Summer 2015, Our New Little Nephew, and Some Cross Stitching, etc.

We had a nice summer overall. It rained pretty much all of June, but we got some nice, hot days in July and August. We got a new pool last summer to replace the one we had to get rid of a couple years ago. This one is slightly larger. So we've been putting that to good use these past couple summers. Other than swimming, I signed B. up for volleyball lessons at the Y. She made some new friends over the summer and had fun playing volleyball a couple times a week while I walked and worked out.

 My youngest brother, Bruce and his wife, Kerri, had a baby back in June (first child). So I have another sweet little nephew to spoil....

 Back on May 11th, I had to have Mohs surgery for skin cancer on my forehead. A mole had shown up out of no where several summers ago up by my hairline, and I had asked my doctor about it back then and she thought it was nothing. I wanted it gone, and before I had a chance to say anything to her this last time  that I went to see her back in April, she said "I don't like the look of that." I had it removed on April 22nd, and then a week or so later I got a call from the dermatologist's saying it was basal cell carcinoma. So I had to go to a different doctor and have the Mohs surgery done. It took forever to heal and the internal stitches wouldn't dissolve like they were supposed to and ended up eventually working their way out. I had like 13 stitches  (a couple of which were inside). But I'm all healed and the scar is barely visible. Thank goodness. I've been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter quite a bit this summer because that was what was recommended for it. I have never been to a tanning bed in my life and I'm usually pretty good when it comes to sunscreen, although I've gotten sunburns throughout my life just like anyone else. But the sun is pretty strong these days. I'm just thankful that I finally got the mole taken care of and that it's gone.

We took a trip down to South Carolina last month to see Ashley, Sean and our little grandson, Evan, for the first time who had just turned one. And then they came up here to visit for a few days several weeks ago. It was really nice to get to spend some time with them.

We stopped to see the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, WV on the way to South Carolina...

We even got in some beach time at Isle of Palms on Tuesday, August 4th...

 We spent the better part of the day in Charleston on August 5th and got to take a boat tour to Fort Sumter out in the harbor and learned about some civil war history.

B. got braces on August 13th....

 She has just the top ones on so far and won't be getting bottom braces until almost the end of October. She's thrilled to finally be wearing braces, but wasn't so thrilled about having some pain afterwards and it hurting for her to eat. So I've gotten quite good at making smoothies this past month. I'll buy a few bunches of ripe bananas that are marked down at the grocery store, bring them home, peel them, break them in half, and freeze in Ziploc bags. Then I keep some assorted frozen fruit on hand like mangos, strawberries, pineapple and assorted other berries. Add in some vanilla low-fat yogurt and a wee bit of orange juice and you have a delicious smoothie in no time at all....

Our nephew, Matt, was in town so we all got together for a weenie roast up at my sister and brother-in-law's on August 23rd....

The kids went back to school on Wednesday, the 26th of August, and then a couple days later, Ashley, Sean, and Evan came up on Friday the 28th and stayed with us until Monday. We also had a weenie roast for them up at my sister and brother-in-law's so everyone could visit with them and see Evan for the first time....

I'm happy to finally have another cross stitch finish to show you all. I've been working on this for the past month and just finished it up late last night. I washed, ironed and framed it this morning. And I'll be putting it in the mail here soon to send to little Evan.

 I've had this pattern book for at least 15-20 years and it's so nice to finally have a reason to stitch something from it. I tried to be real careful and gentle with my book, but it still fell apart while stitching this. I wish those types of books had nicer bindings. Oh well. Evan loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and starts dancing when he hears the music on TV. lol! He loves Mickey and is such a joy. I wish they didn't live so far away....

This next picture is what it looks like in the 8x10 frame I got from Gabe's before the glass was put in it. We had a heck of of time getting the back on the picture frame, but my wonderful husband got it work......

My cousin, John, got married last month on August 15th and had a really nice wedding. He's 50 years old and had been with the same girl, Michelle, for years. I'm so very happy for the both of them...

Now we're at the very end of summer, just a few days away from the first day of Fall. I'm looking forward to the coming autumnal months and the holidays ahead. I still haven't done any scrapbooking this whole year, but plan to in the coming week. I've just been concentrating mostly on my stitching this year. I did get my craft/scrapbooking room back in order and got my new Kallax unit all set up. I will have to take some pictures and show you all....

Happy Spring!

Wow, I can't believe it's been six months since I've written a blog post. I've just been busy and haven't had a whole lot to say. I haven't scrapbooked since December. My room is a mess and that's killing my desire to create. I finally quit my crappy retail job a week ago and so now I'll actually have the energy and time to do some long overdue things around here including getting my craft/scrapbook room back in order. My wonderful husband got me the big Kallax (formerly known as the Expedit) from Ikea that I've been lemming after for years as an early birthday gift. It's still in the boxes in the garage waiting to be put together. We need to tear down a big computer desk first. With his schedule, it probably won't get put together for at least another few weeks or so. But that's okay. I've waited this long. Once I get my room put back together, I will be sure to post some pictures.

