Nice surprise in the mail.....

Look at this nice surprise I got in the mail today from a quilting friend ( Julie ).   She took the time to make me a mini quilt and I love it......so colorful....

and she put a little bit of "extra-special" in it by adding a piping strip of fabric just inside the binding.  (I'm not sure if you call it piping, but that's what I call it.)  If you click on the photo, I think you can see it in more detail.   I really appreciate her kindness AND her nice work.....beautifully-stitched hand-quilting on it, too.   It looks very nice hanging on my wall and I will treasure it always.   THANKS, Julie!    Click on her name at the beginning of my post to go see her quilting blog and the beautiful work she does while still working full-time as a nurse.  She is quite a special gal.

Trying to catch up....

Gosh...I have so many photos I've taken over the past several weeks with all good intentions of posting, but time just gets away from me. So....I'll try to put a few photos at a time here. They probably won't be in chronological order, but.....I don't think that matters much.

First, we have one of my feet wearing the very comfy and attractive socks made for me by Margi......I've talked about this in a few posts...how she rescued me and made the socks for me after I failed at my attempt to do them.  I love them!!! Thanks, again, Margi!

Next we have a closeup of an absolutely gorgeous poinsettia plant I got yesterday.  It was given to me by my quilty friend (and blogging buddy), Michelle.  She and her hubby came to visit my husband and me.  Michelle and I had some fun time with the GO! cutter as she cut out some HST's for a project she'll be starting soon. The hubbies talked...and then we all went out for a supper at a nice Italian place we like in downtown Rehoboth Beach....Nicola's.  Then...it was home so they could see my husband's Christmas light display where the lights twinkle in time to music that you tune on your car radio.  (Sorry I don't have pictures of it, but...trust me...it's a very nice light display.)    We all had a very nice day!  This last picture below shows part of my tumbler quilt (did a close-up in hopes you could see the nice quilting on it).  Michelle quilted it for me on her long-arm and brought it back to me yesterday.  She does such nice work.  Today I went and chose binding for it. Well...actually, I let my friend, Sherry, who works a the LQS and is excellent with color choice, do the choosing for me.  She chose something I'd never have picked, but it's a fun fabric and will look great when it's done!  (I'll take another picture at that time.)  OH...and great news.......the young gal in our family who is in the Air Force and was in Iraq has come HOME safe and sound...and just in time for Christmas!!!  We are truly blessed!

YAY!!! Socks.........but not made by me!!!

You might recall a few weeks back I blogged about a nice book with crocheted sock patterns....a nice book but I wasn't having luck with it.  SO...I put out an S.O.S. on my blog and my blogging buddy, Margi (click HERE for her blog...she is one very talented gal), responded and kindly offered to take my yarn and my book and make me a pair of socks.  She is a fabulous knitter but she had been wanting to try crocheted socks, so this gave her that chance...and, in true Margi fashion, she was rose to the challenge!!!  She has emailed me a photo of the finished socks and they are TERRIFIC!!!  See???  She will be mailing them to me soon.  Thanks, Margi...you are a real pal to do this.  The sock yarn would have gathered dust here as would the book if you'd not come to my rescue!!!  Gotta love blogging and the friends you make along the way!!!

Checking in......

Houseguests left today.....had a nice time while they were here and got my mind off the stressful family situation, so that was good.

Today in the mail I got a really nice surprise...sent by a blogging friend who knows how stressed I've been and why and made me something really nice so I'd know she was thinking about me.  I'll put two photos below.  I love it!!! And you can see there is a pencil next to the item she made me so you can get an idea of its size.......it will get a LOT of use, that's for sure.  THANKS, Rhonda....for the gift and the touching note you included with it.   Rhonda is a really talented gal.  If you haven't seen her blog yet, check it out by clicking HERE.

Isn't this a TERRIFIC tote?  (Sorry my camera skills weren't so good, but I hope you get the idea that it is super-sized and well-made!)

More bloggers I've met.....

