2010

Happy New Year

From Our Home to Yours

Alan

Randy, Dooley, Sandy and Alan

1970

We got to play with the party hats after the party was over.

I hope the new year brings all the joy , peace, happiness, good health and many happy hours of stitching time to you all.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I hope y'all all have a wonderful and very Merry Christmas and ring in the New Year with plenty of joy. I have enjoyed meeting and making new friends this past year with my blog and hope to meet lots and lots of more new friends in the years to come. I will see you again on January 1, 2010.

Sandy

Christmas Present Give-A-Way

Winnie the Pooh

I have a cross stitch finished mini backpack that I would like to go to a little boy named Aaron. I stitched this as a gift that was not needed at the time and since then the little boy has grown up too much to use it. The backpack is navy blue. It is about 9" tall and 8" wide. It has straps on the back so it can be worn on a child's back. It has a zippered opening with a pocket on either side that closes with velcro flaps. If you have a child, grandchild or a friend that has a child named Aaron and you would like to give as a present please leave a comment or e-mail me and I will be happy to mail it to you. This is brand new, has never been used and would be an appropriate size for a 1 to 3 year old.

Sandy

Cross Stitch Christmas

It is starting to look and feel more and more like Christmas. The colder weather has moved in and snow flurries were mentioned in the weather forecast. The crowds and traffic are getting heavier every day and the stores are having lots and lots of sales. I have been stitching for Christmas and here are a few that are done but not yet finished.

Follow Me

Precious Moments Miniature Collection PMR22-39

28 ct Sponged Evenweave

DMC Floss & Gold Metallic

Christmas Cardinal

Virginia Knutson (Vee & Company)

28 ct White Evenweave

Substituted Colors & Beads

Vinney

Just Cross Stitch Magazine, December 2009

16 ct Ecru Damask

DMC Floss & Blending Filament

Opulent Ornaments

Leisure Arts Magazine

14 ct White Aida

DMC Floss & Gold Metallic

Frosty the Snowman

Better Homes & Gardens

A Cross Stitch Christmas, Celebrations in Stitches

28 ct Silkweaver Evenweave Opalescent

Sandy

Tennessee Tuesdays

Nashville Flea Market

The flea market is held at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds the 4th weekend of every month and is a treasure trove for bargain hunters. Cousin Betty and I had a beautiful sunny day Friday to walk and hunt for those bargains. Even better they had free parking for the day. Here is some of what we seen:

desks for kids

beautiful rockers

quilts and embroidery work galore

wonderful hand painted trunks

pecans, pecans and more pecans

beautiful saddles

lobsters

and crows

old chandeliers

lots and lots of metal signs

and our loot

we each got a metal wreath and Cousin Betty also bought a basket and baby stroller

I went back with Mom on Saturday and we picked up a couple more of the rusted metal wreaths. They are marvelous, perfect to start decorating for Christmas. Now the only question is which one do we keep.

Cousin Betty also brought with her Uncle Richard and Aunt Mary. We enjoyed your visit so much and had such a great time while you were here.

Sandy

Cloudy Days, Cooler Temps & Flowers Still Blooming

So far we have had a mild fall with very warm temperatures and lots of rain. It has sure made the garden flowers last a lot longer than normal.

beautiful pink camilla

pink and white camillas in full bloom

the white is hidden among the pink blooms

moss roses still blooming in the birdbath planter

moss under the pine tree

cloudy days in the garden looking towards the church

the trees are so pretty this year changing colors

trumpet vine already going dormat

first poinsettia of the season - time to start getting ready for Christmas

Sandy

White Wednesday at Jennifer's House

We thought Sunday afternoon was going to be another beautiful sunny day so we planned on painting at Jennifer's so her house would be ready for winter since Mom finished the painting on our house and we had left over paint. We did get it painted but never did see the sun come out - nothing like a cool cloudy day to make one's paint brush move faster and faster.

front steps ready for painting

corner of front porch, scraped - sanded and ready for new white paint

finished and ready for winter

her lions standing guard on her newly painted front porch

Visit Kathleen at Faded Charm for more wonderful White Wednesday blogs.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sandy

Jennifer's Hydrangeas & Leland Cypress Trees

Mom and I have transplanted some of our hydrangeas to Jennifer's house over the past 5 years. The first one we transplanted has been a beauty, full of blooms each year and getting bigger and bigger.

A baby from when I pruned the big bush last year and stuck in the ground on both ends of her house by the driveway - this is 1 year old. I have 3 bought ones in between our babies.

One of the bought ones I picked up 2 years ago at K-Mart on clearance - they turn bronze much faster than our old varieties and this one bloomed this year. The other 2 have not bloomed yet.

Jennifer's big bush after I pruned it last week - it fills the entire corner and spills over onto her walk way going to the back door.

dried blooms from my pruning - they are so beautiful

baby leland cypress tree I planted last month - 3 in all

Leland cypress trees I planted last year - we are trying to cover up the neighbors animal shed - hopefully in another couple of years we won't be able to see it any more as fast as these trees are growing.

Sandy

Gorgeous Sunday

This past Sunday was such a beautiful day, it was sunny and in the low 70s. Mom was out of town so I arrived at Jennifer's at 7:30 am and worked on her loveseat and drainage ditch next to her driveway. Actually got both done and had time to get most of the paint scrapped on the front porch so we are ready to paint the next warm day we get.

poor chair before

I had been planning to restain this chair the past couple of years

beautiful chair now

amazing what a couple coats of stain will accomplish

drainage ditch before

This ditch runs close to her driveway and to our horror a couple of years ago we found out it does spill over into the driveway and washes her gravel away if it is not kept cleaned out and now that we have flowers planted it sure makes a mess with them. So every spring and fall I clean out any debris that has accumulated.

swept the dirt and all is well

Mom thought it was clean enough to eat on

11 bags later and I am through

By 3:00 I was ready to call it quits and sent Jennifer a text message to bring me a burger from Arbys and a cherry turnover home for lunch. She did even better -- she brought Olive Garden take out -- manicotti and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Is she a perfect daughter or what and she didn't even know I was working at her house all day. It was so delicious. I ate and called it a day.

On Monday I trimmed 2 bushes on either side of the front porch and finished scrapping the paint. Mom arrived in time to help me bag up the debris and then we even managed to get the bags hauled off before the rain started.

Now if we can just get a decent enough day to get the front porch painted and her house will be ready for winter.

Sandy

Cross Stitch Quilt Blocks

Finishes

DC Comics Super Heroes Close-Ups

The Atom

Garfield...A Real Sport

Football

A couple more blocks for lap quilts for children at Hatch's House, the Pediatric Cancer Center in Chattanooga, TN. This is coordinated for volunteers through Lavender Lime Quilting.

Sandy

Books, Books, & More Books

There is nothing better than having time to sit and read a book. I enjoy reading more than any other hobby and would sit and read all day long if I could. I have 11 feet of oak bookcases, 6 feet tall in my bedroom and love every foot of them. I make time to read every night since I try to cross stitch while watching TV.

part of small wall of bookcases

Julie Garwood & Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick are 2 of my favorite authors

we are fortunate to have 3 different Border stores in our area

part of the longer wall of bookcases

another favorite author - Suzanne Brockman

half priced book store -- can't get much better than that

they even have fairly recent bestsellers at times

Catherine Coulter -- another favorite is her FBI series

we have 2 very close Books A Million stores in our area

only 10 minutes to one of them

books, books, and more books everywhere you look

Sandy