Still thankful

Good morning, everyone... I didn't intend to be away this long! I hope you are all hanging in there! I've read on a few stitching blogs that Covid has hit close to home for some of you. Things are really getting bad out there and I am staying put and keeping myself busy with the things I love here at home. Sadly, that means my family won't be here for Thanksgiving--this will be the first Thanksgiving in our 43 years of marriage that my husband and I will be spending alone. I'm sad, but I'd rather stay safe and see everyone for many Thanksgivings to come than risk getting sick. I've always been a very cautious person so this will surprise no one. But, it still hurts to not be with family, doesn't it?

Some of you long-time readers may remember the little bunny pouch that I created back in 2017 (you can read about it in this post ). Well, a little turkey pouch has made its appearance just in time for Thanksgiving. Isn't it adorable? This one is tiny--the pouch measures just 3 1/2 inches from top to bottom (not including the gingham hanger). 

Two tiny Prairie Schooler pouches

I filled the pouch with some shafts of wheat, but you could use dried bittersweet; I think that would be lovely, too. Bittersweet always reminds me of my dear mother as she used to send us kids up to the end of the street to pick some every autumn for her holiday centerpieces. I might just have to plant some in my yard next year in her honor!

The pouch measures just 3 1/2 inches high!

Both the turkey and bunny designs can be found in Prairie Schooler's Book No. 52 which is called "Prairie Year-Rounds." I may just do the Santa one in that same book at some point.  The gingham on the top border and in the hanger is from an old pair of slacks of mine that have received new life by helping to finish off my stitching! These were finished as round hanging ornaments on the front of the booklet--not sure what made me think they would look cute finished into pouches, but I absolutely love them!

Here's a close-up for you!

The little pouch is perfect for hanging on a cabinet knob. You know how much I love tiny things and this is right up my alley!

The turkey pouch will make a nice addition to my future Thanksgiving decorating.

 

And, after ten long years, one of my very favorite Thanksgiving pieces has finally been framed and is on display. Why, oh why, did I wait so long? I've even had the frame for nine of those years, but I just tend to procrastinate when it comes to finishing my larger pieces. In a way, I'm glad I waited as I've become much more confident in my framing skills. You might like to read about my finish from this 2010 post.  The framing tutorial that I use is from With Thy Needle and Thread and can be found right here. It's honestly much easier to frame things yourself than you would think--give it a try!

Finally framed after 10 years!

 

My Thanksgiving piece is stitched on a mystery fabric that I believe is 18 ct. cream Davos. I used the suggested DMC threads--don't you adore these fall colors! Prairie Schooler always gets it just right--the designs are so very timeless and classic. I'm thrilled to have it all finished up... better late than never, right?

Although stitching all those leaves got just a bit repetitive, I'm glad I persevered!

 

Prairie Schooler Santas are among my favorite ornaments to display each Christmas and my oval-finished ones are at the top of the list! A new blue Santa joined his buddies for 2020. I'm happy to introduce you to "Mr. August"--yes, this is my ornament for August (I told you I was way behind!). I did change the color of his robe as I wanted him to match his buddies in blue. All of my oval Santas are stitched on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen.

Another oval Prairie Schooler Santa in blue

The Santa above is from Prairie Schooler's "Father Christmas," but the ones below can be found in three different PS booklets: "Father Christmas" (Book No. 43), "Kris Kringle" (Book No. 62), and "Old St. Nick" (Book No. 58). Do you have a favorite? I think I still love the light blue one carrying the ice skates with the swans on his robe. There is just such beautiful detail in that one! But, honestly, I love them all!

The whole oval PS family!! Which one is your favorite?

 

My September ornament is a tiny one and, surprise, surprise (!!!)--another Prairie Schooler design! This is from "Santa Moon" (Book No. 53) and is stitched "over one" on 28 ct. black Monaco. I did change the color of the star from the suggested DMC ecru to DMC 738. The stitched portion came out to be a mere 1 1/2 inches in diameter so I decided to mount it on a red polka-dot covered round piece of sticky board and border it with ecru cording to make it stand out more on my tree.

