I remember....

When I was reading back over some old posts from this summer a few minutes ago, I discovered that I mentioned getting some of my old slides digitized. Well, I actually did do that last month...and some of the pictures are a hoot!!! This was a very low tech method I used...essentially put the slides into the slide projector, shine them on the wall and snap a picture with my digital camera. Some of the pix I took in Paris during college 33 years ago discolored alot, but with the discoloration, they look REALLY old, like 100 years old. I kind of like the way the colors are so muted....So I thought you all might like to see some of my ancient history...a little trip back in time....

The Eiffel Tower, taken January 1975. Notice how the colors have muted out.

This is me, taken sometime in the mid-70's, with our new puppy, Nutmeg. She was so tiny she fit right into my pocket!!

This was taken at my parents 25th wedding anniversary party in 1973. I am on the left, then my mom, and my grandma (mom's mom) is standing in the background against the wall. I miss my Grandma still. My middle daughter, Alli, has alot of her facial features.

This was taken by my dad in 1973, at our cabin in Whatcom County, WA.

College graduation, 1977.

An old-world street scene, taken in a long forgotten town somewhere in Northern France. Again the muted colors make the picture look older than it is.

This is me sitting in front of Chenonceaux, my favorite castle in the Loire Valley, France. I wish the castle wasn't so faded out...it really was a nice picture. I used to be so skinny!!!

Maybe one of these days I will post some more of these old pictures. It takes Blogger a long time to post them all, so I won't do any more this evening. But, now you know some of my history that few people remember!!!

Noisy Saturday...

Today is Lizzie's 13th birthday, and we have a houseful of kids helping her celebrate this afternoon. They are having a wonderful time, a noisy wonderful time. Happy birthday dear daughter!!!

I also want to say Happy Birthday to my special friend Thea!!! You have enriched my life immeasurably with your friendship and loving support...I hope your day gives back to you a little of what you have poured out!!! Thanks so much for everything, and many blessings to you today on your birthday!!!

I didn't get a post done last week, we had a super busy weekend and I just never got the chance to sit down long enough at the computer by myself to write up a post. It was one of those weekends where I went back to work Monday morning and nearly cried because I was more tired and frazzled from the weekend than if I had gone to work. Ever had one of those weekends? This one has been busy too, with birthday celebrations, but so far I have also been able to get a lot of the little things done that I have to do on a weekend to feel sane the rest of the week. Its a hard lesson for me to practice sometimes...taking care of myself so I can have the ability to take care of others!!!

I was able to get two projects finished since my last post. Whirlygig is finished, and I am very happy with the project. It was very fun and relaxing to do. I also finished a smocked dress for Alana (dear granddaughter), that I am very pleased with. She loves to wear it, I think it makes her feel pretty. She dances around in it like a ballerina, holding up the skirt. It's so sweet and looks so cute on her.

I haven't started a new stitching project yet this week. Nothing is calling out to me, in my basket of twenty projects in various stages of completion. About half of them haven't even been started, but are kitted up and ready for me stitch. I may just wait until I feel the desire to start one. I do have a project set aside to take to Kauai with me, so I will save that one for our trip. It's a small Just Nan design (Beach Roses) that I took with me to Maui last year and didn't have time to stitch. It is such a fitting design to be stitched on the beach!!!

We leave for Hawaii (Kauai) three weeks from today. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I can hardly wait to get to the hotel and drop the suitcases on the floor and head out the patio doors for the beach. We are staying in an older motel that our condo association has just purchased, (they will be remodeling and converting it to condos) so we were able to get a really fantastic room rate through the association. It is on the beach (note in picture you can see the ocean at the center of the photo), though the rooms are not as close to the actual beach as our condo on Maui...it is still very close.

Check it out!

Daughter Amy has started a new blog, due to the fact that with an internet provider change when they moved, she was unable to get into her old blog to make new posts. One day very soon we will try and transfer all her old posts to her new blog, but in the mean time, please check out her new one:



Diaper Days

I will update the link in my sidebar to the new blog, and make a post of my own sometime this weekend!!!!

