Scary, but peaceful & a garden

We had a scare this past week. Mom was admitted to the hospital Thurs., after an earlier bout in the ER Mon. that revealed nothing wrong. She was diagnosed with heart failure, so will be on meds now to relieve the stress on her heart. On the bright side, she was doing so well Sunday that they released her a day early. She's feeling pretty good and pacing herself. She is one tough, independent soul, let me tell you. I marvel at her inner strength and her tenacity to remain free to live life as she wants. It's nice to see her have a little more energy & she knows to pace herself. And as always, God holds her in the palm of His hand. Please Lord, let me have her genes. :)
Wedding planning is picking up a little speed - as in my antsiness is increasing as time grows closer. We do have three months, but it's moving a little too slowly for my liking. LOL
Stitchwise - Hallelujah! I finished Cottage Garden. I couldn't begin to tell you what threads I used on the last one, because I ended up stitching parts of it over with pieces that weren't quite so dark. I do like the final product, but I'm glad it's done. For those of you who helped me with the Rose darker issue - it resolved itself. I made parts of the Violet darker and the Bluebell balanced it out. Funny thing is I was all excited at Mon. night stitching when I finished and displayed it there. Too bad I'd copied the year directly from the pattern - you guessed it - it's not 2007 anymore...so...one last frog at the group (naturally) and voila! Now on to the multitudes of WIP's I have. I'm feeling really guilty that I have not worked on the Travel Sampler -it's just not calling to me right now. I would like my mother to see this one, so hopefully I can get back to that.
I'm in a distance course for my educational therapy work. It was a slight shock to find out it started earlier than I thought, so I 'm scrambling to crank this stuff out. Unfortunately, it will cut into my stitching time! C'est la vie. :)

Stitching news and life

Well,
My stitching has increased finally. I think the curse of the fifth house has been lifted. Our LNS had a class last weekend on a pretty geometric pattern in needlepoint. I was moving along well, when I realized that the two Watercolour threads I'd chosen (beautiful as each one is) do NOT go well together once stitched. Sooo, I ripped out the easiest one :) and started redoing in different colors. Much better. Hope to finish that one soon, too. My UFO's are really calling to me, as is half the stitching patterns out there. What's a girl to do? Simple - buy them all! (providing finances allow, of course....)
I'm in a group currently with an ongoing secret sister exchange. I was just sent the loveliest white evenweave fabric, booklet of patterns, and set of new colors of linen embroidery. Many thanks to my SS!
Happy stitching all.
I'm adding an addendum to this - the curse has not been lifted! I finished the fifth house - it looks adorable.....except for one thing. The Rose border is darker than the others and stands out.I'm thinking of redoing the border (for the umpteenth time, I might add) in the lighter rose color of the house. But I'll stitch the last house first, just to see. Anyone else have this problem with these charts?
On a sad note, just saw where Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman lost his youngest daughter in a tragic accident at home - heartfelt prayers go out to his family - may the peace of God be with them.

All grown up now & then some trivial pursuits of the weekend

My oldest DD finished grad school this weekend - shortest graduation ceremony I've ever attended -45 minutes. I must say, I've been somewhat amused at our last two commencement speakers. The first in an indirect, long-winded way told the grads that ALL the good jobs have gone overseas and good luck finding one. Current speaker told everyone WHY the jobs were overseas (it's a way US helps other countries - Methinks he may be looking through rose-colored glasses?! No self-serving greed at all? Interesting) However, his real point was to tell the grads to make a difference with their lives for others. Not so shabby advice, hmmm? I like this option. Much better overall, this time.
DH's truck had a flat tire graduation AM, but DS saved the day with his truck; In case you wonder the vast amount of truckage we brought an entire state across, we also moved said DD back home afterwards. Went rather smoothly, considering. Now she's all grown up, job-hunting, and preparing for a wedding!
Not too much on the stitching front. Started a needlepoint project by Nancy's Needle which is a seasons series- Two Cabins & Two Cottages are the first two. Still stitching the fifth house in Cottage Garden Series - I think I'm cursed with this one. I've removed a part of the border 4-5 times for the same darn error (in a different place). I will attempt to salvage my dignity and intelligence by blaming our Mon. night stitching group for being too interesting to listen to (& forget about small details in stitching - such as COUNTING), but oh well, let's be truthful. My BAD! Here's to paying attention to what you stitch. Oh btw, Chris, if you read this, - love the biscornu.
Mother's Day was nice - time with all my chickies and my mom. Mom's doing well, counting down the days to get the cast off her wrist. Youngest DD gave me pics of her and me at about the same age. Sweet gesture and note on back. Her pic is hauntingly beautiful and mine (sigh) - well, shall we say - ugly blouse and 70's hair. Taking that into account, not so bad. I'd love to weigh what I did then, for sure. But I love the idea and sentiment here.....oldest DD gave me a sweet booklet and DS brought flowers, too. DH gave me important things -you know, sunglasses & gloves for the Harley! Most fun time, but best of all was the family time spent together.
Well, back to everyday life and hopefully, more stitching this week than last.