 

P.S. Santa Moon finish

I kept the finish simple by just adding a gingham bow and a tiny button while leaving long pieces of cording trailing downward. What do you think?

Love how tiny he is stitched one over one!

My final three ornaments for 2020 are stitched, but I need to finish them before I can share them in my annual "Parade Of Ornaments!" I still can't believe this year is coming to a close, can you? 

I was the lucky recipient of two Random Acts of Kindness in the form of the two charts pictured below. Two Instagram friends, Marilyn F. and Deborah Y. sent me the cute Shepherd's Bush "Pumpkin Harvest" chart and The Drawn Thread "Christmas Cards" chart, respectively. Aren't stitching friends the best? I'll be sure to pass these on when I'm done with them--thank you both so much, Marilyn and Deborah. I'm enjoying seeing more and more of you on Instagram, too! If you'd like to follow me, please click here.  

 

Gifts from Marilyn and Deborah--thank you both!

GIVEAWAY WINNER... I'd also like to announce the winner of the giveaway for the 20  pieces of cording that I offered in my previous post. Drum roll please... the winner is...

GEORGIA  W. ! 

Congratulations to Georgia!

Congratulations to Georgia W. Georgia, please send me your mailing address, and I'll get the cording out to you sometime this week! I'll be having future giveaways, so be sure to keep an eye on this space.

Our yard has been filled with the usual visitors this fall...

Our  local deer family popping in for lunch on a pretty fall afternoon!

 

I took this photo of three turkeys eating fallen birdseed from our upstairs window. Hope they are in hiding this week now that Thanksgiving is upon us!

And then there's that unwanted visitor--that shadow that still looms over all of us--Covid-19. I do have hope that the coming vaccines will be helpful in getting this pandemic under control. I come from a long line of doctors and two of my children (my middle son and my daughter-in-law) are both actively working in labs to combat and do research on various diseases so this vaccine makes total sense to me. The science behind it is is incredible and I so admire all those scientists who have been toiling long hours to research and come up with a solution to help the world feel safe once again. It has helped to maintain a sense of humor over the past nine months, though, hasn't it? The thought below made me chuckle when I saw it on Instagram..

Never thought I'd see myself in the middle of a pandemic, did  you?

In spite of this crazy and upsetting year that we'd all rather forget, I still remain thankful. I was blessed with loving parents and siblings, a wonderful husband, and three amazing sons. Now, I have a beautiful daughter-in-law and sweet grandson in the mix. I miss my mom more than words can say, though. She has been gone four months today and I feel almost more pain than I felt when she died. I know the holidays are hardest after the loss of a loved one, but this year, with no family around for support, makes it even more difficult. How I long to hug my sons... I haven't seen my youngest in eleven months! But, I know we are all in the same boat, so to speak, and we just have to hang in there and be patient a while longer.

I stitched this Heartstring Samplery piece ("Let Us Be Truly Thankful") after my dad died in 2014 and added my parents' birth year (1927) and their initials on either side of the flower stem on the right. I keep this out year-round to remind me to always be thankful and to count my blessings no matter what is going on in my life. I hope you can do the same. Take care now, my friends... and Happy Thanksgiving to you! Bye for now...

"Let Us Be Truly Thankful" finish

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Catching up on Christmas in a patriotic month

Happy July, all! How is your summer going? Ours has been hot, hot, hot! But, today is the perfect day--sunny and mid-70s with low humidity. If only every day could feel like this one! Before I share my latest stitching finishes with you, I want to pause and thank each one of you who left a comment for me on my previous post--you all leave the best comments--you really do! Many of you don't have blogs and your comments are one of the few ways in which I can get to know a bit about you. Blogging is often a one-way street, so to speak... So, thank you for taking the time to comment--I promise I read and enjoy each and every one.

