Sunday, December 30, 2012

Life at the lake and holes.


Well January 3rd it will be a month that we have been here in South Carolina and so far it has been wonderful, we did have one small challenge Christmas night. We came home from Christmas dinner at our Aunts house only to notice that the toilet was not flushing properly, we had a septic man come and take care of it the next day and then yesterday it happened again so now our front yard has a hole big enough to bury a body in, we are waiting for someone to come out but it probably won't be till after Jan 1st. I think they have to dig up the whole yard to find the drainage lines, YAY! ;)

Are ya'll making any New Years Resolutions? I came across this idea and think it is just genius


This is one thing I will TRY to do this year. As far as stitching goals, if I could get two projects for myself done this year I would be a happy girl. I don't think I am going to take part in any exchanges this year, while they are great fun I really want to focus on WIP's that have been lingering in my basket for way to long

I will leave you with a photo of our dogs Samson and Licorice on our I mean their new boat. They love it and so do we. We are really looking forward to the weather warming up!! I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!!




Saturday, December 22, 2012

Holiday Desserts are calorie free

Hey Ya'll,
I hope everyone is having a fun filled weekend!! Has everyone completed their Christmas "chores". For DH and I it is going to be a very laid back Holiday. We are spending it with his Aunts and their Husbands I am really looking forward to having a Christmas dinner with family, it has been WAY to long.
We didn't do gifts this year for family but his Aunts have been such a HUGE help to us during our move out here that I just couldn't come to dinner and not bring them anything to show our appreciation.
So I decided that a handmade gift would be a great idea. Of course with the move I didn't have time to stitch them an ornament, which is what I plan on doing next year. But instead I made them Decopodge letters. S and C the first letter of their last name.



We are adjusting quit well to the "country" It is nice to here the crickets and see the stars. This morning we saw two deer run down the road into the woods, makes me wonder what else it out there. I think there are Coyotes because we have heard howling, and it wasn't the dogs around here. So we are careful to keep the dogs on a leash when we go out at night. Although tonight we went out and DH yells "Hey get the Dogs, there is a dog lose here". Turns out it was our neighbors sons dog, Tex, from the next lot. The dogs got along great and ran around like crazy. It was great for our dogs because, even though they have a yard now they miss playing with other dogs.

Well Friends I want to wish you all A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and Hope everyone has the happiest Holiday!!! Thank you all for the wonderful comments. If I don't respond to you please know that I appreciate your comments and hope you have a wonderful Holiday
(((HUGS)))
Natasha & Family

P.S if you made it this far, yes Holiday Desserts are Calorie free at least until Jan 1st HaHaHa!!!!!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A lovely exchange recieved

I participate in a year long exchange and this month was the last one. It has been a great year. I was truly spoiled by Darlene, no blog. I loved every thing she sent it was like she was reading my mind LOL

I hope to meet her this year at the PALS stitching retreat in Myrtle Beach this coming October.

She must know my love for Biscornus because she sent me this lovely Sue Hillis Christmas Biscornu, which Sue her self wrote a sweet note on it :)

From A Stitchers Ramblings

Is'nt that finished item the best!! I love it!!

Pictures of our trip across country will be posted soon and also a picture of our new TOY... It is being delivered tomorrow and the HUBS and I are pretty excited about this thing :)

I hope eveyrone out there has a wonderful evening.
**HUGS** and happy stitching
Natasha

Monday, December 17, 2012

Living on lake time

Hello friends,
Have ya missed me?? We do not have internet yet so hopefully posting from my phone works out.
We are all settled in here in South Carolina and so far loving it. It is so quiet here but we are still close enough to stores where I don't feel like I'm completely in the boonies, driving at night though is tricky for me as there nostreet lights so it is alittle tough to see, and also when the fog rolls in from the lake that makes it tougher.
My title makes me chuckle because when we are going somewhere we are always a tad late. Last night DH's Aunt had a Christmas party it started at 4 we got there at 4:45 I told her, " sorry we are late we are on lake time" it could also be that we live 35 minutes from her :)
I have been trying to get some stitching completed but it is. slow going . I did finally get my fabric unpacked and put away. Hopefully I can start some serious stitching after the New Year, I have some projects I
really love to start.
I would love to share with you my WIP but can't upload a photo from my phone, so with that I will say to you thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and a happy holiday season!!
Hugs and happy stitching!!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Am Award and Moving Day!!!

First off I want to thank you to Monica at the HoopLess Stitcher She awarded me a Liebster Award, I guess it is for those blogs with followers under 200. You don't know how happy this makes me. Over a year ago I had a very good blog going, with about 180 followers, lots of comments and updated daily. But I had some tings happen and needed to take time off and during that time I deleted my blog, it is something I wish I would have not done because I had so many pictures of my projects and a lot of nice blog posts I had made. But I am happy to be back in the blogging world. It is a great feeling to put needle to thread.

Tomorrow the movers will be at 10 A.M to load our stuff onto a truck. We got an email this morning telling us that they filled the original truck and would have to hold our things at a storage site until a truck was ready, thankfully they came through and got a full size truck so our things will be loaded tomorrow and on their way to South Carolina. The only hiccup tomorrow is the RAIN... It has not rain for 6 months and tomorrow it is suppose to rain buckets!! So my hope is the rain holds off till after 3 I really do not want wet boxes sitting on a truck for a week or more.

