a look behind, a look ahead . . .

I hope everyone enjoyed a Happy Valentine's Day!!  I sure did ... my sweet husband spoils me so!  Wednesday night he surprised me with dinner and a movie.  We ate at the restaurant Scene which is in the Monaco theater.  I had steak nachos and they were *very* good!  

And very artsy.  LOL!  I couldn't eat them all, that's for sure.  For dessert we shared a brownie, topped with  ice cream *and* pink cotton candy ... that they pour hot chocolate over.  I *wish* I'd gotten a picture of that -- it was wild!  But very tasty, too!  After dinner we saw The Hobbit (again).  It was the last showing in the theaters and it was obvious why ... we were two of five people watching! It's a great movie -- I'm glad it's coming out on DVD next month -- I'm already ready to watch it again!!

Todd also surprised me with a lovely potted plant and balloons!  (And conversation hearts, which we ate, thankyouverymuch.)

What a sweet guy!  He really is such a fabulous and thoughtful (and generous) husband!  For my part, my gifts to Todd were totally food-oriented.  I cooked him up a big ol' ribeye (his favorite) for Valentine's dinner and for breakfast?

Heart pancakes with raspberry syrup!  Yay!

One of the best surprises of the day was when Todd announced he'd fixed Easy (our golf cart).  Whoohoo!! It was time for a ride to inspect the grounds!  Of course, we headed down to the ponds, lickety-split.

The view from the bottom of Silty Bottom was particularly pretty.  I love how the late afternoon sun washes the tops out of the trees, but their reflection in the pond is so vivid and bold!

One of my (many) favorite spots in the camp is the little stream that runs of Silty Bottom.  I adore the sound of a running creek and we paused for several moments just to drink it in.

Isn't that delightful?!  I can't wait for spring/summer -- I'll take Sawyer down there for sure and we'll play and splash!  I'll bring a towel or blanket, of course, and sit on the bank and dip my toes, but I can see Sawyer enjoying this with every bit of his being!

I had some lovely squishies in the mail this week, too.  My darling pal Kris sent me some lovely-smelling 'therapy for the crud' (essential oils) wrapped in the most darling fat quarter!!

That was so very kind of her -- and those essential oils worked well, too!

And sweet Kathy sent me a passel of crazy quilting charms and embellishments!

Aren't these FUN?!!  Look at all the dragonfly makings and the spider charms!!

This sweet little sewing machine caught my eye, too!

And as if that weren't enough, she included these precious lace motifs, too. Wow!!

And speaking of crazy quilting, I'm slowly making progress on my block . . .

I know it's hard to tell, but I've outlined another flower in the center pentagon:

My plan is to outline all the flowers in the center (with the metallic thread, of course) and then to extend one more of the flowers ... the large green one (in the top, right corner of the block).

And I also finished up my fuschia hyacinths.  Now I'm on to the purple ones. Then I'll go back and add a couple of knots in metallic threads in each one. These take *such* a long time to stitch, but it's totally worth it!  Down below, on the single feather chain, I'm going to do a little button floral arrangement . . . 

Sort of like that, I'm thinking.  It's hard to know until I'm ready to do it, know what I mean?

And finally, what kind of Friday would it be, if there weren't some sort of feline reference?  Today's is a doozie . . .

Evidently when Joc got up out of her seat, Leia quickly made herself at home.  In the Book of Job, no less.  Ah yes, Leia is such the long-suffering, stoic cat.  Heh. Linking her up with Sarah's Feline Friday linky party!

That's it for me today.  I'm off to play with Ellie this afternoon.  Then I've got four days to prepare for RETREAT!  Yay!!  Y'all have a *fabulous* Friday and *wonderful* weekend!!

:)

friday on my mind . . .

