From My Needle - End of 2013 and Start of 2014

First to share my stitching finishes from the end of 2013.  The first ones are small needlepoint kits I purchased at the Cross Stitch Pals Retreat at Myrtle Beach this past October. The kits are from Foxwood Crossings. She was one of the many wonderful designers attending the Pals Retreat at Myrtle Beach.

First one….

"Ribbon Wreath" by Foxwood Crossings

Completed on November 29, 2013

Second one….

"Ribbon Basket" by Foxwood Crossings

Completed on December 17, 2013

Third one was completed while I relaxing at my Dad's for the Christmas holiday.

"Christmas Crown" by Foxwood Crossings

Completed on December 24

The last of the four kits was finished in January.  I'll show it to you in a bit, but next in the list of finishes is my last finish for 2013, "Christmas Donkey". I stitched the donkey in a Stitch-A-Long (SAL). Not sure what was more fun, the actual stitching, or each of saying "DONKEY!!!!!" practically every time one of us posted an update on our stitching.

"Christmas Donkey" by Forgotten Farms

Stitched on Silkweavers 32ct lugana, color Creekstone

Completed on December 31, 2013

And next is the last of the 4 Foxwood Crossings needlepoint kits, and my first finish for 2014.

"Ribbon Tree" by Foxwood Crossings

Completed on January 1, 2014

Next up, the SAL group that did the DONKEY wanted to stitch something in honor of upcoming Valentine's Day. We chose Samper Pear VI, a freebie pattern from Sampler and Santa's - Pear page.

"Sampler Pear VI" by Sampler and Santas

Stitched on 28ct mushroom lugana

Completed on January 18, 2014

I love the freebie Pear patterns from this site. I plan to stitch some of the other pears, maybe eventually all of them. And I have a huge piece of the 28ct mushroom lugana, should be enough to stitch all of the pears on the same fabric.

And last but not least --- my latest finish from this past weekend.

"Yikes!" by Bent Creek

Stitched on 32ct platinum lugana

Completed on February 9, 2014

I had started stitching on one of the other freebie Pears. Will see if I finish it before my mood has me either starting something else new, or switching back to one of several UFO's from 2013.

Hope all have had a great Valentine's Day.

Happy Stitching to All,

Chris

Happy Valentine's Day, and a new year for blogging

Ok, once again, I have been a horrible blogger, being that I haven't updated my blog in a year. I decided today that it was time to start blogging again. And to also plan to comment on posts made by my blogging friends (I've been reading blogs from time to time, but not commenting -- yes, I know, I've been very bad).

So I've changed my background (hope you like it).  As I'm starting to type this post, I realized my last post was one year ago today, Valentine's Day 2013. No, I did not plan to start blogging again on Valentine's Day, but I do find it amusing that it has worked out that way.

More later. I plan to post pictures of completed stitching projects from the last couple of months, and I need to grab the photos. I will work on that post a little later tonight.

Talk to you soon,

Chris

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone is having a great day. Whether family members, a spouse, children, friends, or a mixture of all of the above, there are people in the world that love you no matter what. Today is a day to remember....think about....embrace, if you can....those that love you and those that you love.

I owe some update pictures, but I don't have any handy at the moment, so no pictures today. I have made progress on the UFO I started working on a couple of weeks ago. And this past weekend, I started working on Red Cottage by Plum Street Samplers.

I went on a 3 day weekend with some local stitching buddies this past weekend to Williamsburg, VA. When we arrived on Friday, we did a little shopping first. First stop was a cross stitch shop, The Stitching Well at Haus Tirol. I was good and only bought a couple of things. A few doors down, I visited The Knitting Sisters. I bought a kit for a very cute scarf that is knitted with 5 yarns, all shades of red and each very different in texture. The scarf is knitted lengthwise, which makes the changes in yarn texture really stand out.

After shopping, we had dinner at The Blue Talon Bistro. The food was outstanding. I had lamb shank which was delicious. It fell off the bone and was so tender you could eat it with a spoon. Yummm!

Saturday was a day of relaxing and stitching. A few of the ladies drove to Virginia Beach to shop at another cross stitch store, Dying 2 Stitch. I opted to stay at the condo and stitch. It was a great weekend. One we hope to repeat sometime later this year.

