I've been Fobbed!

I got my HOE exchange from Laura yesterday. I love it! Laura stitched a Celtic M for me and the other side has a celtic knot. I love my baby scissors too. I was hoping I would get some new scissors because all of my current ones have fobs. Laura questioned color but, she was right, I do love color of all types. LOL, I am not a wimpy color girl. Thank you so much for allowing participation in this exchange. It was great fun.

Mirabilia RR

This is what I have been stitching lately. This is for Jen. It is coming along really nicely. My stitching group loved it and suggested that now she do one with just the tails.

I got the Baby!

Here is my king cake baby! Sorry he is blurry.
Another south Louisiana tradition. During Mardi Gras season the bakeries make king cakes. They are dough with cinnamon and can be filled with cream cheese, cream cheese and fruit, fruit, pecan praline, or chocolate. The tops are decorated with icing and sprinkled with gold, green, and purple sugar to represent the colors of Mardi Gras. Traditionally the cakes have a plastic baby inside somewhere and the person that gets the baby gets to buy the next cake. I guess it is my turn. Ambrosia Bakery is where the one we just had came from. If you click on the picture of the king cake there is a little bit of history. Oh and that Strawberry cake pictured on the front page of their website is divine!

Where's the pictures?

I really have been stitching! Let's see...so far this month I stitched a scissor fob for an exchange. I sent to Jill. You can see what I sent in her blog because I forgot to take a picture. The other thing I made this year was a door hanger for my friend. I stitched Lizzie Kate's Follow your heart but changed the colors to bright pastels. She got it today...Loved it! I didn't take a picture of that one either. I seem to have an aversion to my camera this month. Last night I stitched on my current rotation of the Mirabilia RR. I am almost done with my mermaid. Maybe I will remember to take a photo before I send that one on.

Now back to crawfish. Crawfish do make an interesting meal if you haven't ever experienced them. When they are in season (spring/summer), some people have crawfish boils which is what the pictures from the last post were from. Imagine something like a barbeque. A group of friends gather, usually at someone's house, and have a boil. You boil crawfish, corn, potatoes, sometimes onions, garlic, mushrooms, I have even heard of putting weinees in there too. When they are done you just spread them on the table and peel and eat away. You don't get much meat from the tails so on average a person eats about 3 to 5 lbs worth. A pound is figured with the entire body of the crawfish. When crawfish are in season the restuarants that serve them do AUCE nights. That usually runs between 16 and 20 dollars a person. It is all about getting fresh crawfish and the way they are seasoned. Usually when I get done eating my fill my lips are numb because they are soooo hot but that is what makes them soooo good. So, No, I haven't had my fill yet because they aren't in season. The seafood market across from my shop (which is what made me want them because I can smell them boiling every day) has them for 3.49 a lb right now. As we get further into the season the crawfish get bigger and the price goes down. During the main part of the season you can usually get them for 1.79/1.99 a lb for boiled and cheaper than that for live (to use for boils). The price usually starts going down after Easter so we don't have long to wait.

Other than that not too much has been going on. I am off to stitch mermaid hair now.

I can't wait.....

for this! I just thought I would tempt you. It is almost crawfish season. I went to a crawfish boil last summer and these are some pictures I took there.
The table awaiting the final product
The "extras". Where's the corn???
The crawfish soaking
The water is ready.
The crawfish are cooking
YUMMY! Dig in.

I feel like a turtle!

Hello everyone! I feel like I have had my head buried in my shell for weeks now. LOL, I guess I really have. We had a fantastic Christmas season at the store. Instead of stitching at work, I was busy restocking inventory, wrapping presents, and oh yeah, ringing up sales. I was so consumed but it was a great feeling. God has really blessed us this year. On Dec. 31, we will complete our first Jan-Dec in our new location. What a difference a year makes.
Needless to say, I have not stitched for quite some time. I am currently trying to get the ooomph to work on my scissor fob exchange (due 1-31), my sewing set stitch a long (as of the first I will officially be behind an assignment), and my Mirabilia RR rotation (not sure when this is due but I don't care because it was an entire rotation late to the person before me). Oh and a Christmas gift for a friend that I never had time to do (don't even know what to stitch). I work on little bitty bits at a time, you know I can't stress myself LOL.
The new Vera B ships from the company on January 2 so I am busy at work making sure my current inventory is correct, what a mess it is from Christmas. Then I have to load all of the bags that are coming into my inventory so that when they get here all I have to do is put in my counts and they can go out with no delay. New MN gets here I think in February. I already have a mini market, a trade show, an EGA regional seminar, a MN regional seminar and convention planned for trips next year.
It is shaping up to be a year of travel.
Ok, enough chatter. I hope everyone had a fantastic Merry Christmas.
Be safe and have a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.