Cozy and Content

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The last few weeks of Winter are quickly passing. I was looking forward to Winter, surprisingly, this year as I had a lot of projects I wanted to complete before warm weather. I have finished three quilts since the beginning of the year which is good for me. Small quilts, though. Not king size like I have been making. I have managed to clean out drawers that haven’t been touched in, gulp, years and found a boy scout flashlight that belonged to one of our boys. It’s surprising what you will find around our house if you look. We have closets full of old stuff from the sixties and seventies. With three children growing up in this old house and me as a collector, things have managed to pile up. I’m not a hoarder, though. Everything is put away and has its place. I just have to find it!

Today it is raining and the house feels so cozy. I wish you could hear the rain beating on the metal roof of our front porch. I love the sound. I told David if we ever built our little house in the woods I want it to have exposed beams and a metal roof so we could lay abed and listen to the rain overhead.

The weather has been topsy turvy the past few weeks. First we have this…….

Then we have sixty degree days. On those warm days David and I have been cleaning up the yard. It’s nice to get out and work in the sun and clean up debris in the yard and find all the flowers that are starting to peep through the ground. I think we are going to have a beautiful Spring this year with all the daffodils, magnolias, azaleas, and other plants blooming. We planted two more flowering trees last year so I am looking forward to seeing how they will look.

I am already planning my garden and what more flowers I want to plant this year. More hydrangeas, I think. Another tree, perhaps. Pumpkins and tomatoes are all I am planting in the vegetable garden this year. With just David and me, it’s too time consuming to put up so much food that we won’t eat. I have fought the critters who come and eat my beans for years and when I can buy a can of beans almost as cheaply as I can put up my own, it seems silly for me to waste my time. I really don’t think home canned beans taste much better than store canned beans if you cook them with a little bacon fat and onion and I always put garlic salt on ours and they are very good.

I have been sewing some dolls for Samaritan’s purse. Samaritan’s purse is an organization headed by Rev. Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son, that fills shoeboxes for Christmas for children around the world. The boxes are filled with toys, school supplies, candy, clothes and anything that can be stuffed inside them. These boxes are handed out to the children at Christmas time. Our church has been filling shoeboxes for years. Here are my little dolls.

I designed them myself and each has his or her own personality.

For instance, Rose, who wears her floral hat quite beautifully.

Mary, who is so proud of her new glasses.

Frankincense, Frank for short.

I hope some children will find them fun. They all come with their own little quilts too.

I finished quilting my chick quilt. I love, love, love it. It’s so darn cute and I could make another one.

Oh, I did.

This one is ready to be quilted. In blacks, reds, greys and pinks. I love how it turned out. It’s a small one.

These chicks were so much fun to sew. They can become addictive to make.

Lori Holt, who designed the pattern, really came up with something entirely too cute for words.

This is the third quilt I made and it is completed. I hand quilted most of it.

Looks so nice on the back of a chair in my girly room.

Yes, you may come and sit on this chair and visit.

With the days still chilly and needing comfort food, I baked this week.

Apple crunch. One of my favorite desserts because it is so easy and quick to prepare and David loves it.

Cracker Barrel biscuits with dried beef gravy. I don’t mean to brag, but my biscuits are better than any I have ever eaten at Cracker Barrel or anywhere, for that matter. I make them extra thick and they are so good. Definitely don’t last long around here which is why I only make them occasionally. They are wonderful with strawberry jam or blackberry jam on them. I am making myself hungry.

Hope your days are filled with comfort and contentment. Remember it’s the little things that really do count. Count your blessings. You may have more than you realize. Bye.

Paper Dolls and Valentines

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A friend posted on Facebook the other day, “do you remember paper dolls? ” Do I remember them? I was the paper doll fanatic in my day. I grew up in the fifties and sixties and during that time I cut out my share of paper dolls.

When I was a little girl, I would go to the grocery store with my mother. While there, she told me I could pick out a couple of comic books. Back then the comic books were on a revolving rack and there were so many choices. While my brothers went for Superman and other Super heroes, I went for the comic books that had paper dolls in them. Veronica and Betty and there was another one who was a model and there were always several fashions to cut out. My favorite by far was the Katy Keene comic books. Katy was a model and while I read her stories, what I looked for were the paper doll cutouts of her in its pages. I have not met anyone who remembers Katy Keene comic books. (Note: I looked up Katy Keene comics for sale and they are bringing up to twenty-seven dollars or more. Comics I use to buy for ten cents or a quarter.) But every week I would look for her comic books. Sometimes there would be extra thick comic books that cost twenty-five cents instead of the usual ten cents. When those would be on the rack, I would be in heaven. Through the years I gathered quite a few paper dolls. They were really one of my most favorite things to play with when I was little. One time I even designed a paper doll complete in her bra and panties and designed clothes for her and I gave my creations to my best friend at the time in second grade. She was happy to receive them. I wish I could see that paper doll now. At the time I thought she was really pretty, but being a second grader, and her artist, she was probably pretty primitive. My creative juices were flowing even back then, though and continue to this day.

