Love Story

Here it is Sunday morning, and finally a quiet one.  Yesterday we had really, really strong winds.  It blew the air vent off the top of the house and broke alot of big branches and one of the main trunks in our trees.  Knocked over both of our garbage cans that were full of waste and the aftermath is going to be a day full of cleaning up the wrath of  Mother Nature.  No rest for the weary. 

Once again I want to thank you for your friendships and sharing your love stories with me.  They were so fun to read and now it's my turn to share my love story with you.  Where to start......

I met my hubby on a blind date when I was 17, it was August 1987.  My brother in law set us up on a blind date.  Little did he know at the time that Mike was 25 years old!!  He had no idea there was such a gap in age between the two of us.  But in my eyes, love doesn't have an age. 

Our dirst date was on August 29, 1987.  He picked me up in his beautiful white camaro, which I later named "Ultra Hot".  I loved that car, it had black interior and a fast engine, the only thing it lacked was an air conditioner!  Ugh!!!  Anyway, we went to Trolley Square and ate at Mulboon's, a very nice place for a date at that time.  It was the first time I ate fresh shrimp where I had to peel off the shell.  Then we walked across the street and watched a James Bond 007 movie, can't recall the actual name of the show though.

We dated for almost 2 and a half years before he popped the question.  He proposed to me on my birthday, December 23rd, 1989.  He took me to the Thirteenth Floor for a romantic dinner overlooking the beautiful lights of Salt Lake City.  Strangely enough, I can't recall what we had for dinner, but it was a night to remember.  After dinner we went back to the car where I was presented with a huge balloon that was filled with shiny metallic shreds, and a little stuffed animal holding the most beautifully wrapped "small" box.  My heart started to skip a beat, I knew what that little box had in it.  I knew it wasn't a necklace or a pair of earrings.  It was a beautiful engagement ring with 21 diamonds in it.  It was gorgeous!  My shy boy asked me to marry him in a card, yes, a Hallmark card, he was too shy to ask.  The ring has meaning behind it and those 21 diamonds.  I turned 20 years old on that day and that represented the 20 diamonds on the sides of the ring that hugged the larger single diamond that would represent that we became "one" when I was 20 years old.  I still can't believe to this day that he actually left that ring in his car just before Christmas, good thing no one broke in and swiped that balloon!!  That was the best birthday present I have ever received and the most memorable one too.

So that is the short version of "My Love Story".  Now, as promised here are the four random winners of my First Blogiversary giveaway:


Theresa  ~ Giraffe Xing

Faye  ~ Carolina Stitcher

Alice  ~ One Hundred Eyes

Hillery  ~ North Country Samplings

Congrats to you all!!!  I wish I could send you all a little something, if I was loaded with cash, I would!!!  I will be contacting you soon for your snail mail address.  Thanks again to all of you, this has been a fun first year!  Hopefully, many more to come.

On the stitching front
Last year I started the Stars and Stripes design by Sam Sarah and evidently didn't finish it.....

Until Now!

I am not sure why I didn't finish it, I was so close.  But, better a late finish than no finish at all, right?  I hope you are all having a wonderful and relaxing kind of Sunday.  Until next time...

Smiles....

Jolene

SOME PROGRESS AT LAST!

Hello friends! Just a quick update on my "Stars and Stripes" stitching. I am finally showing some progress. I had high hopes of finishing this over the three day weekend we had for the "Fourth". Just got too darn busy to even pick up a needle. I know the photo is not the greatest, but I will finish it tomorrow and post some good pictures of it then. I mowed our lawn after work tonight and then I placed a nice blanket under my weeping birch tree; the perfect setting for some long overdue stitching. The temperature was comfortable this evening and it was quiet enough to hear the sweet songbirds while I stitched to my hearts content. I just love birds, they are so relaxing to me. I also had a couple companions, two of my cats, which lounged nearby. My own little heaven. Anyway, I hope you all get a lot of R&R&S (rest/relaxation/stitching) this summer. I know it will go by quickly. Until next time........

SEEING STARS, A BICYCLE, AND FAREWELL

Below is a photo of my darling Auntie Ina and Uncle Benny with my nephew, Preston. This picture was taken on Sunday, June 28th after we attended their mission farewell. They left this morning to go to the MTC and will be travelling to South Africa for 23 months on an LDS mission. I am going to miss them dearly, but they will always be close in heart. LOL!

Isn't this a great photo! A charming vintage bicycle tucked neatly in a flower bed. Showcasing the American flag with bright stars and waving stripes of red and white brimming with a basket of beautiful flowers. Patriotic indeed.

Here is the first photo of my WIP on the stars and stripes project.


Can you believe that tomorrow marks the last day of June??? I can't believe how this month just flew by us. Maybe it was all the rain we had. Nevertheless, my DH is turning the lights out on me and my cute Jibby cat is wanting to lay on the keyboard. I guess I better take the hint "lights out".

STARS & STRIPES!!!!

Day 3 of Summer and we finally have some sunshine!!! Yeah! I decided it's time to do some patriotic stitching before July gets here. Doesn't this look like a fun stitch? After I get the first star stitched, I won't need my pattern until I get to the wording. The star is just repeated over and over to form our beautiful American flag. The pattern is from Sam Sarah Design Studio; I have changed some of the flavors as I usually do. Also, I picked up a book at the thrift store called "America the Beautiful", it's an interesting read about how the song came about and how the words have been reworked a few times. I will give you an update on this book at a later date. The quote for today is "A smile is a curved line that sets things straight". Until next time, have fun stitching!