Dancing the Happy Dance - a finish and a received ornament!!!!

It is finished...It is finished!

Tuesday night I put in the last back stitch

So exciting to have finished the pineapple

AND

Not only did I finish stitching this fruit

BUT

Last night I found myself at home

without anyone else here with me

Last night I did NOT have to drive down to the rink

Last night I had the house to myself

Did you hear that...I will shout it out again:

"I had the whole house to myself

The whole house to myself"

So I sat my bottom down in front of the sewing machine and finished

the Pineapple Pillow:

Daisy Bear showing off the Pineapple Pillow

And here is a close up of the pillow:

This morning, after I quickly ran to the grocery store to pick up some mangos for a couple of Mango Kiwi Festival arrangements, I gave the wrapped up pillow to one of our wonderful employees. I think that she was embarrassed receiving the gift, for she thanked me and then put it with her purse...to open later when she was on her lunch break (respecting the other employees who didn't receive a gift, which I appreciated...guess I should have thought about the timing a little better). DH said that she did open it and said to him that she really appreciated the handmade item and was touched to receive it.

And...speaking of gifts, Angela P finally received the ornament I stitched her for the Ornament Swap group. Due to a postal strike in Canada it was delayed - but she received it...better late than never, right? Here is the ornament I stitched for her:

Meet Peppermint Paul by Helga Mandl Designs from thegiftofstitching.com (I forgot which edition). I stitched it on 28ct evenweave using most of the recommended colors, with only a few substitutions.

Tonight I find myself at home alone again. Matthew was taken to the rink for the last night of the evening hockey clinic by a teammate's parents again and DH took Robert, who skates later in the evening for the same clinic. It is nice to have had these two nights without the need to get in the car and drive down to San Jose...a 40-60 minute drive depending on traffic.

I also had a simi-day off...for I didn't have to go into work or Edibles and I didn't have to drive to a hockey rink. I took this opportunity to:

1. take the car in for their routine oil change

2. go to the grocery store to stock up the refrigerator, freezer and pantry - got 2 teenage boys at home that I have to feed

3. caught up on laundry - now it is up to the boys to put their clothes away where they belong

4. napped

5. went to the local farmer's market down the street which I have been wanting to do since they opened up a month ago. I got some yummy apricots, plums, pluots, aprums, cherries, fresh french bread, tomatoes and green beans. Nothing is better than fresh veggies and fruit from the fields!

6. napped

7. got in a good 6.5 mile run. I wanted to go further, but waited until 11:30am to go out and by that time the temps were well in the high 80s.

8. ate

9. napped

10. got in a good spin on the stationary bike and updated the blog.

Awesome day, don't you think. I will probably be able to pull out Family Sampler and get in some stitches before I get into bed.

Well, that should get you caught up on things here in my household. Hope that things are going well in yours. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

It is Friday...

With the arrival of Friday, the hockey committments lessen...only two skates over the weekend: one on Saturday morning and one on Sunday - definitely much more manageable. Only thing on the plate, for me at least, is to work in *Store #2*. I will be there another 5 days until the morning supervisor gets back from vacation. Once he gets back, all the stressfull situations we were anticipating back at the start of June, will have come and gone (stressful situations survived: opening *Store #2*, getting through Father's Day with 2 stores open, employee vacations and balancing all the business stuff with the boys' hockey clinics). Little by little, we will have reached the other side of this hill.

Anyway, on Wednesday evening I put the final X's into the Pineapple and last night, while sitting at the hockey rink, I started working on the backstitching. Here is a photo of what it looks like:

IF I can find some time to sit and stitch over the weekend, I might be able to actually get this done - and even finish it as a square pillow. That is my hope :)

Some thoughts I came across in my inbox this morning:

As a creator, you have the right and the power to make of your life what you wish, to follow your own patterns, to experiment and grow according to your own needs. As a co-creator with God, you have the right and the power to do this in a perfect manner. ~ Bruce Gilbert

Thank you for taking time and visiting! It means a lot.
Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often!

