My Family Sampler is framed, home and hung!

My Family Sampler arrived home! Isn't it beautiful? I just love the framing done by Jill Rensel Studios, especially the extra touches she does. It just adds that "extra-something-special" to your finished stitching project. If you aren't aware of her work, go to her blog to see her other finished framing jobs! Her name and recommendation was given to me by several of my stitching friends: Valerie V and Brandy.  

Family Sampler by Little House Needleworks
Started: January 1, 2011 - Finished December 31, 2012
Hung on the wall - April 24, 2013

I hung this upstairs right by the doorway to my bedroom. I can see it when I am in bed. Corny, huh? It has been a very long time since I have finished a big project and had it framed for me :) This project really was suppose to have been done quicker than it was; for it was suppose to done for my 20th wedding anniversary...but you all know how things get in the way of our love for stitching.

In addition to that milestone, this sampler is also special because of those Red Birds in the trees. They were suppose to have been stitched in black, but I decided that they should be Cardinals. "Why?" you might ask...well, my husband and I met at college - at Washington University in St. Louis. St. Louis loves it Cardinals - Cardinal baseball and, back then, it's Cardinal football team. When my husband and I went to school there, my grandparents lived there.

My St. Louis grandparents were like a surrogate mom & dad to me all my life. My sisters and I would stay with them for a week or so in the summer...they would come to our house and stay with us when my parents would travel...we would be together on holidays and life cycle events. So when I went away to school - I had the best of both worlds...I was being independent, living away from my family. However, if I got homesick or needed a home-cooked meal, grandma & grandpa were never far away.  Anyway, when I started stitching my Family Sampler, I felt that it would be appropriate to stitch the birds in red. As I know that my grandparents are watching over me and my family.

Boy, am I glad that it is Friday. I get some time to go out for my walk/jog this morning and get this day to get caught up on stuff around the house. It has been a crazy week with our stores because of Administrative Assistant's Day, which was on Wednesday. We had a lot of arrangements to make on Wednesday and I was the main chocolate dipper. I had over 300 banana pieces to dip in chocolate. Yikes! Lots of standing at the chocolate warmers dipping :) Well, we are gearing up for Mother's Day which is a very, very busy weekend. It is all good...just exhausting! 

Anyway, I will let you go! Thank you for visiting me today. I hope that you have a great Friday and good weekend. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often!

Lisa

An update: life, stitching and a milestone birthday

Well, the boys have offically moved on from their respective school's track & field back to hockey full-time. Last weekend was tryouts for the 2012-13 AAA year already - and I am very proud of my boys as each made the team that they were trying out for. My older son will be on the San Jose Jr. Sharks 16AAA team...and Matthew, my younger son, will be on the 13AAA team...and both will have the same coaches they had last year, so it is kind of a continuation of last year. However, both boys lost a few very good teammates and picked up some new ones. We are sad that we lost some good families and hope that we will continue to keep in contact.

Aside from tryouts, the boys have started their summer hockey camp which meets 4 times a week in the evenings (both boys are still in school for another 2 weeks) and will go on for 6 weeks. It definitely is a major committment for all involved as the drive down to San Jose from where we live is about 40-45 minutes...one way :) Anyway, I have found the time down at the rink perfect for stitching and have picked up Family Sampler and put some X's in it. It has been a long time since I posted a photo...so without further ado, here is the status of my Family Sampler:

I do apologize for the wrinkles and hoop imprints. I wanted to get photos posted this morning and it was just too darn early to get out the iron (it is only 4:45am). Since the last posting I have finished up the family...from left to right: one of my sons, Me, dog Bruno, cat Chester, DH and other son. Since the boys, who are three years apart, are the same height as of right now I decided to make them the same. I also didn't want to decide which child was standing with which parent. This way, I thought I could enjoy looking at it after it was totally finished and framed and feel like both were standing with me or both were standing with my DH. Just a shame that there is a tree right between DH and I ;)

Here is the section a little closer. I have another basket of flowers to finish on the left hand side...then all that is really left is to stitch our last name in that empty section under the family. It's looking like I just might finish this in the next month...or so! At least I will finish it soon!

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HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!

13 years ago @ 6:30am - Matthew entered into my life.

I was all set up to be induced on Tuesday, May 25;

 however I guess Matthew felt that Monday, May 24th.

My DH drove me to the hospital at 4am that Monday morning, as my contractions were coming fast and furious. Within a couple of hours he was looking up at me almost right into me and smiling.

Matthew sitting on the hockey bench; he was a 1st year PeeWee AA and played for the Santa Clara Blackhawks

It is fun watching Matthew grow and mature,

to witness the differences and similarities between him and his older brother.

I enjoy his stories...our conversations...his take on life.

Me, Robert (my oldest-16 year old) and Matthew (my now 13 year old)

Matthew...I am so proud of you!

You are a caring and loving son;

A great role model at school and on your hockey team.

 You are becoming a wonderful young man!

I love you!

Happy 13th Birthday!

Well, that will do it for you today. Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful Thursday! Remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often!

Lisa

Happy April...

