Washington DC - Day 2

The wake up call did come somewhat early this morning - but everyone seemed to wake up in good spirits. By the way, here is where we are staying in Williamsburg

It is huge - has a gigantic water park in side (which is something on the itinerary for tonight). Anyway, the wake up call came at 6:30am and breakfast was at 7:15. It was a nice breakfast buffet - cereal, hot choices, and fruit. At 8:15am, we boarded the bus and headed back to:

 Williamsburg

  Before we get into that - the weather is wonderful, nice warm weather and clear blue skies.

We broke up into two different groups and took a tour focusing on the government side of the Colonial Williamsburg. The first stop for our group was George Wyhte's house (he was a tutor and mentor of Jefferson)

We learned that back in the 18th century that husbands and wives had their own space, so when we walked through house we saw "his space" which was his office and Mrs. Wyhte's "space" where she had her sewing things. There were public areas where they entertained - primarily his students, as they didn't have any children.  Mr. Whyte was the first professor of the local college.

Their house was one of the houses on the Governors Palace Green - where 2% of the population lived in this capital city...these were the wealthy people. Another sign of wealth was the material that the houses were built out of...if they were made of brick they were wealthy versus the wooden white. However, Payton Randolph's house was wood, but he painted it red so that from afar it would look like it was made of brick - thus appearing "wealthy".

 However, he was wealthy - the 2nd richest in the colony (the governor being the first) and he was a speaker of the House of Burgess

The next stop was the Governor's Palace. The grounds were beautiful! And the interior was wonderful.

We were greeted by the dark wood, marble floors and walls filled with swords & rifles as we walked into the Public Area of the Palace - which gave the impression of power and wealth. The bottom floor of this 16,500 square foot building was to entertain and the top floor was for the family.

There bedrooms were located on either side of the house and in the middle was what we would call the "family room" and they called the "upper middle room". In this room, the wall paper was pointed out. It was hand tooled leather from Spain and gold covered...it was not part of this house but of the time period. It was incredible. All over the room was oriental and exotic pieces, which we learned of the love for exotic pieces also symbolized wealth.

After we left the Governor's Palace, we walked through the gardens and into a "town hall meeting" where George Washington was talking about taxation.

We listed to him for awhile and then walked around the town a little more - stopping at the local Cooper, who was the barrel maker. Actually, in addition to barrels, they made other containers. Then we went the the Williamsburg Jail

The jail cell that we got to go into was on of the original cells. We learned that the jailer lived on the property with his family and was paid well. He was in charge of making sure that the prisoners were well kept as this was only a "holding" cell before they needed to show up for their trial...they were not sentanced to jail, they were either proven innocent and let go or sent to the gallos. One of the most famous group of people held in the prision was Blackbeard's crew (but not Bleackbeard himself). There were 16 in the group - 2 were let go, because they "snitched" on the rest of the group, the other 14 were hung.

 

Next on the tour was the Capitol - where the General Court, the King's Room and the House of Burgess. It seemed like the perfect place to go next after the jail, for we learned about how trials were done in the colony back then. Ten of the kids were chosen to be the jury of a trial where one of our chaperons was accused of stealing silver. The jury decided that she was guilty - but because this was her 1st offense, she was let go but was branded on her hand with a little "t" so if she committed theft again she would be hung. This little "mock" trial was gave the sleepy kids a good feel for how things were done back then. 

After learning about the court system, we walked into the House of Burgess and learned about the check and balance system and some of the issues that were important back then. The last room was the King's Room:

From the Capitol we walked around Williamsburg, spending a little time walking through some of the shops until it was time for lunch which we enjoyed at the Kings Arm Tavern

Here we were treated to a nice spring salad, Chicken Pot Pie, warm sourdough bread and vanilla ice cream. Some of the servers were a little cranky when serving us, but it was still a nice meal. From there we boarded the bus and headed to:

 Jamestown

The first stop on our trip was the Powhatan Village where we learned about Pocahantus. Before we got to their huts and learned how the tanned hide, cooked, and made tools - we stopped at the Circle of the 7 gods of the Powhatan Nation

We then headed to see the 3 boats that journeyed over from England to Jamestown - Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant...and even took a tour of one to get a feel for what it would have been like to be on that boat. Let's just say that it wouldn't have been fun!

On the dock, we listened to one of the sailor tell us a little about the life of a sailor and taught us about the knot a sailor needed. He even had some of the kids volunteer to learn

The last tour we took was the fort of Jamestown and learned about the hardships they experienced in the new land.

By that time - which it was 4:45pm - we were getting tired and cranky and it was time to get back to the hotel for dinner and an evening at the waterpark. Some kids even decided that this would be a good time to get a little homework done. Tomorrow, we pack up and head off to Washington DC by way of Richmond.

So, it is time to get some rest so that we are fresh for another day of touring and learning...so from Colonial Williamsburg and the Great Wolf Lodge I bid you good night.

Washington DC Trip - Day 1

Our day started out well before the sun rose. All 30 kids, 4 moms and 2 teachers arrived at the middle school at 3am to meet and board the bus which transported us to the airport in order to make a 6:10am flight. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time. Everything was well organized as each of us, in alphabetical order - of course - approached the airline counter, handed over the suitcase and proceeded through security and then to the gate. With much time to spare all went in search of breakfast and sat down on the floor to consume it.

As soon as it was time to board the plane, all food was enjoyed while trying to determine who was sitting where. The game plan was for all to board the aircraft, stand where their assigned seats were and then "play musical seats" so everyone would sit with their friends in order to enjoy the plane ride. Of course, it is easier said than done when trying to deal with 8th graders...but with only a little chaos, they managed to get seated before disrupting too many of the other passengers...actually we did get some nice comments from some of the passengers during this first leg of our journey. We flew from San Francisco to Chicago, where we changed planes with a short layover.

With an hour in between the flights, the kids had time to buy some lunch (McDonald's seemed to be the majority favorite). After lunch was consumed and still some time on their hands, the electronic gadgets came out and all took turns looking on.

We arrived at Reagan Airport in Washington DC around 4:10pm. Some of us were able to see our first view of the Washington Momument and the Pentagon from the runway. Excitment buiding and desire to exit the plane...we made our way down to the baggage claim and met up with our tour directors (all luggage was accounted for...no lost pieces - yahoo!)

We boarded another bus outside the airport for our 2 hour drive to Williamsburg, VA. Our tour guide explained some of the safety features of the bus, as well as some of the rules - aside from the requirements, he did stop and point out the Pentagon as we drove past it. He pointed out the side of the building where the plane crashed into it on 9/11 and the memorial park that was build a couple of years ago. After that, it was basically a long bus ride to Williamsburg. We arrived a little after 7pm at the Wasabi Buffet, which was a perfect place for all of us hungry travellers! I think that we all got our fill of sushi, peel-n-eat shrimp, crab, varieties of Chinese entrees, fruit, salads and an assortment of desserts.

From dinner, we headed into Colonial Williamsburg for a Lantern Tour. We met our tour guide, who was dressed in Colonial attire and he took us through several of the building.

The first building we entered was Clothing Shop. We learned that the business was run by both men and women; we got to see some dresses from that time period which were on display as well as some fabrics.

The next business we visited was the printer. We saw an older printing press and learned about all the things that were printed back in colonial times...like money, newspapers, forms and contracts.

And the last business we visted was the book binder. Here is where they created books...the most popular one and best seller was the ledger. In fact we heard about 200 year old ledgers found, which had given historians information of who bought what, how much and so on. Our guide showed us how books were bound, using twine to stitch them, and the paste paper that was used to create a nice cover.

 

I think that everyone enjoyed the lantern tour...but if you ask any of the kids what they learned or what they will remember about it, don't be surprised when they say "DUTY" (aka horse poop).

After tour, we boarded the bus and headed to the hotel. Everyone was handed their key to their rooms and was escourted in. The security guard checked in with us promptly at 10pm as she will be sitting outside the door of the kids to keep an eye on them so that we can all get some shut eye. For that wake up call is scheduled at 6:30am...and that time will be here before we know it.

So, I will bid you good night - Lisa

Twas the day before travel

Well, here I sit at a hockey rink (go figure)...about 10 hours before Robert (older son) and I need to be at his school, where we board the bus...with about 36 other 8th graders, 3 other mothers and 2 teachers...and head to the airport to catch a 6am flight to Washington DC. Three AM in the morning. Yikes! Can you say stress?

