Another Jackpot Day in Town

 It was a week yesterday since I had left the house. Vince went to town for something on Thursday. Then Friday evening the snow began and it was just yesterday that our road was plowed and Vince finished shoveling the driveway. A friend asked where was our tractor . . Vince sold it when he left Texas. Not much need for a tractor on one acre in town. We're not really in town but it seems like town - we have neighbors. People probably already think we're crazy but they would have for sure if we had a tractor.

Yesterday afternoon Vince asked if I wanted to go out and see how the roads were. Nope . . don't need to do that. I had planned to go stitch with Debbie today but then last night the weather lady said we would possibly have frozen fog early this morning that would make the roads slick in patches so I decided not to risk it. That gave me some brownie points with Vince, which I always seem to need <G> because he thinks I have no self control when it comes to going to stitch with Debbie. He thinks I should stay home if it MIGHT rain or that I should leave 2 hours before dark just to be sure I get home by dark and it's only 50 minutes from my house to where we stitch. So, I proved to him that I can make good choices.  :)

About noon, Vince asked if I wanted to go to town. The roads were pretty much safe, though school was canceled again today. I think early this morning, when the buses would have been out, the roads were icy from the melting snow having frozen overnight but by noon, the sun was shining and everything not in the shade was melting nicely so I told him if I could go to Hobby Lobby and order some frames, I would be happy to go to town.

We first went to Hobby Lobby - Vince dropped me off and he went to Walmart which is real close. He needed a couple of new sweatshirts and he got those.

I found all three frames that I needed and I was pretty quick about it. 

 First was Christmas in my Heart. These are just pictures from their computer/camera. When I first saw the one at the top right, before it was next to the piece, I thought that might be what I chose. Then I saw the red one (top left) and knew that was it but when I saw the green one on the bottom right (sorry it's so blown out), that was the one I wanted. It kinda looks like old barn wood but it's green so it goes well with the trees.

Next was this piece by Teresa Kogut. I'm not sure of the name of the chart - maybe Hope Never Ends.

This frame actually looks very nice. The background in the scroll area has a greenish tint and it goes well with the leaves. I think this is the same frame or very similar that I used for my dad's memorial stitch.

When we started pulling out the frame samples, I told the lady that I wanted to stay away from gold frames and black frames because those are the ones I use so much but when she put that one next to the Hope Never Fails piece, I knew that was it. Our Hobby Lobby doesn't have a huge selection but it has enough for me to be happy with what I find there and they get in new pieces and take out older pieces pretty often.

Yep, same frame I think. Dad's may be more gold and the new one may have more greenish tint but it also may just be the light. Hard to believe it's been over a year since my dad passed away! 

Last project to be framed was Mary Bovee.

This frame is shiny black. I knew that was the one when I first saw it but we tried several others just in case but went back to this one. The lady, who did an excellent job helping and was so sweet, said they should be in the week of February 10. As we put each stitched piece down, I looked over the samples. I told her I had an idea but wanted to see what she chose before I said what I liked and on two of them, the first one she picked was the one I had in my head. On the Christmas piece, she didn't pick the yellow one first but she picked the green one first. I wanted to try the red one so we did but when she put the green one down, I knew that was it. I went ahead and got the foam core so I can get them laced and ready to pop into the frames. These will be on a basement wall without much sunlight and no cooking fumes/grease so I didn't get glass for them.

Hobby Lobby had their in stock (not custom type) frames half off. I found this one that I thought might fit the snowman.

It's a little bit tall so I will add a few extra snowflakes around his head and bottom and make it fit perfectly.

The back can easily be slipped off and the piece removed so I'm thinking I could have a Santa, something patriotic, or something for spring or fall and pop those in and out. I decided for $8, I would order a few extras in case I want to paint some other colors. This one is 5" x 7" thought the actual opening is about 5" x 6". They also had 8" x 10" for $14 so I ordered a couple of those. 

Last, they had these. Obviously, they're 4" x 4" and will be great for some Christmas ornaments or any small round piece. Again, the back side is easily removed so I could use the frames for other pieces if I wanted to.

Since I already have these and know the sizes of them, when I start to stitch a small, I can stitch it on larger or smaller count to get a good fit.

Next, we went by Natural Grocer. How lucky were we that they had everything in stock!

We got a gallon of milk, two quarts of chocolate milk, two quarts of buttermilk, 2 - 32 oz. containers of Nancy's yogurt. We got parsnips, poblano peppers, a head of purple cabbage and three protein bars. That's all the groceries we need for the next week or so.

We stopped on the way home, filled the car up with gas and went home.

I'm going to stitch, hopefully, the rest of the evening. I really want to get that snowman finished so I can put him in the frame and display him while there's still snow on the ground!