Friday the Thirteenth

Good Afternoon!

I just want to say from the beginning, that I do not believe in good luck or bad luck, but it's days like today that give Friday the 13th it's reputation! I'm ready to head back to bed and put the covers over my head! LOL

I've been frogging today. It's like I'm putting in one stitch and taking out two! I've been trying to finish one particular spot on my spot sampler for almost two weeks now, and when I'm about to use the last strand I'll need, things are going wrong. You can't see me, but I'm banging my head on the keyboard here in frustration! I'll get past this, but I'm guessing today is NOT that day! So...when the going gets tough...the tough go shopping! I'm going to pick DS up from school (hopefully he'll have had a better day than I have!) and I'm going shopping. He needs new shoes (due to an achillies tendon injury) and I need a new perspective...so here I go! Wish me luck...the good kind! LOL Good thing St. Patricks day is only a few days off, I'm part Irish, I'll get my luck back! Tootles!

Am I crazy or what?

Good Evening!

Just thought I would add photos today of all my Stitch A Longs along with web addresses where they can be found. Some of these you need to pay for, the Christmas Quaker and the Spot Sampler. I'm trying desperately to keep up, but have fallen behind in the Spot Sampler, and the Spanish Sampler. I'm doing ok in the rest though!

Above is my Spot Sampler which you can find here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spot-sampler-mystery-2008/

Above you'll find my Alla Turca which you can find here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StitchersHeaven/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=1


Above is my Band Sampler from Sticktreff which you can find here http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sticktreff/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=1


Above is my Carnation Sampler which you can find here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wiehenburg-samplers/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=3

Above is the Grand Abecedaire from Gazette 94 which you can find here http://gazette94.blogspot.com/

Above is my Christmas Quaker which you can find here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wiehenburg_christmas_quaker_2008/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=1

Below you'll find the March Mystery stitch a long which you can find here http://mahelia.canalblog.com/

And last but not least is my Spanish Sampler which you can find here http://periphaeria.com/community/news.php I haven't progressed too far with this one. You can't see from the picture, but it is done on black and isn't showing up as well as I would like, so I've put this one on hold until I decide what to do.

I'm not sure which is my favorite, I think it's whichever one I'm stitching at the time. I'm enjoying all these designs! I hope you enjoyed peeking at my stitching.

I haven't added much to my blog lately, mainly because my life has taken an unexpected turn in the fast lane. Hopefully, I'll get my life back in order and will be posting more regularly again. Til then...take care!

The Tea Cup

I have a friend who loves tea, and who is struggling at this point in her life. This is for you, Sonya, with hugs and prayers...

Love this story or not, you will not be able to have tea in a tea cup again without thinking of this.

There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups. Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand. I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "Don't do that." "I don't like it!" "Let me alone," but he only smiled, and gently said; "Not yet!"

Then WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. "Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!", I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet.'

He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. "Help! Get me out of here!" I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'.

When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is much better," I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please, Stop it, Stop, I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'.

Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded I screamed. I cried I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering "What's he going to do to me next?"

An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.' And I did. I said, That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!!! Quietly he spoke: 'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held.

Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'"

The moral of this story is this: God knows what He's doing for each of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will. So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this. Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down and think on this story and then, have a little talk with the Potter.

T.G.I.F

Thank goodness it's Friday!!!

This has been an extremely crazy week, and I'm so thankful it's over! DH has been sitting on this beach all week while I've been dealing with the terrible twos (that's what I call this stage in DS's development...the double digits of teenagerdom) Actually, the truth is, he hasn't been sitting on a beach, though he is in Hawaii. He's been in conferences in a building with no windows, he could be in Alaska for all you can tell from the inside of this building. But the commute to the conference is like heaven on earth! I actually took this picture two years ago when I took my two week mercy trip to Hawaii. I went to visit a friend whose husband was serving in Iraq. I told everyone it was a mercy mission but I never said who's mercy it was for! She and I visited this beach at sunset just so I could take this picture! LOL

This week was "Feeder concert" week. DS plays the clarinet and bass clarinet. The middle schools that "feed" into the main high school in the area, got together with the high school band and orchestra and they all played together in a concert tonight. We've watched DS in every concert he's ever played in since elementary school, we listen to him practice, and we've watched his improvement over the years. But I have to say, I've never heard his "band" sound so good as it did tonight! I really enjoyed this concert! It's a shame his Dad had to miss it! DS has had practice in the mornings before school and for two hour rehearsals twice this week. Between getting his homework done, eating, getting him to rehearsals, and even a field trip to a theater in the round today, it has been a wild and whacky ride! I'm so glad it's over. I'm exhasuted, and I think he is too!

I have to say though, I was invited to a "stitch in" today! It was WONDERFUL to be with friends who understand the frustrations, can make you laugh through the insanity, and who have the tastiest meals on the planet! I didn't get much stitching done, but it was the best therapy session I've had in ages! There is something about fellow stitchers, and I'm sure you understand this, they are generous, helpful and inspiring. I'm so very thankful to have them in my life, they make life worthwhile!! I had to leave early because of the concert tonight, but I wanted to pack them up and take them with me! In my opinion, we don't get together often enough! BUT!!! I have a stitching retreat weekend coming up the first weekend in May and I'll get to spend the whole weekend with these phenominal women.....I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Well, it's late, I'm babysitting the dog next door and it's time he had his nightly constitutional, and DS and I have a date in front of the TV watching a show tonight. I guess it's time to make my way off this and go spend time in the real world. Have a great weekend!