I have been stressing all day, something that I do prior to travelling - but it seems more intense for this trip. When I woke up this morning, I just didn't feel like I was ready to go - for I hadn't organized my clothes nor Robert's. In fact, I just started to get his things out this morning, prior to breakfast, and noticed that the button down shirt that Robert needed to wear for the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier was too small. The sleeves were up to his elbows and buttoning it was impossible (guess it has been a long time since we have needed to dress up the boys in a shirt and tie). So, I added a trip to JC Penny's to my list of things that needed to be done.

After work (I work part-time - leaving the office at 1pm), I quickly ran to Penny's for the shirt and got home to pack. Got all my stuff figured out (got a good variety in the suitcase: stuff to wear just incase I am having a "fat day" and stuff to wear if I feel good & thin...and some exchanges kitted up for the airplane rides) and picked out Robert's things for him to "approve" when he got home from school, before putting them in his suitcase. He is rooming with 3 other boys and I am rooming with another mother.

In addition to getting us ready to travel, I have also felt the need to get things organized for DH and Matthew (younger son). They leave a little later for a hockey tournament.

AND in addition to that, both boys have hockey tonight (hence, the reason I am at a rink right now) - so I had to prepare the pre-skate meals, pull together the hockey gear, prepare and pack the post-skate meals, etc.

We should be home around 8 tonight - when DH will take over for me and I can get in a good workout on the bike. Something I need to do to unwind. I am definitely looking forward to that...then it will be off to bed for a quick nap and up around 2:00am.

I will be taking my camera and my mini computer in hopes to blog about the trip as I go. However, I have heard that these school trips to DC are crazy-busy! I have the itinerary and we are going from 6am until 10pm...but there is a lot of good stuff going on in between.

So, until next post...remember: Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Sunday Status

Lookie what I received in the mail on Friday - my bee-u-tiful Season Exchange from Angela P (Angela, I "stole" the photo from your blog; I am hoping that is ok - as I wanted to brag about your beautiful work, but haven't been able to get the camera around to take one of my own). Isn't it wonderful. I love it...it is my first flat fold - now I get to see up close how they are made :) LOL!

It was so nice to receive it when I did, for Friday Robert (older son) got braces on and he has been so uncomfortable all weekend. "Eating isn't fun any more," is what he told me...and he does love to eat and try new foods. It is a bummer that I had this scheduled when I did as we leave in a couple of days for his 8th grade Washington DC trip and I know by looking at the itinerary that there are a lot of fun places to eat. The look on his face all weekend and the discomfort that shows in his eyes, breaks my heart. I know that it will disappear in time, but right now it is a heartbreaker for this mother.

This weekend, as mentioned, was the Hockey State Finals for Matthew (younger son). The team played ok - losing it's first game on Friday...winning the second game early Saturday morning...tying their third game on Saturday afternoon - - - thus, sneaking into the Championship which they played today at 7am...and lost with a score of 3-2. That means that they came in second place as a California Squirt A Team...not too bad! But the 2009-2010 hockey season has finally ended for both of my boys; HOWEVER, we have already started the spring hockey clinics and Matthew is already on a spring team which will be leaving for Chicago on Thursday for a tournament. Yes, we are a crazy hockey family :)

Well...that is about all right now blog friends. This is going to be a crazy few days as I prepare for my travel with Robert and his 8th grade classmates going to Washington DC on Wednesday...and organize things for DH & Matthew to leave for the Chicago tournament on Thursday. Once I get on that plane on Wednesday, I will be able to take a breather and relax, but until then I will be slightly stressed to get everything done!

Take care all and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Finally Friday...but wish that it didn't come so fast

First...I would like to say "Thank you" to all the Anniversary Well Wishes. DH and I didn't do anything special that day to celebrate, but we did acknowledge the milestone with special thoughts of our life together. As tacky as this sounds...he sent me a very special email recounting our life together and what it means to him. I was reading it while getting the boys ready for hockey and tears were developing in my eyes. Matthew looked over and asked why I was crying...I told him that I loved his father and he loved me. Matthew looked at me and said, "ok, whatever." Kids...got to love them :)

Well, we find ourselves at Friday - the last official day of the spring break (yes, we do have the weekend ahead of us, but I really don't consider that part of spring break). I did enjoy the time home with the kids...even though we still had evenings with hockey to run to. I did enjoy the opportunity to sleep in...but did jump out of bed this morning to get back into the routine as we do have some early morning things to attend to. 