I was cleaning out a drawer the other day looking for Valentines when I came across some paper dolls I had been collecting. Several years ago there was a magazine called Home Companion created by Mary Engelbreit. There was always one framing quality picture Mary had drawn and always a page of paper dolls. These were not simple paper dolls, but bright, detailed, beautiful dolls. I began to look through them.

Ann Estelle was one of my favorites. I think she was Mary’s, too.

If you have seen pictures of Mary Engelbreit, you will notice Ann Estelle looks a little like her. I remember the first time I saw Mary Engelbreit in a magazine telling how she was given a closet in her home, when she was a little girl, to go into and create. How neat was that? Her creating turned into an empire of paper dolls, calendars, greeting cards, fabric, dishes and much, much more. But I loved her paper dolls. Sadly, Home Companion went out of circulation a few years ago. Wish it would come back.

As you noticed, I didn’t cut out many of the paper dolls. I just couldn’t bring myself to, but I did cut out one Ann Estelle and some outfits for her. Here she is in her Halloween costume.

Dressed for a rainy day in London.

As far as I know, Ms. Engelbreit only drew one boy paper doll. Tommy.

I’m sure she copied him off someone she knew. He was so cute. And he got several pages in the Home Companion through the years.

One year(2003) Mary Engelbreit came out with this paper doll calendar. Now I am going to expose a deep, dark secret I have held inside for years. I bought this calendar to give to my only granddaughter and just couldn’t give it away. I’m so ashamed! But, it is still around and it would probably be gone by now if my granddaughter had had it because she would have probably actually played with it. Now I can look at it and enjoy it once again.

Each month had a different outfit for four different paper dolls that were also included in the calendar.

Really cute outfits. With accessories.

Yes, I love Mary Engelbreit paper dolls. They sure brought this “little girl” a lot of pleasure.

Another paper doll I collected when I was a girl came in the McCall’s magazine each month. My mother subscribed to McCalls, but I was the first one to look through it to look for the Betsy McCall paper doll.

Yes, I saved some of them. Not many. In fact, I forgot I even had them.

Betsy came ready to dress with a story about her adventures.

There was a game on the page.

And a crossword puzzle. So much fun in such a little space. Some magazine needs to bring back paper dolls in its pages. I believe it would sell them even faster.

I found these paper dolls in my stash. I really don’t know where I got them, perhaps at an auction or in an antique store.

Clothes to color and cut out.

Besides paper dolls, Mary Engelbreit has designed some really cute Valentine’s Day cards.

I can’t show them all because some people I love will be getting some for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine stickers by Ms. Engelbreit I love them. I love stickers anyway. If I can stick a sticker on something, I will.

These are especially nice.

I’m still coloring in my adult coloring book I got for Christmas. I ordered a tin of seventy-two colored pencils. This is half of them.

The tin is really nice to keep them in.

A picture by Mary Engelbreit. Since this Sunday is Valentine’s Day, I want to wish you all a happy day. You are loved by someone. And you are the apple of Jesus’ eye. Just wanted you to know. Love you all. Bye.

Where Did Last Week Go???

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Where did last week go? For that matter, where did the month of January go? January use to be my least favorite month, but through the years I have grown fond of long winter days, making things in my shop, sleeping in late in a toasty warm bed, baking and cooking comfort foods, and feeding the birds. January and I have grown rather fond of each other.

but January sped by this year like every month seems to speed by nowadays. This was what happened at our house last week.

I gave our living room a fresh coat of paint. Through the years I have painted every room in our house at least three times or more. I love to paint although climbing up and down the ladder is a little harder than it use to be.

The room was a light sage green and now it’s a sort of pinkish brown. A few years ago I painted our bedroom and wanted a soft, darker pink. It turned out Pepto Bismo pink. We lived with it. While painting with this color, I got some on my arm and looked at it and thought, ‘Ah, calamine lotion.” So now I have a calamine lotion painted room, but I rather like it. It looks really well alongside the grayish diningroom. We shall live with it.

This painting looks really good on the wall.

The fireplace mantle stands out better. I am getting use to it.

We had the wolf moon. I almost missed it, but I got up earlier than usual last Sunday and saw it just before it set in the west.

I love full moons. They say people go a little crazy during them, but they have never bothered me.

I have almost knit to the heel of another sock. Now I will have to change to double pointed needles to knit the heel flap and then the dreaded heel turn. I will have to try this when no one is around, all phones must not ring, the light must be just right, I must be well rested and alert, the moon must be in the right phase and nothing, but nothing must disturb me or the stitches will fall off the needles like they did the last time and I tore out the whole sock. How did someone figure out how to knit the very first sock ever? How did they teach themselves to turn a heel? It boggles my mind that someone did it for the very first time without any instructions. I have instructions, and it still boggles my mind!

