swap happy . . .

It's said that it's better to give than to receive, and believe me, I'm all about that. But if you've ever been in a swap with Janet of Rogue Quilter fame, you know it's awesome to receive, too!  Janet and I did a little swap between our birthdays (mine is early in October and hers is later in November). I stitched up a mug rug for her and she stitched up one of her marvelous pin cushions for me. We both stayed in our comfort zones!

Along with this beautiful pin cushion (which reminds me of swirling snow), she sent a ton of lovely goodies, including some of her fabulous soaps, a lovely set of Temecula note cards, a note pad (I use the heck out of note pads in the Nook when I'm trying to figure out dimensions or measurements), Orange & Cinnamon Spice tea that's just lovely and smells like this holiday season, patchwork pins (because who can have enough of these?!), and a bag of raspberry flavored, chocolate dusted almonds.  YUM!

See what I mean??

Janet's mug rug was my secret stitching over the past couple of weeks . . .

I love this sweet Kathy Schmitz pattern!  It paired nicely with the patchwork, too.

And of course, I padded my envelope.  It tickles me how similarly we think when gifting each other! She's a precious friend. 

Monday was Veteran's Day.  I shared this pic (along with a couple of others) on social media . . .

Look at the tiny waistline!  This is March, 1985, right after I graduated from boot camp.  Just a baby. Of course, I didn't think so at the time!

I had off on Veteran's Day, but Todd didn't, so I took advantage of the alone time and walked through the woods.  This is one of my all-time favorite trees on the camp's property . . .

Todd believes it's close to (if not older than) 200 years old.  It's a massive oak.  I found a sprouted acorn under it.

I'm taking it to Joc for her to plant in her yard!  A walk deeper into the woods shows how green the trees still are were. (The bitter cold snap we had on Monday night took care of that!) 

The beech trees stay green longer than most everything.  And after they change, they stay on the limbs until spring!

It was a pretty afternoon for a leisurely hike.  I love that I live where I do and have access to God's creation like I do!  The afternoon netted me a good handful of great acorn caps for some more woolies.  

These have a lot of character!  They're all dried out and ready to craft!

Monday night I put stitching away and pulled out the makings for cream cheese mints:

Joc needs them for a baby shower she's hosting tomorrow evening.  The things we do for love! ♥

But last night I was able to pull out the stitching again.  Making very good progress on my pumpkin . . . 

I'm very pleased with it!  I just need to finish stitching the leaves in the acorn panel and do the pumpkin outline and then it's done.  Still not sure how I'm going to use it (the pattern intends it as a pillow, and I didn't want a pillow), but I'll figure something out, eventually. ;)

Have a great day -- make good choices!

:)

christmas ornament swap . . .

Greetings!! It's been so CRAZY!  I love this season so very much, but it is time consuming, ya' know?!?

Stephanie, over at The Enchanting Rose, hosted a sweet ornament exchange this year, and I participated in it!  I was gifted to by Deb, a non-blogger, who took some time to get to know me (via my blog) and really found the perfect little ornament for my tree . . .

Isn't that precious?!  A s'more snowman! Just perfect for me!  In addition, she added some fun little happies to go with the ornament:

What a happy package!

I had the privilege of gifting to Cindy at Creations by Cindy -- who, funnily enough, had gifted me in a prior teacup exchange!  So it was fun to be able to shop and gift her!

I chose a snowflake ornament (funny how the theme of both what I was gifted and what I was given was snow!) and a few little happies to go with it.  

This was a fun exchange and I so appreciate Stephanie for hosting it -- linking up to her blog for the swap exchange!

In other news, I went with Ellie and Evey to see . . .

We did the (home)school field trip performance, and it was a lot of fun! The director came out during the intermission and talked to the children about ballet and introduced some of the performers. The girls enjoyed the bird's eye view of the stage and being able to see the orchestra.

The girls took turns sitting next to me . . . and afterwards we went to lunch at a girlie restaurant. Terrific day!

The next weekend I watched the girls while their mommy and daddy went on a date.  We made ornaments!

Aren't these fun?!  They did such a great job making the dough, cutting them out, and painting their own ornaments (and handprints) Even Edith wanted in (and got in on) the action! "Cook -- I cook!"

These are such sweet sister. It's a joy to have them close.

And then there's these three . . . 

Gosh I wish I could be doing Christmas fun things with them!  Look how grownup and beautiful/handsome they are ... I miss them so.  :)

On the homefront, I did get the RV decorated . . . 

