Ice Cream, You Scream, We all scream for ice cream

Yes, ice cream! Ranks right up there with popcorn as my favorite snack food. I mainly eat it in the summer thou, as I don't like to eat cold ice cream when I am cold anyway!
A couple of weeks ago, we went to the pottery painting place in town. They had free studio fees if you painted the ice cream bowls. Well, I had seen this last summer & missed out on the deal. So....as soon as I knew about them this year, we went out to do ours. The bowls are already 'ready' to be painted. You are allowed to chose how you want to do your bowl. We all did ours, then left them to be fired. We picked them up this past weekend. We think they turned out great, for our first time trying this! We haven't used them yet, but I am sure we will soon!!!
Next ice cream, is a stitched card. This little kit was a freebie included with a magazine that Mylene sent me a while back. I knew I wanted to stitch it, but just hadn't yet. When I put B. Potter away the other day, I decided it was time! I finished the backstitching tonight, & made the card. I thought it turned out pretty cute!
Lastly, we got the wedding piece totally ready tonight. My husband made the frame & tonight we did the lacing & framing. I will give it to the groom's mom tomorrow when I see her & she will deliver it to the wedding next week.
Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by!

B.Potter progress

wow! Amazing what can be done when a goal is set in motion!!!! I looked at my B.Potter piece earlier this month & decided that I CAN finish it by the end of the year. At that point, I had 12 motifs left to do. I told myself that if I did 2 per month, with the other 2 spread over the 5 months, it could be done. So....I set myself on the mission. I decided to keep working on it for more of the month of July. I now only have 8 left to do, if I just counted correctly. That is very do-able, even with the busy-ness of life!!!
I am working on plans right now, to have the boys here next week!!!!!! Mommy had asked earlier in the week & DH & I talked & thought if she could meet us half way, we could get them & then be here! So.....the plans are starting!!!
School starts here in less than 3 weeks & that means back to babysitting. I will only have one family this year, so I will not be quite as busy with that. I am contemplating getting an outside the home job, for the first time in nearly 30 years! I have been a stay at home mom all this time!
Well, have a great day! I have a house to clean! Thanks for stopping by & thanks even more for the kind comments...they always make my day!

Small Finish

I saw Mylene's little PS snowman & decided I needed a break from my big projects, so I found the fabric & floss for this guy & stitched him up! I used the called for colors on a piece of fabric I had on hand. I will finish it into an ornament, closer to Christmas. I will have an ornament finishing day, sometime when it is cold outside & I feel like sitting & creating!!!
Well, the secret ingredient in my cookies is Popcorn!!! Yes, popcorn is my very favorite snack food. I could eat it daily! I have a whirley pop popcorn popper & it makes the best popcorn! I buy butter flavored salt at one of the Amish stores & away I go!!!!
Have a great weekend & thanks for stopping by!
I will have a B. Potter update later this week!!!

totally different type of post!

good afternoon friends!
My posts usually consist of stitching related topics. Well, this one is different!!!
This morning, I was looking thru a new magazine. I found a cookie recipe that screamed MAKE ME!! So, before going down on the treadmill, I got the stick of butter out to soften.
After my walk & shower, I came out to make the cookies. These cookies have created a 'fun day' for me. I posted on my facebook status that I was going to make cookies with a secret ingredient, which is my favorite snack food. I have had fun reading what people think that ingredient is. I even posted pictures of the mixture, the cookies before baking & the finished result. So far, no one has guessed the secret ingredient.
So, I decided to bring it to my blog as well!!!!
Guess away!!!!! If I can email you, I will let you know if you are right or not!!!
Ok, back to my stitching now!!!!
Have a great afternoon!!!!!

Wedding piece finished, SAL progress

Boy, it seems all of my friends have kids getting married these days. But, I guess since my kids are marrying age, so are my friends kids!
I stitched a small gift for a friend's son & his fiancee. We can't attend the wedding, but I can send the gift along with my friend!
I also stitched the July part of Sylvia's SAL. I actually did this on the 1st or 2nd & just haven't posted it. July has been a pretty busy month!
I am working on my B. Potter piece for a few days now. I can see a huge difference since my last post. I will be glad when this one is done, but I have loved every stitch of it! So fun to do.
I am also including a few more pictures from our get away last week. Oh how I wish I could go back! I loved it down there!
I hope you all have a great week!

Another great birthday gift!

I am late posting this, because I have been gone for a few days. BUT....on my birthday, I had a package arrive in the mail!!!
My dear friend Carol I. sent me a gift. She stitched a beautiful pinkeep for me. She explained to me what each part of it represented in her mind. I thought that was so special! I am going to print that email & put it with the pinkeep, so that I can remember. My memory is so bad, I am having trouble remembering right now.
My husband & I have not taken a vacation or done anything for a LONG time. (I think our last get away was 2 or 3 years ago, for a weekend) So, I planned a get away for us. We went to Spring Mill State Park in southern IN. It is a gorgeous park. We walked every trail that they have in the park. We logged over 12 miles on trails alone.
I haven't done much stitching at all the past week, so I don't think I have any stitching pictures to show, but maybe soon. I NEED to work on a wedding gift.
Have a wonderful week!!!

Early Birthday Gift!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!
Did I ever get a surprise in the mailbox yesterday when I went out there.
I always take my time walking out to the box, because I have to walk past my lilies on the way.
I love to stop & look at them & smell how wonderful they smell.
Yesterday, I did just that, & then got out to the box.
There was a package in the box. I couldn't figure out what it could be, since I only have one exchange going on & I knew the person hadn't mailed mine yet.
I pulled it out & it was a package from my dear friend Mylene.
I came in & showed my husband. He said, oh, Mylene sent you something. (he has heard me mention Mylene a lot)
I opened it & said it is a birthday gift....should I open it? He said that yes, she is going to want to know you got it!
So, I opened it. First, I opened the card. Not only was it a birthday card, but it was a stitched birthday card. Then, I opened a small package. It was a pinkeep for summer. I LOVE IT!!! I have it on the mantle now. I then opened another small package. This one contained a hardanger doily. It is perfect for my small vase that I put fresh cut flowers in.
I then opened the last one... a larger one. Mylene sent me a magazine from her country. It is so neat. There are a lot of nice patterns in it. It is fun to look at & try to figure out what some of the words are. The best part of magazines is.....a cross stitch pattern is the same in any language!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH MYLENE for making my day extra special yesterday!!!!

Finishes, WIPS, updates

good morning everyone!!!!
I have had quite a bit of progress on various projects this week. First, I worked on my SAL for Sylvia's blog. I finished the block for June. I then pulled out a bookmark, that I needed to do for an exchange. I think I can safely show it on my blog, so you can see it as well. Next, I pulled out my B. Potter piece. I work on it some each month, so this month was no different. I was able to finish my second motif last night, but didn't have time to post, as it was bedtime as I finished it.
I also have been updating my sale blog this week. I have TONS of patterns that I have already done or have decided that I will never do. So, I have spent a lot of time working on that blog. I am not sure what is going on with it thou. As of a few minutes ago, it was not showing up in the list of blogs that I follow. (on the left hand side of this blog) I just did a test post, so I haven't checked yet to see if it is showing up. The link to the blog is: http://sharissalestuff.blogspot.com/

The different types of lilies are blooming so beautifully now that I took a few pictures of them as well to show you.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog & for your kind comments. They mean so much to me. Stitching/blogging friends are the best!!!!