Guess Where I've Been!

I just got back from a wonderful week on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dave and I decided on the spur of the moment (ok, 2 weeks in advance is spur of the moment for us) trip to Kona, Hawaii. It was fantastic! We thought Honolulu would be too crowded this time of year and I really wanted to see the volcano so it was off to Kona we went. The weather was beautiful, in the 80's and no rain except for the last day. I was so not used to the humidity. I kept wanting to take showers to cool off. On Monday I think I took 3 of them altogether. We had a balcony where I spent every morning reading my Bible and it was so peaceful with the sound of the surf in the background. The beaches were mostly lava rock or black sand, very few white sand beaches. We went to the top of Mauna Kea for the sunset above the clouds and stargazing (14,000 feet above sea level). It was weird seeing both the North Star and the Southern Cross in the sky at the same time. We spent all day Thursday on a tour of Volcano National Park and then went on a night time hike to see the lava flow into the ocean. I think that was my favorite day. We also went snorkeling Friday. The fish were gorgeous! I can't think of anything I would have left out. If you ever get the opportunity, I highly recommend a trip to the Big Island.

Spring Fever or Stitching Slump?

I seem to have come to a halt on most of my stitching. I've stitched a little on the China piece but right now I can't see that I will finish it before their anniversary. I haven't picked up Cirque des Carreaux in a month. I wanted to finish the China piece first before I worked on CDC again. So I'm not sure if I'm in a slump or just feeling spring fever. My allergies have really been bad and my eyes just don't want to focus well. I do need an eye exam and I plan on going back to the Varilux lens I had previously. These new-fangled bifocals just aren't doing the job. I have been doing some knitting at night. I hope to get a baby blanket done for Chris' sister-in-law. Mainly I've been reading. Dave had bought us a Kindle 2 when they came out and we've both been doing a lot more reading lately. I know I'll get back to stitching eventually. I do miss it. It's just right now other things are taking a priority in my life.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Well, I can't let this day go by without saying a very public Happy Anniversary to my very dear husband, Dave. It was 30 years ago today that we got married and what a ride it's been! We've had wonderful times and not-so-wonderful times, but mostly it's been great. He's my best friend and every day I thank God for giving us to each other. So, here's to us, David. May we be truely blessed with another 30 years!

Problem Solved!

Well, I finally figured out a way around my problem with all the quarter stitches in the center portion of this design. I've been in a real slump because I want to finish this but couldn't see a way out. Then it dawned on me. Just don't stitch the little buggers. I think I will determine which color will be in the foreground and then just stitch that color. I doubt anyone will look close enough at the pattern or my stitching, for that matter, to tell that I've done it that way. I have made considerable progress on this piece in just the last week or so. And that's just stitching for an hour in the morning before I go to work. So I can see an end in sight to the center section. The rest should go fairly quickly.

Allow Me To Brag!

Allow me to be a very proud mom for a moment. All music majors at NAU are required to give a junior recital in order to graduate. Sherrie had hers at the end of March. I would have posted sooner but I wanted to get her permission to post a few pictures from it. She was absolutely gorgeous, both in the way she sang and in the way she looked. The students are required to sing in at least 4 different languages, she went with 5 (Latin, French, German, Italian and English). It is a formal affair with a long gown required. She was so stressed for about a month. She was desperate not to get sick, memorized music right up until the week of the recital and don't even get me started on the search for THE DRESS! But she stayed healthy, had all the music down pat and found the perfect dress. We were so proud of her. She sounded like an angel. The first picture is of her proud mom and dad, Sherrie and her oldest brother, Brian. The second picture is of Sherrie and her accompianist and the third is of Sherrie, her recital partner, Joel, both of their accompianists and their voice teacher. And I give a lot of credit to her. When things got rough for Sherrie last year and she couldn't sing for about 1 month (she had a bad throat infection), all the teachers told Mrs. Gunderson to give up. But she stuck with Sherrie and the results were amazing. So now there are no more music lessons (except for piano) and she can concentrate on her education and conducting classes. Oh and singing in the Shrine of the Ages choir. Guess where they're going on tour next summer. South Africa. Oh boy, do I envy her!

A Little More Progress

Well, a little more progress on CDC2 has been made. I've been trying to work my way across the top part of the pattern. It's difficult though cause sometimes you need to go to another page. Then you have to make sure you don't, repeat DON'T, restitch the stitches in gray. I do really like this piece and am anxious to get it finished. The problem is that China (the piece I'm doing for Chris) is sitting on my table patiently waiting for me to finish it. Patiently laughing at me. I can hear it snickering to itself everytime I pass by. I can't imagine what made me decide to stitch it over 1 before I really checked it out and found all those pesky quarter stitches. So consequently I haven't stitched anything in over a week. I've done a little knitting but no stitching. Nope, not nary a stitch has passed my needle. I read about stitching, have done some more decluttering in my craft room, but no stitching. I really miss it too. I just need to gut the rest of China out and get it done. Maybe after I work in my room a little today, I'll pick it up. Nah, it'll still be there tomorrow.

Regrets Part 2

Ok, I've had some time to think about my last post. I left the patterns on my desk at work. You know, the ones I was thinking of adding to my collection. I left them for about a week. I finally came to my senses and decided that, no, they were not going to go home with me. I am still having second thoughts about what I'm getting rid of at home. Here's the issue though. For me to go through all the patterns in the giveaway boxes, I'll need to go out to the garage and wrestle them out of the cabinet. And I do mean wrestle. And they're really heavy. And there's four of them. Are you getting the picture here? This will not be an easy job. So I think for now they will just stay in their boxes until I figure out how to get rid of them. At that time, if I'm still so inclined, I'll go through the box in question and see if I still feel the same about the charts. So for now the decluttering plan is still working. Now if I can just get back to stitching!