An Easter Exchange - Down under!

Are you looking for something fun to do for Easter/Spring?
Kaye at Kitten Stitching is hosting an Easter Exchange - from Australia! It's nothing big, just a stitched piece and an Easter treat, wrapped in Easter or Spring fabric. I'm willing to to post there, are you?!

Take a look here - Kaye's Easter Exchange

Organized? Ha!

I thought I was organized.
My floss has been put away in boxes, my table is was actually uncluttered and clean, and all my Christmas kits put away in a box.

But then when you open these doors...
 
At least I know where everything is, sort of!

This isn't too bad, it holds most of my individual patterns and booklets. I do have some that need to find their way in there though.

Now this on the other hand, there's no rhyme nor reason sorting this mess.

I can group them together by magazine and separate the Christmas/Halloween ones on their own, but how the heck do I remember what's where?! I have post-it notes stuck on patterns I'd like to stitch, but then what? Most of the mags have a little bit of everything, what to do with them?!
I'm not sure I want to write it all down or put it in the computer. I guess I could take a picture and sort it that way. 

Do any of you have this issue?
Any thoughts or suggestions on how to organize them?
And this is why I don't by magazines anymore! (Unless I see something I really like)

Progress!

So nice to have company while stitching... but not so much on a big piece!

A lighthouse!

And Max notices a mistake in the rocks, dang it!

Frogs shouldn't be allowed at a lighthouse! But now it's corrected and I'm moving on.

TH Thursday...

THinking, THinking, THinking...

THinking THoughts, and being THankful on THursdays.

After my post last week, this one is easy.

Not really a question, but a statement.

I am thankful for all the people who are loving and kind to me.

Thank you so much for the supportive comments I received on my previous post, it truly means so much to me. And Nathan's got some new Aunties, I love it!

Have you told someone you're thankful for them?

TH Thursday...

THinking, THinking, THinking...

THinking THoughts, and being THankful on THursdays.

Wishing this was easier today, but here goes.

What is something that was hard to do but you did it anyway?

Oh boy, this one's a zinger, where to start?

First, I have so many friends who have either lost one of their parents, or both, and would do anything to see them and be with them again. I've got both my parents and we're not speaking. It feels like they're gone already.

The reason on my part - I'm tired of them disrespecting my DH and now our three boys. Making up stories and telling me that the boys and I can come visit them, but don't bring DH. Taking the phone off the hook for several days so the Gmen couldn't thank them for the birthday gift they received, and not responding to their email when that was the only way to get a hold of them. Having a friend from out of the country come pay them a visit and encouraging her not to contact me even though they're only two hours away. The final kicker was not acknowledging Nathan's 10th birthday. Their grandson's 10th birthday, what the heck did he do to them? There are so many other things that have happened throughout the years, but basically adds up to the control they (really, he) tries to have over me and others.

I've tried to separate my disassociation with them from the boys, asking them if they'd like to call or send an email for birthdays or holidays, and they all say, no. How sad. Nathan said they probably have the phone off the hook anyway. (This is not a new thing.)

So the hardest thing I had to do but did it anyway? Deciding not having any contract with my parents. I Know that I don't deserve to be treated like that and neither does my family.

On a positive note, I am thankful for my friends, who I consider my other family. The ones who are there for me, no matter what.

Pizza Night and an accomplishment

Last Saturday night was requested by Gman #2, pizza night with our good friends, The T's.

Here he is, probably adding something spicy!

Gman #2 adding more cheese to the chicken pizza and DH rolling out the dough.

The kids were patiently waiting for their dinner. Can you spot their tiny dog, Maci?

Spreading out all over the kitchen. They did a pretty good job cleaning up after the mess creations they made.

The end result was worth it! I even had a spicy piece and liked it!

After dinner, we retreated to the basement to play this together, using either a phone or ipad/tablet. Sort of like Pictionary - a terrible game for those who can barely draw a stick figure... me!

Then it was dessert time, I made an orange chocolate cheesecake. Unfortunately, I had bought half and half instead of heavy whipping cream, which didn't turn out too well for the whipped cream. But I did add brandy, so that made it better!

