Do Not Adjust Your Set OR....

your eyes...

Yes, some of the letters on this sampler are "upside down".....

I posted (quite awhile back) about the possible meanings of this, including one being that Mary may have been writing in code - or... that her younger sister had taken over her sampler and did it wrong.... When I finish stitching it, I will retell you all that is said about this adorable piece.

Little Things....

can really improve my mental state! I was reading one of the blogs I read and saw where she had updated her laundry area. I didn't take any "before" pictures, but suffice it to say, my before was 20 times worse than hers was - LOL! When I got home from work, I decided to clean and freshen up my area a bit. It is a laundry "closet" in my kitchen. Because my dryer vents into that area (for various reasons we cannot vent it anywhere else), all of the lint gets all over everything! I threw out tons of old cookbooks and cookbook pamphlets (those ones they sell at the check out line). They were wet from all of the dryer heat and filled with lint. I cleaned up the cookbooks I kept (which are the ones I use all the time)... I hung a few little items on the wall - the santa and the "smile" sign (which is really a photo holder that I got for a dollar at Michaels)! The photo holder hangs right on the nail in the wall! I already had a little hanging basket to threw my lint into (that I clean out from the front of the dryer). Then I bought a cute Easter basket to hang above it and this is where I'm keeping my dryer sheets now. And I bought another Easter basket to put my laundry soap bottles into. I cleaned off the shelves of all the lint that was all over them. I am going to do this every month now to keep on top of it.... On the wooden shelf where I used to store other cleaners and bleaches and stain removers, I put a lantern with a candle in it (for show only) - and then yesterday I bought the little pot of colorful zinnias to put next to it. I can't have them out too far on the shelf as the clothes come from the laundry shoot within inches of the shelf! I had the dishtowels and dish rags just sitting on the shelf, but I found two baskets that I had here - cleaned them up - and now I have one for the towels and one for the rags! I also plugged in a little nightlight by the washer and had that turned on while I was doing laundry last night. Made it a bit easier to see in there and gave a nice "glow" to the area while I was washing and drying away! Just tiny changes that don't add up to much when you look at it, but if you could have seen it before, you would know why it has made a huge change for me every time I open those closet doors!

Historic Reproduction Samplers....

are a love of mine. However, this one is making me a bit "hysterical"... If my eyes are not permanently crossed, or actually fall out before I'm done stitching the one over one section, it will be a miracle. A miracle I tell ya! I've decided to not worry whether the letters and spacing of them are perfect. As long as they all fit within the border and are readable, I'm good to go!

The Weekend....

arrived yesterday. I was more than ready for it! I did a bit of housework and then my husband and I zoomed down to Occoquan - the quaint little town near me that I love to go. I visited a few of my favorite shops - picked up some cute little items to decorate some areas around my house - partook of the yummy goodies at the shops that were having open houses - looked at all the fun new spring items...

Then we went over to In Stitches - the needlework shop that always grabs tons of my money! I was so blessed to be able to find three charts by Primitive Needle. As many of you know, Lisa - the designer for Primitive Needle was swept away in the flood waters on March 1st. I'm sending her family all my thoughts and prayers as they go through this devastating loss. I opened the packages last night when I got home and thought about her hands folding the charts and slipping them inside..... I started stitching on them right away and cannot wait to have them on my wall. Every time I look at them, I will think of her. I did not know her personally, but from what I've heard and read, she was a lovely person who loved her family and doggies dearly and enjoyed life to the fullest.
Something we should all remember to do - every day....