'Twas a fun evening....

Granddaughters Alana and Gracie and even baby to be born dressed up for a night of parties and merrymaking last night...they all had a great time and came home with loads of goodies and toys...

Gracie dress up as a pink butterfly....

Alana dressed as Cinderella....

And Allison dressed up baby-to-be as a jack o' lantern!!! Isn't that a great idea?

Heavens! Where has the time gone?

(note: Content updated)

For those of you who read this blog, my apologies for being gone for so long from blogland. I have no excuse other than being overwhelmingly busy! At the end of a long day, my brain was in no shape to compose a post! So here is a quick catch up of the last two months!

John and I went to a Mariner's game. It was fan appreciation night, so it was a fun evening. The Mariner's even won their game!

The last Sunday in September my parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with an open house! It was a wonderful day, the weather was perfect, the setting was comfortable, and we were able celebrate with good friends and family. Congratulations Mom and Dad!

We had a baby shower for daughter Alli and baby to be last weekend. It was such a nice afternoon and Alli received some very nice things. She is almost ready for baby to come!

Granddaughter Gracie is walking now! She started about three weeks ago, and is already walking and running like a pro! She is starting to say some words....baby, baff (bath), ba-ba, bye. She is lots of fun, laughing and smiling alot, but a bit of temper is also starting to show!! LOL!

Surprise Visit with Von

I got home from work last Friday afternoon, and had an email from Von that they were on their way over to Olympia/Lacey from their home in Eastern Washington for a cross country meet! I was so excited! We haven't seen each other since we attended the Victoria Sampler retreat in April, so it was wonderful to spend all day Saturday with them at the beautiful Capitol Lake Park. In between cheering and clapping for all the runners, we had a great time catching up with Von, hubby Gary and two of their kids, Kevin and Kyle, who did very well in the freshman boys race.

This is a picture of one of the girls races. They ran all the way around Capitol Lake, about 2.2 miles or so. Amy and granddaughters also joined us...it was a gorgeous day and we all ended up a little sunburned!!! After a late lunch/early dinner at Taco Bell, we exchanged hugs and kisses and said goodbye. What a treat it was to see Von again. There is just something about long-time friends that warms the soul!! Especially when we share a passion for stitching!!!

Life has been very busy this month, with school starting, and new routines to have to get used to. I passed my Insurance Test last week, Hooray! That's two parts down and one to go, but I'm not going to tackle that until next year.

My parents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next week!!!! Wow! I have been helping Mom with invitations and getting ready for a big party on Sunday the 28th. It should be a fun afternoon! Congratulations Mom and Dad!!!

Daughter Alli had a high-resolution ultrasound this morning to check on the baby. She was also scheduled for an amniocentesis, but they ultimately decided against it. Her blood tests last month that check for Downs Syndrome were all very, very normal, and the regular ultrasound they had done found no indications in head and brain size for anything but a normal baby, but they found a small spot of calcification in the baby's heart, which can be a marker for DS. The high resolution ultrasound found NO other markers, (Back of the neck, brain, fingers, etc), so the risk of the amnio was greater than the risk of finding Downs. We are all a little relieved that no other markers were found, and so are trusting for a healthy baby....little dickens wouldn't open it's legs, so we are still going with the "probably a boy" from the last ultrasound!

A break from our labors....on Labor Day!

John and I had the opportunity to spend the long Labor Day weekend at my parent's cabin in northern Washington State, very close to the Canadian border and about half way between Bellingham and Mount Baker. It had been about 4 years since we had been able to stay at the cabin, due to the river flooding and doing some damage to the cabin. My parents had emptied out all the furnishings during the flood, and it has just this summer had the damages repaired and the furnishings moved back in. It was so wonderful to be able to enjoy this peaceful retreat again!


On our trip up last Saturday (about a three hour drive from our home in Lacey), we did a little remembrance sight seeing in Bellingham, the town I grew up in.

We drove by my old high school (dare I say it? Class of '72!!!)

and the house I grew up in. ( I wish I could go inside again!)

It is always amazing to me to see how the trees my father planted and tended have become huge. Monstrous really. To think these tall trees used to be our Christmas trees when I was a child!!! The tree that bears five kinds of apples (due to my father's patient grafting) is still producing fruit. Wow. I wonder if my kids will ever drive by our house 35 years from now and remember the trees we planted?


