Wednesday, September 8, 2021

The good, the bad, and the sad

It's only been a little over three weeks since I last posted, but so much has happened that it seems like three years have passed! Since mid-August, my life has included some special visitors, a wedding, a  sad farewell, a hurricane, and an invasion. Oh, and a bit of stitching, let's not forget that! I'm so glad you've stopped in for a visit today. I hope you've each managed to fit in a bit of stitching to help deal with the stressful times being felt all around the world. Honestly, I don't know where I would be without my needle, thread, and fabric...

I was a bit behind on my monthly ornament stitching, but managed to catch up and finish both my August and September ornaments this past week. Love how they turned out!

My August and September ornaments

 

My August ornament is called "Winter's Song" and is an older chart from Plum Pudding Needleart. Fortunately, you can still download it from their Etsy shop (right here) if you are interested. I truly love the simplicity of this sweet design... This was stitched "over one" on 28 ct. bay leaf Jobelan using most of the suggested colors. I did change the green to DMC 3362 and the cardinal's legs to DMC 844. Some cording made of the same DMC 3362 floss, a simple green gingham bow and hanger, and a swag of holly and berries finished it off. For you long time readers (if there are any of you left from over a decade ago!), you'll recognize this one as I've made it several times for gifts. Finally, I have one for my own Christmas tree!

"Winter's Song" by Plum Pudding Needleart

 

My September ornament is from the Prairie Schooler Book No. 80, "Old World Santas." This handsome Santa is stitched on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle with DMC threads. I did change a few of the colors and left off the bottom border as I wanted it to be an oval shape. The little white snowflakes are all Smyrna stitches--now those took a while! But, I love the final finish!

Another oval-shaped PS Santa finish joins the gang

This is the second Santa I've stitched from that booklet and finished the same way. The first was my January ornament and in the photo below you can see both of them together. I'm sure they'll have more buddies joining them in the next few years. 

Mr. January meets Mr. September!

It "only" took me 14 years, but I finally managed to frame one of my favorite Prairie Schooler Samplers from Book No. 45 "Garden Samplers." Yes, I tend to procrastinate (just a bit!) as I've even had the frame for it since 2012. This was stitched all the way back in 2007 and I first showed it on my blog in 2010 in this post. Now, do you notice anything missing when you click on that link and study the picture from 2010? YES! I actually forgot to cross about a dozen stitches in the lower left border! Thank goodness I finally realized it and was able to add them before I framed it. 

Stitched in 2007 / Framed in 2021!

 

The rustic black frame was one I ordered online from Franken Frames--always have wonderful service from them and they will even provide you with free samples to hold up next to your stitching before you place your order. Check them out! And I know I've mentioned it before, but the tutorial I use for framing is this one from Brenda Gervais: framing tutorial. It is much easier than you think it would be--and boy, does it save money when you frame your own stitching!

I think this rustic black frame works so well with this sampler!

One of my favorite things about Prairie Schooler samplers is that you can select individual motifs from them to make into small pillows or ornaments. This white Martin house surrounded by sunflowers is one of my favorite little pillows that I stitched back in 2012. I love bringing it out each summer and fall to decorate my kitchen corner cupboard. This pillow was stitched "over one" on 28 ct. sage Jobelan using the suggested DMC threads.

This little PS pillow is one of my favorites

 

Giveaway winner... Thank you all so much for participating in the "Getting To Know You" portion of my previous post! First of all, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading about three of your favorite things that you could see as you looked around the room where you were sitting. If you get a chance, read through the answers on my last post--I guarantee you'll be smiling by the time you're done. The lucky winner of the sweet "Proverbs 7:4 Sampler" is...

Melisa V.!

Melisa V.--you are the winner!

Congratulations, Melisa... Please send me your mailing address and I will get this right out to you. More charts will be given away in the future so please keep an eye on this space--thank you to all who entered.

