flip-flops, toddlers, and travel . . .

Not too long ago, I saw a Pinterest pin that really caught my eye.  It was a wreath, for one thing (which if you've ever seen my wreath board on Pinterest, you know I have a thing for wreaths) and it was made up of flip-flops and daisies, for another, which simultaneously made me smile and brought to mind my dear friend Miranda, who loves both.  I just knew she needed to have this wreath ... whether she made it or I did!  I sent her a link ... and she fell in love with it ... and next thing you know, she's purchased the supplies and we're having a wreath-crafting day!

First we laid out the grapevine (which was huge -- 24") and placed the flip-flops and flowers about where we wanted them.  Then I took a picture so that when I took it all off again, I had a reminder of where we'd put things in the first place!

It took us about three hours (of course, we did visit and chat in there, too), but I definitely think the final product was worth every minute!

I think we've created a monster . . . she told me she now needs a wreath for that space for Spring, Fall and Winter!  LOL!

I spent last evening with my Sawyer.  We had a grand old time!!  We built block houses . . . 

And Sawyer pretended he was the demolition crew!

He had his stuffed dinosaur friend and his Dinos Roar quilt with him . . .

An orange popsicle after dinner made for a fun treat!  I love that grin!

He's a very good teeth-brusher, too (which he needed to be, especially after that popsicle!) . . . 

A new library shirt sent from his Great Grandma and Grandpa in Maryland!

Dream Big!  Perfect for a sleep shirt!

Night-night time ... all tucked in with his quilt.  

This sweet picture does this Neesey's heart a world of good!

And finally, this week's Foto Finish theme on Cat Patches is "travel".  I've been incredibly blessed in my opportunities to travel all over the United States and to many countries, as well.  But I think the trip that was most eye opening to me was the trip to Moscow, Russia, in November, 2004.

This shot was taken in Red Square and is of St. Basil's Cathedral.  On the left you can see the hotel where we stayed ... the Rossiya Hotel, which held the official record as the world's largest hotel for quite a number of years, but now no longer exists.  It was demolished just one year after our visit.  It was an incredible trip.  Looking back through the pictures I took, it finally dawned on me why so much of the architecture there is painted or gilded so brightly ... because the sky is always so grey!  Linking up to Cat Patches' Foto Finish with this one!

Happy Saturday!

:)

blurred . . .

Because time is moving so quickly! Well, some of my time is moving quickly; work, on the other hand, moved rather slowly today!

Todd came and picked me up after work, and we went into town for dinner. We headed over to Nothing But Noodles and I got the Eggplant Parmesan. Which I will also be having for lunch! I'm sure it will be just as yummy, too. From there, we went to Wild Birds Unlimited and poked around. They have lots of cool bird feeders and houses and all kinds of feed. It's mostly over-priced, but it's fun to walk through. I did get a big container of "Bark Butter" which you spread (it looks like peanut butter), directly onto the bark of trees. The woodpeckers and insect-eating birds supposedly *love* this stuff. You know how much we love our woodpeckers, so we'll buy the over-priced special treats for them! They also had a really cool hanging bird bath contraption that Todd was very interested in. It looked rather like an acrylic bird feeder, with four slots for birds to take baths or grab a drink. Nifty.

From there we headed over to the hospital to visit with Todd's dad. He's looking much better, but still sounds rough. He'll be there another two days or so. You can tell he's getting restless, though. The sooner he's out, the happier he'll be!

Tomorrow is Friday; what will it hold? I'll be alone in the office all day. Everyone else will be at the home building and remodeling show. I'll do my stint on Saturday.

I *did* figure out what hand work I'd start . . . at about 3 o'clock this morning! LOL! The very first quilt I ever started was a Patches and Stitches block of the month quilt. When I first started it, I quilted each block in the month I picked it up. The third month was this block . . .

And I absolutely *loved* the quilt stencil that I used in this square! I've used portions of it in lots of things since, but I truly loved the whole thing. There's a nice picture of it here. It's always made me think of Russia and my trip to Moscow! Perhaps because the scrolls remind me of St. Basil's Cathedral (which, incidentally, I also fell in love with). Don't the domes rather look like the scrolls in the stencil? Aren't the swirls great? This is a magnificent piece of architecture!

So anyway, after I finished my square that month, I asked them if they had any leftover kits. They did, and I bought it, with the intent to make a pillow to go with my lap quilt. That was in 2006. The spare kit is still sitting in a drawer, waiting for me to make good on my intentions! I think now is the time . . . I will enjoy quilting that pattern again!

I keep forgetting I *do* have to work tomorrow. This is a WORK night! I need to head to BED!

Especially since I was up at 3 am, thinking about quilting . . . !

Bon nuit!

:)