No, this is not an April Fool's joke...it is actually a bad photo (sorry...it was a phone photo) of the status of my Family Sampler. Since my last post over 1/2 month ago, I have finished the dad/husband (or should I say: DH), the mom/wife (or should I say ME), and have started one of the sons. Except for some slight color changes of the boys' pants and shirt, I will make them the same size...even though one is younger than the other, but right now the younger one is now an inch taller than the older one. :)

Life here, while still busy as we balance ownership/running 2 stores and the activities of the 2 boys, we have found nice quiet evenings at home as the hockey season has come to an end (which is short lived due to some spring teams and development clinics that will start up soon). Both boys have taken up track for their respective school during the hockey "off season" where practice is right after school and the schools aren't far from home. Nevertheless, everyone has been home by dinner time and our evenings have been relaxed...and we have even been able to "hit the sack" around 9pm! Sweet Slumber!!!

Last week, my grandmother was back in the hospital due to being very dehydrated from some of the medications she was on. None of the family was in South Carolina at the time, so one of grandma's very best friends stayed with her in the hospital and reported her status with my mother and my 2 uncles. After 24 hours of hospital attention, things didn't looks so good. While grandma's mind is still sharp as a tack, her 93 year old body is showing more wear & tear after the stroke and seems to be shutting down. So last Thursday, my parents & sister from Minnesota, an Uncle & Aunt from Colorado and my other Uncle, Aunt & Cousin from North Carolina got on the next flights out of their respective states and headed to South Carolina to be with grandma. After some discussion between the siblings with grandma, the decision was made on Friday for grandma to be moved to hospice care and all meds to be stopped...so now it is just a waiting game sort-of-speak.

Each group of family has taken the opportunity to spend the night in grandma's room...Friday night my mother and sister stayed. They said that when ever grandma was up & alert they shared memories of time in St. Louis at everyone's favorite restaurant Tony's as well as other special time. Laughs were also said to be heard coming from my grandmother's room...for we always find things to laugh about, even if we make fun of ourselves.

As sad as this time is, it is nice that grandma is surrounded by family and friends, and special memories and moments are being shared between them all. I wish that I was there, but I am very grateful that I had the time with her last month when I visited her right after she had the stroke.

One of the questions that has been ringing in everyone ears is:

"Why did Grandma survive the stroke on Feb. 7?"

for she was home alone that evening and wasn't found until the next day,

 laying on the ground of her living room.

I believe that things happen for reasons...I believe that grandma fought for this time and the time was given to her; time that allowed many of us...me included...to fly to the west coast, to visit, to hug & kiss, to share memories and laughs, to share love...one more time!

I know that her time on earth is very, very short

I hope that her preparation for her next journey doesn't cause any discomfort

I know that grandpa is waiting for her and their reunion will be very happy...three years is a long time to be away from your soul mate!

I love you grandma!

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Ok, without sounding like I am off my rocker...

Last night, as I was in & out of slumber, I heard an owl hooting outside nearby.

This is not uncommon for where we live, for we have owls, hawks, coyotes, turkeys and deer.

But this hooting owl was nearby and continued to hoot all night long.

This morning at 6am, before the sun came up, I tip-toed outside to see if I could see

where that owl was perched.

Little did I know it was on our roof

I saw it, it peek over and peered down at me and hooted.

My grandmother loved owls. She collected owls.

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Until next time...remember,

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often

Lisa

It is mid-March already...yikes!

Wow! It has been a long time since my last post, so I have some catching up to do!

The last post was right as I was getting ready to leave for Hilton Head Island, SC to visit my grandmother. I am soooooooo glad that I went! It was so hard to see my grandmother post-stroke...yet, she didn't look like what I had prepared myself for. I guess we always prepare ourselves for the worst. My father (who lives in Minnesota and was still in SC visiting) picked me up from the airport and took be to the rehab hospital where my g'ma was staying (my mother was waiting with my g'ma in the hospital - my g'ma is my mother's mother). I entered g'ma's room and she took my hand in her left, held it to her face and cried..."oh, Lisa." She squeezed my hand while she cried and cried and cried. Not normally a crier, it was hard to see my grandmother show this emotion. But my hearts swelled up and I squeezed her hand, laid my head on her chest...kissed her...talked to her and so on. After a few minutes, the tears did stop flowing as I began to catch her up on all the stuff going on in my household. Within a few more minutes, I had her laughing as I told her about my boys and all there nonsense. When it was time to leave that evening, again she took my hand in her "good" left hand and squeezed, bringing it up to her face as she cried. She looked into my eyes and said, "Lisa, my first, you are here." I responded..."yes grandma, I am here. I love you!" Then with a kiss to her cheek, I said, "you get some rest. I will be back in the morning. Good night." and I left the rehab hospital with my mother and father.

