Happy Birthday Lisa!

Today is one of my bestest friends birthday! We had a fabulous time yesterday helping her celebrate. She's past middle age but young enough to enjoy the torture that is given by the staff at the mexican restaurant. Little did she (and us!) know that wearing your dessert is just as much fun as eating it. Happy Birthday Lisa

Here's some pictures of the day-long celebration:


L to R: Sandy, Lisa, Jody, Polly and Me
This picture was taken at one of the local Sandwich Shops - also called The Sandwich Shop - in Lisa's home town. Fabulous food! I highly recommend and would love to go back. The restaurant is renovated inside an old bank building. We are pictured here outside of the bank vault.


Ruebens, Philly Cheese Steaks, BLTs, Oh My!


Yes, we do try and get in a couple of stitches during our visit! We were joined by another friend of Lisa's, Amy.


Even I have my stitching moments!

I had a great time visiting with these great friends. The day went by entirely too quickly. We do need to try and get together more often. Hugs to everyone and remember - Taco Mama is always here for ya!!


UPDATE: Just so you know - I now have bangs again. Nothing like taking a pair of scissors and whacking away. No lil' girl hair bows for me!

I saw Woody!

Some of you may know, I work in the woods. It's so quite and comforting out here in the forest and I get to see many different type of wildlife. I've seen deer, owls, hawks, lizards, snakes and even a fox. But, the hardest creature to capture on photo has been Woody. Woody is my woodpecker and she is a big one! I think she's a she because today I also got to see two babies in the trees near her. Anywho, here she is pecking away. She's got a beautiful bright red head. Can't wait to see her babies grow up.

Updated to add information about Woody:
Pileated Woodpecker

The largest variety of woodpecker is the Pileated Woodpecker ranging from 16-19 inches long. Male adults are identified by a red Mohawk; both male and female have a red Mohawk (crest) on the top of their heads, but the male is distinguished by a red cheek pad. The female does not have red coloring in this area. The Pileated woodpecker can also be identified by their black body, black and white stripes on the facial area, a white strip from their bill to the their neck and beady yellow eyes. Pileated woodpeckers make their habitat in coniferous forests with large trees found in southern Canada, the Midwestern and eastern parts of the United States, the pacific coast and the northern Rockies. They eat carpenter ants, wood boring beetle larvae, fruit and nuts. Pileated woodpeckers produce 4-6 eggs in nests found in dead tree with a cavity lined with wood chips. An interesting fact about these woodpeckers is that they dig rectangular holes in trees so deep that it might cause small trees to break in half. Male and female Pileated woodpeckers stay together as a pair in their territory all year long.

Thread Organization

A friend was asking me last week on how I organize my overdyed threads. So, here's a picture. I use a card file box from the office supply store that has one of those metal sliders in it. I also have plastic tabbed cards that have the alphabet pre-printed on them. I just take each color of thread and put it in a plastic jewelry bag (about 4x6) and attach a label with the color name on it. I don't worry about distinguishing on the labels Weeks Dye Works, Gentle Arts, Crescent, etc. because I can easily see the thread tags inside the bags. I have been using this system for a couple of years now and it works for me. The threads don't get tangled, they stay clean and I can tell instantly if I have enough or need to order more.

How do you spell fun?............

C-R-O-P! Last weekend I had so much fun hanging out with my scrappin' buddies in Columbia. We try our best to get together through out the year to laugh, shop, eat and oh yeah - scrapbook. This time was no exception! I worked on my Ali Edwards inspired Christmas album. I got a lot done - maybe I'm 1/2 way finished. I'll have to share some photos with you when I'm finished. Hope to work on it this weekend while I still have my croppin' groove! LOL! Until then......Enjoy Life!!