It's My Two Year Blogoversary!!!! And an Oldie Framed!

Wow!!! I can't believe that two years have gone by since I first started my blog.  Time certainly does fly when you're having fun!  I have had such a great time blogging, reading other people's blogs (although I've been hopelessly lax with that lately) and making so many friends and having so many wonderful email conversations with people that I've met.  Well, a blogoversary should have a giveaway, right?  Right!  But I'm going to hold off on that for a month because......well, I just don't have time for one.  See, one of the reasons is that life's spinning out of control lately with what I call crazy August, and getting the kids ready for school, etc.  And then I've been so fortunate to make so many wonderful friendships through blogging that I'm actually going to be meeting up with a good many of them in Utah in a few weeks at the Shepherd's Bush retreat (no, I'm not going to the actual retreat, just going out to chill), so I have lots to get ready!  Be still my heart!  Jolene, Loraine, Cathy, Cari, along with Terri and Julie, and and who knows who else.  If you're going to be there, let me know!!!  I would love to meet you.  This will be my first real get away with the girls to stitch, gab and shop since before I got married!!!!  Can you tell I'm excited?  Besides myself!!!  So, I'll have a giveaway in about one month!!  Maybe I'll pick up some goodies for the giveaway, so stay tuned!!!

Because August blew by at such a rapid pace, I don't have much to show.  Crafting and stitching has been nil!!!  Absolutely nil. Do you know how much I'm missing it?  It's making my skin itch just thinking about it.  But the kids go to school on Tuesday, so maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get some stitching and sewing done!!  But you know, I have to show some pictures, so I'll show you a piece I recently got framed, but I'm bowing my head in shame because it's been hanging in the closet for twelve years.  Such a slacker I am!!  But with the great framing sales at Joanne's, it time to get them out of the closet!!

Meet Me At the Field

Sheepish Designs

Mystery fabric (how can I remember after 12 years?) and DMC threads

But I haven't been completely idle on the crafty front.  If you can't do anything, my motto is to accumulate more!  Good motto, huh?  LOL  So that's what I did.  While my sister was here and we were in the quilt store picking out a quilt for me to make for her, I saw one made out of these fabrics:

Can you say LOVE?????  These fabrics are just not my normal faire, but there was something about them, and the quilt that was made from them, that I just HAD to have those fabrics.  The fabric that the folded pieces are sitting on is the backing.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!   It's going to be a relatively easy quilt - kind of like a Yellow Brick Road quilt if you're familiar with that.  I can't wait to get the rotary cutter out!!!  Did I say LOVE???????????

Then I just had to pick up these because Green Fairy Quilts was having a sale - buy one layer cake, get the charm pack free - can't shake a stick at that, so............they had to be mine, and don't they have a nice fall feel to them???  Speaking of fall - it arrived here!  Wow, from 90's to 60's in what seemed like second's flat!  But it feels so good!!  Tomorrow will be in the 80's again though. But anyway, I thought that these would be great for making some of those Schibble quilts that I'm seeing all over.  They've started growing on me big time!!

Now, before you think that I've abandoned stitching forever, that's not the case.  I also picked up these just because I've seen them on blogs and had to have them.  I didn't like them so much until I actually saw them finished:

And then I heard that some Jean Hilton's needlepoint pieces were being re-released (again, another dear blogger alerted me to that fact).  So, I had to order this too - it was originally a teaching piece, but now that Jean has passed away, it's on the market again:

I've had an itching for needlepoint so this will fit the bill nicely, although I have another one of her pieces in progress, so I should probably finish that up, don't you think?  Naw, maybe not!!  I did another one of her pieces years ago - Gleneagle:

Her pieces are so wonderful to work on - intricate, but fun.  This one I did back in 1995.  I still wonder how I got it done - I was working then and my son was two!!

So that's about it for me for now.   Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments you left me on my last post, especially about Bailey.  He's doing great, although it's definitely like having another baby in the house.  He's been part of the reason I haven't had much crafty love lately.  I haven't wanted introduced him to the craft room until he's potty trained, and since my room is in the basement and a long way from the back door to carry a heavy, dribbling puppy, he hasn't been allowed down there, but I think that we're on the home stretch.  No messes if quite a few days now.  He's a terror on four paws, but such a love:

How can you not love this precious thing (sleeping with his gift from his Aunt Cindy)?

Anyway, thank you again for all your wonderful comments and friendships.  I truly cherish them.  I know that I've been hopelessly remiss in reading blogs, but bear with me - I'm trying!!!   And I hope that you're enjoying this long holiday weekend with your family and getting some stitchy time in!! 

The Best Kept Secret and Vacation (Lots of Pics)

WOW! has it been a busy month!  I have missed everyone's blogs so much, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up in the next few days  After my sister left, we took off for some family time up at Torch Lake in northern Michigan.  What a beautiful lake, but I'll talk about that in a minute.

Anyway, I kept a secret.  A big secret.  A HUGE secret!!  And I kept it from my kids.  Don't ask me how I did it - I almost stumbled and messed up the whole secret quite a few times, but I did it.  I secretly made phone calls, took trips back and forth to Ohio a few times to check up on the little secret, bought things (like 4,000 toys from PetCo) and took them to my neighbors so my kids wouldn't find out.  What was the secret?  Well, this is what it was:

Meet Bailey.  All 13 weeks and 16 pounds of him!  The family finally wore me down!  It took years for them to do it, but it finally happened.  Bailey is a Golden Doodle and the sweetest thing that you could ever meet.  He loves sitting on your lap, kisses and being petted.   My kids were in shock I tell you.   We had tried to adopt a puppy a couple times and it never worked out and I think the kids had given up.  When I pulled Bailey out of the car, DH was standing there with the movie camera and the kids couldn't even talk. They both just stood there with their mouths hanging open seeing me standing there with a dog on a leash.  It was priceless just like the credit card commercials!  Truly priceless!  So now we have a new member of the family, and I feel like I'm following after a baby.  Bailey is full of energy and like a devil on four huge paws, but then there are those times when he just falls over:

He's a sweetie, but I can't wait until he's potty trained and stops waking us up howling at 5:00 a.m.

Our vacation was wonderful on Torch Lake.  I've lived in Michigan all my life and don't know how I ever missed this lake.  Crystal clear and uncrowded.  Beautiful.  My husband rented a boat, and I could tell some crazy stories about that (like he doesn't know how to drive a boat, but I'll spare him the embarrassment).  Okay, I won't!  LOL  He was so afraid to take the boat across the lake from where it was dropped off over to our cottage.  The lake is only about 1-1/2 miles across, but he was worried, so he pulled out his wallet and handed me all his money.  LOL  He thought he was going to drown!  I knew exactly what was going on and later told him so.  He was sheepish about the whole thing and I told him that he was lucky that Catie and I didn't hightail it to the antique stores and spend it!!

We also beached the boat a couple times, but I will spare DH the embarrassment on that.  But do you know how heavy a boat is to unbeach it?  Ahem!!  Me pulling it out into the lake so we could start it up, and I'm fully clothed and wearing the only bra I took up with me and there is no washer or dryer?  And later standing with a hair dryer trying to dry it out?  Ahem!!  But we had a great time once DH got over his fear -  we tubed from it, fished from it, skirted the lake, and just had a wonderful time in it.  Here are a few pics from vacation (you can skip these if you hate family vacation pictures):

Alden - The nearest town

The cutest shop - Alden's Mill - with more kitchen gadgets than you've ever seen in your life crammed into this quaint cottage

One of the spectacular sunsets, but taken on a cell phone so you don't get the full impact

DD relaxing (or glamming - however you want to look at it)

Torch Lake is located on the 45th parallel - we got a real kick out of this sign

DD tubing

Us girls relaxing on the boat - my freckles come out in the sun

Watching the sunset

Getting the campfire ready for s'mores

Loved the name of this alley in Charlevoix

And all the boats in Charlevoix Bay

And the town clock

And all the flowers in the town.

And this says it all - Summer - I'm so sorry that it's ending.

We all had a great time and even DH was hesitant to come home.  We drove home at a very leisurely pace and visited some antique stores along the route home.  DH is NOT an antique shopper, so you know that he didn't want to go home if he allowed me to drag him into those shops.

On the crafting side not much at all,  but while my sister was here I picked up this yarn from a store in Frankenmuth:

Even though I did take cross stitch up North with me, I didn't feel like pulling it out.  I also took this yarn along.  In the early mornings when the others were still sleeping, I would sit with my cup of coffee watching the water lap on the beach and knit and I did get a little bit done:

I love the colors of it - reminds me of the color of the sunsets - and as you knit it it forms a spiral - so much fun!!!  I think I've seen it called a Potato Chip scarf too.  Easy pattern and it works up quickly.

Well, that's it for me.  I'm still recuperating from vacation, learning how to be a mom to a little baby (dog) again, and gearing up to get the kids ready for school.   It's going to be a busy couple of weeks.

Thank you again so much for all your wonderful comments, and I'll definitely catch up with everyone soon!!