I stayed Thursday, March 1 through Sunday, March 4. My father left on Friday, so the rest of the weekend I not only had time with my grandmother but quality time with my mother, which I haven't had in a very long time. Due to my g'ma having therapy from 9am-3pm, we weren't allowed to visit until the late afternoon so I fell into my mother's routine of getting our exercise completed in the morning, a late breakfast and then the drive to the hospital. My mother and I took some nice long walks on the beach as well as around my grandmother's neighborhood (we stayed at my grandma's house). My mother was able to share with me her thoughts and feelings as she was dealing with seeing her mother go from a independent person to one who now needed to depend on others. The hardest thing for all of us to deal with isn't really the fact that grandma's right arm is paralyzed or she is having trouble moving her right leg/foot without help...it is the fact that she lost control of her speech. My 93 year old grandmother's brain is working great and she has some wonderful things to say...but the stroke affected her speech, which...for the lack of a better word...SUCKS!

Anyway, I left Sunday 3/4 in the afternoon. Upon saying good-bye to my grandmother, through her tears she was able to get out, "Thank you for coming. I appreciate it. I love you." Again, I am so glad that I got out there and visited. I hope to get out there again in the near future.

Just a quick update. Since I left Hilton Head, a bed opened up in a beautiful skilled nursing facility which is just a few miles away from her neighborhood. Grandma's crying and sadness lessened with this move according to my mother. Grandma will continue to have physical and speech therapy, but is in a very nice and social atmosphere...and closer to where her friends live. My mother is going back home to Minnesota today and my 2 uncles (her brothers) will be arriving in Hilton Head on Friday. So there will be a continuous presents of family right now.

Speaking of Uncles...one of the uncles (my mother's younger brother) came out to California last weekend. He stayed at my house for a few days prior to going into San Fran for a business conference. It was great to have him here! DH and I were able to take some time off from the store on Saturday...and the boys didn't have any hockey...so we drove out to Half Moon Bay and had a great day.

After a meal at Sam's Chowder House, we hiked all over the rocky shore of the Pacific Ocean as the tide was going out.

A rare photo of my family - from left to right: Me, Robert, Matthew and Steve

Matthew, Uncle Doug and Robert

Looking into the cracks and crevasis of the rocky shore, where we would see Sea Anemone, star fish and tons of hermit crabs. We also spied some California seals and Harbor seals napping on the rocks as well as frolicking in the waves.

Not only was the sea life fun to watch, but the flowers and foliage around the ocean was beautiful to view.

We must have walked around that shoreline for over 4 hours for the tide started to come in around 4:30pm. So we decided it was time to go on home. Sunday morning, my uncle got a taste of what it is like to work in *The Store*. He went with me to prep fruit and make an early morning arrangement for a customer who needed to pick it up at 9am, which is an hour before we typically open on a normal Sunday. Uncle Doug learned to skewer strawberries, as well as dip them in chocolate. He was a fast learner, but felt the need to taste a few chocolate dipped fruits before I could put them on the arrangement...chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate dipped bananas and apples. Nice Sunday breakfast, I guess. Once the customer picked up her arrangement, my Uncle and I went for coffee and had some time to visit...something that we haven't done in a long time!

Well, inbetween all this travelling and visiting I have managed to put a few X's into Family Sampler and I even have a photo to prove this. You will have to forgive me though, it is a phone photo as my camera really doesn't want to work...and I didn't take time to take the sampler off the hoop. But, at least I get to post a picture, right?

Since the last photo posting of my Family Sampler, I have added:

• Bruno, the dog - Bruno is our 10 year old "mutt". We purchased him from a rescue facility when we lived in Minnesota. He was 8 weeks old when we got him.
• Chester, the cat - Chester is no longer with us. He came into our lives before Steve and I were married. Steve found Chester at the grain elevator he was working at the summer between our Junior and Senior year of college. Chester came to college and lived in Steve's apartment that senior year and then moved to New Orleans with him after graduation. I "adopted" Chester when we got married a year later. It was husband, wife and cat for several years when we lived in New Orleans; however, when we moved up to Minnesota Chester went to live on the farm with Steve's parents. He lived to the ripe old age of 14.
• Steve, the husband (just started to stitch the jacket) - Steve and I met the first week of our freshman year in college, dated all the way through and got married a year after we graduated.

And there you have it...an update on my life as well as...finally...a stitching up date! With our 21st Wedding Anniversary coming up next month, I would love to finish Family Sampler! It was my desire to have it completed last year for our 20th Anniversary...but maybe I can get it done this year? Maybe.

Well, until next time...remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Happy March!

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.

~ Sydney J. Harris

I guess you could say the same for just about anything...

the time to exercise is when you don't have time for it,

the time to stitch is when you don't have time for it...

the time to visit a relative is when you don't have time for it...

...because time Marches on and you might regret missing out

Since returning home from Quebec, it seems like I just haven't taken the time to get much done except work at our store and run the boys to hockey (yes, it is still going on). And, in addition to being busy, I have been fighting a very bad cold...which I finally took time out of my day on Tuesday and went to the doctor. I got some antibiotics and feel much better now, more human and more like myself!

But between not feeling well and going-going-going...I have found it more pleasant to sleep in thus throwing my morning exercise routine out the window. But it is time to get back on to the saddle (the saddle of my stationary bike and maybe even into the tennis shoes of my running). When I don't take the time for this activity, I don't feel 100%...and if I don't find the time to plop my big @$% on the stationary bike, I don't get to update my blog or catch up on everyone elses (for I blog while spinning...a little multitasking goes a long way!). No Spin...No Posting...Not a Happy Camper.

