Quote of the Week

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

--Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Post-Christmas Update

I hope you all had a nice Christmas and pleasant time with family and friends. Patrick and I spent Christmas Eve with our daughter and we had a great time and lots of fun opening presents together. The closes I could get to my son and his family was via Skype but how wonderful that modern technology "almost" takes us there.

We had a quiet Christmas Day just the two of us and it was nice to relax and enjoy our time just reading, watching movies, and doing a little stitching. We did venture out yesterday for breakfast and did some grocery shopping while the rest of the world braved the malls. NO WAY!

Feels good to have some finishes to show for my first days of vacation so here goes. I hope to get a couple more done before the end of the year.

Consumed by Gifts

by Brittercup Designs

Just Cross Stitch Ornament 2010

16 ct. yellow aida & DMC floss

Frosty Flakes

by Little House Needleworks

16 ct. yellow aida & DMC floss

Quote of the week

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."

-- Calvin Coolidge

WIPs...

There has been talk in one of my groups about starting 15 new projects in the first 15 days of January, 2011 and then finishing the 15 projects before the end of the year. Rather than committing to such an undertaking I thought I would list all my current WIPs and UFOs and commit to getting these completed before the end of 2011. Hopefully this will give me some "wiggle room" for my model stitching and ornaments I like to get done.

My current list of WIPs & UFOs includes:

Mildred's Garden House by Blackbird Designs

Colonial Women by Little House Needleworks

For This Child by My Big Toe

My Family Sampler by Little House Needleworks

B is for Blackbird by Prairie Schooler

Sampler Game Board by Drawn Thread

Christmas Double Flips by Lizzie Kate

Sailing, Sailing by Little House Needleworks

Book of Ink Circles by Ink Circles [UFO]

Lady of the Flag by Mirabilia [UFO]

What's Milly been up to?

Well guess I have to backtrack a little to fill you all in on what I been up to lately. On Friday, December 3rd we drove up to Folsom, CA for the wedding of my niece Lisa. We stayed at the gorgeous Lake Natoma Inn which was walking distance to the Folsom Historic District . We had a nice dinner on Friday evening and set out early on Saturday to enjoy the Arts and Crafts Festival in downtown. We also took a tour of Pioneer Village where volunteers lead demonstrations in blacksmithing, and panning for gold. It's also home of the oldest freight station still in existence in the West.

We went back to the hotel late in the afternoon to dress and shower for the wedding which was to start at 6PM. It was held in the Pavilion room at the Inn and was a very quaint and intimate setting. Reception was immediately after the ceremony and we had a great time catching up with family and friends. I hadn't seen my (step)brother in years so it was wonderful to see him and get caught up. I wish my niece Lisa and her husband Michael many happy years to come. Here is the lovely couple.

Michael & Lisa Gross

December 4, 2010

During the week I finished my model for Country Cottage Needleworks and took a sigh of relief to put it in the mail just two days past my deadline. Thanks to Nikki for being so patient and forgiving. I know it has arrived safely in her hands and I'm sure her fans will just fall in love with this piece.

In between crazy days at the office I managed to get our Christmas tree decorated and it's great to have the holidays to look forward to. We've had so many activities to keep up with but enjoying it all. This weekend my daughter had a total baking blowout and had bowls, plates, and trays full of brownies, cookies, candies, as far as the eye could see. She provided bags and tins and each guest was able to fill one with goodies. A total YUM fest!!

Almost forgot...I did find time to finish my Little House Needleworks, Joy to the World ornament in a stand up which now sits with my other holiday decorations.

And no week is complete without a photo of my grandson Izaiah. Have a good week!

Quote of the week

"You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces -- my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our likes, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And yes, they are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel towards everyone who has and continue to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say, you know."

-- Elizabeth Edwards

July 3, 1949 - December 7, 2010

Quote of the Week (In honor of World AIDS Day)

"Anybody can get HIV because it's a virus. Whether you're rich or poor; old or young; black or white; gay or straight; married or single. It's what you do, not who you are, that puts you at risk for HIV."

-- Bonnie Goldman

Rest, shopping and turkey!

It was wonderful having the week off and though hubby had to work I got plenty of things accomplished. It was nice having the time to read, stitch, watch movies, and get some holiday shopping done. Been eons since I spent the better part of a day wandering in the mall and looking around and not worrying about the clock. I got a wonderful pair of UGG boots and a dress for my niece's wedding. I'm enjoying The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and I highly recommend this book. My stitching was mostly confined to putting the finishing touches on a model so I hope to be working on my own projects soon.

We spent Thanksgiving with my daughter who cooked an awesome dinner. Plenty of food, fun, and friends to enjoy with it. After dinner my daughter and I braved a visit to Michael's for their earlybird sale at 5PM and we both got some awesome goodies, at great prices, and the lines weren't bad at all.

One of my cyber-stitching friends Sara M. came to the USA from Italy for a visit and I was able to met up with her at Needle In A Haystack in Alameda and we had a great visit just chatting and stashing. What better way for stitchers to bond! LOL! My bag was full of plenty of goodies, mostly Lizzie Kate charts.

Milly D. & Sara M.

Needle in a Haystack

November 27, 2010

Lizzie Kate Green Flips

(missing one - currently on order)

Lizzie Kate Santa 2010

Wee Santa 2010 by HIH

Let Freedom Ring by HIH

I finished off my vacation by getting out the Christmas decorations and started putting things out in preparation for the holidays. Hope to find a "real" tree I like so I can decorate it before I head out of town for my niece's wedding. Already December is looking to be a very busy month.

Update

Gee lately it seems I have fallen behind in so many things including keeping up with my blog. I haven't done as much stitching as I've done in the past but I sure can't seem to account for all my time either. It all began back in July when my daughter moved back to California from Arizona and moved in with me for two months. I spent more time with her, the weather was nice and the summer days just slipped by. We managed a week in Lake Tahoe, a visit to San Antonio to visit our new grandson, a trip to Las Vegas for a wedding, and I even had foot surgery. Of course there was my full time job which has kept me very busy in the past few months.

With the arrival of Fall, my daughter settled into her new home, and just one more wedding things are almost "back to normal" and I am craving more stitching time. I'm in the middle of stitching another model for Country Cottage Needleworks and decided this weekend to give myself a treat and find something I could start and finish in a short time. I decided on this great ornament by Little House Needleworks.

"Joy to the World" Ornament

by Little House Needleworks

20 ct lugana Abracadabra by Silkweaver

I started The Family Sampler by Little House Needleworks and have very little to show for it but decided to post what I have (progress as of 11/14/10).

Quotes of the Week -In Honor of Veterans Day

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitiude."

-- Cynthia Ozick

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

-- Elmer Davis

Quote of the Week

"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine."

-- Thomas Jefferson

A low key weekend...

It was our first weekend home in 2 weeks so we just decided to take it easy. We ran a few errands on Saturday morning starting off with breakfast at our favorite restaurant. We spent the afternoon and early evening with my daughter who cooked us a wonderful dinner. Her dad anchored (earthquake proofed) her bookcases to the walls and helped her slightly rearrange the furniture.

We had a quiet Sunday catching up on some of our favorite TV shows that seem to pile up on the DVR faster than we can keep up with it. I was finally able to start The Family Sampler by Little House Needleworks and while I don't have much progress yet, it felt good to get back to my cross stitching. I will post a progress pic soon.

Here's a photo of my grandson Izaiah celebrating his first Halloween. Who can be scared of that little spider!?!

Quote of the Week

"No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?"

-- Elbert Hubbard

Weekly Update

Hubby and I got back from Las Vegas yesterday where we had the most FABULOUS time! Our main reason for going was to attend a wedding which was held on Friday evening at Caesar's Palace in their Juno Garden. It was a beautiful ceremony, the bride gorgeous, the groom handsome and plenty of friends and family to share in the occasion. A reception followed right after so there was plenty of chatter, laughter, pictures, dancing, hor-dourves and champagne. LOL!

