Simple Beauty and a Big Surprise!

I'm hoping you are all feeling as happy as I am on this, the final day of September?! It's been a great month and an especially wonderful last week for me, so read on for the very best surprise of all... First of all, let me share my latest finish with you. I worked on this piece of summery sunshine on and off over the past few months and am proud to show you my completed "There Is Beauty In Simplicity" today. (It was a cloudy day when I took the photos so they don't accurately show how pretty this piece really is). The goldfinch is so beautiful, isn't he? And I think the choice of daisies depicts simplicity at its finest!

"There Is Beauty In Simplicity"

 

Some of you may recall my post about finding the goldfinch feather (pictured above) soon after my mother died in July of 2020. In that post, I wrote about seeing an abundance of goldfinches, receiving a card from a friend with a goldfinch on it, and then finding a goldfinch feather right outside my kitchen window. After doing some research, I learned that different colors of feathers have specific meanings and that a yellow feather represents joy and happiness. It also serves as a reminder to slow down, enjoy life, and be more mindful of the present. I've kept the yellow and black goldfinch feather in my Pottery Barn cubby ever since I found it and truly believe it was a message from my dear mother. If you'd like to read the entire post on the feather you can find it right here. 

The colors in this piece are so cheerful, aren't they?

 

Now you know why this finish is so special to me. This is the fourth of the Cottage Garden Samplings "Songbird's Garden Series" that I've completed. Would you like to see all four? I'm stitching each of them on 40 ct. pearl gray Newcastle with the suggested threads. I think my favorite parts of these designs, besides the stunning birds, are the little houses--aren't they charming? I especially love the newest one as the wee golden brown house looks like it is sprouting right out of the daisy!

Which one is your favorite?

And, I had another start which I'm absolutely loving: Prairie Schooler's "Christmas Village" (book number 79). I just don't understand why I put off stitching it for so long?! Honestly, I could have had this stitched and on display at Christmas (or even all winter!) for many, many years. I don't think I'll have it finished by this Christmas, but I truly am loving every stitch. I'm using 40 ct. antique white Newcastle with the suggested DMC threads. I "only" have 1 church, 1 snowman, 2 sleighs, 3 deer, 6 geese, 6 houses, and 54 trees left to stitch. I'm trying to do a few trees for every house so I'm not left with them all at the end. For me Prairie Schooler designs are my "comfort stitching." What is yours? 

I love all the details in this sweet village!

On Monday, I received a lovely surprise from one of my Instagram friends, Cindy C. from Virginia (she is cindycstitches on IG). She sent me this darling bee pillow to add to my bee display next summer. Isn't it cute? So beautifully stitched and finished, too. Cindy, I love it and will think of you each time I put it out--thank you so much, my friend. You are always so kind and thoughtful--and I truly appreciate our friendship!

Thank you so much, Cindy--what a great addition to my bee display!

 

So, what else have I been up to since my last post three weeks ago? Well, I became a great-aunt to a sweet baby girl who was born to my nephew and his wife just over a week ago. This was the first girl baby born on my side in this generation--how my mother would have loved having her first great-granddaughter. I also went to Connecticut for another nephew's wedding (the second of three nephews who are marrying within three months of each other!). It was a long, long drive as we dealt with the horrific traffic around New York City (I can't imagine living in that busy area), but we made it and were rewarded with a beautiful Airbnb which was our home for three nights. It was right on Long Island Sound and this was the view that we woke up to each morning--that beautiful blue water glistening in the sunlight. So relaxing and peaceful!

The view from our bed at the Airbnb in Connecticut

 

In addition to the wedding (which was so much fun as we hadn't seen some of our relatives in over two years!), we went for a relaxing beach walk along Long Island Sound. The beach there is filled with shells and large rocks although there was a sandy beach further down from the house we were renting. The weather couldn't have been nicer--low 70s, clear blue skies, and sunshine. Here are some of the photos I took last Saturday morning before the wedding.