Anyway... I have "almost" caught up with my monthly ornaments! Yay! I have never been this far behind in the ten years that I've been stitching a monthly Christmas ornament. I'm not sure what my problem has been this year. I've really lacked my finishing mojo and prefer to spend my time stitching (like most of you, I'm sure!). But, I'm happy to present my finish for my May ornament--an oldie, but goodie, by Little House Needleworks called "Frosty Flakes." Have any of you stitched this cutie? If so, you'll recognize that I changed the color of the border, the scarf, and the package from the suggested green to a pretty variegated blue (GAST Dungarees thread). I also changed the checked border underneath the snowman from gold to white to resemble snow.

"Frosty Flakes" in blue!

Once again, I turned to my favorite 40 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Newcastle linen and I'm so happy with how my finish turned out. I had originally planned on making one of my little pillow finishes, but when I spotted this blue plaid fabric (just a scrap of an old miniature decorative towel that I had saved), I immediately knew it was the perfect thing to showcase Mr. Frosty Flakes. On this type of finish, I simply cover the back of the blue plaid fabric with a square of coordinating felt. Why spend extra money on fabric when it is not being seen? I cut two sprigs off the back of my dried boxwood wreath and hot glued them to the cording along with some miniature silver bells. What do you think?

Little House Needleworks "Frosty Flakes" finish

My ornament for June is another oval-shaped Prairie Schooler Santa from "Kris Kringle" Book No. 62. I've now stitched all but two of the eight Santas. I actually stitched this one back in 2012 and gave it to a good stitching friend, but this one is staying here with me. As I did for the other Santas in this series, I used 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen and the suggested DMC threads. Many people have asked how I get the perfect oval shape. Well, I use these plastic templates that are sold on Amazon: oval templates. There is no way I could draw an oval that perfectly!

Prairie Schooler Santa and goose from "Kris Kringle" Book No. 62

And, I stitched another of one of my favorite PS Santas carrying the birds and birdhouse to send as a gift to a friend on Instagram. This is from the same "Kris Kringle" Prairie Schooler book and marks the fourth time I've stitched it! Friendships can spring up on Instagram between stitchers so easily--if you'd like to follow me on Instagram, just click here! I'd love to have you visit me...

A gift for a friend!

Since it is July, I just had to get a bit of patriotic stitching in, so I leafed through my notebook of older charts and came up with this beauty. Stitched on 40 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Newcastle with most of the suggested colors (I had all but one in my stash--how unusual is that!) is "Penny America" by Tree of Life Samplings. Isn't it pretty?

"Penny America" finish

To finish it off I sewed a piece of blue gingham (from a thrifted man's shirt!) to the linen with the larger burgundy ric rak peeking out in between. I then carefully applied the tiny gold ric rak with a bit of glue and topped it off with a yo-yo, blue button, and gold star. I love it!

"Penny America" made a nice addition to my July decorating

I'll zoom in a bit closer so you can get a better look at the rustic frame that I got for free! Yes, this beautifully aged frame was on the "free table" at my mom's senior living center when I was visiting last fall and I quickly snapped it up! I plan on just popping out the patriotic piece and possibly using the frame again for an autumn piece late this year. Just look at all of those great "worm" holes--such a beauty!

A close-up so you can see this wonderful old frame

Giveaway winner... I had 12 stitchers enter for the patriotic parade chart shown below and I'm happy to announce that the name picked out of the hat is...

Barb R. (from Michigan)

Barb, congratulations to you--please send me your mailing address and I'll get this out to you as soon as possible.

Winner of the patriotic chart is Barb R. from Michigan!

I'm sorry I couldn't send a chart to each of you, but I will definitely be having more giveaways in the future. In fact, why not now?! Would anyone like to win the chart for Frosty Flakes? I know many of you already own it, but if you don't please let me know--specifically--in your comments that you would like to be included in the drawing to win it. Also, make sure to include your email address and to make it more fun and interesting--how about guessing where I am traveling to on my upcoming trip... I've already told some of you so don't answer if you already know. The winner will simply be determined by a random drawing--there is no "extra credit" for guessing the correct destination. I will keep the drawing open until the 27th of July and announce the winner on my next post... Good luck to all!

