Spring Break....

Spring is in the air.....
my good friends and fellow stitchers! And our school corporation is on Spring Break! Whoo Hoo!
Let me tell you, I needed a break in a big way and have taken ample advantage of sitting my ample backside in a chair and stitching!

Since we last met in late February....

• I've completed my four surgeries
• 5 out of 6 Pfeiffers were hit with the stomach flu (that's 83% for those of you that were wondering) ~ the survivor you ask? Well it is he of the iron immunity...Mr. Pfeiffer! The man never ceases to amaze me....in many multiple ways!
• We have attended another awards ceremony for Miss Katie  ~ who won the Young Playwright Project writing contest. Her play "Sizzling Soda" - about bacon flavored soda -  won first place (another $50 in her pocket). The actors even performed her play on stage during Playwrights Weekend - it was very funny, imagine four bottles of soda - Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Fanta Orange and a new kid on the block Bacon Flavored Soda...well through a bunch of mishaps Dr.Pepper gets knocked off the shelf and Sprite has a crush on Bacon....well it was hilarious..Katie....she's a winner! ;o)
• Master Ian and Master Jake have joined band themselves playing saxophones
• Katie and Ellie have become shopping masters...both getting their coupon's worth at Kohl's and Aeropostle - they are ready to go back to school sporting their new spring wardrobe (literally)....
• Mr. Pfeiffer is working his little fingers to the bone to pay for new saxophones and spring wardrobes
• And me? Well....I'm just shuttling every one here and there and carrying their bags.... :)

Here's a sample....
of what has been accomplished on my ample backside...may I present:

"Hillside Travelers"

Designer: Diane Williams ~ Little House Needleworks

Stitched one over one on 25 ct. Vonna Hand-dyed Lugana

Stitched with: DMC, Crescent Colours, Gentle Arts and Week Dye Works as charted

copyright 2010 Little House Needleworks

photographed with my pencil to gauge size

I am thoroughly...

enjoying this piece and cannot wait to see it all done because I think stitching it one over one is going to really make it darling ~ tiny and cute. We'll see as my needle continues on....

To show that....

my boys really aren't dungeon dwellers and that we love them too ;) Here's their new Saxophones ($4000 worth of them....ahem and double yikes....) and look at them lying on the floor amongst their God only knows how much money worth of Legos they've accumulated over the years, their sheet music, oh look there's a Storm Trooper station in the upper right corner and in the lower left is a poor discarded church shoe...poor lads, I always have them working away cleaning their room. Honestly we don't live like pigs. They choose to live like pigs....each Saturday I  make them clean it completely - dust, vacuum, pick up....totally perfect. By 6 p.m. Sunday evening...its back to the sty.

Oink!

Ian and Jake's new Saxophones

During Spring Break....
I've done some things to "spruce" up a bit here in the old homestead. I'm a big fan of Country House online catalogue. I heart it, big time. Well I've seen thisWindow Star in the catalogue (they have it in white too). You know, I heart me some stars too. Well, we have 17 windows in the homestead and I'm thinking after spring wardrobes and saxophones that Mr. Pfeiffer would have something to say about $170 worth of window stars. So I got to hunting and I found some wooden stars at Factory Direct Crafts and I bought some! So for a measly $40 the entire homestead, now has a purdy star in each window! Here's a sampling of a couple of my favorite windows:

Window above the kitchen sink

(That's my Grandma's old Ball jars - I have nearly 40 of them (all sizes from fruit jars with glass lids to quart size with zinc lids) and they are on the top of my cabinets. Every so often I have some filled with white daisies like this one in the window)

My stitching chair window
(and my galloping stallion - also from Country House and totally copied from Diane Williams - look at Battle Hymn of the Republic chart photo)

We I sure have been busy this spring break....
I even woke up the neighbors early one morning because I inherited this mess lovely copper tub from my Mama (actually I saved it from the trash bin)...she should have had her backside paddled because she had smashed, dented, squashed it down using it as a firewood hauler - and this is my Aunt Katie's tub (who Katie is named after). It was in horrible shape. But enter Vonna with handy dandy rubber mallet, some good old elbow grease,  and some of that copper shine paste stuff...and I turned this sow's ear into a silk purse! I rolled up some of my inherited quilts and put my Granny's washing board by it and BAM! instant vignette by Chatty's Scratching Tree. Makes me smile each time I pass it  :)

Old Copper Wash Tub

So...

There ya go stitching fans...a database dump for those of you that have e-mailed because they've missed me...which makes my heart sing that people actually miss me! Thank you, I am humbled. I know I sure don't blog as much as I used to, but I'm still here and still kickin'....I just have four very active children, three of which are in everything under the sun (karate, band, boy scouts, band, jazz band, concert band, young winds..) well not really everything, just the things they are in (some kind of band) is really very active (Jazz Band, Karate) and if I'm not here (Karate parking lot), I'm there (School Parking lot) waiting (in the parking lot) for them (at Karate or band) to finish (on the road driving somewhere to anywhere) their practice (fall into bed exhausted).

Yep...

so that's the life with four kids. And I thank God every day that I have the health and stamina to do all that he has blessed me with! Not to mention a real winner of husband that works hard so that I can stay home with them. Each and every one of my little loves are a blessing and I shall never complain, even though I do get exhausted from time to time (OK, every day). :)

So until next time...

A little shout out of my purdy star studded windows, here at the homestead....(please ignore Little Tykes wrecked Cozy Coupe and Desk on the side of garage...that is the "drive through" McDonald's Window...where Miss Ellie and the neighbor kids play restaurant)....too bad we can't drive through there every evening for supper. That would save some time ;)

The Pfeiffer Haus

And until we meet again, I'll be keeping my hands to work and heart to God!
Hugs and love,