Me Time ~ August 16, 2011

But also about me stitching my way along the Danube...

Today was Me Time but there were

only 2 of us there today.  One person

has returned to school, another starts

school tomorrow, someone else is

celebrating her son's homecoming from

a tour in Afghanistan and another

person is vacationing at the lakes.

I was supposed to be developing a

new pattern for these Christmas

 ornaments, but instead got sidetracked

with conversations about life & love

& good people & bad people.

So instead of hearing about Me Time

today, I'll tell the story of these ornaments.

Last December I was cruising on

the Viking Sky from Budapest to

Passua, Germany, along the Danube,

stopping at anything that even hinted

at being a Christmas Market.

One morning we made an icy climb

up to the village of Durnstein, Austria.

Afterwards we returned to the ship

to cruise through the scenic Wachau

Valley on our way to tour the Melk

Abbey that afternoon.

We all settled into the lounge to

enjoy drinks and local foods for lunch.

I thought it was a perfect time to

settle in and get a little stitching done.

No sooner did I have my materials

out on the table then this lovely

young lady plopped down in the

seat beside me and asked, "what is

that?"  I said, "Embroidery ~ would

you like to learn how to do it?"  She

said, "YES!!" 

And that, my friends, was the

beginning of a beautiful friendship.

We learned the basics as we cruised

that afternoon but it didn't stop there.

Olivia and I would stitch if we were on

bus rides to far off cities, we met after

dinner for "stitching dates" in the lounge.

And that was the best part, we met everyone

on the ship.  People were so interested in

what we were doing, they would stop by

to chat and tell us stories about their

Moms or Grandmas and the beautiful

needlework they would do. 

Of course, we would always take time

to enjoy the little treats people would

drop off to the girls that were working

so hard on their stitchery. 

Since then, my lovely friend has moved

to Germany and I'm told there is a guest

room waiting for me.  I can't wait!

Olivia ~ I'll bring the embroidery floss...