So, back to my busy three weeks... whew! My oldest son, daughter-in-law, and grandbaby flew in for a week before my nephew's wedding. They had to work remotely so my husband and I gladly kept "Baby B" entertained. Now, a 13 month old is in constant motion and we went to bed each night at about the same time (or before since he was still on West Coast time!) as the baby. We took him over to visit his uncle's cat (scare is a more accurate description as the cat was frightened of him!)  where we had pizza for dinner, drove him up to Ohio to visit another uncle, aunt, and triplet second cousins for a fun swim and picnic lunch, watched as he explored every drawer, cupboard, and closet that he could get into, and thoroughly enjoyed watching him make new sounds and discover new sights. He is just the sweetest (I know all grandparents say that, don't they?!) and as his shirt says in the photo below... definitely "one of a kind!"

"Baby B" with my husband and me at my nephew's wedding and playing at our house

At the end of the week, we drove almost 5 hours to my nephew's wedding in the beautiful Finger Lakes area of New York State. Masks were required in the church, but, as the reception was held in my brother's back yard, we could go mask-free. But, oh, my--it couldn't have been a hotter day... almost 90° with very high humidity. By the time we'd been there just half an hour, we were each a sweaty mess. But, I was so glad the sun shone as my brother had worked and worked for months to get his yard and garden spruced up for the wedding reception, and boy, did he do a great job. Below is the back of his pretty stone house and some of the flowers. (The actual tent where the wedding dinner was held is not shown--it was off to the side).

My brother did an excellent job of preparing his garden and home for my nephew's wedding reception. Thank goodness for no rain as the dinner was held outdoors.

An international flavor... I don't know if you can see them, but to the right of the portico in the photo above are a few of the many international flags that my brother had hung in honor of the ever growing diversity in our family. There were flags hanging from both the house and the barn representing the United States and India (where the bride's parents were from); Thailand and Italy (where their former exchange students were from); Germany, The Netherlands and Great Britain (representing our parents' ancestors);  and Sweden representing his wife's relatives. As I mentioned, my nephew married a young woman of Indian-American heritage, my dear daughter-in-law is Mexican-American, and another nephew is married to a girl of Panamanian-Mexican-American heritage. I love the culture and history that each of these young women has brought to our family. The beautiful children they have (and will have in the future) will, hopefully, be part of a kinder world where the color of one's skin is not even given a second thought. We've come a long way and still have a long way to go, but I feel like we are finally making strides.

The news of the natural disasters is heartbreaking, isn't it? I feel so sad for the people affected by the wildfires and for those victims of Hurricane Ida. We got a small taste of Ida herself when the rains swept up through western Pennsylvania on their way to inflict damage on New Jersey and New York City. Getting almost 5" of rain in less than 24 hours was more than our yard could take and we did get some water in our crawlspace. Below is a video of the water raging down our side yard not five feet from the entrance to our finished basement. If the rain had kept up, we surely would have had flooding in our basement as it happened before when Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004. We did install a much larger drain pipe leading from our pond to the storm sewers in the street right after Ivan hit so perhaps that is what saved us this time. 


 

An invasion... as if rising water wasn't bad enough, we were invaded! Ever hear of armyworms? Well, I hadn't either, but I noticed our lawn turning brown right before my eyes as we were leaving for the wedding on August 27th. I mentioned it to my husband, but he is slightly colorblind and didn't notice the difference in color on the lawn. By the time we returned from the wedding, the area turning brown had grown significantly and my husband went out to take a closer look. His diagnosis: armyworms! UGH!!! I just imagined an artillery of these horrid creatures eating their way right up to my kitchen window. Apparently, they've always been a problem down south, but now that our climate is changing and our weather is becoming warmer, we are seeing them here in Pennsylvania, too. 

 


You can see the difference in the brown grass (behind the path of water from Hurricane Ida) and the green grass in the photo below. Luckily, the treatment is easy and a man came out and sprayed the lawn with a treatment to eliminate the worms. For all my friends in the north and midwest--be on the lookout! This army may be heading your way.

