It arrived today...

I received the beautiful blog giveaway today

from Faye. She packaged it up very

sweetly with a ribbon and card.

I love it - thank you so much Faye!

Here is a photo of the package.

I took this in front of an antique trunk

I have which seemed to set the

package off perfectly.

Here is a photo of the back, from this angle

you can see the linen and floss colors - gorgeous!

I love the two year planner included as well.

It includes quotes to remind us what

life is all about.

Once again Faye thank you so much!

It is so great to get to know other

stitchers through their blogs.

Just had to share this....

I usually do not post giveaways on my blog,

but I had to share this one.

For some reason the story of Marie Antoinette

has always enthralled me and the

creativity of this giveaway blew me

away just as much as the history

behind Marie Antoinette does.

Here is a link to her website with more

details on how she created the various

components of this giveaway and how

to enter if you are interested in entering.

http://www.happinessiscrossstitching.blogspot.com/

I won....

Imagine my surprise when I read that

I won a blog giveaway from Faye.

I never win anything so this is a real treat.

If you have a chance take a peek

http://carolinastitcher.blogspot.com/

I love this design - how exciting!!

Time is flying by....

I am stitching I just haven't had an opportunity

to take a recent photo. This summer seems to be

flying by and has been pretty busy.

I just had to share this picture though.

In the morning when I get up we have a visitor on the patio.

This is not our cat. I am allergic to cats. I can walk into

someone's house that I have never been in before, not know they

have a cat or even see a cat. Within 5 minutes I know there

is a cat somewhere in the house. The watery eyes, difficulty

breathing are usually my clues.

I personally would love to have a cat. We actually tried to adopt

a cat when we first got married and unfortunately it did not

work out and we had to give the cat up. I have no idea who this cat

belongs to but it appears every once and a while and it does not

like people. This picture was taken thru the glass of the back door.

I tried the previous morning to take a photo by opening the door.

I don't think I have ever seen a cat move so fast.

The little pond...

Across the street is host to several canadian geese and their babies.

This morning they were all enjoying their breakfast

and being together. I decided to sit on the front stoop

and take some photos. You have to be careful if they

notice you they will start to take flight.

You would think by now they would be

used to people living around them.

Has it really been over a month?

I can't believe it has been almost six weeks since my last post.

Where does the time go???

I have made some progress on my Long Dog Sampler.

Here is my progress so far. I will stitch on it some and

then some smaller projects.

My husband finished my cabinetry in the laundry room

My attempt at organizing the space...

we will see how long it will last

Here is my little guy very intent on

his creative endeavor

Playdough

what's not to like???

Here he is notice something missing?

The one rare moment he would sit still

and smile for me

He has actually asked me to show him how to stitch.

So that will be our next project.

I remember when John my middle son asked me

and he worked on a piece a couple of times

and then lost interest.

I still have it tucked away in my stash.

It's the little things that we always

remember and cherish.

He would be mortified to know

I still have it and that I smile every time

I see it and remember his attempts

at stitching "like mommy".

Good Morning

I know it has been a dreadfully long time since I have
posted anything. I assure everyone I am alive and well,
just busy working on the yard and doing some things
in the house. First up our backyard.

We had the patio installed last summer and I love
going out in the evenings and sitting in the chairs
to read. This area receives the morning sun so by
the evening it is a nice cool place to sit.

Second up is our laundry room. It began as an unfriendly
space which didn't help that it was a place one of my least
favorite tasks to complete also has to be taken care.

The room is small and an odd shape so it was not
very conducive to storing cleaning items. So I was able to
persuade my husband to stack our washer and dryer
and add cabinetry in the laundry room to store things.

He being very handy said he would install them
(especially after the guy at HD told him it would cost
$900 to install them - evidently it is a flat rate and the cost
obviously is for a full kitchen to be installed not my little
laundry room). The cabinets arrived right before we went
to Disney but it has turned out to be more of a project
than he thought. First the laundry room had to be painted,
then the washer and dryer had to be stacked. My husband didn't
like the way the builder had installed the drain for the

washing machine so that of course had to be remedied.

The large cabinet was then put into place next to the

washer and dryer he has the doors off right now so he drill

access holes in the back to shut of the water

in an emergency (my idea - every once in a while
I have one) and to get to the power supply for the washer
and dryer which is next on his list. Yesterday he hung
the set of cabinets over the laundry sink.
Which I was very excited about.

Here is the cabinet next to the washer/dryer

I will take more pictures once the room is

completed, but I can't wait to have actual

storage for cleaning stuff.

And finally - I wish I knew how to insert a

drum roll but just pretend you hear the drum

roll because yes actual stitching has also taken place.

I received my needlework system 4 stand and I

love it - absolutely love it. I am working on my

Long Dog Sampler which I had taken a break from

because I didn't like the way the Qsnaps irritated the

silk floss I am using. I put it on the stretcher bars

I originally tried to use for it and viola I am now

working on it in my Master Bedroom sitting room

in the evening while watching TV

.

This chair I love - my mom found it believe it or not

on the side of the road she has a knack for that. She

had it recovered and I became the recipient of it.

When she had it recovered whoever owned

it previously had hid inside the seat post cards

old newspaper and some other items which

were pretty neat to look at because it

gave us an idea of the age of the chair.

and here is the progress so far on my Long Dog Sampler.

I thought working with one color would be fun and fast given

no color changes. However, this sampler takes longer

because I have to use a highlighter to mark what I have

completed because the design has so many of the

same repeats just one or two stitches over.

I will be glad when I finish it because it is going to hang

in my home office. I think I am going to have a red sampler wall.

At least that is the thought for now - we shall see.

Hopefully my next post will occur a little sooner than this one.