

How cool is this! lol .. try it here

Happy 4th of July to all my

stitching/blogging friends

This is a picture of downtown Seattle on a 4th of July .. I didn't take this one .. pulled it off the internet .. but I wanted to share a bit of my city with all of you. I hope you all have a wonderful day with friends and family and stitching of course *smile* Don't eat too much! lol

I'm grateful for holidays ..

Sunday Sharing .. I got some new stash last week and I want to stitch it all right now *lol* .. this is Sunflower Sampler by Country Cottage Needleworks. Love the soft blue fabric .. this will be a fun design to stitch.I love my new scissors .. Glory and Maria .. now I have to find scissor fobs for each of them. I will be really fun in October to use the "Boo" needle minder from Kelmscott Designs, I love Halloween! I splurged and got the new limited edition Colors of America (GAST) threads, wonderful colors and of course I had to have Seattle Sky *lol* The new Lizzie Kate's are really fun .. I'm going to do all four of the season Banner Boxer Jr together on one piece of fabric (hopefully this winter) and I think "Good Things" might be a fun PIF stitch, don't you? and I had to get "Just One More Stitch" by Simple Stitches, since I say that all the time! *lol*
Here's a few of my WIPS .. this one is from L*K's Coffee Crazy leaflet .. I'm doing it over one and really enjoying it .. don't you love the qsnap hugger, it's one of Kim's .. I love them!

This was designed by Blue Ribbon Designs to Celebration Cross Stitch Pals 10 Anniversary. There is a Fall Fling that I've attended the last couple of years .. it's in Myrtle Beach, SC in October and we have a blast .. lots of laughing, stitching, shopping and even a stitching class or two *smile*
and here's JBW's Reindeer .. this is taking longer than I thought .. but I'm enjoying watching the reindeer come alive :) The weekend was pretty nice .. I got my hair cut and colored on Saturday and then spent the day doing laundry and stitching .. later DH and I went to dinner and a movie .. we went and saw Knocked Up. It was much better than I expected, even DH enjoyed it. Today was spent watching the nascar race and stitching .. Chris and Monica helped organize a big Subaru carshow/camping trip ... Robert and one of his friends went and had a great time.

I'm really looking forward to this week .. we have the 4th off and then I'm taking the rest of the week off on vacation .. will be wonderful to work two days and then have the rest of the week off *smile*

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'm grateful for new scissors *grin*

Sunflower Sampler is done :) I really love this piece .. I'm going to order the frame for it .. it was a really fun stitch. I have another finish but I can't show it yet .. it's one of my PIF's .. actually it's my first one! only 4 more to go *smile* I was going to commit to a new rotation for the my stitching with all the house stuff going on, I decided to just work on whatever catches my eye and not worry about rotating right now .. not sure I'll really be stitching every night .. so tonight I'm starting JBW's Reindeer .. looks like a relaxing stitch with only one color.

Well, we got all the furniture in the house moved out of the carpeted areas .. here's a picture of part of the kitchen nook area .. if you look closely you'll see a kitty sleeping .. that's Subie and that is one of his favorite things to sleep on, the piano bench .. we were laughing that he actually went looking for it. The cats are a bit disgruntled tonight though .. now that all the furniture is moved out, all their favorite sleeping spots are gone .. and they are not happy about it! The dogs however, are in 7th heaven .. they are at my Dad's with his dogs.

I am grateful for my furbabies ...

Here's an update of Sunflower Sampler .. I'm sooo close to finishing it .. thought I would finish tonight, but my eyes got so tired I decided to stop. I have the inside of the sunflowers and the little black birds and then it's done *smile*

I sure was glad to finally see Friday .. this week was definately not a fun one at work! Sooo, now it's the weekend and what a busy one it will be .. this evening we went and celebrated Father's Day with my FIL. Tomorrow Terry and I are heading to one of our local farmer's markets in the morning .. we are going to buy some stepping stones for the front yard for our anniversary. The rest of the day will be spent packing up the house and moving furniture (the carpet is scheduled to be removed next tuesday and new carpet installed wednesday). Saturday night my brother and I are taking our dad out to dinner. Sunday will be a mix of moving furniture, watching the nascar race and the boys are cooking dinner for their dad. Not sure I'll get any stitching done .. might try and finish Sunflower Sampler during the race.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
I'm grateful for the dad's in my life ...