I have the best intentions....

but life always seems to get in the way. As you can see, I haven't gotten much done on Swirlygig this week. It is sometimes agonizing when the little designs you know should only take a couple of evenings to complete turn into a couple of weeks instead. Ah well. I did have a VERY productive week in other areas of my life. I got our taxes completely done. And filed. And a generous size refund is on the way...the IRS website says in about 2 weeks it will be in our account. Horray!!! Cuz it is already spent...on plane tickets for Hawaii!!! Another major accomplishment this week, getting all the arrangements done for our trip to Kauai. We are leaving March 8th for a glorious sunshine filled week on the beach. I can hardly wait!!! It will be our first time on Kauai, tho our fourth trip to Hawaii in four years. I love Hawaii. I want to move to Hawaii. I want to move my whole family to Hawaii so I can stay there guilt free. (I can dream can't I?) We are hoping when we retire to spend at least the winter there every year. We will at least still be making an annual pilgrimage there I am sure, since we have the timeshare now. Isn't it amazing when a "PLACE" gets under your skin and won't let you go???


Daughter Amy was taking pictures of the grandbabies this afternoon, and I couldn't resist posting this one...the baby (Gracie) is laughing!!! in this picture. I bust up laughing every time I look at this picture. I love having grandkids. I am sure some people must get tired of my ramblings on about them, but how can you not talk about the things (people) you love??? Which is why we all have blogs anyway, right?

Von and I are headed to a special holiday retreat in Victoria BC, in April, sponsored by The Victoria Sampler. I am really looking forward to spending time with dear friends and stitching to my hearts content for a long weekend. The last time I was able to attend I came home so relaxed and refreshed. That's how I need to spend retirement...shuttling between Hawaii and these retreats in Victoria...and maybe a monthly side trip to visit the grandkids. Now, that would be almost heaven!!!

until next time...happy stitching!!!

Time is flying by....

I can hardly believe it has already been one month since Christmas. The days and weeks are absolutely FLYING by for some reason. Others in my family have mentioned the same thing. Well, it gets us to spring faster, which I am really looking forward to. It's been cold here in the Pacific Northwest, and I have had to scrape the frost off the car windows every morning this week. Yuck. Even rain is better than scraping icy frost!!! I am watching the days get a little longer, now the sunshine is directly in my eyes when driving home from work, instead of it getting dark by that time.

My stitching time has been scant, here is a scan of the current project I am working on, a little freebie called Swirlygig from Bent Creek. It's been fun to work on. I completely changed the colors called for in the pattern except the Sable GAST...I didn't actually have the other colors, so substituted some Weeks Dye Threads in colors that appealed to me. I think it will be pretty when it's done, and I will post another picture then.

A couple weeks ago I took my oldest granddaughter, Alana, in to have her portrait taken. When my three daughters were little, I had a special dress that I had them wear for a picture. So I wanted a picture of Alana in the dress too! The photographer had a wonderful idea of bringing a picture of her mom (Amy) in the dress with us, for Alana to hold the picture. (I started to cry when she suggested it...it was such a great idea!). Here are the results...I am SOOO happy with pictures!

Back to the subject of cupcakes...I was window shopping in Michaels the other day, and saw a whole book on cupcakes in their book section. I was tempted to bring it home! This seems to be something that lots of people are doing right now!!! Which reminds me, I need to get some more cupcake liners at the store!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

Cupcakes!!!

I had a few minutes this week to putter in the kitchen, so I decided to follow the inspiration from my previous post, and make cupcakes!!! Nothing terribly exciting, just a box mix and purchased icing, but it was a big hit here in the Dunton household. I think every single person asked "are those for us???".

It was fun, but they didn't last long!!! Note to self...cupcakes are prettier when you don't over fill the muffin tins!!!

Congratulations are lovingly sent to my friend Von on the birth of her grandaugther Ilse. Check her blog for more details! Congrats to Mystie and Matt, and all our love, from our family to yours!!!

Kitchen Inspiration

I don't bake much anymore. Mostly because I work full time, I don't have extra time to just putter around in the kitchen. Sometimes I like to bake when the mood strikes. Not as much as I like to stitch or EAT baked goods mind you, but there are times when it is fun, especially trying a new recipe.

I found this blog about cupcakes while reading another blog, A Treehuggers Wife. I am inspired. I lifted this picture from said blog Isn't it pretty? I hope she doesn't mind, but maybe it will bring her more readers. I think I need to plan a Saturday morning baking session!!! Followed of course, by a Saturday afternoon eating and stitching session!!

Happy New Year!!!

To all my friends and family, may 2008 be a blessed and wonderful year!!!

I had intentions of posting a "Year in Review" yesterday, on the last day of the year, but I was too tired to think that hard when I got home from work. I guess that the first day of 2008 is not too late to enjoy my 2007 highlights in review:

I have accomplished my first stitching finish for 2008 this morning...a little freebie from Lilybet Designs. I changed thread colors a bit, I think it turned out pretty cute.



We had a nice and busy Christmas. New Year celebrations have been just dear hubby and I. Everyone else is off visiting friends or relatives this last week, so we have had a very rare few days with just the two of us at home. It is unnaturally quiet around here!!! I have enjoyed watching some movies and doing some stitching without having to get up and do anything else. It's been a nice break, but I am ready to see my grandbabies again!!!


Happy New Year everyone!!!

Merry Christmas!

May the season of Peace Himself bless you with peace!!!

Even in the scurrying and hurrying of trying to get everything ready to bless my family on this day of celebration, I am thinking of all of you and wishing you peace!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Where has the time gone?

Eeeppps! Has it really been so long since I last posted? Where has the time gone? Much has happened in the last 2 1/2 weeks...a severe winter storm left my part of the State paralyzed for over a week, with record breaking rains and flooding. The interstate freeway was closed completely by flood water for several days, causing millions of dollars in damage to the local economy, as goods could not be transported except by a 6 hour detour over the mountains. In this picture, the mileage sign is next to to the freeway, which runs UNDER the bridge!!! The water was 10 feet deep in places! Thankfully the water has receeded now and the freeway is again open.

This last Saturday my sister got married, so we traveled up to Lynnwood (about 1.5 hours North of our town) for the wedding. It was a very nice wedding, and we had a good time. Congratulations Karen and Aaron! Their wedding cake was so pretty, decorated with snowflakes!!!

I had to replace my two year old digital camera this month also, but I got a much better one for about the same price I would have had to spend to repair the old one. It has all kinds of wonderful settings and has 8.3 megapixels...it takes great pictures. One of the built in settings is for fireworks, and on our drive home from the wedding I was taking pictures of the lights on this setting....I was so excited by the pictures I was getting. It was incredible fun, and Lizzie and I spent alot of time taking pictures until the battery died. Here are a couple of the best shots.

I haven't done much of any stitching lately. Life has not been conducive to sitting down and relaxing, but I have been working on a "learning" piece for myself off and on. It is a new technique that I have never tried before...padded roll, cut thread, needle weaving...sort of like hardanger, but a little more "intense". The design is by Elegant Needle Designs, I don't have alot to show for it right now, but here is a picture of what I do have done.

We had some snow yesterday...about an inch maybe. It was pretty for a while, but it melted off by evening. I turned on my two favorite Christmas movies yesterday afternoon and decorated our Christmas tree and put a few decorations out. It looks more festive around here now. I'll post a picture of the tree another day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's an absolutely gorgeous day here in Western Washington. Blue sky, no clouds, sunshine galore and white frost everywhere!!! BRRRR! It's very cold this Thanksgiving, but one of the very few I can remember where the weather has not been lousy or terrible!! I am thankful for good weather this day.

Baby Gracie spent a couple days in the hospital this week under the lights to treat her jaundice. Her biliruben levels were actually not that high, but she had lost so much weight post-birth (she is down to 5.5 pounds) that in ratio to her tiny body, the jaundice was making her very lethargic and she was eating poorly. She is home now, eating well and healthy. I am thankful for a new healthy granddaughter this day.

Alana turned two years old yesterday and received more presents than ought to be legal. It wasn't until bedtime last night that she fully accepted the fact that she really is two years old and would hold up two fingers to say how old she is. She is still the sunshine in our lives. I am thankful for a healthy and beautiful two year old granddaughter this day.

The whole family has been struggling with colds this last week, and John and I both feel miserable. I am thankful that colds are the extent of the illness in my family this day.

I took the whole week off in vacation this week, and have enjoyed it. I have been slowly moving my computer and stitching things (which are alot, by the way) back into my little room, and taking the time to purge deeply as I do it. Lots of stuff has gone in the recycle bin, more is destined for Goodwill. We have moved the granddaughters to the upstairs bedroom now that Alli and Chris have their own apartment. I am thankful that we had the foresight 9 years ago to buy a house big enough to shelter our whole family when there is a need. I am thankful to have my little room back this day.

The pumpkin and apple pies have been made and are enticing us from the kitchen counter. We will be taking them to my Mom and Dad's house for dinner today, joining about half of the extended family for the family feast. One sister and her family will spend the day with her hubby's family. It will be a special day showing off Gracie to the rest of the family, and enjoying each other's company. I am thankful for a wonderful extended family this day.

I am off now to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, taking along my cup of coffee and a stitching project. I am thankful for modern technology that allows me to share Thanksgiving with the whole country at the same time this day. And I am thankful for stitching, for I think I would be slightly insane without it!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. May you be as blessed as we are this day!!!

She's Here!!!

Announcing the arrival of

Gracie Lynn Rheinhardt


November 15, 2007


5:01 AM


6 lbs. 3 oz; 18 inches


Mother Amy Sue and Gracie are healthy and beautiful!!!




More later when I have had a chance to have some sleep!!! It's been a long 24 hours!

Quiet Weekend

I got hit by an organizing mood this weekend, so I decided to indulge myself by organizing something to do with my needlework instead of housework. I pulled out my large pile of fairly new patterns I have been collecting for the last couple of years, and set aside every single one that I wanted to do in the next year. I came up with about 8 patterns...several of them I had cut fabric for last spring. I decided to kit them all up and have them competely ready to go for when the mood hit to stitch them. It took several pleasant hours, but they are all done except to find a bit of fabric for one freebie Christmas ornament. So now my project basket is really full again, but most of them are completely new projects. Ahhh. I LIKE being organized!!!

Still no baby yet. Amy Sue felt pretty well Saturday, so we did some shopping for the baby, and she was happy with what we got accomplished. She thinks she has all the "needs" pretty well taken care of now, and everything left on her registry is just "wants" or "would be nice to haves".

I don't have any great new pictures this week. The weather has not been great, so we haven't been outside much. I've done some stitching, but not enough to warrant a picture. Maybe next week. I've decided to change the picture weekly in my sidebar, and I will probably be delving into my older nice pictures...show them off a little. This picture of Mt. St. Helens was captured from the Mt. St. Helens webcam last month...the sunrise over the mountain was spectacular that day, and I captured several of the images to keep.

November in all it's glory!

Just a few pictures of some of the trees outside my office building....absolutely gorgeous!!!!

Another week goes by

And we are still waiting for the new baby to make her appearance. Amazingly, she has held on longer than any of us expected. Amy Sue is at 36 weeks now, and her doctors have told her they will induce when and if she makes it to 38 weeks. So whatever happens, just two more weeks to go!!!

This week was Halloween. Here's a picture of Alana in her special outfit. The first trick or treater's came to the door, and Alana saw the costumes and freaked out. She ran crying from the room and refused to go near the door again all evening!!! So we drank hot cider, and ate candy and enjoyed our quiet evening at home.

I finished the last Shepherd's Bush ornament in the series this week. There were alot of thread changes so it seemed to take a long time to stitch, but I am happy with the way it turned out. I need to get busy now and figure out how to sew all these ornaments together into a banner. The hardest thing will be going to the fabric store and finding the right fabric to sew it together with. Time for such things is basically non-existent right now.

My next project, which I hope to start today, will be another smocked dress for Alana. I picked up a couple of ready made ones last March at the sewing expo, and I need to get going on them before she outgrows them. I want to do the pink one first, and will spend time with my smocking plates today to come up with a pleasing design. It's a bishop style dress, and I am thinking probably white or dark pink smocking.

Still Waiting....

Baby Gracie has not yet made an appearance. Which, while stressful for those of us waiting, is best for her. Every day is a milestone right now!

Von, I saw your new blog layout...very nice. For some reason, blogger is not letting me get in to make a comment, I think it is at my end...I've noticed it has happened before, and when I restart the computer it takes care of it. I am just too lazy to restart, hence I hope you see this post. Anyway, I liked how you put your Virginia Creeper picture at the top of your sidebar....This is a great way to show off a new picture. Maybe I can be real efficient and change the picture weekly! Probably not, but it is a great idea!!! I started with the Victoria Sampler Washington State heart.

Our lives right now consist of waiting for baby to come, and somehow to always be prepared for that moment....I have taken to constantly carrying my tote bag with me..it has the movie camera, digital camera, extra batteries, a small stitching project, my mp3 player, etc. I have even been taking it to work with me, which has been only two days this week. I am trying to stay on top of the dishes and housework so that I don't have a huge mess to deal with and still be at the hospital with Amy Sue.

The weather has taken a decided turn towards winter. It froze last night, and it is cold in the house even with the heat set at 68 degrees. This now means that the leaves that had not fallen yet will be off in a day or two, having been frozen off. All the flowers that were still blooming will now be brown and hunkering down for winter. We've been drinking alot of apple cider at our house, with a little bit of caramel syrup...yummy! I haven't decorated with any of my fall decorations, since having a two year old in the house means they will not stay put, or even in one piece. I decided not to even bring out the temptation!!!!


We have been watching the news about the California wildfires, along with everyone else I guess. Several old friends of mine have had to evacuate their homes, and one family that I know of lost their home. What is even sadder is that the largest fire has been determined to be caused by arson. It has been amazing to hear first hand reports of how things really are....One gal sent us a picture of some miniature horses being kept in a shopping cart enclosure in the parking lot of a Costco....

A quick update!

For those of you friends and family who have an interest, this is just to update you all on how things are going with Amy Sue. She has been in the hospital since Thursday evening. She started having regular contractions again, and has been on IV drips of magnesium sulfate since then trying to stop her labor. It seems to be working for now. They have also been giving her shots of steroids to develop the baby's lungs. An ultrasound was done Friday afternoon, and the baby weighs approximately 5.5 pounds, and size wise is at about 35.5 weeks. Her actual weeks are 34 weeks today. They have ultimately decided to wean her off of the magnesium over the next 24 hours and just let nature take it's course. So I am expecting baby Gracie Lynn to be born sometime this week...if not tomorrow!!! (Yep, she finally has a name too!!) We are scrambling like mad around here trying to get things prepared, since we had done basically nothing to get ready for the baby at home...

I will try and send more updates as we know anything new and different. Prayers are definitely appreciated and needed!

For those of you who know Amy Sue...

she is now back in blogland while living here with us. She has posted a new entry at Diaper Days! Enjoy!!!

A new look for my blog!

I discovered this evening that Blogger now has some new features to be able to customize their templates, giving us more control over what our blogs look like. I did some experimenting and then lots of fine tuning, and here is the final result. Hope you like it as much as I do!!!!

It's a gorgeous fall day!

The sun is shining brightly, for now at least, and I took the opportunity to snap a picture of one of my dogwood trees showing it's fall color. It is so pretty with the sun shining on the leaves, making them glow from the inside, the picture doesn't do it justice. I cleaned house this morning, my normal Saturday morning chores, and Lizzie, Amy and I are going to go have manicures together this afternoon. John has kindly consented to watch Alana for a couple hours so that we can have some time away.

I finished the Mary and Joseph ornament this week, it stitched up fairly quickly. I pulled the threads and fabric for the final ornament in the series this morning, so I hope to get started on it this evening.

Life is in a nice routine this week, so nothing very exciting or dramatic to talk about. I am savoring this time, as I know when the new baby is born that life will not be "normal" again for quite awhile!!! Oh, but aren't they worth it???

This new granddaughter is still currently without a name. A first name of Samantha was mulled around for a time, but has since been rejected. Amy has her favorites of course, and Max is not wanting to cooperate and make a decision....as Mystie has said in her blog regarding their new baby's name, it may be a matter of who gets their hands on the paperwork at the hospital first before we know the final decision!!!! I keep telling Amy not to worry too much, she didn't have a middle name until after she was born, and then we ended up changing her name legally from Amy Celeste to Amy Sue Celeste when she was about 6 months old. Sometimes babies just need to let you know by their presence what they are to be called, I think!!!

I'm on a roll now....

I have finished another unfinished project last week...this time, Gazebo Roses, by Victoria Sampler. It's been about 4 years in my basket, so I am very excited to have it finished. I modified the pattern just a little to make it fit on my fabric better, changed one row and left off a few of the smaller rows, but I am very pleased with the result. I will probably finish it off into a bell pull one of these days.

I have gotten back to working on the Shepherd's Bush Christmas ornaments from the Just Cross Stitch magazines over the years...I am currently on the 2006 ornament, and now that I have the new ornament issue for 2007, I can finish up this series I hope in time for Christmas this year. I am planning on stitching them together into some kind of a banner, in order, so that it is easier to read the story in the words.

I went this morning and had my flu shot for the year...Ouch! Normally they

don't hurt and I have no lingering effects from the shot, but this time the person did it way up on my shoulder where there is nothing but bone and tendons and it hurt when he did it, and now my whole arm is aching big time. I am guessing it is from the placement of the shot and not the vaccine itself. Argghhh!

It is nice to have more time for stitching now that my test is over and the weather is forcing me indoors on the weekends. Its been cozy, sit with a quilt and hot water bottle type weather...just perfect for stitching and reading!

Binkie Overload!!

Yep! That's three of them all at the same time!!!!

Granddaughter Alana, 9-22-07

Finally, a Finish!!!

After what seems to be a very long time, probably because it WAS a very long time, I have finally finished Perennial Garden by The Drawn Thread. This is one of the unfinished projects that were on my list to finish, so it is very rewarding to be able to cross it off my list. I started this about 4 years ago, and it languished for most of those four years untouched!! Hooray! I am thinking I will finish it into a small wallhanging or pillow, as there is very little fabric left on the sides, not enough for framing.

This last week I was able to start working on Gazebo Roses (The Victoria Sampler) again, after over three years sitting in my UFO basket. It is nearly finished, it has worked up quickly. I am doing the hardanger in the bottom row today, and will start next on the silk ribbon embroidery and beading to finish it off. I hope to have it done this week.


It's hard to accept the fact that today is the first day of autumn. It still seems like late summer, we have been having some fairly good weather and I have lots of flowers still in bloom. The asters have been beautiful, as have my Windflowers (Japanese Anemones). (See picture). I have begun cleaning and winterizing some of the flower beds, but there is still lots to do after everything is finished blooming.

The Bluest Skies...

There is a very old television program (this really dates me now) I believe was in the late 60's, called "Here Come the Brides" (based on a true story) and the theme song was "The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle....." Well, today was one of those days. Since we are only 55 short miles from Seattle, I think I can appropriate the song lyrics for Lacey too.....here's proof:

This is an actual unretouched photo taken just moments ago in my front yard, isn't this an incredible blue???. It has been an absolutely gorgeous late summer day...warm, with just a hint of fall crispness in the air. It was wonderful!!

Life is a little less hectic this weekend compared to last weekend, and we are all settling into sort of a routine around here.

I'm a little closer to finishing Perennial Garden by The Drawn Thread, and have finished the flower border. I discovered when I went to finish up the inside white vine that I had messed up by one thread on one whole side, so it needs to be frogged and restitched, or it will look lopsided. I am guessing it is another couple hours of stitching that I hadn't planned on. Oh well. Thank goodness I am not on any deadlines just now!!!

Long Three Day Weekend

Today is Labor Day in the US, which mainly means a day off work for those of us in offices and financial institutions. The stores are all still open for business, so not everyone has the day off. It's been a nice relaxing day after a very busy week and weekend. Amy, Max and Alana got moved in this weekend, and are pretty well settled now. I have a new stitching corner set up in our bedroom...I found this gorgeous chair in immaculate condition for $35 at the thrift shop, and I am so delighted with it. It's very comfortable and fits my body well. This morning John and I found this cool lamp for $14 with two lights on it, so with my Dazor on the side I am well set up for stitching! Now I just need to find some time to try it out!!

Thursday was the 50th anniversary in our region of the company Amy and I work for, and as a celebration, they took all of us and our families to Six Flags (Wild Waves) for the day. We had a great time, good food, perfect weather, (and huge crowds!!). Alana did not like the rides AT ALL, but absolutely LOVED the water. There was a pool created just for the little ones and she climbed the slide and slid down over and over again. She did NOT want to get out of the water, and insisted on staying in until she was shivering and had blue lips!!!

Here is a picture of Lizzie and I enjoying the wading pool with Alana.

Another busy week ahead of me, as I have the examination for the first section of my General Insurance designation. I will be glad when it is finished. I think I am on target for my exam, but it's still a little nerve wracking until it's finished!!! I can't seem to concentrate on stitching when I know I should be studying!!! I am very close to finishing Perennial Garden by Drawn Thread!!!

I notice that Blogger has a new feature for uploading video, so I am going to try it out. It's a video of Alana playing in the water, as it is the only one I have on my computer at the moment. You may want to skip watching it unless you are family or close friends!! I won't be offended in the least, LOL!!!!

Have a great week everyone!

And my newest grandchild is going to be......

A GIRL!!!!!

Whoohoo! Amy had another ultrasound today and this time the baby was fully cooperative! What a wonderful blessing for all of us!!

I just couldn't wait to share the news.....

things hidden, meanings found

Have you ever had an experience where you think at first what you are going through is just a random thing, and then you later find out it has a much deeper and more extensive meaning than you could ever have realized?

I posted a few weeks ago about being in a purging and cleaning mode, and about all the great de-cluttering that I was doing....come to find out the reason...our daughter #1, son-in-law and granddaughter are moving in with this weekend!!! It all had a good purpose that I must have somehow known was coming!!!

We have been scrambling, since the decision was made a couple weeks ago, to create the space needed for them. We have built two walls in the garage, creating a bedroom for DD#3, Lizzie, a laundry room, an area for the computer desk and a storage space. Then we have had to clear out a bedroom and the computer room (for granddaughter's bedroom) and move everyone and everything into the new spaces. What a job!!! I have been keeping track, and have made 11 trips to Goodwill so far, plus two dump runs, plus the garage sale we had. We have gotten rid of literally, probably over a ton of stuff!!! I still have my stitching closet to clean out, and I have no idea where it all will go. I guess it will have to find a place in the storage part of the garage!

The story behind all this is long, but the short version is: son-in-law Max found a job working about 3 hours north of here on an island in the San Juans. He starts next week. DD Amy is 27 weeks pregnant and does not want to move away from family and her support network right now. So she & the grandkid(s) will stay with us until probably school is out next June, while Max commutes home on the days he is off. Hope that's not TOOOO confusing. It will be fun to have everyone here...but a houseful. When the new baby comes, there will be 9 of us under one roof!!!

Well, best get back to the cleaning and moving!

Grandma's Pride and Joy

Alana Jo

Picture taken August 24, 2007

21 months old

Sore, aching muscles!!!

But that is what I get from trying to clean the whole messy garage in just one day. I got halfway done cleaning said garage yesterday and wished I had taken a "before" picture so that I could proudly post my "after" picture. It really was super duper clean and almost empty...until we moved all the stuff for the garage sale BACK INTO the garage for safe keeping until said sale next Saturday. So it is full of stuff again, but at least it is CLEAN underneath all the stuff and by Saturday night, it will ALL be gone. What doesn't sell will go to Goodwill! (a charity that accepts household goods). It feels good to get that accomplished, tho I have about three boxes here in my computer room that now need to be gone through, but I can do that at my leisure next week.

I'm still in my rabid cleaning and purging mode, as you can tell. A bit of a success that I can share, I got four pieces of stitching "framed". Actually two of them, the old birthsamplers I did for my oldest daughters are now mounted neatly into scrapbook protectors so they can be inserted into their scrapbooks. Here's some pix:


I'm reading a book at the moment I can't seem to put down. My mom found it at the library and said it was excellent. Then my dad read it and said he couldn't put it down. I started it this afternoon and am about half done so far...it's called Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky...about a Knitter, from a family of knitters, who has a baby that changes her family forever. What a good read, when she get's stressed, she knits. I think that Ms. Delinsky must be a knitter/stitcher!!! I highly recommend this book!

Have a great week!!