If you would like to win this snowman chart, just leave a comment with your email address and a guess as to where I am headed on my next vacation (only guess if I haven't already told you, please).

All creatures great and small... Most of you know that my backyard is filled with many beautiful (and some not so beautiful!) creatures--both four-legged and feathered. I wanted to share some of the animals I've encountered this summer.

The bunnies are out in full force--I spotted this sweet rabbit when out for a walk earlier this month.

And look! A fox! I don't know who was more scared when I confronted him while on a walk at my mom's senior living community! He turned around in a hurry and ran back into the woods.

We recently bought two new bird-feeders and, oh, my--the birds are flocking to them. We bought a green recycled-plastic suet feeder with a tail-prop and the woodpeckers just love it. And the bronze colored feeder is one I purchased at Walmart for the smaller birds--goldfinches, chickadees, wrens, etc. (but, we see cardinals and bluejays there, too, now and then). I get such joy from watching these little creatures as I sit at my kitchen table each day.

Some of the sweet birds that have been visiting daily. They love our new feeders!

And my family has some new "members!" Yes--a quintet of turkeys has made its home in the woods behind our house and makes a habit of trotting down to our "all-birds welcome" feeder almost daily. They are the funniest looking birds with those long, scrawny necks--wouldn't exactly call them pretty!

The turkeys stand right under the bird feeder to chow down on the seed that the birds have dropped.

It's amazing how quickly the babies are growing up--they could barely waddle the first time I spotted them.

And one more new member--not a welcome one, however! Some people have their own guard dogs--well, we have our very own guard groundhog who has made himself right at home on our front porch. Apparently, he is living under it and feels like he is entitled to use the porch just like one of the family! He is making a mess of things including digging into my pretty yellow begonias and scattering the dirt everywhere.

Just watching the world go by on a sunny summer day!

A scary morning... My porch is just a mess in the photo above because yesterday we were "treated" to a torrential thunderstorm with many areas of flash flooding around the county. Our yard looked like it had a river running down the side of it as it sits at a low point and has all of  the other neighbors run-off streaming down their hills into our lawn. Thankfully, a few years ago we had put in some very large 20" drain pipes to help keep our pond from overflowing which (hopefully) keeps our basement from flooding. I'm not sure what would have happened if the rain had lasted all day; thankfully, it only lasted a few hours. I've included a short video that I shot from my front porch of the rain water rushing down the side yard, just yards away from where I was standing--pretty scary stuff! You can see the water rushing down from one neighbors yard and carving paths of mud into the hillside. We only had a bit of water in our basement, thank goodness. My heart goes out to all of my readers who are getting those severe storms down south...

Well, time to hit publish and get back to stitching! My husband has been on a week-long bike trip in Nova Scotia and I am all "off-schedule" without him here! I did get some stitching done--not a lot, but it was nice not to have to think about cooking dinner or doing laundry this week! Back to normal tomorrow and I'll be glad--I really missed him! Thanks so very much for visiting me and thank you, especially, to those of you who take the time to leave a comment... I hope to be back at the end of the month to visit with you again. Bye for now...

Three small finishes

Hello, my friends! How was your September? I know it's a short month, but it seemed to whiz by faster than ever, didn't it? I can't even begin to tell you how absolutely perfect the weather has been for us here in western Pennsylvania since my last post two weeks ago... Sunshine, mid-70s, no humidity, cool nights--honestly, if I could find an area of the United States that offers that kind of weather day in and day out, I'd seriously consider moving. And you know what I've found? Everyone seems happier--everyone has a smile on their faces or a kind word to offer. Just yesterday a woman came over to me at the library's Reference Desk as I worked and whispered, "I just love this place." I smiled back at her and agreed, "I do, too!" And  last week, I had a patron tell me how nicely I interacted with other patrons. Neither of these people had to do that--they just wanted to pass along a compliment. Working with the public, I do try to go out of my way to be kind and patient with others who also work with the public: store clerks, waitresses, receptionists. Working with the public is tough--you just never know who you're going to be dealing with, but I've come to learn that you get back what you give and a smile and a kind word go a long, long way...

I've been catching up on my monthly ornament stitching lately and have two new Christmas finishes to share with you today. Surprise, surprise--they are both Prairie Schoolers! First up is a piece stitched from the  Prairie Schooler Mini-Card Collection E which comes with a variety of ten miniature Halloween, Christmas, and Easter designs. At a dollar a design (or less!), I think these little PS Mini-Card Collections are a great deal. This Santa is stitched over one on 28 ct. black Monaco. Doesn't he look like he's popping up out of the woods to try to scare someone. When I showed the finish to my husband, he asked, "What is  C X?" Ha-ha!! Well, I guess it does look a bit like those letters at the top of the piece, but I explained to him that those are supposed to be the moon and a large snowflake...

To finish him off into my September ornament, I used this fun black and red polka dot fabric and white cording and ric-rak. I thought the fabric fit particularly well with the whimsical nature of the design. What do you think? I did make a few color changes--made all the snowflakes, the moon, and Santa's mittens white, along with the lettering.

My October ornament is a more traditional Prairie Schooler Santa from book No. 48 "A Christmas Visit." This one is stitched on 40 ct. flax Newcastle using the suggested DMC threads. The only change I made was to the teddy bear (my middle son says it looks like some sort of gremlin!) in the bag that he's carrying. I didn't stitch complete x's for his eyes and mouth--just small straight stitches. The ornament is backed with the pretty olive green and burgundy fabric shown on the right. The colors really pick up those of Santa's robe.

A more traditional stitching needs a more traditional finish so I simply added cording and a small gingham ribbon to this one. I'm very pleased with it...

Here is a closer look for you... I dream of stitching every single Prairie Schooler Santa some day. Do you think I can do it?

It's hard to believe I have only two ornaments left to stitch and finish to complete my monthly goal for 2014. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing them displayed on my Christmas tree in December!

I have one other thing to share with you today and that is a little RAK that I recently sent to my sweet friend, Annette, in The Netherlands. I really enjoy reading Annette's blog and seeing photos of her darling children--she is just so upbeat and lively! Her blog always makes me smile so I decided to stitch a little freebie from the Gazette 94 blog which you can find right here. I loved the border so much on this one with the  tiny fish, ice cream cones, kites, and beach huts--adorable!

This is actually stitched on 40 ct. white Newcastle, but the above photo certainly doesn't show the true color! Below is a much better photo and you can see that I added some blue cording and a small seashell to the pillow to finish it off. Annette really loved it and I was so happy to hear that the gifts I sent to her children were also well-received.

I just noticed yesterday how much the leaves are beginning to change--all the glorious reds, oranges, and golds are beginning to paint a lovely canvas in these Pennsylvania hills. I've heard that the autumn foliage is supposed to be especially pretty this year due to our cooler than normal summer. (At least there was something good about that summer)! Our local turkey family happened to pass through the yard last week and I managed to get a quick photo--just look at how much the little ones are growing!

Here are the little guys back in July... Unfortunately, I only saw six baby ones and there were seven before. Poor little thing... I wonder what happened to him? I sure hope the family has a plan to go into hiding as Thanksgiving draws closer!

This deer decided to check out our patio and the new white bench we just added. I think he likes it; he looks quite "at home" standing right outside our kitchen door, doesn't he?

Well, I think this may be the shortest post I've written in a while--maybe more of you actually made it all the way through this one!  I know I tend to go on and on at times when all most of you are here for is to see my finishes, but I really enjoy sharing a bit of my world with you, too. Welcome to all my new followers and, as always, big thanks to those of you who take the time to leave me those wonderful comments--I so appreciate each and every one. 