Happy Anniversary To Us ... WOW, were we really that young? Terry and I are celebrating our 32rd anniversary today .. Flag Day .. we'd never heard of Flag Day when we got married .. thought all the flag were waving for us *grin* 32 years is definately a long time .. I'm 53 years old, so that means I've been married over half my life .. I won't say it seems like yesterday, but it sure doesn't feel like 32 years. Yes it's been hard and it's been easy and everything inbetween but I wouldn't trade it for anything .. we have two awesome sons, friends and family that have supported us throughout the years .. laughed with us and cried with us.

We can't take all the credit for lasting this long .. we had great role models .. Terry's parents were married 56 years before my mother in law passed away, she's been gone 2 years now. My parents had been married 34 years (it was my mom's 2nd marriage) when she passed away, she's been gone 10 years now .. we learned so much from them .. thanks moms and dads *smile*

I am grateful for 32 years .. here's to 32 more :)

This is Sunflower Sampler by Heart in Hand .. I started this last week .. I had to change the color of the sunflower pedals, my Schneckley was just too brownish, so I'm using Amber instead . I'm stitching this in hand .. sometimes I just like having the fabric in my hands instead of a plastic frame .. kind of a comfy feeling.

Here's the framed anniversary sampler I was working on last month .. I just love this frame! My friends were very surprised and very happy with this gift .. Lisa couldn't believe I remembered her colors and used the varigated blue and the red roses .. it I really enjoyed stitching this for them, even when I was apprehensive about changing colors *smile*

Today was a typical monday from hell at work .. so I think I'll go climb into bed and read for a bit ...

I'm grateful that this monday is in the past ...

Weekends and a new blog look ...

Thanks Sally for the blog link .. it was fun finding a new look .. still needs a little tweaking, but I'm happy with it so far *smile*

I received the prettiest scissor fob from Marie in the mail on Friday .. it was for the scissor fob exchange on FGBB .. and all I can say is WOW, this is one of the nicest fobs I've ever seen! She also sent me some lovely lace, a needle holder and a wonderful pair of scissors .. thank you Marie for stitching such a pretty scissor fob for me *smile*


Most of the weekend was spent trying to put the upstairs back together after the hardwood installation last week. Robert is about 80% moved back into this bedroom .. hopefully I'll get my craft room back soon .. that's were he moved most of his stuff. Saturday night I went to the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) with my friend Lisa .. the night celebrates the 125th birthday of Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), the 20th century's greatest composer for dance, with four ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Molissa Fenley .. it was incredible as usual! I have really enjoyed the PNB this year and Lisa and I are planning what we want to see next season.

Today (Sunday) was pretty lazy .. watched the Nascar race .. it started late becauase of rain and ended early because of rain. Spent time stitching and playing online games (pogo.com). I'm working on Sunflower Sampler (HIH) .. I just love this design .. I'll take some pictures of it tomorrow. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend too .. and thanks very much for taking the time to visit my blog and leave me comments .. I really enjoy reading them *smile*

I'm grateful for new things .. blogs and scissor fobs ...

Happy 10th Birthday Buddy!

About a month ago we received a birthday invitation, well actually our dogs, Maddy and Chip, received the invitation .. they were being invited to a surprise birthday party for Buddy, the host was Max (the other chocolate lab that lives with my dad). The party was on Sunday .. omg what a fun time .. there were 9 dogs in attendance, 7 were labs (most of them chocolates) and one golden retriever and one mutt (Cole) that looks like a pure black golden retriever. We were very lucky that our awesome weather stayed around for the entire weekend. Dad, his girlfriend Jean, and his neighbor Cheryl put the whole thing together. They came up with two games for the dogs to play .. one was bobbing for bones and one was an obstacle course .. there were balloons for them to pop and water to play in and of course there was birthday cake .. meatloaf made in the shape of a cake, frosted with blue colored mashed potatoes! It was the most clever party I think I've ever been too .. and everyone had a great time .. and the dogs were all great together! Of course there's pictures .. just a few pictures .. roflmao .. I haven't finished putting names and titles on all of them yet .. but if you want to see some very funny pictures, grab a cup of coffee or tea and click here. Oh and I'm the one in the pink shirt, khaki pants and pink sandals *smile*

I have been stitching, but can't post any pictures yet .. two are for PIF's that are almost ready to mail and the other is for an exchange .. but I did finally charge the camera batteries and will have some pictures to post tomorrow of some stash that arrived yesterday!

The remodeling is coming along .. slowly .. but it's happening. The hardwood floor is almost done, should be finished tomorrow. We got an install date for the carpet .. June 19 - 20 .. not happy about it but ohwell .. life goes on.
I'm grateful for dogs ...

Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! We did :) The weather here was pretty strange .. saturday it was 70 and beautiful, sunday it rained like it was never going to stop, and monday it was 70 again and clear skys by the afternoon .. so we did yardwork on saturday, stayed in our comfys on sunday and watched some of Indy and all of the nascar race and rented Deja Vu (great movie .. a big confusing at times, but really good). Monday I putzed around, sorted some stash, laundry, took a nice walk, and then we went to dinner and to see the 3rd Pirate movie .. I really enjoyed this one! much better than the 2nd one. One of my favorite lines from the movie .. Nobody move, I dropped my brain! lol .. I soooo relate *grin*

We've spent the last couple of weeks picking out carpet and hardwood for our house. We've lived here 20 years, original owners .. and the house is slowly falling apart! Last year we re-landscaped the front yard .. 20 years growth took over the front! and we had to replace the roof. Now it's time for the inside .. we decided to hardwood the upstairs entry way, hallway and Robert's bedroom. This house is a bit odd, it was built on a slope; when you enter you enter on the bedroom floor, then walk downstairs to the living areas .. anyway, my craft room (which was Chris' room before he moved out) was hardwooded (really it's inexpensive lament) last year when I redid that room. We decided we liked the look of my craft room floor .. so decided to bite the bullet and hardwood the rest of the upstairs. The carpet upstairs will be ripped out on thursday and the hardwood will be installed on friday .. Robert is soo excited! already planning his "new" room :) The carpet won't be here until around the 15th .. so we have a couple of weeks to pack up the house and get all the furniture moved. I am sooo excited about having new carpet!!! I'll take pictures when everything has been installed :)

On the stitching front .. it's been slow going for me .. not sure why .. I did stitch over the long weekend though. Can't show and pictures yet cause one is for an exchange over on FGBB and the other is one of my PIF's :) Just have a few last minute touches and both will be ready to hit the mailbox. Tonight I started another PIF *woo hoo* lol .. and seriously thinking about what I want to stitch next.

Thanks everyone for the comments you left about the anniversary piece .. I can't wait to get it back from the framer! Hoperfully it'll be this week :)

I'm grateful for long weekends :)

IT'S DONE!!!! Woo Hoo! I didn't even iron it before taking a picture .. I was too excited to get it done and see how the frame looked with it .. and ya know what, I love it! and you all know I've been weird about changing the colors and all .. but I'm really really pleased with it .. now off to the frames tomorrow!

Ohhhh now I get to look through all the projects and see what to work on next .. hope I can keep from starting something new! lol .. I have way too many wips :)

I'm grateful for finishes :)

It's been a great weekend so far .. had lunch with my dad and his gf then took his two dogs and our two dogs to the off leash beach .. it's been overcast here but not cold .. out time at the beach was soo much fun and the dogs have been sleeping all evening .. think we wore them out!! lol DH fixed a yummy enchilda dinner and we watched Bobby on in demand .. it was a wonderful movie!

Tomorrow is the nascar race .. it was rained out saturday night .. then I get to go and pick out my mother's day present .. flowers for the front hanging baskets *smile* and then dinner with the whole family .. I'm really looking forward to that .. and not having to cook! lol

I didn't get any stitching done last week .. did put a few stitches in the Anniversary piece this evening while watching the movie .. hopefully more stitching tomorrow and I should have it done! and then I can move on to something else .. my rotation has gone to hell in a hand basket lately .. and I really want to get back to it .. hopefully this next week! Maybe I'll start posting my rotation more consistently and that might keep me on track? or will it? lol

I have a picture of my new dishes .. thanks for the suggestion Michelle .. it is fun seeing all that color! .. soo here's the new dishes ... check out all the different sized bowls! lol


I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day with family and friends .. and here's hoping all you mothers get time for some stitching too!

I'm grateful for comments on my blog .. I love them :)

I'm finally stitching again .. feels great! I was a bit worried about the names/date .. but I think it turned out really nice .. I'm so close to being done .. have a bit more of the silver rose to do and a few roses and it'll be done .. the frame for it arrived last week .. it's awesome! My goal is to get it done this week and off to the framers .. wish me luck!

Had a nice weekend .. the weather here has really been nice for spring time. Saturday was just the usual house stuff, cleaning and laundry .. watched Running with Scissors, very strange movie, but really good. Sunday we went to breakfast with Chris and Monica (my oldest DS and Ddil) and then went to Macys .. I got new everyday DISHES!!!! Woo Hoo! lol .. I have had new dishes in over 15 years .. the reason we all went to pick out dishes is because we decided on Fiesta ware and I wanted everyone to pick out their own place setting .. omgosh we had a blast! I got red, of course lol, DH picked persimmon and I can't remember exactly what the kids picked out but I know have a lot of very colorful dishes in my cupboards lol

Thanks everyone for your comments .. yes I am feeling better and so far no one else at home is sick.

