Pink bunnies and Florida sunsets

Well, hello there! We made it to April! Are things greening up in your part of the world? This morning as I looked out from my upstairs window, I suddenly noticed the little green buds sprouting on trees and bushes throughout the woods beyond our pond. It's as if they seemingly appeared overnight! Such a welcome sight mixed in with hints of the blooming yellow forsythia. Now, if only the weather would cooperate and we'd get some warm, sunny Spring days. I shouldn't really whine, though, as I was lucky enough to spend the beginning of April in beautiful sun-drenched southern Florida. 

I've done some decorating for Easter and it's amazing how a little pink can brighten up the house. Well, in this case, there is a lot of pink (for me, anyway; I'm a well-known lover of blue!). Over the years I've stitched many, many bunnies--just love them! I have so many now, that I tend to group them by color when I decorate. Today, I'll share with you my pink-hued Easter stitching which I included in a sweet vignette on the side table in my kitchen. 

Lots of "hop-hops" as my grandson calls bunnies!

Would you like a closer look? I'll try to identify each piece for you, too. You can click on the name of each finish to be taken to the corresponding blog post for more information.

In this photo is the Prairie Schooler bunny (from Prairie Year-Rounds book no. 52) finished as a pouch hanging on my sweet rabbit chair, Springtime Sampler from the January/February 1986 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine, and "The Hearts Chase" by Patrick's Woods.

From left to right are La D Da's "Briar Rabbit," Just Nan's "Bunny Hop" found in the HummingBead Heaven booklet, and a Prairie Schooler bunny finish from the PS mini-card set F.

The little rabbit couple is a freebie from Snowflower Diaries called "Spring Bunny Love." In back is another Prairie Schooler Rabbit from Book No. 13 called "A Prairie Year" and the piece on black is a freebie from Kissy Cross.

So, which one is your favorite? I have to admit, I'm partial to the little Prairie Schooler bunny stitched on black that I made into the tiny pouch. I've hung it from the chippy, white bunny chair that I found in Florida a few years ago for $5.00. That's definitely one of my best finds ever! I also love the dear bunny couple holding paws in the front. 

I don't have any new stitching to share today as I really haven't stitched much this month. I do have a charming Easter card that arrived for me from my sweet friend, June in England, though. Just look at that little bunny with the butterfly perched on the tip of his nose--isn't it adorable? Thank you so much, June--I love him!

Such a sweet Easter card from dear June!

 

Giveaway winner... I loved reading your answers to my last "Getting to Know You" question asking if you are a picky eater. I'm so relieved to know that I'm not the only adult who doesn't care for green vegetables! Thank you so much to all who responded to the question and entered the giveaway. I had about ten entries for the Little House Needleworks "Spot of Coffee" chart and the winning name pulled from the hat is...

Barbara From Kansas

Barbara From Kansas--you are the winner! Please email me with your address and I will get this in the mail to you as soon as possible! Congratulations!

How about a new giveaway? Since Mother's Day is arriving here in the U.S. on May 8th, I thought this cute Lizzie Kate chart shown below would be timely.  (This was also a gift from the generous Janet in Texas who told me I could use it as a giveaway. Thank you again, Janet!). This will be my second Mother's Day without my mom and it's still so very hard, especially since her birthday often fell around that day.  Perhaps one of you might like to stitch this cutie up for your own Mother or a new mother or mother-to-be? If you would like to be included in the drawing for the chart, please...

1) Specifically mention that you would like to win the chart in your comment 

2) Be a follower in my blog's sidebar (to the right)

3) Make sure to leave your email address in your comment if I don't already have it--(this is very important as I have no way of getting in touch with the winner if you don't)

4) Answer the "Getting to Know You" question below.

If you would like to win this chart, please follow the four guidelines above.

 

Getting to Know You... For my new readers, I like to include this little section to help me get to know you and to help other stitchers get to know you, as well. I've had a couple people ask what my little grandson calls me so I thought I'd incorporate that into today's question which is: "What do your grandchildren call you?" Now, I realize not all of you are grandparents, so in that case, "What did you call your grandparents?" 

My answer: As a new grandmother, I just assumed my grandson would call me "Gramma"  or "Grandma" like I had called my own grandmothers, but he had other ideas!  For a long time he didn't call me anything. In January, he began calling my husband, "Pompaw" which we find hilarious. We have no idea how he came up with it. And, it's stuck! I have to admit, I felt a bit sad that he hadn't yet picked a special name for me... But, just last month he started calling me "Nonna!" Okay... Nonna is a very common name for grandmother in Italian families, but I don't have an ounce of Italian blood (that I know of). My daughter-in-law is Mexican-American and she had always referred to me as "Abuelita" when talking to my grandson about me. Well, Mister B had his own ideas of what I should be called so "Nonna" it is! It's just the best feeling to be greeted with a big smile and hear "Nonna!" each night when he sees me appear on FaceTime! Now, it's your turn to answer the "Getting to Know You" question...

Florida visit... As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, my husband and I spent the first nine days of April in what I consider to be one of the prettiest parts of Florida: Naples. Have any of you been? My in-laws own a home there, but now that my father-in-law is gone and my mother-in-law is up North in a nursing home, we are renting it out to help pay for the taxes and insurance. So, we went down to check on it and do some improvements/housekeeping after the tenants left at the end of March. We actually worked most of the time sprucing up the yard and patio area, shopping for items, and doing a lot of organizing and a bit of painting. But, there were free moments that we spent strolling the beach and taking long walks in the evenings after the heat of the day had passed. Following are some of the more memorable photos that I took from our visit this year.

Looking down the beach to the Naples Pier

A lone cormorant stands guard

Can you spot the airplane in this beautiful Naples sky?

A magical sky lit up the Naples City Dock

Another peaceful evening in Naples

I so enjoyed taking long walks in the evenings and admiring all of the colorful flowers and birds. The orchid is growing in a tree right outside of my in-laws' back door!

Returning home on Saturday to 37° and rain was a shock to my system. I just couldn't warm up! But, hopefully, within a week or two we'll be having consistently warmer weather. 

Are you having a big family dinner for Easter? Only our middle son and his girlfriend will be here on Sunday with us. My youngest son and his girlfriend are vacationing in Tuscany (just a bit envious here!!), and my oldest son and family will be coming the following week for a few days. So, things will be pretty quiet here. I hope each of you who celebrates Easter has a wonderful day with your family and friends.

Thank you so much for visiting me today and taking the time to comment and say "hello!" I hope to be back with some actual stitching finishes for you by the end of the month. Do take care, everyone. Bye for now... 

Wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend!