Magic Garden preview and family news

I'm back from Fort Mill, South Carolina, and the retirement community my folks have moved to. My dad is still working, but my mom is loving golfing, playing bridge, learning paddle ball, and hanging out with friends, old and new. My sister was able to meet me for the trip, and we had a great time shopping at Ikea and the Prime Outlets Mall (we did some damage!) and eating at various delicious restaurants, usually outside in the sunshine. (I am not ashamed to say that I came home with four loaves of Panera bread in my carry-on.)

The above picture was taken in downtown Charlotte. We took the commuter train in for $3.00 round-trip. Since the business people of Charlotte are home on Saturdays, that's a perfect day for tourist-y type stuff, and it's a lovely city. My mom walked around holding her camera, stopping periodically to take pictures of trees, and statues, and buildings. She looked quite the wide-eyed tourist, and my dad stopped me and said, "She wouldn't last five minutes in New York City." (My dad is from northern New Jersey.) "The police would call us and say, 'We can't find her; she just disappeared.'" "Yeah," I said. "They'd say, 'All we found was a flip flop and a lens cap.'" We chuckled, but she did get some pretty pictures. If we seem especially sparkle-eyed in this picture, it's because, once again, mom counted to three to take our picture, but then realized she had the lens cap on.

My sister had been especially excited about Ikea, and her husband is probably thankful they don't live near one. If you've never been to one, it's a Swedish housewares store that sells everything from kitchen wares, to sofas, to kids' toys, to meatballs. And everything is cheap. We walked in, and Laura immediately began shouting out prices. "Look at this! It's only $1.99!" "And look at this! It's only $2.49!" "Just so you know," she finally said, "I'm going to shout prices the entire time we're here." I joined in, of course. Because hey, where are you going to find the cutest cupcake paper liners in fuchsia and black for only 99 cents? And a six-pack of Scandinavian printed glasses for only $5.99?

I don't know why I always think I'm going to get a ton of stitching done on my trips. But I promise to be diligent this week and get my Magic Garden Sampler done. I'm going to order a frame today, and hopefully will be able to release in about two weeks. It's turning out super-cool, and I love the black flower border on the left hand side. It was semi-inspired by Alice in Wonderland. I think the purple-fleshed watermelon slice is neat-o. It's on 40 count Lakeside Linens Vintage Light Exemplar linen in Sampler Threads.

I had a bit of a shock yesterday. My son, Harrison, came in at 10 to help me pack orders until his dentist appointment at three. At about 11, he said he had made the decision to cut his hair. Now, his hair, originally, was a bit of a difficult topic for me. He wanted to start growing it out in eighth grade, but I made him wait until his sophomore year in high school. And he's been wearing it in a ponytail since his junior year. He has gorgeous wavy hair, but wanted to be a rocker, and in high school, he ended up being "that guy with the long hair."

On Monday, after a heart-to-heart with his roommate and good bud, Davis, they decided that he had done his "long hair time," and now was the time to spruce up a bit for the ladies. I called over to the Aveda Salon just about two hundred yards from my shop, and they had an opening at noon. Harrison gulped, and said, "All right, let's do it." The stylist was nice enough to keep Harrison faced away from the mirror during the hair cut, so he didn't have to watch his locks being taken, one-by-one. ("There was a big pile of hair at the end," he told me.) I've included before and after shots. I'm sure you'll agree that he's quite a looker. He was absolutely thrilled, and he kept popping into the bathroom to look at his new do in the mirror. Then announced that he needed some new clothes, too. (sigh). Teenagers!