Good morning! I thought I should write an update, since it's been awhile. Guess I've been cross stitching more than computering... I finished another angel ornament, but she was an easy one. The design is from another Better Homes & Gardens Christmas cross stitch magazine, this one from 2003.

I also started the Sandra Cozzolino "Day Without Cross Stitching" design I wrote about before vacation. I hadn't stitched much till about the last week. Here is my current progress on it:

Now it's Friday, end of the second week of school. And the beginning of a three-day weekend. The weather's going to be gorgeous, and we aren't going to be staying home. We are going to enjoy the end of summer and get outside, play, and visit our family. Hope you have a great weekend too!

It's Thursday, and it's been almost two weeks since I finished the cross stitch projects I have posted pictures of before. I have done enough of my new projects to post pictures of them. But first I thought I should post the finishes, so here they are.

I finished stitching the angel almost two weeks ago, and I finished the angel ornament last weekend. I finished the cat before we went on vacation, so I could take a new project along.

My son started back to school this week, so we've been pretty busy with those back-to-school things. It's been a long week! Looking to the weekend...

Hello! Whew! My son and I just returned yesterday from Branson, where we stayed in the Branson Windmill Inn four nights. We chose it despite the negative reviews because it fit our (narrow) requirements - indoor pool, less than $50 a night, two beds. Plus, we had stayed in the Cobblestone Inn, which is now part of this motel, in 2005, so were familiar with the place.

In my opinion, the good outweighed the bad, but it depends on what is important to you. The room was clean, except the carpet could've used a thorough shampoo, and the maid service was early, so that the room was always made up when we returned. We went to White Water each day, and spent the hot afternoon hours in our room. We only wanted to swim in the pool one night, and it turns out it was closed, so we used the outdoor pool, for a while.

The good, to me, included the fact that there were very few people staying there. Three of the four nights we were there, the rooms on each side of us - and below and above us - were unoccupied, so there was no TV at midnight, no doors slamming, no sounds like someone is moving furniture above us, and no jockeying for a parking spot. Access was good as well, with access to Tanger Boulevard to Wildwood to Gretna, as well as to 76 between the Track and Kids Kountry, which are next to the motel.

As mentioned, we went to White Water each morning for a couple or three hours, till it got good and hot; then we would return to our motel room for the afternoon, going out and about again about 5:00. We did mostly shopping. And as for food, alas, we did the fast food tour of Branson - McDonald's, Wendy's, A&W in the Factory Merchants Mall, Domino's pizza at White Water. We did eat on Wednesday night at Ruby Tuesday, but there was no local flavor on this trip. Comes with traveling with an 11-year-old who is quite set in his ways...

By Friday, he was quite tired of the same things in Branson, so we took the short trip north 35 miles to Springfield. There, we visited Toys R Us and the Battlefield Mall, before heading on home, down Highway 60. We stopped for gas and then in Monett, MO, at Wal-Mart for foodstuffs needed when we got home, and were home by the evening.

Now it's the weekend, and time to think about school starting next week. He's starting sixth grade, so that means middle school and all things new. Well, except for his friends, and that's something he's definitely looking forward to.

Hi, my vacation has begun. Well, being off work has begun; our actual vacation doesn't start till Monday, when we go to Branson for a week. So today I'm starting to get ready. You know, set up hold mail, hold newspapers, car checks, etc., etc. And school starts the week we come back, so we have to get ready for that as well...

On the cross stitch front, I finished the cat and rose last night, and am almost finished with the poinsettia now - stitching anyway. (No new scans yet; had to wash.) I have been diligently backstitching today. I want to start a whole new project to take with me on vacation. At this moment, it will be "A Day without Stitching" by Sandra Cozzolino, a design that's been in my "to do" stack for a while now. Or maybe Sue Hillis' "Grandmother's Legacy." Depends on my mood when I get ready to start - and what fabric I have...

Meantime, I'll write again after vacation!

It's August! That means it's hot and humid in Arkansas, and it also means that my vacation is less than a week away!

I have done more cross stitching since last I wrote about my current projects, and here is my latest progress.

The kitty is taking shape on the cat and rose design; her right eye is done, and left eye is close. Only ears and backstitch to go after that. And I am down to working on backstitching the pink poinsettia; you can tell what a difference it makes! Will I finish one or both before vacation? I may have to start something else then. Hmmm...