Where does one start?  My posts have been few and far between ~ by the time I sit down to write, it takes me some time to organize my thoughts.  Let's see....

The last month has been filled with, yep, you guessed it, baseball practices.  There has been a round or two of nasty germs.  And crazy weather...warm in the 60's one day and below freezing another.  The most recent storm, Nemo, brought us only rain ~ ending in a touch of snow ~ but not ending before trying to blow us away with it's wicked winds.  The boys are still waiting on one decent snow storm and then I think we are all ready for spring.

 

We celebrated a milestone birthday ~ I am finally a mother to a teenage boy.  Wish me luck!

 

We added some more eyes!

 

And Panzer weighed in this week at 132.2 lbs!  He'll be 11months on the 15th.

And, he thinks he is a lap dog!

So glad to have this guy in our lives.

 

Now for some stitchy stuff!  Here is the tusal for the month.  It is an illusion, don't think I have done major stitching...the jar is laying on it's side, so the threads spread out.  Also, a good number of those threads are from having to take out a number of stitches on more than one project.  January seemed to be the month of the frogs ~ hopefully they have all moved on now.

 

I finished the stitching on a couple of ornaments.

 

Finished "My Ways"

There was supposed to be an apple, but an apple under a willow tree just didn't seem right.  So, I stitched Panzer there instead.  Many thanks to Peggy Lee for sending me the fabric for this!

I've moved on to this piece..."A Pomegranate Study"

Such a fun stitch so far ~ just three colors!

I have to ask...have you ever had one of these join you while stitching?

He decided to take up residence on the inside of my glasses while they were on my head!!  Needless to say, he took a trip down the waterways to look for Nemo (the fish, not the storm)!  The worst part was that I couldn't scream out, everyone else was sound asleep!!

 

Have you ever had one of those weeks, and then, you go to the mailbox to find the best things ever ~ just when you needed a pick~me~up!?!

Myra was sweet enough to surprise me with one of her Valentine's mug mats ~ how cute is that! 

Thank you, Myra!  Whenever I see your name on a package, I know I am in for a treat!

 

Dawn surprised me with this great bag ~ she's been practicing with her sewing machine, and I'd say she's got it down!

Thanks, Dawn ~ it's already full of stuff!

 

I have some goodies that will be going out tomorrow, but I have to save those pictures ~ don't want to spoil any surprises.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks again to those that brightened my week!

“I don’t feel very much like Pooh today," said Pooh.
"There there," said Piglet. "I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

 

Holiday Hangover...

The holidays are over, but things haven't seemed to slow down!  I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's.  Do you ever feel like you have a holiday hangover?

My husband had time off from work, so we enjoyed some great family time.  The weekend before Christmas, we traveled to my husband's hometown of Pottsville, PA.  We took the boys to tour the Yuengling Brewery, America's Oldest Brewery.

The tunnels underneath the brewery...

A brick wall in the tunnels, placed there during prohibition.

The brewery was allowed to brew limited amounts of "medicinal" beer during prohibition.  Those suffering from anemia and nursing mothers were allowed to drink, as long as they had a doctor's prescription.  According to our tour guide, there were an awful lot of anemic people in Pottsville during that time period!

The stained glass window was placed under the skylights to help shade the workers from the direct sunlight.

This is the face of a boy who just learned that his sample would be birch beer and not the real thing.  Although the birch beer was awesome and from the tap!

The taproom at the end of the tour ~ you could choose which beer, on tap, that you would like to try.  Since there was not another tour behind us, we got two samples ~ lucky day!

Some art around the brewery, depicting the lives of the workers.

The bottle washers...must not have been a fun job, not one of them is smiling!

There are some great old homes in Pottsville.  This is a beauty.  If only the walls could talk...

 

The mood was set for Christmas day with just a touch of snow arriving on Christmas Eve.

Panzer's first snow.  He loves the cooler weather and the snow!

The boys took their time opening presents and looking at what each of the others received.

Panzer enjoyed the boxes.

