Home....

HOME: (definition): 1. one's place of residence 2. familiar surroundings.

All I can say is: It's good to be HOME....we went on a 4 day mini vacation with the kids from Tuesday until this evening and I never wished nor longed for a place more than HOME! ;)

We went to Holiday World and Splashing Safari two days in a row, we stayed 4 days and 3 nights at Lake Rudolph in a King Size RV...sound luxurious...not really....we went to Blue Springs Caverns and we rounded out the vacaton at Abe Lincoln's Boyhood National Memorial.

Holiday World and Splashing Safari (formerly called "Santa Claus Land" when I was a youngster) is the best amusement park around in my honest opinion. It's clean, it's fun and the owners focus on family - what more could you ask for? Lake Rudolph is owned by the same family as Holiday World and the RV's were fun for the kids, we ate hot dogs and made smores around the campfire each evening. What a hoot we had! Blue Springs Caverns, is just a hop skip and jump from our home, but we'd never been there and it was relaxing and informational, and brought out the adventurer in all of us and Lincoln Boyhood Memorial made me proud not only to be an American but a Hoosier (Indiana Resident). Although Keith and I have been many times to Lincoln's boyhood home, (every Southern Indiana child has a field trip to this site during 4th grade Indiana History), our children had never been and I must say - I've not been for probably 10 years and they've made some super upgrades to the homesite itself and had a knowledgeable, period dressed "Thomas Lincoln" at the homesite and he gave lots of great information to the visitors. They also added lots of farm animals and the kids got a hoot out of the cows, sheep and chickens. Ellie chased this poor hen around the perimeter of the fence about 10 times before the hen finally found an escape route! Exhausting, but a lovely time with the family...no phones, no t.v. just good together time, well spent!

Now on to the secret stitching I've done of late.....

First up: I stitched up this monochromatic design for the Make a Wish Board and specifically for my wisher - Andrea. She asked for a Quaker design stitched monochromatically in any color and finished as a pinkeep - this is what I stitched for her:

Designer: A Mon Ami Pierre

Design: Octagonal Quaker Heart

Thread: DMC 115

Fabric: Sassy's Creamy Cocoa 32 ct.

Finished as: a Heart Shaped Pinkeep

Next Up: I had an exchanger on the Fair and Square board that didn't receive a set of squares, so I stitched up these for her:

Designer: Lizzie Kate

Design: Freebie from website entitled "Count Your Blessings"

Stitched on 32 Ct. Sassy's French Vanilla Lugana

Fibers: DMC

Stitched for Darla of Fair and Square

Next Up: I participated in the Fourth of July Fair and Square Special Holiday Exchange and stitched this for my partner, Kim S.:

Designer: Lizzie Kate

Design: Liberty for All

Stitched on: 32 ct. Tan Marble Sassy's Fabbys

Stitched for Kim S. of Fair and Square

Ok folks...well that's all for me for today....I was behind on reading blogs prior to my vacation and I'm disheartened at the reader's numbers today (993!)....thank you for your continued visits, well wishes, kind comments and everything...rest assured I WILL (I think I can, I think I can...) catch up and visit you back....thank you too for all my new readers...I've had a couple of you leave comments and I've added you to my list to read....I appreciate you all so much and you don't know what your kind thoughts and words mean to me!

Until next time my dear friends, stitch and live with joy!