Life With Jules, and other stuff

Over the past couple of days, I have received two packages from giveaways I won recently! I am here to share them with you now. The first is from Kathy ’s giveaway. She gave away several charts recently that were of cats and dogs (and there may have been other animals). I won one of the dog booklets. Here is a picture of it: I am planning on stitching one or two of them for my sister, but I will be changing some of the floss colors to better represent her dogs. She has 9 dogs…ALL INDOORS!!! Ugh! LOL…They are a rowdy bunch, but as sweet as can be around the little ones (sis has 2 toddler grandkids and one a little older nearby and another toddler grandkid in TN – not to mention the 2 on the way). The second is from Terri ’s giveaway. There were a bunch of stitching goodies in the package so I took a few pictures of that: Yea, that’s my Sandy sticking her nose into it like the curious kitty she is. I asked her if she knew what curiosity did to the cat?! She didn’t seem to...

It’s hard to believe that I graduated high school 20 years ago! I attended my reunion this weekend in Orlando and found it interesting. Friday night was the actual reunion and maybe 50 classmates showed up. That’s a generous estimate. I guess many came to the 10 year and decided not to come this time around. Such a shame! I did meet up with one of my friends from that year. It was nice meeting some of my classmates for the first time. You see, I was a new student my senior year, so I had to play “catch up” on classes. This means I was in more underclassmen classes than Senior classes. Specifically, I ONLY had Senior English (Honors)! And I had to actually take classes with NO study hall whatsoever! AND PASS THEM ALL!!! LOL… Here is what I looked like back in 1990: Saturday night was a bit more fun. I enjoyed watching people get drunk! LOL. Shame on me!!! ;D I was able to catch up with a couple girls who were on the colorguard (I was a band geek). That was great fun! I also met a fe...

Yeah, I have the blahs today. Actually have had them for a few days now. Don’t want to work on my thesis. Don’t want to stitch. Just sitting in front of the computer playing stupid games. Ok, no more about the blahs. They take up too much of people’s lives! LOL Loretta, a big THANK YOU for the chart from your last giveaway! I did finally receive it, after some snafu’s with the mailing and the post. LOL…all is well and arrived save and sound. Now, who do I stitch the Strawberry House for and when?!? Lot’s to decide there! I do have an “orange blossom” update! Aren’t they getting so big?!? I just hope they don’t spoil before I can ship some to one of my friends. LOL And I do have a sunset pic to share:   Look at all of that orange! We do get some of the most beautiful sunsets around here. I found out over the weekend that a gentleman whom I had the pleasure of knowing and working with in Michigan passed last week after a series of illnesses. When I left MI in 2006 ...

Kodak Easyshare C190

Kodak Easyshare C190 - all 3 photos I like how this one is nestled amongst the trees.

While Lisa and I were in Michigan, I did some MapQuest-ing and decided to take a different route part way home. When we headed out of DeWitt (MI) on Monday evening, we picked up US 127 South. That was the highway we stayed on until Chattanooga (TN). The first night we managed to get lost in Cincinnati, TWICE ! Yea, we strayed off 127 somehow (me and my map reading abilities, LOL, and the GPS – only I can get lost using a GPS!). We did eventually find our way back on the right path and continued on to Frankfort (KY) where we spent the night. Here are some pics from the first leg of our 3 day journey home: Tuesday morning we awoke a little later than I normally would, knowing we had a full day ahead of us and not quite sure what we were going to do once we got to Chattanooga. I had never really been to Chattanooga before – only driven through on the Interstates – and there is so much there to see and do. Along the way, we saw more farms and cows, a ton of beautiful old architectur...

I have not done any stitching to speak of in the past month and therefore I don't have any update for my TUSAL container. I am working on a giveaway piece (Sylvia, it will be mailed very soon!). Other than that, my stitching is taking a backseat to my Thesis writing. I have a bit more to go and really don't want to get too sidetracked from it at this point.  I did manage to visit a new-to-me stitchy store yesterday. My dad and I went to visit his aunt and uncle in Leesburg (FL). They are not too far down the road from Mt. Dora, so we stopped over at A Stitcher's Dream . It is a smaller store, fairly new compared to others I have been in, but lots of goodies to choose from. I picked up a few items: Thread Heaven 32ct Belfast in Millennium Blue (10 x 10.5 in) 14ct Aida in Light Blue (8 x 14 in) Mill Hill's Festival of Trees - Victorian Tree (MH16-0302) kitted Designs by Lisa's You Had me at "Meow" chart Beehive Needleworks Peacock Pin Pillow chart...

A post that was supposed to happen a couple days ago, more pictures from the trip, a little stitching that was accomplished.  Look for some serious posting to happen over the weekend! It’s good to be home, but looking forward to the next sisterly road trip! Lisa and Julie @ Olive Garden in Gainesville, FL - 6/9/10 Until then…

Well, we are heading out later today. The plan is to take 127 south from mom’s all the way to Chattanooga, TN. We should arrive there sometime tomorrow. I don’t recall ever having taken this highway to Florida (mom and dad may have driven that route when I was a baby) so this will be a new adventure for me as well. My sister has been having a great time (although her hubby is missing her like crazy, lol)! I am so glad we have been able to take this trip together.  Here are a few pictures from our day trip to Holland, MI: I did pick one of the kits to begin. It is the Civil War one. I don’t like the fabric that came with it for 2 reasons: (1) it is STAMPED, yick; and (2) it is old-fashioned muslin, which I have never used and never will again. Learning experience… Don’t forget to check out some of the giveaways still in progress on the right side-bar!