Is it Halloween Already????

The kids are looking forward to Halloween trick or treating, but it doesn't seem like it can be Halloween already! The Girl Scouts had their Halloween party last week and the CubScouts party was tonight. School had a PTA party last Friday night and of course, tomorrow is the big night! :) I love watching the little kids when they come to the door and Ray enjoys handing out candy as much as he enjoys receiving it. Becky is all about the candy - all that she can get!

I have been reading Phillipa Gregory's lastest book, The Other Queen, which is about Mary Queen of Scots during her 19 years of captivity. The book is written in a unique style; there are 3 different narrators to the story, Earl Shrewsbury (chosen by Queen Elizabeth to house Mary while in captivity), his wife Bess and Mary herself. It has been a good read but not many references to the Queen's passion of needlework. She was an accomplished stitcher and many of her pieces are still intact and can be viewed still today, such as the one posted here. I would love to go to Scotland and see her works in person. A great deal of it survives to this day housed in the collection of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the Queen's official residence in Scotland and Mary's home between 1561 and 1567. Phillipa Gregory is one of the best known authors to write fictional accounts on the Tudor line and I have always been facinated by this era.

I am looking forward to stitching this weekend and hopefully enjoying a peaceful weekend at home. Hope everyone enjoys their Halloween; stay safe and talk with you soon!

Happy Halloween!

A Long Overdue Update

Wow! I really have been amiss in keeping my blog updated and I need to apologize to anyone who has been folllowing along on my blog. The kids have been keeping me busy between school, scouts, martial arts (Tang Soo Do) and my mom and her health. I am happy to report my mom's health seems to be on the upswing and she is doing better. She had a sleep apnea test about two weeks ago and they discovered that she has severe sleep apnea which is causing her to stop breathing while sleeping. She is being fitted with a special device that will monitor and keep a good quaility of oxygen going into her at night which may help explain some of the heatlh issues she has been experiencing. Becky has been diagnosed with asthma and is now on medication for this condition. Ray has been going to Kennedy Kreiger for several tests in the past month and his progress seems to be going well except for some fine, motor function. Kennedy Kreiger is a wonderful place and I am so thankful for all the work they do for the study of autism and the other developmental issues which they study and help families with the diagnoses.

Stitching wise I received a wondeful surprise from the Online Needlework Show. I won a prize from Ink Circles which really made my day and I just received it tonight when I came home from work. I won the chart "This Heart of Mine" which is a Quaker inspired piece. I am looking forward to changing up the fabric and colors and making the design a little more me. I have completed the Monsterbubbles Halloween Bat and almost completed 2 more of my LK Blessings - Peace and Faith. That leaves only one more block to go! I made myself a promise that I would have it done by the time for Christmas framing (not necessarily have it framed but to have it done in time for this deadline) and it appears that I might actually make it. I have also started a Heinzeit piece called "Lighthouse" which I am going to make for my brother and sister-in law's 20th anniversary. Why lighthouses? Well, they both enjoy going on lighthouse challenges where they travel to all the lighthouses in a specific state over a weekend. Their family room is decorated in all lighthouses so I thought it would be a nice addition, especially since I haven't given them a stitched piece yet. I have made a little progress on Dance of the Roses and Starlight Sampler. I am hoping to finish the Hinzeit Lighthouse and LK's Faith and Peace blocks this week. This will definitely be my most productive cross stitch year ever and I have to think it is due to my joining the on-line stitching groups on Yahoo. So thanks to all my internet friends that have inspired me to keep up the stitching!