That's all for now. I'll post pictures in next day or so.

Hugs and Happy Stitching, Chris

My adorable dragon is finished

WooHoo, 'The Needle Guardian' by Teresa Wentzler is finished (well, the stitching is finished). This is the first of what hope are many UFOs finished this year.

I made a couple of changes. There was an outer border of Nun's Stitch and the instructions had you fringing the piece beyond the Nun's Stitch border. I didn't want to fringe it, so I left off the Nun's Stitch border too. As I fold under the edges and attach a backing fabric, I'll add a running stitch just inside the outer border. The design also included a similar cluster of braid lines (what I called the "Medussa Hair" that is around the Dragon's head) and beads on the tail. I made decision to leave it off. Now to pick out the fabric I want to attach on the inside, and then to find some pretty wool felt for the inside for the needles.

Next up on my to-stitch list is another UFO:

This is a stitching project from a Susan Greening Davis stitching retreat from 2008 (I think it was 2008). When finished, it gets attached to the purple pansy bag you see behind it.
I hope everyone is having a great Sunday afternoon. I'm currently watching Braveheart on TV while I stitch and blog.
Hugs and Happy Stitching, Chris

Progress on my Dragon

Hello all. I hope everyone has had a great weekend. I have made good progress on 'Needle Guardian' this weekend. Here is what it looks like now...

There still a little stitching to do, below the words and in the corners, but after getting my name and the backstitched words done, I was in the mood to get a little of the other backstitching done. I'm loving how it is turning out so far. Hopefully it will be done in a few more days.

Before Christmas, I had signed on for the Stitch A-Long for Country Cottage Needleworks 'Santa Village'. I had started the first piece, but didn't like the fabric I initially chose. I'm waiting on a couple of fabric options to arrive in the mail. Was hoping to have decided on fabric by now. Oh well, once fabric has been decided, I can get back to working on them.

I hope everyone has a great week. Hugs and Happy Stitching, Chris

Belated Happy New Year

It's time to start blogging again. At least to keep track of my stitching projects during the year. I'll start with my last finish of 2012. The finish below is a pattern that Tanya from The Scarlett House made for us at the PALS Fling in Myrtle Beach this past October. It's stitched over 1 on 25ct evenweave. I finished it December 31, 2012.

Next is my first start and finish for 2013. It is 'Halloween' by Threadwork Primitives, stiched on 28ct antique white evenweave.

I've decided this year to split my time between working on new projects AND finishing some of the many UFO's I have in various boxes and craft bags. Here is the first UFO that I pulled out about a week ago. It's 'Needle Guardian' by Teresa Wentzler. This is what it looked like in it's last touched state:

And here is what it looks like tonight:

The dragon will look much better once the backstitching is added at the end. This is a cute design I stumbled on years ago. Can't wait to get it finished.
That's it for now. Hugs and Happy Stitching to all.

Don't faint, yes, this is a new post...FINALLY

I have so many wonderful stitching friends, friends that laugh with me, friends that listen to me when needed, friends that stitch with me. And most importantly, friends that remind me that I haven't updated my blog in over 6 months. Well, I have just returned from hanging out with several of those wonderful friends. I have been in Myrtle Beach, SC, attending the 13th Annual Cross Stitch Pals Fall Fling. There were many familiar faces there and there were several new faces there this year. It was wonderful to see everyone and, for those that were attending for the first time, it was great to meet you and I hope to see you there again next year.

This year, the Fall Fling was at a new location, the Springmaid Beach Resort.

Here is a photo from the balcony of my room:


This was the view from the front door balcony side of my room:


And here is a view from the beach I took this morning before I left:


Stitchers from all over the place attend the Pals Fling. This is MichelleKS. Michelle was my roomie this trip:


Here's a photo of MicheleWA (no, I didn't spell her name incorrectly, she spells Michele with one "L"):


Here is a photo of DawnNC and her daughter Emily. Dawn and I have been best friends since 1st grade and have attended all 13 of the Pals Myrtle Beach trips. Her daughter Emily has attended all 7 of her years and has many "Aunts" from the Pals stitchers:


Here are KarenAZ (right), SharonPA (middle) and DianeIN (left). This was Diane's first trip to the Pals Fling:


Saturday night was the last night and many group shots were being taken. Here is a group photo of the crowd I was hanging out with. You see that DianeIN (up front) fit right in with the rest of us crazy, silly stitchers:


One of the most popular activities from the PALS Fling is the grab bag exchange. Grab bag containers can be anything. This year's containers were great. Here are photos of some of the containers:






The "penguin" container from the middle photo is the one I ended up getting and it was packed with wonderful goodies. I have a few more things to share, but need to take photos first. I'll do that and share in my next post.

Last photo to share for this post was this beautiful view of the moon coming up over the ocean's horizon. I was walking back to my room Saturday night and happened to look up and saw the moon starting to appear. I grabbed my camera and this is one of the photos that wasn't blurry:


I wasn't up early enough any morning to capture a photo of a sunrise over the ocean, maybe next year.

That's it for now. I'll take photos of a few other things to share and will post again in a day or so. To all those that attended the Pals Fling, I hope to see you all there again next year. And to those that couldn't attend this year, I hope to see you there next year too.

Hugs and Happy Stitching,
Chris

So long since my last post

Where does the time go? Oh wait, a bunch of that time is spent at work, and another bunch at various rehearsals, oh yea.

Today, I'm in Manning, SC, to spend a day of stitching with friends. I drove down late last night, checked into the Holiday Inn Express a little after 12:30am. Slept okay, but woke up a few times. The folks in the room next to mine had at least 2 small children and apparently were getting up very early, my guess to continue their adventures on the highway. Why do I say this? Because I woke up around 6am, and there was giggle-fest going on next door (at least 2 gigglers). It was probably 20 minutes before I fell back asleep and they were still giggling when I fell back asleep. I woke up again a little after 7am, heard the gigglers still giggling away before I rolled over and fell back asleep.

I've had my breakfast, the Holiday Inn Express had some yummy sausage gravy this morning, which I had over a split biscuit. I'm going to finish sipping the last of my cup of coffee and head over to the meeting place for the stitching today. I do have my camera with me, hopefully, I'll remember to take some pictures, and will share some photos tomorrow once I'm back home.

I hope everyone has a great day today.

Hugs and Happy Stitching,
Chris

Wear Red Day

This post is for all my blogging friends out there. For all women. But, let's not leave out the men. To the men out there, is there a special woman in your life - your Mother, GrandMother, Sister, Wife, Daughter? Then Wear Red Day is a day for you. On Friday, February 5th, 2010, wear RED to show support against the fight against heart disease in women. Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women in the U.S. How many of you can wear RED on Friday? Come on, wear RED for the women in your life, including yourself.

Click on the Wear Red Day link for more information. And please help pass the word. Mention this post on your blog. Or post your own Wear Red Day post on your blog.

Happy Tuesday

I hope 2010 is starting off great for everyone. The weather here has been great the last few days. Not that the eastern half of NC gets dreadful winter weather (compared to those that live to the north), but we were having a spell of temperatures in the upper teens to lower 20's at night and barely getting above freezing during the day. Last few days have been upper 50's to low 60's, which has been much better.

As for stitching, I am just about finished with an ornament for Ruth. It's the last ornament I had left to finish in the Ho, Ho, Ho Ornament exchange. I thought it would have been finished, mailed and received by now, but no, taking a little longer, mainly because life has been busy last few weeks and I haven't had much time to stitch during the week. The backstitching should be done tonight and it will be stuffed, finished, and mailed in the next few days. Sorry I can't share a picture yet, I'll post a picture once it has been received. The only other thing I've stitched a little on is Lizzie Kate's "Believe" (from the Double-Flip series), at Monday night stitch-night a couple of Mondays. I had threads for the Christmas ornament spread out on the sofa cushion and didn't want to gather it all into a bag. The Lizzie Kate Double-Flips were handy, so off they went with me to stitch-night.



I am stitching them all on one piece of fabric (as in photo to left). "Believe" is the 7th design out of 12, so I'm officially over 1/2 way finished (ok, ok ... barely 1/2 way finished). I'm sad to say they were last touched a year ago (end of December 2008, first of Jan 2009). They do stitch rather quickly, so they are staying in the WIP pile, as I want to get the rest of them done. I've been attaching the charms as I finish each design. I'm going to have to detach one of the charms and sew it on again. I apparently got a little tight with my stitches when attaching it and it's not laying flat / dangling on the fabric. Don't know why I attached it so tightly, oh well. Once the double-flips are finished, I'll start working another Lizzie Kate Flip-It series, also a UFO not touched since a year ago.

Sorry no pictures today. I'll post WIP pictures soon, plus have some quilting pictures I need to take and share. More on quilting, with pictures, later.

Final stitching projects from 2009

First a photo from Christmas. I took my camera with me to Daddy's for Christmas, but never did take pictures of the snow. I did take a couple of pictures of Daddy. Here is Daddy, relaxing in "his" chair (the recliner), with his dog "Buttermilk" in his lap.


Now on to stitching. I look back over my list of completed stitching projects for 2009 and can only say one thing regarding the number of projects finished for 2009 .... "pitiful". I was doing okay the first part of the year, but the second part of the year, I had a long spell of not hardly stitching. Oh well, I plan to stitch much, much more in 2010. Here are the last four stitching projects for 2009. These are 4 ornaments stitched for members of the Ho Ho Ho Ornament exchange. I was the total slacker of the group, rushing to finish ornaments in December and get them mailed before Christmas. They have been received so I can post photos. These are the last 4 finished stitching projects for 2009:

Karen's ornament:


Shelleen's ornament:


Michele's ornament:


Nicole's ornament:


There is one more ornament to get finished and mailed, the one for Ruth. Ruth's ornament will be my first "finish" for 2010 and hopefully will be in the mail by the end of this coming week.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Posting my list of finished projects from 2009. Posting here to have it documented before clearing it to start the new list for 2010.
1. LK 2007 FEB FlipIt - Jan.1
2. LK 2007 MAR FlipIt - Jan.2
3. Reindeer ornament - Jan.12
4. With My Needle - Quaker Pattern Book, Chart A - Jan.23
5. With My Needle - Quaker Pattern Book, Chart I - Feb.8
6. SGD Small Christmas bell in snowman tin - Feb.21
7. SGD Embroidery-Topped basket - Feb.21
8. Stitched surprise for my buddies - Mar.24
9. Flamingo nametag for me - Mar.26
10. F&S round 12 squares - Apr.20
11. BBD Petites Lettres Rouges - Apr.30
12. LHN Schoolgirl Lessons - May 11
13. Karen's HoHoHo exchange ornie - May 28
14. SGD Needle Roll - Jun 2
15. Quaker Flag freebie - Aug.10
16. Sarah needlepoint diamond ornament - Sep.3
17. Victoria Sampler 'Trust" freebie ornie - Sep.24
18. Shelleen's HoHoHo exchange ornie - Dec.16
19. Michele's HoHoHo exchange ornie - Dec.17
20. Karen's HoHoHo exchange ornie - Dec.20
21. Nicole's HoHoHo exchange ornie - Dec.21

Happy New Year

Welcome to the year 2010. Let's enjoy some fireworks....



I hope 2010 brings happiness and health to all.

10 Holiday Eating Tips

I came across the following list on a few websites over the holiday. I realize it is too late for you to keep this list in mind for Christmas, but hey, you can keep it in mind for New Year Eve and New Year's Day, before we all get back to normal life and eating habits next week.

