Life With Jules, and other stuff

...Sylvia! I used a computerized random generator (www.random.org) to choose the winner this time around. Even though there were 17 comments posted, I physically counted 18 entries. All but 3 people had 2 entries each. 1 of those 3 individuals had 3 entries. So, using the numbers 1 through 18, the random generator chose 15. Unfortunately, I couldn't save the image of the generator or copy the HTML into this post. Sylvia, I will be in touch with you Tuesday for your mailing address. Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway!! My next giveaway will happen sometime in the Fall for my 2nd Blogoversary.

 Well, I promised another giveaway, something of the patriotic sort, and decided that Memorial Day would be the date! Now for the giveaway part: it will be a SURPRISE!!!  :D To start things off, I want to pay tribute to the veterans and currently serving members of our Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force (formerly Army Air Corps), Marines, and Coast Guard. Yes, the Coast Guard is part of our defense system and even served during WWII in an active capacity. I visited one such ship in Key West last summer. ***** What is a Vet? Some Veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a Vet just by looking. What

Pointing to the Women in Military Service Memorial Of course, I had to take a picture of the Navy shield!!! The Women in Military Service Memorial, Washington D.C. Not sure which statue this is, but it was just after crossing the bridge from Arlington. Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery Recognize this? You should! It's from WWII. This statue is/was located in Sarasota, FL.

This post is a tad early, but I felt the need to share with you now. I have been seeing a lot of images and posts about Memorial Day! I am really thankful for all of those who have served or are serving. I am also thankful to have served my country. Anyway, here is a link to some background information on the holiday. Please take a moment to read through as it is pretty interesting!  Have you been watching the movies on TCM this weekend (Edgar probably has been, lol ;D)?! I haven’t really watched them, most I have seen sooo many times already. However, I am watching one of my all-time faves, Mister Roberts . I remember the first time I watched this movie as a teen (of course it’s always been in reruns since I am still in my (late) 30s). I fell in love with it! Henry Fonda and James Cagney are just hilarious – and Mr. Cagney does make an incredible Commanding Officer on the USS Reluctance. While none of my Captain’s were like his character, I did serve under an upper enlisted who wa

Well, here it is the middle of the last week of May! I had a wonderful birthday weekend and am looking forward to next week when I go to Michigan, with my big sister. It is our first road trip together, EVER! Keep in mind, I am 38 and she is 41. We did not grow up together as we have different mothers. We’re gonna have soooo much fun! On the stitchy front, I received a beautifully stitched PIF today from Lisa ! Thank you so much! I love it!!! Here is a snap of the front: and the reverse: I just love the backing fabric (well, blue is my favorite color, lol)!! I also mailed out a very super-shhhh RAK today as well as another PIF. Here are a couple of sneaky peaks: I am so excited for the recipients I can’t stand it!

94 Days of Sizzlin' Summer Especially if you are a designer!!!

My dad and I took off on a “Sunday drive” through Western Pasco County and Southern Hernando County today. As we were winding our way through Spring Hill and Brooksville, we happened upon a sign that read “Hernando County Boat Ramp”. I didn’t realise there was a lake hidden in all of that scenery, but there was. Here are some pictures of Mountain Lake as seen from the boat ramp area: When we got home I looked up the crossroads on Google Maps and lo and behold I came up with this: View Larger Map That lake is huge! I mean, I have seen much, MUCH bigger lakes (being from Michigan and all), but the little bit we were able to see from the boat ramp didn’t do any justice to it. We will have to make our way back up there to really get some views (camera in tow of course)! And the update… I don’t have too many entries for my giveaway as of yet. There are only 7 more days to enter. I will take entries until 8pm May 31st and then I will have to draw from what I have. I really don’

I went to renew my vehicle’s tags yesterday an decided to pop into the thrift shop next door. You all have influenced me to visit these shops more often. I am glad that I did! Just look what I found: After that, I mosied over to Tampa Palms to the local (to me) JoAnn’s to pick up some floss and possible fabric for a secret piece. Well, I got the floss, but no fabric, so I went with what I had in my stash. I will show pics as soon as I know the receiver has received this secret (will be mailed next week). I also thought I would share one of the potential items for my giveaway .  These are called “Uptown Girls”. They can be used for embroidery/needlework or trimming nails. I know they are out in shops, but I purchased these from our hospital gift shop (they were mixed in with nail trimmers and files). I am going to give you the opportunity to pick which pair you would like to receive in your prize package if your name is pulled. Please note that if you want one of the blondes,