Scenes from our beach walk with views of Long Island Sound

 

And because we were so very close to Yale University (the third oldest university in the United States), we spent a couple hours walking around the campus (and now I can truthfully say, "I went to Yale!"). Since it covers 260 acres, we only saw a tiny portion, but made a point to track down the oldest existing building on campus. That was Connecticut Hall, built in 1750 which housed such notable Americans as Eli Whitney (the inventor of the cotton gin), Noah Webster (the author of the first American dictionary), and Nathan Hale (the American Revolutionary War patriot who purportedly stated, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" as his last words before he was hung by the British in 1776). Connecticut Hall is pictured in the lower right below. It is now used to house Yale's Department of Philosophy.

Scenes from Yale University include (clockwise from upper left):  The quad at the Old Campus, Battell Chapel, Connecticut Hall, and Farnum Hall

Fall is very slowly creeping into western Pennsylvania and the leaves are a bit late turning color this year. The temperature at night has begun dipping into the 40s this week, though, so that should surely hasten the bright reds, golds, and oranges that we all look forward to here in the northeast at this time of year. My husband and I took a walk around a local lake last week hoping to see some color in the trees, but very little was to be found. It was still a lovely day, though, and I took a few photos to share in the collage below.

Hints of fall are beginning to appear

 

With the cooler days, fall baking is on my mind and I made a cake that had both my husband and I saying "Yummmmm!" as we took our first bite. Now, it sounds like a strange combination, but, trust me--this recipe is a keeper. You must use very ripe bananas for it, though--very important! It is so moist and tasty and, although I don't even drink coffee, the combination of the banana cake and coffee flavored frosting was out of this world! Give it a try and let me know how you like it? You can find the recipe for "Potluck Banana Cake" right here. Does your family have any tried and true fall recipes that you're planning on making soon?

Banana cake with coffee frosting anyone?

 

And, I've saved my most happy news for last... We will no longer be making that exhausting cross-country trip to San Diego, California to see my grandson and his mom and dad, because, guess what?!?! 

They have moved to the east coast! 

We've known about their plans for a while, but I didn't tell many people because I was so worried that something might go wrong. However, as of Sunday, the little family is living in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC.--just a four hour drive from us and only 30 minutes from my youngest son who also lives down that way! We couldn't be happier for them and, although it will take some adjustment on their part to having four distinct seasons and dealing with snow, ice, and cold weather, I truly think this will be wonderful move.  My daughter-in-law has taken a new job at the National Institutes of Health and since my son has always worked from home, he can follow her wherever her career takes her. This new job offers her more normal work hours, less stress, and a great bunch of co-workers. She's been working remotely for the past six weeks and I can already see a big drop in her stress level.

My sweet grandson after landing in Maryland enroute to his new home! I think he's excited about being closer to Gramma and  Grampa (but it could just be that big smile is a reaction to his tasty snack :)

 

So you can plan on reading about lots of road trips to and from Washington DC--in fact our first one is coming up tomorrow. We plan on helping them unpack, organize, and clean their new home (they are renting for now until they see what area they'd like to buy in) and, of course, spending lots of time with "Baby B" who is thoroughly enjoying the extra space in his new home already. No more apartment living for him! To say we are thrilled doesn't begin to express our excitement. I know for many of you being four hours apart doesn't sound that close, but after living on opposite sides of the country for the past five years, it will seem like they're living next door! I wish them all the best in this new chapter of their lives...

Well, time to bake some goodies to take to my son's family, pack my suitcase (again!) and do a bit of cleaning before we leave tomorrow so I'll sign off. Thank you all for visiting me today and a special thank you to those of you who leave such nice comments. I love reading each and every one and appreciate the time it takes you to write them. I'm still hanging in there with my blog for now, but thoughts of when to stop writing it are increasingly on my mind, so we'll see. Take care, my friends. Bye for now...