The next morning we woke up to some ice, mainly in the trees. I'm getting a little tired of being teased with snow and then getting nothing.

I did manage to get some stitching in, I even teased Max with some floss.

Which led to this, finally!
I knew I had to finish all these darn words before starting the lighthouse, now the fun can begin.

Some stitching and the MOON

I love the snuggles, but it makes it rather difficult to stitch!

Okay, I did manage to get some done.

Awe, Princess Leia got her wings.

The Wolf Moon was the last week, this is the shot I got through our front door.

And here it is in it's glory.

Oh, I do love the moon!

TH Thursday...

THinking, THinking, THinking...

THinking THoughts, and being THankful on THursdays.

What is something fun that you saw today?

Twins! Three sets! Ok, that includes my own.

Gman 1 and I were in line at Kohls today, and behind us was a woman with twin girls, they were almost two. In front of us was another set, boy/girl (man/woman), in their sixties! So awesome! I think we all should have received a double discount!

Twins do not run in our families, and identical twins are just flukes. Growing up I always wanted twins, and surprisingly, I got them. When I told my best friend that we were having twins, she didn't believe me until she came with me to my sonogram appt.

And to think, DH only wanted one child!

Sometimes I wish they were this small again - 

then I come to my senses!

How about you? What fun thing did you see today?

Organizing the mess!

Oh joy, this is how I started the new year. I had two bags of floss for two HAED patterns, and then some.

I ran out of floss bobbins and don't really like the plastic ones I have. I didn't feel like going to the store for just that so I thought I would improvise. Instead of tossing last year's calendar away, I "recycled" it. I know you can't see the pictures when the floss is wound on, but that's okay, it's pretty sturdy.


When I ran out of those, I made more from card stock that I had. I just had to cut the sides to fit it in the boxes and chose not to punch holes in them, I don't use them anyway. They're not quite as sturdy as the bought ones, but much better than some others I've used.

I also worked on getting two sets of HAED ready.

Then came winding time. It only took me about 2 days!

Any fun ideas for what to do with these?

The first one I'm starting with is a mini. 

And the big one.

The big double box holds all the DMC colours and the three boxes behind it holds all the duplicates, almost another full set. The floss on the left is extra, extra, and I'm not doing those.

Then I have my variegated stash. I group them by colour so it's easier for me to find what I'm trying to match. I know it isn't the prettiest way to store them, but it works.

And taking care of that mess showed me I do have a table in my room!

The only thing left is cleaning this out... again. I feel like I'm forever trying to straighten this up, although when the doors are shut I really don't care!

But that's another post...

Finishing up the holidays

Ah, family, gotta love them!
We were so lucky to have my older brother, sister-in-law, and nephew come visit us after Christmas. Baton Rouge, LA, is just too far away for regular visits!

Enjoying a drink, snuggling with kitties and watching a Christmas movie, what could be better?! I was even working on her little stocking.

The next day, we went to visit our younger brother and his family. Great afternoon, I wish we could do it more often! 

For Christmas, the Gmen gave me my first official New Orleans Saints jersey. My brother was very proud! Too bad they didn't do very well, but there's always next year.

After they left, we went to Historic Ellicott City to walk around and visit the shops. Here are the boys walking over the bridge.

Way back at the end of July, there was a flash flood that devastated the town. You can read about it here. Just heartbreaking. So much damage in such a short amount of time.

My stitching friend, Elizabeth, came with me a week or so later to see what we could see and take a walk on the trail. The main street was closed, this is what we saw from the other side.

The bridge itself was damaged. This is the other side of the road that the boys were on in the above picture.

 

These are only a couple of the cars from the street or parking lots that were taken with the flow of the water.

This is what the clock looked like before the flood.

A kayaker found it after the flood while he was helping out.

It's back up, but obviously still needs repair.

I did manage to find some things in the shops there, support your local business! Unfortunately, not all of the shops are open, they are still renovating quite a few of them. 
This is one of my favourite go-to places, so I'll be back.

Next time...
cleaning up and organizing this mess!