It's called a "Happy Dance"!!!

Finally, some eye candy around this place. I know, I know, it's been fairly boring what with no blog and when there was a blog not much on the picture front. I'm trying to do better, but there's this whole thing about actually getting things finished that's a problem. However, I managed to fix that this week by picking up a piece that I had framed and finishing another piece.

First, the one I had framed. This was the commemorative sampler from the now defunct "Spirit of Cross Stitch". If you look I started this around 1995, ok, in 1995. You'll notice I actually finished it last year in 2008. I'm not to proud to point out the fact that it took me 13 years to finish this lovely sampler. I can deal with the fact that I'm easily distracted by new samplers, or beads, or yarn, or anything sparkly. I am well aware of my issues, and I know they are many. But you see, I'm really proud of finishing this. The quote is one of my favorites, because I believe it's true. I also believe more of us need to believe that quote and start believing in our own dreams and going about making those dreams come true, but that's a subject for another post. It's not hanging up yet, but it's going to hang on the wall above this table, so I thought I'd take the picture here. I'm going to move some things around in what is supposed to be the living room, but is really "the room where my piano that I rarely play lives".

The second piece of eye candy is the actual finish from this week. I finished during the Daytona 500. I realize that my ability to stitch during "The All-American Race", which this year was more build-up then race, could be construed as a bit odd, but hey, that's me.
Here I give you "Little Green Acorns", designed by Eileen Bennett of The Sampler House. This was also a class piece from A Stitchers' Gathering in Oct. 2007. Not bad, just about 1 year and 3 1/2 months or so. That's not quite a record, but still not bad for me. This was a great piece to work on and I adore the colors. It was hard to get a good picture because it's not stretched and I had it on roller bars so it wants to roll back on itself. There are plenty of great specialty stitches, including a fair amount of colonial knots. I'm pretty sure I ended up doing them more as Moss knots, but that's just between you and me. Either way, it does look great. (For those who want to scrutinize my stitches and see if my threads lay side by side, you do know you can click on the picture and see it much larger. I mean MUCH LARGER.) I can't wait to take it to my framers and see what they suggest for framing.

That's it for the eye candy today, although in my way of thinking that's plenty. I don't want you folks to get used to having lots to look at around here. That might cause all kinds of craziness.

For those who were wondering, I still haven't seen the Rheumatologist. That doesn't happen until a week from today. Believe me, I'm in major countdown mode for that one. I've had some bad days the last couple of weeks and I am anxious to hear what she will say about treatment options.

Finally, I my heart is heavy tonight for my DF Jean and her husband Richard. Today their very special daschund, Oscar, crossed over the rainbow bridge and went to play where all dogs go in time. I know neither of them were ready for this day. None of us ever are ready to loose someone we love no matter how much we think we might be prepared. I also know that Oscar was a very lucky hound to have spent his life with these two wonderful people. He will be not be forgotten, either by them, or by those of us lucky enough to have been greeted at his home by "His Royal Lowness". Oscar, your loyal subjects hearts are heavy tonight, but we know you're enjoying all the chicken nuggets you can eat where you are now.

More wedding pictures

I believe at least 1 person mentioned that I didn't include any pictures of the groom, or any of the other men involved in the wedding. Didn't mean to leave them out, but I don't have many of them. Here's the best of what I have.
That's Maria with her sweetheart Curtis. Don't they make a handsome couple?

Then there's this wonderful picture. I think it's my favorite, but then again, I'm a "daddy's girl" just like Maria.Mr. Alfred looks so distinguished, doesn't he? And guess what! He didn't cry. I just knew he would, but he fooled us all and only got, as I think he put it, a little misty eyed.

That does it for now. I know there were some pictures taken by the photographer that I'd love to share, but Maria hasn't gotten a chance to see them yet. So, there may be more at a later date.

The Wedding Gift

I thought I'd share with you what I gave Maria for her wedding gift. I had called and talked to her about what type of veil she was wearing and when I found out it wasn't one that went over her head, but rather would attach in the back and that she didn't have any "hair jewelry" already I asked if she would like some. So here's what I designed just for her.

 

I love this last picture. I think it shows off her hair and everything so well.

