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Well, we're back home again, after being gone for over a week. We had a lovely service for my MIL in Stillwater, OK. We saw relatives and friends we hadn't seen in a long time. It was a stressful trip, but we then traveled to Fayetteville, AR to stay with my sister and her family.

We really needed a break, and we couldn't think of a more beautiful and peaceful place to get some R & R. Something else we haven't seen in a long time---real trees! They had a really big ice storm this winter that damaged a lot of trees, mostly pines and magnolias, but they were still gorgeous to us. This is my sister's backyard AFTER the tree trimming.

Still beautiful, isn't it?

The flowers were blooming everywhere, like these bearded iris:

And these peonies, in every color imaginable:


It rained almost every day while we were there, but to us it was like manna from heaven! South Texas has been so dry lately, although after we got back we did get almost an inch of rain here.

We were missing our dog, Copper; but my sister's dog, Gypsy, made it her mission to keep us from getting homesick. We spoiled her while we were there! I wish I had gotten a picture of her.

We had a great time going to some garage sales with my sister and niece. We bought way too much stuff! We couldn't resist--garage sales here are pretty sparse. At one stop we found five large grocery bags full of fat quarters. They were marked 25 cents each or $25 a bag. We talked them down to $20 a bag and my sister and I bought all five bags! We then laid them all out and I took this one and she took that one, over and over until we had them split equally. Here are the bags I brought home:

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I enjoyed garage sale-ing so much that last weekend I did it again here. The sales weren't as good, but my prize purchase was this framed piece of scherenschnitte:

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On the way home, we stopped in Quitman, TX at Stitchin' Heaven. I bought the pattern and fabric for this purse there. It is a pattern by Kathy Fernholz for Indigo Junction called Pocket Perfect. It made up really quickly, although I added my own touches. It calls for one outer pocket but I made two. I lengthened the straps, and I also added two inner pockets to the lining, as shown in the lower photo. I love the purse, but I think I'd use a regular interfacing next time instead of the Timtex called for in the pattern. Just my preference.

My sister machine-embroidered the designs for these potato/vegetable bakers, and gave me the fabric. I made four of them there, and finished a fifth one here at home. I gave that one to my DIL. The ones that look yellow are actually a pale pink and the red one is actually maroon--I really need to get myself a new camera one of these days!


My sister also used her longarm quilting machine to quilt three tops I brought with me. I will be showing them when I get the binding on them. Thanks, sis!

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While we were gone, I received my charms from the charm swap at MixedMediaArt Yahoo group. I think they are all wonderful! I will make several bracelets from these when I get the time.

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Now that we are home, we have been moving my son and DIL into my MIL's house. They will be the caretakers until we are ready to sell it. Most of my MIL's stuff is still there; we will be going through it slowly over the next few months. My son and DIL have been living with us for 4 years now--it is time they had their own household. Once they are completely moved out of our house, I will be turning their area into my sewing and craft studios. It will take some time to rearrange everything in my house, but I am going to do it up right. It will be another 4 years before we are ready to move to Fayetteville, which has been our dream for several years.

Our other son will be home from Iraq tomorrow, and we were thrilled to learn that his next duty station will be here at Corpus Christi! That is if the Navy ever gets his orders cut. :-) He and his wife and three kids will be living near us for the first time. We are so excited! This is why we won't be moving for the next few years.

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My husband went to San Antonio this last weekend and received his 32 degree in Scottish Rite Masonry. His mother would be so proud--I know she is smiling from above. She always wanted him to do this, and he had hoped to get it done before she passed. He now can add this to his list of Masonic accomplishments!

He is on the road again now, to Stillwater, OK to attend a Tree Conference at OSU. When he returns I think he will be ready to put away his suitcase for awhile!

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