I am really excited about this move. I have been really nervous up until today maybe because I am finally 98% packed, also knowing that I will be closer to our family, that is such a good feeling. Hopefully out things arrive by the 8th so I can unpack and get my Christmas tree up.

I will be without a computer for some time, I will have my handy little smart phone but I doubt that I will update my blog from there. I will check in on facebook. Please keep us in your thoughts for a safe trip.

Thank you for your comments on my last post. I really appreciate the well wishes!!!
Take Care
Natasha
A picture of sweet Samson trying his best at being a lap dog :)
I was trying to stitch last night and he took over my lap LOL

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

not saying goodbye but see ya later!!

It's easier to say Hello than to say goodbye. Farewell to you by White Lion is running through my head as I write this post.



We leave this place that we have called home in 9 days. On Saturday I got to spend the day with a great group of ladies just stitching and talking and talking and talking and eating and stitching :) Everyone in this stitching group is a wonderful bunch but it is my friend Valerie that I will miss a ton more than I think. We became friends over just the last few years and I think we get along so well becausee we have the same sense of humor, sometimes twisted, but funny to us :) But hopefully come Octoberber we will be spending some time at the beach, Maybe?!?!

I am still slowly packing up our apartment. It is amazing how much stuff I had in such a tiny apartment. The fun thing about moving, you get to declutter. I got rid of stuff I knew we no longer needed, used, or wanted. Hopefully once I get to the new house I can buy a nice bookcase for the spare room so I can finally have my books and "things" out so I don't have to dig through boxes to find something.

A few weeks ago I was the lucky winner of a drawing that Gloria from MiLadys Needle work had. You will not believe what she sent me.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_-MHUAptxCljqeHZ7SeYd3J3cNtg9eIHQitB8QOgQl5qPSdBQCTs8EbCaxdAX6mKCIvOksATJCeAQcJsO3l7iPcIbXkBrBro4bKZxlXt9McEHmWYofjDQ1ouWAYMekUn33KGDu3c449F/s1600/Drawing+002.JPG

Is'nt it all just lovely, I borrowed the picturtes from her blog, I hope she does not mind. But of all the things in the package, this was the biggest joy

I have had this on my wish list for a few years so imagine my excitement on seeing this :) I plan on starting this on January 1st.

Please head over to her blog and check out her beautiful designs and her updates :)

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I have many thigns to be thankful for and hope to reflect on those on Thanksgiving Day.

Hugs to you all!!
Natasha

P.S can you please spare some good thoughts and prayers for my Aunt Sue? She had hip surgury on the 9th and is having really tough time. Thank you so much.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Moving on

Well I thought I would go ahead in let ya'll in on my secret alittle early. My Husband and I have lived in California for the past 9 years. but if you count up total years between the two of us it would equal to about 15-20 years on and off. That sure is alot of years and probaby why we have been drawn back to California many times

This last stay was in the Bay Area, about a 45 minute drive south of San Fran. And while we have trully enjoyed out stay here we mutually decided that it was time to head back east. We are moving back to South Carolina. For those that followed my blog 4 years ago before I went and stopped stitching will know that I loved SC and to be able to have the chance to move back there is great. We have lived away from our family for many years and realize that we sure do miss them but also miss the ways of South Carolina.


this is going to be our view for awhile. We looked into buying a house but nothing that we loved came aroud and this little rental poped up one day and we thought why not try the lake living lifestyle.


So If I am MIA for awhile, you will know it is from packing and moving. We leavce her Nov 30th still have lots to do. So please keep us in your prayers for a safe journey. Also if you could please say a prayer for my Aunt Sue she had hip surgery on the 9th and is some really bad pain. They really had to dig around in that old hip of hers.

Thank you
natasha

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Big changes and my new toy

Hello dear friends,
Thank you for all of your comments on my post about how you work on WIPs. I have about 10 in my basket and I use to have them on a stitching rotation but now I just work on them when I remember, which means I hardly remember or else I would have more finished LOL

For those that had a three day weekend did you do anything fun? I had to work on Saturday night and Monday night but Sunday the Hubby and I took a drive over to Half Moon Bay and since the tides were low we headed to the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve.
This place is pretty cool.There are tons of nooks and cranies to see all types of sea life like this sea urchin. This was actually already dead but the spikes had not fallen of yet, pretty cool don't ya think?



This is where we were. I just love the beaches here in the Bay Area. Yes, we can't swim in the water because it is freezing but the beaches here offer the most amazing views and we always see some sort of sea life.




So in my title post I said I had a new toy. This is my new toy, isn't she pretty :0)
I have been thinking about getting one of these for awhile I was going to go to Jo-Anns since I had a 40% off coupon but I was running errands this morning and decided to stop at Micheals intead.

Well they had it on sale for 40% off and they had the pink one, JoAnns only had white. I love it!! And I think it will be the perfect travel light to take with me when I go to the PALS retreat in October. Yes, I do plan on attending. Finally after years of not going. I am really looking forward to it!!


Big changes are in store at our home but you will have to check back in on Saturday. I am going to a stitching GTG and I am sure I will take LOTS of pictures of the talented work that will be there, so when I return from my GTG I will fill you in on the changes :)

Till then please remember I love comments :0) Take Care and enjoy your day!
Natasha

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Friends are good

Greetings,
I am so behind on many stitching projects I would love to sit and stitch for a whole day but have been so busy latley with work that I figure I can start stitching again at the start of December. I am working on two exchanges this week. They are both due on the 15th I have one down and one more to go :) I am not the worlds best finisher but I must say this first ornament turned out pretty well. Now onto the second one.