My little guy woke us up at 6am.  "Mom, mom, wake up, we got a toilet!"

Apparently, Santa knew I needed a break from plunging the boys' toilet, so I'm not sure if this gift was meant more for them or for me.  I have to say, it held true to being clog free until this week...yep...no toilet can stand up to my boys!

More snow arrived over break...

The snow is all gone now and this weekend is bringing us temps in the high 50's, low 60's.  Crazy...

 

Lainey sent me a calendar from Scotland.  I really enjoyed the one from last year and look forward to another year of beautiful pictures.  Hopefully one day we can visit there!

Thanks so much, Lainey!

And Brett stitched up this adorable piece for me.

Isn't it sweet ~ I love it!  And to think that she has only been doing this for about two years!

Thanks Brett!

 

The boys went back to school, the husband went back to work and that is when I got finally got some stitching done!

A little late for this year, but in plenty of time for next year!

I finally found the perfect basket for the piece I stitched for a dear friend.  I had the piece stitched in plenty of time for her birthday, had a vision in my head of how I wanted it to be finished, and viola!

 

I started stitching "My Ways" by LaDDa.  I first saw this piece when Peggy Lee was in town and had hers framed at the Strawberry Sampler.  I have been teasing her ever since that she has my piece.  She was kind enough to send me a piece of the fabric that she had stitched hers on, so I decided it was time to pull it out and get started.

The border is uneven and tricky ~ just the type of border that the frogs like to visit!  I'd be happy to send them on to someone else for a while.

I dyed a piece of fabric the other night - not sure yet what I will use it for, but it is ready and waiting.

Here is my Tusal for January.  The threads have been accumulating since the last new moon.

I really hope I can squeeze in more stitching this year than last. 

I've also tried my hand at making some decorative pins.

Once I got going, it was hard to stop! 

I guess that about catches you up with everything.  Phew! There were some other stitches going on, but I can't show them yet, as they will be winging their way to someone special pretty soon.

 

Last Saturday found me hanging out with some of my stitching friends ~ there is always good food, lots of laughs and of course, stitching. Thanks so much Sue R. for hosting!! Next time I'll have to take some pictures of everyone and what they are working on.

Here's to a new year of sharing with you all and to stitching with my local girls!!

“Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have.”
― A.A. Milne 

 

Time...

Time seems to be passing faster and faster!  December saw the restart of baseball practice for the boys.  My oldest is also trying out for the school basketball team and has made the first cut.  Then there is also the general hustle and bustle that comes with the Christmas season.  School Christmas events, concerts, shopping, decorating, etc...

My middle guy had his band concert this past week.

They sounded really good!  We'll be attending the orchestra concert for my oldest son later this week.

 

Needless to say, there has been little stitching.  I did manage to stitch this little freebie from Nikyscreations.

I am trying to get the freebie from iStitch designs stitched as well, but am not quite there yet.

 

The final tusal time has come and gone...there really isn't much difference in my jar..so, no new picture.

 

I have to give a very special thank you to my dear friend, June.  She sent this beautiful ornament for me along with some other goodies and I absolutely adore it!! 

Thank you so much, June.  You are truly a treasure.

 

Treated myself to this mug from Heartstring Samplery.  The picture is from her design, "Baby It's Cold Outside".  I have that one on my ever growing list of charts I hope to one day stitch!!

This mug is perfect for my mommy hot chocolate!  Mommy hot chocolate has an extra special touch.

The hot chocolate is from our local Swiss chocolatier.  Another great option besides the cherry, is coconut rum.  Not a lot, just a touch is just right.

 

Around the house...

 

And I can't forget to add a few of my latest favorites of the puppy.  He turned nine months yesterday and recently weighed in at 127 pounds.

Nap time!!

Waiting for Santa...

Just trying to rest here..

Merry Christmas!!

 

I want to say how heavy my heart is for all those families in Newtown, CT.  I've been hugging my boys extra tight this weekend.

“If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart. I'll stay there forever.”
― A.A. Milne