Update on life ~ houses, stash, stitching and giveaways

I have worked the past 2 days getting the house in Stevensville ready for market. The hubby was told that this will be the final (and I do mean FINAL) move in our lifetimes. We are purchasing my mother's house from the the estate; essentially I am buying out my brother's half. I grew up in this house since August of 1978 and there hasn't been a week since then that I haven't walked through that door. When I think of "HOME" it is the house that I grew up in and my kids have the same sentiment. Before my Mom died, George and I had decided to move into that area to be closer to my Mom so we could help out more. Now we are going to be buying the home that I grew up in and doing some renovations/improvements to better suit our family while keeping the feeling of my childhood home.

Part of the renovation of my Mom's house is to make it friendly for when I am not wanting to climb steps to do the laundry by bringing the washer/dryer up to the main floor in a "mud room" in the back of the current garage) and adding a family room in place of the garage. I am planning on a bay window in place of the garage doors where plenty of morning and early afternoon light can be enjoyed for stitching time. Of course, the family room will have a west facing window as well which will give some afternoon light too. The other feature in this space will be bookshelves and a wood pellet stove. I love reading and the pellet stove throws so much heat that it helps cut down on the cost of heating a home drastically. Here is a picture taken this past spring of the house; that of course is my camper out front but the car was my Mom's; my brother now has it.

Of course, Charlotte was this past week and I had to receive a email from Just Nan with all her new releases. In a moment of weakness, I had to call Haus Tirol and order three of the newest pieces although I have been trying not to purchase new cross stitch stuff and to work through my existing pile (mountain range more like it) of patterns and fabrics. Here is the pictures of the items I bought, aren't they darling???

Christmas is right around the corner. I am trying to stitch one more piece before then and I need to add charms to another piece for framing as a gift. I think I might start my Christmas stitching for next year on Christmas Day after the presents and food has been prepared. That way, I might be ahead of the game for next year!

PIF: I am going to be holding off on the PIF at this time until the beginning of the new year. Some folks have contacted me and while they would like to do it, there is so many commitments right now with Christmas being less than 12 weeks (!) away that they have asked for me to do it after the New Year. So please be on the lookout around the first of January 2010 for my PIF to reappear.

In the meantime, I have found a new blog which has a wonderful giveaway. Please go to Annette's site and take a look-see!