I am a wee bit late on the TUSAL post for this month. I haven't really done a lot of stitching over the past month mainly due to being busy with my Thesis and picking up hours at the florist over the holiday. Here is my jar: The little bits of bright blue you see near the top are from the GOS #6 Challenge/floss tag I recently did. The rest are the bits that I have gathered since the last update. I also want to remind everyone that I am having a Memorial Day giveaway. Check out that post here . There are only 4 comments so far and I am sure hoping to get more. I can say for certain that the prize package will include a cute pair of scissors, a beaded scissors fob, something patriotic made by me, and a little surprise. Pass the word along to your friends!

Well, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I need a little help from all you stitchy peeps who read my blog. I recently received 3 needlepoint pieces that are incomplete. One of them is a Bucilla kit called "camellias" from who knows when. Fortunately, I don't think anything is missing other than the needle, lol. What I really need help on are the other two. I only received the stamped fabric for each. No charts. No floss. So here's my dilemma. I need to know what they are called and how I can go about replacing the chart and/or floss for each. I am going to have to Woolite them for a period of time as they are stained. I know they are salvageable in that regard. I would like to finish them...well, start them over and finish them, as the existing stitching needs to be removed ever so carefully. Here are some pics: First up is one from Dimensions dated 1990: Next is one also from Dimension dated 1991: And here is the Bucilla:

Me and Mom in Lacoochee, FL - mid to late 1970s

Just a quick note to remind you that there are some great giveaways, which are ending soon! Be sure to check out my "Giveaways" section to the right!!!

Well, as promised, I am posting a couple of pictures on my latest little creations. This floss tag is my rendition of the GOS #6 Challenge . I had to play with the lettering a bit as the charted letters were too big. Fortunately, one of the charts I received from a giveaway had a perfect alphabet choice. So, without further ado I give you “I only have red thread”:  And here is the progress I made on the Christmas Design SAL over at Yoyo’s : Not much, but it’s something for the month of April. I am going to try to finish this section up for May, but I also have school deadlines, so we will see how it goes! My mom sent me a lovely card. She enclosed a photocopy of the MSU Football team’s autographs that one of the techs received. She told me that the team came to the nursing home to visit the residents and some of the techs went gaga over them. LOL! Anyhoos, one of them kindly allowed my mom to photocopy her autographs to send to her favorite Spartan…ME! Here is a pic of the car

Well, this post has taken some time to get to. I have several small things that I worked on over the past week while I was laid up in bed with an upper respiratory infection. My head was so congested, that after trying to spend a little time on my thesis, I gave up and found some quick designs. My sister came over one day, before I got all sick and everything, and asked me how I do my back-stitching. I pulled out a bib (aida) and one of the charts I won in a giveaway (thanks again Cindy Mae !) and showed her. She was really impressed with how deliberate I am in my stitching. She said it is much like she is in her floral design. Anyhoo, here’s the bib: Stitched on 14ct Charles Craft White Aida Bib DMC Floss colors Alphabet from Leisure Arts Leaflet #407 I also decided to participate in the Gift of Stitching magazine’s Creative Stitching #6 . Here is my rendition, to be completed as a floss tag using Vonna’s tutorial : Stitched on 18ct Oatmeal Aida DMC Floss color Pattern says

This will be the first of two posts. I wanted to get this out there right away, and will post my stitchy news in another post in a little while. May is probably my all-time favorite month of the year. Partly because of the wonderful holidays we celebrate: May Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Armed Forces Day, and Memorial Day to name a few. Hey, did you know that today also marks the beginning of National Postcard Week?! Well, for those of you involved in the Postcard Exchange, let’s make this a spectacular week and send out some postcards. I will make it a point to send out a postcard to everyone who (1) requests one – just email me at frggygrl@aol.com with your post information, and (2) I have already sent one too, just to celebrate this week! And the most important reason May is my all-time favorite month?! You guessed it! It is the month in which I celebrate the anniversary of my birth. The 21st to be precise! Here is a little holiday trivia for that day:   May 21st