Tonight I meet a very dear friend for happy hour drinks and then we headed over to a Ramen House. The food was so delish but I ate way to much, I am glad we walked around a bit. We browsed a local shop and tried on hats, her more stylish me not much HAHA I was trying on all the funky big winter hats. It is always great catching up with her. She has become a great friend :)

I wish I could say I have been doing exciting things and share awesome pictures with you but I have not. I do have the day off with the Hubs tomorrow, we have some errands to take care of but I am hoping we can squeeze in a quick trip to the beach. The beach is so peaceful I enjoy hunting for seaglass and shells and must say over the years I have quit a collection. Hopefully I get some inspiration one of these days and make something really cool with the shells I have.

Well friends I best get going. It's late and I am sleppy ;)
Take Care!!


Saturday, November 3, 2012

December Drawing

Nancy over at Victorian Motto is having yet again another generous drawing. This one will run everyday the month of December. Seriously go become a follower if you are not already and leave her a comment to enter. Her floss is so pretty.

I hope you all are having a great day! Take care and happy stitching!
Natasha

Also feel free to comment on ym blog posts :) I love to read them and most likely always respond back not right away but I try :) I had a 100+ views on a recent post makes me smile :)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Life goes by fast so make sure you enjoy the journey!

In our house that is our motto, though sometimes work and everyday things tend to take over, but for the most part my DH and I try to enjoy the journey. Really ever since I meet him 16 years ago it has been a whirl wind, loving life experience, one that keeps getting better with age. Like a fine wine ;)

Stitching for me has been slow going, even though I have TWO exchange deadlines looming... I need to get my behind in gear in order to get my gifts out to my stitching buddies by November 15th. I wish I could show you one of the current projects, it is just way to cute, but alas I can't till after the deadline

A few weeks ago I was browsing on 123 stitch, and I came across the Christmas Wish List. I usually do not ask for items because I would rather give than receive. But I had been hunting for an old Sampler & Antique Needlework Summer 2010 magazine, mainly for the 1854 Isabella Johnstone Sampler. Well a very nice lady over at 123 stitch granted me my wish but as sweet as that was she also included All of these extra charts.
From A Stitchers Ramblings

What a sweet thing for her to do. There are LHN,CCN and a BBD design and a few other cute charts. So thank you to Cindy for being so giving :)

Question for you are you a one project at a time kind of stitcher or do like to take on multiple charts and work on them when you please?

Hope your weekend is a happy one.
Natasha

Monday, October 22, 2012

Rainy Day post

Fall has officially arrived in the Bay Area and I could not be happier. I love the sound of rain against the windows at night, which is how I feel asleep last night and then awoke to the sound of rain this morning. It stopped long enough for me to take the fur babies on a morning walk. It is times like this though that I yern for a yard *sigh* wet dog is not a smell I enjoy ;)

This weekend was a very uneventful. We had plans to go see the movie ARGO but then we realized that the Cleveland Browns were playing against the Colts and they were televising it. The Browns are hardly EVER on tv here in the Bay Area so of course we decided to tourture ourselves and watch the game, UGH!! Of course like they do they lost. Oh well thats the life of a Browns fan LOL

Recently I was browsing through some blogs and I came across this one Our Love Nest Seriously go check it out really an inspiring blog, and though I do not consider DH and I newlyweds anylonger, we just passed out 12th wedding anniversary, I still need to keep that Newlywed attitude going in our marriage :) She shared this idea for date night.A DIY Date Night Jar

Is this not the cutest idea?? I am definitely going to use this . And since it is suppose to be chilly and rainy this week what a perfect night project to do together :)

For all those baseball fans out there the Giants have moved onto to game 7 WooHoo!! If they win this we move on to the World Series to play against Detroit Tigers. It trully has been a great time living here in the Bay Area, espesially when the sports teams do so well, the atmosphere in the area is fantastic :)

Well I must get a move on, do some laundry before I head into work. I hope all of you have a lovely day and Go Giants
T

Monday, October 15, 2012

Not much to say.....

A whole 10 days since my last post!! I do not have much going on so there is not much to "chat" about. I am working on a few exchnages that are due November. One of the pieces I have decided to work it 1 over 1 on 32ct Vintage Barly Linene and I am LOVING it!!

I can only take a few hours of working on it because my eyes get a bit tired but why don't stitch over 1 more often. I love how it looks :D

I am a memeber of Friends Through Stitching this is my second year taking part in this group. I don't take part in many exchnages 1) I don't have enough time and 2) I am afraid of getting burrned but this group is great and I keep coming back every year. I have meet some great stitchers through this group.

This is what I recieved from the person who had me this year. Darlene has trully spoiled me this year. She is so very thoughtfull in the item that she stitches for and also all the extra.



The Bay Area has baseball fever. The San Francisco Giants play their second game today against St Louis, they lost last night 6-4 lets hope they do not have a repeat and pull off a win. The Bay Area teams have been great to watch these last couple years :D

Well enough of my rambling I have two furry babies staring at me waiting to go out for their morning walk.

Take care and stitch on!!
Natasha

Friday, October 5, 2012

Expect Delays

Living near San Francisco we never have a dull moment. Wheather it be hiking, a day at the beach or a trip up to the city, one could never go bored here. This weekend is no exception. We have a huge list of events going on this weekend. It's Fleet Week, the Americas Cup is here, we have the Italina festivle and the Giants have a play off game.

