RETREAT!! My saving grace!!

I was able to attend a retreat in June called Flower Power II hosted by LinAnn Events.  These ladies are a barrel of fun and I always enjoy their retreats.  I stitched only on the bellpull while I was there.  Here is a picture of our group....see if you can find me!  I'll give a hint, I'm tall so I'm always in the back of the pack!

We had a grab bag exchange, but I didn't have much time to prepare.  I should probably have not participated, but you know me, haha.  I'm always up for a challenge.  I feel sorry for the lady who got mine, but I think she was impressed by the scissor fob I included, which spelled out Flower Power.  Here's a picture of what I included.  The 5 objects had to spell out the word, Daisy.  So there is a Doily, Accessory kit for sewing, an Iron stitching kit, Scissor fob, and Yarnology socks.  haha.....can you see they say too many WIPs, the other sock says, Not Enough....haha.  It was all placed in a little tutu bag.

I received a  cute little wheelbarrow full of my goodies, with Dust sweep, Aida cloth, Ice cubes, Syrup and Socks, and Shovel, and Yarn.  What a lovely gift, with a stitched card.  A lady from Canada put this all together.  I assure you, I was spoiled!!

I haven't had much time to do much stitching, but I'm still working on the challenge my LNS is hosting.  This month our number was #8.  My #8 is Christmas Quaker Bellpull.  This was a work in progress and I had all but the first 4 pages stitched.  So far this month I've been able to finish off page number 4 working from the bottom up.  That leaves 3 pages left.  I really want to finish this, it's been hanging around for 10 years now!!  haha  Here is where I started....

And here is where I am now....

I'm home from NY for a little break.  I learned that my son got engaged to his girlfriend while I was away so we are in the midst of planning a wedding.  It's hard to believe Katie has been gone almost 2 years now.  It's been quite a journey since then, but thankfully Ben has met a lovely lady who has really helped him get past his grief over Katie.  His new love embraces his memories, has participated in fun raisers for Cystic Fibrosis, and is already a big part of our family.  I'm excited for her to legally become a member of our family!!

I'm still going through things back at the house.  I've found a few things that make me smile, or think, or wonder.  I've found my Dad's diary from the time he was in the Navy....

I've found a few more things I have stitched for my Mom....

I've found antique things that make me scratch my head.  This jar has the date Nov 30, 1858 on it....wow, I never knew they had it!  I think I might fill it with cross stitched smalls to have sitting about.  Sometimes I wish inanimate objects could talk!  

This journey of clearing out my parent's house of more than 50 years has evoked so many emotions....some tear jerking, some hilarious, some mysterious.  I feel closer to them in many ways, but in others it has me scratching my head.  I miss them, but it's been an exhausting journey.  I think I've worked through the initial shock of it all, and I'm in a place I can move on now.  A few more trips to NY (her internment is this month) and I think I will be able to only travel back when the lawyer needs a signature.  I've talked to Mom's friends who have come to the yard sale we've had.  Hearing stories of her generosity and kindness will be cherished.  I hope folks will say similar things about me when I'm gone.  While it's been a tough journey, and I know it will never be completely over, I feel like I've worked through a lot of my grief and I'm in a good place now.  I'll miss them both, but I'm at peace with their memories.  Time to move on.

So...that's where I've been.  Hopefully I'll have more time for stitching now (in between getting ready for a wedding) but we'll see.  Watch this space!  Till then, Happy Stitching!