A Froggy Wednesday Morning

 When I opened the curtains this morning it was so pretty, the misty look to the neighborhood until I realize "No dear, remember this is not a fairytale neighborhood, it is Nightmare on Walnut".  Yes I had to aim high to avoid shooting the neighbors perpetual brown plastic trash can at the curb, yes 365 days a year and the drug house next to that and the thousand beat up cars parked in the drive and at the curb in front of their house and the house across the street and in front of the trash can house.  Yes the beauty of an old "HOA"less neighborhood.

I think I am becoming a "rosette" head, sort of like a crack head but legal!  I made the yellow paper rosettes at work last evening and then at Craft Gossip (I LOVE that website) I found this gorgeous rosette made from fabric strips and an old CD.  Here is the link: http://scientificseamstress.blogspot.com/2010/11/cd-rom-rosettes.html

So this morning I made the blue one in the pic above.  Now ladies, be gentle with me, in the pic it looks like a blue cow patty but it does look pretty in person.  I think that I need to wind the fabric around the spokes a little looser and make it fluffier.  However my mind is whirling with possibilities, gift toppers, brooches for sweaters or coats, tie backs for curtains, large ponytail barrettes, magnets, decor for the corner of a mirror and on and on.  I was also thinking, they are big but you could make them smaller by cutting out cardboard circles or circles from milk jugs.  I love 'em!

When I put them on my chair to photograph, Rose must have thought they were real, because she came over and sniffed and then snagged it in her mouth and began to amble out the door!  I tried to get a pic but my camera is slow in focusing.  I love my girls!

Tomorrow is supposed to be near 60° here in our Lilac Thicket.  We are very jazzed about that!  I wish I didn't have to work!  I am off on Friday and Saturday, so there will be joy here in the Thicket.  We three ladies here send our love and blessings and we thank you for visiting our wee li'l corner of the world!

Six Impossible Thoughts

 As you can see there is definitely some progress on my ANN "A Christmas Tree" after the unfortunate frogging incident last week.  Progress is slow but progress none the less!

 I ventured up to Hobby Lobby, my first shopping trip post Christmas.  Talk about a zoo, people everywhere hunting for Christmas bargains for next year.  I bought my floss for the Lilipoint Christmas design which I received last week and I found the cutest freebie, 3 egg shaped chickies dressed for Christmas, and I purchased the DMC for it too.  I found the cutest buttons...they are 2¼" in diameter and they are saucer shaped.  I was thinking cute tie backs for curtains.  Then I got some yellow tissue paper to make rosettes, like the ones pictured below on the cone on the left.  I have never made them before but I found some directions at http://icingdesignsonline.blogspot.com/2010/08/diy-tissue-paper-rosettes.html .  The ones I want to make however use a strip of paper 1½" wide.  I have ideas for making an ivy garland with paper rosettes and satin ribbon.  Remember my wanting to beautify my home?  'nuff said!  LOL!

I was up late over the weekend, got up because I couldn't sleep and I happened onto the new Alice in Wonderland with Johnnie Depp (who I do not like because of his progressive swill).  I was mesmerized by the wonderful visual effects, it was amazing!  I think I might have to purchase it because I was that enthralled.  Something in the dialog of Alice, a comment she made, she said she had 6 impossible thoughts each day and all before breakfast.  I thought WOW, I would have a hard time coming up with 6 for one year.  Here are my  6 Impossible Thoughts for 2010!

1)  It would be impossible for me to lose weight.

2)  It would be impossible for me to be happy.

3)  It would be impossible for me to feel better.

4)  It would be impossible for me to manage my money.

5)  It would be impossible for me to stay one more year at a job I hate.

6)  It would be impossible for a wonderful man to fall in love with me.

Well, all I can say is that in 2010 the impossible was possible in my life.  I challenge you to come up with your own 6 impossible thoughts about 2010.

All of you have a wonderfully impossible day with all the loveliness of possibilities, I know Rose, April and I shall, here in the beautiful winter wonderland of our Lilac Thicket. God Bless Us ALL!

I must have been a GOOD girl!

 Yes, I must have been a good girl!  Rebook sneakers, a $50 gift certificate to my favorite cross stitch stop + $25.00 to spend there, 2 lovely striped cotton blouses, one beautiful pull over sweater, one nice tank top plus the beautiful over blouse set, $100, a pretty pair of beaded earrings, a box of puppy cookies for Rose and a check for $150.00.