I've picked back up my cross stitching after a long five year hiatus and have been mostly concentrating on that since the beginning of the year. I've even started stitching on linen this time around. So glad I didn't get rid of all my stitching stuff. I stitched this during all those snow days we had this past winter....

This is North Pole Express by Little House Needleworks stitched with the Classic Colorworks hand-dyed floss that it came with on 32 ct. opalescent Belfast linen. I absolutely love this fabric. It's so pretty.

I'm working on another LHN project called Little House Neighborhood. I started it a few years ago actually but only had the tree itself stitched. This one is being stitched on 28 ct. tea-dyed Monaco...

I have since stitched the crows, sheep, grass and started on the red house to the right of the tree and sheep....

This project has been temporarily put aside to work on a baby sampler for my soon-to-be-born nephew! I am so excited that I am going to be an aunt again this coming June! Woohoo! My brother Bruce and his wife, Kerri, are expecting their first child. B. and I went to the baby shower a little over a month ago on Saturday, March 21st, at their church....

Aren't these cupcakes the cutest?? They had a honey-bee theme at the shower since the baby's nursery will be decorated in a Vintage Pooh theme....

 So I am trying to get this baby sampler stitched up within the next month so all I'll have to do is add all the birth stats when he's born. At least that's the plan. This pattern is from a Stoney Creek book called "Snug As a Bug" that I've had in my stash for years.....

My progress so far...

I have several or more projects kitted up ready to go that I'm also looking forward to stitching. They are all either Little House Needleworks or Lizzie*Kate charts. And one Plum Street Sampler limited edition one. (a new favorite).  I'm so happy to finally have my stitching mojo back again after all this time.

I've also discovered needleminders as you can see in the photo above. Needleminders are all the rage it seems in the stitching world. How did I stitch for 20 years without one?? So of course, I placed my very first order ever on Etsy for a couple that I liked. I love my new needleminders  and they are very nice to have while stitching. I'm using the other one to hold my scissors. Works for me......

Like I said, this was my first time ordering anything from Etsy and I got it rather quickly. 

National Scrapbook Day will be this Saturday. I'll be able to participate maybe during the morning, but have plans for the rest of the day. We are going to a scholarship benefit where there will be lots of local bands playing. Really looking forward to it. NSD has become one of my favorite "holidays". I just love all the excitement, sales, online crops, etc. and seeing everyone's projects.

Here are some of the scrapbook pages I made this past fall since the last time I posted...

I did a 30 Days of Thankfulness layout back in November (well the actual scrapbooking wasn't until the beginning of December). I really enjoyed doing this and plan to do it again this year....

I also made this really cool jingle bells shadow box. The inspiration came from the Kerri Bradford website and the cut file for the vinyl wording is from her site as well....

This was actually easier to do than I expected. I don't have a Silhouette, but a very nice lady online cut the Jingle phrase out on some vinyl with her Silhouette and sent it to me along with some transfer paper. It is adhered to the inside of the glass since she made it so the sticky side was towards the front. I got the 8x8 shadow box from JoAnn's (50% off) and the jingle bells were 60% off. The background paper is DCWV scrapbook paper from my stash. It's actually quite glittery. This was a fun, quick Christmas decor project to make. 

And some other pages I made...

I used actual heart paper doilies that I sponged pink Momento ink over to get the cool background effect. This layout was made for a recipe challenge that I participated in online. My recipe was: pink - love - stencils and arrows. It was my first "recipe" challenge and I really had fun with it. 

I added a 6" x 12" page protector in between with all the selfies that B. took on Halloween. I love doing this when I have a bunch of photos and don't want to leave anything out...

We have been getting back out on the local trails biking and walking. I haven't ridden a bike in years and still feel a bit awkward, but with new bike shorts and gloves, it makes it a little easier. 

My husband and B. have been riding their bikes more than several times this spring so far. I've only ridden once or walked a few times while they went riding. Anything to get a little much-needed exercise. And now that I'm no longer working that dreadful retail job, I'll be able to go with them whereas before I was rarely home in the evenings or during the weekends. 

This Friday, we will be making pepperoni rolls all day long for the school band in the cafeteria from 12:30-8:00. My husband and I signed up to help for the entire day. We are the only ones who signed up for an entire day and not just a couple hours (mind you, they will be making them all day Saturday too), but we are huge supporters of the band and love helping them as much as we can. I worked the concession stand during a few of the home games this past fall and really enjoyed that as well. They have a hard time getting the parents to help. So we try to do what we can and really enjoy being involved with the band boosters. They have 6,100 pepperoni rolls to make, so they need all the help they can get this year. 

Well that's it I think. I'm looking forward to warmer days ahead, the new baby, time spent with family and just enjoying my blessings which I am very thankful for. 

'til next time...