You will NEVER Guess what today is??

I didn't either until I looked at my blog.  It is my
4 Year BLOGAVERSARY!!! 

Who would have thought.  Certainly not me.  

I started this blog 4 years ago today and never thought I would still be writing it 4 months later never mind 4 years later and had so many of you reading it and even some really important (well I think they are really important) stitchers.

Okay no jumping through hoops or becoming a follower - I HATE following because I hardly ever look at that part of my blog but I do read my Bloglist most days and see who has updated their blog and read it.  You don't have to put a link from your blog linking it to this blog, you can if you want but you don't have to.  But if you decide to put a link in your blog telling about this giveaway you can use the picture at the top of this post to make it easy for you BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO!  You don't even have a blog but if you don't have a blog could you please make sure that you leave me your email address.  So NO RULES.  NO HOOPS.  NO NOTHING! 

I have totally lost faith in the British Post Office after they (and it's them I'm blaming) losing various things that I have mailed so I'm not going to mail anything.  

What is the prize you ask?  I a gift certificate to your favorite store will be it. The reason I have not nominated a store is because your favorite store might be in America, Canada, the U.K., Ireland or wherever in the world but it will be worth £25.00 converted into your currency whatever that might be.


When does this end you ask?  I think it should end on October 27, 2010 because we are going away until the October 25th and I want to give everyone a chance to enter this competition who wants to. 


All you have to do to enter into this giveaway is to leave an answer on this post ONLY but I would like it if you told me what you would spend the money on, be it cross stitching or quilting or sewing or whatever.  I don't care --- I'm just nosey is all.

So until next time ... 


Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
American by Birth and MOUTH


P.S.  I make it the 25th of October because I am going away until then - well from the 14th anyway.  So hope you all understand.

I have my 6

YAY I have my SIX.  I was hoping I would get three people to take part but I got SIX!!!  Admittedly I asked Sally to join in and hope that doesn't count.


So if anyone else wants to be part of this great big PIF then please click on the names under the PIF on the right hand sidebar and ask to join their PIF.  


Have FUN because it's going to be.  Don't forget it doesn't have to be cross stitch - it can be anything hand made WITH LOVE from you to your PIF'ers.


So until next time ... 


Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
American by Birth and MOUTH but not by residence

Tapestry of Dreams...Pay It Forward

Here's the plan...

The idea is that 3 of you join my Pay It Forward and then 

I will send a hand made gift (made with love!!!) to each one of my THREE

within the next 365 days!

Then, those 3 people must also host a PIF on their blogs

and ask for 3 people to join their PIF -  To pay it forward!

So this is me, asking for 3 people to join my PIF -

just leave a comment to this post !

That's it...no Catches!

NOW...

I only need THREE...

who wants to be my THREE????

This is what Lana wrote and I thought it was soooo well written that I just copied it.  So please come and join me and be one of my THREE because I would really love to make something special for you.  It doesn't have to be cross stitch, and in fact Lana has a quilting blog so whatever you want to make for your PIF will be PERFECT!!

So until next time ... 
 Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
American by birth and mouth

I LOVE Sinatra

I know still no pictures of stitching.   I had two exchanges to send and like the sort of good girl (ok so I'm an old(ish) woman) that I am I mailed them both together on the 1st of September.  But, I have given you more Frank so DON'T COMPLAIN.  You'll get stitching photos soon I promise.   I saw a bit of this one on Edgar's blog but it only  had the second verse and I remembered the first verse.  Here is the whole thing - it's called High Hopes and here Frank (I can call him that cause he knew - okay met - my dad) is singing it with some children who, I guess, are about the same age as me cause this looks like it was taken in the 50's.

So here is my sorry tale.  Short but definitely not sweet.

So I had these two exchanges that I had oh so carefully stitched and finished, but stupidly not photographed, mailed at the same time (that's together) and neither one has reached their destination.  One went to the US and the other to Italy - so I can't blame the US Postal Service nor the Italian one so I'M BLAMING THE BRITISH ONE as is my want in life.

So I am busy stitching and putting them together again and will mail them out on Monday.  Okay I won't this time but Larry, otherwise known as 'him upstairs', Melvin (don't ask - okay if you must, we know this guy called Melvin and we don't like him), DH (very occasionally), The Nagger (a LOT - because he is) and The Old Man cause he's that too.

Until next week, 

Lots of Love

Patti xxx

American by birth and mouth

P.S.  I don't know how, I really don't, but this week has just gotten worse.  I went to Weight Watchers tonight and managed to put back two of the pounds I lost last week.  Sometimes I really HATE being me!

Some photos but no stitching ... sorry

Sorry but everything I have stitched or sent have all been exchanges so until they are received I cannot show them.  But I have taken photos of it all so you will see what I have mailed as soon as humanly (or postal services) allowable.

Well in the meantime I have some family photos and do hope that you enjoy looking at them as much as I have enjoyed taking them and picking them to share with you.

Photo number one is of Oliver pre his first haircut.  With his long curly hair and pretty face everybody thought he was a little girl so cut it had to be.  Well I had the same problem with his dad 33 years ago.  My late mother had him at Brent Cross (then the only shopping center we had in this adopted country of mine) and James was dressed from head to foot in blue.  In those days girls were in pink and boys in blue and never the  twain should meet.  But my mother got so fed up correcting people who came up to her and said 'isn't she pretty' that finally she just said yes!

Oliver with his Chocolate Birthday Cake on his face

Oliver after his haircut with his daddy James

Oliver with Sammy yesterday (after haircut)

Oliver with Lily yesterday.   Sorry about his constant thumb but there you go.

Ok now to change the subject of the photos.  Almost 14 years ago we got a new little Yorkshire Terrier. My cousin Allan was at our house with his then wife Debra.  We were trying (ok I was trying) to think up a name for her.  She was just so gutsy and climbing in and out of our coffee table legs that I thought.  She has to be called Gracie, after Gracie Allan - you remember if you are a certain age George Burns and Gracie Allan.  And o funny as well.  So Gracie she became.  Then Debra said 'You can't just give her one name or she won't get into the best private schools.' And, me being as nutty as she is started to think again and out of the blue I said 'I know we will call her Gracie Amelia Lessell' the Amelia after Amelia Aerhart because she was really brave.  Now Allan and Debra had a King Charles Spaniel who was just gorgeous at that time and his name was Douglas Alvin Messing.  I asked Debra why and she replied 'because I can say where's that DAM dog with anybody considering it swearing'.  So Gracie was GAL, not nearly as good as DAM but she sure has lived up to her name after all these years.  She is gutsy and nutty as a fruit cake but we really love her and can't imagine life without her.  So without further ado here is GAL

And last by my no means last I have this photo of my late father.  He passed away on December 3, 1961 and will be dead as long as he was alive this December and it's so sad. But when he was alive he did loads and loads of things.  He studied to be a dentist for 7 years, it takes 8 years and then decided he didn't want to be a dentist.  But during the war amongst other things he organised shows for the troups when this photo as taken.  I would imagine it was taken around 1941 or so.

My dad is on the left, Frank Sinatra is on his right 

and Phil Silvers is sticking his head through.

Apparently Frank wanted a photo with my dad and Phil Silver said 'Hey forget it you aren't leaving me out'.  Both my Dad (and me too for that matter) and Frank came from New Jersey and it was nice to be all those miles away and meet somebody who comes from where you do.  

So this is it from me for a bit except to thank you all for reading my blog and leaving me great comments which always make me smile no matter how rotten I am feeling.

So until next time ... 


Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
American by birth and MOUTH