Finished piecing my chick quilt top. It turned out even cuter than I though it would.

I could make another one of these, it was so much fun. It will get quilted soon.

Today I finished piecing a basket quilt. This was another really fun one, but oh, so many little pieces.

I love every piece of fabric in this quilt.

Of course, I continue to feed the birds. They are a continuous source of joy for me. Every time I see a titmouse or chickadee I just have to smile.

Today I was keeping an eye on this cardinal in the crabapple tree. She sat there for the longest time watching the other birds at the feeder.

I kept trying to get a good picture.

This is the best I could do. The sun was shining on her making her feathers seem to glow.

Walking around the yard I noticed that bulbs were starting to sprout in the garden.

This little bush has stayed this color all winter.

I’ve been doing a little coloring in this book.

I have ordered a tin of seventy-two colored pencils to make my pictures more enhanced.

There is something rather relaxing about sitting down and coloring a picture. I loved coloring when I was a little girl. So glad that adult coloring books are in vogue right now. I love working with the colors and shading and trying to pretend I am an artist. I saw in Sam’s Club the other day there was a Donald Trump coloring book. We had our grandsons with us and one of them wanted one, but I said his mother would kill me if I bought him one! But I thought it was funny. He got a book, instead.

I’m beginning to write stories about my two younger grandsons called “The Adventures of Tristan and Foster.” I have several ideas for stories. They always want me to make up stories about them when they visit, so I thought I would try my hand at writing some for them.

We lost Abigail this week. David went out to make sure they were in the coop and she was laying out in the garden. No feathers around, no blood.

We had been getting these really long skinny eggs lately and I was thinking one of the hens must have something wrong with her egg canal. Since Abigail died, we haven’t got anymore of these eggs so I think she got bound up with an egg. So sad. That happens sometimes with chickens. They can look really healthy, but have an egg stuck inside them and it kills them.

Besides all of this there’s been church going, cookie baking, roll making, grandboys visiting, laundry doing, book reading, dog playing, chicken feeding, Bible study planning, David’s birthday celebrating, and much more. I haven’t been to the hair dresser for months. I need a cut and color, but I keep putting it off. I am getting so lazy in my old age. Just love staying at home and doing at home things. I feel blessed. Bye.

Cold and Snowy

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January is doing what January does. Bringing us cold temperatures and snow. We had a really nice run of warmer weather, but all good things must come to an end and we are living in a freezer now. At least we are not waiting for a giant blizzard to head our way as the Northeast of our country is doing this weekend. Up to two feet of snow they are telling them. Whoa! You won’t be able to find bread or milk anywhere up there this weekend.

With snow on the ground and not much food available, I like to keep the bird feeders full. The birds have gone through a thirty gallon can full of birdseed in the last two weeks. When someone says they eat like a bird, they are a voracious eater because birds eat constantly.

Titmice, sparrows, cardinals. juncos, chickadees, woodpeckers, blue jays and one fat squirrel have visited our bird feeders. I have seen five pairs of cardinals at one time feeding. They prefer the ground, so I always throw some birdseed there.

I am so thankful for cardinals who bring us a bright spot of color on the winter landscape.

This weather makes the house next door look even more lonely. It’s been empty for a few years and the people who owned it are gone now. I don’t know what is going to happen to this house, but I keep praying a nice family will buy it and move next door and bring the house to life again. I would hate to see it torn down, but it does need a lot of work.

On days like these my heart turns to Spring. The Spring magazines are beginning to appear and I got this one the other day.

So many pretty pictures of birds and stories about birds and what plants to grow to draw birds to your yard.

I have been having trouble sleeping and getting cricks in my neck at night. We have tried so many different pillow through the years and I decided to try one more.

My Pillow. I don’t own shares in the company although I wish I did, but anyway, I bought two pillows from here right after Christmas.

They both came in a little box and were scrunched into plastic bags.

But once out of the bag they fluffed up very well.

I especially like that they are made here in the good old USA.

So I have been sleeping on mine for the last couple of weeks and only had one night that my neck hurt, but other than that, I have been sleeping like a baby. David is still not sure he likes his, but he doesn’t take to change too well so maybe he will change his mind after a while.

I’m not advertising them or anything, just telling you how mine works for me. I think it has helped my sleeping.

I have been working on several projects this month. January is a great month to stay inside and make things.

I told you about this quilt book I got a while back. I really love this book. Lori Holt has designed some of the cutest quilts in the past and this books is chock full of quilt ideas.

I really loved this one. Wouldn’t this be so cute for a baby? If you are expecting or are a soon to be grandma, this would make such a wonderful quilt for the new baby. If it’s a boy you could just use blue material instead of all the pink. I love pink and I am making a pink one.

Look at this chick closely. The material has little ducks on it! A chick made with duck material.

Little chicks lining up on my cutting table one by one. I need twenty of them. These are so much fun to make. I got kind of obsessed with making them after a while.

Here’s the stack of twenty blocks I need.

Since this is going to be used as an Easter quilt, I chose this material for the backing. We sold this in our store several years ago and I have sold some of it at garage sales and still have enough to back a quilt or two. I really love this material.

And while I work on the chick quilt, my mind is already wandering to the next quilt or quilts I would like to make.

I want to make a chick quilt using only blacks and pinks. If you are old enough to remember, in the five and dime stores back in the fifties at Easter time little chicks would appear in all colors. Pink chicks, blue chicks, lavender chicks. I don’t know what was used to color the chicks. It probably wasn’t healthy for them, but at the time I thought they were the cutest things and always wanted a colorful chick, but since my daddy raised hundreds of chickens, my parents thought it was foolish to buy one just because it was a different color. So I plan to make a pink chick quilt.

I bought this quilt book from Amazon a couple of weeks ago for a very cheap price. Four dollars, I think. It was almost like new. I love to make little quilts once in a while because it is instant gratification and I can make one in a day or so and still feel like I have made something worth having or giving away.

I plan to make this quilt soon. I love basket quilts. I have made quite a few in my lifetime.

I’ve been going through my stash of fabric to make this quilt. That is half the fun of quilting. Choosing the fabrics you will need. I just shop my stash and can come up with a nice selection.

Every once in a while I do some work for a friend. I am not a quilt restorer, but I was asked to do a little repair work on a friend’s quilt.

Actually a comforter as it is tied, but there were several of the rectangles that had holes in them. I took material that almost matched and sewed it over the damaged piece and retied it. If you look closely you can tell which ones I replaced, but it isn’t too apparent. I hope my friend will be happy.

This is a quilt made out of double knit. Not an easy fabric with which to make a quilt. Back in the sixties double knit was the fabric of choice for clothes. I made double knit skirts, my son a double knit little sailor suit, another suit jacket for my other son, and last but not least a leisure jacket for David. When I made David’s jacket, it had belt loops and a self fabric belt. Well, I put the belt loops up too high and when David wore the jacket it looked like the belt was directly under his chest. Bless him, he wore that jacket and never complained. We have a picture of him in it and every time we see it we laugh.

Double knits came in all colors and patterns. This quilt had a lot of different double knits in it.

It’s a very heavy quilt also. I wouldn’t want to sleep under it. Kind of like the denim one David made. It was so heavy I could barely carry it.

David put up my little green house and I am starting tomatoes this week. It won’t be long before May will be here and time to plant again. Always nice to know it’s coming when we are sitting in the middle of snow and ice.

Last but not least, I hung some red and white hankies in the window to decorate for Valentine’s Day that is coming.

There’s a living room to paint, a Bible study to start and a trip to plan. Hope your days are full and blest. Bye.

The Needle Arts

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From the day that my mother first handed me a needle and an old sock and told me to make a doll, I have been interested in the needle arts. I still have that sock doll somewhere. From sewing machines needles to knitting needles to quilting needles I have been interested in making things with needles. My year started out with my trying my hand at knitting socks. I have made three false starts and now I am once again trying to knit a sock.

I purchased this book in hopes it would walk me through the dreaded heel. I have not started the heel yet and to tell you the truth, I am very worried about it.

I’m practicing on a sock with inexpensive wool. I am liking how it looks so far.

I ordered this beautiful yarn from this place…

It’s so beautiful, I am almost afraid to use it. But won’t these make wonderful socks?

I have never ordered wool like this and I have never rolled balls of yarn before and it took a village to get it done. If I had tried to figure out how to find the end of the yarn in these skeins, I would have been left with a knotted up mess, but David helped me and we ended up with this..

You know how in some of those old movies you would see the husband holding the yarn in both hands while the wife wound the ball? That is what David and I did. One skein down, four more to go. One skein is suppose to knit up a pair of socks.

Remember the socks I was knitting a few days ago and ripped out?

Now they are a scarf, but I would much rather have had a pair of socks to show you. Someone will be getting a scarf for Christmas next year. Ha. I can do scarves with my eyes closed. Maybe that is what I am doing wrong. Not closing my eyes while I knit socks. What a catastrophe that would be!

I’m not the only one who can ply a needle.

I wanted to learn how to crochet and David found me one of his crochet hooks and started casting on and before we both knew it, he had crocheted this….

He used up some of my old yarn and wore this to work. He got several compliments on it. At least one of us is good with the needle. I still haven’t learned how to crochet. But it’s on my bucket list.

I licked my wounds after the sock debacle and went back to what I knew I could do. Quilting. This first week of January I have already completed two quilts.

This is one I started a couple of years ago and wanted to finish it before Valentine’s Day this year and I did! This is made with Pamkitty Love fabric which I love.

Love the look of old fashioned Valentines.

Another quilt I completed was made from the book, Little Quilts All Through the House. A book I had had for several years and lost and just last week I ordered it on Amazon for under ten dollars and am so glad I did. I have made so many little quilts from this particular book in the past years and this week I made another one.

Another quilt for Valentine’s Day. This one made up so fast and I absolutely love it.

I love fabric with words upon it and this is the border to this particular quilt.

Has a French look about it. Anyway, I feel a little better that I completed a project once again as I have been rather discouraged about all the sock knitting failures. I will knit socks. I won’t give up.

This is part of a new project I just started this week also. It’s going to have quilting, embroidering, and applique on it. I am making this to wear for Valentine’s Day. I am so excited because it is my own creation and no one will have anything like it when I am completed. All these ideas just creep into my mind and suddenly I just have to create. I put everything else aside when the creative juices start flowing. Must be like the feelings Picasso, Monet and other artists must have felt like when they created their great art, not that anything I make is great art, but it’s my art and I love it. I will be showing my creation as soon as I get it completed.

Alas, the day came to take down the Christmas tree. It’s never as exciting as putting it up although I do enjoy having more room again, but I sure will miss the bright lights and cheer the tree brought into our home.

Putting away all our much loved ornaments. We didn’t put as many decorations on the tree this year, but it was just right and looked really pretty.

I will look forward to seeing these again next Christmas.

All my snow people watched with interest as we stored all the Christmas paraphernalia away. They seemed to be saying, “Phew, we get to stay out another month or two because we are snow people.”

This little guy joined the others this year.

A friend gave me this wonderful Jim Shore snowman several years ago. He is my favorite snowperson. Shhhh, don’t tell the others.

This little lady joined my Jim Shore collection this Christmas as a gift to me and she stands on a shelf in the kitchen. The person who gave her to me said it was me with all the cooking and baking I do. I took that as a compliment. I love her.

This is my new exercise ball my daughter and son-in-law gave to me for Christmas. Every time I went to their house I would bounce on my daughter’s exercise ball and say, ” I would love to have one of these,” and she listened to me. It’s good for core exercise and balance. My daughter has MS and uses it to help her balance. I love bouncing on it. Feel like a kid again!

I got this really great poster of butterflies last Fall when we were in Fredricksburg, Texas at Wildseed Farms. Don’t know how I am going to display it yet, but I love looking at it and reading about all the different butterflies. So many beautiful ones.

I’ve seen a few of these in our garden.

And last but not least, I bought a couple of inexpensive journals at JoAnn’s the other day. I love writing in journals when I am not writing here. There is something about putting words on paper. I go back to some of my old journals that tell about some of our trips, family gatherings and other things and find it such a joy to read about the good times and even some of the not so joyful times because none of us gets to live a life free of pain or sorrow. But, all in all, we have lived a pretty good life, Dave and I and I hope I can fill many more journals.

Hope you will be creative this year. If not, I hope you get to enjoy something from a creative person. Here’s to needles and yarn and thread and creative juices. Bye.

A Brand Spanking New Year

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What is it about the start of a new year that makes a lot of us want to make resolutions, make plans, get nostalgic, and think of all the possibilities? I don’t know about you, but when I wake up on a new year’s first morning, I feel like anything is possible. I can finish all the projects I’ve started, clean every room in my house, learn a new skill, walk several miles, meet the newest best friend I have ever had in my life, save the world and do things I didn’t do in that old, rusty last year.

My only plan I have made thus far for this year is to knit a pair of socks. Not a big venture for most people, but I have never knitted a sock, so if I can manage to get a pair knitted, I will feel quite accomplished. I also want to learn to crochet. For all you sock knitters and those proficient in crocheting out there, you are thinking, well, that will be easy. But you have not seen me try to knit a sock to the heel and have to rip the entire thing out, or start a baby sock and find a hole in the middle of it and tear it all out or start a sock on my new sock loom I got for Christmas and find I am all thumbs. I am now starting my third sock. So far it is going well and I have high hopes I will get this one completed. You will know if I do. My first sock is now almost a completed scarf. It’s pretty, but it’s not a sock. I’ve ordered some beautiful sock yarn and should be getting it next week. I am an optimist and believe I will make socks from it.

I plan to read more this year. I read quite a lot of books last year. Ever since I got my Kindle White, I feel like I read so much faster. I am reading a book by Liane Moriarty. She is my new favorite author. She wrote The Husband’s Secret and What Alice Forgot. I just finished her book, The Last Anniversary. It was so good with a twist at the end I wasn’t prepared for. Now I am reading Big Little Lies and have The Hypnotist’s Love Story waiting in line on my Kindle. Another book I really loved was Stephen King’s 11/22/63. Now let me preface this by saying I quit reading Stephen King books years ago because they got too gruesome and scary for me. But, my son told me that it was the best book he had ever read and it wasn’t gruesome or gory. It did have its places, but this story is about a man who goes back in time to try to stop President John Kennedy’s assassination. I was fourteen years old the day President Kennedy was killed. I can remember it almost as if it were yesterday. I remember sticking by the television watching all the news and seeing the funeral and John John saluting his father’s casket. So heart wrenching. Well, this book brought back many memories. It starts when the lead character goes back into the fifties. I remember the fifties as I was growing up then. So much that Mr. King wrote was so true to what the period was like. Anyway, this is one Stephen King book I would recommend. It’s long. Almost nine hundred pages, but I read it so fast and it didn’t seem that long at all. If you were alive during that time, it will remind you of all that was going on then.

I bought tomato seeds today and two books on building tiny houses. Ever since David and I bought three acres in Brown County, I have thought about us building a tiny house in the woods where we could go and stay for a day or two. We could have a bed to sleep in and lanterns and a cooler and fluffy pillows and quilts. For cool weather we could have a small heater. If I had a book or two to read, I would be all set. Plus, our grandboys would be within feet of us and would visit and we could walk in the woods. It would be rustic, like camping out, but that is all I really want. There are so many ideas for cute tiny houses, some not much bigger than the chicken coop David built, so I know it would be possible. Who knows, maybe that will happen this year.

We want to go on a vacation this year, but haven’t decided where to go. We have been just about everywhere in the United States. I think Martha’s Vineyard would be a wonderful place to visit. We loved the Outerbanks and being on the ocean. But then, the mountains call to us and we think we would like to go out west again or Alaska and take the ferry up the coast. That was one of the most wonderful trips we have ever taken. Who knows where our wanderlust will take us? I pray we have good health this year so that we can do all these things.

What are your plans for this shiny new year? Are you going to plant a garden. sew a quilt, raise some chickens, take a wonderful vacation or just stay at home and work on the old homestead? No matter what you plan to do, I pray you do it all with gusto and enjoy the ride. It’s going to be a very interesting year, I believe. We have a big election here in the states this year. A brand spanking new president. Lots of exciting things happening.

Happy New Year to all my friends around the world. May you be blessed with health and blessings far beyond your wildest imaginations. God bless you all. Bye.

Signs of the Season

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I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We were blessed with family and festivities and all the Christmas season is supposed to be. A time of joy, peace and blessings. Now we are settling in for the rest of the winter. Cold, dreary days. Firelight flickering. Candles glowing. The days for soups, chili, and comfort food. Baking bread. The days for enjoying our Christmas gifts, if we got any, or just enjoying being inside and working on our indoor chores and hobbies.

I am in a sock knitting obsession. I started a pair of socks in the last couple of weeks.

My first time ever to knit on circular needles.

Very tiny circular needles. I found I liked the knitting part of it, but was dreading turning the heel. I think I worried about it so much I dropped stitches as I was trying to knit the heel flap, got all impatient about picking up the stitches and ended up tearing out the whole sock and now am using the yarn to knit yet another scarf. So I am back to square one in starting a pair of socks. I think I am going to order some different yarn as this yarn is acrylic and not really sock yarn and I did not like the stiffness of it as I was knitting. Maybe it was a good thing I dropped those stitches. David said, “you spent hours knitting that sock,” and I said, ” I can start again. I am determined to knit socks.” I won’t give up. If millions of women can knit socks, so can I.

I did get this for Christmas.

I am not so sure this will be any easier as there is a CD to watch and all kinds of things one needs to know before one starts. How can a simple sock be so hard? I know people who knit hats on looms like this, so it cannot be that hard. Anyway, that is what I tell myself.

Meanwhile, I told David I wanted to learn to crochet this year, also, which made him get out his crochet needles and proceed to crochet a scarf.

He use to crochet all the time and even crocheted a huge afghan. If David can do it, surely I can. He says it’s easy. Sure it is. When you know how to do it!

We had an informal table this year at Christmas. I didn’t want to be spending the time doing dishes on Christmas day.

We used paper plates, but I did find these vintage looking ones with napkins to match at Hobby Lobby.

Kids are what make Christmas so much fun.

Even grumpy snowmen are fun. Our oldest son modeling one of his gifts. As one can see, it made our grandson laugh.

Another gift I received was this adult coloring book. It has brought out the kid in me. I can’t stay away from it. I collected all my coloring pencils and got to work.

The pages are all these black and white drawings, but as you color you turn the pages into…

Little works of art.

I am having way too much fun with this book.

Other signs of the season are these…..

Birds at the bird feeders. A titmouse. We haven’t seen titmice for years at our feeder so this was a wonderful thing to see. I hope we get lots more of these pretty little birds.

The winter garden is still wonderful to see. There is beauty everywhere. These flowers only bloom in the winter. This is the first year I have had them and I plan to get some more as it is a joy to see flowers in December outdoors.

As we come to the close of yet another year, I pray for peace, for happiness, for health, and for the love of family and friends in 2016. I wish it all for you, too. Bye.

O Holy Night

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She had walked ninety miles over rough terrain. Sometimes Joseph would place her on their little donkey, but in her condition it wasn’t all that comfortable. Coming into Joseph’s ancestral home, Bethlehem, there was a bustle and hurry among the people, most here to pay their taxes to Caesar Augustus. She and Joseph were pushed and shoved in the crowded streets. She felt twinges of pain. Her baby was due at any time. Where was she going to birth him?

From inn to inn they went looking for a bed for the night. “No room, no room,” they were told over and over. Then one inn keeper felt pity for the young couple and motioned them to follow him. He took them behind his inn where a sort of cave held his animals. At least it was out of the weather. There was clean straw on the floor. A couple of cows stood in their stalls. Chickens clucked softly on their roosts. A few sheep baaed softly. Mary looked around at the surroundings and thought to herself that this was not a place for God’s son to be born, but there was no where else to go, so she settled down in the hay.

The birth pangs became harder and harder. Joseph rubbed her back and said soothing words. Then the time came that she should be delivered. The boy they had been promised came into this world among animals who watched curiously at this event that was happening. Mary gazed at her baby’s face. She was looking into the very face of God. This tiny babe who would change everything. Time would be based on his birth, BC and Anno Domini. The world would not accept him. He would touch thousands of people during his short time on earth. Thankfully, Mary did not know what her baby boy would one day have to suffer to save this world of His. All she knew was that she loved him more than anyone she had ever loved before. She kissed his sweet, baby face and smelled the sweetness of his baby smell. His downy hair stuck up. He gurgled and cooed. She held him to her breast. All was calm. All was peaceful in the stable. Joseph found some rags and she carefully swaddled Jesus. They were now a family. Parents with a great responsibility for they were to raise God’s son.

Out in the fields surrounding Bethlehem, shepherds were watching their sheep. Watching that no predators would come along and grab one to kill and eat. It was a chilly night. They pulled their garments close around them as they looked up at the starry sky. It was such a clear night, so quiet and peaceful. The sheep were grazing. Lambs following their mothers up and down the hills. Suddenly, right before their eyes in the dark nighttime sky, a light appeared. A figure of great beauty appeared before them. They began to shake with fear as the angel said to them, “Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to ALL people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly the skies were filled with hosts of angels, a multitude of them, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will to men.”

Suddenly it was a dark night again and the shepherds looked at one another. Did we really see that, they asked themselves. “We had better get down to Bethlehem and see this thing which the angels told us about.” So, they left their sheep grazing on the hills and hurried down to the busy streets of Bethlehem going from place to place until suddenly, there they found a little family in a stall for animals, their baby swaddled and laying in a manger where the cattle fed. Such a lowly sight and yet a glorious one. A soft glow shone over the family. The shepherds bowed down and looked at this tiny baby who would change the world.

This year as you celebrate Christmas remember this. It is about the gift. The greatest gift of all. God’s gift to you. Just for you. Jesus. He came, not to condemn the world, but to save it because He loves us so much. That little baby grew to be the savior of the world. One day to die a horrible death on the cross taking your and my sins upon him. Every last person on earth meant that much to Him.

Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus. You are infinite. Your birthdays will go on forever. Welcome into our hearts today. Merry Christmas, everyone and may you be blessed to know Jesus. Bye.

Chicken Version of the Night Before Christmas

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‘Twas the night before Christmas

And all through the coop,

Not a chicken was stirring

Not even their poop.

The chickens were nestled

All snug in their beds

While visions of mealworms

Danced in their heads.

Me in my pjs

And Dave in his chair

Soon gave me to know

I had not a care.

When out in the yard

I heard such a clatter

I ran to the door

To see what was the matter.

Belle and Bonnie were having a rumble

Biting and jumping

A right good dog jumble.

As I came back inside

And proceeded to bed

I saw a fat man

Dressed all in red.

He looked at me funny,

He looked at me weird.

He sure wasn’t Santa

He had no white beard.

Instead of a beard he had feathers on his chin

As I kept staring, he started to grin.

You don’t know me, do you?

He asked with a smile.

I don’t come round usually

Just once in a while.

Only to good little hens

I come to see.

Your hens have been just as good as can be.

I’m Chicken Santa,

I’m new at this job.

Seeing chickens whose names might be

Beatrice or Bob.

I’m bringing the chickens something they want

Something they usually have to go hunt.

And then in a twinkling he opened his bag.

What I saw in it made me want to gag.

A big bag of worms squirming around

Something I don’t see except in the ground.

He spoke no more to me, but went out to the birds.

Filled up their feeder without any words.

And looking at me with nary a sound

He disappeared from sight as I looked all around.

But I heard him exclaim, though he wasn’t in sight,

Merry Chickens to you and to all a good night!

Four More Days

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I really wish there were two months between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The four weeks between seem to be a whirlwind of activity. I just came up for air today since all the gifts are wrapped and I won’t start preparing for Christmas dinner until Wednesday. Today I have been knitting and watching movies on tv. It’s rained all day so it’s been kind of nice and cozy here with the tree lights shining, the fireplace flickering and my needles steadily knitting my very first pair of socks.

This past weekend we shared Christmas with part of our family.

Four boy cousins, who, when they get together, start the wrestling. Running after each other, climbing on each other, jumping on each other, until someone cries and then they settle down for a bit until they start in again. I just sit there and laugh, because they are really having a good time together and since they don’t see each other very often, I am glad to see they like to be together. By the way, I made that quilt on the wall for my daughter several Christmases ago.

Meanwhile, our granddaughter stays blissfully out of the fray. She tolerates the boys and that’s about all.

Santa was there. David loves to wear his Santa hat and go “Ho ho ho.”

We opened gifts. Here is something I made.

A barn quilt made from Lori Holt’s Vintage Farm Girl book which I am in love with.

Each barn block has another small quilt within the block.

It was a fun day. Our son-in-law made homemade strombolies which were delicious.

This is my first sock I am knitting. I got all excited about knitting socks after reading Lucy’s blog, Attic24, where she knit her first pair of socks. She crochets beautifully, too. I have never knitted on circular needles and these are teeny tiny ones, but I have caught on pretty fast and actually am enjoying the process so far, but the dreaded heel will be coming up shortly where I will have to knit a heel flap and turn the heel and pick up stitches and then knit to the toe and do something called the “kitcheners” stitch which is really kind of worrying me because I would hate to get this far and make all kinds of mistakes in the latter process. I wish I could have an experienced sock knitter sitting right by my side while I start the process so if I start to make a mistake she could tell me so. I have been watching youtube videos of the process, read all kinds of lessons on the process and I am still rather confused as to how the whole heel thing magically comes together. I’ll let you know if I make it though.

I knit on the sock until my hand gets tired and then I take up my other needles and start knitting a scarf.

I just finished this scarf. It’ a lot longer than shown as I have it folded.

I plan to learn how to crochet in the coming year. Everyone on my Christmas list plan to receive one of my creations next Christmas.

Burning candles to brighten up the dull days. This is my favorite scent to burn during the Christmas season.

We have an artificial Christmas tree so this makes it smell like we have a real one in the house.

A friend gave me this cute snowmen the other day which holds tea lights. I kind of have started a new collection of snowmen. I didn’t mean to, but I seem to have several now, just like my Santa Claus collection. When people find out you like something, you start getting that something quite often whether planned or not. I love this new little snowman and he will be decorating my house for Christmases to come.

Found this little Nativity set I purchased several years ago and set it up.

I can put this one out and know it can’t be broken. My Jim Shore Nativity had an accident one year and one of the donkey’s ears was broken off which a certain grandson hid under the couch and I found it there later. David repaired the ear and that nativity is placed up high where, hopefully, it can’t be broken.

Made potato and sausage soup and it was soooo good. Think we will have it for leftovers tonight.

Baked snickerdoodles and it wasn’t long before this happened…..

A hand stole in to take one. These did not last long. I made three dozen sugar cookies Saturday and they are all gone, but it was because I gave them to our grandchildren to take home. I think I ate one of them.

I have to tell you about a cleaning solution I saw on Facebook. I tried it and I was amazed at how well it worked. Here is the recipe:

2 oz. of Dawn liquid (1/4 cup)

4 oz. lemon juice(1/2 cup)

8 oz. white vinegar( 1 cup)

10 oz water(1 and 1/4 cups)

Put in a glass jar and shake it up. I use a canning jar and canning lids.

This was two batches and I already had used some for cleaning.

I have these blue Ball jars I plan to store it in.

I guess you could use another dish washing liquid other than Dawn, but then you wouldn’t have this pretty blue cleaner. I have used it on cabinets, floors, the refrigerator and a toaster that was really greasy and I had tried to clean it with just soap and water. This is what it looked like after a cleaning with this.

It was sparkling, although I do see a few places I need to apply the cleaner again. You can clean your oven, walls, windows, just about anything. It is a little soapy, but I spray it on, let it set, wipe it off with a clean cloth and it seems to work well. It smells fresh, too and is safe around animals and children. Anyway, if you don’t like harsh cleaners, this is one you might want to try. I give no guarantees, just that I had success with it.

In closing I will show you how hard it is to take pictures of your grandchildren all at the same time.