Heart Full Of Gratitude

Well, it's been a long time again, hasn't it? I feel very out of touch with you all after spending most of the past three weeks caring for my mom and helping her get stronger. But, today, I have one word for my life and that is grateful--I am truly filled with gratitude. Just two short months ago, mom was on the very edge of leaving this world. And, last Friday, guess what??? She was released / kicked out / graduated (whatever you want to call it) from hospice! Yes, she no longer was deemed ill enough to be under hospice care so they could no longer provide their services. The hospice nurse was so happy as she said that is not something she sees in her profession very often. She credited the tender loving care and support that mom received from her family with her truly miraculous recovery. I am so filled with gratitude that I get to spend more time with her and very hopeful that she'll live to see a few more family milestones--even at the ripe old age of 93!

Therefore, my latest finish (which I began way before mom got so ill), is especially meaningful to me. I put the last stitches in it while sitting with her on her couch as we chatted away... This is "Heart Full Of Gratitude" by Cottage Garden Samplings. Stitched on 40 ct. pearl gray Newcastle with the suggested overdyed threads, this has to be my favorite one of the Songbird's Garden Series so far... The colors are just luscious, aren't they?

"Heart Full of Gratitude" finish

And the details... all so beautifully designed and thought out by Vinniey, the designer at Cottage Garden Samplings.

Little pink houses (for you and me!)

The handsome Dark-Eyed Junco

The stunning shades of pink, mauve, and crimson in the roses

One word: GRATITUDE!

Can't wait to get this framed and hanging on my wall!

Here are all three that I've stitched so far. I plan on stitching at least three more, framing each one with matching frames, and hanging them together.

Wisdom, Love, and Gratitude--three traits we should all strive for in our lives.

I've stitched my ornaments for May and June, too, but they're not finished yet so I'll wait to share them with you. I did finish a little gift for a friend on Instagram which I'm hoping she'll like. She likes red and samplers so I thought this little pillow fit the bill perfectly! This is from the book "Cross Stitch Antique Style Samplers" by Jane Greenoff and was stitched on 40 ct. Woodland Newcastle using DMC 221. I omitted the border and made it into a tiny pillow. After I added the cording, I wound two miniature spools with the same red thread and added them to the bottom of the cord. Hope my friend likes it!

A little red sampler gift for a friend

The only other needle and thread related thing I've done is make two more masks--one for my husband and one for me. I used one of his dress-shirts--a no-wrinkle one that he'd barely worn as it was always too large. The pattern I used fits so much better than the pleated kind I made previously and there is a pocket for a filter as well as a casing for a nosewire. If anyone is interested in the tutorial, check this site and the video that goes along with it can be found here. I think more are in my future as I fear we'll be wearing masks for quite a while.

Our new, better-fitting masks

And speaking of masks--I saw this on Instagram and loved it. I am in the mask-wearing camp--really would hate to pass on any germs to anyone if I can help it! You don't wear a mask to protect yourself--you wear it to protect others so please be considerate...

Please wear your masks when around others!

Father's Day was Sunday here in the United States and I wanted to make my husband a special dessert. I'd bought an entire bag of lemons last month with the intent of making a lemon meringue pie, but after the drive home from my mom's on Saturday, I found myself just too tired to whip one up. So, I found this quick and easy (and very tasty!) recipe for "Best Creamy Lemon Bars" online. They taste almost like a lemon cheesecake--very tangy and sweet at the same time with a delicious homemade graham cracker crust at the bottom. I copied the photo on the blog and accented the bars with a bit of whipped cream, slices of lemon, and sprigs of mint from our yard. For the recipe, just click here. I sure wish I could learn to photograph food the way the professionals do! My colors are always a bit "off" for some reason. But, they probably have fancy cameras and lighting equipment, whereas I simply take photos with my phone.

Creamy (and tasty!) Lemon Bars

So, it's time for Getting To Know You! Thank you to all who participated last time--it's nice to know that a lot of you consider yourselves shy and would like to change that. At least I'm not the only one out there! My guess is that a lot of stitchers are on the quiet side and enjoy solitary activities like stitching, reading, etc. For today's question, I'd love to know...

