Happy New Year and Welcome to another decade!

That sounds like we've gotten so much older in the last day...another decade...Geez, somehow I don't feel that much older do you? Anyway, I trust all of you had a safe and happy New Year. I spent mine as I love to...sitting on my sofa watching T.V. and dozing off and on. This is the first year in a while where I actually woke back up in time to see the ball drop. That was a big whop! I guess it doesn't have as much umph if you are sitting on your sofa, as opposed to standing with thousands of others in the freezing cold in New York times square. But anyway, here I sit today, at home, off the sofa for once, my internet back working and I thought..."let's begin the next decade correctly and get to updating the blog and get the web site back into action. So here I am stitchers coming to you from my stitching room. I had a wonderful Christmas which started with Vernon and John removing all the excess furniture out of my guest room and my Stitching room so now I am able to once again, for the second year in a row, get my house straightened up once and for all. It was my Christmas present to me. So that began holiday season. The real kick off however, was our Stitch 'n Bitch Christmas party. We have a dinner at Fager's Island and exchanged our secret santa gifts there. I have to tell you this dinner is getting bigger and bigger and bigger and more and more fun. I am gifted so much I need a trailer to get it all home. Anyway, another exciting thing that is happening is the joy and friendship all the stitchers have...Debbie Liming and Phyllis Yurack traveled down from Pennsylvania just for this evening. They brought with them "goodie tins" for everyone which contained a Morovian candle and a cute sugar lollipop. Jackie Janovsky brought a tea light in a ceramic shell for everyone. Kay Fletcher gave a goodie bag containing a doorknob message pad (which I have needed for some time), a package of tissues, and Merry Englebreit soap. Pat Weker gave each of us our own bag of cookies (mine were gone in one night...big surprise!). And of course, Salty Yarns gave each person a goodie bag filled with a box of my peanut butter cookies, a ceramic loaf dish filled with Christmas candies, a journal, Christmas pencil and best of all...a gift certificate. While all these goodies bags were wonderful, Jennifer Humphries upped the ante by stitching each person, yes each one of us got a personalized ornament made by Jennifer. Candi Whitehead stitched several tea cups made into pin cushions with our initials stitched on linen. (Shown here...isn't it cute and she used the Eileen Bennett alphabet which is fabulous). I was bowled over by the amount of goodie bags and gifts and that 2 people actually stitched something. As if all that wasn't enough, Jennifer gave me a beautiful gift pad with my initial and beautiful pages inside, along with a Merry Englebreit address book (just wonderful). Hedy gave me a Polishware covered dish (which I'm using for double sticks of butter) which I dearly love as I have been collecting it for several years. If you haven't seen Polishware..look it up on the internet...it's beautiful and each piece is different. Love it! Kay Fletcher also gave me a Polishware serving bowl and 2 coffee mugs....love them as well.. and Kay was unable to attend due to a family illness. We missed you Kay and are praying that everyone is feeling better and you will be back in the fold soon. Kay also gave me size 15 double points as I had talked about not being able to find them while I was working on my Christmas Stocking, which I'll take a picture of as it was my first stocking (oversized by stocking none the less) and I'm really proud of it. So now I can make more Christmas stockings...it was fun. Beth Jernigan gave me a gorgeous bargello ball ornament. I have always loved bargello so this is hanging proudly on my tree. I now have enough ornaments to do an ornament tree so that is very special to me and I can't thank everyone who has contributed. Joyce Carter was my Secret Santa and gave me 2 Homespun Elegance ornaments which I dearly love as well. Joyce has given me so many stitched ornaments I could fill a small tree with just her presents. Thanks Joyce. Pat Weker stitched a box lid for me (one of the Salem boxes which I love) and the verse was .."With my two hands I stitch each day, unto the Lord I softly pray, guide my needle fast and strong, that I may stitch the whole day long. May every X be wrought with love with peace and patience from above." I will treasure it always. Can't think whether to fill it with smalls or use it for scissors...well, I can come up with a use later. Linda Wimbrow stitched a Quaker pin keep and scissor fob which is fabulous. The pinkeep has a mattress pin cushion which I find to be so cute and the workmanship was excellent on it. She actually stitched part of this during our Stitch 'n Bitch and I commented on it several times never realizing she was stitching it for me. I actually had the chart in my totes "todo" so this is a double whoppee because now I can take it out of the tote and consider it job done...whoppee! Candi Whitehead stitched the Shepherd's Bush Quaker Heart for me(shown at right), got the Jill Rensel Mat and then had it framed. It is unbelievable as well, and we all know Shepherd's Bush is my all time favorite company, so I was more than thrilled. And I've already hung it at home so I can look at it every day and marvel at what wonderful stitching friends I have. It also makes my sister very envious as she said, "I don't know anyone who would do this for me." So much work from the stitchers and the added expense of boxes, framing, finishing...well I don't know what I did to deserve all this but I couldn't be more thrilled. Jackie gave me a Friendship pewter angel and ...... I've got the angel hanging already and she is beautiful. Well, you know I'm already working on next year...well, not working on but certainly thinking about it. Everyone also went all out of their secret santa gifts. I think everyone was pleased with their gifts this year so stitchers job well done. I'm going to slowly try to get the pictures up so you can see what fabulous gifts I got. Tomorrow I'll post Linda Wimbrow's Needlebook and fobs...see you then.