Finally - we have a date!

Finally, we can breathe a sigh of relief! We found a perfect place for the wedding and reception and have signed on the dotted lines for Sept 13. Now on to the photographer & the rest can wait until my daughter comes home in May. Wedding plans have consumed my time these last two weeks, so while it's been productive, there has been little stitching time.
If it weren't for Monday night stitching, I would have no stitching done this week. I finished Daisy-LHN (changed the colors around to fit my fabric) & started the fifth house for Cottage Garden, only to realize that I'd stitched the Rose border in the wrong color. And unfortunately, it matters, so I had to rip-it, rip-it, etc. You know the drill. Aargh! But, I have been pretty good with not buying any stash lately, other than the Always & Forever by LHN that my friend Deborah forced me to buy - LOL.
However, today is free & I plan to remedy the border situation or stitch on the Travel Sampler (that I haven't touched). Either way, I'm stitching!

Birthday Fun

Yesterday was my birthday (why isn't it as much fun as it used to be?? - LOL) Though I heard from all my family and that was really nice. It really was a good day.....I went to breakfast with a friend & she said that the day wouldn't be complete without a run to the LNS. Who am I to argue such a thing?? Found 2 older charts by Black Swan. They were part of the "Album" series - Garden of Daffodils & Love Makes a House. They are adorable and I would love to get any of the others that are out there, if possible. But back to the story! I came home and my DH had as one of my gifts a certificate to (you guessed it) - the LNS. (Yay) Chilled out for a few hours and went to meet our DS and GF at one of my favorite restaurants - The Cheesecake Factory. We came back to the house and all watched a movie, which left me jittery & totally unable to go to bed anytime soon! Decent movie, just kept me on pins and needles all night. Sorry, M! All in all, a most enjoyable time.

In Memory of a Little One

In a world of ever advancing technology, some view the computer as evil, some good. I've had experiences with both sides. But with the touch of a keyboard, I can communicate across the world to someone I would never meet normally and form friendships based on mutual hobbies, careers, beliefs, etc. While it's a different kind of friendship, I consider it a part of my life that is affirming, helpful, and valuable. People come and go, but there are those who still touch you, if only for a brief moment. I am saddened by news received in one of my internet XS groups. A member lost her three year-old son to cancer today (recently diagnosed).
Nici, our hearts cry for you, though we don't know each other very well. Prayers and thoughts from all over the world are with you. May God grant you comfort and peace.
In memory of Felix.

Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Great day of worship and hanging out with family. A few weeks ago I went on a retreat with our LNS stitchers, The Lazy Daizy. We had Susan Greening Davis with us - what a treat! We have a wonderful large project that she gave us with instructions, but we were able to complete a practice piece for it on a pouch. Really cute. Sarah, our LNS owner, also gave us a cute project - about half done with that. Been slowly stitching on Cottage Garden. Finished Peony - now on Daisy. Haven't worked much on Travel Sampler - hope to finish out tonight doing that.

Wedding dress

What fun today turned out to be.....My oldest DD- youngest far away in NY :( -& I went just to take a look at some wedding dresses. She tried a few on - lo & behold, the second one was it. Couldn't believe how easy it was. Absolutely beautiful - hard to believe she's old enough to be getting married in the fall. (Not that we have a date set yet.....but it's coming soon.....please.....LOL)
Haven't had a chance to stitch much this past week, but I stashed up with some French charts and VS's new "Where Stitchers Gather". I won't be stitching them anytime soon, as I need to be stitching on Travel Sampler for my mom, another small design for Mother's Day, wedding sampler for DD, small graduation sampler for my niece, and finishing up retreat projects, etc. Not to mention the other WIP's around! Not sure how much I'll get done this week, but I'm trying to prioritize. Tomorrow, family will come to celebrate Easter. Christ is risen - hallelujah! Hope all have a wonderful weekend.