Notice the large browned out area of grass behind the water--armyworms in full attack!

 

And the end of an era... Sadly, my last remaining uncle passed away on August 26 (which also happened to be my late father's birthday making it doubly sad). Uncle Mitch was a force of nature--a big, jolly guy who always had a smile on his face and chatted away with complete strangers as if he'd known them his entire life. He was my mother's beloved big brother--two years her senior and they were always close. Her tales of them growing up together and spending summers on their grandparents' farm always made me wish that I'd had an older brother of my own. Like my mother and both of their parents, Uncle Mitch majored in journalism in college and then he went on to work in newspapers eventually becoming the editor of The Janesville Gazette in Wisconsin in the 1980s. 

My Uncle Mitch was the middle child... He and that sweet curly haired tot (otherwise known as my mom!) were best friends growing up.

 
Uncle Mitch and Mom about 8 years ago. Oh, how I miss those beautiful smiles...

What I will always remember most about my uncle was his never-ending optimism. He was a longtime member of the Optimist Club organization--a fact which always made my family smile. It's a wonderful way to live your life... not always easy, especially in times like these, but it certainly is worth exploring a life lived with positivity and a glass half-full attitude.

I'll leave you today with a copy of "The Optimist Creed." I challenge you to read through it and work on the promises outlined below. It worked for my uncle--he  passed away at the lovely age of 96, still mentally sound and still bringing a smile to those around him. I hope I can be as blessed and as positive-minded in my later years. Sending all good thoughts your way today; take care my friends. Bye for now...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsC_eoU4cGuxj8JFGmdLf4IX6V696xjTptllViv0lZKmLZVPOW-D6RtzOXO_C3vkhVtF6yexRdQHyMWMsTgyGj0g98QYARe7OCtSc4YnGhVPSlHgNabORU368hCzAcdBU2zQAgegzu7FX/s1600/creed.png

36 comments:

Marilyn said...

Your ornaments are always so perfectly finished!
The PS Sampler is so pretty.
Baby B is too cute, love his bibs.
Love your brother's house.
Hope all of the storms stop soon, it's awful.
Never heard of Armyworms.
Sorry to hear about the passing of your Uncle.
Marilyn

Sandy said...

So much in this post. First let me say, the stitches are all so pretty. I love those Old World Santas too. I really want to stitch a bunch of them one day. Maybe 2022 will be year for that. I DID frame a stitch once where I missed some stitches. I have no idea how I did that. I have it hanging at the Auburn house. I never mention to anyone, but I can't see how they miss it. I decided it would be a reminder I can't be perfect, no matter how hard I try and I am full of those tendencies.
That grand baby is adorable and I KNOW he fills you with great joy.
I hope for a day when we will stop looking at life through all those barriers and I don't know if it will come this side of Heaven. However, just as your family and your brother exhibited we just have to do our best to love and exhibit those qualities that our Lord would want us to.
My mother's best friend just passed and she was such a light of positivity. The optimist's creed reminds me of her.
We do have grass problems and have to do lots of spraying here in the south. Just reading Ivan's name sends chills. Those big ones like that don't just stop at the coast with their reign of terror.
Take care. I so enjoyed the post.

Arlene G said...

I agree that we need to remain optimistic in these fraught times Carol. I am thankful for my faith that helps me to see beyond this vale of tears. Sounds like you had two months packed into one!lol Keeping a 13 month old will wear you slap out. Ask me how I know? The wedding sounded like a regular wedding here in the south....90 and humidity is normal here. Although since Ida blew through we have had lovely weather. In fact I may get out in my yard and do some work today. Your brother's yard looked beautiful!! I love his house too! And your stitches are lovely as usual. I did go and look at Brenda's tutorial. I have framed some small pieces but the big ones I have put a lot of work into I will leave to the pros. I just dropped off Tis the Season from Blackbird at the framer yesterday. I cant wait to see it all finished. Hugs to you on losing your uncle. I have two aunts who are still living and I know I am blessed!

Vickie said...

Winter's Song is SO pretty! And those lovely Smyrna snowflakes are a fantastic touch Carol. How wonderful to be with your son and DIL and GRANDSON again and at a wedding!! :) I am sorry for the loss of your dear Uncle. The Optimist Creed is wonderful. What a challenge to live up to!

Robin in Virginia said...

Both of your ornaments are fabulous, Carol. And thank you for sharing the link to the Plum Pudding Etsy shop. It sounded like you had a wonderful visit with Baby B and his parents. Your brother's back yard looked fabulous for the wedding reception; glad you survived the heat and humidity. I am sorry to read of your Uncle's passing, Carol. He sounds like a true gentleman. Thinking of you.

butterfly said...

Your cross stitch is just beautiful ,love the Christmas ornaments .
Your family photos are so sweet Carol .
I am sorry to hear about your Uncle , what a great age .
Oh brown army worms don't like that at all. Please don't send, any over here I would a mile .
Hope you had a good time at the wedding and lots of cuddles from your GS .
Oh boy this is one strange year for everyone I do hope things calm around the world .
Like you said Carol , I am happy we have our cross stitch to help with all this stress around .
Have a happy calm week hugs .


Vicki said...

Your grandson is so cute! I know you enjoyed your time with him.
Great ornaments, I'm eager to see your Christmas decor this year.
Beautiful sampler, the frame is perfect.
So sorry for the loss of your uncle. It's always startling when the last of a generation is gone. Always makes me face my own mortality.
Army Worms?!! Never heard of them. The cartoon was funny. You have to have a sense of humor about everything, it's the best way to survive!
Thank you for the Optimist Creed. I'm printing it out and putting it on my fridge.

Kate said...

Love the 'winter song' ornie, Carol and the old world santas are always a treat. We spent a July 4th celebration in the Finger Lakes when our children were young - it's a beautiful area.

Stasi said...

SO sorry for the passing of your uncle...sounds like you have great memories of him! Baby B is growing so fast and is too darn cute; I know you enjoyed your time with him.
So weird you mentioned army worms....we had never heard of them but they wiped our neighbors yard out very quickly. Hubby has been watching to make sure we don't see any signs of them so he can jump on it! One more thing to worry about!!! Oops..time to stitch!!! :)

Shelly said...

Gosh, so much happened in August! Nice work getting caught up on your ornaments. Especially nice is getting your own ornament after stitching several for other people. I did go back and read your blog from the beginning but I hadn't caught your missed stitches in that beautiful piece. That frame is perfect for it. The older family gets, you know there could be deaths, unfortunately. My 90 year old uncle is hospitalized having seizures and come to find out he has a mass in his brain. They can't operate because ICU beds are full of covid sufferers! He's on borrowed time and we are holding our collective breaths right now. So glad you and grandpa spent a lot of time with B. He's just precious.

Take care Carol:)

marly said...

Can't go wrong with Prairie Schoolers! I thought that was dotted linen at first which would be my lazy way to add snow.

Sorry about your uncle. Sounds like a wonderful guy that made everyone smile, and was blessed at 96. The Optimist Creed is a gem to live by, but I can't remember a darn thing from day to day (very scary). So for me, I'll just try to be optimistic about everything!

Cuteness overload on Baby B.

Barbara said...

Carol, I am saddened to read of your losses since the last post and yet you have highlighted the joys of optimism -- something sorely, sorely needed in today's culture. The Optimist's Creed is very good. Thank you for sharing it.

Your stitching is superb, as always. You do excellent work with everything you put your needle to!

And your grandson -- he is sooo cute!

Sandra said...

