A pause in life

In the early morning of October 23rd, Nana left us peacefully in her sleep. She was 92 years young, with more energy that I had most days, still living on her own, and driving (but only during the day, if that).

I'm so glad all three boys have wonderful memories of her that they'll never forget. She used to have them come stay with her during the summer for a week, taking them to the swimming pool, shopping at the dollar store, and getting lunch at Old Country Buffet. We were lucky enough to only live about 40 minutes away, so we were able to see her often.

This picture was at Christmas in 2011, at our old house. What a beautiful woman!

Here she is celebrating her 90th birthday, what a great day it was with family and friends.

And she liked her Fireball!

    

This was a note from my parents -

     We were so sorry to hear of your grandmother's passing and for the grief it must cause you and the family but it was a merciful release from all her pain and suffering. Also, you have the knowledge she is now in a kinder and gentler place.
     Words never mean much at a time like this and I know from experience as I lost my grandmother, to whom I was very close, a week after losing my mother. Life is cruel but memories sustain and in time when the hurt and pain subside will bring you happiness remembering times past.
     0ur thoughts are especially with Gerry who has been the bulwark of the family these past demanding weeks and please convey our deepest sympathy to her and your mother.
     0n the few occasions we visited the lake it was always a relief for me when I espied your grandmother as she was larger than life, full of vim and vigor and the all American grand dame. Inasmuch, I knew I should be well entertained. She had a zest for life, a great wit which made her so refreshing and we shall not see her like again.
     You were truly blessed to have such a vibrant grandmother who didn't suffer fools gladly, or democrats either for that matter.
     Try not to be too down hearted as her life should be celebrated with all that was achieved from Little 0rleans, as she was a mover and a shaker. Take care and may God bring you peace and we are truly very sorry for your great loss.
     Thinking about you, Paul, and keeping you in our prayers.
    Love, Oma & Opa xx

But I have been stitching and doing other things, I'll be posting again soon...

School, sports and some stitching!

Another school year begins...

I can't even believe that these two are seniors, when did that happen?!

 And this guy, 3rd grade already?

On the varsity team, ready for their first game of the year.

Being a team mom, I helped out with these pins for the Moms to wear on game day.

Captain and week Captain, getting ready to start the game.

I LOVE THIS!

This is the prayer group before the game, it has grown since last year.

And hey, we have a baseball player! He played in the spring and loved it, so now he's playing fall ball. He's not really interested in football, much to DH's disappointment, but he's having fun playing this kind of ball!

He also had fun at the cub mobile races, he only almost ran a woman over and hit a barrier! At least he's not driving yet.

I finished my Mill Hill, Tangled Web, I just need to frame it. I used the glow in the dark thread again and like the result even though it doesn't last long.

I'm really not sure what to call this except some type of Halloween "tree". I thought about adding spiders to it, but I have to find them in my boxes first.

Another lucky birthday girl is getting a warm blankie! I guess he thought it was a good idea since his brother did it for his girlfriend in July.

Maybe between two of them, I'll get lucky enough to get one for Christmas!

Fun with my nieces!

Earlier this month, my nieces come to stay with us for a few days. Pizza was on the menu one night and they wanted to watch a movie too. So I put the tv in the enclosed porch and stuck them out there. When it was dark, they watched another movie while snuggled in their blankets, chowing down some ice cream. What a great evening!

Their special treat was going to The Pottery Spot. 

 It took me longer to paint my witch, so I had them each paint a coaster for me.

Here are our finished pieces, I think they did a great job!

Another finished piece is my Mill Hill, Love Halloween. I used glow in the dark floss for the ghost, stars, and whiskers of the kitty. Unfortunately, it doesn't last very long but I thought it was still worth it. I think I'll look for a Halloween tree to hang it on, but maybe not until everything goes on sale, after Halloween.

Fun times in July

I know July has come and gone, but here's what we did.

The gmen brought some friends to the lake for the 4th, so they celebrated and had some fun.

Boys prepping the fireworks.

 Even Ming and Max enjoyed themselves!

Another weekend brought us back to the lake and we stopped by the Shawnee Trading Post. 

From there we headed over to Eva and Mike's Summer Bash, always a good time!

Nathan had Vacation Bible School, and I helped out in the snack area. We both had a great time!

Then we had fun in Baltimore, at the Inner Harbour and the Science Center. We went to the Observatory in the early evening and got to see the sun and the moon, awesome!

We were inside the observatory when it repositioned.

Now this is love. He's a Redskins fan and she's a Ravens fan. But it was her birthday and he wanted to make her something special. I'm so proud of him!

Finally, I've been doing some stitching! It's a slow start on this one, but at least it's a start. 

But I might have to put it on hold since Halloween is coming up and this one has been put aside for a year or so. I know I have other Halloween pieces I'd love to stitch too, I just have to find them.

Kitty company and a question

One wants in, one wants out. 

Finally, both in and ready to keep me company.

Then Nathan decided to join us,

so Max found a hiding spot with my Odies!

My craft room is nice and tidy, until you open these doors. Time for some rearranging and organizing.

The bottom cabinet has all my photos in it, from way back when. I'm getting ready to box them up and put them away to sort during the winter months. More storage space!

That is if I can get these two out of the box!

Here's a question for you all- what storage secrets are you willing to tell?!

Saving the best for last - My final excuse!

 So my ultimate excuse for not blogging?
Packing, storing, moving, and then packing, unpacking and moving again!
After many years of dreaming, planning, and saving, we moved out of our home September 2013, to move into a rental property for what turned out to be one year and one month. During that time, we had our house torn down, waited on county permits, and then had it rebuilt. 
I'd never really had a craft room before, just a desk with craft stuff in various parts of the house. But because we decided not to have a formal dining room, I was able to have a craft room.
So here it is, from start to finish.  

Yes, I'm a big kid, I love my toys! Nathan tries to tell me they're his, but I promise, they're mine!

Here are my mermaids, plenty of room to grow.

This is my latest piece, I bought her for $.25 at our church white elephant - I know she's a little dated, but I love her!

I didn't have any more room in my cabinet for dragons, so I put the fun ones on top. I'm so happy to have found Astrid and Stormfly!

And my favourite part? Spending time with friends! My stitching buddy, DJ, is a regular and I'm always happy when she joins me!

So enough excuses, back to the real world of a busy life, stitching/crafting, and blogging!

Fun excuses!

Excuse #10

The annual stitching retreat at St Michaels!

You never show what you'll see on the road - poor kitty.

Too bad it wasn't the TARDIS!

Cool cow

Oh, I was loving this store!

I just HAD to get a little something...

Our evening view

Love the colours

How cute are these?! Wendy's lucky they didn't "run" away!

Hunter's adorable

The owner showed us a baby bunny they found, so soft!

Love the heron in the water

He caught his dinner!

A peek at our stitching area - there's DJ!

We gave gifts to each other and this is what I made, a needle minder box with their initial on it and a needle frogger. 

But I wanted a dragon and mermaid!

Excuse #11
My birthday!

DJ treated Nathan and I to see Jurassic World, it was great! 

It was at a new theatre which had reclining seats, but I could have used a blanket - 
which she gave me for a birthday present AFTER the movie! Great way to celebrate my birthday!

And finally, another Garden Journal finish, November. I don't really like the lettering, but not enough to change it.