HAMTERVENTION?

Whew! What a whirlwind these last few days have been! Did ya miss me? Huh? Huh? Did ya?

Aunt Chrissy turned 40 and I turned 45 without so much as a bang or a whimper. Despite this being a "big" birthday for her, she spoiled me completely rotten with lovely gifts, a great meal, and complete indulgence of all of my crazy shenanigans without one complaint.

My little puppy tot nephew Bosco is known for giving me gifts that send me straight to the ugly cry, and this year was no exception. See that mug? On the inside it says "Tomorrow I start with a clean blanket." The little figurine is representative of he and I and our propensity for hanging out together just like the best buds that we are. How could you not love a nephew that "gets" you like that?
On the stitchy front, Aunt Chrissy took me on a little shopping spree and I got a basket full of charts and linen and threads that I've been wanting for quite some time. This piece, called Trip Around The World Quilt is from Rosewood Manor, and I can't put the darn thing down. It seems to be fulfilling my need for detailed and layered stitching:
I wish I were a better picture taker, since this sucker is positively gorgeous in real life. The linen is a 32ct. Liberty Gathering Grey, and the threads are all DMC beauties in olive-y greens and smoky lavender purples. What's not to love about THAT?

The Easter ham situation is as dire as it is every year. We have a lovely meal and then ten minutes after the kitchen is cleaned up, I've got my face stuck in the fridge looking for the makings of a ham sandwich. This goes on repeatedly until Aunt Chrissy calls and says "You know? I think left overs sound really good. Can I stop by to pick some up for dinner tonight?" and then I have to sheepishly explain that I have, once again, polished off a nineteen pound ham all by myself, thank you very much, and although I am ashamed and completely bloated to admit it, I simply cannot help myself when it comes to ham.

And potato salad.

What can I say? One of my very most favorite memories is of coming home from college and hearing Mom say "There's ham and potato salad in the fridge for you, honey" before I even made it through the front door. And then I would eat said ham and potato salad until it was time to go back to college and return to the land of "You're a big fat stupid loser who just should have stayed in Lima and gotten married and raised chickens and kids and been happy about it".

So that's my life these days. Stitching and ham. Or ham and stitching. Depends on the time of day it is. 2am doesn't lend itself to ham very well, particularly since Stewey has implemented a new rule of not being allowed in the kitchen after 7pm.

Trust me when I tell you that there's a whole lot of face stuffing going on at 6:45.

I hope you're off to a good week and that you stay warm and safe and dry. We're in for some nastiness later today, so I'm off to the store for provisions and candles!