Adana .. yes we did have a vistor at work .. what was it a couple of weeks ago now? Unfortunately we didn't have any advanced notice .. I didn't even get to see it on TV :( For those who don't know what I'm talking about .. I work for Boeing, in Everett, WA .. if you watch The Today Show, Matt Lauder does this "Where Is Matt Lauder" janut around the world every year .. this year he started here, at Boeing .. I heard it was a great piece.

Hope everyone is having a great week and getting lots of stitching done!

I'm grateful for color in my life :)

Happy May Day! I have some very fond memories of making May Day Baskets when I was little and going around the neighborhood hanging them on front doors. When my boys were younger, we would take those green plastic strawberry baskets .. weave ribbons through them .. fill them with flowers and deliver them .. I remember lots of smiles and thank you's .. nice memories :)

I've been here but very quiet .. came down with that horrible headcold/virus going around .. I'm soo tired of coughing! I haven't done any stitching lately .. just haven't had the energy or focus. Hopefully I'll get myself back in stitching mode soon! I received an order from DSL and ohhhhh I love everything I ordered! lol .. and of course I want to start them all right now! I'll take some pictures tomorrow of my new stash so you can drool along with me :)

Thanks everyone for your comments ... I just love reading them! I've decided to do the roses in garnet to tie in the names/date that will be in garnet also .. the frame is on the way for this piece, so I really have to get it done!

lol Ruth .. I'll never be like you .. this changing all the colors around has made me a nervous wreck! lol
I'm grateful for bedtime ...

Sad sad day across the nation .. please keep the families of the slain children at Viriginia Tech in your thoughts and prayers .. and hug your kids, call a dear friend you haven't talked to in a long time, call your parents .. reach out to those around you .. you never know when they will be taken from you.

I have a couple of finishes .. finally! lol .. I finished In Every Nest when I was at the retreat last month .. I just love this silly design!


and I finished another Christmas ornament that was on my list .. I didn't realize until I took the picture that I still need to add his bell around his neck .. but here he is anyway ..

and here's my WIP .. the 25th Anniversary piece I'm doing for my best friend and her DH .. it's a Sisters and Best Friends design that I bought at the retreat .. I love the design but the colors just didn't work for me .. I've changed them but like I've said before .. I'm really uncomfortable with making color changes .. Lisa's colors were shades of blue .. that's why I picked the verigated blue thread .. I like the rose above the 25 in all silvers, since the 25th is the silver anniversary .. I think I'm doing their names and wedding date in WDW Garnet .. she carried burgandy roses .. and the little green thingys are actually little roses all over the fabric .. I think I'm going to alternate garnet and gray roses .. or maybe just all garnet roses .. whatcha think?? honesty please *smile*


I hope you all have had a great weekend and are doing lots of stitching!

I'm grateful for my family

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their family and friends. We had a great busy day .. the weather really cooperated ... it was sunny and beautiful until about 5pm, then the rains came.

I'm really looking forward to this coming week .. I didn't stitch at all last week and it's starting to get on my nerves .. I'm really looking forward to working and then coming home and stitching. Here's a very loose interpretation of a stitching rotation I've been thinking about ..

Monday - S&BF's class piece; Chicken
Tuesday - 25th Anniversary pattern; for my best friend's anniversary
Wednesday - MDesign's presonalized sampler
Thursday - 25th Anniversary pattern
Friday through Sunday - Christmas ornaments/PIF's/Exchanges

I have sooo much I'm wanting to start .. but I really want to get a couple of the class pieces finished and the MDesign sampler .. I'm about 1/2 done and really enjoy working on it .. but then it's not much fun to not enjoy what you are stitching on is it? lol

I'm grateful for times in the sun .. few and far between as they are this time of year *smile*

Wow, can't believe it's Saturday already .. seems like I just posted about the retreat .. how time flies when you are having fun .. lol. Haven't done any stitching this week .. but I've been sorting and putting all my stash away from the retreat. Today was housecleaning and getting the Easter Baskets together .. we have a family tradition that started about 28 years ago .. we put together Easter baskets and deliver them to our friends and family late Saturday night so when they wake up in the morning, the Easter Bunny has been there :) When Terry and I were a bit younger and we didn't have any kids .. the Easter Bunny deliveries happened about 2 or 3 in the morning .. we really didn't want to be caught! lol .. over the years the amount of baskets that we deliver has increased and decreased, depending on who was in our lives at the time, well other than family lol and of course what's in the baskets has changed over the years .. depending on finances and other stuff .. it's almost like Christmas .. I start looking for fun silly stuff for the baskets about 3 months before .. and sometimes I bake .. we always dye eggs.