Yes, it is Friday - which brings us the first day of Matthew's State Hockey Finals. His first game is today at 11am, but he has to be down in San Jose around 9:45am for warm-ups and stretching out. Yesterday I ironed on the letter "A" on his jerseys, for he has been chosen to be one of the assistant captains of his team - a special role. I wish the kids good luck! Go Tri-Valley Blue Devils Squirt A team...go Matthew!

Yes, it is Friday - which brings us to the day that Robert gets braces put on. I will be taking him to the ortho this morning (thus, missing Matthew's first state final's game); what a way to end Spring Break, huh? Well, this should have been done earlier...like way back in August so that we would have had most of the expense taken care of before DH was done with his current job (that is a subject for another post at another time).

And, yes, it is Friday - a day to show off some of my stitching to my blog friends. First up...I head from Lisa V, as she received the ornament I sent to her (Ornament Swap). Here is what I made for her:

I knew that she like snowmen and Prairie Schooler designs...so I stitched up this guy, using the colors it called for and Lakeside Linen (might be 32ct). I added a little Krienk Blending Filament to the snowflakes to put a little glitter on them...and then a little red flower button on the snowman's hat. It was a fun one to stitch up and finish.

Next, an update to my Mary Wigham...

I finished the flower motif (the one with a stem in GAST grape leaf and flowers in GAST berry cobbler) without frogging the little error and then went onto the squirrel motif and the little motifs around the squirrel. I am waiting to stitch the initial as per the pattern, because I am thinking about personalizing it with the initials of my family and maybe even the birth dates...but I want to finish stitching all the motifs first.

The squirrel area stitched up pretty quickly...so, I started the last motif on the top right-hand corner (not in either photo) - hoping to finish that this weekend before I have to put MW into hibernation on Monday. Monday is the day that I need to start kitting up two exchanges - Lizzie Kate and the Seasonal Exchange - for the upcoming trip to Washington D.C. I am going as a chaperon for Robert's 8th grade class. We leave next Wednesday at 3am in the morning...and I have a little organizing I need to do for that as soon as the weekend is over.

That is the Friday update, my blogging friends. This evening we are planning a Family dinner, something that we haven't done in awhile - thought it would be nice to grill up some meat and sit down as a way to end a relaxing spring break as well as have a little celebration of our Anniversary, a celebration of Robert's awesome 3rd quarter report card, a celebration of Matthew's hockey teams advance to state finals and just a celebration of what our life is - wonderfully blessed. 

I wish you a very happy Friday and may it be blessed with love, family and friends! Lisa

Happy 19th Anniversary

Nineteen years ago, I felt like Cinderella - wearing a gorgeous gown of white satin, being surrounded by Maids of Honors, flowers girls, friends and family...walking down the aisle to meet up with my Prince...

It is amazing to think back to the beginnings...meeting him the first week of our freshman year in college...dating all the way through. We did have our ups and downs, just like all dating couples did, but we stuck it out and got engaged 2 months after college graduation. Our engagement took place on a trip to New Orleans, where he lived and worked (got a great job right out of college)...all the arrangements made for a surprise proposal.

On July 20, 1990 we went to visit Nottoway Plantation for a simple tour - or so I thought. Little did I know this was were he would wip out the engagement ring and propose. I felt like a princess then, a princess on our wedding day (April 7, 1991)...and he has continued to make me feel special everyday.

Today, I look back at all that we have accomplished and been through together; I am grateful to have him in my life and share all the goodness I feel, especially the beauty of our growing sons who I believe exemplify the love we have for eachother!

Happy Anniversary DH! I love you!

Mummbling on Monday

Hi all...hope you had a nice weekend and Easter holiday. Out in the backyard, the boys found plastic eggs most of them were filled with dollar bills - guess the bunny knew that the boys weren't big candy eaters (and that Mom & Dad really didn't need the sugar and calories). And with the boys getting ready to take some trips: Robert to DC for the 8th grade trip and Matthew to Chicago for an upcoming hockey tournament - personal spending money comes in handy. After a quick Easter egg hunt and breakfast, DH took both boys to the rink for a 2-1/2 hour practice and I stayed home and cleaned the bottom floor of the house. I know, not the most exciting thing to do when one has the house to themselves...but it really needed to be done and with everyone out of my hair, it makes for a good situation to really focus.

PIF Announcement...Kelly and Brandy will be receiving a special package in the mail from me probably sooner than later, even thought the guidelines say that I have a year. I have sent both of you an email requesting your snail mail address. 

After reading the comments on my last post, as well as on the Mary Wigham SAL-USA blog, I wanted to thank everyone for the support of just leaving my "error".  I have just left it and finished that flower/vine motif and moved onto the one with the squirrel...which I am just about finished with and will probably be posting a photo in the next couple of days. 

Spring Break is in full force this week, but I cannot report that it is going to be too exciting. We are not planning to go anywhere or take any exciting day trips because: 

1. Robert (older son) has some homework to do...with the 8th grade Washington DC trip coming soon (April 14-19) the teachers have been very nice to give the kids missing school those days the majority of their homework to work on over the Spring Break (if they choose to) so that they don't have to worry about it while on the trip. Influenced by his school mates on Facebook, he got up this morning and is fired up to get all of his history completed today (guess there is some good that does come from chatting with friends late at night on Facebook)
2. Matthew (younger son) has hockey practice...his team advanced to State Finals, which takes place this coming weekend with the first game being played Friday @ 11am. Since we believe that practices are important to play in games (kind of like studying for a test), Matthew will be at the last 2 practices leading up to the State Finals Weekend.
3. Hockey Academy Clinic (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday)...both boys have been enrolled in a spring clinic which takes place in the evenings down in San Jose. It started a couple of weeks ago and goes until May 20th. Robert will attend all three evenings this week, but Matthew only 2 because his practice takes priority Monday (tonight).

So that basically covers the majority of the activities we will be doing this week during Spring vacation - however we will need to find time to do a little shopping for nice clothing for Robert for the DC trip - he was chosen as one of the 4 who will be laying the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...so he will need a shirt, tie and nice pants for that. He will also need some nice clothing for when we tour the White House. I say "we" because I have signed up/paid to go as a chaperon. I am getting just as excited as he is, for it is going to be a wonderful trip!

Well, blogging friends...thank you again for visiting. Hope you have a good week and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Saturday Stitching Status Report & Other Updates

Well, I find myself up and going on Saturday morning, the first official start to the boys' spring vacation. They got out yesterday at 12:30pm; well, Matthew (younger son) did. Robert (older son) had to stay after and make up a Spanish test - what a bummer of a start to his vacation, huh? He was going to try and take it during class, since they really weren't doing anything for the 40 minutes except for having a party (during 1/2 days, they do attend all their classes but they are shorter versions); but because the music was loud and the kids were partying, he thought it would have been a distraction for Robert and, thus, told him to take it after school. So, for the 40 minutes of the class - not only did the kids goof off, but some of them even left the class to join parties in the other classes. It would have been better just to start spring break a little earlier (or at least let Robert take his test). Nevertheless, it really wasn't a big deal...just one of those things that happen.

Stitching Updates

I know that I posted "A Walk in the Park" earlier in the week, but I thought I would post it again. I heard from my sister on Thursday evening. The gift had arrived in Minnesota and she loved it! I didn't talk with her directly, but she left a long message on my voice mail saying that she is going to use the box to save Max's collar, photos and other mementos (it is one of those unfinished cigar boxes from Michael's which I painted the outside black and lined the interior in the fabric that you see on the little circle buttons). That is exactly what I was thinking when I made the gift for her :)

Mary Wigham Update

Here is where I am with MW. I have really been working on it every chance I have - it is addicting - but I find that I really need to focus. Not only because I am stitching on 40ct - 1 strand over 2 - but it is very easy to get the counting off. And while most people wouldn't notice....the counting is messed up in the little berry colored flower on the top of the green stem, as I noticed last night. Now, since I am just about done with the flower (still have a few more stitches to put into it before I call it complete) I am trying to decide: 

1. Do I let the "messed up" count go? It wouldn't mess up the placement of any other motif and no one looking at it would point to the "mistake" and say: "OMG, Lisa, you messed that up!"
2. Do I rip out the flower and start over? I know that it is messed up, and for awhile it would bother me. But the phrase: "It is ok to make mistakes, only God is perfect." goes through my head. When I was in Girl Scouts, many years ago, and we were working on our craft badge, one of the other girls was in tears because she "messed up" her Christmas ornament. It "wasn't perfect" she told the leader, "and it needs to be perfect because it is for my mother." That is when we stopped and got lectured about living up to the best of our abilities. Strange how back then it was "ok" to talk about God in something like Girl Scouts and now it would be frowned upon.

Anyway...those are the 2 options I am struggling with.  And here is a close up of the area that I have been working on this week and were the impending "error" is:

On the agenda for today...Matthew has a hockey scrimmage around 4pm today as they are getting ready to go to State Finals next week. They are scrimmaging the other Northern California team in order to work on their team skills. Tomorrow (yes, on Easter Sunday) they have practice from 10:15am-12:45pm. Just enough time to see if the Easter Rabbit came (which reminds me, I need to get prepared for that little bunny to visit) and eat breakfast. Don't forget to enter in the PIF give-a-way (click on "pif" to make sure that you sign up on the right post). The "rules" state that I must send to 2 people...I do have one and I will follow through with my obligations for that 1...but the more the merrier! Tomorrow is the deadline.

Take care my blogging friend and remember...Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Ain't no April Fools...Time for a PIF

Good day blogging friends, it looks like the rain is back for a couple of days here in Northern California. But as I mentioned before the dry season will be here soon, so any rain we can get now the better.

A few months ago I entered into Barb's PIF and was one of the lucky ones chosen - which I received a some wondeful stitching items couple of weeks ago. So, now it is my turn to host a PIF in order to follow through with my part of the PIF (Pay it Forward).

This is an easy PIF, for there is no stitching actually involved. So this is a great one for those of you who don't have any stitching time available and/or don't care for the finishing part.

If you would like to receive 5 stitching items from me, please leave a comment under this message clearly indicating that you would like to be included in my PIF (pay it forward) drawing. I will announce 3 winners on Easter Sunday,April 4. That gives everyone some time to leave me a comment. Please remember to include your email address so I can send you a note if you are a winner!


Here are the rules:

1.Send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.

2.Items can be DMC, other threads, stitching needles, straight pins, buttons, scissors, ribbons, etc. - a combination of items such as 3 threads, 1 pack of straight pins and 1 pack of stitching needles or just 5 threads.

3.The items must be new and not used. (Send things you'd be happy to receive.)

4.If you win, you must be willing to post this PIF on your blog and do the same for at least 2 people.

The PIF is simple and very easy to do, so I hope you'll give it a try! Good luck and remember...
Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

A Laundry List of Errands on Saturday

Yesterday, the first Saturday without hockey in awhile, we had a laundry list of things to accomplish. So after sleeping in, getting my spin on the stationary bike, and eating breakfast we set out into the beautiful sunny spring morning.

First stop....The Farmer's Market - Matthew (younger son) fell in love with a pickle that you can only get at the Pleasanton Farmer's Market called Sister Sara's. Now we are talking of my youngest son, the son who still is a picky eater. Let me tell you...you open up a jar of Sister Sara's pickles and the aroma of garlic fills the air. And you eat one or more of these pickles, go outside, run around a little and sweat...you smell like a piece of garlic. But he loves them, so we went and picked up a jar of her pickles. We also got some wonderful citrus fruits, asian pears, bread, snap peas and fresh carrots. I saw this at a plant stand and thought it was really cute...it is a lettuce bowl:

Second stop...Fleet Feet in Pleasanton, CA- Robert (older son) started school track last week; a good sport to do in the hockey "off-season" and a great way to get involved in school. This is his 3rd year of track and as one of the 8th graders who can run a good mile, we want to make sure that he has a good pair of running shoes.This is the place we go to every April to have his feet measured and his arch support checked.

Third stop...Hockey X in Oakland, CA - both boy needed some hockey gear, especially since Matthew's season continues as his team advanced to State Finals. Matthew's feet had grown and his current hockey skates were too small...so we felt that since he still had 2 weeks of his current season, and then was continuing on to a spring team who is playing in a tournament in Chicago the 3rd week of April, he needed a new pair of skates. Well, his feet are now in Senior size which bumped him up from $100 skates to the skates with a bigger price tag. Ouch! While he was getting fitted and his skates moulded to his feet- Robert picked out his hockey stick he needed because he starts one of his hockey clinics next week (which he will be doing in addition to track).