My hubby and I we able to enjoy the festevites today. And thankfully we did not have to drive. Traffic is usually crazy to begin with but throw in all of these events and well you would be CRAZY to drive anywhere in the city. Please people take transit!

His company hired us a car and it picked us up this morning at 9:30. We arrived at a Northbeach reasturant for lunch and then headed over to Marina Green where we were able to watch the Blue Angels and many other planes do their pratice runs. It is a pretty amazing sight to see these planes fly by, but what gets me is the noise. I smile from ear to ear everytime I see and hear them.

But that was not all. I knew that the Americas Cup was just a few miles up the way and I thought we were just going to get to see one of these awesome and pretty pricey boats, but to our surprise we were taken out on a regular boat and put pretty close to the RACE. How amazing is this sight
On the New Zealand boat, which my husbands company was part of, was
Natalie Coughlin
12-time Olympic medalist for USA Swimming. She was the extra ride along, I was really hoping I could have been on that boat but I think an Olympian beats me LOL

Also the USS Makin Island was docked here also. It is an amazing vessel, this is a shot with the Bay Bridge behind it.



While we were out on our boat we were floating in front of the spectature stands well the water Police came up to us to inform us "that the spectatures were mad at us for blocking their view" the police just smiled and said that of course they couldn't do anythign to us. The spectatures let us know they were not happy with our captin.. They booed us pretty loudly LOL

Tomorrow morning I am helping a neighbor move and then work in the evening. Sunday I plan on a day of rest and my stitching in hand. I have finally finished coffin buzz, now I just need to make it into a wall hanging. I think I will finally get to make a dent on my CHristmas Stitching woohoo!!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend. Take care friends and thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Happy Fall Ya'll

Good Morning Dear Friends!

Is it feeling like fall where you are at? I am patiently waiting for the cooler temps to arrive here in the Bay Area. It seems like summer has decided to visit us again one last time. Normally around this time we are dealing with afternoon temps of 75, but yesterday was 92 WOWZZERS!! I guess you can say I am spoiled by the lovely Bay Area weather. How did I every survive a summer in South Carolina, Oh yeah I lived in the pool ;)


Well to make it seem like fall I am hoping to win some beautiful floss from Victorian Motto Sampler You should head on over there also and enter for a chnace to win, I hear her floss is great. I have yet to try it but if you tell her I sent you I might have a shot and so will you :)


Have any of you started on Christmas stitching, can I even say that word, it scares me to even think that it is a short time away. I have NOT started but I should. I have two exchnages I need to stitch for and I want to stitch a couple ornaments for myself and a few friends. Ambitious, yes LOL


I have made some progress on Coffin Buzz since the last time I posted.

Almost there!! Today I finally have a full day off. A day that does not involve grocery shopping, Dog Grooming visits or Doctor visits. So I think I will be able to accomplish quit a bit on this today.


I know this is turning into a long post but darn'it I got a lot to say today LOL If anyone wondering how my Hubby is, he is doing MUCH better. He still has a sore neck and his wrist we found out was NOT broken, just a hair line fracture. Thank the lord. So that means he only has to take a few weeks off from golf and not 6-8 like we thought LOL he is an avid golfer and has already gotten a few emails from his Golfing Buddy asking him when they can play next.


His car is being fixed as of today they say 2-3 weeks so right now we are sharing my car. our work schedules over lap so it has not been a problem as of yet.


I want to welcome my newest follower thank you and also would like to ask on this BLOGGER format, which I really dislike. How do you make paragraphs or space. I am spacing my paragraphs but on the preview it is running all together. So I appolgizes if it looks like one big old sentence. and for any typos. I can't find the spell check on here.
*P.S I figured out how to space :)
Take Care Friends

Friday, September 21, 2012

That's why they are called accidents!

This weekend has started out on the rough side. My DH was driving to work Thursday morning and got into an accident and he rear ended a Van. He did some serious damage to his car and we thought that he had broken his wrist, but by the grace of god the Doctors said from the x-rays it was just a very deep bruised bone. He is in a soft cast till Tuesday when he goes back to our doctor for a follow up. When his airbags deployed it thrusted his hands up to the winshield and shattered the windshield. Right now "she" is sitting in the Tow yard waiting for the insurance guy to come pick "her" up I am so thankful that no one was seriously injured. He his home and the doctors put him on bed rest for three days and also instructed him to wear a neck brace, he is such a stubborn boy and hates that thing LOL Meanwhile on the stitching front I finished up the third installment of my Friends through Stitching 2012 exchange. It has been a real pleasure stitching for my partner Jennifer she is a lovely person who I am wishing all the best for This is what is stitched for her, I enjoy making biscornus, they are such a fun finish, and SUPER easy. I recently received my JCS ornament mag in the mail and I am beyond thrilled I found 8 designs that I would LOVE to stitch, now will I stitch all 8?? Probably not but a girl can dream can't she Hehehe! I do thank you for visiting me here in BLOG land and I appreciate all your comments. Take care and happy stitching *FYI I dislike the new blogger format ;)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

?? :/ ??

Do you find it hard to come with a title for your blog posts? I do all the time hence why todays is blank LOL


I know, I know I have not posted in awhile, hopefully if I start posting more my followers will stick around :) This week I am still working on Plum Street Samplers Coffin Buzz. I hope to have it finished by the end of the week so I can start working on Christmas ornaments. I had intended at the beginning of the year to work on an ornament a month, but somehow that never happened, so maybe I can crank out three by Christmas. We shall see.



