The Big 6-0!

Today is my birthday ... The Big 6-0.  God played a funny joke on me this morning.  I got out of bed & made my way to the bathroom.  While preparing to brush my teeth, I looked in the mirror & saw what appeared to be FOUR age spots on my face!!!  AGE SPOTS!!!  FOUR OF THEM!!!  On closer inspection, however, they were just odd little marks that were the result of I don't know what ... feathers poking through my pillow maybe?  Whatever they were, I had a good laugh, looked up toward heaven & said "Good one God!"  I'm sure He was laughing too   : )

The Happy Birthday card you see above is a treasured gift I received a couple years ago from my dear friend Jo (Serendipitous Stitching).  I display it as part of my birthday decor every year.  You're probably thinking "birthday decor???"  Well, no ... I don't actually decorate my house for my birthday, but I always put Jo's card on display with any others I might receive.  It makes me smile every time I look at it   : )   Jo also stitched an Easter card for me that I enjoy seeing on display every Easter.  Her stitched cards are so beautiful &, well, you know me ... Easily Influenced & all ... they have sort of been planting the idea in my head that maybe I ought to stitch a few cards.  When John & I last visited Barnes & Noble, I looked through the British cross stitch magazines, as I always do, & found one called Cross Stitch Card Shop.  I squealed (silently) as I removed it from the rack & saw the beautiful card designs staring back at me from the cover. There was even a Free Card Kit attached to the magazine which you can see in the magazine cover photo below!  I haven't any idea who Fizzy Moon is, but if you look closely, you'll see that the kit says that I can make it a fun Christmas with Fizzy!  A fun Christmas ... what a wonderful thing for the publishers of Cross Stitch Card Shop to promise me!  I clutched the magazine lovingly to my breast with dreams of stitched cards dancing in my head.  

I haven't actually sat down & closely perused the magazine yet.  British cross stitch magazines can't just be flipped through.  One must take one's time going from page to page, soaking in the designs & reading every word written ... letters from the editors, letters from readers/subscribers, local stitching club news, & even the paragraphs written to introduce each series of designs!  For me, it's truly like sitting down & enjoying a gathering with friends.

Yes, I'm looking forward to stitching some cards one of these days, but can you see some of the ones on the cover there?  You should see some of the ones inside!  They are like miniature HAEDs!  An enormous amount of stitching is required for some of these cards, not to mention an enormous amount of confetti stitches for some designs!  Since I'm not a big fan of confetti stitches, it's doubtful that I will ever stitch any of these miniature HAEDs, but they are lovely!  I should definitely stitch Fizzy with that promise of making it a fun Christmas & all. Next month there will be another Christmas-themed Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine on the stands.  I know I will be bringing that one home as well   : )

It was IHSW weekend, & I did stitch, but I can't show you what I stitched because it is for an ornament exchange I am doing with a dear friend who follows my blog.  I can tell you I used linen fabric, some kind of floss, & made a lot of cross stitches   : )

John will be taking me out for a birthday dinner at my choice of restaurant later today but I don't know what other birthday plans he might have up his sleeve for me   : ) The restaurant I picked for my birthday dinner is the same one I pick every year ... Fontana's in Iron Mountain, Michigan.  The most delicious Italian food you can imagine! Homemade pasta!  Yum!  Unfortunately, John can't take me there this year because he has some dental surgery scheduled for tomorrow.  I therefore picked O'Charley's instead.  O'Charley's has delicious food as well.  I'm thinking steak, but who knows what I might end up with after seeing the menu   : )

As I have done every year, to celebrate my birthday I am offering a giveaway!  My giveaway this year will require a bit of effort on your part however   : )   

Three things are of the utmost importance!!!

1.  You must be a current follower as of the writing of this post.  My dashboard is telling me that I have 400 followers right now.

2.  You have to be a follower who actually leaves comments from time to time. 

3.  DO NOT mention this giveaway on your blog.  

If you ignore 1, 2, &/or 3, you will be disqualified from the giveaway.  

I cannot tell you at this time what you will receive in the giveaway, but it will be something good   : )   The giveaway is open to both US followers & followers from other countries.  However, followers in other countries may end up receiving a gift certificate to their favorite stitching store due to the high cost of mailing a package overseas.  I don't think you'll mind a gift certificate though   : )   To enter, you must comment on this post making sure to tell me that you want to be included for a chance to win the giveaway.  If you are a no-reply blogger, you must be sure to give me a way to contact you.  I fully understand you not wanting your email address made public on a blog.  Therefore, do not feel concerned about including your email in your comment to me because my comments are monitored & I will not post your comment if your email address is included.  Finally, you must tell me in your comment who your 3 favorite designers are.

The deadline to this giveaway is Friday, November 1st, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

For my non-stitching followers, you can still enter my giveaway but I will not send you a stitching prize.  Just tell me what you are interested in other than stitching & if you win I'll take it from there   : ) 

Good luck, & be blessed   : )