Fourth stop...Needle in a Haystack in Alameda, CA - time for mom to have a little fun. NiaH was having their Anniversary Sale, so I was hoping that the "boys" would feel the need to go to lunch at Weinersnitzel (hot dogs) so that I could walk across the street and stash shop. I did find a few things that would be good for some upcoming exchanges I need to stitch (so I can't show any of the new stash). When I got up to the counter to get rung up, I got to pick an Easter egg out of their Anniversary basket to see what my Anniversary savings would be (they had coupons for 10%, 20%, and 30% off of purchase). I reached my hand down deep and pulled out an egg that had a 30% off coupon! Ya-hoo! I felt like I won the lottery!

When the boys came back from the hot dog restaurant - with full bellies and stories about the free food that was accidentally put on their tray that they ate - we left Alameda and started to head back home (a drive that typically takes 45 minutes). Unfortunately, about 10 miles from our house we heard a ker-thunk, ker-thunk, ker-thunk not quite the noise you want to hear when you are tired and ready to go home. DH looked at me and said, "it is the tire". The tires on the car we were driving were going bald and we knew that we needed to get new tires, but just was procrastinating.

Well...so we got off the highway and pulled into a UHaul storage parking lot. To make a long story short...we did put the spare on only to drive 5 feet when we noticed that it was flat. So we backed up the car into the parking lot again, took it off so that DH and Robert could walk it down to the nearest Shell gas station and put air in it (remember folks, always check to make sure that your spare has air!). While they were gone, Matthew and I stayed with the car and made good use of our time sitting in the parking lot...we changed out his skate laces for better waxed ones.

The Shell station wasn't too far, so they were back in about a 1/2 hour, got the spare put on and we were back on the road. Before we got home, we did stop at a tire store before they closed for the day, to talk with them about new tires and got everything figured out so when I drop off the car there this morning they can put new tires on the car quickly.

So getting the new tires put on the care is on my "to do list" this morning while DH takes Matthew to his hockey scrimmage @ 7am and then his practice @ 11am. Oh, well...we did get a lot accomplished yesterday and amazingly we came home with smiles on our faces and in good moods. It is fun to be able to have a family day like this and still come home in peace...and in "one piece" :)

Take care and have a wonderful Sunday!

Remember...Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Friday Fotos...Spring, Sheep and Stitches

This morning, after taking the boys to school, I grabbed my camera and took the dog for a quick walk. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky...the air was cool and crisp...songs of birds filled the spring air. It was wonderful. On my walk, I looked at the hills that surround the neighborhood and on the one I spoke of yesterday, I caught the shepherd and his dog working with the sheep (he & dog are somewhat located in the upper middle of the photo):

The sheep have worked their way to the side of the hill that faces us. From my son's window, we can see the areas where they have eatten the tall grass down to the ground. When fire season starts up, we will definitely feel appreciation to the shepherd and his sheep!

Continuing my walk with the dog, we pass up a lot of flowering bushes.

I am not sure what the name of these bushes are - but who ever landscaped our neighborhood must of had the flower colors in mind when planning for the spring. The purples and the pinks of these really put one in the Easter mood. And don't forget these flowering crab-apple trees that I posted a photo of yesterday...

When you walk through these trees at full bloom, you almost feel like you are walking in a Winter-wonderland...and I prefer walking amoung flowering trees than trees full of snow, don't you?

Lastly, on some of the trellises around the neighborhood park are the wisteria beginning to bloom:

These always remind me of grapes on a grape vine ready to be harvest. Now back at home from our little walk, the dog runs into the garage to get a drink of water and I see that our little Cali-lily plant continues to grow and flower without any maintainance...it grows like a weed!

Thank you for coming on my early morning spring walk with me and sharing the sights...now to reward you for making it this far in the post here are some stitching photos:

First a finish to show:

"A Walk in the Park"

by Little House Needleworks

stitched on 36ct linen (forgot the name)

DMC floss - black & white - stitching 2 over 2

button from Just Another Button Company

finished by mounting it on a cigar box from Michaels; painted box black and wrapped round wooden buttons with fabric purchased at Jo-Anns.

This is a gift for my sister who lost her canine friend in December. Maxie, as she called him, was with her for a long time and became her best friend. I know she misses him.

And now that I am caught up with my "exchange" project (for a little while as I have 2 to complete by May 1) - I have pulled out my Mary Wigham.

Here is what is looks like now - and because I don't have a quick reference to what it looked like before taking it out of hibernation, here is a photo of the motif I finished last night (GAST: Tinbucket):

Well, Blogging Buddies...thank you for making it to the end of this long post. I hope that you enjoyed our spring walk together ending in stitches!

Remember...Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa