Bitty Birthday Bonanza! What a surprise!

 Yesterday was my birthday and I got the most wonderful surprises in the mail!  I received quite a few cards from friends and relatives, which was lovely.  Unbeknownst to me, my friend Kimmie at Flickr organized a bunch of mostly bitty blockers to each make me a birthday bitty.  She had them all send them to her and then she put together a box and mailed them to me, along with one other box from another, so 2 boxes.  Her timing was perfect as the 2nd box arrived on the exact right day and I had saved the first one to open on my birthday because I am a good girl like that, no matter what you think! 

I couldn't believe it when all the stuff started being revealed from inside the boxes!

 I've labeled each block as to who made it, at Flickr, on my photostream, if you're interested in knowing. 

 I was stunned, shocked, thrilled, giddy and all sorts of good things, I never expected this or dreamed it would happen, it was such a fun surprise!  I also got a lot of lovely notes and cards and even some other gifts!

 This is an overview of all the loot! Fat quarters of fabric, a pincushion that looks like a Frankenstein mouse, a Twisted sticker, rainbow star stickers, birthday candle glasses, happy birthday beads, a Rosie the Rotary Cutter panel, printed twill tapes, a tiny purse change purse, magnets, ribbons, mints, candy, jacks, even dried LARVAE or worms, but it's OK, they're BBQ flavored.  No, I won't be eating them!  Ew!  That Kimmie!  I just loved everything, except for the worms!  LOL

 And some close-ups.....

 So much fun stuff, I couldn't believe it all. 

 I can't believe the generosity of all my friends!

I had a great day, a very busy one.  I drove to town and got a haircut, then I went to a laundromat and washed and dried 2 comforters and 2 shams, (I had the place to myself, it was peaceful and different and I got to read my book), went to the library and got more books, saw my parents where my mother deadpanned "you know you're a senior citizen now.", much to my horror.  55 is a senior citizen, really?  Crap!

Then I went to the grocery and got some things and came home for a late lunch, Greek Salad.  We had fun with all the mystery stuff in the boxes in the afternoon and had a nice London Broil and salad for dinner, topped off with strawberry shortcake for dessert.  What a great birthday!

Many many thanks to all my friends and family for making it such a fun, memorable one! 

Birthdays, Bitty Blocks and Hummingbird Ornaments...

My mother turned 91 yesterday!  She and my Dad live about 10 miles from our house, in a patio home at a retirement center.  It's close to a few stores and she can walk over and get groceries and prescriptions, hardware, sandwiches, etc, very convenient for them.  Anyway, I thought I would show her off a little, Mum is a fun lady and always good for some laughs.  Pops takes real good care of her, too, which is just great.  We took her a few presents but didn't stay long as she had an appt at the doctor's for a minor thing.  Isn't she CUTE?!  We call her The Mumster.

 My friend Gayla had her annual ornament party this past Tuesday, another fun successful swap of ornaments and stories and ideas, it was a great evening!  These are the ornaments from this year-

 

 They are all so cute and fun and different.  It's always fun to find out what your friends have been making and Gayla throws the best stinkin' parties!  All the food was delish and the girls were all so much fun, and you can see for yourself how cute the ornies are!  One can even be worn as a bracelet, the blue wire one, how cool is THAT?  And the ball of yarn with the needles, love that, too.  Actually, I'm thrilled with them all, what a nice assortment!

 While I was in TX recently, 2 of my friends (Jennifer and Lisa) and I made these little hummingbird ornaments.  They are made with peanuts and are from a Birds and Blooms pattern.  We think they came out even cuter than the pattern.  :)  We made lots of extras so we could all have some to hand out to our friends.  Because of the fun shapes of peanuts, they all turned out different, all 45 of them!  And we changed them a bit- We used red nail polish for their throats and then added some glitter to them, and used shiny ribbon for the wings instead of tulle or netting.  And black beaks.  They were fun and easy to make and everyone that has seen them, has liked them. 

Oh, look!  Bitty Blocks!  LOL  The theme was winter and I made icy thermometers and cardinals.  The red part of the thermometer is red plastic from a container lid. 

I forgot to get a group photo of the cardinals, rats! 

So that's what I've been doing- I hope you all are ready for the holidays and have a safe and happy one!

Mr. Manatee Comes to Visit..... and more bitty blocks!