Thank you all for the comments you leave .. I just love hearing from everyone :) I've decided what I'm going to stitch next .. I'll post my loose rotation ideas later .. dinner is burning! lol

I'm grateful for family traditions ...

Grab a cup of coffee or tea .. this might be a tad long lol ....

I had the most wonderful time last week at A Stitcher's Retreat, once I got there! I'm really glad when I travel I like to arrive a day early .. I left Seattle Tuesday morning .. arrived in Detroit about 4pm. I was supposed to have left Detroit for a 20 minute plane ride to Toledo at 5:15 .. well Detroit got hit with a spring thunderstorm that decided to stall over the airport! I got to spend 2-1/2 hours in the little plane on the tarmak trying to see if the airport would let us leave .. long story short, I finally arrived at my hotel in Toledo at about midnight .. it was a long day! Wednesday was check in day at the retreat .. I got to sleep in because I didn't have a long drive to Sauders Inn. Once I found the Inn, I was still too early to check in, so I had fun looking around the little town of Archbold and enjoyed lunch at The Barn Restaurant. Stitcher's starting arriving about 2ish ... we all hung around in the lobby stitching and getting to know each other .. I was stunned to see that about 85% of the women were there at last years Stitcher's Retreat. There stitchers from 24 states, Alaska the farthest away .. I think there were 83 stitchers total. We got checked in to our rooms about 4ish and had a couple of hours before dinner to rest or stitch or walk around and investigate the Inn .. I did a little of it all :) Dinner was at The Barn Restaurant, buffet style and very tasty. After dinner we got to do some stash shopping *smile* .. and I had a great time spending way too much money! The designers bring all kinds of goodies to sell, even some things that you can only purchase at a retreat. There's pictures of my purchases, the class pieces and assorted pictures of the retreat in my webshots album titled 2007 Stitchers Retreat.

When we checked in we got our reschedule of classes that we had signed up for .. I forgot what I had signed up for .. it was like 6 months ago that we picked our classes .. well, I found out that I was in classes all day on Thursday! lol .. My first class was from 9-12 with Sisters and Best Friends. The Sisters are really fun and great teachers. The class piece was a sheep with flowers around. They love to play with stitches and emblishments. The sheep design had some over one and some over two stitches .. there was wool for some of the flowers, beads and buttons and a very yummy piece of 19ct cort linen. Lunch was next .. then off to my 2nd class ...

With Ann and Liz from BrightNeedle. I am soo glad I took their class .. their designs are so delicate and different from what I usually choose to stitch .. but I really enjoyed their designs, and I learned something!! woo hoo :) I really really learned how to stitch over one. I've stitched over one a couple of times in the past but always got frustrated, not because of the side of the cross stitch, but because sometimes I would lose my stitch .. and I never really understood why. I'd been told before about a horizonal thread and a verical thread, but never really understood it .. and now I do :) over one is still not the most relaxing stitching for me, but now that I know how to do it the right way, I'm hoping I start liking it more :) The class piece is a bag with a very pretty design and saying stitched on the front and back, a needle holder and a pin cushion. I might not make everything because my finishing experience isn't great .. but I know I'll be stitching the motifs probably more than once lol. So this class ended at 4 and then it was time for the "optional" class I signed up for with Sisters and Best Friends .. again :) This class piece is a companion piece to the sheep .. it's a chicken, using again wool and beads and buttons to create another fun design. By dinner time, I was a bit stitched out! lol After dinner there was more stash shopping to do .. then it was off to bed for me ..

Friday was the last day of the retreat .. after breakfast and checking out .. we had our last classes, it was a round robin 3 teachers and 50 minutes per class .. it was great fun and a nice way to end .. You'll see in my pictures that we really did stitch at the retreat! lol .. I enjoyed myself soo much that I've already signed up for next years retreat!

It is nice to be home .. now my big decisions are what to stitch .. I have like 4 or 5 projects from the retreat all started, plus all my other stash .. I need to retire just so I can stitch! lol Sorry if this post rambled *smile*

I'm grateful for my time with fellow stitchers ...

This one's for Jamie ... my new favorite song! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXS0nEOx_20