Gifts are good

Especially when they come on days you're not feeling so great. There have been a lot of those lately but today was exceptionally cruddy. I hope that the people I'll meet here in the future are nicer than the ones I've dealt with thus far. With the exception of the gals at Everything Cross Stitch, of course. They're really nice as is most everybody I've talked to in downtown Fredericksburg. Drive about 8 miles back towards where we live and it's a whole other story. Hopefully I've just managed to stumble across a bad bunch and it'll get better soon. Texas might not be really really pretty but at least the people are really friendly which is a lot more than I can say for the grouch mongers I've dealt with lately. Kinda makes me wanna get a sleeping bag and just camp out in downtown Fredericksburg. Anyway, I got a really fun package in the mail today from my very good stitching friend, Rachel! She has many talents which include stitching, beading, card making, baking, cooking, candy making (Hey Rach, you making some more of that candy this winter like ya sent me for Christmas last year *hint hint* LOL!), and knitting. She knitted up a really neat Halloween scarf for me! I just love it and think it'll look really cute with a black top or sweater. She made one for herself as well so now we'll be matching :). She also sent a long a really fun book of Halloween projects. There are a lot of neat things to make and I'm looking forward to making something with the kids. There are some really neat ghosties and a really fun mummy in there. Thanks again for the goodies, Rachel!

A few days ago I received a couple of other packages. The first one is from Kathy, another stitching friend of mine. She is also a knitter and she knitted up 2 really pretty scarves for me using a paw print pattern. She made one using blue yarn and the other using a pretty purple which Cassie is coveting LOL! I love them both and appreciate the time she took to knit them for me :). Thanks again for the beautiful scarves, Kathy!

I also received my package from a Halloween exchange that I participated in through one of my yahoo groups. My package came from Jackie in Australia and as you can see from the pic, she sent along all sorts of goodies. The piece she stitched for me was from Raise the Roof Designs and is called Witchy Washy. She had it made in to a really fun flat fold. It's a really fun design and Cassie thinks the bra on the line is hilarious. LOL! Thanks for the fun Halloween package, Jackie :). I've also received other gifts in the mail from friends and even though I've not listed everything here, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for thinking of me. I really appreciate it and it's made being away from my friends and family a little easier on days that I'm not feeling so great. It's always nice to find something in your mailbox that you're not expecting that's not a bill...lol. I've also received a couple of gift certificates for the stitching shop, one of which has already been put to good use and one that I'm saving for a bit.

On to another little treasured gift. Cassie usually needs help when she's stitching on something at one point or another but she managed to stitch this little ladybug for me without me even knowing. How sweet was that?! There were a couple of times last week that I thought she was stitching but she seemed to be really sneaky about it. I thought it was really sweet and think I'll make it in to a scissor fob. I had some money left on one of my gift certificates so I took her down to the shop to get a little something and she picked out a little Lizzie Kate chart to stitch for her best friend for Christmas.

My dad's coming to see me tomorrow so I might not post for a few days. I think he's supposed to be here late in the afternoon. If he gets here early enough and isn't too tired I'm hoping to take him in to downtown Fredericksburg to see the shops and the battlefields. We have a battlefield really close to our house too so I'm sure I'll take him to that one too. There's also a Confederate cemetery a few blocks or so away. I think on Wednesday I'm taking him in to D.C. He's never been and I think it's super cool that I'm gonna be able to take him somewhere that he's always wanted to take me. I think we're gonna start out at the Lincoln Memorial then head to the Vietnam War Memorial. Hopefully we can get there early enough to get tickets to go up to the top of the Washington Monument. I'm also planning to take him to see the White House, the US Capitol, the National Archives, and then the National Museum of Natural History. Hopefully the next time I post I'll have some pics of our adventures to share :)