Two Months ~ Really!?!

Wow!  I can't believe it has been two months to the day since I last visited this corner of my world.  Here's a quick update on some of what has been going on.

We have all been battling one type of crud or the other off and on, there were family visits, a wonderful Christmas and New Year's holiday season, job challenges, days of cleaning out closets and rooms, and winter storms!  The following are a few of my favorite happenings.....
Panzer loves Christmas.

Although, he was thinking that perhaps Santa should have brought him a bigger stool...

A smaller, simpler Christmas this year, and you know, I think we all actually enjoyed the day more!

 Longwood Gardens...floating displays....many, many floating apples....

Floating displays on the pond...

My brother-in-law, his wife and my beautiful nieces...

The cousins all together.....

So proud of these girls...for the oldest, this upcoming Polar Plunge will be her seventh in support of Special Olympics and her sister.  The youngest will be plunging as well, as a way to say thank-you to the Special Olympics for giving her so many opportunities.  If anyone would care to donate to this cause, please just email me (address is in the profile) and I will send you the link.

Some pics from our winter storms....the birds preparing....

The final total of this last storm....

The middle guy and Panzer...the wind blew snow off of the tree just as I snapped this one, creating a magical photo!

After no significant snow last year, it is safe to say that Panzer loves the snow!

Love the rosy cheeks....

After one boy comes in to warm up, Panzer recruits another to stay outside....

Eating snow from his boy's hands....

Off and running again....

Love the pop of red....

 

And, there has been stitching!!  I am not one to make a resolution, but this year I decided to allow myself time to stitch each day, even if for only a few minutes.  And so far, I have stuck to that ~ it is amazing how a few stitches a day can add up.  Here is what I have been up to....sorry if the pictures look wonky, on my computer they look fine until I load them into blogger....

the first two pieces are from the Ladies Prim Society Club, hosted by Dyeing to Stitch in VA, and were designed by Threadwork Primitives.

This next one is designed by BBD and is part of the club mentioned above and is my current wip.

The next final two are designed by StitchersAnon.  If you aren't familiar with this lovely lady, please pop over, read up on her story, and enjoy her designs ~ some for sale and others for free.

It feels so good to be getting back on a regular stitching schedule ~ hopefully, I can stick to it!

I also have some thank~yous to hand out. 

First, I want to thank June, of Butterfly Wings for sending me these goodies back in December..

a sweet little booklet of monthly bookmarks, holiday tissues, an elf ornament and sweet stocking.

Isn't this cute?

And the card is so pretty ~ one I can display year after year.

Thanks, June!!

I received this wonderful magazine from Carmen at Cardan Antiques and Needlework.

It is hard to see, but she also included the booklet on the right about samplers from Middle Tennessee.  Both were fun to read and re~read.  Thanks, Carmen!

Then, from Marly, over at Samplers and Santas, this wonderful PS Chart.  These will make for good Santa Sunday stitching!  Thanks, Marly!

And this sweet pin-pillow from Shelly over at Arizona Stitcher.  It is adorable and she filled it with balsam, so it smells wonderful!  And the reindeer is a refrigerator magnet clip.  Thanks, Shelly!

The front...

The back...

A giveaway from Krista over at Just Stitching Along,  the chart for Emma Miles.  I have had my eye on this chart for some time and will be adding this into my rotation as soon as I can get over to my LNS to choose some fabric.  This is the picture from the Scarlett Letter website.  I just love that band of holly.  Thanks, Krista!

And finally, this was a giveaway from Kim at Wisdom With Needle and Thread.  A beautifully hand painted porcelain box and canvas.  Thanks, Kim!!

The pictures are borrowed from Kim's blog.

I am very excited about this, as I plan on finishing it for my niece as part of her graduation gift this coming spring.  She loves horses ~ so this is perfect!  Here is one that Kim finished herself...

Kim is hosting another giveaway for her Blogiversary ~ another hand painted box ~ this time a beautiful butterfly.  I know a few of you that love butterflies, so pop on over and enter!  She said there will be other goodies as well.

Thanks again to everyone! 

 

So, there it is...my catch~up post.  Phew....are you still with me?  It is always so hard to know where to begin when one has not posted in so long, so I thought this would be an appropriate quote to leave you with...

“And now all the others are saying, "What about Us?" So perhaps the best thing to do is to stop writing Introductions and get on with the book.”
― A.A. Milne, The World of Winnie-the-Pooh

 

Baseball, Goodbyes, Stitches & Goodies

Popping in quick to say life is still crazy....

The boys are finally done with school.  I am proud to say that the boys did well and I now have an eighth, seventh and a fourth grader ~ I can't believe where the years have gone.

We are still busy with baseball ~ the boys have been practicing and playing hard.

My little guy's team placed second in a Memorial Day Tournament, and he played on the Little League All Star Team.

My oldest has been playing with his travel team.  Here is one of my most recent favorites.  Love the intensity and the kick of the dust...he recently pitched a no~hitter, winning the game in 5 innings.

 

Panzer is adjusting to life without his best friend, Joker.  They are only a month apart in age and have grown up together ~ sadly, his family moved last week...Joker, we will miss you and your family...

Playtime will never be the same...

Best friends...forever...

Staring at Joker's door, wondering where he is....

Needless to say, Panzer has been getting some extra attention..and if anyone sees a boxer traveling east from the Midwest, help him out, his name is Joker and he's trying to get back to his friend....

Enough of the sad stuff...

 

I missed yet another tusal date.

There are finally some new threads!  I was able to finish the stitching on this piece for my mom.  A BBD that was a limited edition kit, I believe from last year's market.

And I got back to working on Pomegranate Study by NeedleWorkPress.

Finding stitching time, even if only a bit here and there, has done wonders for the soul.

 

I owe a couple belated thank~yous.

First is to Myra.  She stitched this great design, finished it into a brooch, and hosted a give~away on her blog.  Cleverly, she used a magnet (like those you fine on needle minders) instead of a pin.  Keeps one from poking holes in jackets, sweaters, or whatever you choose to wear the brooch on.  Isn't it sweet?

The next thank you goes out to P.J.  She also had a give~away.  And sent me these lovely goodies.

Notepads, slipper socks, a great needle minder, one of Blue Ribbon Designs tools to help measure borders when starting a stitched piece, and a great balsam filled cushion.  The smell of the cushion reminds me of vacations in Maine as a child.

Thanks so much ladies ~ I love everything!

I'm going to sign off now and hopefully put in a few stitches before I call it a night.  Thanks for stopping by and in honor of Panzer and Joker, I'll leave you with this....

“We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet.
Even longer,' Pooh answered.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh 



Spring Training & Gratitude

Some of you may remember that last year we traveled to Myrtle Beach, SC with our sons' travel teams for a long weekend of spring training.  This year, we decided to head down a day early and have a family day before the workouts began.

Friday was an absolutely beautiful day.  We hit the beach for most of the afternoon, walked some shops, and ended the night with friends at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville ~ yummy!!

This reminded me of a cathedral.  A nice place to sit and reflect.

All my boys on the beach.  Notice the teenager pose - head down texting his teammates.

Treasures found along the way...

Last year, my little guy wanted to ride the sky wheel, but we never made it.  It was his goal to ride, so ride we did!

My boy's with their buddies..if you read the newsletters from the Strawberry Sampler, you have heard of Beth's nephews and their love of baseball...the two redheads are the nephews!

So, on to spring training....not so sure it is supposed to look like this....especially in Myrtle Beach!

It all started as a cold rain Saturday afternoon...

This was Sunday morning...yep, snow...

I love the sign with the snow and ice...not sure this was the experience we drove all that way for!

After the snow and ice melted from the fields, it was time to get back to business.  Despite the cold and bitter wind, the games went on.

Maybe next year they should travel all the way to Florida!

We had a great time, but were happy to get home and see this face..

 

 

I have some thanks to give.  First off, I won Terri's Valentine's Giveaway over at Dixiesamplar.  Thank you so much Terri ~ I was surprised at all the goodies!

Terri sure knows how to spoil a person!!

This is the sweetest little pillow.

I love how she personalized the back.

Thanks again, Terri!

 

 Vickie,from a Stitcher's Story, had a draw for this magazine and just look at those beautiful pins she sent as a surprise.  Thank you so much Vickie.  I am looking for just the right pincushion to stitch up for these pins! 

 

Then, Peggy Lee surprised me with this beautiful heart box that she painted.  I love it!!  There were some chocolates and a skein of DMC in a lovely pink color inside.  So sorry to report that the chocolates didn't make it...they had to be taken care of before the boys got home from school!

Thanks Peggy Lee for the wonderful surprise!

 

I have managed a few stitches on the Pomegranate Study.  This is such a fun piece ~ hopefully it won't take me too much longer.

 

Thanks for sticking it out through another marathon post!  I really must try and post more often.  Thanks again to all of you who have made my February a little less dreary with your generosity!

 

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh