Gifts and Goodies

Dear friends!

    It has been a while, hasn't it?  I had wanted to stick to an every other Sunday post schedule but that didn't last long.  Like everyone else has said, this has been a very busy summer.  Nothing major, just stuff.  The biggest thing right now is getting Matt ready to head off to Western Michigan University.  He will be moving into an apartment with 5 of his childhood friends that are all attending WMU.  I'm going to miss him because he's a friendly, nice kid.  He always comes in with a big "Yo!" and always asks us how our day was.  He's never fussy about dinner and always enjoys whatever I fix.  He's kind of the peacemaker in the family and I will miss him.  But... he is ready to go and I believe that I am ready for him to fly, as well.  I'll let you know more how that went when we drop him off in Kalamazoo on Sunday.

This has been a busy month - I turned another year older - 53!  Yikes!  Fortunately, I have the dearest friends in the world and they took the sting out of getting older.  May I show you some of the goodies I received?  I'll show my minimal stitching at the end.

From my dear friend Marilyn, all the way across the pond in France, I received a Lavender Lover's Delight!  Look:

A wonderful clock that I just LOVE!  Awesome bags of lavender and other herbs in sweet little bags and do you see those cute, lavender decorated salt and pepper shakers?  Could all this be any sweeter?  And oh my gosh, the smell is heavenly.  She also sent me a wonderful potpourri burner with lavender oil that I immediately put in my craft room and failed to take a picture of it.  Thank you so much, Marilyn!

You have spoiled me rotten!

From my dear friend Julie:

The first year of my blog in print in a hard bound book!  What a surprise this was and what a labor of love it was for Julie to do.  I guess, because she is not the blog owner, copying and pasting every article and picture was a bit tedious.  I am just so pleased with this though and have thought about doing it before but just never did.  What I learned from looking thru this fabulous book (ROFLOL) is that I tend to be a bit verbose, so I'll try to work on that.  On paper, as in real life, I tend to be a bit chatty!

Thank you so much, Julie!

And, from my dear friend Sheila:

this amazing quilt that blends applique, embroidery and some intense quilting.

She and I had been shopping one day and I found this.  Needless to say I loved it but being on a bit of a tight budget that day, I didn't buy it as it was way more than I normally spend.  I decided a week later that I couldn't live without it so I went back and it was gone!  Unbeknownst to me, Sheila had purchased it for me.  She is the most generous person!

Here are some shots of the sections of the quilt. 

Oh my gosh, I love this lily pad and flower!

Today I went to a great estate sale and found a few fun things:

More ornaments for my already huge collection: 

An old quilt that is soft and beautiful but needs a new binding:

Some awesome, old bottle brush trees:

A fun pack of Santa's Crayons:

I found a few other goodies that I'll save for another time.

Finally, one last gift and my stitching.  Sheila's daughter Meghan and I have become fast friends and she gave me these sweet doll house accessories to keep in my craft room.  How adorable are they?  A sewing box with tape measure, thread and pincushion in it, a box of threads and a sewing chest with doors that open. So cute!

They are sitting on top of the small part of Susan Rambo I've completed.  As you can see, not much stitching has been accomplished since last we met.  The fabric is not showing true to color and neither are the threads but it's close enough for today.  Stitched on 36 count with 2 strands of DMC.  I've changed several colors already and there may be more to come.  We'll see.

Thanks everyone for stopping by and for leaving me a note so that I know you've been here, if you have time.  I really appreciate you and your comments!

Have a delightful weekend and I'll see you in September!

Be well,

Peace!

Terri