OK, have you all given up on me? I hope not. I do have a good reason.. as you know we were house hunting- well, we bought a house! We moved in late June- but it really took a month or so- our lease at our old place wasn't up until the end of this month- so we took our time- bring a car load or two over just about every day and unpacking it.. did a little painting but the house was pretty much move in ready. We are really blessed- the house is about 32 years old but has been completely redone- new siding, new roof, new windows, new heat/AC, new dishwasher, and it was just in our price range.  Sometimes I still can't believe it is really ours.

Things are finally getting back to 'normal'.. I didn't do much stitching at all while we were looking for a house or while we were moving, so I am really excited to have some time for that again, and I do plan to keep my blog up better.

There will be something stitch-related at the end(a little giveaway!) but before I go here are some photos from the new house- more or less.   We live out in the country now and the drive home from work is so beautiful- I drive past lots of farms and open land- it's so peaceful!

 

The sunset can be seen from my back yard, as well as the open sky and lots of cool clouds-

 

Ginger likes the backyard too- it's fenced and has lots of room for her to run. This was taken on a day when she had run about for a while and was ready to go in! Please excuse the poop scooper. :-O

 

We also had a baby bird drop in- Ginger was very kind to him- only sniffed him and didn't try to eat him or run him off.. we cared for him a bit and then he evidently was able to jump or fly away because we couldn't find him later that evening.

 

I have also started planting- these are my hydrangea on their better days- bugs or disease or both have started getting to them.. any tips? I am a bit new at this..

 

And here is a snap of Gin, pooped out with her Gumby-

 

I almost forgot! One of our last days at the old place I was walking Ginger and happened to see this little guy- thankfully he was still there after I got my phone.

 

Last but not least- the giveaway.  It is just a little one- I realized after winning this pattern in a giveaway myself that I already had it.  I thought I had given it away previously but I guess I never did.  So here it is-LK's Cross Stitcher in Residence.

 

I admit I am trying to get my blog back "out there" again- so if you share the giveaway on your blog you will get an extra entry! Please leave a comment on this post only if you want an entry, and let me know if you are posting on your blog. Thanks so much, and I really appreciate all of you who keep checking back with me after these lonnnnng breaks. ♥

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A finish(sort of) and giveaway goodies!

As some of you saw in my last post, I was blessed to win one of Nancy of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe's givaways- for the Treasured Friend bag- here are the contents!

I posted a couple of pics cause it was hard to fit everything on my lapdesk- then I realized I was still missing a spool of thread! It is so lovely Nancy, I love everything!  Thank you again!

 

I do have a little finish to show you- I said "sort of" in my title because I need to get a button for it yet-poor planning! Just a little cardinal button.. but here it is so far. :)

I had to use some substitutions here and there, and I did french knots instead of buttons for the mouth, mostly because I didn't read the directions carefully and had stitched them before I realized they were supposed to be beads. I probably would have done it that way anyway because I don't think I have any tiny beads that were the right color.  This is Snow Dreams by Designs by Cathy Jean for Victoria Sampler- from the 2009 JCS Ornament issue.

 

I am impatiently waiting for my mums to open up- the ones that opened in the spring haven't come back, but I do have one pot thats getting ready to open!

 

There is a farm stand not far from my house that sells big pots of mums cheap- I am hoping to get some more soon.

 

I have been going through my stash-I am going to add another tab/page to my blog soon with stash for sale, will let you all know when I get it set up. I am hoping to get rid of it more that way vs. ebay- ebay is so time-consuming and not very cost-effective unless you have something really rare to get rid of.

 

The semi-annual library book sale is this week- I can't wait! I really have no business buying any more books- I still have so many from past sales that I haven't read, but you really can't beat the price, and the money is for a good cause! That's Thursday- it seems so long from now! ha! Although if it goes as fast as this weekend it will be here before I know it. It's been a nice weekend- all of us home all weekend which is unusual- usually Hanna is at some friend's house or another- yesterday a local church had a clothing giveaway/swap- you can bring stuff that you don't want anymore or just come and get some clothes if you need some. I brought some items that I don't wear anymore as well as a couple of things of David's. Hanna usually passes hers on to friends.  I found a few nice things- a cute pair of shoes, some dress shorts, a really pretty skirt- and a "Life is Good" long-sleeved shirt with a cup of coffee/cocoa on the front, which is perfect for me! I love their shirts but I never want to pay full price.. haha. Also found a Transformers shirt for David and some pj's..and Hanna found a few things as well.  We also went to Starbucks and to get a toy for Ginger. Pet Supplies Plus sent us a postcard for a free toy for her because her 1st birthday is October 18- 9 days before mine! So we got her a little toy frog.  He lasted most of the weekend but I noticed earlier she was into something and it was his stuffing. So bye-bye frog.