2 different perfumes from Avon, 2 pair of knit gloves, 2010 Just CrossStitch Ornament Issue, yummy smelling lavender candle, Avon face cream, flannel sheet set, scented bath set in a neat basket, Little House Needlework November/December designs of the month charts, puppy cookies for April and wonderful chandelier earrings handmade by my lovely sister in law!



Here is a closer look at the lovely earrings I received, the ones on the left are copper with black beads and the ones on the right, are black, lilac and champagne color beads.  I love them both!  Very feminine which is just my style.

I pray that you all were good girls too, just like we three here in the Lilac Thicket.

Handmade Christmas card & dreams of 2011

 I received in the mail yesterday a beautiful Christmas card from my little sister!  She handmade it!  Isn't it beautiful?  It is hard to see but the steel blue and dark blue circles around the snowflake are die cut, raising them up and giving it dimension.  I love it and it is special.  You may ask why the KC logo?  Okay it is a shameless plug for my Kansas City Chiefs, LOL!  I wanted a little color behind the card so I picked up a reusable market bag that was handy! 

Do you see this mess?  In this mess find the sewing machine?  LOL!! One goal for 2011 is to organize my crafts and beautify my home, I think it is safe to say if I organize this mess it will go a long way to beautifying my home.  I won't EVEN take a pic of my needlework room.  I would be too ashamed to post it.  If I get organized it would be so much easier to be creative and even more budget friendly as I will not have to go out and purchase something I know I have....somewhere!  I have a couple of plastic drawer storage containers on wheels in the closet and I need to put them to better use!  I am getting excited thinking about it. 

Speaking about organizing, I have added several blogs I follow now into my blog list.  I think that will allow me to spend time between calls at work reading them.  I think that is a very good use of my time at work while I am waiting to work.  A lot of things are blocked on the Internet from my work station which is fine, but the blogs aren't, WAHOO-O-O!!

I put about 2 stitches in my Christmas Tree design last night but my eyes just couldn't take it so I put it down. Yesterday I did find a couple of new designers (to me) yesterday and at both blogs there were cute free designs. The photos below were featured at http://freebiegallery.blogspot.com/.

This lovely little design is offered with another that says "Merry Christmas" at http://smalltownstitchin.blogspot.com/ .

The above darling design is offered at http://theprimitivehare.blogspot.com/ .  You must take a look at this blog too!

Today is a blessed day here at the Lilac Thicket.  2 days before we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour I pray for your peace of mind and good health for you and your loved ones!

The House Christmas Threw Up On & Clean Snickers

 So the picture of the lights is a little blurry but I just had to snap a pic last night on my way home from work.  I think the Griswolds of the movie Christmas Vacation live down my street.  I actually need to put my sunglasses on to drive past the house that Christmas threw up on when it is dark.  Funny thing, when I got up this morning and headed out the door at 7:15am, the lights were still on!  So glad I don't have to pay THAT electric bill!

Yes I got my laundry together last night and got it loaded into the car so I had NO reason to procrastinate this morning and NOT do it.  It is such a blessing to have clean clothing and in particular, clean snickers!  Rose ran to the front door to "help" me carry in the baskets, I have raised such a thoughtful pup!

I have absolutely NO stitchy stuff to report and I felt compelled to bore you with all the gory details of my boring little life!  LOL!!!  I definitely need some excitement.  I am still waiting to hear from my dishy Italian husband to be, if he will be here for Christmas.

http://gazette94.blogspot.com/



Pictured above are a couple of really cute winter free offerings!  The top one has the option of being stitched in one color. 

Here at the Lilac Thicket we have just learned our RoseLynn is going to have major reconstructive surgery on January 4th.  The doctors want to be aggressive in the treatment of the tumor and will be removing facial bone so that the tumor never grows back.  She will need surgeries through out her childhood to encourage bone growth.  I know it could be so much worse but right now I can't stop crying.  So gentle friends, say prayers and we will always be blessed by our Lord and Saviour.

Good mini stitchy day!



I went to the grocery store this morning and the February issue of Cross Country Stitching was on the magazine rack, so of course, I had to have it!  (Really that is the only suitable course of action, isn't it?)  I haven't cracked it open yet, I am waiting to do it when I get to work.  Something to make me look forward to going to work for!  I'll let you know if there is anything super in there!