So I made them with some silver wire, some antique Swarovski crystals as well as some that were new, and some lovely slightly lavender seed pearls. I gave her 12 and she ended up using all of them. They were her "something new" and I'm so glad she liked them.

The Rest of the Wedding Story

I know, it's taken me forever, but things happen. So, without further ado, here's the rest of the wedding vacation story. I warn you, this is a REALLY LONG POST.

Thursday morning I went to meet DF Judy's friend and have a lovely cup of coffee and muffin at Starbucks. There is something to be said for a place where you can still enjoy your morning coffee while sitting outside at Starbucks at the end of June. I had decided I wanted to stop by and take a look at High Point College University before I headed over to Lenoir for the wedding weekend.

Boy was I surprised by what I saw. I knew things had changed, but at times I wasn't even sure exactly where I was. The campus was always beautiful and but it's really fantastic now. If you, or someone you know, is looking for a small, liberal arts university, this might be a good place to visit. Let me just say that this wasn't attached to the Student Center when Maria and I ran around campus..
Yes, that's a pool for the students and what you can't see is the hot tub and the cabanas at either end where students can get water, juice and beach towels. The Student Center looked different inside as well. I stumbled in there and was taken pity on by a very nice lady who then called and someone from Alumni Affairs came to give me a tour. It was nice to learn about all the building and what is happening.

I finally left HPU and headed west to Lenoir. I knew I'd found the right place when I saw this...The best part was the near proximity to food stores, so I made a run for water and wine coolers to fill the mini-fridge in my room before Maria arrived and the work started.

Thursday evening was mainly about getting my dress to the seamstress for hemming and getting the silverware Maria had picked up earlier rolled for the reception on Saturday. Well, that and seeing her parents, aunts, cousins, friends...well all the other people who were at her parent's house. Plus Thursday was Maria's birthday, so we had to celebrate. Dinner that evening was at her parent's house and was ribs and all the goodies that you normally associate with ribs in the south like potato salad and baked beans. I don't like beans, I realize this is strange, but they smelled good and everyone else said they were delicious. I do love ribs and potato salad and both were amazing! For desert we had thisI'm pretty sure it was a pound cake. Doesn't matter, it was delicious!!!! I think it was close to midnight when Maria dropped me and her cousin Rosalind and her son back at the hotel.

Friday morning I was up fairly early and met Rosalind at breakfast. Maria and I had planned to run errands Friday since there were some last minute things that needed to get done. She met me at the hotel and I drove us around. Kaye, another of the bridesmaids, joined us for the fun. Nothing out of the ordinary. We did end up going back to the hotel to get Rosalind and her son for a trip to Belk for some shopping. I managed to score a cute pair of flip flops and some stockings for the wedding. Yes, stockings. We all decided that the thought of wearing actual pantyhose under the long dress, with the "foundation garments" necessary to pull off said dress, just wasn't something any of us wanted to do. So stockings were purchased as well. There's something kind of fun about stockings, don't you think? (I'll leave it there for you all to think about.) We also had to make a stop at the Dollar Store for some things. Then it was lunch where Kaye's husband joined us and I think we might have managed to give our server a breakdown.

Friday evening was the rehearsal and dinner. Dinner looked good, but we had eaten so late that all I wanted was the banana pudding. YUMMY!! Plus I got "paged" and had to help Maria sort some things out. The rehearsal was pretty much like every wedding rehearsal. Long. I think we all left knowing what we were supposed to do the next day, so the mission was accomplished.

At some point on Friday, my room became the holding zone for all things flower related for the wedding. Here's what I mean...

The top 2 pictures are all corsages and boutonnières for some of the people who would be attending the wedding. I think I heard the number 100 thrown around, but there might have been less. The bottom picture are the hand pieces the female attendants carried at the wedding. There were more, I didn't think to take the picture until after some people had come by my room after the rehearsal Friday night and picked theirs up. They must have arrived Thursday at some point, because I think I remember Kaye and Rosalind checking the batteries for all of them to make sure they worked. Oh, they had fiber optics and lit up. They were so beautiful.