We then came home and I got some laundry and dishes done- Hanna and I made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies- which were delicious- they are almost gone already. The recipe was on verybestbaking.com.  It had a glaze and no chocolate chips but we didn't have the ingredients for the glaze, so we added the chocolate chips and Hanna made her own frosting from a different recipe and website, but we left it on the side cause I thought they were just as good if not better without the frosting.  So she frosts them as needed. ;)

 

Ginger and I have been walking more now that the weather is getting cooler- and today I found a piece of pinecone that looks like flower-

I had some more of changing leaves but blogger is being weird again so I will have to share them next time. :(

Have a great week!
Tracey

 

 

I haven't forgotten..

Sorry it's been a long time! I'm not even going to give you my excuses.. you don't want to hear them anyway! :) Stitching-wise, I have mostly been plugging away on the project for my friend.. I did finally take a picture of my progress, now that I hopefully won't have to do anymore frogging. :) I'm currently working on the right side of the window frame.

In the wooded area behind my house, we have been having all kinds of flowers growing.. some come for a few weeks, then different ones come out- first we had these- I'm not sure what they are-

 

Now we have lots and lots of honeysuckle, and it smells so nice!

 

Not sure what these are but they are pretty!

                                                    And some wild berries growing too!

My garden has been growing a little bit- not as much as I'd like- I do need to go buy some more plants- but here's a few-

Baby's breath, sorry the pic is not so good-

 

Some sage.

And mums, believe it or not!
Touched this picture up with Instagram- I love that app!

I also came across a really fun site for unique items at great prices- I think this site will come in handy with gift giving! It's called Sneak Peeq and when you sign up(it's free!) you get a $10 credit! I got one of these bracelets(don't know which one yet) free!! You can too if you hurry and sign up, and click the "Style" link, then "bohemian fantasy." Click above to sign up or here. UPDATE:  I believe you must share site (on facebook? can't remember for sure) with at least three friends to unlock additional discounts that will make the bracelet free. :)

 Ginger is growing like a weed- and is silly as ever!

Well, I think that's sufficiently caught you up! I will try not to take so long in the future! :)

I've been awarded, and would like to pass it on :)

Sue from Berkshire Cottage has so graciously awarded me a Liebster Blog award! This award is geared toward blogs with 200 or less followers.  Liebster in German means favorite. :) When accepting the award, there are a few things that must be done.

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs(with less than 200 followers) to pass the award on to. Here are my five-

Joyce's Love of Life Joyce updates weekly and does beautiful work, always has several things going at once!

Reading and Stitching Vickie does wonderful stitching, interesting book reviews, and chats about life in general!

 The Happy Stitcher  Deb has beautiful stitching and talks a little about life too. :)

 Boo's Mummy Jo's a stitcher from "across the pond" with lovely stitching and fun life updates! I personally love the insight of what life is like in the U.K!

 Diamondc Gorgeous finishes and a little of life in general!


2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

3.Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.

4. Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

This is the tough part for me- I am an open book! lol

1. I was not a "dog person" until I saw, then got, a Corgi. Although now I joke that I am not a dog person, I am a Corgi person! ;)

2. I am a "pastor's kid."

3. I like the smell of diesel exhaust cause it reminds me of my visits to England in the fall and winter. ( I know, weird association- and please don't take offense my UK friends! It is not meant to be an insult! :) )

4. When I was in Junior High I had a crush on the boy band Menudo and bought their albums even though I didn't know a lick of Spanish.

5. I am named after two students my mom taught when she was a teacher.

Phew that was hard! ;)

Not much to show stitching-wise.. I am re-stitching some of the areas I pulled out on my friend's project, and working on a birthday card so I can't post that either.. but hopefully will have something  to show soon! In the meantime here is some local nature-

Beach Cottage is finished!

Yippee! I finished it last night- it took me so much longer than it should have, but I do like the way it turned out.