My last post talked about 3 local bloggers I know. Now I'd like to mention other bloggers I've met who are not local folks.

Steph is the second from the left in this photo. (I'm the first one on the left...Steph's mom, Suzanne, is the 3rd one and Kathy from my previous post is on the right.) Steph lives more than an hour from me in MD, but she has a vacation place in Ocean City, MD, which isn't too far from me. We've met up a couple of times and will be doing that more in the future. Click HERE for her blog. It's called "A Ditchin' Time Quilts". Talented gal AND talented mom, too. Keep her mom in your prayers as she's had some recent serious health issues.
Michelle (on the right in this next picture) is a blogger with whom I'd been friends for awhile and then we got the FUN news that her hubby was being reassigned from an Air Force Base far away from me to one that is just 40 miles from me. We were both very excited and arranged to meet shortly after they arrived. We've since met again and went fabric shopping and had lunch, and we will be meeting this week, too. It's nice to have a far-away blogger move so much closer. HERE is where you can find Michelle's blog. Her blog is called "Michelle's Quilts & Stuff". (But be warned....she is a very prolific quilter and can put some of us to shame with how much she gets finished...and beautifully, too!!!)Cecelia, shown in this next picture with me, is another blogger I've known for awhile. She mentioned she was going to visit her sister in Delaware. I was happy to discover her sister lives in my area of Delaware, so we arranged to meet for lunch at a historic hotel nearby. It was a fun afternoon.....good food and good conversation with one of the most fun waiters I've ever encountered. Cecelia's sister was with us as was my quilting partner, Kathy. HERE is where you click to find Cecelia's blog. Her blog is named "Sew Quilty". She does very pretty work!The next photo is one of me and Tonya. She has a blog called "Tonya's Sewing Room". Besides being a talented gal, she is such a sweetheart. I was lucky enough to meet her last fall on a fall foliage tour my husband and I took of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We stayed in a town not far from her for a few days, so I got to meet her and her cute son the day we arrived. My husband and I had dinner with Tonya and her son that night, and then a couple of days later, we had lunch with Tonya and her husband, TJ, and visited their home. We are hoping they can get up this way to visit us when they plan a trip to the Amish area of PA in the not-too-distant future. Tonya is now a chapter coordinator for Project Linus and is always showing interesting things she makes on her blog. HERE is the link for that.
During a "get-away-from-cold-weather-trip" this winter, I had the good fortune to meet Jackie from the blog "Jackie's Stitches". We had a nice lunch together and some good chatting time. She is a super-nice person and her work (needlework, quilting, and knitting) is so well-done. She is someone who hasn't been quilting that many years, and you will be amazed at her work. This is a photo of us after lunch on a nice-weather day in January in Jacksonville, FL....me on the left and Jackie on the right. (I was loving the sun and warmth that day!) Click HERE to visit her blog.
During that same trip on which I met Jackie, I was able to meet with bloggers Pat Wys (blog is called "Silver Thimble Talk") and Gene Black, whose blog is called "Gene Black an Alabama Artist" (which he is!). The 3 of us (shown below) got to spend a fabulous day shop-hopping and having lunch together when I was in the area of Atlanta on the way back to cold weather in Delaware! Both have fabulous blogs and are very talented people. Pat will have a book out soon and she has numerous published patterns, too. Gene has made some good patterns and I hope he will be able to market them more widely. He also has an eye for fabric design, so I'd love to see him get into that at some point in the future. This man is also a talented musician, painter, and jewelry maker! For Gene's blog, click HERE. For Pat's blog, click HERE. Here's a cute picture of Pat with a couple of bags of her favorite snacks! (If you read her blog, you will catch her talking about them periodically!)
That takes care of the bloggers I've met so far......10 in total, which I think is pretty great (considering I know some folks who tell me they've never met even one other blogger yet)! There are several others on my "hoping to meet" list. I figure if I could do trips to certain areas of the country, I could meet a few on each trip. For instance, on one trip to the northwest I could meet Sandi A., "Crispy", Linda B, Val and her daughter Jennifer. If I went around the area of Missouri and Kansas, I'd love to meet Greg and Brooke, Nancy, and Judy L. There are others in different parts of the country, too, that I'd like to meet...but at least those folks I just mentioned are in locations that aren't too distant from each other, so....I could meet several on one trip...and I might be able to make that work....someday!!! In a couple of weeks, I'll go back through my photos and find pictures of various published quilt teachers with whom I've taken classes and do a blog post about that. Now that I reflect back on it, I've had a lot of super experiences in my relatively few years of quilting........and bloggers have been a big part of that.....and I hope to have many more yet to come! And if you and I have not met yet, who knows...maybe we can make it happen someday!