Yay!  I love turning on all the Christmas lights and the fireplace and just sitting quietly.  It's my favorite place to do my quiet time!

And I decided yesterday that I wanted to make something to gift to my co-worker ... tomorrow.  LOL!

So I've been busy working on this, too!!

Enough for now . . . if I don't make it back here before Christmas, have a very merry day!

:)

come and gone . . .

Can you believe we're already into November??  How did that even happen?! And did everyone that needs to, fall back an hour? 

I know that a lot of people don't like the time change ... and *I* don't enjoy that we switch back and forth, but I do love the return to standard time! Oh -- and don't forget to change your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide batteries! (nod to Sarah!)

October was a fun and busy month. I feel like I got a lot accomplished, too. I finished two Christmas quilts and designed (or rather, resized) two more . . . 

The two I finished.

The two I've resized/redesigned, but not yet stitched. From table toppers, I think.  

The Heritage Quilters of Huntsville held their 15th bi-annual quilt show. My "The Pineapple Quilt" was in the "large quilts - one maker" category. 

It didn't place, but I overheard lots of nice comments on it!

We had a blast with the girls and my parents at the pumpkin patch!

You know my October isn't complete without a visit to the pumpkin patch.

Janet, that rogue quilter, and I had a mug rug swap for October. She gifted me with a LOT of extra goodies, too, in honor of my October birthday!  

Isn't this mug rug darling?  And perfect with my fall china! She knows me very well. :)  My mug rug to her was a combination of all my favorite things . . .

Hexies, English paper piecing, handwork, wool, batiks, embroidery, and pumpkins!!  Unfortunately, I (once again) forgot to get a pic of the finished product, but Janet has one in her post I've linked to, above.

Halloween was fun.  We started the festivities at my folk's house . . . 

My mom loves to decorate and cook for the theme, and the grands love it, too!

Joc and family costume as a family.  Can you guess who they were?

Ellie was Princess Peach, Evey was Mario, Joc was Luigi, Jason was Bowser, and sweet little Edie was a super star! Aren't they fun? Evey, in particular, in her mustache, just cracked me up!

Anyone who's followed me for a long time will get a sense of deja vu with this sweet capture:

Edie as Raggedy Ann. Originally, I stitched up the costume for a baby Ellie! I wonder who wears it best?

The California crew had fun trick or treating, too! Only their temperatures were a LOT hotter!

Sawyer was Darth Vader, June was a ninja, and Olivia was Rapunzel!  She *loved* the wig! They had a blast . . . wish I could've been in two places at once!

Now it's on to a time of Veteran's Day parades, turkeys, and cornucopias! (Not Santas or Christmas trees ... not yet!)

Happy Sunday!

:)

insert clever title here . . .

It was another busy week, but different in several ways. Todd and I started Weight Watchers on Monday, and of course I had lunches scheduled for each of the working days and dinners for two of the nights! Yikes, right off the bat I was facing hurdles, but I handled it like a pro (and no cheating), though tomorrow morning's weigh in will determine just how well I handled it! At Judy's recommendation, I looked up Dr. Michael Vanderschleden's The Scientific Approach to Intermittent Fasting. The book is available for free on kindleunlimited, so I went ahead and borrowed it.  It's a fascinating read and debunks most of the food myths I've embraced for years. This week I've played around with fasting times and I think I've found a system that works.  Again, tomorrow's weigh in will tell!

We had Thursday off because we are closed on Friday, but we still get the Veteran's Day holiday.  I'll take it! Anyway, Miss Ellie came home with me Wednesday night for a sleepover. She loved her scarf of sparkly red, but informed me that it should have tassels . . .

Good enough!  Sawyer's did not have tassels, but since "he's a boy, he shouldn't have tassels." Ha! Thanks for that word of scarf fashion wisdom, Elle. She also had fun creating her breakfast masterpiece:

Though she was a little disappointed that I didn't have any blueberries (like I did last time). Note taken.

Friday was too windy to take the pontoon out, so Todd and I bummed around and ran errands. We went to PF Changs for lunch (where I'd looked up the entrees and knew we would be okay with points). Plus, veterans got a free entree when an additional entree was purchased, so I ate free! 

I got some fun squishies in the mail this week, too.  The first was from a "mug rug" swap I participated in. Dana doesn't blog, but we have enjoyed getting to know each other through emails. She sent me this pretty little mug rug:

Along with a parcel of fun goodies . . .