I want to share with you a picture of my sweet boy Samson. He just turned 11 this August and has to be the best ever. Lately though all he wants to do is nap. Oh he will rough house with his sister and chase a ball but when he wants to curl up on his bed and nap by gollie let him sleep LOL I love this pup and all the happiness he brings to our little family.

But I can't leave out his sweet little "sister" Licorice. She was adopted but shhhh don't tell her LOL. This is her I am SO cute begging pose.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Art and Wine Festivle 2012


I can always tell it is the end of summer when the Art and Wine Festival rolls around. The one held in September is the biggest of the two. Usually housing the most vendors and it always has the best bands.

Yesterday I got to sit outside in the sunshine and listen to a really rocking band the The Rodeo House Band They were awesome!! I got a tad to much sun and was feeling a bit over heated while at work last night.

Today the show was still going so after the Hubby and I went to the local PUB to watch the Browns* Who lost by the way* I meet up with a neighbor and we browsed a few vendors. I ended up coming home with these three pretty pieces of jewelry. I usually don't wear much except for my earrings and my wedding ring, but these were just so delicate on. The earring are actually a gift for the neighbor I went with. She is a truly sweet lady and it will be any early Christmas gift for her, she might be moving to San Diego soon. She bought me the silver necklace, Much to my protest!!.

From A Stitchers Ramblings





I will say that I have really always disliked apartment living, especially here in the Bay Area, there is no sense of community. But in the place we live now, and have for the last 4 years I have really gotten to know my neighbors and we all know we can rely on each other and know that we all watch out for one another. That is a really good thing.

I want to thank those that leave me such wonderful and warm comments and emails and also to those that just look :) I appreciate each and every one of you. I hope have a wonderful evening I am off to watch the Broncos and Steelers.... LETS GO BRONCOS :)

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Head in over

Nancy over at Victorian Motto Sampler is having yet again another wonderful drawing. This time for a Halloween drawing. I entered because I DO love autumn/Halloween.

But please head on over and check it out.
Natasha

Monday, September 3, 2012

Pinterest Made Me Do It

How many of you go on Pinerest? And then how many of you actually create some of the things you pin??

I am guilty, guilty of pinning like crazy but never attempting any of the wonderful ideas that I see. Until recently, My good friends wedding was this past weekend and I wanted to give her a handmade gift but had no time to stitch anything. So I came across an idea to take the wedding invitation and cut it into strips and place it in a clear ornament.... I am so glad I cam across this idea. I can really see doing this again and also for a baby's first Christmas. Such a great idea. I curled the pieces of paper around a pen to get the spiral effect but left the Bride, Groom and Date in a straight line.

Topped it of with a bow in the wedding colors placed it in a box and when they return form the honeymoon I will take this to them.
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I have three more blank ornaments left over and am looking into ideas to decorate for gifts... I am so glad I have an extra two days off this week :)

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Please know how much I love your comments and I will respond to them of you leave one :)

Take Care!!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Well Hello There


It has been awhile since my last post. What have I been up to? Not buying stash that's for sure **Chuckle** Actually I have been making up for lost time in that department.

Here is just a sample of the stash I bought, there was also a few things for an exchange so of course I can not share with you that picture. My favorite thing is the Book from Black Bird Design A school Girls Work. The information in this book is just so amazing. It baffles my mind to think that young girls were so gifted with needlework. Forgive the light in this photo, it was taken early this morning before I headed out to the beach with a friend and her son visiting from Virginia
From A Stitchers Ramblings


This is a photo of some seals near the Tide Pools we visited in Half Moon Bay. We almost missed these guys, they were just lounging by the water and they looked like big rocks. Every time I come to the ocean I am reminded at just how amazing this wonderful place I live in really is. My friend and her family moved to Virginia last year and she is home for our girlfriends wedding so today I wanted to take her and her little boy to the Tide Pools. We had a great time and he enjoyed looking at the "snakes" and "turtles" obviously he is fascinated with snaked and turtles so everything looked like one to him LOL.

I am coming along on my exchange piece I really am enjoying watching it come together, lets just hope I can get it finished by the 15th.

Do you have any plans for this long weekend? I am going the first college game of the season Friday night, attending a wedding on Saturday, going to the local art and wine festival on Sunday and would you believe it my work is closed on Monday so that day I am devoting to ME for stitching time unless the Hubby has plans which I am hoping he does not... Whatever you decide to so I hope you have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Thank you for your visits and lovely comments. Please do stop in again.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A little slice of paradise

WOW! This place I live in amazes me more everyday. The Bay Area is packed full of wonderful sights to see. We have Beaches, hiking, great restaurants and a plethora of things to. But sometime I don't want to go to the beach on an 85 degree day and deal with crowds, I don't want to go to San Francisco and deal with mad traffic, and Tahoe is to far for a day trip.

Well the Santa Cruz Mountains never fail. I went onto a wonderful site Bay Area Hiker I use this site regularly when I am searching for a decent place to hike. So while deciding on a hike in the city, in the mountains or near the beach I stumbled across this hike at Loch Lomond Lake near a town called Felton,Ca in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

OMG!! I had know idea this gem of place even existed. It was like a mini Seirra Getaway and only 45 mins from our home. We followed the signs to the Recreation Area and it took us through a narrow road with small cottage and cabins dotted all along the road. The roda was only slightly wide enough for one car to drive through. We paid our $4 to enter the park and decided to park down by the boat rentals, because our goal was to take a hike and then rent an electric row boat after.