Meeting other bloggers!

Meeting other bloggers!

I began quilting in 2005 and began my blog on November 21, 2008 . As with most quilting bloggers, I've made many online friends with many wonderful ideas on their blogs and have been thrilled by all that happens in "Blogland". It dawned on me, though, that I've been even further blessed by getting to meet several of my quilting blogging friends in person. I've decided to dedicate a couple of posts to this....so here goes. You might even find a blog that is new to you!

It is only fitting that I mention, first, the local bloggers I've met. Actually, I knew these three gals before they had blogs. First up is Kathy. Her picture is to the right here. She started her blog shortly before mine....and she told me if she could figure it out, I could, also. I gave it a try and am very glad I did. Kathy is not only a friend and a fellow quilter and blogger. She is also my "professional" partner in quilt designing. We were lucky enough to have two designs published in a recent issue of McCall's Quick Quilts. We have other projects in the works and enjoy the time we spend together doing this. Kathy and I have something else in common...we are both retired teachers. Click HERE for Kathy's blog.


Next up is Kaye. She began her blog after mine and we were already quilting together in a little neighborhood quilting group by that time. Kaye has done a lot of sewing over the years, so she adapted quite easily to quilting. To the left is a photo of Kaye. She's not posted on her blog since the end of December as her husband has had some serious, ongoing health issues, but HERE is the link if you want to see her past posts. She is a really sweet lady and a good friend. She has really enjoyed the many swaps she's participated in since becoming a blogger.

The last of the "local" bloggers I know is Sherry. She is also in the neighborhood quilting group. She is a self-taught quilter and her work is wonderful. (This gal is also a self-taught painter and a good one!) She has done a few commissioned quilts and a couple of memory quilts for family members and close friends that would knock your socks off in addition to many other quilted items. She began a blog some months back, but due to her daughter's health problems (which are now resolving, thank goodness!) she hasn't posted much, either.....but I know she'll get back to it soon and might already have a new post there by the time you read this post of mine. Click HERE to go to her blog. I am going to put a few photos of Sherry here as, somehow, I always manage to get "happy" (silly?) photos of her....and I think they will make you smile, too. Here is Sherry the night she and her sister cooked for us on our quilting retreat to the Amish area of PA last fall. Gotta love how Sherry keeps focused on the task at hand!
This is what she and her sister made us that night. I forget what they called these, but I called them open-faced grilled cheese with bacon and tomato and they were YUMMY!A unique way Sherry did "show and tell".....by draping her quilt over the back of Chatty, a greyhound belonging to our non-blogging friend, Linda.
Here we have Sherry, again on retreat. I have no clue what she was doing, but I know we all laughed!!!And I will end this post about the local bloggers I know with a silly photo of Kathy (mentioned above) and Sherry on retreat. I promise you, we do buy fabric and do quilting-related activities on our retreats but we have a lot of fun, too! Gotta love my local blogging friends!Next post will be about other bloggers I've met who are not local folks. Stay tuned!!!

A warning message from a blogging friend...

I've been asked to post the following by my friend, Barbara, who is a blogger from NJ. Some of you might know her. After you read this, you will see that her old blog is GONE and you will find out why....and it might be information that will help some of you, so.....read on to see what she has asked her blogging friends to post....

Wait until you hear this!

Because of a new droid cell phone that requires a gmail account, one was set up for me at Verizon when I got my phone. So, silly me, thinking I didn't need the old gmail account anymore, I deleted it. What a shock to find that account was linked to my blog, so of course now my blog is totally gone.

I've dug on the web a little bit, and this is a common occurence, but there's not an easy answer. Even if I was successful in reactivating my old google account and getting my blog back, the photos seem to be gone forever. So I googled my blog name and found some cached pages which may help remind me of what's important to re-post and a list of the blogs I follow. But my Followers and everyone will now get a notice that my blog is gone, and I have no way of knowing who all of them are.

Would you please post a note on
your blog about this with a warning to everyone NEVER to delete that gmail account even if they don't use it or think they need it. If they want to keep their blog, they need it. I just didn't remember that it was necessary to have a couple years ago when I set up my blog.

I have a new blog already, but there's nothing in it. However, I'm going to post this and hope everyone will be able to find me again, perhaps with the
help
of some of my bloggy friends. It's a different name: http://pinelandstreasures.blogspot.com/

What a FUN day!!!

Yesterday I had the chance to meet TWO blogging friends......Pat Wys and Gene Black. We shopped (for fabric, of course) and had lunch and exchanged some goodies....and had a really fun time! The only problem was...the day went too quickly. Thanks for the memories, you two!

Me......Pat W......and GeneAnd now we start to make our way back home to Delaware...........all nice vacations must come to an end, I guess.

Thinking spring and summer!!!

Most of you know I despise cold weather and snow, so......I have been trying to make something that screams spring and summer. A blogging friend, JACKIE, was kind enough to loan me (via the mail) her Lil Twister ruler and I made a small table topper. They tell you to use a bunch of 5" squares and just sew them together in rows. Well....I'm not crazy about the way it turned out. I think I'd be much happier limiting my colors to maybe 2 or 3 fabrics....and trying to get a more "organized" look for the pinwheels that are the end result instead of this rather crazy look I got this time. Oh, well...it was fun to work with that ruler and I'll finish the topper before the summer and use it. Thanks, Jackie, for loaning me the ruler AND I'm still hoping to return it to you in person soon!!!

Day # 2 and part of Day # 3 ......

Day # 2 was mostly spent on the road from Lexington, VA, to Boone, NC. We arrived at the Comfort Suites in Boone about 2:30 - 3. We got unpacked and settled and it was time to set up what would be one of the highlights of the trip.......meeting my blogging pal, Tonya.

I phoned her house and her hubby hadn't yet left for work..so we chatted for a few minutes and then Tonya got on the phone. We arranged for her to come with her son, Evan, to the hotel and then we'd go to the 50's diner next door for dinner. We met them in the lobby and I think we both instantly felt comfortable with each other. We went to the diner and had a nice meal together. Her son was a real sweetie (as was Tonya). Then they came back to our room for a bit and we had some more fun. We made plans to go to their house on Wednesday so we could meet Tonya's hubby. Here is a photo of me and Tonya with her son after dinner that night.
The next day.....Day # 3, Gary and I spent going to Grandfather Mountain and Blowing Rock. Grandfather Mountain is a mile above sea level. The scenery is amazing.......but the hairpin curves in the road leading up to there are a bit scary!!! They have a swinging bridge up there and I only went about one foot onto it and then headed for the gift shop while Gary went across it and took photos. I know...chicken, but I am not great with heights and that was a bit too much for me! Grandfather Mountain also has a nice nature museum and a very nice animal area where they have animals in their natural habitats....VERY nicely done.......bears, deer, otters, eagles, cougars. I really enjoyed that part of Grandfather Mountain. Here are some photos from Grandfather Mountain...more tomorrow and Blowing Rock photos tomorrow, too. (A side note...I see that I have used up quite a bit of my photo allowance on Blogger now...guess I'll have to go back soon and delete some photos from my earliest posts....BOO!)

This is a cinnamon colored black bear named Kodiak. They tell us that only 1% of the black bears in North America are this color, so they feel fortunate to have one there. He was quite active that day and Gary got some video of him, too. (You should be able to click twice on these photos and see them in greater detail, I believe. The area is BEAUTIFUL!)Me at the very beginning of the mile-high swinging bridge...trying to look relaxed! LOLThey say wind gusts of up to 200 mph had been recorded on the top of this mountain. The day we were there, it was shirt sleeve weather at the base of the mountain but a wind-chill of 37 at the top by the bridge. Lucky for us, it was only "breezy" that day and not "windy". I doubt I'd have stood on any part of the swinging bridge if it had been windy!Don't you just love that hairpin curve in the road? Whew....and they have this place open all winter long, too!!! There is even one curve called Forrest Gump curve as it was shown in the movie with him running on it. I'll have to look at the movie again soon to see it.After being up so high, I was having an adrenaline rush, so I felt I needed to work off some of that energy by bench-pressing a boulder or two......
Tomorrow.....more photos from Day #2.

Just checking in...a no-photo post....

Having a good vacation so far...and the best part was getting to meet Tonya and her son last night. We had a nice time eating dinner with them and then back at our hotel. Tonya is a real sweetheart and her son is a real cutie-pie! We will see Tonya again on Wednesday (and meet her hubby then, too) and then on Thursday we will head down to MaryJo's super-duper-huge fabric store in Gastonia together! Woo-Hoo!!! Sorry for no photos but I like to crop and resize them and can't do that on this laptop....so....I'm thinking photos need to wait until I get back home. :( Today we are spending more time outdoors on top of a BIG mountain called Grandfather Mountain......should be fun and yield us some more pretty photos.

A day in the "big city".....

A day in the "big city"...otherwise known as Dover, Delaware. I know...I know...it's not really a big city but in comparison to the pretty rural area in which I live, it IS the big city for me (and it is our state capital, too, so that automatically makes it a big city, in my head). Anyway......Monday was a pretty rainy day and chilly. I picked up Kathy early as I said I was going to do...and then we met up with Michelle by JoAnn Fabrics since Michelle lives not too distant from there. We did a little shopping in there (and I got a bit annoyed that they now have the GO cutter and dies in a rather out-of-the-way area of the store instead of prominently-displayed like they used to be) and then we went together in one car to Shady Lane...an Amish quilt shop a few miles outside of Dover. Now...you probably know the Amish don't use electricity, so with it being a dreary, rainy day, it was pretty hard to see the fabric colors very well with just a few gas lamps around but we had a good time anyway. It's a cute shop and the ladies who run it are so sweet. This photo shows the extent of my purchases.Are you impressed with how disciplined I was?? LOL I only got 3 fabrics and two quilting templates and that was between JoAnn's AND the Amish quilt shop. The reason for that is because I know I am going to several Amish quilt shopsin PA early in November and also, next week, I expect to be going to MaryJo's....a supposedly very super-duper fabric place in North Carolina...with a good blogging/quilting friend!!! (Can't wait for that!) After the Amish shop, we went to an Amish market nearby and I did get a few things there but didn't take any pictures...some bulk candy and snack items and some wonderful pumpkin scones...oh, wait...the scones are in a picture. First, though, look at this.....it is SO cute!
It is the cutest "mug-rug" (coaster) and it was made by Michelle and she gave it to me. She gave one to Kathy, too (slightly different fabric). I love it! And here is it in use...early last evening when I had one of the pumpkin scones and a nice cup of pumpkin spice tea......YUMMMMM
After the Amish market, we went for a nice lunch at a bagel/sandwich shop and we sat and chatted for a bit. Then it was time to drop Michelle back to her car by JoAnn's and Kathy and I headed home. I expect we will do this again soon, as it was a very nice day (but next time we will hope for a little nicer weather)! We also made plans to meet up the first Saturday in November at a large craft show outside of Dover, so that will be a fun time, too! Gotta love blogging/quilting friends....right???

Some photo fun.......

Catch-up time here, I guess, since I've not had much time to blog lately......no real sewing done lately, either, due to a very busy weekend (and this upcoming week looks to be about the same).

Friday I did a GO! cutter demo for 7 gals who had been unable to see the cutter demo'd at the recent big quilt show in PA. Joan (3rd from the left in the photo) hosted us and fixed us a nice lunch. We spent about 3 hours together and everyone enjoyed using the GO! As with all of us who have them, the gals were utterly amazed at the speed and accuracy of the pieces they cut with my GO! More GO! cutters will be "living" in my area soon!!! We had a fun time that day!Today I will be going with my quilting pal, Kathy (click HERE for her blog) to meet up with another quilting blogger, Michelle (click HERE for Michelle's blog). We are going to JoAnn Fabrics as well as an Amish quilt shop outside of Dover and an Amish market. It should be a fun day, although I'd have preferred some nicer weather. I'll report about this in my next blog post.

I'll leave you with a few photos taken by my daughter on a family outing by the Brandywine River in PA on Saturday. I enjoyed seeing these photos as they really seem to capture the beautiful fall weather they had that day. In a couple of them, you will see my little granddaughter, Jessi, who is healing very nicely from her recent skin surgeries, I am happy to report and to thank all of you, once again, for your prayers on her behalf.

Happy Birthday!!!

Go and wish Happy Birthday to one of my very good quilt blogging buddies......GENE! (Click on his name to get to his blog and tell him Pat sent you!) I hope Gene has a wonderful day and many more happy birthdays to come!!! Oh...and while you are at his blog, be sure to look around. He is a talented quilter/pattern designer AND a talented painter and also has made some nice jewelry. Become a follower of his blog and you will enjoy seeing what he makes....and he is a fun guy, too....gotta love his videos playing the penny whistle and eating TimTam cookies!!! LOL

Isn't this nice???

Look at this quilt...and then read about it below the picture......
About 3 -4 months back, AQS asked on their Facebook page for their FB friends to tell about a special quilt that was given to them. Many told about quilts made for them by relatives (as wedding gifts, housewarming gifts, etc.) I mentioned that up to that time, I'd never received a quilt as a gift. Within 10 minutes, I got a message from Renee (in Louisiana....I don't think she has a blog) and she said she'd like to make me a quilt and give it to me. THIS is the quilt I got from her in the mail late last week. I am so touched that she would do that for a complete stranger. It is very snuggly, too, as it has fleece on the back...and she even quilted some butterfly shapes into it. If you look closely, you can see one on the back where I folded it so you could see the butterfly fleece backing fabric. I really appreciate this gift from the heart. Thanks, Renee!

Updates on a couple of things: I am still struggling with the Curve Master foot. I do well until about the last half-inch. I am using the special tweezers I got with the foot that are to be used at the end, but I am all thumbs with them! I am hoping I can improve or else this foot might be up for grabs for a cheap price for anyone who wants it! LOL I am hoping my friend, Sherry, who bought the same foot at the show, might learn how to master it..and then she can help me. If not, I'll just go back to pinning my drunkard's path blocks when I sew them. Since they are cut on the GO cutter, they go together easily..but I was just hoping to avoid using pins (as everyone else seems to be able to do with the Curve Master foot).

A couple of weeks back I wrote about a packaging error on Kraft cheese cubes in 100-calorie packages. I did contact Kraft and have been advised that they are sending me a check for the cost of the bag of cheese....so that is nice of them. They sent an email explaining how this might have happened. I told all of you I'd let you know their response......and this is certainly a fair response on their behalf.

Soon I'll tell you about the fabric I got for the brown bag project that many of us bloggers are doing. I have big plans for my fabric, and I have already started working with it....even though our deadline isn't until sometime in March!

What I will be doing today.....

I am going with the quilt guild on a bus trip to Oaks, PA, to see the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza show (it's a Mancuso show). It should be a fun day. I am wearing my GO! t-shirt...yup...I am. I know which vendor is supposed to be demonstrating the GO at the show and if anyone asks me about my shirt, I will direct them to that booth. Good idea, huh? :-)

Two other things to mention today....one is to click on HERE to go to a blog that is having a fun giveaway for her 100th post. It is Barb from Pinelands Patches and she makes some really great things, so you'll like her prizes!!! (You could tell her I sent you.....just so she knows I DID tell others about the giveaway and didn't try to keep the news quiet so I could improve my own odds of winning...LOL)

And...the last item on today's agenda is to show you a photo of a nice package I got from my friends, Brooke and Greg........Isn't that cute, squishie ball great? Click on the photo to see what the ball says. I like everything they sent but that little hand strengthening ball is especially terrific!!! Thanks to them for the nice surprises!

Fun times ahead.....

Isn't that a beautiful photo? How about this next one?

Both of these are photos I found online of fall foliage in years past along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We have always wanted to drive that route in the fall....and this year, we are finally going to do it! Another exciting part of the trip is that we are going to meet up with a good blogging friend, Tonya! Woo-Hoo!!!!! We are both very excited that we are getting to meet each other in person. I'm sure we will have some fun times together next month!

Speaking of Tonya...congrats to the two winners of the giveaway on her blog yesterday (a GO cutter for one of them and 3 dies for the other winner). Both of them are blogging pals of mine.......and I always say, if I don't win a giveaway, it's fun to KNOW those who do win it!

Oh, yes.....I did contact Kraft Foods and will post on my blog whenever I hear from them. (See yesterday's post on my blog if you have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Monday FUN day......

On Monday, Gary (my DH) and I met up with Steph and Kevin (her DH). Steph is a blogging buddy and you can find her blog by clicking HERE. She and I met several months back at a girls' luncheon with her mom and my quilting friend, Kathy. This time we wanted the hubbies to meet. It was a great time......the two guys hit it off and found plenty to discuss while Steph and I talked quilts (what else?? LOL)

This photo was taken of the 4 of us by our waitress.Steph very kindly gifted me with a terrific cloth trash bag for the car. Here is a photo of it on my doorknob of the house. (I've been sick since yesterday morning so was unable to take a picture of it in my car yet.) It's really a great bag and she designed it herself. I told her she needs to market the pattern!!!Look at this close-up view of the wonderful detail on the front of the bag!

Isn't it great? And...if that wasn't enough, Steph also gave me a matching key fob. I really love my gifts from her!!! And...I really enjoyed our time together. They come to Ocean City, MD (not far from us) periodically, so we hope to get together again soon now that we know the hubbies had fun talking with each other, too!

Psst.......let's have some fun......

Be very quiet....shhhhh....tiptoe and go wish Tonya a "Happy Birthday" as today is her special day. She is a really nice person and I hope she has a terrific day today. Click HERE to get to her blog. Let's see how many people can visit her there today. Okay???

HAPPY FEET......

See this? It's my feet doing the "Happy Dance". That's because my blogging buddy, Sara, knitted me a pair of socks. She said she'd do that for me since I don't really have any "functional" knitting skills. I picked out a yarn I liked and sent it to her and they arrived in the mail yesterday. Since it was rainy and dreary and chilly, I enjoyed trying them on and they are very comfy! My feet were very happy! (I know my feet look silly there, but that's what happens when you are trying to take a picture of your own feet...LOL) Thanks, Sara, for a great pair of socks!!! (Click HERE if you want to read Sara's website.) Now......
see this?It's me and my happy feet with Jessi and her happy feet standing at the edge of the Delaware Bay at sunset one night last week and enjoying watching the boats and looking toward the lighthouse. Our feet weren't happy for long, though, because swarms of biting flies soon descended on the area. Everyone was running for their cars, so we did what any good grandparents would do. We took Jessi to the nearby Dairy Queen and we all got Blizzards (one of Dairy Queen's ice cream specialties) and ate them in the safety of the car. YUMMMMM...they were so good!Of course, the biting flies hung around on the outside of the windows and watched us, but we didn't share anything with them!!! Dairy Queen isn't good for flies, you know!