1) What type of area did you grow up in? Was it a large city, a suburb, a farm, small town, house in the country, or did you move around to a lot of different environments? Although I was born in a large city, my parents left there when I was just five and moved back to my dad's home town--just a tiny village with (back then) only one traffic light! It was a wonderful place to grow up in--the kind of place where you really knew your neighbors and everyone looked out for each other's kids. It was the kind of place where kids would stay out until dark playing games like "Kick the Can" and "Spud." You could walk to the local candy store, school, library, post office--anywhere! I loved it, although I probably couldn't move back to such a small town now after living near a big city for the past 43 years. But, I lived there from the time I was five until leaving for college at age 18 so it will always be a very special place to me...  Now, it's your turn... I'd love to get to know you better by hearing about where you grew up! 

So, with mom on the mend, I'm feeling like I can breath again! Thank you, one and all, for your well-wishes and prayers for her. She (and I!) appreciate each and every one. I'll be around to visit your blogs after a very long time away. Although I read a few when I was staying with my mother, I can't comment on them easily on my phone so I may have visited you, but not left a comment. Will try my best to get around to visit all of you soon...

♥♥♥ I just want to leave you with a thought that I think is so timely with everything going on around us these days... Please think before you speak--you may say something that hurts deeply and can never be forgotten or repaired. Take good care my friends! Bye for now... ♥♥♥

Pause before you speak...

Birds of a feather...

How can it be the end of February already? I don't know, but I'm more than happy to bid it "adieu!" Lots of gray and dreary days here... March certainly has to be better, doesn't it? This week was another busy one with my six-month dental appointment (thank goodness I had no cavities this time!) and an informational meeting about Medicare thrown into the mix. I have to sign up for Medicare by April 16th so time is getting short. I'm slowly beginning to understand it more, but any helpful advice would be much appreciated by those of you "over-65ers!" My husband and I are leaning toward signing up for a Medicare Advantage plan--just need to pick the one that best suits us at this stage in our lives. I was relieved to hear that these plans can be changed each year during certain months--doesn't make it quite so stressful in making our selection. I feel like I'm a reasonably intelligent person, but this Medicare process has made me feel really dumb. Thank goodness, I have my stitching to relieve the stress, right?

That "big" (for me, anyway!) finish that I've mentioned in previous posts is finally done and I love it! May I present "Winter's Wisdom" by Cottage Garden Samplings. Oh, what a delight to stitch (although those pine cones about made my eyes permanently cross!).  I'm using 40 ct. pearl gray Newcastle for this series and stitching each one individually. The suggested overdyed threads were used, except I painted the door on the teeny house a teal blue color.

"Winter's Wisdom" all finished up!

The "argyle forest" is so unique, isn't it?

The tiny houses in this series are so sweet... I changed the door color to the teal blue found in the trees.

I saved the darling birds to stitch until last--these are Gold-Crowned Kinglets, which I've never seen. Have any of you?

The colors in this piece perfectly capture the mood of winter!

This is the second of the series that I've stitched... Last year brought "Forever & Ever" (which you can read about in this post) with the cardinal couple. I'm planning on stitching each of them on the same linen, framing them individually, and hanging them together.

Forever & Ever finished in February 2019

So, how many of the Songbird's Garden series will I stitch? Probably six or eight of the dozen offered... I need to step up my stitching if I want to have them hung in my home before I'm ancient, though, so I've decided to attempt to stitch two or three each year. For the next one, I'm trying to decide between these three. Which one do you think I should start next: Faith, Gratitude, or Simplicity? I just love the colors Vinniey (the designer) chose for her Songbird's Garden Series and I can't say enough about the high quality of her charts. Well done all around!

Help me decide which one to stitch next!

In other stitching news--I just received my latest blog book back from the publisher. Every two years I order a new book created through the  blog2print.com site. I suggest signing up for emails as they often send you discount codes for your blog book printing. This year, I had one for an amazing 60% off! The book arrived quickly and I'm so enjoying reading through the memories of the years I had printed (2017-2018). Yes, I can read it online, but there is still something so comforting about a printed book--especially when it contains your own words, photos, and recollections.  Here are some photos of my latest book's cover and a few inside pages (not the best photos--as I mentioned above: gray and dreary weather here!).

My newest blog book--all 329 pages of it!

My only complaint is that the captions are not directly under the photos. (But,  I knew that would happen before I ordered the book).

The print is clear and easy to read and the color on the photos is quite good.

I especially like having the memories of our trips in book form. Here is a portion of my post on our "Hike From Hell" from our Panama trip in 2018.

And here are all five of the blog books of my "Stitching Dreams" journey dating back to 2009. As I mentioned, I order two years per book so at the end of this year, I'll order the book for 2019-2020.

There were just a few entries for my last giveaway and the winner of the cute snowman and bunny chart is...

Carol Is Sewbizzy

 

Carol Is Sewbizzy is the winner!

Congratulations, Carol! Please send me your mailing address and I will get this mailed out to you as soon as possible. (My email is in my sidebar under "A Bit About Me.) Thank you to all who entered. And please keep an eye on this space for future giveaways!

GETTING TO KNOW YOU... It was so much fun reading your answers to my question on my last post about how long you spend stitching each day!  I have often said that blogging is a one-way street--you know a lot about me, but I know little about most of you. So, in an attempt to rectify that, I'm beginning a new little feature called "Getting To Know You." On each post I will pose two simple questions--and I'd love to hear your answers in an effort to get to know you. This is just a fun way to get to know each other a bit better--participate or not. It is up to you! I'll answer the given questions for all of you, too...

1) What is one small living thing that you are scared of? For me--it's bats! I am absolutely terrified of those beady-eyed flying things. Having grown up in an old house with bats in our attic (who sometimes made their way down to our bedrooms and living areas), left me with a definite fear of them. Watching my dad try to chase them out of the house with a tennis racket that he kept near his bed just for that purpose is a memory I'll never forget!

2) What is one healthy food you couldn't live without? For me--it's nuts! I love, love, love nuts of any kind--walnuts, pistachios, pecans, almonds, cashews (well not Brazil nuts or hazelnuts so much!). I often start my day with a small handful of walnuts or pecans. I add them to granola, oatmeal, yogurt--so many things...  Can't imagine life without them!

I'll leave you with a few photos of my feathered friends (and one very unwanted visitor) at our bird feeder last week. I guess you can tell from this post--I love birds, too!

A Tufted Titmouse visiting the feeder right outside my kitchen window. As you can see our snow disappeared almost overnight!

This teeny chickadee is carrying a sunflower seed larger than his beak! They are among my favorite visitors each day--so sweet and delicate.

We had to move the bird feeder due to raccoons repeatedly knocking it down at night and, unfortunately, the squirrels have discovered just how easy it is now to jump onto the window ledge, bypass the cone-shaped squirrel buffer, and leap from the pole to the feeder.

 

There's the little devil enjoying the birds' lunch!

I want to wish a warm welcome to my new readers--so glad you've joined us! As always, a special thank you to those who take the time to comment. There were over 500 views of my previous post, but very few comments compared to the "good old days." It does get discouraging, at times... I'll be honest with you. So, to those of you who comment--I truly thank you! Wishing each of you a happy, healthy month of March ahead--I'm counting the days until we turn the clocks ahead and have more daylight hours! Yippee!!  Bye for now...

Forever & Ever

I've lost my heart to the beautiful new "Songbird's Garden Series" by Cottage Garden Samplings! I can't remember when I enjoyed stitching a piece as much as I did this sweet cardinal pair... Even though, it was one of the most stitch-dense pieces I've ever done, it just came together so beautifully... Very little ripping out of stitches, very large, easy-to-read color chart--a true pleasure to stitch! I began this one on the first day of January 2019 and just finished it up last week--and believe me, I spent multiple hours stitching it--almost every day! But, just look at the result of "Forever & Ever."

Forever & Ever finish

I so love the designer's use of color! I questioned things when I first looked at the shades of floss on their own, but went ahead and used the suggested colors and I'm so glad I did. Look at these gorgeous Christmas Roses (commonly called Hellebores). Aren't they stunning? I've never seen a Hellebore in person and wonder if they would grow in our cold winters here in western Pennsylvania. Of course, even if they did, ours would promptly be consumed by our marauding band of deer!

Such soft pinks and greens!

