Tiny bit of catching up

First things first

Baby girl turned one a few weeks ago. 

A friend came and took pictures for us. First we went to the Rose Garden for pics of baby girl then she stayed and took pics during her birthday party. I will have more pictures to share later but she edited and sent this one for me to put in Christmas cards. I know she took over 800 that day, just don't know what the final count was after she went through them.

 I can't believe how much this girl has grown. This time last year she was just a little bitty thing.

Still missing daddy every day. Thank goodness for baby girl and little man. (River, my brother's two year old grandson) They bring so much joy to our family but there is always that little twinge of knowing how much daddy would be enjoying whatever happens to be going on at the time.

I did get a few ornaments made this year. 

(still have two to get finished but cold weather does a number on my hands and it makes it hard)

Joy Y'all by Red Bird Designs

It's an older chart but I just got around to stitching it this year.

The fabric has been in my stash for a long time but the package said it was True colors, 28ct evenweave "sponged'. (completely white on the back) I'm pretty sure it came from HL. I used all DMC except for his hat which is Classic Colorworks, Whatley Woodlands.

I made the cording following Vonna's video. She has great tutorials.

Sorry the pic is so dark. I didn't have the tree up yet and it was a rainy day but I wanted to get the pic before I gave one of them away. The other one is on my tree and I will try to get a better picture later. This is the piece I took with me to France. I can't tell you which one was actually stitched on in France (I didn't get much stitching done there) but they were on the same piece of fabric so they both went along!

Baby girl's ornament for this year came from an old Leisure Arts book, 250 Christmas Quickies. I subbed a couple of colors and added a jingle bell for the ornament, then used the same video (Vonna)  to make the two color cording. The fabric is 28ct Brittany, color is potato. Again, been in the stash for a long time. I had yard of this at one time but it's almost gone. 

Stitched this little Santa with his trumpet for Tyler (he plays the trumpet) from another oldie book, 365 Quick Christmas Designs by Kooler Design Studio. All DMC floss and again, made the cording. Same fabric as above.

I'll have to get back to you on this one. 

I flat out wrote the wrong thing in my notebook.

99.9% sure it was from a JXS ornament issue (2007?).  I stitched it once, years ago, and gave it away but I loved it so I bought the cording/tassel to stitch it again for myself and finally got to it this year.

When I say these things have been in my stash for awhile I'm talking before 2009. (I just don't know how much before that - we moved in 2009 so that's how I know 2009) 

Every year I tell myself I am going to get better organized and keep better notes -  it hasn't happened yet.

That's it for today. If I don't get back before then

Merry Christmas 

and 

Happy New Year!

 

Seven Weeks

 Daddy has been gone seven weeks today. 

I know life goes on but I am still somewhat in a state of shock.

Thank goodness for the babies.

Little man turned two last week and I couldn't help but go back and look at pictures from last year.

He doesn't need any help eating cake anymore! 

Daddy sure did love feeding that kiddo - anything he wanted! 

Great memories for us. I'm afraid little man will only remember in the stories we tell and in pictures.

He has gotten so big!

And then there is baby girl - no hair, no teeth but a smile to light up a room! I can't believe she will be a year old soon.

I did actually get something stitched. I had started this a day or two before daddy went in the hospital, then it sat untouched for weeks. I finally picked it up and finished the stitching and actually got it fully finished with a few days to spare. 

I changed the fabric to 32ct Lavender Lugana and painted the Tim Holtz clock black. 

This is the second time I stitched this one. I stitched it a few years ago for a gift and I really didn't want to give it away - so I bought the fabric and clock to do it again for myself and finally got to it.

It is stitched over one to make it fit in the clock. 

Hope you have a Halloween filled with treats and no tricks.

Time

 There is never enough time.

I've tried to write this many times over the past nine days. It's not easy.

After a sudden illness, two major surgeries and nine days in ICU, my daddy was reunited with my mother on September 11, 2024. 

We have a lot of memories and I know they will provide comfort in the days to come but dang, I was not ready for this. None of us were.