Ever heard of that song?  By The Easybeats -- an Australian rock & roll band from the sixties.  The lyrics are kind of funny -- hodge podge -- and the music is classic sixties à la The Monkeys.  There aren't really a whole lot of songs with Friday in the title (comparatively -- especially to Saturday, Sunday and Monday).  This one -- Friday on My Mind -- won out for today's title appearance.  Gee ... I hope I don't have to pay royalties or anything!

Speaking of winning ... I've got some!  Winners, I mean.  Yay!!  Stay put!

I'm not posting another picture of my quilting bunk room ... because it looks exactly the same as it did Wednesday.  It's apparent I haven't had decluttering the quilt room on my mind!

I have had fun with my crazy quilting course!  On Wednesday I did some shopping for embellishments and the like . . . 

What fun, what fun!!  Almost as good as bring home piles of fabric.  LOL!  I probably won't use/need all of this for this course, but this is the year of crazy quilting for me, so I do plan on putting it all to good use in some form or fashion! I went straight from shopping to visit with Joc and Ellie.  

My sweet girls!

Leia was particularly interested in my yarn (aka fiber) selections.  I'm so glad they met with her approval.  Linking her up with Feline Friday over at Sarah Did It!  ;)

Ellie had fun showing me her toys.  I can't get over how fast she's growing!  

She's such a charmer, too.  I adore how she tilts her head to one side, when she's being cute and lovable!!

Leia watches from a safe height.  

She's learned that Ellie is a pretty fast crawler and also has a decent reach. I get the feeling that Leia's very curious about Ellie and almost likes her ... she just does NOT want to be touched by Ellie!

Ellie loves to be read to ... she'll sit quite nicely and turn the pages when directed.  My favorite to read to her is a classic . . .

Yes, I meant literally!  LOL!  Is a girl ever too young to be interested in Pride and Prejudice??!  Of course, this is just a counting primer. (Did you know that word is pronounced "primmer" with a short i sound?  I did not.)  But it's quite darling.  I got it for Ellie for her birthday.  Here's my favorite page . . .

Four marriage proposals -- that just cracks me up.  Like I said, too cute!!

My crazy quilt block is ready for embellishing, but the thought of it really overwhelmed me.  Having never done this before, I wasn't sure where to start with all that BLANK space.  Being the visual person that I am, I decided to print out a picture of my block (which will be a thread roll-up when the project is complete) and start pencil doodling possible seam treatments and embellishments.

This is my mock-up!  It's a rather fascinating process.  Of course, it won't look exactly like that because there will be stitches I'll be required to use ... and of course I won't use black floss ... and some of it will be buttons or beads or ribbon!  I'm really excited with the direction this is going!

Tomorrow we have a big work day at the camp -- to get the obstacle course all finished up!  Yay!!  We've got about 25 or so volunteers planning on coming out to help, so it will be a big day.  I can't wait!  I -- along with some very sweet volunteers -- will be manning the camp kitchen and helping prepare and serve lunch to all our hungry workers.  Hoping for sunny skies!

And finally ... would you like to know who the winners are of the book, Decluttering Now!?  

Mr. Random.org helped me out here ... the two winners are:

Gone Country of From City Streets to Country Roads, who wrote:

Sounds like a wonderful book since it hits on how to handle the 'stuff' in our lives but also how to handle the other 'stuff' in them as well. What a great balance that we all need. I also like the part about serving the Lord will all your heart and how can we when our hearts (and minds) are a cluttered mess!

Crossing my fingers for winning this giveaway as I daily struggle to combat the mental need for 'stuff' and I have no room nor need for most of it!

And Jan of Red Sock Mama, who wrote:

Oh my, a Christian based book on decluttering? A dream come true. I've been a functional hoarder for years. I look like a minimalist on the surface, but just beneath is a jumble-in all areas! I'm realizing now that tossing out is simply treating symptoms...need to get to the source!

Congratulations to both ladies!  As soon as I get mailing information from you, I'll pass it along to Sherry, so she can put books in the mail!  And a BIG thank you to Sherry and Lindon for so graciously providing!

Happy Friday, y'all -- have a GREAT weekend!!

:)