 I was so excited as my order came from Finland in yesterday's mail!  I ordered the above design from Violarium in Finland.  I think it is adorable, I love those Santas!  It only takes 4 colors of floss!  DMC 321, 814, 986 and B5200!  I could stitch the Santa's individually too!  Haven't picked out the fabric yet.  I have to get the floss!  But I have the pattern, by George!

So I did do poh-key-toe (don't know how to really spell it) stitching when I got home last night.  I finished one curly q and then backstitched one which you really can't see in this pic.  I am trying to decide if I want to attach the beads as I go, I haven't decided.

I did join a new Yahoo group..."The Night Owl Stitchers".  It is a group created by the designer of The Sampler Girl designs, Tanya Marie Anderson.  I found an old stitch group friend, Sharyn!  Oh Happy Days, loved all the girls in that group. 

If you like owls there is a fun download here:
http://www.myowlbarn.com/p/owl-lover-2011-calendar.html
You can choose from among many owl drawings/prints an owl to attach to each month of the year 2011 to download and print.  Cute, cute, CUTE!


It's about time to pack my lunch for work.  No one here at the Lilac Thicket witnessed the eclipse last night, we were dreaming stitchy dreams all warm and snuggled under the covers in bed.  Hope all of you have blessed days, we will here, I promise!

Pink headband and de-stitching!

 Isn't that the cutest winter headband?  I purchased on Etsy the pattern for this little beauty and I gave it to a work friend, Dorothy.  I thought it would be perfect for her Granddaughters.  She crocheted it for me and I LOVE IT!  My favorite color too....PINK!  Thank you Queen Mum, I am SO blessed to be your friend and sister in our Catholic faith.  You are an inspiration to all who love you!  When I grow up I want to be just like you!

There is such bad news, I discovered more than half of what I had stitched on "A Christmas Tree" was placed incorrectly and had to rip it all out.  I spent yesterday ripping and just didn't have the heart to stitch.  This morning I did stitch 2 curly q's, so I am back on track.

Weather has been lovely here, 48° today.  Tomorrow is the first day of winter, I could enjoy a no snow winter but I know that would not be good for farmers.  Really nothing much going on here in the Lilac Thicket but I did want to show off my pink winter head band.  Love from all of wee folk here in the Thicket to all the folk out there!  God Bless us, everyone!

CUTE HAIR!

 See....cute hair.  It is worth a little pain!  LOL!  I just take out the bobby pins and finger comb my hair and put a couple of   hair combs in to hold the hair out of my eyes and I LOOK CUTE!  I don't say that too often so mark that comment down!  LOL!!!  Nothing stitchy to report, I spent an hour playing with my hair and make up...damn see what losing a little weight does to ya?!  Have a blessed day, we will here in the Lilac Thicket!

Beauty has a painful price!

 One of the down sides of my weight loss is a renewed interest in having cute hair.  My hair is now down past my waist and if I pin curl it the curls last a good 3 days!  Don't pay attention to the double chin, but it was a triple chin.  As dry as the air is I will have delightful curls in my lovely long hair when I wake up in the morning, yes I sleep on all the bobby pins and it can be painful but cute hair is worth it!  I won't mention it takes 20 to 25 minutes to pin all my hair up!  My arms get tired but cute hair is definitely worth it!

As I was in the shower, shampooing and shaving my under arms, my Britney Spaniel, Rose, kept sticking her nose in and out of the shower.  I would pull back the curtain and she would dance around my small bathroom and wait until the shower curtain fell back in place before she would stick her nose back in.  She is such a funny girl sometimes and of course that sweet orange nose of hers is always stuck in some delightfully smelly place!  Wait a minute maybe my smelly self was what she was investigating!  LOL!!

 So I did do some stitching today.  I started late and was interupted by 2 rotten pups who would want in and out, then in and out and then feed us, then in and out and in, then give me my medicine (my Britney) and 3 phone calls from my mother.  I like this piece more and more!  I am a horribly slow stitcher but I do want to stitch even a few stitches each day.

I received in the mail today my January/February Just CrossStitch issue in the mail today.  I looked thru it and the above design really caught my eye.  Gail Bussi is the designer.  I think the tea pots are very sweet.