I have, believe it or not, taken out Family Sampler last week and worked on it. I am working on the middle section where the family is stitched. So far I have a dog and a cat stitched and am working on the husband/dad figure. I will try and get a photo of it up soon. Nice to have made time to take this out and reunite my hand with needle and thread!

Well, I am going out of town again. Leaving this morning for South Carolina. Right before I left for Quebec, I found out that my 93 year old grandmother suffered something like a stroke - her best friend drove to her house and found her laying in the middle of the TV room unconscious. Well, it has been several weeks since that occurred and my grandmother is in a rehab facility relearning how to speak, eat with her left hand and walk with the help of a walker. Her right side has been somewhat paralyzed and the event also affected her speech. She is doing fairly well at this time, but I guess one has to consider her age. When the event occurred, my uncle who lives in NC drove down to be with her and to make sure that she was getting good care. Being in the medical field, he was able to understand exactly what happened to her and relayed the information back to family and friends of my grandmother through daily emails. Since his departure, my parents have travelled from MN to SC and are there right now.

With the Quebec hockey tournament and Valentine's day behind me and a strong gut feeling to get to SC to see grandma, I purchased a ticket last weekend and will be flying out there this morning. It will be wonderful to see her and be with my parents, too.  I have been wanting to get out to visit her and wanting to take the boys out there...but there never seemed time to do it. Well, the boys might not be going with me this weekend, but I am grateful to be getting there myself! And I am glad that I didn't wait any longer to see grandma.

While I will be taking my iPad with me, I am not sure that I will have internet connection...so I will be absent another period of time. But please be patient with me!!!

Thank you for stopping by and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa 

Thursday's Check in

Hello friends, it has been a few days since I have last checked in; just trying to get back into the groove with the boys back in school after the winter break as well as deal with their hockey schedule and find my "full-time" role in *The Business*. No new routine has formed yet...I am sure it will take a while to figure things out.

In the meantime, I have found a few spare minutes when I was able to pick up the thread & needle. So, as mentioned in my last posting, I have not been working on Family Sampler laterly...

so what am I putting X's in, you ask?

Do you remember my special little package that I received from my dear friend CindyMae in November?

Here is a snap as a reminder...

One of the items was the Prairie Schooler Santa 2009 stitched and finished as a pillow

Well, in our household, a Santa with hockey skates & stick & puck is well thought of - so, since Cindy also included the pattern for this jolly hockey guy I wanted to make a couple of ornaments for the boys. I started stitching one the middle of December, but with all the holiday craziness I didn't get it done for this year's Christmas tree...so I am hoping to have it for the 2012 tree.

Anyway, here is where I am on the first one (with 2 boys, you know I need to stitch 2)...

I am stitching it one-over-one on 28ct evenweave (I think) - yikes it is tiny! I am hoping to finish the first one up by the end of the month (seems to be a realistic goal). Stay tuned, for I will post another update.

That is all I have for now, my blogging friends. I hope the first 5 days of 2012 are going well for you. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

A mini happy dance...and the preface to a new chapter in my life

Well, finally...although you will have to pardon the snapshot, still no batteries for the "real" camera so I had to use the phone again...I have a phone photo for you to show the status of Family Sampler.  Last night I put in the last few stitches of the border corners and also took time to sketch out & stitched the capital "D". Yahoo...a mini happy dance I did have :)

I have started to put some thought into how I want to represent my family in the middle section where the tree is. Using the various of combinations of a mom, dad and 2 sons...and a selection of cats & dogs...I think that I figured out how I will stitch us. So stay tuned as my Family Sampler mojo has returned and I am still hoping to get this big project complete before the bells of Jan 1 2012 ring.

I am also counting down the days until my part-time job is over...with a little saddness as I have been there 5.5 years mixed with a little excitement to move on and work more in our stores and help my DH out.  Today at my part-time job is our holiday luncheon at one of the local wineries. This event is a very nice occasion and I look forward to sitting with some of my co-workers I have worked with over the years as well as the young lady who was hired to replace me. Please note, while the word "replace" sounds harsh, I have no hard feelings at all about leaving - continuing on in the job as full-time is just not an option for me. More responsibility, more hours and travelling is just something, given my personal life, would be very difficult to manage...it wouldn't be good for me, my family or the company. And, like I said I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life - more involvement in the stores and continued time with family...aka chaufer to the boys :)

Well, time to sign off but before I do, I would like to share a few of the thoughts that arrived in my inbox this morning from http://www.livinglifefully.com/

The best thing about this very minute is your ability to recognized the possibilities in it. Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. But only God can count the apples in a seed. There is something in every problem that holds potential for something better. Do you want a lifetime of happy righ nows? The little choice this moment to see the beauty in what appears ugly, frustrating, or disgraceful will change everything. ~Barbara Johnson

If you're not happy with who you are, you'll spend precious energy trying to be somebody you're no, and it wil wear you out. Think for a moment. Is there anybody in your life you're comparing yourself to? A beautiful sister? An accomplished brother? A friend who never seems to have problems? Well, may I say with all the love in the world: Quit it. That business o comparing is going to make you sice and unproductive, if it hasn't already. You are you! ~Luci Swindoll

The first thing to do in life is to do with purpose what one proposes to do. ~ Pau Casals

Until next time, my blogging friends, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often!