There was also a "steaming party" in my room after the rehearsal. We had taken the steamer from Maria's mom's house and put it in my room and with help from my trusty assistants Kaye & Rosalind, we steamed several dresses, including ours. It was a late night, but the aforementioned wine coolers helped some.

Saturday dawned fairly early as we had a Bridal Breakfast at 8:30 AM, or some such nonsense. All I know is I didn't get all that much sleep again that night/morning. A couple of pictures of us waiting to leave the hotel for breakfast.

Rosalind & I

Maria & I

Breakfast was another food fest. Scrambled eggs, this amazing baked cheese grit cassarole, bacon, fresh fruit and home made danish one of Maria's aunts had made. It was all delicious.

After breakfast we headed back to the hotel to start getting ready for the wedding. Hair first...

Maria first, plus she needed her nails touched up where they'd gotten chipped.


Then it was my turn. Maria's very talented sister-in-law, also a Teresa, did hair for several of us. We had to let Maria know in advance, and I made sure I got my appointment in when I heard she was willing to help us out. Teresa is not only a talented hair dresser, she's also a lovely person and just plain beautiful. Of course this picture doesn't show off either of us at our best, but hey, it takes effort to look like this...
Didn't Maria look beautiful? I know all brides look beautiful, but really, she's just stunning.

That picture kind of skips ahead to the reception, but what can I say. The wedding went off without a hitch from what I could tell. Well, there was the whole issue with it being pretty hot, and most of the girls feet hurting from the shoes, but in the grand scheme of things, that seems pretty minor now. I don't have pictures of the actual ceremony, I was in it, plus that was a job for a professional. I'm hoping that at some point I'll get to see the pictures the professionals took. I do know that the music was amazing. Oh, they did something different, or at least something I'd never seen. They had a "Sand Ceremony" instead of a unity candle. I liked that a lot better then the unity candle to be honest and must remember to ask Maria where she found it.

Being in the wedding party we were late to the reception and there was absolutely no parking. I ended up parking on a little lane, down the hill from the hall. Let me just say that the trek up the hill, in the dress and the heels didn't help my feet feel any better. Thankfully Kaye & Rosalind had purchased all 3 of us shiny new slippers for the reception and after about 30 minutes of no shoes, I could stand to put those on. My feet thank them still! Bet we still managed to have lots of fun. There was great food, delicious cake, plenty of iced tea and dancing. I partook of all and had fun doing it. Even learned a new dance or two. We partied well into the night. I think it was close to 11 when I drug into got back to my room. I still had to pack so I could leave early enough to meet DF Judy for lunch before my flight home on Sunday.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. The important things happened. Maria and I got to spend some time together, some just chatting and catching up, some just being together and getting things done. And of course, Maria & Curtis got married. I would not have missed it for the world. I have been blessed to have Maria as my friend all these years. I know we got off to a rocky start. Honestly, we couldn't live in the same room for love nor money. Yes, we were roommates, but not being roommates is what really made us friends. Thanks Maria for letting me share your special day. I wish you and Curtis many happy years of life. May they be filled with the blessings of family, friends and the love you share together, and may God continually bless you both as you journey through this life.

Long week

...or at least it feels that way. I don't have much to say. I've been busy with work, or at least with answering the phone and talking to a lot of people. Not sure how much actual work I accomplished, what with a set of house plans that I picked up yesterday sitting on my desk without me looking at them.

On a more positive note...my dear Heather and her DH closed on their new place today. I'm very happy for them. (Mainly I'm relieved. I was beginning to be scared we'd have to find H. a new head when hers exploded from all the stress.) She also blogged pictures and more information about the HP movie party, so go take a look at It's Geek to Me.

Tomorrow evening I'm looking forward to some major stitching time. I didn't stitch tonight, but I did work on a design for the crochet class I'm teaching in a couple of weeks. I think I've got one design down and will have to decide on the other 2 by Sunday night. I'm hoping to teach something with the basics, but show people how you can get some interesting texture. The class is called "A Trio of Crocheted Washcloths" or something close to that. At the least the participants will hopefully have a couple of nice small gifts for Christmas, which is coming up much sooner then any of us expect. Can't start too soon on gifts you know...how many do you have done?