We are forecast to get ice tonight.  Well I went out and taped a plastic garbage bag over the windshield and driver side window.  I also taped a paper bag over the door handle.  Last winter I almost had to wait for spring to thaw the door handle so I could get into my car!  Yes Amy, I hate you and your warm weather!  LOL!!  You love rubbing it in, don't cha?  So I stepped outside to try to take a pic of Christmas lights on my neighbors house in my t-shirt, panties and pin curls, thank the Lord it is dark out and we are getting little ice pellets, almost like snowflake size.  By the way the picture didn't turn out.  So we here in the frozen tundra of the Lilac Thicket send you blessings and if you happen to see the above described individual taking a pic from her stoop one cold, dark night, please don't honk, pretend like you don't see her and PLEASE don't call the police!  LOL!!

More stitchin' done!

 I have stitched today, not a lot done but I have enjoyed stitching the green curly Q's.  The metallic fiber in the lugana is fuzzing my floss, so I have to keep the length on my needle shorter.  I wanted to post my progress today, so folks will actually see progress!  I have had a headache I can't seem to shake.  It my be a bit of stress, my great, great niece who is 21 months old had surgery today.  It is one of 2 planned surgeries.  The child has a tumor that has grown into the bone around the bottom of her eye socket.  They got a lot of it removed today.  The good news is it isn't cancerous!  Amen! 

http://dany88.canalblog.com/



The above pic is of a cute free design that is offered at the link provided.  I would definitely be changing the words to something in English.  Love the deer and the ornaments on the bare tree. 

I am going to cut this entry short.  I want to fix some eggs and toast and do some more stitching.  It was warmer today but still chilly here in our Lilac Thicket.  Please do keep RoseLynn in your prayers, she is such a sweet little girl and she will be fine as everything is in our Father's hands, but prayers never hurt.  God Bless us Everyone!

My Mom and RoseLynn at our Fourth of July family get together!

My newest start and 2011 goals

 Not a lot stitched but I have started my ANN "A Christmas Tree".  So far so good.  The only problem is the Q-Snap is 11"x17" and it is a little cumbersome holding onto as I stitch.  I love the fabric and the 3 colors of green stitched so far look great on the fabric.  Love the sparkles!

I have started working up my goals for 2011.  I will share them on January 1st.  I was very successful with the goals I set for myself for 2010.  I think that I was successful because they were reasonable and maybe because I have such a stubborn mind.  I am thrilled with the results of several of my goals and not too hard on myself when I am not successful with some, like gossip, gosh that is such a hard habit to break, particularly in a call center setting.  I am NOT enabling myself but I have done much better at not gossiping and usually realize immediately after it has come out of my mouth what I have done.  A very interesting idea that I heard on a commercial
no less, at work, complain up and compliment down.  Only complain to people who can change what you are complaining about.  Compliments about things well done at work get passed to co-workers.  I have been working at that and it does help curb some of my gossiping.

Oh my gosh I LOVE these bookmark designs and they are free, FREE, FREE!!!! Follow the link! http://luli.myblog.it/
 
Our high here in Kansas City is supposed to be 20° today and 28° tomorrow, boy a regular heat wave!  The wind has died down which is great.
 
I am going to sit down here in the Lilac Thicket and put a few stitches in before I go work.  I hope all of you have a blessed day!

Chickies and Aliens and Stitchies...OH MY!!

 And this is the ugliness that the gusty winds blew in!  Yikes, I opened my front door to see how frosty it was out and I was quite literally, horrified!  I was up sick a good deal of last night and to tell you the truth I would have preferred a very balmy 70° out there this morning.  The girls have snuggled in the house, which is unusual.  They prefer the backyard, especially April, even when it is cold. 

Stitching? Did I hear that?  I printed off all the parts to the AAN "A Christmas Tree" sal only to discover that the color printer cartridge was petering out.  I thought I would still be able to piece it together and still use it.  But no!  Disgusted I sat and watched a movie called "The 4th Kind".  It is supposed to be based on true events, aliens stealing humans away and then bringing them back only to have the humans go nutz and kill family and themselves.  This is supposed to have happened in Nome, Alaska.  Now some of you folks of the liberal persuasion may want to blame Sarah Palin, I happen to love Sarah, I do, I read her book and watch her with great pleasure on political shows, but c'mon, I don't think she knows how to drive a UFO!  Besides where would she park it?  You know I got a little off topic here. 

So this morning I printed the same pattern pieces again and put them together with tape.

 I feel like I have done a jigsaw puzzle.  And I was missing a piece and it took me several minutes to find it in the pdf file of my computer.  Alas, fine friends I am ready to start this piece at long last.

