Bippity ~ Bobbity ~ Boo!

Tomorrow evening TDIPT Mercantile will be updating its first of the month artists offerings!

Be sure to stop by ~ it will definitely get you in the mood for the Halloween season, which will be here before you know it!

Here is a sneak peek at one of my three offerings this month...

We will be "on vacation" until August 10th. Please forgive me for not answering emails between now and then.

"O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
-Psalm 107:1

Blessings, Patti

A little time with the blue & grey

Last year we attended a small local Civil War reenactment. We had such a good time that we decided to attend another larger reenactment this summer. Luckily this one was very close to home as well.

We attended with friends of ours and our 11 year old friend is quite the Civil War buff. It's a lot of fun to go with someone who knows the weapons and can explain so much to the rest of us.

The battle was wonderful! Very loud and smokey. Everytime the cannon was shot the entire ground shook. Several times a perfect round smoke ring would follow the cannon shot.

The Calvary was there as well. It was exciting to watch the horses in action. They didn't even flinch at the noise and action. They were so fast and so close that I couldn't get photos of them during the battle.

It was fun to see the period crafts and the entire families in period costume at their camps. They spend the weekend at the encampment and their tents and supplies are all to the period.

On the way back to our carriage (ie. minivan) we found this sweet little baby. We made sure that he hopped safely into the undergrowth before we left him alone.

I hope that you found something inspiring to do this weekend.

Blessings, Patti

Just a little finish...

I'm so excited that I had to share...

I finished two Stacy Nash kits and love the way they turned out. Both inside and out. What a great way to start the weekend :)

Blessings, Patti

And the winners are...

Come on in! It's finally time to pick the winners for the giveaways! I have to apologize. I'm afraid that I might have the world's record for the longest time taken to pick winners for a giveaway. July has just gotten away from me and is much busier than I thought it was going to be. I'm really sorry.

I promise to contact all winners by the end of the week. And I'll put the presents in the mail this weekend...

So here we go...

Not being so good on the technology front, I printed all comments and emails to randomly pick. My trusty assistant (my youngest son) did the picking for me.

Drumroll for Giveaway #3 - The Heart's Content silk gauze kit. And the winner is:

Mandy of Fiddlestix Studios!!! Oh my goodness! Mandy, you better go buy a lottery ticket right away! Mandy just won a giveaway from the talented Lori of Notforgotten Farm just yesterday! It's your lucky week! Congratulations!

Before I tell you the winner of Giveaway #2, the tomato pincushion and strawberry emery, I decided to have two winners for this giveaway. Not everyone put in their guess for my total strawberry harvest, so we will have one winner for the closest strawberry weight and one random winner!

Our random winner is:

Julie of Julie's Keepsakes! Congratulations Julie!

And for guessing the weight of my little strawberry crop...

I added up all of my pickings and it came to a total of 13 pounds and 9 ounces! ( I can assure you that we enjoyed eating each and every berry :) )

The closest guess was 12 and a half pounds from:

Cookie of Curds & Whey!!! Congratulations Cookie!

And finally the final drawing for the three little strawberries:

Sherry another talented cross stitcher! Congratulations Sherry!

I will get in touch with each of you before the weekend and will get those packages out ASAP!

I really wish that I could send a little something to each and every one of you! Your sweet and thoughtful comments always brighten my days. I've enjoyed my year of blogging more than I could have imagined. It makes me look at life and the world around me with new eyes. And I realize that this world truly is filled with kind and loving people.

"Come and find the quiet center in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter, find the frame where we are
freed.
Clear the chaos and the clutter, clear our eyes that we can see
All the things that really matter, Be at peace and simply be."
-Shirley Erena Murray

Blessings, Patti

Another delightful TDIPT swap!

The artists at TDIPT Mercantile had another swap and I am so excited with the beautiful creation that I received!!!

My swap partner is Mandy of Fiddlestix Studios. Be sure to take a peek at her blog and website as you are in for a real treat! Don't you just love the Uncle Sam that she created for me? I was just thrilled when I opened the box! Of course it was wrapped just beautifully in toile paper and a patriotic ribbon, but I was so excited that I ripped it open before I thought to take a photo... She includes so many thoughtful details in her creations. And just look at the beautiful stitching in his face!

Mandy, your swap creation is on its way...

Thank you so much for my incredible Uncle Sam - I will treasure him always!

Blessings, Patti

p.s. I'm sorry that it has taken sooo long, but I promise that the winners of my giveaways will be announced in the very next post.... Stay tuned!

50 Years of Wedded Bliss

This weekend my parents celebrated 50 years of marriage! It was so good to have them come up for a visit and a celebration.

For one of their gifts, I took 50 small river rocks and wrote a word on each rock that meant something to our family - vacations, pets we had over the years, places we lived - each one guaranteed to bring back lots of memories...

My sister and niece created a 50 page scrapbook filled with photos and memories! What an incredible labor of love!

I feel so blessed to have parents that have been together for so long. What an inspiration! They are continuing a tradition - my paternal grandparents were married over 50 years and my maternal grandparents were married for 62! I'm working at continuing the tradition - my husband and I celebrate 24 years later this year...

Congratulations Mom & Dad! And wishing you many more anniversary milestones to come!

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
-Benjamin Franklin

Blessings, Patti

Heaven...

That's what this past week felt like. We've returned form our week in the northwoods - Hayward, Wisconsin. We have spent a week at the same resort for the past nine years now and it is definitely my favorite week of the year. No phones, no cell phones, no text messaging, no computers - just quality uninterrupted family time.

We swim, fish and kayak each day and enjoy the scenery, quiet and wildlife.

We saw several pairs of loons and this fella let us get up quite close. The call of the loons is my favorite "northwoods" sound.

Our youngest son took this photo and I love how it turned out! It just took a few moments to figure out which end was the top.

I found a little time to do some stitching - I worked a bit on this kit by Maggie Bonanomi. I still have a ways to go...


I also stitched up this sweet Prairie Schooler design. It has a companion piece that I started on the eight hour car ride home...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light."

Genesis 1: 1-3

I haven't forgotten about my giveaways :) You still have a few days more to enter.

I'm off to work on laundry, get organized, go through mail, etc. I'll have one more post of some photos of our trip and then the next post after that will be 100 and the winners to the three giveaways.

Hope you are experiencing a little heaven this weekend!

Blessings, Patti

Happy Independence Day!

Wishing you a sparkler and firecracker filled 4th of July!

We are off on our annual trek to the northwoods.

I'm afraid the 100th post and winners of the giveaways will have to wait for our return...

This nasty virus has been hard to kick. But I'm sure a little rest and relaxation on the lake is just what the doctor ordered!

"America, America God shed his grace on thee..."

Blessings, Patti