Lisa

Catching up again...business, baking and a little stitching

Post # 491-494 and 6 more days until the giveaway drawing.

If you haven't entered yet, I posted the information on the left hand side and "click" on the link, which will take you to the right post to enter your comment for the upcoming drawing.

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Post #491 -  Weekend RecapThe weekend went well for me, at home with Robert (older son), and DH & Matthew (younger son) down in LA. I worked in the store on Saturday and got Robert around for his hockey activities on Sunday.

Down in LA, DH & Matthew had a great time. Matthew played well in all three of his hockey games - scored a goal in all three games...but unfortunately, the team lost 2 games and tied 1. But the scores were all very close. Aside from hockey, they just had a great time being together, which as I said in the last post it has been a long time since DH has stepped away from the store and travelled for a hockey weekend with either of the boys. It was funny, though, when Matthew listed the few times that he "missed his mommy".

The first time was just during the games for there was no one cheering from the stands. In fact, he said, the stands were silent (that is sad). The second time he missed me was when they went to the Olive Garden for dinner...mommy wasn't there to cut his speghitti noodles. This issue, I have to say is very sad, for he is 12.5 years old and it is time for him to cut his own noodles...don't you think? :)

Post #492 - The Business
In the wonderful comments on my last "catch up" post, Kaye asked "What sort of store do you own?" My husband and I own 2 Edible Arrangement franchise stores - the business that creates fruit arrangements that look like flower arrangements and boxes of chocolate dipped fruit (like strawberries, bananas, oranges, pineapple, and apples). Below is one of the popular arrangements this week as we gear up for Thanksgiving.

It looks like we will be cutting out a lot of pineapple leaves and dipping them in chocolate over the next few days. As well as, making a lot of cinamon chocolate apple wedges.

Today, tomorrow and Thanksgiving I will be working up at our 2nd store location while DH holds down the 1st location. Before anyone asks..."yes" DH and I are working Thanksgiving Day. We give all our employees the day off and we work the store from 8-12 for pick ups only (normally we deliver, but on holidays such as this when we give all our employees the day off we just do "pick up" only). When the last pick up is gone, we each will lock up the doors and meet at home...where we will enjoy our Thanksgiving meal!

Post #493 - Thanksgiving Baking
Yesterday, as I was driving around doing errands (for I had the day off from both Part Time job and working in a store) I realized that if I don't get my Thanksgiving shopping done or get the pumpkin pies made I won't have any other chance this week. So after running the car to get it's overdue oil change, I hit the grocery store and gathered up all the Thanksgiving necessities - Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, etc. It is going to be a small T-giving this year as Robert (my older son) will be away for a hockey tournament.

Anyway...once home and the groceries unpacked I started immediately on my pie crust...do you make your own pie crust or do you purchase "already" made? I have always made my own. It has been a tradition in my household to use homemade pie dough. Back when I was a little girl, it was tradition for my great-grandmother to make the dough and the pumpkin pies. I still remember walking downstairs to the kitchen mid-morning and hearing her curse the dough - "Damn dough, it is too sticky!" or "Damn dough, it keeps breaking a part and the pies are going to look ugly!" After a few "damns" you would soon hear my uncle or my mother in the next room saying - "LaLa's making her pies now, best to stay out of the kitchen." My dough recipe comes from the Bylery's cook book (Bylery's is a grocery store in Minnesota) and is simply Crisco, flour, egg, vinegar and a little water.

Once the dough is made, rolled out and fitted to the pan...next is the pumpkin pie filling. I have my great-grandmother LaLa's recipe; however, since I don't eat the pie I follow my husband's mother's recipe. LaLa's had a lot of eggs in hers, plus spices & the pumpkin pie filling - which comes out almost like a custard. DH's family's recipe calls for Kyro syrup, only 3 eggs, evaporated milk, pumpkin pie filling and spices.  So, here is the pie...

Behind the pie are loaves of Strawberry bread, which I also baked yesterday. In our stores, when we prep the strawberries, we toss aside the smaller "unacceptable" ones which usually end up coming home with me. Some of the strawberries I grind up and make into smoothies...however, because we are coming up to long hours at the store, I decided to whip up some strawberry bread to take in and share with our wonderful employees. I made 2 batches of the bread - one that has only strawberries and one that has strawberries and a little bit of crushed Almonds. If interested in trying something new, here is the recipe for Strawberry Bread:

STRAWBERRY BREAD - from Food to Go Cookbook

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, well beaten

1-1/4 cup oil

2 (10oz) pkgs frozen strawberries, thawed...I used fresh & chopped them up

1-1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)...I used some almonds in one batch

1/4 cup strawberry jam

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar (I also added a little vanilla and ginger to my recipe, just to give it a little extra lovin'). Add eggs, oil, stawberries, pecans and jam. Blend. Pour batter into 2 well greased 5x9-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

ENJOY!

