Happy (belated) Anniversary!

Okay, so my parents' anniversary was back in November. I, of course, didn't send them a card or a gift, though I did call. But I do, in fact, have a gift for their anniversary. It has taken years to make, if you can imagine that. It is a cross-stitch sampler: a nice little poem with a dandelion on the side. It took me about five years to finish cross-stitching it: I would work on it a bit, set it aside, forget about it for a year, find it again, work on it a bit, set it aside, forget about it, find it again, .... Anyway, I finally finished it and decided that I wanted to make it into a pillow.... But I can't sew very well.... So, I once again set it aside. Finally, like a week before I had to leave to go home for the holidays, I decided I really should get it done. So I took the sampler and the back over to a kledingreparatie shop and had the guy there sew up the pillow and put in a zipper for me. It's done! Yes! Well, actually, not quite... I stuffed it in the US (so as not to take up too much room in my luggage) and gave it to my parents as soon as I saw them (it was a belated anniversary gift and not a Christmas gift, afterall!). And they liked it! Now it is on display on their couch in the living room. Coolness!

In case you can't read the pillow, here is the poem:

To Mom and Dad

Dandelion days and firefly nights,
Rainbow dreams and Christmas lights,
A magic time to grow and learn,
Your guiding hand at every turn
I thank you for those special years
Of laughter, love, and even tears;
You gave to me a legacy,
A part of you is part of me.