What a sweetheart Dana is!  Her package has been received, too, so I can show you the 'out-of-the-box' mug rug I sent her:

Very seasonal, I know, but I like changing out my mug rugs as much as I like changing out my hanging quilts for the seasons!

My second squishy came from Sarah and contained my 'houses' from the Hexie Birthday Swap!

Plus a couple of 'kites' from last year's swap -- and some happies from Sarah (who knows me so well)!! I will have fun playing with these! :)

My stash is silent . . . nothing in and nothing out.

Ugh. I know it's a matter of making time . . . perhaps as the days grow colder (if they do) and darker (which they are), I'll be able to sneak away more quilting time!

I did a quick inventory of my ornaments . . .

So far I've got sixteen, which is a little off course (I should have twenty-two), but it's a sight better than what I had last year at this time, which was ZERO! Today I'll do up a couple more poinsettias, both in the tiny size and the brooch size.

These are my go-to stitch-ups because they're so easy and I can make them so diverse with a change of color or button or size. Variety is the spice of life, right? These will be my sloooooow stitching this afternoon!

Aaaaah . . . and before I forget, last week I issued a challenge!  My favorite quote for this picture:

was Janet's, "Hands back in your pockets, guys!"  It made me LOL! Especially since Marilyn and I both look like we've been goosed!

And only a handful of folks got it right.  Jocelyn got us all together for a group picture on Evey's second birthday.  She then said, "Everybody say, "Evey's going to be a big sister!'" It took a couple of seconds for it to register, but Marilyn and I must have worked it out before the men, judging by the picture! I let the random number picker do the work and Mary's "You're pregnant?????" won the prize!  I'll send a happy little something to both Mary and Janet!

Linking up today to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts!  Enjoy a beautiful day -- regardless of the weather!

:)

it's tea time . . .

Guess what today is?  It's the day of the big reveal from the ninth annual tea cup and mug exchange!! Which, incidentally, I participated in for the first time this year. What a huge and fun blessing this exchange was! It's organized and sponsored by Stephanie, who blogs over at The Enchanting Rose (where a link up of all the participants can be found today!).

Being a lover of all things tea, I couldn't resist signing up and joining in on the fun! (And a huge thanks to Sarah for sharing it with me!)

The name I "drew" was Marilyn, from Mountain Top Spice, and it was *such* a pleasure to explore her blog and get to know her a little, so I could find the perfect tea cup to send to her! I forgot to take a single picture of what I sent her ... but she's done a nice job of it here (if you want to check out the pretty little Royal Albert Christmas cup I sent)!

As much fun as it was to shop for Marilyn, I have to say, it put quite a smile on my face to find this huge parcel in waiting for me at the post office! Cindy, who blogs over at Creations by Cindy, was my gifter, and she REALLY outdid herself and spoiled me ROTTEN!

Opening it up, my first thought was "Christmas"!  

Yep, I felt like a child on Christmas morning, coming out and seeing all the packages under the tree. Brown paper packages tied up in string?! Yipppeeee!! I spent the next thirty minutes or so unwrapping each little gift and oooohing and aaaaahing the entire time. By the time I'd finished, there was quite a large little spread of goodies . . .

OH MY GOODNESS! Do you see all this?!  Everything from teas, to cookbooks, journals, devotionals, fat quarters, socks and sweet little treats were in this box. I mean everything! But the focus was this beautiful, beautiful tea cup and saucer:

Wait. Take a closer look . . .

Isn't it beautiful?!  And it's a pedestal cup!  I just adore that! In all my favorite colors and trimmed out in gold leaf -- so, so very pretty.

What a treasure . . . Royal Crown 1969.  Wow! I was really tickled by this darling teapot frame, too:

I am trying to decide what picture I'll put in it. In the meantime, I'll put these two fat quarters to good use -- and in my favorite colors, blues and purple!  Just like the cute little socks!  

Gosh, Cindy really did a great job of filling my box with special treats that were meaningful to me. I think besides the precious tea cup and saucer, my favorite thing was this precious little box:

It's filled with encouraging verses from God's Word!  I just love this and have enjoyed pulling one out each day to meditate on and think about through the day -- Cindy was so creative putting this together, and I really just can't thank her enough for her generosity and thoughtfulness!

I so enjoyed this experience . . . and it will definitely be something I look forward to next year (especially since it all happens right around my birthday-haha-and y'all know how I feel about that!). A huge thank you to darling Stephanie for arranging this so faithfully, for nine years now!

Have a great day; tea is served!

:)