Lisa

Still here, just very busy!

Just thought I would check in while I had the opportunity! Life as a business owner with 2 locations to manage is a bit overwhelming for DH and I, especially as we are still trying to get the right people in place in store #2. While we have always been grateful for the wonderful people we "inherited" when we took over store #1, we are even more grateful now. It is hard to find hard working, responsible people sometimes. But I have faith that it will work out, it might take a little time - but I know it will all work out. 

Aside from the business stuff...I have been balancing all the hockey clinics; making sure that the boys get down to the rink and back, either by a carpool or me driving them. Only one more week of the evening clinic - but since we are 2-1/2 weeks away from tryouts, I am sure that other clinics and skating opportunities will pop up.

Even with all this running around, I have made sometime to sit and stitch. The pineapple is all stitched - I am just working on backstitching it. It didn't get done as soon as I had hoped, for the lady whom I am making this for has been back in town for over a week. But I am sure that she will understand. As soon as I finish the backstitching, I will post a photo.

Well, that is about it my friends. Thank you for sticking with me! Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!
Lisa

TGIF...and the plate lessens

It is Friday. I have made it through the week. It feels like an accomplishment as I look back on Monday-Thursday, days filled with so much and know that I have landed here. Hockey, 2 stores up and running, a part-time job, running the kids to/from things...just making sure that everyone and everything gets taken care of to the Best Of My Ability. And I believe it has...and today I got up & out of bed & on the stationary bike to get in a spin before heading down to *The 1st Store* to work.

Working at *The 1st Store* is the only major activity that I have on my Daily Plate...plus one minor activity that I have to run Matthew (younger son) to and it is local (no long drives down to the rink today!). It feels almost freeing to be down to 1 major activity.

Well, I can't complain too much regarding driving down to the rink for the late shift (Robert's, older son, evening clinic goes from 8-11 and we don't get home until midnight). Being too tired and sporting a little headache for the last two days, I wasn't able to muster up the energy to workout in the fitness room at the rink (something that I enjoy. Nice to get in a good workout at the end of the day to relieve stress)...so I spent the time in the restaurant at the rink, siting and stitching on the Pineapple...and here is the status:

Just a little bit more to stitch...then there is some backstitching with the dark green...and then it should be done. I am hoping to find sometime over the next 3 days to finish stitching it so that I can finish it off as a pillow and present it to the recipent next Tuesday. Fingers are crossed :)

As I conclude this week, there are a lot of good things to note, which come out of all this crazy-busyness:

1. The new store opened up as planned on June 15 and is doing well. DH is excited about the staff hired to run the place and about the orders coming in (this location had an Edible Arrangement before, which unfortunately had to shut its doors - so this is like a Re-Opening Under New Management and it looks like the Community is excited to have it back).
2. Report cards came in the mail and confirmed both boys achieved a "A" average (4.0 GPA). Not only for the last semester, but for the full 2010-2011 school year. We are very proud of them both.
3. Matthew (younger son) received word that he has been accepted into the Junior Leader program (meaning he will be volunteering at the local park summer camp as a Jr. Leader, assisting the leaders with games & activities, and working with other kids). This is the first year that he will be participating in this activity, which Robert has done in the past, which is a wonderful program that the city recreation center puts on.

And one of the things that come out of all this craziness is friends! In order to help get the boys to the rink, we are blessed to have the families from the hockey community to help out. I believe, aside from the love and support we have as a family - working together to make these crazy days easier to get through...it is the hockey families we have befriended that have lighten the load as well. I am grateful!!!!

Well on that note, I am blessed that you have come to visit today. I hope that you have a wonderful Friday and weekend. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Status photo...and sad news

Do you want the stitching update or the sad news first?

Well, lets get the sad news over with and finish up with the positive, right...

This morning I went out the front door and was greeted with SILENCE. No more chirping, no more squawking. Only SILENCE. The abondoned baby birdies were quiet. Poor things starved, I am sure. Next to the nest, I noticed the long, dark trail of ants. Damn those bugs! It bothered me that they were taking advantage of the situation. Sometime nature is hard to take. I decided that the best thing I could do, it take down that nest and disposit it and the baby bodies. I hope there is a special place for little birdies...

Now, for something more positive

Pineapple is coming along, however I am definitely getting sick of green! I am hoping to get a lot of stitching in today because I really need to get this finished up!

Yesterday was Robert (older son) last day of school...he is now a sophomore in high school. Matthew (younger son) finishes up today...he will be a 7th grader. Yikes! Who gave them permission to grow up? Both had a successful school year and look forward to a little break from schoolwork over the summer.

Tonight we have no hockey to drive to - just a nice evening at home. We are planning to get the grill going and cook up some good food for dinner (versus the quick-to-fix microwavable foods we serve up for the pre-hockey meals Monday-Thursday)...and then watch the Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Playoffs. A perfect recipe for a Friday night...especially when you throw in some stitching :)

Hope your Friday is going well. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often!

Lisa

Tuesday's Typings...

Well, my 4:30am alarm went from a static radio noise to more of a human approach - DH basically annoyed me until I got up and left the bed. It worked - I'm up and spinning on the stationary bike - but feel bad that he has to get fully away at the bewitching hour to force me out...but I do appreciate it!

So, I got the camera all fired up this morning before I hopped on the bike to show you the status of pineapple:

With the pineapple fruit part stitched, I have moved down to the green leafy part at the bottom. Since a couple of the shades of green are so close, I think that part of my counting was wrong on a part I worked on over the weekend...but I will continue to stitch until I figure where I might have messed up. I have been highlighting the pattern as I go, but I think that I still am slightly off in the green area on the right hand side. We'll see what happens. Because the shades are so close in that area, I might be able to mask the area without it affecting the finished product...but you know how that goes. We are our worse enemy - wanting perfecting and seeing the mistakes that no one else sees, right?

While snapping a few photos this morning, I thought I would also show you the green fabric I purchased at Jo-Ann Fabrics last week to back the pineapple:

I thought this green batiky fabric was a really close match to the greens used in the top part of the pineapple as well as the leafy part on the bottom. I was thinking about finding something with pineapple, but I didn't see any pineapple prints at all. I did find some prints of other fruit that could represent some of the other fruit that we use in the fruit arrangements at the store (I don't know if I mentioned that I was making this for one of our cherished employees who has been out of town visiting her family for almost a month), but I didn't think that the banana patter or the orange one I found would really go well with what I stitched...figured simple is better for the pillow.

However, while rummaging through the fabrics I found this perfect print and purchased a 1/2 yard of it:

I love watermelon! It is the staple of my diet! When I first moved here, the first "friend" I made was Dianne the produce manager of our Safeway grocery store down the street. Seven years ago, it wasn't common to carry watermelon all year long; so after visiting with her watermelon started to show up more often in the store and I became known as the "watermelon lady".

Anyway, I am not sure what I will do with this fabric yet, but I have a finished stitched piece that has a watermelon on it which I have not done anything with...and I have several other watermelon patterns in my "to be stitched" box...maybe I will use this fabric to finish one of those projects off some day. In the mean time, I will enjoy looking at it while eating watermelon!

Ahhhh, it feels so good to be up and moving my body...spinning my legs and sweating. My head is now feeling clear and I am feeling more alert as this morning continues. I am sure that the sun will start to brighten the land, which I can watch from the window in front of me. They are talking of warming temps starting today, maybe even hitting 80 by Thursday. That would be a nice change. However, with the record amount of rain we have received which prolonged our spring here - the hills which started to take on their summer dry yellow color over the last few weeks have started to show a little shade of green again. Maybe the fire season will not be as bad this year.

Well, my friends it is time to wrap this up. I appreciate your visit and hope that you have a wonderful Tuesday! Take care and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Monday's Mumbling

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

~Eleanor Roosevelt

And now Monday has arrived...
My alarm clock went off this morning - @ 4:30am - which is my bewitching hour for getting up and exercising. It is my "ME" time that I have to make for myself; otherwise this quiet time - time to do whatever I want to do - time for a good long sweaty spin on my stationary bike to refresh my self for the upcoming day - is time that I don't get as the day goes on. However, lately when that clock announces "morning" with the noise of static radio, I have been hitting that OFF button unconsciously. Due to the craziness of my life with all the activities going on, I am sure that the new routine off turning off the alarm by my body is a good message that I need my sleep. However, when I sleep through that alarm I don't get in my sweaty spin and then I become the dreaded "Mean Old Mom"
 
Any way...alarm went off and I am up and spinning - good start to the day.
 
"But what day is it?" That is the thought that popped into my head when that static radio noise came on this morning. DH nugged me, after I hit that OFF button, to help me achieve my goal of my early morning "ME" time. But it took me a few moments to figure out what day of the week it was, something that is occuring more and more as I have been working in *The Store* on the weekends. The days all seem to blend together lately. Do you ever feel that way? That no matter what day of the week it is, they all seem the same?
 
Oh, well...I am up and going - Yahoo!
 
This week is the last week of school for the boys - hard to believe that on Friday, Robert will have finished his first year of high school and Matthew will have completed his first year of middle school. It has been a wonderful year for both! Yet, with the start of summer vacation in sight, I don't think that it will be any less busy for us all. Both boys have hockey clinics to attend and Robert has some summer assignments to accomplish before the beginning of the next school year for his Honors English class. We are waiting to hear if Matthew will get the summer Jr. Leader camp counselor (volunteer - nonpaid) position he applied and interviewed for...this is something that Robert has done for the last few years but can't do this year because he has aged out. Well, we just take things a day at a time around here.
 
Well, even though life is busy and quick around here, I did manage to find time to plant my butt and stitch on Saturday evening. Progress is being made on the pineapple (unfortunately my camera was downstairs this morning, so I couldn't get a progress photo taken to show you today). I visited our new Jo-Ann fabrics on Friday afternoon - they opened a new larger one in our city while closing the smaller one down - and got some greenish fabric, which matches the different green shades of the pineapple foliage. I am planning to make the pineapple into a pillow.
 
It is time to stop all this mumbling and sign off so that I can catch up with all of you out there in blog world. I have skimming through a lot of your blogs, trying to keep up to date on all of your activities and stitching project, but just haven't had a lot of time to comment. Hope that is ok?
 
Take care, my friends, and remember...
 

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

 

It's Wednesday...It's June...

Happy June 1st. With the weather we are having the local tv station nicknamed this month "Jun-uary". It has been cold, gray, rainy here with snow up in the Tahoe/Sierra Mountains. Well, just so that the weather doesn't get me or anyone else down, I did get to snap a few shots of our beautiful roses which are blooming:

We do have other colors of roses - red, pink, yellow, white and purple...but this one, which I think is called Candy or Cotton Candy, is my favorite. When they bloom there are shades of pink, purple and yellow. They are spectacular. As you see I was playing with the camera and took one in sepia tones.

How was your Memorial Day weekend? My parents, from Minnesota, were in town. It was nice to have them here for a few days. They got to spend a lot of time with their grandsons as I was busy working in *The Store* and DH was busy working in the *New Store* in order for it to be ready for it's opening mid-June. But grandma and grandpa didn't have anyproblems hanging out with their grandsons, especially since they don't get that opportunity very often. It was "Golfing with Grandpa" on Saturday followed by a shopping trip to the Hockey store on Sunday (both boys received some new hockey equiptment from the grandparents - very nice indeed!). We also enjoyed a wonderful meal on Saturday night - grilled steaks & chicken outdoors...in the rain...and all sat down around the table: DH, me, the boys and my parents. Good food, good wine...lots of laughter and love!

