I had company again!

This time it was people, not cats. :-) People that I'd never met in person before.

It's been nearly a year since I met Cindy over the internet. She tracked me down at my blog via a comment I'd left on Jess's blog and discovered we had many things in common... not the least of which are granddaughters that are close to the same age, have dark curly hair, and even look somewhat alike. She emailed me, and we've been corresponding and growing closer as friends ever since.

Another thing we have in common is Minnesota. Cindy and her husband, Mark, live in Fresno, California... but Mark grew up in MN, not all that far from here! He's kind of a "displaced farmer" and really misses MN and farm life. (If you recall a few of my posts last winter in which I mention a "Mark", that was him. I just had to let him see pics of all the "lovely" SNOW he was missing out on. ;-) )

Cindy and Mark came to MN for Mark's class reunion last weekend, so they decided to also come and visit me on Monday! How fun! We had a great visit, and it was so good to actually meet in person. Here are Mark and Cindy.

They even brought me gifts! Besides their regular jobs, they also make fused-glass items. This is a wine bottle that they melted down in their kiln and made it into a little serving tray for nuts, candy, or whatever. Isn't it cool?

Below is a set of glass coasters that they also made. So pretty!

(You're right, Cindy... glass is hard to photograph!)

If you'd like, you can see many more of their glass items in their Etsy shop, One in Every Color, or on their website, Around the Block Designs. Cindy is also a wonderful quilter, and she has designed and had published a couple of quilt patterns, which are also available in their Etsy shop or on their website. I just may have to learn how to quilt someday!

Thanks again for the gifts, Cindy and Mark, but especially for coming to visit me!