Ending One Year and Starting Another

We arrived in Meeker, Colorado at dinnertime on Saturday, the 22nd.  We arrived back in Texas late afternoon January the 7th.  The time we spent with family and friends can only be described as surreal.  We were not rushing around trying to finish shopping or see every person we ever knew or trying to go to all of our favorite stores.  In fact, the first week, we only left the house twice.  Otherwise the kids and men were out in the snow enjoying every second to the fullest.  I had plenty of time to stitch, hang out with my Mom, and just relax and enjoy the season.  My parents live way out in nowhere land.  Nearest town is 20 minutes away via a windy, snowy, icy, 2 lane road.  Who would want to brave that when a nice warm fire is crackling all day and you are surrounded by the quiet of nature and new fallen snow?

 This is the stitching I started, worked on, and finished in this atmosphere.

 My only finish of 2012

One week of stitching on the Bucilla kit

We traveled across to the other side of Colorado on the afternoon of the 29th.  I thought I had kicked the stomach bug before we left, but with all the altitude changes my stomach let me know I was wrong.  So the night ended with a trip to the Urgent Care to get prescription meds to deal with all my symptoms as OTC ones were not working.  Then off to bed to prepare for our second Christmas the next morning.

I received many touching and thoughtful gifts this year, but in the craft department my favorite was this chart:

This is how I was introduced to Ink Circles and hoped someone would gift it to me or I would be able to buy it someday.  This will be one of my first pieces that will be going on my wall.  This will be my big project for the year.  So excited.  I could hardly keep myself home instead of hitting all the arts and crafts store plus a very special LNS.  But I did...for one day at least.  Then we women went shopping with gift cards in hand.

32 count Belfast Linen in Flax

I think an excellent pairing

A kit I couldn't leave the store without

 This was all bought at the LNS Ruth's Stitchery in Colorado Springs. My SIL also bought a heart with a Colorado theme that she let me copy. 

They are also ordering a chart for me that they had on display: Colorado Sampler

Then we headed over to Joann's to get some DMC floss and check out their sales.  And this was all I had to walk out of the store with.  LOL

Another me project...and on 40% off sale!

Notions I needed

Floss for the Colorado kit I purchased now all kitted up

 After getting everything sorted, arranged and organized, I realized I still had the itch.  You can probably guess where we headed next.  That's right, good ol' Hobby Lobby.  We had coupons after all.  And somehow my MIL and I decided to teach ourselves to crochet.  We bought yarn and hooks and she bought a beautiful book to guide us.

Along with that itch came my need to be organized in all my crafts.  My hubby allowed one last craft purchase and I found it on sale and had a coupon.  My new cross stitch bag! I can't wait until it gets here!

And then my first finish of the year - the horrid Bucilla kit.

I have no idea what I am going to do with it, so time will tell where it will go.  Now onto stitching something I want to.  I only have 5 projects kitted up.  I am going to try some sort of rotation to get the most done that I can this year.  And that is my only resolution for the year.

We kept ourselves pretty well entertained between the crocheting and the kids and the family and close friends..  I had fun and am really glad for the time bonding with my MIL.  Only wish we had more. My hubby is resume bombing the heck out of positions in Colorado and the house has been on the market for a month.  We are going to continue to clean, sort, pack, save, and plan for our return to Colorado this year.

Our need to stay home was the roughest it has ever been.  The return trip to Texas was horrible.  Not the longest or worst trip ever, but emotionally taxing.  But we made it, we are here, and we have plans for that to change.

Back to the normal routine