 We did a special swap, Alphabitties.  My letter is M.  Some wanted blocks for children's quilts, others for a more mature audience, so I did 3 different ones.  Monkeys-

Mermaids in a margarita glass-

And Mr. Manatee, with seaweed M's.  The swappers got to pick which one they wanted.  I like them all, if I ever make the quilt up, it'll be hard to pick which one I use.  Since I didn't make me a monkey, though, that'll make it easier.  :)

 And earlier, we decided to do "Fairy Tales Gone Wild" where we each picked a fairy tale or fable and gave it an evil twist.  I decided to make Chicken Little.  I had seen a cartoon where a chunk of sky had fallen on the chicken and decided to use that for my block.  We are a group of 13, so I made 13 of 'em. 

I thought it was too subtle and wasn't sure it was going to please everyone, though, so I made up a Rapunzel block as a test, slightly taller, and the twist was armpit hair.  :)  So it's called "Ew, Rapunzel!"  Fortunately, everyone loved Chicken Little so I went that one.  I'm glad I didn't have to make 13 of the Rapunzels, as it turns out, because it took too long to make and used up a lot of my soft fuse material.  That translates to expensive.  :)  So I made 4 of them and will give them to my buddies that I owe a special block to, as a thank you.

 I can't wait to see what the others come up with for this swap, so far from sneak peeks, they're a riot. 

And a friend in CA, Marilyn aka Spiced Coffee, sent me a birthday package- a manatee with a Hawaiian shirt, he's so cute and soft and cuddly!  He's made from Minkie fabric and his name is Minkee!  I just love him, he's very kissable!  Thanks again, Marilyn!  Look at this FACE!

 Ready for a dip!  Oh, she included that cool water fabric, too, so he wouldn't dry up on the journey to my house!  What a pal.  She thinks of everything!

Yes, I had a birthday, May 22nd.  I turned 54.  Spent the day goofing off, sewing, talking on the phone, it was great.  We'd gone out for a nice lunch the day before, so I felt very special and happy.  :)  Spring birthdays are just lovely. 

White Christmas, 2009! Giveaway win, birthday, etc

I can't remember the last time we had a white Christmas, but we sure got one this year! Jim took this photo this morning about 8:30, the sun isn't quite up over the hill to the left of the house, we never see a sunrise or set around here because of all the hills. Nosey Parker was out in her very first snow this morning, but we couldn't see her, either! lol Perfect camo, that girl has!

It rained off and on all day yesterday and started turning to sleet last night about 8 PM, when it got cold enough. Then it became flurries and then full-fledged snowflakes. We ended up getting 4-5" of it, enough to keep my parents home today instead of coming over for a prime rib dinner. We decided to postpone that until tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.

And speaking of parents, the Mumster turned 89 on Tuesday, the 22nd. Isn't she cute?


She's happy and feeling pretty good, too, I think the doctors have hit on the right medication combo, finally. We took over a few gifts and a card and she had a nice time. The parents live about 11 miles away, in a patio home at a retirement center. They are completely independent but a small housekeeping crew comes in every 2 weeks and vacuums and mops, etc. Mum freaks out whenever it's time and she spends a whole day cleaning before they come, snork! (Please ignore my gormless hair- I'm in that horrible awkward stage of trying to grow it out a bit, I'm totally frustrated with it right now.)

And my big win came from Scotland! Lynz of DOMESTIC LIGHT and MAGIC made me this sweet little quilt/wall-hanging of laundry on a line. I just love it, can you see how sweet it is? I love everything about it, right down to the little scrap of fabric spilling out of the basket. I thought I'd hang it in the laundry room but I wouldn't see it very much, so I think it's going into the craft room, instead! Also, a wonderful assortment box of Cadbury chocolates, oh, MAN! These are yummy. I'm letting Jim help me with it, but only because it's the season of giving, otherwise, I'd have hidden them away and snarfed 'em all myself! Some of these chocolates are new and unknown to us, so it's kind of an adventure. We share each piece so we can both try them all. You're a real sweetie, Lynz, to send me all this, no matter WHAT everyone else says!

Thank you so much, Lynz, you're a great pal and a terrific sport and I enjoyed your slightly fixed giveaway contest immensely! lol You are such a nut! I'm just so thankful that my name is Susan and I have a ickle white kitten and live in ArKINGsaw with the kitten fishers! Phew, what WERE the odds of meeting all that criteria? Huge, I'm sure! Lucky, LUCKY me!

Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope you're all having a wonderful fun day with friends and family! We're staying home and warm by the woodstove today, it's cozy and quiet and a popcorn kind of day! Perfect. Enjoy!