Never one to back down from a challenge, he zipped lined across the Royal Gorge one day after his 80th birthday. What a great trip that was!

I'm so grateful we got to take the trip to France in May - a trip he had wanted to make for a long time. He drank champagne at the top of the Eifel Tower at 82. (Mine! He swiped my glass right of my hand!) We saw all 5 beaches in Normandy, Mont Saint Michel and The Palace of Versailles. He was quite fascinated with the baguettes. So much fun.

 People have asked if he kept up with us while on that trip - the truth is we were having trouble keeping up with him! 

They were married in 1961. I'm sure when they said in sickness and in health they had no idea what that would look like. Mother was diagnosed with MS in 1984 and told she would be lucky to make it 5 years. She was stubborn and showed them. They had been married for 57 years when she passed in 2019. He took care of her those last, hard years an did everything he could to keep her home. I know he has missed her these past 5 years - we all have.

The reward for 83 birthdays. Daddy with the two youngest great grandbabies in June of this year. They were the light of his life. No matter what kind of mood he was in when those babies showed up he was all smiles. 

How do you say goodbye to someone who was always there?

It's going to take awhile to wrap our heads around this one.

Love you forever.

Omaha Beach

The view from our 'home' the second part of our trip.

The rest of these are in no particular order but were taken at Omaha Beach, the visitors center there and  at the American Cemetery.

 

There were six of these huge 'panels' that showed the movements of the troops

This area was behind a fence where they were getting ready for events marking the 80th anniversary - we were there a few weeks before the actual anniversary.

Random pics along the route either to or from...

We visited all 5 beaches over the course of three days - more pics to come.

Cousins

 Before we get back to photos from France...

These babies!

Pure joy. 

You just can't be in a bad mood with them around.

They both have the sweetest personalities.

But they are growing way too fast!

More Photos From France

 These are all out of order but when I try moving stuff around I end up losing pictures and get frustrated so we are going with what I have!

My request for the trip was a needlework shop. The only one I found listed was Sajou in Versailles and we just happened to be going to Versailles so...

 

The tiny sign in the window - that's Sajou and that's the only signage. Your tap on the window and they will meet you at the side door. 

Fun fact - many businesses close from noon until 2:00 for  lunch. We hit it during that time frame so we went for lunch then returned.

The lady is super sweet and does speak English - she did have to ask us fast talkers to slow down a bit. It's a tiny place but packed with goodies. I could have come home with much more than I did but I had limited luggage space so I had to restrain myself!

I knew I wanted a pair of scissors and chose this small pair.

Love them!

The piece with scissors on it is actually a dish towel but I haven't decided what I am going to do with it yet. The front piece is cotton fabric. I will probably make a project bag with that. Eventually.

We actually stopped in Versailles on the way to our second destination. We ran out of time to look for it the day before because the Palace is HUGE. The store is actually just across the street from the palace.

The following pictures are actually from the first day in Versailles. Some are just random pics taken on our way to the Palace along with some pictures from the palace grounds. We didn't make it inside - we didn't even see all the outside. It's huge and a maze. They have maps, thankfully. They do rent golf carts but you have to be there really early to get them and they are limited. If you want to see all of it, I recommend getting there early and getting a cart! It was also hot, especially in the sun. I don't know if the inside has a/c since we didn't have time for touring the inside. 

The back side of the palace

They were spiffing up the place getting ready for the Olympics.

  It's a maze and confusing - even with the map. 

Random street on the way to the palace - lots of narrow streets with cars parked making them even smaller! (told you they were out of order)

Front side of the palace - I think there is more than one entrance.

Another picture from the back side - it was fenced off and they were preparing for something. Don't know if it was connected to the Olympics or what.

Snack time - daddy liked the truck! Said grandpa had one like it.

We took a bus over and then walked to the palace.

An outdoor market on the way to the palace. 

Had to stop and get daddy a cap - he forgot his!

More to come.

Between the 4 of us there are almost 1200 pictures!