The Mom Song

DH called this morning from Hawaii. He was listening to the radio on his way to the conference today and heard a song called "The Mom Song" and told me I needed to google it as fast as I could. And so I did! I swear someone has been following me around, copying everything I said, and made a song from it. If you don't believe me, scroll back until you find my entry about teenagers! LOL Please go to You Tube from this link and watch this video, you won't regret it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESe-AysF9mw .

Love of the sea

Good Morning!

I thought I would show you some of my absolute favorite pictures that I have stitched. After we were first married, DH and I lived in Hawaii. We've been thanking our fellow taxpayers since then for our 4 year honeymoon in Hawaii! I guess you could say we were there on the taxpayers dime since he was stationed there and I was fortunate enough to live there with him in government quarters. It was the best time of our married life. That is were I fell in love with the sea. We first lived in a small apartment across the street from the beach. We would watch the sun set into the ocean every night and listen to the waves crash against the shore. There is something so soothing about the sound of water, whether it be the babble of a brook, the thunder of a waterfall, or the crashing of the waves. I slept the best in my life listening to the rhythm of the sea there in Waialua, Hawaii.

I woke up one morning to hear a lot of commotion down on the street. I stepped out on our lanai and peeked out over the ocean to see the fluke of a whale, then another. They were not far from shore, and were feeding off the bottom. It was a mother whale teaching her offspring to feed, I guess, but we were getting the show of a lifetime while they waved their tails at us. Since then, we've had a deep love and respect for whales as well.

We lived in Arizona for a while, too, and learned to appreciate the Native Americans and their philosophy of life. I have a deep respect for them, and their love of the Earth. This pattern is from the Stitching Studio and the artist usually depicts a "totem" in her artwork. It ties the love of the sea with our respect for Native Americans together. This was a Christmas present for DH last year.

We've lived in many places near the ocean and for some reason I have a fascination for lighthouses. While living in California we heard of one farther up the coast that was for sale. I would have loved to live in a lighthouse! Wherever we live we try to visit them. One trip took us up the coast of Maine where we stopped to see quite a few of them. They are such a beacon of hope, a place of refuge, a guiding light. There are many unique ones here in Maryland that I hope to visit sometime soon. We are looking for something special to do for our 25th anniversary this year, maybe that will be our gift to ourselves. Time will tell.

I have a few more whale charts that I hope to one day get to. If I work things right I might get one done for Christmas for DH this year too. I'll let you know if I get there. Thanks for stopping in, hope you enjoyed the "tour".

Snow Day!

Good morning!

It's a snow day here in Maryland! The school called last night to tell us that there would be no school today. Only in Maryland, with barely a dusting of snow on the ground, would they call the night before a school day to tell us there would be no school the next day! We call them weather wimps, but do not complain much when they give us a free day! We actually did get some accumulation overnight and the kids in the neighborhood are having a field day with sledding, snowball fights and snow people dotting the neighbor's yards. This is a shot out my front window before the kiddies have "hit the slopes"!

Well I did my good deed yesterday! I hauled myself out of bed before the crack of dawn to take DH to the airport. He left before the big snowstorm hit, thank heavens! We had gotten a little snow that night, enough to make the streets and sidewalks a little treacherous, but I still made it to the airport in time for his flight. He's going on a business trip to....*drum roll please* .... Hawaii. No, DH is not a big executive for a failing bank, nor the head of an American automaker. Worse! He's a government employee going to a conference. Don't get me started with wasting taxpayers hard earned money! (It would be another story if I were able to go with him! Paying my own way, of course!)

He has gone without us, of course! I did beg to go with him, but DS has too many things going on this week to leave him with an "attendant". I won't call them a babysitter, since DS is no longer a baby, well most of the time he's not *wink*, but he is "high maintanance! Ha ha. DH will be missing the biggest snowstorm of the winter, the spring band concert, the school field trip to the theater in the round, market day pickup, DS's doctor's appointment and the parent/student basketball game *dusting off my gym shoes and roller skates*, but I feel sufficiently able to handle all these superhuman tasks. *striking my wonder woman pose* I do wonder, however, how much stitching I'll be getting in. With yesterday being the first of the month and all those "new charts" coming out for all 7 SAL's I'm working on my fingers are itching to stitch. Ah well, Mother's work comes first *darn it*.

Uh oh, DS is awake and is asking, "What are WE going to do today, Mom?" I did rent a few movies to keep us occupied (smart Mom that I am *grin*) anticipating the snow storm. Hopefully that will keep him busy for a little while so I can get a few stitches in. I do know that I will have to eventually be playmate for a little while, not that I mind. I enjoy spending time with my son, he's great company! In the meanwhile, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of my weekend stitching. I'd also like to leave you with a little Chinese pearl of wisdom. Confuscius say, "He who fly upside down have crack up".