Post #494 - a little stitching

So over the weekend, while in the rinks on Sunday I did get in a few stitches on my Family Sampler. Since it has been a long time since I posted a photo, I decided to show you my status...but I must apologize for the photo - I grabbed the camera, but it appears that the batteries were stolen out of it by some teenage boys for their computer mouses; so I was left with my phone camera. Here is a status phone photo:

It is dark, but I hope that you can see that I am almost finished with the Clay Pot flower buds that go around the border...there are 2-1/2 more to stitch on the left hand side and then there are 3 more corners to fill in. I did one of the corners the other day to see what it looked like, but decided that I wanted to finish the flower buds first before filling in the corners. I don't know why I decided that - guess it was just a factor of trying to keep the focus on using the color Clay Pot.

Well that should bring us all up to date on things here. I hope that your week is going well. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often

Lisa

Post #470 - 41 days until my blogoversary - and the number of followers continue to grow (still overwhelmed)

To enter my 3-100-500 giveaway, visit this post and enter a comment.

I got back home late Sunday evening...close to midnight...and between the 3 hour time difference between Detroit and here...and the overwhelming mountain of laundry, I just needed to recouperate and catch up. Now that I have had that 36 hours, I find myself up on going on Tuesday morning. The refrigerator and pantry is filled back up with all the necessities this family needs and the laundry has been washed, folded and put away. I just need to catch up on a few other things, but at least I fell a little more up to speed than I did yesterday. Isn't it amazing was a trip to the grocery store and an empty laundry basket do to a person :)

Thank you all for the wonderful comments regarding FS - I didn't get much more done during the plane ride on Sunday. Instead, I played the onboard trivia game that Delta has. You can play along with anyother passenger that logs in. All of Matthew's teammates thought it was pretty cool to play. First you had to come up with a clever name - Bambam, Toots, Hiya, so-n-so's Mom, etc. But because your seat assignment was listed, they all figured out who was who. Of course it was a competitive hour of trivia, not sure if all the passengers on board enjoyed 12 year olds and a few of us hockey parents hooting and hollering on board...but we all enjoyed ourselves. For the most part, it made the 4hr 45 minute ride go by faster...however that last hour was a killer and I was just really to go!

The last game of the tournament, which was the consulation game, we were suppose to play a different Canadian team. However, when we showed up at the rink we were told that they had left early not due to being disappointed that they ended up 4th in their bracket. Instead we played another team from Canada - Don Mills PW99AAA Team - who, from what I understand ranks close to 5th in all of Canada in their age group. Well, they were definitely the best team we played all weekend. We loss 9-1....my son, Matthew scored that one goal. I was excited for him because he worked so hard throughout the whole weekend, never giving up during any of the losses earlier in the weekend. He so deserved to get one "biscuit in the basket"!

Matthew standing in center ice, strategizing with his teammates as they wait for the puck drop

With all of our games complete by Saturday evening, Sunday was left for a little sleeping in followed by breakfast in the room and completion of homework. Matthew was able to get most everything complete by checkout time. We met up with some of the other families and decided to head to the Henry Ford Museum. I had heard that this was the place to go...and it definitely was.

While their automotive section was closed, for they were working on a new exhibit that was going to show the revolution of the American car -we were able to peek in and see most of the "cool" old cars as well as the old neon McDonald and Holiday Inn signs.

Old, neon McDonald's Hamburger sign...don't you just love that old car underneath!

But this HUGE museum had so many things - Big old train engines...and I mean enormous! Examples of farm tractors to show how they evolved from the late 1800s/early 1900s until now; examples of different motors from the late 1800s/early 1900s until now, etc. They even had a life size display of kitchens, showing the evolution from:

Kitchen from 1800s - makes me think of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Later 1800s to early 1900s - indoor oven & stove, indoor water

Around 1940s or so...I rememer, when my great-grandmother passed away and we walked through her house before it was sold, there was a oven/stove combo unit like the one that was shown in this display.

There was also a section of the museum where they pointed out the different generations - baby boomers, generation X, generation Y and current...what was discovered to make life easier, what entertained us and so on. Do you remember:

the electronic toys - Merlin, Simon and the Little Professor calculator? After walking around this area with some of my fellow hockey moms, we really started to feel old when we realized that things that were new to us are now in a museum.

Other exhibits featured presidental cars - the one that Kennedy was shot in was on display as well as the one that Regan was getting ready to get into before he was shot. Very eery! They also had the exact bus that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person. Speaking with the museum docent at the Rosa Parks' bus, we found out that someone had the bus and put it up for auction on Ebay and that is how they came to have it in their museum. Really a neat thing for the boys to sit in and listen to her recorded voice telling the story!

We were in the museum for hours. We did stop and grab a bite to eat, because the kids were getting hungry:

Matthew and I, sitting by the Oscar Mayer weiner mobile

Anyone for a footlong...

"Ok, mom...enough...can we eat now?"

