Wedding in CA

My DD/24, who married in April, was in one of her bridemaid's wedding this past weekend. It was in Los Angeles, CA, on the beach. Here's a pic of the lovely bride with my daughter.

Cousins Everywhere!

Cousins: Back row - Denise, Teresa
Front row - Donna , Me, Cyndi

We are back home from our family reunion at Pickwick Landing State Park in Tennessee. It has been 15 years since the last one. We really enjoyed visiting with our extended family. The weather was cool and breezy. Family from Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee came to the picnic. We remembered those who were no longer with us and memories of times gone by. It was great! Hopefully, we'll have one again next year. Here's the link to the few photos we took during the weekend.

It was also my 9 year old's first time to go tubing and he was ecstatic!

Got any Recipes?

We are having a family reunion this weekend and I'd like to take a dish to share. If you have a recipe you'd like to share (one that can handle a 2 hr. roadtrip), please share it. It is over 100 degrees here, so I'd rather not cook a lot of hot items. It's been 15 years since our last reunion, so it will be good to see everyone again.

No update on Gathering Honey. I have another project (a house rehab) that is a priority at the moment. I do plan to steal a few moments to stitch very soon.

Here's a photo of a quilt my daughter received from her great-grandmother. Aren't the colors yummy?!

My Little Swimmer

DS/9 had his 3 year of swim lessons last week. He did really well. It was his first time for group lessons. Now, he can swim underwater and jump off the diving board. He was taught about boat safety and water safety, too. I enjoyed seeing how the children were encouraged and motivated to learn. My "dream home" definitely would have a pool!

Go, Cardinals!

We took a mini-vacation to St. Louis and today we saw the Cardinals win at the New Busch Stadium! We arrrived this past Friday. We've visited the City Museum, The Arch, Busch Stadium, rode the Metro, and ate at Ozzie Smith's Restaurant. At Ozzie's, we met one of the few living "Munchkins" from the Wizard of Oz. Mickey Carroll was the Munckin that led the others, with a fiddle, and told Dorothy to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road." (He's the 2nd from the left)









Tomorrow we will visit the St. Louis Science Center. So far, it's been a great trip and a great Father's Day. Happy Father's Day, honey!

You can see more pics of our trip here.

Puppet No. 2

I caved and made another puppet for my DS/9. It's a knight from the same pattern as the wizard, Butterick 3230. It wasn't too hard to make, just tricky with the slippery fabrics! Here's a pic of the duo, ummm, trio.

Whirlwind Weekend

We had company from out-of-town this past weekend through today. It was a blast! More on our adventures here.

While I didn't get any cross-stitching time in, I did get to stitch. I sewed a puppet for my son in a 5 hour sewing session! He was very persistent about me making it and was a very happy camper when it was complete!

The puppet was made from Butterick #3230. The blue fabric, beads, trim, and some of the felt, was in my stash. All I bought was the white felt with metallic flecks used for his beard, hair and mustache. It cost me under a $1 to make since I already had the pattern and most of the supplies!

Now, he is wanting me to make the others, but he'll have to wait until I can set aside another 5 hour block to sew the next one. Who knows when that will be!

I'm Still Here!

I haven't had one moment to stitch this week because of VBS. It's been a great experience. You can see photos here. I will be adding more photos to this series as I take them.

Also, you can see my daughter's wedding photos here.

Hopefully, I'll be stitching again this weekend. I've really enjoyed reading everyone's stitching blogs. It keeps me inspired.

VBS Prep

My church's VBS is in June and we had a "workday" on Tuesday. The theme is Son Treasure Island. I am responsible for making the blowfish, the 5 medallions, palm trees, etc. We used an overhead projector to trace the items that had transparencies. We didn't have any foam core board, so I'll have to buy some or improvise. The blowfish are made of a painted 6 inch styrofoam ball with pipecleaners stuck in it. Then large wiggle eyes are added. You can see the brown and green blowfish in the underwater photo and the medallions are in the other. I'll share photos of the ones we make when they are done. (These are the samples).

Cutting the Cake!

Here is a photo of my daughter and her new husband cutting the wedding cake. Her initials were on the side of the bride's cake and his initials were on his groom's cake. This was the first time I had seen this done and I thought it was a neat idea. The theme of the wedding was Tiffany blue and ivory. The cake was square to mimic the Tiffany and Co. box.

Her bridesmaids wore Tiffany blue dresses with ivory sashes. She had 6 bridesmaids, but only three are pictured.
When I get more photos, I'll put them in an album and link them at the sidebar. Presently, the newlyweds are in Jamaica on their honeymoon.

I've been busy moving 2 rooms of furniture and "stuff" so that new carpet could be installed. We hope to sell our home soon, but we have some repairs to do first. I will try to squeeze in some stitching, though, just for my sanity!

I have a new son!

Yep! My daughter is now a married woman and I have a new son! We love him and I know they will make a great couple. The wedding was beautiful and she was a lovely bride. I will post photos as soon as I can. The video we did for them was well received, also. That was a relief. I'll share more later.

Wedding Preparations

Sorry for no updates lately. We all been busy with my DD/24's wedding preparations. We've met with the coordinator, so I have more direction on what I need to do. I finally got a chance to look for a mother-of-the-bride dress and rehearsal dinner outfit. I did that yesterday. Mission accomplished. We are coming along on the video that will be shown at the reception. Also, I am making the programs. The little ribbon bows for the bubbles will be finished over the weekend. I will still need to buy the food and drinks for the groom's and bride's rooms. That's some of what's kept me from blogging regularly.