I hope each of you has a lovely October--it's going to be a busy one for me with a mini family reunion in NY, a stitching retreat in Erie, and my best friend's son's wedding in Indiana. But, today I am off to the dermatologist to have her check out a very itchy spider bite that I got on my chest this weekend--it's always something with me and my weird medical issues lately, that's for sure... I may be a bit out-of-touch this month, but I'll do my best to visit your blogs and say "hello."  Bye for now...

Favorite Freebie Finishes--Christmas Edition

I want my summer back!! Yes, I know many of you are enjoying lovely warm, sunny summers, but we've been experiencing even more days of record low temperatures here in western Pennsylvania. Honestly--wearing my winter bathrobe on these chilly "summer" mornings is not something I want to be writing about as August approaches, but that's my life right now... How are things in your part of the world? Warmer and sunnier, I hope? I think a lot of us thought that after that frigid winter we endured, we would be rewarded with a perfect summer... ha!! Unfortunately, it's been anything but...

In keeping with our chilly weather, I've been working on catching up on my monthly Christmas ornament challenge and have finished three new ornaments which I'd love to show you today. These all happen to be freebies, and, as I've said many times before, I'm so thankful to all of you talented cross stitch designers who share your talents with us.  The first is one I'm sure you'll all recognize: "Seven Pines" by Little House Needleworks which you can find right here. This linen doesn't photograph very well because the holes are so large. I'm not even sure what it is--some mystery 25 or 26 ct. scrap that I found in my stash, but I liked it because the white showed up so nicely. Since the holes in the fabric were so large I ended up using two threads stitched over one rather than the usual "one over one." I like the effect--the stitching really stands out! I used long stitches for the carrot nose rather than cross stitching it as was charted and made a couple of changes to the suggested DMC colors. I used DMC 498, 869, 921, 3051, 3371, and white (just in case you're wondering)...

And here is how I finished it into one of my little pillow ornaments. The size of the snowman stitching is only 1½ inches by 1¾ inches so it definitely needed to be beefed up to make an ornament worthy of displaying on a full-sized Christmas tree. I found three coordinating fabrics, some rope-like braided trim, and a couple of buttons in my stash which finished him off quite nicely! The back of the ornament is the same green fabric shown on the left. So, this counts as my ornament finish for May (I told you I was behind!).

"Seven Pines" freebie finish

My ornament for the month of June is designed by Erynne Chard over at Stitcheree blog and is just a small portion of her delightful "Joy" design. You can find the link for this freebie in her post right here. This one is stitched on 35 ct. natural Northern Cross linen (another great fabric when you want the white to really stand out) using the suggested DMC colors. I really like the blue jay that Erynne designed--a nice change from the cardinals that you typically see in Christmas stitching. As usual, the red in my photo is much, much brighter than the color in real life. I sure wish I could find a camera that photographs reds well...

This was finished into a flat mounted ornament (using the talented Vonna's tutorial).  I forgot to pad the stitching before attaching it to the mat board, but it still looks fine. This was the first time I used the mini-pompom trim on a finish and I love how it turned out--so crisp and fresh looking.  This piece stitched up very quickly and would make a great last minute gift for a stitching friend, don't you think?

"Joy" freebie finish

My third ornament finish is, again, just a portion of a different chart by Erynne called "It Snowed Last Night." I really wanted to stitch a snowy winter scene on this lovely 32 ct. blue Belfast linen that I purchased a while ago and thought this piece fit the bill perfectly. Stitching it over one was a bit difficult, but I love how tiny and detailed the finished piece is. You can see the full chart right here--isn't it pretty? I have a special fondness for sayings with the word "bliss" in them because that is my mother's maiden name. A lovely name... don't you think?

I kept the finish very simple for this one--just added the blue plaid fabric that is shown in the background and some bright white cording. I think the snowflakes Erynne designed are just about the prettiest ones I've seen--the whole scene perfectly captures that special feeling you get when you awake to a landscape that has magically turned white over night.  Again, the red color of the DMC is not coming through properly at all in this photo--it is actually a deep burgundy in real life. Thank you, Erynne, for your darling designs--I will proudly hang them on my Christmas tree each year...

