baby squirrel update

Remember Baby?
This is the baby fox squirrel that showed up on our deck one day. These first 2 pictures were taken in February. She hung around a good long time and really grew. Then we didn't see her for a long time. Well, she's back and she runs right over to us if we see her and call her.
We know it's her because of how friendly she is, (of course the peanuts don't hurt our cause either) and the bright spot in the light patch on her nose that she still has. She's not quite as dark as she was when she was little. Here's a pic from yesterday morning.
We were glad to see her show up again. If you want to see more squirrel pics, I've added a Flickr link of squirrel pics to enjoy.

Grief and blessings

Oh my, In a perfect world, we would only have blessings.

I, along with a good size contingent of other quilter friends, attended a funeral Friday for a friends husband. They had a long and close marriage. I was struck by the courage and strength of her and her family (in obvious grief) who were able (just barely mind you) to share with us all some stories about her husband,their father. As heart wrenching as this was, it was also a very loving tribute. It was a reminder that all that the shared memories, the love and life's lessons will stay with us and we will cherish them,share them and pass them along.
One of my other friends that was also in attendance had lost her dear only sister just a month ago. One can also admire her strength, friendship, and faith that carried her through the service and let her be there for her friend at her time of loss.
The grief is obvious, the blessings are too.
Our friend & neighbor just lost his father to cancer this month, and his wife just lost an aunt.
Two other friends have been diagnosed with leukemia. One worse than the other.
My husbands step mom has a really horrible case of shingles and his dad badly sprained his knee.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Grief or blessing or both.
I do know first hand that along with profound grief comes many blessings, it may just take a little time to see them all.

Wishing you all many blessings and a happy tomorrow.

tech overload

Oh my goodness, I am suffering from technology overload this week. I had to reprogram my cell phone because I couldn't download my vacation pics from it (which is why you haven't seen any) After being transferred 4 times they finally got me to the right person Hoooray! Then I also switched cell carriers because the coverage with my current one is horrible. Of course that means a new phone and another manual to read. LOL
At least this one will let me use the voice activation with my bluetooth.
Then I had to add more bandwidth to my website and then I also went on Flickr and created an account there. I'll let you know when I have some pics and groups going.
So I was in desperate need of doing something non-technological, something that was soft and homey and didn't plug in......
So .......

I DUSTED!



I bet you thought I was going to say I quilted. Well, quilting would have been great, but I succumbed to the dust that was beckoning. Tomorrow is another day.......

B is for birthday

My friend Cathi just had a birthday last week and we have yet to get together and celebrate it properly. By that I mean there should be some cake or something decadent involved and of course there will be gifts and a birthday card and then a good dose of laughs and giggles. As busy as we all are we may have to celebrate at quilt retreat. Yippee!
I confess however that I was a bad friend and forgot to call on her b'day. I was out of town at the time, I remembered, then forgot then remembered two days later. She is a good friend and didn't scold, at least not to my face. LOL
I do have her gift but (don't tell) I still have to get her card. I am finicky about cards and I don't know about you but sometimes when I go in search of a card they all seem to be the same ones I see over and over again and then sometimes you can walk in and find just the right one.
For my friend Barb I made a card and decorated it ala Zentangle style.
She liked it and that's awfully kind of her to say because she makes the most wonderful handmade cards. My mom makes absolutely fabulous cards as well. Whenever I get mail from either of them I know it's going to be a card I keep forever.



So anyway, now I just need to find (or make) the right card for Cathi. Hmmmm.....
Happy Birthday Cathi :)

The Wooly winners are.....

drum roll..............

Mary (on the lake) and Sara!
Congratulations to you both and please send me an e-mail with your mailing addresses so I can get your prizes popped in the mail so you can get stitching!
Thanks to everyone that participated, don't fret there will be more giveaways in the near future.

GreenCraft magazine

I can't help it, I'm so excited to be in the premier issue of Stampington's GreenCraft magazine.
It's out on newsstands as of Saturday August 1st.
It's a magazine that features "green" craft and sewing projects.
Two of my "green" knitting projects are featured in the magazine, you'll find them on pages 66-69.
I love all of their magazines anyway and then to be in one is just so much fun.
It's a real cool issue, I think the gift box toppers (page 102-105) are very cute and the dress made of cardboard, it's beautiful! (page 72) , and of course the wood spools on pages 55-57.
Check it out and leave a comment on the July 29th posting to enter in the latest giveaway - you have 2 chances to win....good luck

The art of relaxation

Goodness, I need to pinch myself.
After a few flight delays and a red eye into Wisconsin, I made it here and am discovering I need to relearn the fine art of relaxing. I have been so busy and now I find I have days of relaxing ahead!
How delicious!
I plan to make the most of it enjoying the time with all my family and friends up here.
I came to celebrate my parents birthdays, which are only 8 days apart, and yesterday we had a really fun family gathering that included birthday cake, a rousing game or two of croquet. beanbag toss, beautiful sunny weather, great food, a new group picture and of course relaxing (after the dishes were done).
Early this week I plan to make it to a few of the local quilt shops and have a girl's bowling night with my sister-in-law and her sisters.
That should be good for a laugh! I'll keep you posted.

launched at last

Whew,
I finally got my new redesigned website up and launched. What a job, I guess I didn't realize how many items I have available until I started entering them all into the site, and then had to describe them all, etc.!
It still has some tweaking that needs to be done, but that will be an ongoing process as I add more things. My next job is to open a flicker account, I heard it's quick and easy, I hope so I need to get back into the studio and out from behind the keyboard.
If you go over to my site make sure to check out the "what's new" page from time to time, where I'll be adding bonus downloads for the BFF patterns.
Last Saturday night was girls night out a.k.a. vintage chicks night and it was so nice to get together and stitch and chatter and giggle. A very welcome break.