The above image is the progress I have made on "Un Tour Dans Mon Sac" from C Mon Monde (http://cmonmonde.over-blog.com/). The name of the design translates to "A Ride in My Bag". I love the elements of the design in particular the umbrella and the handbag...way cute. I am using WDW pea coat for the black and I am using a fabric from "Color Blooms" Enchanted Night 32count. This is a brilliant French designer. I bought this through the Violarium web site (http://www.violarium.com/), she is delightfully quick in shipping too! The photo right above that is the the leaflet itself. 

http://chouettalors.over-blog.com/ext/http://boutique.chouettalors.com/

Such a cute free design that I saved. I was thinking it would make a cute header for a calender, with pages printed from Microsoft Office. It's getting that time of year when I need to think about a unique calendar to use at work. It would be neat to turn the pink birds to blue birds of happiness! At the above site she also has a chickie of the month stitch along. There are way cute chickies to stitch. Thinking they would be fun little door knob hangers for the kitchen in particular. Be sure to check out the link on the left (when you follow the above link) that says "Projet commun: l'annee des Poulettes". That is where the chicks are! Did you hear Connie Francis singing "Where the chicks are, chickies wait for you?", I did and will be singing it loudly to my poohs! LOL!!!


Oh yes, I did find that January Challenge Stitch Along I mentioned in a previous entry. http://minnanharrastukset.blogspot.com/2010/11/ristipistohassutus2011.html
You start one project a day for the first 15 days of January and then see how many you can finish.  Check it out. 

So once again it is time for yours truly to venture forth for  warmth from the December winds here in the midst of the Lilac Thicket.  May all your stitches be blessed.

Stashurday!!

 It has turned cold and windy here in the Kansas City area.  The wind is whipping around, leaves swirling down the streets, my hair flying wildly around my face.  I swear I even saw a small white poodle fly by.  LOL!!  I saw poor little birds clinging for their lives on power lines as the wind whipped their feathers around.



 So I decided to go out to Blue Springs to C. C. & Company this morning.  The above pic is over the Blue Springs lake looking off to the north.  Clouds were moving in and the sun was behind me.  The water in the lake looked black, no Canadian Snow Geese were seen but there was a lost seagull circling the water.  Yes we do get seagulls here in land locked Kansas City, they migrate and stop here. 

 They always have such cute little outdoors displayed at C.C.'s to greet us as we get out of our cars.

 Santa sat right by the door greeting us as we got to the door.  I went in and wandered around and found plenty to keep me busy.  I will share my purchases with you a little further down. 

 I hate going to the grocery store on Saturdays.  The parking lot was packed but it wasn't too bad inside.  No screaming children but I did hear one child singing some song quite loudly in the next aisle and that made me smile.  I do not like children, yes I was one at one time but there is something definitely different about lots of children today.  I would have had my rear blistered if I misbehaved as a lot of children do in public today and then we have the parents which seem total oblivious to the bad behavior of their virulent off spring.  Pretty scary thinking I am going to be a step mother, huh!  Anyway as usual my girls were extremely helpful to me as I carried in the groceries as pictured above.  I don't think I could properly muscle in the 40 pound bags of dog food without the two of them supervising me. 

 This is the floss, fabric and beads for Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks "A Christmas Tree" 2010 stitch along.  I chose Zweigart's Lugana Metallic 28 count in gold/mushroom.  I think the mushroom color will give the piece a bit of a vintage look.  LOVE IT!

 For the Alessandra Adelaide "Champagne" design.  I bought Cashel White Opalescent 28 count.  I LOVE IT!

The rest of my purchases, an 11" by " Q Snap, 3 packages of Piecemaker needles in size 24, La-D-Da's designs Lazy Alphabet and Pumpkins Three.  And I got for FREE a key chain flash light with C. C's address and phone # on it!  BONUS!!!!

So the rest of my day?  C'mon now do you really need to ask?  If you said "stitching"...wrong!  Napping is the correct answer!  LOL!!  Just teasing!  Floss and needles will be flying around here at the Lilac Thicket, not because I will be feverishly stitching but from the wind I hear outside!    God Bless us everyone! 

PS:  This was a sign outside a church I saw today "If you love me, you will obey my 10 commandments." 

Santa's Elf Alerting Us to a Christmas Full Moon this Year!!

Surprise! Door Prize!

I won a door prize from Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks (http://aaneedleworks.altervista.org/naturalgloom/AAN/AANindex.html) when I visited the Online Needlework Show in October.  It was the only vendor that I entered for a door prize.  My goodness, imagine my surprise when I was one of several winners to receive 3 designs from her.  She sent me one of my favorite designs, a new design entitled "Champagne" which I want to stitch as a wedding sampler for my upcoming marriage.  I thought on the label there is enough room for me to stitch over one my name and Robert's and the date of our marriage.  I went up and bought the DMC for it and it looked nice on the 30count hand dyed linen in the color "gold" which was the November selection of the Stitches 'n Things (http://www.stitchesnthings.com) Fabric of the Month selection. Then I decided that it wasn't festive enough for such a piece celebrating a blessed event like my marriage so I want to get the "Reflections" fabric from Silk-weaver's (http://www.silkweaverfabrics.com/home/reflections) because it has opalescent fibers in it and would be perfect. The other 2 designs I received as my door prize were "Bridal Bouquet" and "Chiocciola".  Such a generous gift that I love.   I also want to encourage you to go to AA Needleworks as she has a SAL which is a beautiful Christmas tree but it is only available until December 31st and then all 10 parts will be gone forever.  I hope she has a SAL for 2011 because I love her designs.

I got an e-mail this morning from Violarium that my chart has shipped ALREADY!!!!  (See yesterday's pic.) Wow such great service!  Well I have a great 3 day weekend starting tomorrow, I just have to get thru today!  God will give me the strength.

I have a new pair of Denim & Co jeans on.  I purchased them from QVC.   They are grey in color.  The sweater that I bought is tight and I don't feel comfortable in it.  I will hold onto it because it will fit better soon.  It's funny how these sizes vary so.  I hate to see overweight people wearing skin tight clothes that show every roll of fat.  I would rather have something a little too big then too tight!

I have been searching because I saw someone post somewhere a link to a proposed stitch along where one starts one new project each day starting January 1st and continuing to do so thru January 15th.  The goal is to see how many you can finish.  Well darn it, I can't find that link and I didn't save it.  Darn it!!!

Well off to spend some cash on a something at Hobby Lobby.  Have a wonderful Thursday from the Lilac Thicket!  God Bless us Everyone!

What a difference 6 months makes!

And so life has changed so much from my last post.  God really has a way of surprising us.  I continue to lose weight, down as much as 3 sizes in my undergarments.  I actually have bought real blue jeans 2 sizes smaller than the elastic waist pants I had.  I can see definition in my shoulders and can actually encircle my wrist with the fingers of my left hand.  My tummy doesn't touch the steering wheel of my car, and I DID NOT push the seat back, LOL!  My back doesn't hurt any longer and I can actually bend over and pick things up off the floor.  Life is good and getting better.


I met an amazing man and we have plans for a future together.  I never imagined getting married again but with him, I do.  I could go on and on about him but I won't bore you.


Stitching has been very spotty.  Sometimes I work on stuff and sometimes I don't.  The above picture is a darling design from Lilipoints entitled "Merry Christmas".  I ordered it on-line from Violarium (http://www.violarium.com), and I have ordered from them once before and had terrific service.  When I get home I will take a picture of the C Mon Monde Halloween design I am stitching.  I love those French designers, don't you?  Plus today I sent off for two darling free designs which two different designers offered with an e-mail, of course both Christmas designs.  I also noticed that LagattaC (http://lagattac.blogspot.com/) is once again up and updating which greatly enhances my stashing capacity with freebies.  Love it!

It is cold here in Kansas City.  It is going to warm to 53° or 54° which will be great so I can clean the Stuffed Spud soup that escaped the crock-pot as it sat in the trunk of my car and tipped over on that wild tea cup ride to work Sunday.  I want to get the hose out to wash down the carpet, yes OUTSIDE the trunk! LOL!

I would also encourage all of you who love to craft to visit my favorite daily stop Craft Gossip.  Crafty gals post entries about stuff going on at their blogs.  I have found tons of cute ideas and patterns for knitting, crocheting AND cross stitch.  It is definitely worth a visit! http://craftgossip.com/

I will work to do a better job of blogging, if only to bore you with gory details about the love of my life, cross stitch, doggies and of course that cute Italian man I am going to marry!  Ciao for now from the frozen reaches of a bare Lilac Thicket!