We strolled up and down the strip, visited a few casinos and even did a little shopping. My husband surprised me with tickets to see Donny & Marie on Saturday night and the show was AWESOME! "I'm a little bit Rock-n-Roll!!" I sang, clapped, danced, and screamed...hehehe. Ohhh, that Donny still has it. He actually brought me to tears when he sang Puppy Love.

As if that wasn't enough we decided as a family to seek out another show and chose Le Reve, playing at Wynn Las Vegas. There really aren't enough words to describe this show. It had aerial acrobat, dancing, and stunts that were out of this world and most of it in water.

Wynn Las Vegas

My funniest experience was going to Dick's Last Resort with my daughter. We walked up to the bar and the bartender threw napkins at us. They wanted to see IDs before serving drinks. I said but I'm obviously old enough to drink and he said EVERYONE had to show an ID and the folks at the bar are yelling, ID! ID! ID! So I hand over my ID, he looks it over and then proceeds to yell out my age to everyone in the restaurant. It was hilarious!!!!! (For those of you not familiar with Dicks, they are known for their intentional employment of an obnoxious staff. I knew the risk walking in there.)

Back to reality...sigh!

My model stitching

I was lucky enough to stitch these models for Little House Needleworks and Country Cottage Needleworks.

Snow White by LHN

Winter Band Sampler by LHN

Joy*Love*Peace by CCN

For more information on these check out their webpages at:

Little House Needleworks

COUNTRY COTTAGE NEEDLEWORKS

Quote of the Week

"My cancer scare changed my life. I'm grateful for every new, healthy day I have. It has helped me prioritize my life."

-- Olivia Newton-John

Weekly update

I'm on the road to mending and had my stitches removed from my toe on Friday. Not quite sure I'm ready for shoes yet but it's nice to be free of the "wooden boot."

It felt good to get back to my stitching after such a long break between vacation and surgery. I worked on Mildred's Garden House by Blackbird Designs and have made some good progress. Hopefully this week I can finally start The Family Sampler by Little House Needleworks.

I participated in the Fair & Square Exchange and got these lovely squares from Kathryn D. Thanks so much Kathryn, you obviously know of my love of cows and this Lizzie Kate is one of my favorites.

Quote of the Week

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose."

-- Tom Krause

After Texas...

We returned from Texas on September 25th and barely had time to unpack before returning to work that Monday. I had foot surgery on September 29th and have been home since. I plan to return to work tomorrow and will work as much as I can manage without taking the Vicodin, which makes me very drowsy. Doctor says he will remove the stitches on Friday, October 8th and I hope I'm healed enough to at least wear flats to Lorriane's wedding which is on the 22nd.

Stash Enhancement...Texas style!

No trip is complete without a bit of stash enhancement and I was lucky enough to visit both Cross Stitch Plus and Stitches From the Heart (thanks Cindy for the recommendation). I bought a few San Antonio and Texas related pieces. I got the Mission San Jose kit while visiting the Mission San Josè y San Miguel de Aguayo which is one of five missions which are part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Where is Milly?

Wow, has it really been over two weeks since I was last in contact? It's but a blur but I'll try to fill you in on what's been going on in my life.

Hubby and left for San Antonio, TX on September 18th to visit our new grandson Izaiah who is now four months old. To say I fell in love at first sight is an understatement (truth is that love was growing from the moment we learned Julie was expecting a baby). Izaiah is a very happy baby, well loved and taken care of and it was a joy spending time with him. I was so moved by how my son has taken to fatherhood and now I can't imagine him any other way. At the moment he is a SAHD and just loving it but plans to go to the police academy in January. Julie is back to work as a registered nurse and we're just so proud of her. Our granddaughter Victoria is such a beautiful young lady and a junior in high school and I was tickled pink that she wanted to spend time with this old gal...LOL! So here are a few fun pictures.

Quote of the Week

"It's easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is much better at the top."