A word to the wise:
1. Avoid Carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrot sticks on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas Spirit. If you see carrots leave immediately. Go next door they are serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much EGGNOG as you can. It is rare and can only be found at this time of year. Who cares if it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It is not as if you are going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!
3. If something comes with gravy. Use it!! Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the Volcano.
4. As for the mashed potatoes, always ask if they were made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. the whole point of going to a Christmas Party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. This is the time for long naps, which you will need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and a vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and do not budge. Have as many of them as you can. They are like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention Fruitcake? Granted, it is loaded with mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it all cost. I mean have SOME standards. (Basic Grey's next Christmas line is named Fruitcake- You can have as much of that one as you want. IN STORES JUNE2010)
10. Remember this motto to live by. " Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the attention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Last Day of 2009

As I start typing this post, it is 1:45am, December 31st, so, yes, it is the last day of 2009. It's raining at the moment, I think the rain is expected to stop by sometime this afternoon. We appear to be getting our share of rain lately, in short spurts lasting a day or two, which has been happening about once during each week for the last month or so. If this trend continues over the next couple of months, eventually the temperature is going to dip below freezing and it will be some form of frozen precipitation (snow, or more than likely around here, a mixture of sleet, freezing rain, and snow). The weekend before Christmas, the western part of NC got a good dose of snow. My Dad, who lives in the northern foothill area of NC, measured 10 inches in his yard. Daddy was very happy with the snow, and I heard that his dog, named Buttermilk, enjoyed romping in the snow tremendously. My area, Raleigh, was on the edge of the "frozen" line. For a brief 15-20 minutes that afternoon, it was snowing beautifully at my house, and a little later, early evening, there was some sleet mixed with more snow before turning to rain.

As I think back over 2009, I think about the good or nice things that happened this year, and I think of things that fall onto the "I could have done better" list. I guess most of us can put together similar lists each year. For my "good or nice" list, there's nothing on that list that would be earth shattering to others, but they were note-worthy to me. For example.... 1) I went on my first overseas trip in June, something a few years ago I would have thought would never have happened. 2) I got together earlier this year with a few cross-stitching friends in Arizona. That was the first trip I have ever taken that involved me flying somewhere that was purely a "get together with a few girl-friends for a short vacation" type of trip. On that trip, I got to visit the Grand Canyon, another first for me. 2009 brought continued enjoyment with various musical groups in which I play, especially with the dixieland band. For the "I could have done better" list, again, nothing earth shattering, but I did plan to spend more time at the gym (I started going in May, but not so much these last few months). And I could have spent more time practicing banjo, working to improve my "picking" skills. And I could have spent much more time cross-stitching the last 1/2 of 2009 and could have been much better at posting to this blog. Overall, 2009 has been a good year, but ending with the usual thoughts of "I could have done more".

For the end of 2009, I've been enjoying being off from work almost 2 weeks (2 week end-of-year shutdown). I am working Friday, January 1, but can work from home. For Christmas, I drove to my Dad's last Wednesday. There was still plenty of snow on the ground from the 10 inches of snow that fell the Friday before. I visited my GrandFather (my Mom's Dad) on Christmas Eve, got to see my cousins and their children while there). While at my Dad's, I mainly relaxed, spending time with Daddy and my StepMom, stitched a little. I stayed till Sunday, headed back home after church.

Since getting back home Sunday, I have consistently been staying up late every night. Tuesday night I went to bed around 2, which was the earliest I've gone to bed this week. I didn't plan to stay up late every night, just something that has been happening, most of the time getting into watching a movie that's on late, while stitching a little. Currently I'm watching "The Caine Mutiny", a classic. Before "The Caine Mutiny", I watched "Julie & Julia". I won't be staying up too late Thursday night since I'm working Jan.1. I'll probably stay up just long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV. Here in Raleigh, the New Year's Eve celebration includes the dropping (or lowering with a crane) of the "acorn". Raleigh is the "City of Oaks" and they lower a large acorn (made from copper I believe). If watching the local CBS station here, which is usually the station showing the lowering of the ball in Times Square in New York, they will have a small insert square in the lower corner showing the lowering of the acorn, so one can watch both the lowering of the ball in Times Square and the lowering of the acorn simultaneously.

Tuesday, I went to the movies for a matinee showing of "The Blind Side", which I have been wanting to see. It was a great movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Well, it's now a few minutes past 2:30 and I probably should go to bed. "The Caine Mutiny", which still has another hour and a 1/2 to go, will have to continue on without me (not like I haven't seen it before).

I do have a few pictures to share, which I will try to do in the next day or so. Hugs to all of my friends and family. May 2010 bring good health and happiness to you all.