And look at this tiny house--just so sweet and so unexpected nestled on the flower stems. Each of the eight designs that have been released so far has a miniature house!

Little pink houses (for you and me?!)

But, it is the Northern Cardinals themselves who are the stars of this design... I love the stylized nature of their bodies with the swirls and ovals--really striking, aren't they?

True love--Northern Cardinal style!

My finished piece ended up being 8 inches square and was stitched on 40 ct. pearl gray Newcastle linen. I plan on stitching more charts in this delightful bird series this year and using the same linen for each. They are all the same size and I think they will look wonderful framed individually and hung as a group.  Are any of you stitching this series? Which bird is your favorite? I am having a hard time trying to decide which to stitch next--they are all so beautifully designed!

The first of many finishes in this series (I hope!)

As many of my long-time readers know, cardinals hold a special place in my heart. This wasn't always the case... Oh, I've always admired them as the beautiful birds they are and I love the fact that they mate for life. But, I didn't develop a deep caring for them until soon after my dad died in late 2014. I first mentioned that special cardinal in this post from January 2015--just a bit over two months after his death. And then in this post from a month later, I described learning about the meaning of cardinals and just how much peace I felt when I saw that cardinal sitting atop the tree on that snowy January day.  A blogging friend had written to tell me about cardinals being representative of a loved one who has passed. Suddenly, the feeling of peace and contentment that I got as I gazed at that cardinal made complete sense. 

Flash forward four years and I see cardinals on an almost daily basis.  Sometimes, I just say "Hi, Papa!" and go about my way. Other times--usually when I'm anxious or stressed,  I talk to them and tell them of my worries and thank them for visiting. (Do I sound like some sort of weirdo?!) Anyway, all I know is that cardinals have brought me so much joy and comfort since that day in January 2015 and as soon as I saw this chart, I felt compelled to stitch it...

A bright red male cardinal on a snowy winter day

Aren't they striking against the snow?

Vibrant red male on the left and the fawn colored female on the right... I almost always see cardinals in pairs.

Can you spot the female? She is well camouflaged within the branches of this woody shrub.

More goodies! My middle son's girlfriend celebrated her birthday recently and I wanted to make a special treat for her when they came over for Sunday dinner. I didn't want a large dessert so I simply googled "small batch cupcakes" and was surprised to find so many recipes for four or six cupcakes. I ended up making this one from "Celebrating Sweets" and it was very tasty. The recipe made six cupcakes (I think I could have gotten seven or even eight from the batter, though)--chocolatey goodness with a bit of brewed coffee added to bring out the chocolate flavor. 

Some birthday cupcakes prettied up with tiny chocolate hearts! (The directions for making them are also on the blog that I linked to).

I also made the vanilla frosting found at the bottom of the same recipe, but it seemed to only be enough for four cupcakes (I do like a lot of frosting on my cupcakes, after all--don't you?!). So, what to do about the remaining two naked cupcakes? Well, I found a delicious recipe for peanut butter frosting on a blog called "Peas and Crayons" which you can find right here. Even though I halved the recipe to make only enough for two cupcakes, there was way too much! There was easily enough for four cupcakes... But, the extra frosting didn't go to waste :) (And my treadmill had the pleasure of my company for a lot longer than usual on Sunday to make up for my indulgence)! Anyway, everyone enjoyed them very much and it certainly was a birthday for my middle son's girlfriend to remember! Our power went out due to the 60 mile per hour winds that we were experiencing (along with much of the rest of the mid-west and northeast!). Really crazy weather patterns this year, that's for sure.

Peanut butter and chocolate! What could be better?

I've finished stitching both my February and March Christmas ornaments, but don't have them fully finished so I'll share those with you next time.  Until then... thank you all for your extra kind comments on my Valentine's finishes in my previous post and all of your love for my sweet mom--she appreciated all of your sweet words. Yes, at age 91,  she reads my blog each time I post and is always so complimentary--not only of my writing, but of all of your sweet comments... She reads each of them, too! Wishing you a wonderful week ahead and I hope the month of March brings lots of love and luck your way! Bye for now...