Please excuse the less-than-stellar photo and the wrinkles! I would really like to frame this one in a rustic white frame.. we'll see what I can find!

We had a good weekend- I tried to get a little housework done Saturday while Rob was at work, then took David to the library and the park.

We are really blessed to have such a lovely park, with a mini-train for the kids to ride and lots of blooming shrubs and trees! Not many were in bloom yet though.

Then later David and I met Rob for lunch(Hanna was at a friend's) and did some running around. First stop was to the pet store to see Ginger's grandma(the lady who owns Ginger's mama and who sold Ginger to us).  Ginger was so excited to see her and always loves the attention she gets from the staff and customers at the pet store. :)  We ran a couple of errands and I stayed with her in the car, then we went to see my friend Diana, who had seen her pictures online but never met her before. :) It was quite a day for Ginjy and wore her out! Here is a pic from the car- it was a bit hot on Saturday.

LOL! Her tongue is almost as big as she is.

Sunday was a nice day too-unfortunately David was not feeling so great- had an on-again off-again temperature, scratchy throat, stuffy nose.. :(.  So he stayed home with Rob and Hanna and I went to church and Sunday School/Bible Class, then came home.  I ate some lunch and took a nap, got up and watched a movie, did some stitching, etc.  I won't bore you! I have been starting to train Ginger to come when called, now that the weather is nice.  We have to do it on a long leash cause we don't have a fenced in yard.. she's catching on quick (partly cause she likes the treats.) Tonight I made a little video cause I think she's cute when she runs.  Well, I think she's cute all the time. lol

And here's a couple pics of some flowers growing wild in our yard-

I am a little sad we didn't have snow this winter, but I do love spring flowers!

A nice day...

I had a pretty nice day today with (and without) my kids. :) Started the day out by taking the kids to Krispy Kreme for some doughnuts- LOVE their pumpkin spice doughnuts!  Hanna wanted me to take her picture in a Krispy Kreme hat(so did David) so when I tried to take the picture of Hanna, this is what I got-

What a ham!

After Krispy Kreme we ran to Target and picked up a few (non)-essentials.. then I took the kids home and went to The Thistle Bee Quilt Shoppe.  I mentioned them in a previous post I think, quite some time ago.. they carry beautiful fabrics and some Weeks Dye Works thread too, so I pop in there from time to time.  Well the last time I was in there, I found out they are having a monthly get-together for stitchers, to just bring whatever we are working on, and stitch and talk, a chance for us stitchers to meet other stitchers! So I went today and had such a nice time.  I had to leave after an hour/hour and a half to get the kids fed,etc.. but I am hoping to stay a bit longer next time. :) I did make a little progress on "Beach Cottage" at the get-together, I now have some beach for my not-yet-stitched cottage-

I probably would have more done, but sometimes I just talked instead of stitching and talking at the same time. :)

I also stopped by the local farm stand today and picked up some mums- every year I say I am going to get some and I never do- so I finally did! At 3 for $10 how could I resist? here are the ones I picked up:

I also have some more zinnia coming up in my garden- I love the way these buds look- they almost look painted!

I won a giveaway at Tickled Pink In Stitches ! I would post a pic of what I won but I am going to make it for my mom- so Mom if you are reading this, don't go peek! ;)

I have also worked a bit on "Autumn Side" by San Man Originals today- I'll post progress on that tomorrow night or next week, since that is my weekend project and I hope to work on it some more tomorrow! :)

Well, I guess I better be off to bed- have church tomorrow and then some major house cleaning to do.. :P Hope y'all's Sunday will be more relaxing than mine! :D

a Beach Cottage update..

Well, Hanna found my camera! It was in Rob's car- it must've fallen out of my purse when we went grocery shopping on Sunday. Phew!!  And here is a picture of my Beach Cottage so far, as promised- not much longer until I can start working on the top half! :) 


Yesterday evening I went out to check on my garden and look what I found-

I just love when I'm able to get shots like this, as they are so rare! Some of the seeds I bought were supposed to be a butterfly mix I think so this must be from them! :)

The weather here has been slowly cooling off.. I've been happy to wear a sweater or poncho in the morning. The weather really has been lovely but I would like it just a bit cooler..I'm ready to wear long sleeves!