We could only hike 1 mile into our trail, there was a wasps nest so the trail was closed. We decided to turn around and head back to rent our little boat. We rented the boat for two hours and it was ONLY $20. I must say that this was the best two hours ever!!! I had packed my Camel pack with a small lunch and after we set out on our way we settled in for a nice lunch and some bird watching. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful day we had.

This our view on out little boat


This was a Blue Heron, see was keeping a watchful eye on her baby who we were lucky enough to watch fly out of some tall grass


It truly was a wonderful day. I am so happy to have stumbled upon this place. Now off to get alittle stitching done. My due date for an exchange piece is looming ever so close. I hope you all have a great day!!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Wonderful surprise in the mail

Last week I entered a drawing on Pam's blog. She had followers answer 11 questions. I entered not only for the drawing but also the questions were pretty fun. Much to my surprise my name was chosen. Yesterday I received the nicest package in the mail. It was wrapped all pretty.
From A Stitchers Ramblings


And what was inside was wonderful. Some pretty fabrics, a patriotic chart from LK, needles and some variegated DMC and Sullivan's floss neither of which I have ever used before.
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I would love to show you my progress on coffin buzz but there is not much to show. I am going to take a break from it while I work on an exchange piece that is due Sept 15th I think I can I think I can LOL

I hope everyone out there has a terrific Thursday and thank you for your lovely comments please come again.
Natasha

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Fun with paint.....

First I want to say welcome to my two newest followers thank you for taking time to visit my little 'ol blog. And thank you to everyone who was so kind with your comments on the last post.

A few weeks ago I started a new job and ever since my nails have really grown out. They were always pretty short, well basically non existent LOL but now I get to have fun painting them. This is what they looked like yesterday with my current WIP Coffin Buzz.
From A Stitchers Ramblings

They remind me of Minnie Mouse haha

I was walking around my neighborhood this morning and came across these beauties. These have to be the biggest lilies I have ever seen, what are they feeding them :) They had the most glorious smell.
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I hope to get alot done on Coffin Buzz. I would love to stitch up all the wording today.
Lastly I wanted to share a fun contest going on untill tonight at 7 eastern time. It was fun ansewring her questions. So head on over and check her blog out and join the fun
Pam in ILs blog
Thank you for stopping by.

Have a wonderful Wednesday

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Is there anybody out there?

That Pink Flyod song "Is anybody out there" is playing in my head as I write this post

I'm hanging my head in shame at my lack of posting and reading those blogs that I follow. In my time away from not posting I seem to have lost a follower :( I am sorry I do not update this here sad sad blog of mine more often. I think once summer ends I will become a regular blogger again. But I want to thank those that have stuck around and are always so kind with leaving comments when I do post. I truly appreciate your visits and comments to my blog.

This month was extremely busy. Flying to see family back East and driving down south to spend time in the mountains with my sister in law and her family left little time for stitching. My WIP's in my basket are really missing me.I am sad to have neglected them for so long.
I did start a new project last month and this is where I am as of today
From A Stitchers Ramblings

This is Coffin Buzz by Plum Street Samplers

I decided to go with a blue and brown color combo. DMC 807/869 also using Simply Shaker thread in Blackboard

We spent a few days in Southern California's San Bernadino Mountains. This is a view from our boat we rented on Big Bear Lake. My husband lived here as a kid and when we use to live in L.A this would be our weekend trip. My sister in Law lives here now so it was a perfect excuse to make the 7 hour drive down for a visit. We had the most relaxing visit and we were both sad to leave. There is just something about the mountains that melt your stress away. My husband is a different person when we are on the lake or in the mountains.
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I am headed to the Gilroy Garlic Festivle tomorrow with some girlfriends. I tried to get my Hubby to come along with us but he hates garlic and the smell of it so he has decided to stay home and take the dogs to the dog park.... I just hope I don't consume to much garlic and become a smelly mess LOL

It should be a fun day this is my first time going to this in the 9 years I have lived in the Bay Area. I need to remember to bring a hat and sunscreen it's going to be HOT HOT HOT.

Well if you have stuck through this long post I do appreciate it and hope you have a lovely Saturday.
Take Care Friends!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Miss Me?

It Sure has been a wonderful week. I finally went back "home" to Ohio,it had been two whole years since I was last there. It was just what the doctor ordered. Even though my time was stretched I managed to squeeze enough time to see those that I love.
This is where I spent the weekend.

Friday - Sunday we had a family reunion in Virginia for my Dad's side of the family. There were over 120 people there this year. The last time I was in VA for a reunion was 12 years ago. It was a great feeling re-connecting with everyone. My Aunt really puts together a wonderful reunion with the help of everyone. I was so sad when I left on Sunday. I could have stayed there for awhile :) But I need to come back home to my Husband who was holding down the fort here in California. And look what I came home to


The first tomatoes of the season. And my are they good I had one for breakfast, you know just to make sure it was fit to eat hehehe.

I am so excited about my plant it is doing extremely well. I look forward to eventually having a yard that I can grow all sorts of goodies in and can what I grow just like my Maw Maw did.

Well friends I hope you have a beautiful day.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Walk with me.....