-- Arnold Bennet

Update

Wow, my poor blog has been so neglected of late. Most of my stitching has been a model I did for Country Cottage Needleworks and a few little projects of goodies I've made for my grandson Izaiah. With our trip to Texas around the corner I've been busy coordinating things for our visit and trying to spend some quality time with my family. Just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day for it all. Things should settle down once we return from San Antonio and my daughter moves into her new apartment. With the cooler weather upon us I'll be spending more time at home and hence my stitching should increase. Heck, I'm optimistic...LOL!

Quote of the Week

"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Christopher Robin to Pooh

My birthday weekend

Having four days off was just delightful! Hubby took the day off on Friday with me and we spent my birthday together. We had breakfast out, did some shopping and basically enjoyed our time together. That evening my family took me out to dinner to one of my favorite restaurants, Habana Cuba in San Jose. I received a beautiful torquoise necklace from my daughter and she also plotted with her brother to have a formal photo taken of me with my grandson while I'm in San Antonio later this month. Patrick really took me by surprise by getting me an iPad which I been longing for since it was first released by Apple.

I had a complete day of shopping with my daughter on Saturday which was so much fun. While we do have different styles it's uncanny how well we know each other's taste. Oh boy can she spot a bargain! LOL!

The rest of the weekend was quiet with time to indulge in some reading and stitching (which I can't share since it was a model). A very nice birthday weekend indeed.

It happened in 1955

• Marian Anderson becomes 1st black singer to perform at Met (New York City)

• 1st Presidential news conference filmed for TV (Eisenhower)

• McGuire Sisters "Sincerely" single goes for #1 and stays there for 1o weeks

• President Eisenhower sends 1st U.S. advisors to South Vietnam

• Elvis Presley's 1st TV appearance on "Louisiana Hayride" show

• Patty Berg wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship

• Tennessee Williams, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" opens for 694 performances

• Steve McQueen makes his network YV debut (Goodyear Playhouse)

• Winston Churchill resigns as British Prime Minister

• Dr. Jonas Salk successfully tests Polio vaccine

• Elston Howard becomes 1st black to wear the Yankee uniform

• Ray Kroc starts McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants in Illinois

• Congress orders all U.S. coins bear motto "In God We Trust"

• Heavyweight Rocky Marciano KOs Don Cockell in San Francisco

• Presbyterian Church begins accepting women ministers

• Supreme Court orders school integration "with all deliberate speed"

• "$64,000 Question" premieres on CBS TV

• New York Yankee Mickey Mantle hits 550' home run off Chicago Bill Pierce

• Walt Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" released

• Johnny Carson Show debuts on CBS-TV

• Lawrence Welk Show premieres on ABC

• Billy Haley and Comets "Rock Around the Clock" tops billboard chart

• Disneyland opens its doors in rural Orange County

• President Eisenhower raises minimum wage from 75 cents to $1 an hour

• Guinness Book of World Record 1st published

• "Honeymooners" premieres

• "Mickey Mouse Club" premieres

• Average house was $22,000

• Milk was 92 cents

• Gas was 23 cents

• Postage stamp was 3 cents

• The famous "Don't Walk" signs are introduced to the streets of NYC

• Johnson & Johnson invents the first "baby shampoo" No More Tears!

and....

I was born in New York City (Bronx) on September 3, 1955 to Luz Selenia Perez and Santos Alfonso Pagan.

Quote of the Week

"Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there."

-- Josh Billings

Quote of the Week

"Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want tomorrow."

-- Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

A little "kiss"

I'm working on a few large projects at the moment and just needed a little something quick to stitch and finish. Once I saw this little freebie from CEC I knew it was the right project for that quick fix.

Ectoplasmic Kiss

The Cricket Collection

Stitched on 32 ct. Antique Blue Lugana

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Wanted to take a moment from my crazy schedule to wish my husband Patrick a very Happy Birthday.

Quote of the Week

"If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try -- you don't take the risk."

-- Rosalyn Carter

New Finish

The BC_HIH_Trilogy Yahoo Group is having a SAL and we chose "Friendship" by The Trilogy. Once I started on it I couldn't put it down and finished it in no time. Now to add the buttons and figure how to finish it.