Many Many Beads

It turns out that this ornament has more beads than cross stitches.  I'm working my way through them.

Butterflies At The Hofburg

 We went into this butterfly garden prepared to like it.  We were very disappointed.  There were very few varieties of butterflies; there were few butterflies; and the place looked like it could use a major maintenance overhaul.  This made me sad.  It's part of one of Vienna's premier attractions, yet it's rundown and sad looking.  I did manage to get some photos that don't show either of those conditions.  I'll have more over the next couple of days.

Yummie Grill

 This place was truly American food in Krakow, including portion sizes.  Initially, our service was slow as there was a demanding elderly lady tour group that stopped for coffee.  Once they left, service improved markedly.  It was chilly out, so I had both cappucino and soup.  The soup, a tom kha, was spicy without being overpowering.  Andreas had a hamburger and I had a chicken sandwich; we split both in half and shared.  We could have had merely one sandwich between the two of us.  Andreas' Greek salad was full of cheese and olives, which he loved.

Peace On Earth from Barbara Jackson

When I got to Texas, this was waiting for me in my stack of mail.  It's Barbara Jackson's Peace on Earth ornament sponsored through Shining Needle Society.  I showed it to my mother and she liked it, so I'm making it for her immediately.  Got the first two elements done!

For Me From Me!

I got myself an advent calendar!  It's full of stitchy surprises from France.  The maker is atelier 196 and has a separate package for every day.  Unlike my (adult) chlldren, who opened their whole advent calendars in one day in November, I am opening a packet today.  It travels with me on my journey across the US at the moment.  I'll show a photo of everything open together when I'm done.

Pizza By The Slice

I hadn't seen pizza by the slice at all in Europe until we came across this place in Krakow.  It's even open 24/7 and the pizza tastes like New York street pizza.  Great find!

Second Of Three

In less than a week I managed to get three pieces of stitching done.  This one was a bit of a pain; the maid cleaning the hotel room jostled or tumped the beads and didn't get all that many of them back onto the plate.  I had to make an emergency visit to The French Knot in Fort Worth to get replacements.  It's done now, though, and I think it's kind of pretty.