Gratitude, Friendship & Summer Chaos

It's summer. Is it just me, or is summer insanely busy and ridiculously unproductive all at the same time? I'm trying not to kick myself over it, because what's all that sunshine for (if not to play in?). Most of my projects sit on the sidelines while I spend the majority of my time lately scribbling ideas and brainstorming, somewhere in the fresh air and sunshine.

And now, a little gratitude.
I have the sweetest friends in the whole wide world. I only wish I was fortunate to live near them all so that we could spend time together more often.

I received two wonderful packages in the mail recently:

The first was a lovely surprise from my friend SuzyQ. She sent me a new zippered bag for my knitting, a selection of Jelly Belly jellybeans, and a couple of tags that she saved for me to re-purpose into something fun. So thoughtful! The package arrived on a day when I needed a little pick-me-up, and this sweet gesture did just the thing!
And then the next week or so, I received this darling combo from my friend Gabrielle, which included one of her fabulous oilcloth lunch bags (and don't you LOVE the orange???), a giant orange clothespin, a couple of handmade reminders to help me remember to take my reusable bags to the store with me, and a ball of fabulous yarn (which I forgot to include in the photo). Thank you, G! What a treat!
One of these days soon I will get back to the grindstone of creating cool things to share. Don't lose hope! We'll be back in the swing of things soon enough; the summer clock is ticking...

Marie