On another note, I'm also trying to find my mom another apartment. In addition to that, our renter moved with no notice, so now we are scrambling to put that house up for sale (after giving it some paint, carpet, and repairs, of course.)

We'd planned earlier to move this summer, but now we don't know how likely that will be with so many changes taking place. (DH is on a 19% pay-cut and I will be going back to work soon after being a stay-at-home mom for 11 years).

I will try to get back on track with my blog and stitching as soon as the wedding is behind us, which is April 29th.

Ta-Da! Stitching Progress!

All of the center garden of Gathering Honey is completely stitched. Go me! Now, on to the honeycone border and flowers. I am still enjoying this design. If any of you are considering stitching this design at some point, don't let my lengthy stitching time lead you to think it is a difficult design. I just haven't worked on it consistently. I probably could have finished it months ago had I worked on it steadily.

Unfortunately, my DD has told me she isn't really into cross stitch. While that blew a hole into me stitching a wedding sampler, it did free up time for me to help her prepare for her wedding day. I actually found something I think I may stitch after the wedding, but I can't share it here because she reads my blog. I actually found the project on one of the cross stitch BBs. After the wedding is behind us, I'll share more on that.

My New "Toy"

It's been too long since I last blogged! My DD/24 is getting married April 29th, so I've been addressing invitations the last few days. We will be making the programs soon, and I'm looking forward to that. I'll share a photo when we get them done. DD/24 and her fiance's new home is finished, and it's beautiful. Everything is going great for them! I'm so happy for them both.

Now, for my new "Toy".....I traded my '94 Nissan Quest van for a '03 Toyota Corolla! It's quite a change, but I'm looking forward to the better gas mileage! It's a lot of fun to drive, too!

As for stitching, I cross stitched two rows of plants in the upper right hand corner of Gathering Honey. I'll share a photo soon.

Current WIP

Thanks for all your comments on my current WIP! Terri, the design is called Gathering Honey. It's from the May/June 1987 issue of Cross Stitch & Country Crafts Magazine. Bastet, I plan to frame this sampler and hang it in my kitchen. I need a constant reminder of the verse stitched on it!

When my DS/9 was 4 years old, we borrowed books from the library to learn more about bees. Interesting stuff! It brought a whole new meaning to "Queen Bee"!

I put the model photo in my sidebar for a reference. As you can see, I still have quite a bit of stitching to do.

"Planting" My Stitching Garden

A stitching update...finally! I've finished the "hedges" in the upper right corner of the garden. Then, I moved to the lower left corner and stitched 3 of the 4 rows of plants. The green x's are part of the fourth veggie row. I've completed them, but I need to take another progress photo.

We celebrated Valentine's Day over the weekend by dining at Bonefish Grill. Ymmmm! We had a delicious meal! HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY TO ALL OF YOU!



DH is performing this Friday and Saturday night for release parties for the new Fried Glass Onions, Memphis Meets the Beatles Volume II CD. Both CD release parties are at Heartsong Church. You can get all the info here.

In Memory of Laura

I was shocked and saddened to learn that a fellow stitching blogger, Laura, A Night Owl Who Blogs, passed away suddenly on Friday. I read her blog regularly. My heart goes out to her husband, Neil, and the family. She was so excited about her new home being built. Though I never met her, I will miss her....

Finally, A Stitching Update

I finally finished cross stitching the upper left corner of Gathering Honey. Next, I backstitched that corner. I had not backstitched the stones yet, so I backstitched all the stones in the path. Lastly, I backstitched the beehive in the center. Now, it really looks like a hive, instead of a bell (which was my son's "guess" on the blob in the center LOL). Now I'm working on the upper right corner's "bushes" around the edge. I still love this design, which is a good thing, since I have a looooong way to go!

New Year's Eve was great! My DH had a televised gig on TV (Countdown on Beale) which was a lot of fun. Over 75,000 people attended the event, and a few thousand saw the performance live, while many more watched by TV. In the past, we normally aren't even up at midnight on New Year's Eve, but this was a nice change. (DH is on the left in the white shirt)

Christmas Wrap Up

We all had a very good Christmas. I got the twin size Aero bed I wanted (to take on our yearly Girl's Gathering), and some Beautiful perfume. My DH got a bike, so now we can all ride together. DS/8 got PS2 games, a Taylor guitar, and a media chair that plugs into his game system. My DD/24 and her fiance got lots of items for their home. DS/19 got items for his apartment. The biggest gift we got was just being together. I'm so thankful that most of our family lives nearby.

Looking forward to the New Year....
DH will be playing in the Countdown on Beale St. tonight and it will be televised on Channel 5 in Memphis. They will be performing at 10:20 p.m. , if you want to tape it, or better yet, celebrate downtown with us!

I have been getting a little stitching time squeezed in here and there, so I'll post a pic very soon. I'll also post some pics of Christmas when they are transferred. Gotta go for now....

But first...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas Cards

I am soooo far behind on Christmas! I still need to finish buying gifts, decorating, and send out Christmas cards. Unfortunately, I tried to edit my Christmas card list, but instead, the list was deleted! I had to re-create the list from scratch. What a headache. I also send out a family newsletter to some of the folks on the list. (It goes to the ones who can tolerate reading all of our family stuff without gagging, LOL!).

Tonight DH and I went to our Bible Fellowship Class' Christmas Party. It was great fun! We had potluck and played the white elephant game. We ended up with a "normal" gift: a bible cover.

We had our Bunko night this past Tuesday. It was a lot of fun. I won an iron 3 tiered basket stand for the kitchen. It's for veggies and fruit.

As for stitching, I will post some updated pics of Gathering Honey soon.