Home from PALS Fling in Myrtle Beach

Hi honey, I'm home. I have pictures to share from the 12th PALS Fling in Myrtle Beach, SC. The weather was great. It rained a bit Friday night, but mainly when we were in the conference center, so the rain didn't bother us. I did have to remote into work a few times during the day to keep an eye on "work", but other than that, had a great time.

Sharon and I missed the other members of the GCGC (Grand Canyon Girls Club), currently consisting of 5 members - Michele, Karen, Sharon, Ruth, and myself. To Michele, Karen, and Ruth, you were missed. We did pass along your "Hello's" and that you would be back next year.

To Ruth, who normally flies into Raleigh, spends a night or two with me, and rides to Myrtle Beach and back with me, I have pictures especially for her, so she will feel like she was with me. First we have a photo of South of the Border, at the NC/SC border off of I-95. Yes, I was driving at the time, but it was directly in front of me, so only had to hold the camera right above the steering wheel, and with the digital camera, you can take a photo using only one hand, and there was very little traffic at the time.



On Thursday night, a few of us go to a seafood buffet restaurant called Crabby Mike's, it's become our Thursday night tradition. Here's their sign and their crazy "crab" van:





Here's a picture of Dawn's daughter Emily, posing with the dolphin near the restaurant entrance. Dawn and I have been best friends since the 1st grade. Dawn and I have attended all 12 PALS Flings. Emily is 6 and has also been to the PALS Fling, and Crabby Mike's, every year since she was born (her first trip when she was about 1 month old).



A photo of Emily again, with Mother Dawn and Aunt Susan. Can you tell that Emily is NOT camera shy.



One of the reasons we go to Crabby Mike's is for, of course, crab legs. Here is plate of crab legs that were beginning to be attacked:



Excuse the fingers in the above photo. That was Emily's fingers. Did I mention that this child is NOT camera shy? I had another photo of the plate of crab legs, without Emily's fingers, but that photo came out a little blurry, so the above photo was the best shot of the crab legs.

And finally, we have Mama Ida (Dawn and Susan's Mother, Emily's GrandMother), about to eat a piece of crab meat (that Dawn shelled and gave to her). Ida never understands the effort and work required to crack crab legs to get such small pieces of edible food ... these comments sometimes include a shaking of her head. Can you read the look on her face. It's the, "ok, I'll eat it, but I don't really like it that much" look.



Now on to PALS Fling photos. On Friday night, everyone gathers in the conference center. Activities include a grab bag exchange and an ornament exchange. There are always certain grab bags that get stolen often, based on the creative look of the grab bag "container". This was one of the popular grab bags. Actually, I believe this is by far the most interesting, grab bag container I've seen in the 12 years I've attended the PALS Fling:



The above grab bag was brought by Amy. It tied for 2nd place for number of times stolen. First place was a canvas bag with pretty cat pictures on it (I think that was first place). If you click on the above photo to see a larger image, you'll see that the sign attached to the panties says "Put on your big girl panties and cross stitch." I don't remember who ended up with it at the end of the night.

Here is the grab bag I got, which was brought by ConnieNE and was packed full of goodies and had a reindeer ornament hanging from the corner. Thanks again Connie:



Here are photos of other grab bags. In the second photo below, the small rectangle tin was the grab bag I brought. It had contained chocolates I brought back from Brugge, Belgium earlier this year for my co-workers. It was packed with various overdyed flosses and silks.













And, here are the ornaments for the Ornament Exchange. All of the ornaments brought were beautiful.











I have a few more photos I'll share of ornaments stitched by Dawn, her sister Susan, and Mama Ida. For cross stitch "shopping", I mainly bought fabric. Plus I did get some things from the stash room. I'll share the rest of these photos in a few days.

I'm already quite comfy sitting on my sofa, watching a few TV shows I DVR'd while I was gone (bouncing between those and football). Time to put down the laptop and pick up some cross stitch. For those at the PALS Fling, it was great seeing you again. There were a few that had not been in a long time, ConnieNE for one. There were also some new faces at the PALS Fling, who will hopefully come back next year. For those that could not make it this year, you were dearly missed and I hope I'll see you there next year.

Hugs to all.