Beautiful stitching, as always. You certainly know how to create beeautiful pieces. You have such a stitching passion!
Ypur grandson is gorgeous, and yes, all grandparents think that! :)
Sorry to hear about the passing of your always optimistic uncle. That's a lovely shot of him with your lovely mum.
I hope that the rest of this month of September will be beautiful for you.

Gabi said...

Hi Carol,
beautiful stitching as ever and a nice post.
Your little grandson is precious. A real cutie!!!
Sorry for the loss of your always optimistic uncle. My sincere condolences.
Never heard of armyworms. Hope they are already gone from your green.
I do agree, cross-stitch is healing.
Have a great september.
Hugs to you

Alhana said...

Your new ornaments are very pretty! I am going to purchase "Winter's Song" from Plum Pudding Needleart and hopefully get it done before Christmas. Your stitching and displaying are always inspiring and encouraging.

Sorry to hear about the passing of your uncle. My last remaining great-aunt also passed away last June, she was 93 years old. What a strong generation! They will be deeply missed.

On a happier note, I am glad you are safe after Hurricane Ida hit. It actually rains like that where I live once a year and I know how scary and dangerous it can be. Luckily it didn't affect your nephew's wedding nor your grandson visit (he's gorgeous!)

I hope you have a lovely September.

Kgirl said...

Beautiful stitching and finishing.....your projects are perfection. Baby B is such a blessing.

diamondc said...

Carol: Beautiful posts, you ornaments are beautiful and perfectly finished.
I like the Garden Sampler, you chose a perfect frame, the pillow is adorable.
Congratulations to Melisa V
He is such a handsome young man, that face is so sweet.
Your brother has a beautiful yard and home from what we can see.
We have a lot of different family members from India to Switzerland.
I am so sad over the loss of life from hurricane Ida, so sad and heartbreaking, we still have forest's burning in northern Minnesota.
We had army worms once took the nest out of the tree at dusk and burned it have never seen them since.
Your Mother and Uncle are so cute, my Grandfather always said to say hello to anyone you meet on the street, i will make you feel good and they will feel good, at 70 I still do so when out and about.
Optimist Creed is beautiful thank-you for sharing.

Catherine


Meg said...

Hi, Carol!

The “Rejoice” ornament….oh, my. I am speechless. It is so pretty in its simplicity and finishing. I think this may be my favorite of yours.

Love that your family embraces diversity and unity. That and the Optimist creed….both are so very Baha’i. That touches my heart. Baha’is encourage marriages between different cultures/races. What better way to have unity than to have children and grandchildren who are the embodiment of two cultures coming together?

Your uncle was indeed wonderful. Giving love with pure intent…that is the meaning of life. Imagine if we all embraced the Optimist creed? What a beautiful world this would be.

I’m sorry for the trouble with the ants, but I’m so glad there was a treatment. I hope they leave you alone. You have such a pretty property and you work hard for that view.

Sending my very best. I’m doing all right. I have a very comfortable setup at home and people are respectful of how I feel, so I get to socialize when I want and rest when I want. My palliative care doc is wonderful and keeps my pain well under control. I’m still stitching. :-)

Sending love,
Meg

Sheryl said...

Two very pretty stitched ornaments, I do love your so neat finishes and the Winter Song is just perfect, Very Cute Baby B, I can imagine how he kept you on your toes, an age that toddlers have to be watched all the time. Those Army worms sound horrible and thank goodness they were easily rid of. Sorry to hear of the passing of your uncle, what a wonderful photo you have shared with us.

Mary said...

I'm so sorry for the loss of you Uncle. He was a truly wonderful man to live by the Optimist's creed. ( I printed it from their site and hung it on my fridge, a great daily reminder.)

Your ornaments are darling, I wonder how many of the PS Santa's you have left to stitch. I love anything with a red cardinal! Your framing is perfection and I love the stitch, doesn't it make you wonder why we take so long to final finish? We miss out of years of enjoyment of our work.

Your brother's home is gorgeous!! I love stone homes, we have quite a few in this area and I would love to live in one. I'm glad you got to spend time with that gorgeous grandson!! He is just precious.
I'm going to make those banana carrot muffins, a muffin and coffee is the perfect breakfast!

Claire said...

I love the photos of your mom and Uncle Mitch. How special to have those memories. What a wonderful family you have, Carol. I love the diversity and celebration of all of those cultures.Thank you for the beautiful post and the encouraging words of the optimists. Your stitching is exquisite as always. Happy September!
xoClaire

Donna G. said...

What beautiful ornaments! I love the black frame that you used on the Garden Sampler. I probably have stitched pieces older than 14 years that also need to be framed. I have been doing my own framing since my framer retired a few years ago. I’m going to take a look at the tutorial link that you mentioned. I’m always looking for framing tips.

Your grandson sure is handsome. I’m sure you had such an enjoyable time with him.

MartinaM said...

Oh, I love your ornaments, and again great finishes. And I love the sampler with the sunflowers. Next year I would like to embroider ornaments with sunflowers. And you chose the frame perfectly.
I am very happy for you that you had a great time with Baby B. Wonderful memories.
Oh dear, I'm glad that you didn't get any damage from the Hurcan, yes, Mother Nature can really hit you.
My condolences on the loss of your uncle.
Take good care of yourself, Hugs Martina

Manuela said...

Hallo Carol,
wieder so schöne Finishes. Das kleine Kissen mit den Sonnenblumen ist wunderschön und auch das gerahmte Bild ein Traum. Die beiden Weihnachtsornament sind wunderschön und werden an deinem Weihnachtsbaum sehr gut passen.
Freut mich, dass ihr eine schöne Zeit mit eurem Enkelsohn hatte.
Mein aufrichtiges Beileid zum Heimgang von deinem Onkel.
Happy Weekend and a big Hugs, Manuela

Cathy H. said...

Two more beautiful ornaments finished to add to your tree! Love them both. I was delighted to see your framed Garden Sampler. I have this piece hanging in my dining room. I'm going to dig my pattern back out and stitch the lovely bird feeder as you did. What a great idea.
I'm sorry for the loss in your family. Your uncle seemed such a wonderful, happy man.
And, the grandson ... he is adorable! You must have had a great time babysitting as mom and dad worked.
Thank you for continuing to share you stitching and a little of your life. I truly enjoy your blog posts.

Kay said...

You have been having a wonderful time with family, I am sure this makes up for army worms (which I have never heard of at all). Sorry to hear about the passing of your uncle, he does sound rather wonderful. All of your finishes are just lovely, well done for spotting the missing stitches otherwise that would have bugged you forever. x

Barb said...

Hi Carol - oh I’ve meant to write sooner than this but you know how that goes sometime. I so loved reading your posting - so many fun things to read about. I am so sorry to read about your uncle passing. It sounds like he lived a great happy life and I think the picture of him and your mom is just perfect. Really a treasure for you to keep and treasure.
The visit of Baby B and your son and DIL must have been so special for your family. Baby B is just to adorable and too precious! I can only imagine how much fun all of you had (and keeping up with him!).
The stitching you’ve done is just wonderful. I’m always so impressed that you can pretty much keep up with your ornaments of the month.
And I love the PS Garden Sampler! I think I may have that in my stash - I’ll have to search for it. I love how you framed it and I loved the pillow of the bird house and sunflowers. I understand how you have stitched things quite a few years ago and then they get “put away for future finishing” because there are so many things that we want to stitch and time goes on. I’ve stitched a lot but need to figure out how to “finally finish” some of these things.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of summer and a happy fall season fast approaching. It’s crazy how fast the time goes by isn’t it?
All the best to you and your family! ❣️

Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting said...

I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your uncle, Carol. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Your Uncle Mitch sounds like an amazing person and a joy to have been around. Your grandbaby is absolutely precious. I can not believe he is 13 months already. I bet he grows like a weed every time you see him. Of course your stitches are always beautiful and loved the sampler. I am so excited to win your giveaway. Thank you so much. You are the sweetest. Have a blessed week and happy stitching, Carol

Irene said...

Oh Carol, mi dispiace molto per la perdita di tuo zio, aveva lo stesso sguardo dolce della mamma. Quante cose succedono in poche settimane! Cose bellissime e cose tristi, ma è la vita. Adorto come rifinisci i ricami, vorrei essere brava come te :)

Amara said...

I'm so sorry about the passing of your Uncle, Carol. He got a really lovely Smile just like your Mom and you. I love the Optimist Creed and saved it on my Phone. I find it really interesting and googled the Optimist Club and in Europe theres only one Chapter which is in the Netherlands.
Your August with the water and the mean little Armyworms sounds like a lot of trouble, so i'm glad that you could spend time with Baby B, on the wedding and with some beautiful stitching, too. Your brothers garden looks so gorgeous. I'm sending a hug and hope you have a lovely Day.

Amara

Faith... said...

I could have swore I commented on this post before but I could be crazy (LOL!).

Love those ornaments especially the Santa ornament! Prairie Schooler has some gorgeous Santas. That is a nice frame and 14 years is better than 15 and the little pillow is adorable. How fun that you got to keep Baby B while his parents work. That sounds like an awesome backyard, being decorated for all the different nations.

The flooding and hurricanes are heartbreaking. Armyworms? Never heard of them but right now in my mind I was seeing your picture exactly slithering through your yard, eating all the greenery.

I am very sorry for the loss of your uncle. His 96 years sounds like it was a long happy life for him. Sending lots of hugs for you!

stitchingbythemoon said...

Your stitching and finishing are always perfection, Carol. I love the PS Santas, and of course, the beautiful garden piece. Thank you for sharing Brenda’s framing prep tutorial. I hope to try it one day. It’s so expensive to send things off to get framed. Your grandson is adorable! What beautiful eyes! I can imagine how exhausting it must be chasing after a 13 month old! Your brother’s garden/yard sure is beautiful! How nice to have such a lovely place to share with family and friends. As far as the armyworms, no words other than yuck and I’m so sorry you had to deal with them. This was my first time hearing about the wretched little things. Lastly, your Uncle Mitch sure sounded like a wonderful person. Individuals like him sure leave a big hole in your heart when they depart. I love the Optimist Creed! I had never of it before. What a wonderful goal to set for oneself!! Take care, Carol!!

Jennifer said...

Boy Carol, life sure has been busy for you, but it sounds like also filled with love and joy. Thank you for sharing more than your stitching and letting us know you better. I wish I lived closer as I know I’d enjoy stitching with you! Sounds like baby B kept you very busy - was there a hunt in your comment about more babies to come in the family??? Congrats on framing the older piece - I did some framing (finally!) last weekend and I am so happy with the results. Sorry to hear of the death of your uncle, but love your memories of him - what a feat to live life as an optimist - I try, but am sometimes more of a realist. Hope you are having a lovely, stitch-filled weekend!

Leonore Winterer said...

What a journey this blog post was - from beautiful stitching (the sunflower piece is lovely), over family time, invading worm-armies to the heart breaking loss of your uncle. He sounds like a wonderful man. I am often sad that I don't have any siblings to grow up with! I hope fall will be a time for you to recharge and recover, and will have more rays of sun than dark clouds.

Jutta said...

Dear Carol,
Thank you very much for your wonderful post, I enjoyed reading it, you write so interestingly, so openly, I like that very much.
Your embroidery is magical, but so is your grandson, I am very sorry that your uncle has passed away.
I've never heard of these worms, terrible!
Warm greetings to you from Jutta

Unknown said...

Wonderful blog sissy.