Every morning I take the dogs on a good long walk. My neighborhood is very eclectic. There is a mix of all different types of houses and some beautiful yards and some not so beautiful yards LOL

Here are just a few pictures of my walk this morning. This house has a cottage feel to it the yard and the house are just plain "cute"
From A Stitchers Ramblings


This house has the most unique tree. I have no idea what type of tree it is. Do you? I also have a fondness for the purple door ;)
From A Stitchers Ramblings


And this little guy was chirping away waiting for his Momma to come and feed him. He had a sibling sitting next to him but it scampered away before I could snap its picture
From A Stitchers Ramblings


Well folks that is all for today I am off to work and then after that off to the new job to fill out paperwork and such. Thanks again for all the sweet comments and welcome to my new followers :) YAY!!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

I got the job!!

Thank you everyone for all your well wishes! They must have worked because I got the call yesterday and the owner offered me the job. I am beyond excited! This is a wonderful Cuban restaurant and owned by a husband and wife. Most of their employees have been there since they opened in '97. Another great thing about them they are closed on Sundays!! This is SO rare in the restaurant industry. Also the uniform is so casual. Kaki pants and a Cuban inspired type shirt this is going to be such a great summer :)

I have to do some laundry today and then I am going to be chasing a frog out of my house Grrrr! I thank you all for wonderful comments and also I changed my blog I became aware that some people could not comment. So hopefully this fixes the problem. If you notice anything strange about my blog do no hesitate to let me know.

Take Care
Natasha

Monday, June 18, 2012

Wish me luck!

Today I have an interview. I work for a large chain restaurant and in the last year and a half this place has gone through countless changes. A revolving door of managers, a decline in customers and most recently the firing of two long term employees, which resulted in three others quiting shortly after. The bartenders are overworked and understaffed because of the recent happenings, this has made a heavier work load for the reaming bartenders and with that is increased stressed. Last week was the last straw for me.

So yesterday afternoon I saw a posting for a local place that is hiring and I sent an email with resume and within 15 minutes I got a response and I go in today at 11:15. This restaurant is my favorite place to go and eat and get drinks. So when I saw they were hiring I was very excited. So wish me luck and hopefully I can go into my current job tonight and tell them I quit :)

On the stitching front I am still working on Garden of Life. I will not bore you with any pictures as I have not completed much since the last post. I am ready though to start on something else, something small to take with me on my trip back to Cleveland next week. Tuesday I will go through my stash and see what calls to me :)

Thank you for stopping by and please know I LOVE comments :)
Natasha

Monday, June 11, 2012

Like a kid in a candy store

Before last week it had been a long time since I bought myself any stash, well that is all the past now it first started with a Memorial Day sale at J.J's Collectibles She always has such a wide selection of great stitching items and her shipping is SUPER FAST. This is what I picked up 40ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Sand dune, some very summery silks and after seeing Nicole's finish here I just HAD to have Shakespeare's Peddler "Ann Grant 1829" Make sure to go look at her beautiful finish :)
From A Stitchers Ramblings


But my buying did not stop there Noooo like I said I was like a kid set lose in a candy store. I also went to 123Stitch and picked up a 28ct lakeside linen V.Meadow Rue, a Blackbird Design, and some Threadworx floss Mosaic and Dream scape which is on back order. The Purple fabric I bought from a member of 123Stitch. It is Sassy's Fabric in Royal purple
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I was going to sit down and stitch before I headed into work tonight but it is so darn hot here right now my hands start sweating. I have air but I don't want to turn it on just yet. If I sit in front of the fan I am comfortable. I will however turn it on before DH comes home...

Well fellow followers I again thank you for stopping by. Please feel free to comment and become a follower so I can in turn follow you :)

Have a wonderful day!
Natasha

Friday, June 8, 2012

Cute little blue bird

I am coming along nicely with Garden of Life by Blackbird Designs. The birds wings consisted of Smyrna stitch it adds a nice little detail to it. I have been trying to sit down every night that I don't work for at least two hours to get in a little stitching. This is working out pretty good and I can see great progress
From A Stitchers Ramblings
From A Stitchers Ramblings


June has been a very busy month so far, we are short staffed at work so that means when I put in a request for a day off I can guarantee that I wont get it. Next Saturday DH and I are lucky enough to be able to go to the U.S Open Golf Tournament. I tried to get the entire day off but no such luck. We will be able to enjoy the tournament till at least 2 then I will have to leave. Hopefully next week we are somewhat staffed again because I have just about had it. We all are feeling overworked and under appreciated lately.

But thankfully I have a caring husband and two happy little dogs to greet me at the end of the day. So life is not that bad. This is the face I saw before I left for work yesterday. He sure didn't want me to leave LOL
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Tomorrow DH and I have the day off. It is going to be in the upper 80's/90's here so we are headed to the beach. I have checked the tides and plan on going shell hunting at low tide. I am so grateful to live near the water.

Growing up in Cleveland,Ohio never did I imagine I would have lived in so many awesome places every state we have lived in holds a special place in my heart and while I know I probably wont live in this state forever I try to enjoy it as much as I can.

Hopefully this post didn't bore you to tears, as I did make it fairly long ;) Thank you for stopping by I enjoy your comments and hope you enjoyed your visit to my little blog

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

My house is taking shape

I don't think I have ever stitched this slow in my life!! I know stitching is not suppose to be a race but I am moving at a snails pace on this and many other designs I have in my WIP basket I want to stitch but it seems that when I sit down to do so I just stare at my work. I have Saturday off which is a rarity for me as I ALWAYS work on Saturdays but I requested the whole day off and I plan on have a full day of stitching.