"It Snowed Last Night" freebie finish

So, I'm caught up, for now, with my ornaments... I can't wait to gather them all together at the end of the year for my annual "Parade of Ornaments" photo shoot! I'm really proud of the ones I've made this year...

Gifts in the mail... I was so touched to receive a package of goodies all the way from western Canada from my sweet friend, Anne at Doll's Musings. She sent a beautifully stitched and finished box filled with fabric, buttons, and thread (all in blue, of course!). Just look at this beauty she stitched and monogrammed just for me! Having done a couple of box finishes myself, I know how long they take so the fact that dear Anne would spend her time creating one for me makes it even more special. I love the blue birds and the pretty flowers--I believe Anne said this was a BBD design. Thank you so much, my friend--I will treasure your gift and think of you each time I look at it!

Such sweet gifts from Anne!

Busy July... The month of July is always one of the busiest for our family. My husband and I celebrated 37 years of marriage on the 23rd, my youngest son turned 26 (hard to believe) on the 9th, and my husband finally caught up with me and turned 59 on the 14th (yes, he is a "younger man" by six whole months and he never lets me forget it!). Add to that trips to Washington, DC and upstate New York to visit my parents and it is surprising that I found any stitching time at all. I really miss my needle and threads and am looking forward to our annual beach vacation next month where I hope I can relax and stitch more often. 

A simple gift idea... I wanted to share a gift with you that I made for my husband's birthday. When you get to be our age, you really don't need much of anything so it's a challenge to come up with something a bit different. Have you heard about the Tabletopics conversation starters? Well, I thought about buying him an edition, but at $25.00 each, I thought... why not make my own questions? I discovered that many others have had a similar idea and was thrilled to find an abundance of questions and even a downloadable graphic to decorate the jar that houses them right here. I found another great bunch of questions here and you can easily Google "conversation starters" for more ideas.

 You never know what you'll learn...

I picked and chose which questions to use to best suit my family and spent an afternoon printing them out, cutting them up, and folding them to place in the jar. The jar is a simple clear plastic container that once housed my former (I'm proud to say) addiction--chocolate covered raisins. (Unfortunately, I've moved on to a new addiction--Milk Duds!). I attached a coordinating green ribbon to the lid to jazz it up a bit, too. The questions range from serious, to silly, to sentimental and my oldest son is enjoying them so much he has decided to add a few of his own to the jar. We only pull it out at Sunday dinners when we are together with our older sons, but we've all really enjoyed it and are learning a lot about each other.

Some new backyard creatures... So many of you have told me how much you enjoy seeing the photos of our backyard wildlife. Yes, we certainly are blessed with an abundance of wild animals (well, except when they eat our flowers and vegetables, that is!). On Sunday, I happened to look out and see a turkey--well, not just one turkey, but an entire flock! We've seen one or two turkeys before, but never a papa, mama, and seven little ones (turkey babies are called "poults") running around. Oh, they were darling--you couldn't help but smile when you watched the little ones trying to walk up the hill and keep up with their parents... (You can click the photos for a larger view).

An entire turkey family visits our yard

And here are a couple of close-ups--notice the pretty markings on the father...

Soon after these photos were taken we saw not one, but two Great Blue Herons out by the pond--you just never know what you'll see looking out our kitchen window!

Well, I think that's more than enough from me today... I hope each of you enjoys a wonderful August--not many days left until school is back in session, are there? Thank you all for your great comments on my last post and I'm so appreciative of all of your advice on healing my Plantar Fasciitis pain. It seems to feel better for a while and then I have a set-back, but I think I'm on the right path... I really miss my daily treadmill walks, but filling in with the stationary bike and lifting light weights has actually been great, too. I'm glad I've discovered even more ways to stay fit although I wouldn't wish the pain of Plantar Fasciitis on anybody. Enjoy the rest of your summer, my friends. Bye for now...