Pictures part 2

This isn't going to be totally stitching related.

First off, what my house looked like the 3 days before Thanksgiving.

 The living room

 My office

My bedrooom

The 3rd floor loft storage/craft area

I treated the packers well, just like mom taught me, and they treated me well.  They were told up front no cash tips, but were provided muffins for breakfast, I made a coffee run across the street as soon as they arrived each morning, and I treated them to lunch every day.  Oh, and leftover drinks and plenty of bottled water to help themselves to.  After going through 16 moves, I have it down pretty well on how to make sure those packers are happy and they pack my stuff well.

While they were packing, they let me sit in my chair downstairs, watching TV, catching up on DVR shows, and stitch.  What exactly did I stitch on?  Why the December Word Play of course!  I've actually stitched a tiny bit into November, and have my center basting line in, but its really not worth a picture at this point.

With My Needle and Thread December Word Play
stitched on 40 ct coffee-dyed Flax linen

Thanksgiving was a day to finally take a deep breath and relax a bit.  Relax I did, it started with a sleeping pill Wednesday night, and not one of those wimpy Ambiens either.  I spent the day totally in my jammies (lounge clothes I won't leave the house in) and a lot of it online gaming with some of my computer friends.  Dinner was a scrumptious seafood stuffed portabella mushroom, and some steamed veggies.  Totally yummy, and not turkey.  Call me un-American, but I really don't like turkey, and usually cook something else for Thanksgiving.  Prime rib is a popular option.

Saturday was the day to stop by some of my favorite spots in Ogden.  It was also Shepherd's Bush holiday open house.  They had their fresh garland strung up outside the store, and then the table full of yummies in the entry area.

First thing you see when you enter the store proper is the fresh tree Teri picks our every year.  As the season progresses, more and more ornaments find their way onto it.

Skipping to the back room, Kari (in the white shirt with the Santa hat) had managed to get away from baby Oliver for a long enough to lead the project the shop was hosting.  They were some really cute and easy to make tags.  Never again will I buy pre-made or printed gift tags.  Much better to make your own.  And no, Kari wasn't really wearing that Santa hat, I just had some fun in Picnik

If you want to see more about the Open House, check out the Bush website, or their Facebook page.  They actually did a cute little video showcasing all 6 of their new projects release for Christmas.  Some are absolutely adorable, and others just aren't my taste.

Final stop was an afternoon meal at Two Bit Street Cafe.  This is one of my favorite places to eat in Ogden, and was right across the street from where I lived (and 1 block from The Bush).  Nothing fancy, and it probably falls in the dive category, but Penny's food is amazing.  One word of warning, if it gets busy, you could be in for a wait.  The kitchen is tiny, and there is usually only one person acting as a waiter.  If you're lucky, James will be in and perform some magic tricks.  He totally baffled my dad with a few of them.  Not much gets by Dad, and he knows how most of the "tricks" work, but James has some that he just didn't have a clue about.  We still have the totally twisted and mangled fork from one of them.

Ok, enough for now, hopefully Part 3 will be tomorrow, and should primarily catch you up on other things I've been stitching over the last couple of weeks.