It's been a while...but life hasn't changed too much!

Yes, folks, I'm still the same idiot I was 3 months ago. My two daughter, Mary & Sara, and I decided to take a trip to the Christiana Mall in Delaware to do a little Christmas shopping. I should have known better as Renee told me what a fabulous mall this was. So we arrive to find that major parts of the mall are being renovated and therefore only part of the mall was shopable. But not one to be discouraged I said, "O.K., the good news is that next year at this time the Cheesecake Factory will be open here, now lets see what else is here today." So we managed to find some stores that filled our shopping needs and then I took a bathroom break. (this is when things start to go south). When I went into the section where the restrooms are, the doors were open to the restrooms, so without thinking, isn't that new for me, I walked into the first door without even looking. (I think you can see where this is going) Now my first clue should have been when I saw a urinal. But no, I'm thinking..."isn't that odd that they'd put a urinal in the women's bathroom, but on the other hand, isn't that nice that they put it here for little boys that couldn't go to the men's room because they are so young. I get in the stall, hang my purse on the hook provided, and proceed to do the job I was there to do. I heard someone come in go to the sinks and I could see out the crack in the door and it was a man. I thought "what the hell is he doing in a ladies bathroom and how embarrassed is he going to be when he realizes it." Then the door opens again and another set of footsteps heading to the urinal. I'm wondering what kind of woman uses a urinal when it finally dawns on me. (I think the doctor needs to prescribe something for idiot). Now I'm in a panic on how to get out of the men's room without being noticed. So the urinal man leaves and now I'm waiting for the man who's taking his time washing his hands. He must have been a doctor in a previous life because he washed those damn hands for at least 5 minutes as I sat there stewing. He finally stops and no one else came in so I grabbed my purse to make a run for it and ran into the hand washer who is now planted in the middle of the doorway stopped watching people. I decided I just had to leave so I said, excuse me to the gentlemen and just kept walking. I'm hoping he thinks he was in the ladies room. There's been a end to our "crack whore" drama. Vernon and Sara went to court on the 11th for the jury trial. According to their attorney, they were sure it was going to be thrown out of court as they didn't think she would show up. (haven't we been here before?)...and as it turned out...she didn't. There was a rumor that the DA didn't bother to notify her of a date...which begs the question, if you weren't going to go forward with this case why didn't you just cancel it altogether. What was the point of Sara and Vernon having to drive to Snow Hill, pay the attorney just to be told it was over. Honestly, it's no damn wonder the court system is such a screwed up mess.