Presents From Hayde

Hayde spent some time in Britain last month.  She brought us all gifts.  I got a cell phone holder and some perfume.  Thank you Hayde!

Birthday Gifts

I received birthday gifts in the same box as the anniversary gifts, as the dates are fairly close together.  So far, I've worn the necklace and will wear the earrings soon.  Need to find a use for the thread and fabric.  Thank you Betsy and Michael!

Anniversary Gifts

In the middle of last month, Andreas and I celebrated our anniversary.  His parents were kind enough to send us these gifts.  I am not at all sure what the carved wooden thing is, but the pillowcases are on the bed.  Even if the Rangers did blow it completely in the post season.

Unbalanced

This is my beautiful new vintage French balance.  Pouch broke it in shipping despite the beautiful wrapping job.  Sometimes I hate pouch.

Bluebonnets For The Table

 
Andreas' mother made us these beautiful bluebonnet table toppers for Christmas.  We'll be using them once our only table is cleaned off from being our living space.  Still waiting for our desks to get here with the rest of our stuff.  Thank you Betsy!

Gifts From MolDeco

 MolDeco surprised us with these gifts when we went in between the two Christmases.  The wine bottle is special because the artist who did the label only works in wine and coffee as paints.  Lovely calendar and bookmarks, too!  Thanks, MolDeco!

Birthday Treats

My coworkers surprised me with donuts and beautiful begonias!  Donuts are really hard  to find here - no one knows how to make them!  These were pretty good.  They're from the only bagel maker in the country too.

Bowl Buddies

Andreas' parents gave us these bowl buddies that his mother made.  When we got them, we had no idea what they were.  They're made with Texas themed fabric and you place a hot bowl in one so you don't burn your hand.

Thank You Sean!

 My son got us some awesome Christmas presents!  For Andreas, he got a travel mug in the shape of a lens because of his photography bent.  He also got the perfect gift for me - a Tardis tea strainer.  Yay!  I know I'm nerdy to collect Dr. Who stuff, but it's fun to do.  Thank you so much Sean!

Thank You Liuba!

Liuba gave me these beautiful earrings.  I am going to wear them to her house today for Easter!

Thank You For The Chocolates!

Last week was a good week for the chocolate lovers in me and my husband.  Sasha brought us back Lindt from his training in Germany and Olga brought us back the Empire State chocolates.  Thank you to them both!  The Lindts were eaten (mostly by Andreas) while I've been saving the others because the wrappers are so pretty.

Martisor

In Moldova and other parts of southestern Europe, March first is the first day of spring.  People celebrate by pinning red and white decorations on their clothes.  Sone of the above martisors were given to me; others were bought at the embassy.  All are handmade.  I think they're pretty.  The tradition is to wear them until March 31st, then pin them to a budding branch.  If you wish as you do it, the wish is supposed to come true.

Gifts From Betsy And Mike

 My parents in law have given me a lot of stash for Christmas!  Here's a picture of all the stitching goodness.  Thank you!

Birthday Jewelry

I had some ladybug earrings that I really liked.  One fell out of my ear and the back was broken off.  So I told Andreas he needed to get me a new pair.  Not only did he do that, he got me a great ladybug bracelet and a necklace that's a bee!  Yay, they're beautiful and I've been wearing all of them a lot!

BirthdayFloss!

Aren't I lucky?  I received all this beautiful floss from the group at the Stitch Specialists on Yahoo.  They're gorgeous and so different! I'll be using them soon.  Thank you so much, ladies!

Food!

When the ladies came over, Adriana brought these beautiful pastries.  We didn't have time to break them out and eat them then, but the bread made wonderful breakfast for a couple of mornings, and  the little dulce de leche cookies are so cute!  Thanks Adriana.

Thank You Adriana and Sussy

Since I'm leaving soon, Adriana and Sussy made some things as farewell gifts.  Sussy made the lovely guest towel, and Adriana made the beautiful cushion.  I'll treasure them both.  Thank you!

Lace from Sussy

Isn't this lace pretty?  Sussy gave it to me week before last when she came over for a temari lesson.  It'll have to get packed away for now, since everything's getting packed up, but I'll be using it once I get to Moldova.  Thank you again, Sussy!

Ribbons!

Betsy found a beautiful bag of remnant ribbons at Hancocks.  I'm the grateful recipient of the bounty!  Now I get to add them onto my things.  I'm already plotting uses.

All A-Heart

The heart's finished and is ready to mail off to its final destination.  The pattern is from Gazzette 94.  They have a lot of neat little things!