Memorial Day Weekend

It's Memorial Day weekend, and I decided that I did not want to make any plans - at all!  Ken spent the weekend helping our friend, Michael Gallagher, move. Mandy hung out with the guys while moving, so it was just me at home with Taylor and Jordan - who are perpetually grounded.  They spent the days cleaning their room, and I spent it cross stitching. I am almost done with the Flip-flops!  


The weather was cold and nasty until Sunday morning.  So bad that even the girls didn't want to go outside and attempt to play - they were happy in their room (pretending) to clean it up.


Here was my progress by Saturday night on my stitching:

Those yellow flip-flops on the end are a pain in the ass to stitch!! The little squares are not only time consuming, but I really hate the mess that the back has turned into because of the constant color changes.  


This is the back of the red flip flops:

And here is the back of the yellows:

It makes me cringe to look at the back, but luckily, it's just the two flip-flops that will look like this.  Everything else will be pretty and perfect.  I know, it's never going to be seen once it's framed, but I will always know - same with the sand color accidental switch that I did.  I just cannot bring myself to change it.


This has really been a fun stitch for me, and as I have created a huge stash of hand-dyed fabrics, I should be able to finish the year with the patterns I have making a TON of really great things.


Sunday morning, I made breakfast.  Crepes (big surprise) with mascarpone cheese, plain yogurt and strawberries as the filling and strawberry syrup over the top.  The girls loved them, and I have really enjoyed being able to play with different ingredients rather than following a recipe.  I had to purchase a cheap hand mixer for fillings, and various other small things. My Kitchen Aid is AWESOME!, but it doesn't really work for the small things. I loved the $10 special at Target that I picked up, and it worked perfectly for the filling.


Making the crepes:

 The filling:

 The syrup

 Assembling the crepes

 Stacking:

 Voila!!

 Happy children:

The girls had a major discussion about what a "good cooker" I am, and apparently, I should open a restaurant.  I explained that not only would I rarely be home while I tried to make the restaurant work, but I wouldn't want to come home and cook for them. After thinking that over for a while, Jordan stated that I should stay a teacher and just cook for them and friends when they're home.  Gotta love it!!


Ken and Mandy went and helped Michael with his moving again on Sunday, and I took the opportunity to spend more time stitching. I know I should get out of the house and do things, but it's been really nice to just sit and stitch. I find it so relaxing, and I love being able to create something from nothing.  


I continued on my stitching while Ken and Mandy were gone.  Taylor hung out with me watching TV and Jordan played outside.  Of course, our next door neighbor, Linda, was outside for a while, so Jordan chatted her up and got a box of ice-cream bars for her trouble. It always cracks me up that she spoils the girls so much, but I remember having Mrs. O'Brien across the street, and she spoiled me growing up with her baking.  

What a difference a little backstitching makes! The right one looks in focus and the left one looks out of focus in the picture.


When Ken came home, he brought the makings for strawberry shortcake as a surprise.  Sadly, he didn't bring shortcakes but an angel food cake, so I made it work. Ken did not seem to mind at all.