Berries and Birthdays

Good morning everyone! Well, I went back to stitching a smaller piece this week and felt much more "in my comfort zone". This is my ornament for January and I'm trying to finish/finish as I stitch this year so I'll have twelve new ornaments for my tree by Christmas. LHN's "Holly and Berries" is stitched one over one on 28 ct. natural light Jobelan using DMC threads. I trimmed it with this pretty burgundy colored cording and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. What do you think?

Thank you all for your "Happy Birthday" wishes last week. I had a wonderful day and my family presented me with a new computer as my gift. Wow--I had no idea what I had been missing on your blogs...Now that I have a widescreen monitor, I can actually see your entire blog without having to scroll across the screen. And the download speed and brilliant colors--amazing! Oh, and this computer doesn't take 10 whole minutes to shut off like my old one did. My previous computer was at least 10 years old, so this is a huge upgrade. So thanks so much to all my guys...


I also received two more very special birthday gifts! My blogging friend, Cindy surprised me with the cutest little birthday stocking ornament which she stitched on a lovely shade of pinkish-mauve linen. She included my initials, birth date, and the year (well, not the year I was born, thank goodness!). I love the pretty pastel cake all stitched up in pinks and greens. It is just perfect, Cindy, and I'll think of you as I admire it through the years. She also included some soft, pink stitching socks to keep me warm on these cold winter nights. Click on the photo and you'll be able to see all the details a bit clearer...Thank you so much, my friend :)

And just who is my other secret gift certificate giver? Gosh--you are spoiling me whoever you are! I received a wonderful gift from Stitching Bits and Bobs to treat myself to some new stash. Hmmm...you really have me stumped. I am trying to narrow it down, but the only hint given was that it was from a "Stitch Friend." If you would email me, I would love to thank you personally. When I opened my email and found the notice of your thoughtful gift, it really made my day. I'm sending you a huge hug--whoever you are and I'll be sure to post what I end up purchasing with your gift...

The prize for my funniest birthday card has to go to my brother. I laughed so hard when I saw this card with the grown woman scraping her dinner plate into the wastebasket and singing, "La la la la...I'm throwing out my veggies and no one can stop me!" And on the inside it says, "See, there are perks to getting older. Happy Birthday." The card is absolutely perfect for me and if you have the time to read the following story, you'll find out why...

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, you may know that I hate green vegetables--always have, always will. This "quirk" as I like to call it, goes back to my childhood when I just refused to eat anything green. I would hide the vegetables under potato skins or chicken bones, wad them up in my napkin, spread them around the plate to make it look like I'd eaten them. Anything to keep the horrid things from going down my throat. My poor mother was at her wits end as to what to do with me, so she began sending me into the dining room to eat by myself on nights when I wouldn't eat my veggies. I would soon saunter back into the kitchen without a vegetable left on my plate and she was so pleased with herself for coming up with a solution to get me to eat them--or so she thought!

Now, my little brother, figuring that there must be something special in being allowed to eat alone in the dining room, found a way to get himself banished there, also. He soon discovered (and of course tattled to mom), that "Carol isn't eating her vegetables--she's throwing them down a little hole in the dining room floor!" You see, we were having a lot of construction done on our house at the time and there were holes all over the floors for cables and wires and I had discovered one the perfect size for disposing of those dreaded green things! My mother had previously noticed an army of ants marching across the floor and into the hole so she went down to the basement to check it out. She found a pile of moldy food there, but blamed the workmen for leaving pieces of their lunch behind. Her eyes were opened to the truth, though, when little brother ratted me out! Sigh... that was the end of the dining room for me and I went back to gloomily sit and sit and sit at the kitchen table until I had eaten all of my vegetables. And the rest, as they say, is history. To this day, I'll eat salads and peas, but not one single other green vegetable... This little anecdote is part of that special group of old family stories that we all still laugh about and never get tired of telling, so thanks little brother for reminding me of it again--and I forgive you for tattling!

Don't forget, there is still time to enter my giveaway from my birthday posting...I'll be picking the winner next Saturday, so be sure to check back then...

Thank you all for visiting and for taking the time to comment. It sure brightens my day to read your thoughts!