Winter's Last Gasp....

Old Man Winter was just not ready to give up today. We had snow. Probably almost half an inch here at our house. It was pretty, with big huge flakes, but it just didn't look quite right with all the flowers in bloom, getting buried in snow. Here are my flowers I showed you last weekend, covered now in snow....

We have a beautiful sunset going now, a bright salmon pink. Very Pretty!

Sunday was Easter, and it was a pretty quiet day for us. We went to church, and Gracie was dedicated. She looked so sweet in the christening gown. Amy has a few more pictures on her blog. I took the gown to my friend on Tuesday for the machine embroidery of the names, I am excited to see how it will turn out. We had a nice dinner at home and Alana did an Easter Egg hunt here in the house as it was absolutely nasty rainy and windy outside. She still had fun, it didn't take her long to find all the eggs! We then went to the new Carl's Jr restaurant for dinner. It has been open only a few days, and has been packed almost constantly. The burgers were so big, none of us could finish them!

Here is a little peek of the project I am working on for the gift exchange for the stitching retreat next month. I took the basic layout from a Janice Love pattern, and then substantially changed the hardanger filling stitches to suit my tastes, and added a lacy border edge. I still want to add some crystals or beads to make it sparkle. I'm putting a bit of hardanger on the other end too, but don't want to show too much yet. I am very happy with this project. I may have to make one for myself too!!!

It's Spring!!!

A delightful event happened while we were gone on vacation...spring arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Though a week shy calendar-wise, we came home to flowers and plum trees in full bloom!!! Here area few pictures from my garden this week. I've said it many times before, spring is my favorite season!


Easter is coming up this weekend. I am not quite ready for it yet this year. I really like having Easter in April when the weather is a little warmer and I have a little more time to think about getting ready for it. The kids are having Gracie dedicated at church Easter morning, so I need to get the christening gown cleaned up and pressed. This will be the 5th baby in my family to wear this dress. I am looking forward to seeing her in it. I have a friend, Lizzie's piano teacher, that has a professional embroidery machine, so I am going to take the dress to her and have her embroider in white script the names and birthdates of all our girls that have worn the dress. I haven't decided if it will be along the bottom hem or under the overskirt yet.


I have been fighting a cold for over a week now, and been miserable, trying to go to work and keep up with life at the same time. I finally called in sick to work yesterday (and today) and slept a good portion of the day. I am feeling a little better now, I hope by next week to be back to normal.

Von and I are attending the Victoria Samper Retreat in Victoria the last full week of April. I am really looking forward to going. One of the activities will be a gift exchange, and I was wanting to stitch something special for a gift, so yesterday I pulled out my hardanger books, and found a small pocket (designed for potpourri, but I have other ideas!!) with a hardanger flap that I really like and so I started stitching it last night. I think it's going to be really pretty. I hope I have enough time to make an accessory or two to go with it!!! Von! No peeking!!!!

A Wonderful Vacation!

We had such a nice time discovering Kauai!

We connected with family and friends,

My first cousin, Kathy. Lives on Oahu.

Connie Amundson (Cyberstitcher friend) and I at Princeville Resort

Viewed gorgeous scenery

Waimea Canyon

Kilauea Lighthouse

Watched 6 glorious sunrises

Stitched and relaxed on the beach,

Stitching on beach in front of our Hotel

Discovered the color pallette of Kauai

Enjoyed the beaches

Looked for and discovered settings used in motion pictures:

Hanalei Bay, setting for movie South Pacific

Basically had an all around fabulous time!!!

At Anini Beach

Enjoy the pictures!

Aloha from Kauai!

We are having lunch with a cyberstitcher friend (Connie A.) and her husband at their condo this afternoon and she has graciously offered to let me use her computer to check in. They are both fantastic people, and we have enjoyed getting to know them.

We are having a wonderful time on Kauai...it's much different here than the other islands we have visited. We drove up to the Waimea Canyon yesterday, and the views were gorgeous. It is like a small Grand Canyon. I have taken lots of pictures and already filled up one memory card. This morning we went to the beach at Hanalei Bay, and stood in the spot where they filmed the movie "South Pacific".

The weather has been good, not too hot, and we are enjoying being outside.

More later, and I will post lots of pictures when I get back. Aloha!!!

And here it is March already!!

Not that I am complaining...I am so thankful that winter is on it's way out the door. By the time we get back from Hawaii we will have a short 5 days left of Old Man Winter. I am so glad! I love springtime. It is my favorite season I think, with all the new growth on the plants, beautiful flowers and warmth again in the sunshine. The greens are so vibrant, and are never again quite as "spring green" the rest of the year!!!

It's been a busy week. I've been out after work almost every evening this week, and again today, shopping for things we need for our trip. I think I purchased the last of it this afternoon. I hope. I like to get a bunch of new tee-shirts before we go to Hawaii, then I wear them all summer, so now I am set for the year again. Only six more days until we leave!!! I visited a couple of different video rental stores looking for movies that were filmed on Kauai. I brought home South Pacific and Six Days, Seven Nights. Alot of the South Pacific beach scenes are right there on the north shore of Kauai. I keep saying to John, "look, that's where we will be next Saturday!"

I made contact with a lady that is in the same cyberstitchers group I am in, her name is also Connie and she lives on Kauai now, so we are going to meet up for lunch while we are there. We are also taking a long layover at the Honolulu airport and my first cousin, Kathy, is coming to the airport to spend a little time with us. We had such a great visit with them 4 years ago when we vacationed on Oahu. I am looking forward to seeing her again!

I haven't gotten much stitching done at all this week. By the time I get home from shopping I am too tired. I started Porecelain Nosegay by Just Nan, but as you can see from the scan, I haven't gotten very far. I do love the way the colors are working with the fabric!

Not much else exciting to share I guess. I am not sure I will have time for another blog entry before we leave for Kauai next Saturday, but I will be sure and do a full report when we get home.

Happy Birthday today Dad!!!! You missed some glorious sunshine and sweater weather up here today!!! We are all looking forward to you guys coming home!