So of course lunch was at the Weiner Cafe right next to the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile...and for you all who know about the Oscar Meyer Weiner Whistles...yes, we did get one of those from the museum gift store :)

Everyone who went to the museum had a great time. It definitely was a winner with the boys who went - and a fun way to end a great weekend!

Thank you for visiting and reading about our time in Detriot. I hope that you have a wonderful Tuesday! Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Hello from Detroit, Michigan and the Warrior International Hockey Tournament

Post #469 - 44 days until my blogoversary - and the numbers of followers continue to grow (Wow, you all are amazing!)

To enter my 3-100-500 giveaway, please go to this post and enter a comment.

Hello from Detroit, Michigan where I hear it was 80 degrees and sunny last weekend, but this weekend we are experiencing the kind of fall weather we done see much in Northern California...rainy, 40 degrees and very windy (well, I guess we do see this type of weather sometime around January as our winter).

We arrived in Detroit at 3pm on Thursday and had our first games on Friday. The first game we lost to a team from Rhode Island - 0 to 5...and then later in the evening we lost to a team from Detroit - 1 to 4. While it would be fun to have won those games, we don't feel too bad about those scores. Both of the teams we played were very fast, skilled and disciplined...things that we don't quite have but are working towards. This morning we will be playing against a team from Canada.

Time at the airport on Thursday and on the plane allowed me to visit with Wild Berries and we got far in our conversation...here is a phone photo snap of Family Sampler as of Thursday evening:

You'll have to excuse this dark, wrinkly shot...but this is all I could muster up in the dark hotel room .

My visit with Wild Berries has been completed for a while and I am getting to know Clay Pot. She is a shy one, shows off a little bit of a blush when we talk. She will share space on the border of Family Sampler with Wild Berries, showing up every other spot. I guess that they have known eachother since they were in diapers, so hanging out together on the vine border will be very comfortable and they do compliment eachother a lot. I hope to have anyother status photo in the near future of the completed border.

Well, I got to run and make sure that Matthew has finished his breakfast and is packing up his gear back in his bag...got to get ready for the next game!

Take care and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Whining Wednesday

Post #467...47 days until blogoversary and an extrodinary amount of followers :)

To enter giveaway click here to go to the post to leave a comment

 

 

Anybody can do just about anything with themselves

that they really want to and make up their mind to do.

We are all capable of greater things than we realize.

~Norman Vincent Peale

Although...if one tries to leave comments on blogs of new followers...ugh, I am so frustrated right now with blogger. You all have been so good and I have so many new followers who I would like to meet - go to their blogs - read and leave a comment, but for some reason I am having troubles. After entering my comment and the "secret security code" I was directed to a sign in screen...after entering my login info I would try to submit my comment to the blog, but then was directed to the blogger sign in page again. Now, it might just be this computer, so I will continue trying on some of the others that we have accumulated over the last couple of years. Between buying our second store, where we accumulated 3 old computers and adopting some that my father wasn't happy with, we do have our share here. So I will keep on trying...for I have made up my mind that I will meet all my new followers and make my mark on their blogs with a comment :)

So last night I wrote about my new blooming relationship with Wild Berries, whom I am stitching with on on the border of my Family Sampler. I was hoping that she and I would have a visit after I was done with my workout last night while at the hockey rink; unfortunately she got stuck in my knapsack while I ran around yaking with some of the other hockey moms who were hanging out at the rink. Last night was a good night to get in all my hockey yapping because both boys had practice. So I got caught up with some of the moms from Matthew (younger son)'s team; and then when they departed I had a chance to sit down and gab with moms from Robert (older son)'s hockey team. Sometime a girls got to gab, ya know?

Well, 24 hours from now I will be at the airport - checking in, paying to take on a suitcase & hockey bag & hockey stick bag (gotta love that...not), going through security (hopfully will not be padding down again) and then waiting for my seat number to be called out. Then it will be a 4-1/2 hour flight. I will definitely be bringing my stitching - Family Sampler and, if I have time, a Christmas pattern because I need to start stitching the Christmas Ornament for Conny the last person for the Ornament Swap. I am still waiting for Lisa V to alert me when her ornament I stitched arrives so I can show you what I made for her. It is a long way from here to her land - cross your fingers that it doesn't take too much longer.

My thoughts are definitely flowing in all sorts of different directions this morning, so it might be time to put a close to this post. Thank you for visiting, I hope that you have a wonderful Wednesday. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Happiness...

Post #463 - 51 days until blogoversary - 87 followers and counting...

Tomorrow I will announce the 3(year) - 500(post) - 100(follower) blogoversary give-a-way.

Stay Tuned!

Up and going early on a Saturday morning, for it is going to be a busy day and I am grateful to have gotten up out of bed early and on the stationary bike. Getting in a good spin before starting out the day tends to start me off in a good mood...then it is just up to me to continue the feeling.

DH and I will be swapping roles this weekend...I will be manning the stores, making sure that everything is running smoothly, while he will be playing Hockey Taxi. Robert (older son) has a morning practice and Matthew (younger son) has 2 games today...tomorrow they both have games. It will be nice to take a break from the hockey craziness for a day or two...allows me to appreciate it and not just tolerate it.

The foundation of happiness is mindfulness.