I have a tech question for anyone that can help me. I have a HTC Sensation phone and I use to be able to take a photo with my phone and load it to my PICASA album and post it to my blog. I updated my phone with a new OS *Operating System* and now when I take a photo and try to upload it PICASA it does not have a folder for my blog like it use to, there is an option to add a folder but when I try nothing happens. Does anybody know what I can do to fix this?

Thank you and as always I love all your comments :)
Natasha

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Laying Bricks

I have decided to pull out Blackbird Designs Garden of Life and work on it today and the rest of the week. I hope to make some progress on this piece. This is on Lakeside Linen 40ct. I love how delicate the stitches look on this count of fabric. I love watching the house take shape, next it's onto mortar :)



I have not been stitching to much of late. Work schedule has been crazy so I am looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation.

That is all I have for today... I hope your day is a good one.
Natasha

Friday, May 11, 2012

The FROG has come

From A Stitchers Ramblings


Do you see that border?? And that green bubble tree?? That is the name I have given the tree by the way, Bubble Tree. Anyway, the bubble tree and the border have to go. Yes, you heard that right. I was off by a stitch somewhere in the border which in turn may me compensate the count on the tree and then compromised a motif on the other side, so before it could get any worse I just decided to rip it all out.... Hopefully this will solve the problem. I truly have enjoyed working on this piece and do not want to banish it to the dark corner of my UFO basket.

I am proud of myself because I finally feel like I am back in the stitching groove. It feels GREAT!!! Though this weekend I will not get much done. Work is going to be crazy busy so you will not see me posting till Monday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!
Natasha

Monday, May 7, 2012

I do love me some BlackBird Designs

I am such a fan of Blackbird designs. I have slowly been collecting Loose Feather charts for a few years. Last year I completed Quaker Garden and Autumn Song. And then I went into my stitching funk and sold 3 of my LF charts. Why did I do that?? It is something I wish I had not done :( But you live and learn and thankfully I am no longer in that funky place and back to my old self :0)

This is Garden of Life LF#21 It has been in my WIP basket since before last year. I am so happy to be working on this again. I am using DMC to stitch this one and my all time favorite linen 40 Ct. Vintage Maritime White Linen by Lakeside Linen.

From A Stitchers Ramblings


I am also working on two finishes this week. One is for my partner in a year long exchange it is not do till June I have already stitched it but just need to finish it up. Also I am finally getting a pillow put together in time for my Aunts birthday. I stitched her this little angle freebie.
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I just need to find some lovely fabric. I looked through my stash and know I have to make a trip to the fabric store :)
Well friends that concludes my post today I hope you have a beautiful Monday and are able to get a few stitches in today.

Natasha

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Randon thoughts survey

Denise at Riverside stitching
posted a random survey on her blog so I thought I would join in :)

1) Did you pick your blog name for any special reason?
I am a stitcher and I tend to ramble, simple as that

2) How long have you been blogging and why did you start blogging?
I started my original blog about 4 years ago and it was wonderful. I started to connect with other stitchers and just share in the love of stitching but about a year ago I went through a rough period and deleted my blog and almost sold off all my stash. Lucky for me I had some sane stitching friends in my life and they talked me off that ledge and I re started my blog. I am piratically starting from scratch.

3) What's your favorite dessert?
Hmmm that's a tough one cause I could seriously eat dessert before any other meal. I love my peanut butter fudge. I loved my Mothers mandarin orange cake that she would make for special occasions. I could seriously just cut up some strawberries and drizzle with honey and fresh whipped cream and be happy with that too.

4) Coffee or Tea?
I like both. I am not the type of person that NEEDS coffee to get going in the morning I think its more for the ritual. It is relaxing to me. The same with tea....which makes me think I should start drinking more tea.

5) What's one thing on your bucket list?
Learn to drive a stick!!
6) Your last wonderful book you read?
The Hunger Games series... at least that is the last one I can remember, hahaha

7) Do you have time for your nails?
I would if they would grow. My job is not friendly to my hands. So therefor they are short and kept filed down. I once had artificial nails they looked nice but they were to much up keep...

I would love to show you my current stitching update but..... I ran out of floss with just one small motif left Grrrrr!!! So I have to stick it back in the pile of not finished items :( But if anyone out there has two or three strands of Carries Creations Hearts on Fire floss I would forever <3 you :)

I hope ya'll have a great night!
Natasha

Saturday, April 21, 2012

I really do stitch I swear!!

Yup that is how it seems to be these days. I stitch a few hours a night but in the morning when I wake up and look at my WIP it looks like I did not accomplish anything the night before. I think it's a conspiracy!! The FROGS visit me at night and rip out stitches. Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it HaHa.

But I will prove to you that I am stitching and not just swooning over sweet puppy breathed cuties and wondering how I can smuggle one home. Wait did I just say that out loud?? Pretend you did not hear that ;)

This is Merry Christmas by All Through The Night
Floss: Carries Creation Hearts on Fire

My picture from my last WIP update seems to have went missing and was replace with a blank space Hmmpphhh. Picasa Albums can be touchy sometimes I guess.
From A Stitchers Ramblings


I am taking part in a year long exchange with
This Group and the person I am stitching for this year is this Gal
Jennifer Go take a peek at her blog.

Well friends I must say goodbye. It is shaping up to be a beautiful day in the neighborhood and I want to take advantage of the lovely sunshine before I head off to work tonight.

So till next time needles up!!
Natasha