Finally....I got the Maryland flag to Caroline and 5 days later it's in the shop on display.  Fabulous....our tribute to our home state.  As soon as  it arrived Michael grabbed the Maryland crab pillow as that was a Christmas gift to him and he let us use it for a model waiting patiently to take it to his room.  I told him once I got the Maryland flag pillow back he could take his back which he did....but, he left it in the office so I snagged it again.  (If you leave this stuff where I can get it shame on you I say!)  Again both are stitched over 2 on 18 count linen so they are a good size. I'm thinking I'm going to have to restitch the crab piece because eventually Michael will realize I've got it again.  So I might just do it now on a smaller count just so you can see what a difference the count of linen makes in a piece.    But this size makes such a great statement on a sofa, or two separate chairs, which is what I like about them. Other than that, I have very little going on here except the pieces for the retreats.  So as of next weekend (hopefully I get it done) I'm free to start stitching on my obsession again, Serenity Harbor.  There are a lot of people tackling this piece and on different counts and colors of fabric...it is wonderful to see the differences.    There were 3 of us in the shop last weekend all working on different counts...and Larene showed up last weekend working on 40 ct. gauze...OMG..it's show stopping.  It almost made me rethink my 36 count, but I love the size of the finished piece on 36 count so I decided not to turn back now and start over.  Today we got the next section so once again I'm behind and now there's a lot more stitching on each section so I'm feeling the pressure to get back to it before I fall further behind than I am right now.  But I'm so far in the weeds on the Spring Retreat piece that I just can't take the time to work on Serenity Harbor..Darn it!  Plus yesterday I added to my stash before I left the shop, so that puts a little pressure on me to get moving faster.  I have such a difficult time now because I'm not the one ordering, pricing, or putting anything on the shelves so when I come in I am so excited to see new stuff on the racks and start pulling for me.  Yesterday I took home 2 Drawn Threads, a Victoria Sampler and we got in a new supply of Olde Colonial's Pottery Bowl piece so that went home.  I realize I will never live long enough to get all this stitched, so I'm now a collector as well as a stitcher and fortunately for me, Sara loves it so all my stash will go to her.  Mary doesn't do it and doesn't seem to care about it like Sara, so I'm sure she'll take something finished, just as a rememberance, but it is Sara who will really be in there drooling.  In fact I've told her to just leave my apartment empty, well clear all my stuff out except the stitching, and then use my apartment as a stitching spot.  She can have friends over to stitch in the living room.  T.V.'s in there, they can eat in the dining room when they get hungry and there are still 2 bedrooms beside the stitching room which in the old days was a bedroom but I moved everything out and turned it into a stitching room, so there could be sleepovers.    Perfect!  (She just laughs! But there is a look that lets me know she's thinking about it.)  Delaware Valley Sampler Guild is retreating here this weekend, so there is a lot of activity in the shop.  Great group of stitchers and they brought show and tell so I'm seeing some amazing finished projects.  That always gets me in the mood to get projects finished.  And Debbie Honsch just came over to show me she is starting Serenity Harbor on 40 ct. linen over 1 and it's wonderful, but OMG it's hard to see those linen threads.  On the plus side, it's a half cross stitch so less stitching, but on the minus side you may be blind when you finally finish.  But how gorgeous.   Unfortunately this weekend is perfect stitching weather....no one wants to be outside in the wind and the cold...brrrrr...we're back to coats and long sleeves people, so the perfect time to sit inside in the heat and stitch.    This time last week we had the a/c on in the shop and today we're back to heat.  On the plus side, Thashers opened today...OMG...just what I need,  French fries.  I tried to resist, but then Brian, my son-in-law walked thru, saw I didn't have any and got me a small fry....yummo with vinegar...bigger yummo.  Nothing is better than the first small fry of the summer.   There are still a lot of people out walking and riding regardless of the weather...I think it's the Carvers Convention this weekend among other things and that's a huge event here in town.  I can't figure out why they are walking in this weather though, all bundled up.  Get inside people where it's warm and stitch!  Talk to you later...have a great weekend