Saturday, May 31, 2014

A Special Occasion And A Stash Haul

Two weeks ago Mark and I went to California to attend our son's graduation.  In the past we have enjoyed seeing him graduate from high school, where he was the valedictorian, and then college.  But this graduation was quite a special one.  Matt earned his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.
This was a big, gigantic deal for us.  We saw how hard Matt worked for this and understand all of the good he can do with his degree.  So I'm proud to say that he is now Matthew J. Pavlovich, PhD.  Or Dr. Matthew Pavlovich.  Wow, I still have to get used to that.

We enjoyed our trip to the west coast, and did a lot of things -- visited San Francisco's Chinatown, went to a SF Giants Game and did a little wine tasting in Napa.  We also celebrated with our new graduate and his girlfriend, Stephanie, at a very lovely restaurant in Napa. 

The view from our hotel's parking lot.
Of course, there is one place in the Bay area that I couldn't resist visiting and that's Needle In A Haystack
It's less than a half hour drive from the Oakland airport so we made a stop there on the way in.  Just like my previous visit, I was blown away by the selection of threads.  They have a wonderful collection of charts too and the staff is extremely helpful.  I know that you want to know what I came home with. 
First, there's the "Needle Lady Pocket" by LHN.  This just appealed to me, plus making a needlebook will be a new adventure for me.  It called for brown wool, but I chose green.  I figure that the fat quarter I bought will be enough for the needlebook AND some Christmas ornament crafting.

I had been eyeing the Frosty Forest charts from Country Cottage Needleworks for some time.  When I was at Needle in a Haystack, I found that they had all of the charts (to date) plus the fabric already cut to size and ready to go.  I couldn't pass that up.

Here's a chart I've never seen before.  It's Ink Circles' "Turtles All The Way Down".  Mark likes turtles (he has been known as the "turtle whisperer" and has rescued many turtles from impending doom), so I happily snapped up this chart!

I also bought two Ink Circles charts for Sheila, who was looking after our cats while we were gone.  She seemed very happy with those, along with the box of See's assorted chocolates that I gave her.

All in all a very happy trip.  Coming home with some sweet charts doesn't hurt either.

Remember that the deadline for entering The Snowflowers Diaries Blog's giveaway is tomorrow, June 1 at 12:00 P.M.!  This is a truly generous giveaway and the offerings are lovely!  Don't miss it!

13 comments:

  1. Congratulations to you and your son. May God bless his future career.

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  2. Congratulations to Dr. Matt AND his proud Mom and Dad! I'm sure you were popping buttons. What great stash you brought home; now you'll have extra reminders of that extra-special trip while you stitch and when you see your finished pieces.

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  3. Congratulations on having a new doc in the family. What a fabulous accomplishment. And to get to Cali for that is a definite plus! You found some good projects too!

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  4. Congratulations to your son! And great stash haul:)

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  5. Congrats Cathy. A Ph.D. is the reward for oodles of hard works. Looks like you had a great time in the Bay area and Napa.

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  6. Congratulations! You deserve to be proud, quite an accomplishment.

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  7. How proud you must be! That is a wonderful accomplishment for him and for you as parents.
    (Oh and btw, awesome stash)

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  8. Congrats on your son's graduation! That is an impressive accomplishment. :)

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  9. Congratulations to Matt and his proud parents! Love your new stash!! :)

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  10. Congrats to you and your family. Truly a fantastic accomplishment. Good luck to your son. And what a fab trip for you in so many ways!

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  11. Congratulations to your son, what a fantastic achievement! Love all your new stash....seems like you had the perfect trip!

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  12. Congratulations to Matt. Great new stash Cathy.

    Linda

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  13. Congratulations to your son on is great success.
    Wonderful that you could visit San Francisco. And even more wonderful that you could visit Needle in a Haystack. I have seen pictures of this LNS and it must be like stitcher's paradise. You definitely came home with some gorgeous new stash.

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