Monday - Memorial Day - mom and dad left in the early afternoon while DH and I were working in *The Store*. We gave our employees the holiday off and we came in for 1/2 day to make several arrangements and get them delivered before closing the store and heading home for an afternoon nap. Here is one of the special Memorial Day arrangements I made for a customer for their holiday picnic:

Strawberries dipped in white chocolate and then in blue sprinkles, White chocolate covered strawberries and then strawberries "naked"...white & dark covered bananas (many times the white/dark chocolate covered bananas get mistaken for marshmallows in the photographs)...melons, pineapple daisies and stars...YUMMY!

The customer was definitely WOWed when she picked it up!

Between visitors, working in the store and finding opportunities to get in a good jog or a bike ride, I did make some time for stitching. First of all I did put the finishing touches on the ornament for Angela for the Ornament Swap...and will drop it off at the post office today! In addition, I have been working on the pineapple some more and this is what it looks like now:

Definitely looking like a pineapple, don't you think? I am just down to the "confetti" stitches within the pineapple, which are very tedious to try and figure out which color is which right now, but I figure I will be done with this part within a day or two. Below the pineapple is more greenery. I do have a deadline for this project - June 13, the day one of our employees gets back in town from her month long vacation visiting family. She likes square pillows, so I will probably finish it off as one...just need to find some fun fabric for the backing. MMmmmm, I think I have some ideas.

Well, friends it is time for me to wrap this off. I was so excited that I was able to get my a$$ out of bed and on the stationary bike as well as update my blog! Good start to the Wednesday morning, good start to June!

Hope all is well with you...until next time, remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Last TGIF in May...

Progress on Pineapple!

Welcome...

Welcome to my blog...

Welcome to Friday!

TGIF!

Did you know that the pineapple is an age old symbol of friendship and hospitality?
In times past, in larger, well-to-do homes, dining room doors were kept closed to heighten visitors' suspense about the dinner table being readied on the other side. At the appointed moment, the doors were flung open to reveal the evening's main event. Visitors confronted with pineapple-topped food displays felt particularly honored by a hostess who obviously spared no expense to ensure her guests' dining pleasure. This was how the pineapple, came to symbolize welcoming friendship, good cheer, human warmth and the family affection that was inherent to such gatherings. Pineapples are still a treasured housewarming gift for friends and family.

Memories...I remember my parent's having 2 concrete pineapple statues at the foot of the driveway when I was growing up. However when we moved from Kansas to Minnesota, we forgot to bring these with us. Periodically my sisters and I would look for concrete pineapple statues to replace the ones we remember from our childhood; however when we do find some they are much larger than the ones we left in Kansas. Oh, well...

Catch up time...it is hard to believe that it has been a week since my last post, but as you know May was going to be a very busy month. Since the last post, I have travelled down to Long Beach for the trade show

One of the display corners on the tradeshow booth I have been coordinating for the last few months for my job.

and returned back home...on Tuesday evening...in time to give Matthew, my new 12-year old a kiss and a hug on his birthday.

Yes, this was the first time that I wasn't present on the morning of a birthday. Typically I decorate the stairwell with bday balloons, fix breakfast and put a candle in the birthday boy's waffle and have them wear the bday hat while eating. But not this year. At least I was able to make it home to meet up with Matthew when he got home from his hockey clinic. I greeted him at the door with his birthday chocolate milk shake. Goodness, where does time go? I am now a mother of a 12-year old and a 15.5 year old...yikes!

Stitching...above is a photo of my progress on the pineapple. I was able to get in some stitching in the airport and plane in my travels earlier in the week. I was also able to put some of the finishing stitches on the ornament I need to finish and get in the mail on/before May 31. I don't know why this seems to happen to me a lot right now...I have every intention of finishing the ornaments early, I even start a whole month ahead, but then find that the deadline is getting closer...well, just too busy I guess and probably do a little procrastination, too...ya think?

Well, the last "event" on my May event list was a visit from my parents, who arrived yesterday. They are here until Monday mid-morning. Tomorrow the boys get to play Golf with Grandpa, which they have been looking forward to; and I think that my mother is going to come to *The Store* and work with me...cutting melons or skewering strawberries...maybe I will teach her to dip strawberries :)
That's should do it from here on this sunny Friday. I hope that things are well with you all and I thank you for visiting today. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

TGIF...

There we go...a better photo of the Pineapple I am stitching. I even got a little further than the grassy/leafy top since I posted that blurry, embarrassing photo.

I have made sure to get in a little stitching during this week, which always feels good. I love the way the needle feels in my hand and love to play with the colors of the thread. I am looking forward to getting in some stitching tonight while watching the NHL Playoffs - San Jose Sharks vs. Vancouver Canucks. While I know I am in Shark territory, I love the Nuckies...that is all I will say about that now.

Today is Friday - thank goodness! All of the plans and details are complete and I am ready for the upcoming tradeshow I have been working on at my job, so I am taking my normal Friday off. I am using today to get caught up on things around the house as well as just sometime for myself. I do need to get to the grocery store to stock up on things for the boys to eat while I am out of town for a couple of days to attend the tradeshow.

That is where most of my stress comes from, trying to get things organized for the boys while I am away for a couple of days. Between making sure that they get to all their activies and back home - school and hockey clinics...making sure that they have the right food for lunches, dinners and snacks before and after school/hockey and that DH is aware of all those things. We are blessed to have one of Matthew's (younger son) hockey friends nearby who have volunteered to help get him to and from the rink next Monday & Tuesday...DH will have to deal with Robert (older son). I know that things will work out and they will be able to get along without me, but...well, you know.

That is about all from here...time to get back to my "to do" list as well as my needle & thread.

Take care and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

The middle

Mid-way through May...hard to believe. So busy. Wishing that life would just stand still for a while; not really looking for that 25th or 26th hour in a day, for the fear that it, too, would be scheduled or used for something besides what I would like to do. I knew that May would be busy - boys are finishing up with school, school track team but adding a spring hockey clinic; *The Business* successfully made it through Mother's Day but focus needs to switch to getting store #2 ready for opening mid-June; organization of the trade show for my other job is just about complete but I will need to travel for a few days to make sure that it is all set up correctly.

I have been able to find a little time...or should I say: "I have been able to 'make' time"...to get in exercise and to stitch. Two things that are important to my health - mental, emotional and physical health.

The blurry photo is a new start I have made this week (couldn't get a good shot of it this morning, I do apologize). While it looks like grass, it will eventually be the top of a pineapple. I was surfing through all my "freebies" and saw this, which made me think of one of our wonderful employees who cuts the pineapple and basically puts the beginning touches to all the arrangements.
However as I start this, I remember that I do need to get back to the ornament for the swap that is due in the mail at the end of the month. If I remember correctly, I did get a good start on it last month; probably just need to put a few more stitches in it and then finish it off. Mmmm, let's see I could probably fit it in this week.

Actually tomorrow looks promising...Robert (older son) doesn't have anything after school for he is done with school track now...and Matthew (younger son) just has track, but I don't need to take him anywhere or for the most part pick him up because the school is close to the house. Sorry...just brainstorming.

If it is time to go off topic...I do have to say that it looks like it will be a beautiful day here. The weather stations have been threating clouds, cool weather, rain, thunderstorms and snow up in the Sierras near Tahoe all weekend. But I think that we snuck away without any of that weather getting in the way of our weekend. I see the bright sun coming up over the hills and hitting the tree out my window like a spot light. The blue of the sky is vivid without any clouds over head. Hopefully I will find time to get out and enjoy it.

I hope that you find time to enjoy life - whether it is indoors with stitching in hand, at the dinner table with your loved ones our outdoors enjoying nature. Take care and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa