COMING AND GOING by Norman Rockwell


Thanksgiving travel.
Whether in years past on drives to Grandma's house
or in the college years to my Dad's house
or in the working years to the hospital to work on Thanksgiving
in the now years to Mike's Mom's house, or my Dad's on Bainbridge Island, or my Mom's in South Holland.......

so lucky to be able to get to where there is warmth, food, love, relaxation, and laughter.

Gratitude.

Thankful for all my blog buddies!
I could never imagine the wonderful friends I would make through blogging!

A Thankful Give-Away

I have had such great good fortune in my life. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, family and friends. Sometimes when I really think about it I get all choked up. Then add to that my passions in life (music, reading, stamping and cross-stitching); I know I really am one lucky gal.
In honor of those thoughts and because I am a hoarder and am now going into therapy for the same (not formally; just on my own) I have some cross-stitch charts to give away. Here is the first set.........




So, if you would like these charts (all four) to be sent to you.....please leave me a comment with something that you are thankful for. You will be entered into the "contest." I will pick a name this Friday and send the package out next Saturday.

EDITED TO ADD WINNER: CINDY!!!! YOU WON. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS. I had Mike pick a number and then the person with the corresponding number in leaving a comment was the winner. Stay tuned for some more giveaways in the near future. Cindy, please email me your address. My email is duetabode@comcast.net

Hepped Up

These are the things I am currently excited about.....time to start listening to The Nutcracker!! I think I will bring the CD to work tomorrow and listen.....or maybe not. It touches a really tender spot in my heart and sometimes I get emotional. Better save it for home listening.
Loving the TV show Glee!!!! I bought the album too!
Looking forward to reading this book. I was lucky enough to meet the author, Jim Kokoris, once. He is a really nice guy and a great writer. Run, don't walk, to get a copy of his first novel, The Rich Part of Life, one of my all time favorite books.
You know how I have not been stamping in a while....that means that I have not been scouring stamping sites on a daily basis. Today I stumbled across some stamps that inspire me to clear a path into my stamping room.
Last night at the stitch night at Inspired Needle my friend Karin was working on the above. It is Finch Song by Shepard's Bush. It is one million times more lovely in person. I hope to stitch it someday.
Above is Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. I will be working on this one next year. It will be so much fun because several stitching friends will be working on it and we are going to meet once a month to sit and stitch on this project. Last night at stitch night I had a blast just stitching and listening to all the conversations around me. I love to hear people talk passionately about their hobbies and things they love.
Above is a piece of Christmas art that got my heart racing. This ATC is from the Red Lead Paperworks blog and is by a really great gal, Linda Freeman. If you want Christmas inspiration get over to their website. It is a treasure trove.
Lastly, above and below, two new stamps from Magenta. They are so dear!

So, that is the stuff that is on my mind tonight. Dreaming of reading, stamping, stitching, and music. If only I was so taken by cleaning and cooking!

I have been very neglectful of my blog of late. The main reason is that we have a new computer. We went from a PC to a Mac. I love this new computer. It is completely amazing and gorgeous, but there is a bit of a learning curve. So, I have been acclimating myself and moving slowly.

Last Sunday my Mom and I went up to Woodstock, Illinois to hang out with our friend Dorothy and her brother John. Dorothy sent me pictures of the day in a program that I cannot download right now. We had a wonderful day though. John is a bookmaker, among other things, and it was a treat to look at his artwork. We all brought things to work on, we laughed a lot, and Dorothy made some wonderful pumpkin soup for lunch.

Today, Sunday, is going to be devoted to the usual (reading, napping, and thinking about cross-stitching and/or organizing. I will try to get into the blogging habit again because I love all of the wonderful friends and ideas it brings into my life.