Oh, and Dad...the ponderosa pine that you and I planted at the cabin when I was in junior high survived the flood just fine...the bottom branches are bare, but the top is healthy and full. And very, very tall!!! I'm very, very glad it is still there. Hopefully it will still be there in another 40 years! Kind of a cool family heirloom, don't ya think?

Cabela's

Last night John and I found ourselves home alone with no children or grandchildren, so we decided to go check out the (fairly) new Cabela's store in Lacey. What an adventure! Cabela's is a hunting, camping, hunting, fishing, hunting, boating, hunting, kayaking (did I mention hunting?) store, that is quite a destination store. Meaning, people come to your town specifically to shop at this store. It was incredible inside. The whole center of the interior is a museum of every kind of animal (and then some) that you could think of...including a very large aquarium, a large display of African animals, a waterfall, and even an airplane hanging from the ceiling. They have a special restaurant, a general store, a fishing gear store, a hunting rifle store, a clearance store, meeting rooms, tents, and boats. It's like a mall all enclosed in one large building. We spent about an hour wandering around looking at all the exhibits and a bit of the merchandise, then had dinner in the restaurant. So here are some pictures. Pretty cool place, even if you are not into hunting or fishing or camping or hunting or boating...did I mention hunting??? LOL! (For the record, we do NOT like hunting. John likes to fish, catch and release. We both like to kayak and hope to have one someday, and we are always looking for neat things to put in our trailer.)

Elk and deer and even a moose!

Part of the African display. What a gorgeous elephant!

Checking out the trout in the aquarium.

The airplane swoops down over the shoppers.

Talking over life with the walrus.

Life.

Life has been busy. Guess it goes without saying. I have been plugging away on all the things that have been on my plate...studying for my insurance exam, creating a blog for Lacey Thread Designs, stitching and designing, design layout, cleaning house, working full time, etc. It's been a busy two weeks, or three. I've lost count!!!

I discovered when you have more than one blog on Blogger, you can't have the same sign in and use different profiles in the side bar. Kinda of a strange thing to discover. I didn't want the profile on the new blog to be quite so personal. Oh well.

I discovered Facebook. I am discovering long lost friends on Facebook. What a nice surprise!!! See the link in my sidebar. Facebook is sooooo much more grown up and sophisticated than My Space. I have a page on My Space, but only to keep track of other people. I like Facebook. I don't really like My Space, it is so cluttered and busy.

We discovered that the new grand baby will most likely be a boy!!! What a change that will be for this family of all girls!!! I'm thinking blue, blue, blue!!!!

We spent the day at Ocean Shores, WA, a couple weeks ago. A huge tree stump with all the roots still attached had washed up on shore during a large storm since last summer when we were there. The picture above is just a small part of the roots. It's a very impressive stump!! Lizzie and her friend Sabrina had fun walking around. We sat out of the wind and enjoyed watching the ocean. I love being at the ocean, life's stresses seem to fall into less stressful places when I am at the ocean, and it brings healing to sore emotions, and hope for the future. It sort of puts all things in my life into perspective.

So, I am off to create my first post on my new blog, Lacey Thread Designs!!

Blog Awards and Big Announcement

My dear friend Von nominated me for a blog award yesterday...thank you very much!!! But I am in a bit of a quandry...all the blogs I read that have to do with stitching seem to have already been nominated and received at least one award this week! I don't think I could nominate 5 new people without spending a bunch of time online trying to find 5 new blogs, and then I would sort of defeat the purpose of the award, since these would be brand new to me blogs. So, I will just say, thank you again, Von, and congratulations to all this weeks winners! You all, and your stitching, inspire me daily!!!!

This has been a busy week taking care of the family, working my full time job and trying to get ready to launch my design company. With the help of my daughters, actually at their insistence and urging, we will soon be unveiling Lacey Thread Designs. I am busy working on the computer perfecting the first four designs, and they are busy stitching models for the photographs, and we are all excited to see this dream become reality. This venture will concentrate the first year on giving them some spending money as they stay home with their babies, and work for Lacey Thread. If it weren't for that need in their lives, I doubt if I would be working so hard to do this now. But I have heard from other trusted people in my life that now is the time to get this business going. I will be starting a separate blog and web page here soon, so you won't have to wade through all the "shop talk" unless you want to. I was little hesitant to even mention this until it was all ready for the "Grand Opening" but I think it may be fun to share some of the excitement with you all as we progress.

So stay tuned, exciting things will be happening around here soon!!!!

The Sweet Goodness of Summer

The last week has been very warm some days and not so warm on others, but it has been a good combination for my raspberries..the cool days have allowed the berries to grow just a little bit bigger before the hot sun ripens them to sweet perfection! Here is a picture of a picking from earlier this week...mmmm! I love July just for the raspberries!!!

This week, Tuesday I believe is my third blogaversary...hard to believe it's been three years already since I began this adventure of The Lacey Thread. And in honor of my 3rd anniversary, here is my annual picture of my daisies that grow in my back yard, a tradition I have done since I started blogging. Enjoy your week everyone!

It must be in the blood...

We spent last Saturday working on a new pattern I designed, and I couldn't resist this picture of my two oldest daughters stitching models of the design!!!! Alli hasn't stitched since she was in grade school. She caught on immediately and is making good progress on evenweave!! No Aida for this beginner!! It warms my heart to see them working so diligently when they could be outside enjoying the sunshine. Even baby Gracie seems to enjoy watching what her mom is working on!!!

A Blast from the Past....

While digging through my linen closet the other day I came across these pillowcases that I had embroidered when I was in high school...circa 1970. I decided to put them on our bed pillows, the first time they have ever been used. Almost 40 years in the hope chest without being used is pathetic. They are so old that the pattern and colors are once again in vogue. I even crocheted the matching lace edging to match the embroidery. I am embarrassed to look too closely at my stitches...not exactly up to my standards now, but not bad for a beginner!!!

A sweet finish and more pictures of Long Beach

When we were getting ready to leave for Long Beach last week, I decided to grab a crocheted baby sweater I had started a couple of years ago when Alana was newborn and had never finished. I figured if Gracie was going to be able to wear it at all I had better get on the ball and finish it. It only took me about 3 hours of work, in the car and in the motel room, to finish the crocheting. I sewed the buttons on when we got home. Amy loved it, and it fits Gracie too! Amy said, Mom, I didn't know you could make things like this!! I'm still surprising her!!! GRIN!

Here are a couple of more pictures we took on Sunday morning near Long Beach, the light house and the view from the light house. What an incredible view. This is looking south toward the Columbia River (on the other side of the long dark jetty in the center of the picture) and Oregon on the far side of the river. The little tiny specks you can see on the sand are people!!

You may notice that these last three posts are all dated the same day. I uploaded the pictures for three posts on the same day, since Blogger was being kind and letting me upload pix without too many tears, so I uploaded and saved the posts as drafts until I could come back and add some words. For some reason Blogger thinks that the draft save is the same as publish post. I can't figure how to change the date! Sorry for any confusion!

29 years ago today...

Happy Anniversary dearest.

I love you.

This has been a quiet month.

I haven't felt much like blogging this last month. Not because of a lack of events to talk about, there have been plenty of those, but, I just didn't feel like it. Lost my mojo as they say. Seems like several others in stitching blogland have been in the same rut the last weeks, so I don't feel too guilty about it. I tried once to write a post, and got a paragraph or two written, but Blogger absolutely refused to cooperate in uploading pictures, so I just deleted the whole thing and went on to something else. I suppose I could try and write a bunch of posts catching up everything in depth, but I don't think I will. So I will just do a quick summary of my month along with a few pictures...

June 13th was my birthday, and the 15th was DH's birthday. We celebrated with a joint birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant, Falls Terrace in Tumwater. I had prawns and John had steak and we enjoyed the gorgeous scenery with a walk around the falls after dinner.

Then on Monday the 16th, my granddaughter Gracie had surgery to remove a cyst on her forehead. She did really well, the cyst was benign, and she was back home by noon the same day. The surgeon did an excellent job with the incision and it looks like only a little scratch now. We expect that it will be almost completely invisible before she starts school. Here is a before and after picture:

Then the next week we acquired a small trailer...a 1965 Shasta Compact, to be exact. It is so cute, and we just love it. We have the intention of using it for a "getaway" room here at the house for now, and hope to have it road worthy and camping ready by next summer. We have started gutting the interior down to the framing and metal skin, it shouldn't take to long to restore as it is only 11 feet long by 7 feet wide!!! A lady that we are acquainted with gave us some beautiful wood laminate for the floor, so it is going to be very pretty inside too!!!

So, let's see. That brings us to the Fourth of July, which I covered in my last post. And then today. This Monday is our 29th wedding anniversary, so John and I are at a hotel in Long Beach Washington as I type this. We have needed a weekend away, and it has been many years since we have been to Long Beach. Of course, there are what seems to be a million people here in this tiny little town, but we have a lovely view of the ocean and are enjoying our quiet time together.

John standing with a statue honoring the Lewis and Clark expedition, which ended in 1805 in this area. I believe this is Mr. Clark.

Our Hotel, right next to the main beach access. It is a 7 mile long beach...it is really the world's longest beach? I don't know. I guess I should google it, yes?

So, there is the last month in a nutshell. I haven't done a whole lot of stitching I can share. I designed a sampler for grandparents that Amy is currently stitching the model for, and I am also working on a hardanger design for a stitching pocket. (I am doing the stitching on that one) I am excited about how both of these designs are turning out...hope I can start publishing soon!!!

As I sit here looking out my hotel window at the beach, people are beginning to set off their left over fireworks on the beach...maybe we'll have another good show this evening!!

It was a good day...

We celebrated the Fourth of July at my brother's house on the lake again this year, and we had a wonderful time. Here is a little montage of our day....

My two sisters came down from Everett, plus a niece and nephew and a passel of friends, so we had a good crowd, lots of food and celebration. The guys did some fishing off the dock and we toasted marshmallows for S'mores over the campfire. The fireworks lasted past 11 PM and so it was after midnight when we got to bed. Alana hated the fireworks, and needed to be held or inside the house for most of the fireworks. Gracie slept peacefully through the whole thing!!!

A busy and productive weekend

The organization bug hit this weekend. Friday afternoon to be exact. We had a day at work celebrating the Founder's Day for our company (started in 1922!!). The company treated all the employees in the building (around 1,000) to lunch and an afternoon of games and fun. On my way home from work suddenly I felt the bug hit....I wanted to do some finishing of projects in the worst way! I got home and started pulling out projects and frames and fabric, and discovered that the wide tape I use for framing had somehow sprouted legs and walked off. No one in the house knew where said tape was, so I am sure that it had a mind of it's own and decided to go for a long walk. It must have gotten lost on it's way home. So it sort of put a halt to my projects for the evening. Saturday, yesterday, I did about 20 errands, but I was able to get quite a few things done that had been on my to-do list for much too long. I felt really good about that. While I was out, I bought weed killer for the lawn and sprayed it on when I got home. I also picked up some new tape, and was able to frame two projects, as seen here:

This first one is a sampler I stitched when I was pregnant with my first baby, Amy Sue, 27 years ago. It had been sitting in my closet waiting for something to be done with it since I had cleaned it up a couple years ago. My granddaughter, Alana, learned all her ABC's in about a week's time last week, and when I brought out the unframed sampler she absolutely loved it. Amy encouraged me to frame it for her. I found an old matted poster in a closet, and it was just the perfect size. I didn't like the light brown mat board with the stitching, so I sponge painted it in matching colors. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

This one is Summer Spot by The Drawn Thread that I stitched a couple years ago I think. I found this great square wood frame at the dollar store a couple months back and brought it home...great price and I figured there would be something I could frame in it!

I also sewed together a needle case that I had finished stitching quite some time ago by Lorri Birmingham, and had never gotten around to sewing together. I forgot to take a picture, but it is nice!

This morning I woke up early to the baby (Gracie) crying, and then heard Amy in the bathroom battling either a stomach virus or food poisoning, so John and I have been babysitting the kids all day. Even with all that, I still managed to clean my closet (oh so pretty and organized!), clean out and wash my purse, do three loads of laundry, 2 loads of dishes, and I even have a loaf of banana bread in the oven. I don't have as much done as I would have liked, but hopefully the mood will continue for a few more days and I can finish up what I would have done otherwise today.

A flock of Cedar Waxwings visited us this afternoon, and they absolutely loved my Red Hot Poker plants. Here are a couple pictures of them sitting on top of the pokers. At the same time a hummingbird was flitting around trying to get in on the nectar...it was quite entertaining. The waxwings are still around in the yard and it's been a couple hours now. It will be fun to see how long they hang around.

Well, it's about time to take the banana bread out of the oven. This is a new recipe to me, so I let you know if we like it any better than our old family recipe. This was someone else's old family recipe from over 100 years ago...hope it's good!!!