The basic condition for being happy is our consciousness of being happy.

If we are not aware that we are happy, we are not really happy.

When we have a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. But when we do not have a toothache, we are still not happy.

A non-toothache is very pleasant.

There are so many things that are enjoyable, but when we don’t practice mindfulness, we don’t appreciate them.

When we practice mindfulness, we come to cherish these things and we learn how to protect them.

By taking good care of the present moment, we take good care of the future.

Working for peace in the future is to work for peace in the present moment.

 ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Last night I stitched the last corner of the Family Sampler Pea Pod vine of the border. Now I just need to finish the right hand-side...to meet up where I began...which shouldn't take too long, and then I will snap a status photo to show you. It will be nice to have this part completed.

Who are the happiest people on earth?

A craftsman or artist whistling over a job well done.

A little child building sand castles.

A mother, after a busy day, bathing her baby.

A doctor who has finished a difficult and dangerous operation, and saved a human life.

Happiness lies in a constructive job well done.

Get your happiness out of your work or you will never know what happiness is.

~Elbert Hubbard

Last night, neither of the boys had hockey so we were able to have a quiet night at home. DH did need to make a delivery of a last minute order "over the hill" (that is the term we use for any order that has to be delivered over the Dublin hill into the Oakland area) and took Robert with him so that they could stop at one of their favorite burger joints called Jerry's Beefburgers. Matthew and I enjoyed food at home. They did get home around 6:15pm, so the "boys" played a computer game together while I stitched. It was so nice to be home together.

Well my friends, I hope that you find some Happiness in your Saturday, as well as the rest of the weekend. I hope that you will join me tomorrow when I announce what the give-a-way will be. Until then, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

I've turned some corners

Wow, hard to believe that it has been a full week since I have shared anything with you all. I guess I have been busy trying to catch up from the two weekends I travelled to Phoenix. It is definitely nice to be home this weekend and I feel like I am more caught up than I have been for the last few weeks.

Anyway, last weekend was Matthew's hockey team's turn to go to Phoenix and his team did very well. After the round robin games, they were in 1st place. Unfortunately their mind took over - as soon as someone mentioned "Semi-Finals" they fell apart and went to win the consolation...ending up in 3rd place when the tournament. However, they had the best record coming out of the weekend - winning 4, loosing 1 and tying 1. Congrats to the PW99AAA Sharks team.

While in Phoenix, I did get some time to put some stitches into Family Sampler...here is a photo of it from last Monday:


Family Sampler Status after returning home from Phoenix - 9/26

 I finally made it to the second corner, something that I wanted to accomplished before boarding the plane on Sunday evening. However, due to the hockey schedule last week, I found myself at the rink 3 days in a row and definitely made a lot of time for stitching. So, here is where I am now:


Family Sampler as of  October 1

Third corner of the Pea Pod green vine has been turned (and fresh batteries have been put in the camera - photo looks better than the phone photos) and I will be happy when this part is finished. I am getting a little sick of the Pea Pod green as well as making the same pattern...time to change out soon!

It is definitely nice to be home and home for a period of time. My next travel weekend is October 13, when I will be flying with Matthew and his hockey team, again. We will be going to Detroit, Michigan for a tournament. 'Tis hockey season!

Guess a few more corners have been turned, as it is now Fall. The weather here in Northern California has been trying to hold onto summer-like temperatures, but it looks like Mother Nature will put a stop on that as we are expecting 2 rain storms next week and temperatures have fallen from mid-90s to mid-70s and 60s. I perfer the cooler temps, but not quite ready for the rainy season. Would be nice to transition into slowly, but I have no control of these things so I will just take one day at a time.

The corner of the September calendar has been pulled and today is the first day of October. Hard to believe that the last 3 months of 2011 are on our doorstep. That means the holidays will be here soon. Speaking of holidays...while I finished Lisa V's ornament a month ago, I am finally getting my act together and taking it to the post office to mail...today is the mail due date (can you say "procrastination?"). I took some photos of the ornament, which I will post as soon as she gets a chance to hold it in her hand first. So stay tune - how long does it take to get from California to Austrailia anyway?

Well, time for me to sign off! I hope that you have a wonderful Saturday. Until next time...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

And off I go again...

Yahoo...got my bootie out of the beddie this morning and on the bike. It has been awhile since I have managed to get myself up and going so early. And I definitely need to get in a good sweat, for it is going to be another travel day for me! Back to Phoenix this evening with Matthew, this time. It is his hockey teams weekend to play in the Phoenix SuperSeries99. Definitely looking forward to it - no team manager responsibilities = rest & relaxing :)

After returning home on Sunday, I had to find little pockets of time between work and driving down to the hockey rink to get little tasks done around the house, before leaving again. I did manage to get all the laundry complete and the house stocked up with Robert & DH's foods for this weekend (last week I made sure all of Matthew & DH's faves were in the pantry and the refrigerator). However, I wasn't able to find much time to get any X's made on Family Sampler...yet, ample time on the plane and throughout the weekend will be possible.

Take care my blogging friends. Until next time, remember...

Life, Love, Laugh and Stitch often

Lisa