I've been trying to catch up on my blog reading and I am so glad I've been reading everyone's blogs; they are inspiring and getting me to put down the laptop and get stitching again! And reminding me there are so many projects out there I still want to do. :) Thanks everyone for the inspiration! 

A giveaway and update..

Sorry again I have taken so long in posting..it had been a while already and then my laptop cord died and I had to get a new one.. ahhh you don't want to hear my excuses.. ;) But my laptop cord really did die. And we no longer have a desktop computer.

Been doing a little stitching- working some on my lunch hour on "Decorating the House" (some progress pics on my photo blog) and also on "Beach Cottage." Arrghh just realized I have misplaced my camera! I think it's in my car and it's cold out there.. plus I'm in my pj's.. so pics tomorrow.

Here is a photo of a pink flower that turned up in my garden- I buy mixed seeds cause I like "never knowing what I'm gonna get" so these were a beautiful surprise! I have two so far and it looks like another one is going to bloom soon.. This one is saved on my computer so I can share it with you.

And since this is pink.. let me mention a great "pink" giveaway over at Tickled Pink in Stitches and a great post about breast cancer detection.  DJ is an inspiration and a survivor!

I did just come across a picture of "Decorating the House" - got a little more done today that isn't showing in the picture- the upper window is finished. Now on to the roof!

Well I better go- will remember my camera tomorrow and try to remember to post those photos! I also have a new start- "Autumn Side" by San Man Originals. :)

Ack! I am so sorry!!

I forgot to draw for the giveaway!! So sorry! OK, I listed everyone's name, then numbered them randomly, then had dh pick a number from 1-12.. and the winner is... Robin!! Congrats! I will get it out to you on Monday. :) Enjoy!


Today was a busy day- this morning a local church had a clothing swap/giveaway.. you could bring clothes, take clothes, or both.  I brought a ton of stuff I wanted to get rid of.. found a few nice things for myself and a couple things for David.  Hanna picked out her own stuff for the most part, except for one thing I picked up and she snatched out of my hand. hee hee.  We then came home for lunch, and then we went to a zumba-thon for a friend of one of the instructors.  She is a breast cancer survivor and we were trying to raise some money to help her out.  :)  It was a blast- so many different instructors and a lot of people getting together for a good cause.  They also had door prizes- and I actually won something cool for a change! Usually I don't win or I win something I will never use. lol Today I won this-

Which is funny because Rob is the main cook in our family, but I am generally the pancake  maker. :) And it will be sssssssooooooo nice to make several at once instead of making them one at a time!

I must confess, speaking of zumba, that I mentioned in a previous post I was going to a zumba class in a parking lot. I was lazy that day and didn't go.. 

Been making some good progress on Beach House.. will post a picture soon. 

Oh.. remember that beautiful Crepe Myrtle tree I posted a few posts back? Here it is post-Hurricane Irene-

now that they have cleaned all the broken bits away. :( 

I know I am being pretty random in this post- sorry- 

I recently finished a really good book by Luanne Rice- Safe Harbor, and now I am re-reading Mansfield Park again.  I have only read it once before and the other night Rob turned on the movie for me, and it made me want to re-read the book. I went to find it and realized I didn't have it! I thought I had all of Jane Austen's finished works! So I ordered it from Amazon straight away.. and got it free, between Amazon gift cards from swagbucks and Amazon Mom free 2-day shipping.

And I know this sounds silly, but I'm glad the people on the cover are small- when they have all those old pictures on the cover of different ladies and such, I always picture them through the whole book, although now I just think of the people in the movie.  Which is better I guess! :) 

A finish!! At last!

J is finally finished!   It feels so good to finish something!  Now I am trying to decide if I am going to put the alphabet on hold to get some other things finished or just go ahead with K.. hmmmm...

We made it through Hurricane Irene safe and sound.  Here are a few photos of things afterward-

This is, sadly, the bright pink Crepe Myrtle from a previous post.  They have since cut away the fallen part and it is just a shell of it's former self. :(

On a happier note, my plants still stand, thanks to Rob and Hanna putting them up against the house..

still standing!

Things are getting back to normal, again.. the kids were off school Monday because so many were without power but were back today.

I've been watching "Lost in Austen" on Netflix- I haven't ever seen it and I'm very curious how it's going to end! Though I'm not sure I should stay up that late... another decision to make.. hmmm...