Oh What a Party!

In a recent post I had made a comment about a frog sitting on my shoulder and that most of what I had stitched had to be unstitched.

Well, I got the funniest package from Harmien. She sent me an envelope full of frogs. The thread is called  "Flipping Frogs". She suggested that maybe if they all partied together they would leave me alone. She apologized because there wasn't room in the envelope for the booze.  I provided the booze and this is what happened.

The wooden frog has now taken up residence on the side of my ort jar right by my elbow. He's a jealous fellow and I haven't had a visit from the frogs since.

Thank you so much Harmien for lifting my spirits and making me laugh.

Aren't stitching friends the best!!!!!!

A Gorgeous Exchange and a few other goodies

What a joy it was to open my mail box when I returned to my Arizona home.

There were wonderful gifts and some purchases I had made waiting for me.

First off, from my wonderful friend Sandra who lives in Portugal. We had agreed on a private exchange and this is the lovely package that arrived in my mailbox.

This is the lovely project bag, pincushion and scissor case she made for me. Isn't it gorgeous. Her stitching is absolutely perfect and the finishing is just as beautiful.

Included in the package were some lovely gifts - thread winders, rings, skeins of floss, two designs and a pair of scissors from a Paris needlework shop, a pattern for some stuffed pincushion birds, some lovely fridge magnets, an angel heart and a lovely Swarovski necklace that I wore out to dinner that night.







 Thanks to the wonderful Melissa I had to have this latest pattern to add to my evergrowing stash of lighthouse patterns. How cool is that! - a lighthouse biscornu.

Browsing Ebay one evening I found several copies of very old Just Cross Stitch magazine and before you knew it, my finger had clicked on bid. They are now in my possession. And the cool part - one magazine has the very earliest Prairie Schooler patterns in it!
 

From my friend Deb (no blog) in Virginia came this amazing collection of Oriental fabrics. They have now joined my pile of quilting stash!

And finally, my rather sad progress on my Desert Mandala. I completed one of the flower sections on the right top and started on the next one. I have done a little secret stitching but I cannot share it as yet.

I do have a little more to share with you but this post has gone on long enough.
I find loading photos on blogger so stressful any more. They move everywhere but where I want them to go and I end up deleting them several times till they land where they are supposed to be. Am I the only one with these issues?

And Harmien, those frogs are still partying!!! Photos to come in next post.

My son is recovering amazingly well and will be back to work next week. I don't think further updates are needed unless something changes. Thank you so much everyone for all your caring and kind words. All of your prayers helped ensure my son's successful surgery and rapid recovery and are greatly appreciated by my family and I. Sending big hugs of thanks to you all.

Residing on the sofa

Bob was released from the hospital today. He is at home residing on his sofa. He says he is going to stay there so that no sofa thief can steal it. He is uncomfortable but in no great pain. He goes back to the doctor in a couple of weeks to check his medications.
Me, I'm going to sleep for a week and then I am going to pick up my stitching. I have stitched barely anything in the past two weeks or so. What few stitches I have put in have been pulled out because a frog came and perched on my shoulder. The little monster was much too comfortable I guess.
Hopefully I will have stitching photos in a few days.
DH and I are flying back to Arizona on Monday to continue our winter stay. We will spend some quality time with our younger son and two grandsons before we leave.
Thank you everyone who has kept up with our son's situation. It is appreciated.
Stitching friends are the best!!!!!!

Positive Update on Bob

Visited Bob at the hospital this afternoon and evening. He is doing very well. The doctor is pleased and amazed at how quickly he is recovering. All tubes and wires are off. He is sitting up and even walked for a bit. He says he is tender but not really sore. Four little cuts - they actually encircle the adrenal with a balloon and pull it out through one of the slits. No heavy pain meds for him. His replacement medication seems to be working well. The doctor has released him for tomorrow morning. His wife will pick him up in the morning and they will head back home to recover for the next couple of weeks. What a relief that it is over!

Successful Surgery

Our son made it through his surgery with flying colors!!! Dr. said he did amazing. His blood pressure and heart rate never wavered. He is in recovery and will be in his room tomorrow. He should be going home in a couple days. He will be off work for a couple weeks. They started his replacement medication immediately.
We have all heaved a tremendous sigh of relief!

There are not enough words to thank you all for prayers and messages. I believe all those prayers helped!
Thank you all from myself and my entire family.

Mexico was fun!!!!

What a busy few days it has been.
We had 8 wonderful days cruising the Mexican Riviera. We stopped in Acapulco, Ixtapa and Manzanillo. The weather was great and we had such fun. We were about 20 couples. There was never a shortage of things to do. My favorite part - having my bed made, having my meals cooked and served with style, having my dishes done for me and having my bed turned down at night and chocolates on the pillow. Who can resist such a vacation!!!! The young man who took care of our room made us a little animal from the towels - each night a different one. This one was my favorite!!

We saw the cliff divers in Acapulco and they were amazing! I have a great video but it is sideways and I can't figure how to flip it to show it to you. This shot is of the cliffs that the divers jump from. There is a shrine to Our Lady of Guadeloupe up the cliff. You can see the houses hanging off the hillside behind. If you make the photo larger you will see a sign top right that says Miramar. That is a hotel. How would you like to have one of those hotel rooms!!!! For me - NO WAY!!!

The city of Acapulco - much as any other large city - I can do without it . Here are a couple of shots of the Bay and the view of New Acapulco which is over the mountains from the city itself.

Ixtapa - we had been there before and so we stayed on board ship and had some fun times.

Manzanillo - very interesting commercial seaport. We walked the town and browsed the shops. It was Sunday afternoon and the stores were crowded with the local people. This gorgeous statue is in the market square. It looks like a marlin to me.

My stitching while I was gone - a sad amount of progress on Desert Mandala. There were just too many other things to do.

I stitched the section left bottom.
When I came home, this RR was in my mailbox. I stitched my part and it is ready for mailing Monday. Only 2 more to go and this RR will wrap up.

I received a note from Sandra that she received the first of my personal exchanges. Sandra is a beautiful quilter and crafter.I met her doing a Fair and Square exchange and we have stayed in touch. I decided to do something a little different for her. I made her 4 placemats using huck towelling and swedish weaving. I included some fabric, thread and patterns for her to try it for herself. I also added one of my homemade ort boxes, a handmade goodie bag, some pretty scissors, a fob that I made, and a pretty glass necklace. I only have a photo of part of the exchange but you get the idea. It is such fun putting together each exchange and trying to make it special for each person.

And my mystery quilt - here are all the strips sewn together.I have worked on it steady for the past two days.  This quilt has been a huge challenge and I am happy that I was able to complete it. It is certainly not perfect but it turned out ok. I will add three accent borders and it will be in our quilt show next weekend. The colors are very washed out in the photo. They are actually very vibrant.

I have over 370 posts in my google reader to catch up on. I will do my best to get through them and comment where I can.

We fly home on the 11th. I may not post before that but I will try and put a brief note after my son's surgery on the 16th if all goes well.

Till then, I hope your stitching makes you smile.