Forward Progress

I have to admit I completely forgot how much I love this craft and so glad I picked it up again. I am making pretty good progress on my USA piece considering there are a gazillion stitches!



I've also been browsing ebay lately for some new patterns and this is what I have won so far. I am especially excited about the Country Christmas sampler; I love to do samplers and can't wait to start on this one! I better hurry up and finish the current project before my new patterns arrive in the mail!



A few more goodies in keeping with my patriotic theme...



I hope everyone in blogland is having a fabulous week!

Peace,
Ann

Tranquility & Nature's Miracles

It's funny how one can drink a cup of coffee late in the day and never have issues falling asleep BUT no coffee and I am up half the night! After much tossing and turning last night I decided to give into my insomnia and start a cross stitch project. Crazy huh? Out of all my books and magazines I decided to go with the Patriotic cover design out of Cross Country Stitching. I've had the magazine since 1993 so better late than never!



As you can see from the photos I still have a long way to go!



By this posting I am almost done with the entire USA lettering. The weather was not too smoldering this morning in Texas so I decided to take a chance of not becoming mosquito food and sit on my front porch to do some of my stitching. There was a gentle breeze and it was so peaceful; I could hear the birds singing, the wind chimes chiming and the insects humming. In the midst I received a visitor; the largest, most beautiful dragonfly I had ever seen. This little creature could have easily been king or queen of the dragonfly kingdom! I was in awe and wish I would have had my camera! I managed to snap a photo with the camera on my phone but very hard to see since the dragonfly was relaxing inside my bushes. He stayed there for what seemed an eternity until my children interrupted his presence. It is so funny because I felt something magical and very calm while he/she was there. Perhaps it was a loved one in another form paying me a visit...




Peace....
Ann

TGIF and about that decor...

I don't think I will ever get tired of saying THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!! It was a long week and I always look forward to the weekends to do something creative instead of pushing paper at a desk for 8 hours a day. when my daughter asks me what kind of job I have I always tell her I am a "certified paper pusher"!

Life is so hectic anymore I always dream of running away from this crazy metropolis to live a simple life in an old farm house somewhere in the Northeast with lots of land. A place where I can hang my laundry outside to collect that crisp clean smell; a place where I can live off the land in the summer by planting a spectacular garden; a place where my children and pets can run freely. :::sigh::: One can dream right? I would definitely have to decorate a few of the rooms in a primitive/americana/country decor; I have always loved it and always said that I would decorate one of the rooms in my house one day. So, I am sharing my daily window (internet) shopping with you today.......



Americana Doll




Isn't this patriotic sheep just the cutest?!


These country sheep are just so cute!



Love this quilt block; in the catalog this was framed and looked very nice



from the countryporch.com website


More sheep! I am liking these little guys!




These tags gave me some paper crafting ideas




I think this would look nice in a boy's room




These houses would be so easy to make from unfinished wood

A Birthday, An Anniversary and Ramblings

First I want to say Happy Birthday to the bestest friend in the whole world; Annmarie (aka Ann)! There is a reason why God made girlfriends and by chance on a message board I was lucky enough to find her. I imagine us old ladies sitting on a front porch in our rocking chairs knitting, crocheting or stitching something! HA HA! Anyway, Happy Birthday soul sister; may many years and many blessings come your way.

Speaking of birthdays and stitching I arrived home for lunch today to find this cute little book in my mailbox from....you guessed it! Annmarie! It's her birthday and she sends me a gift! I am blessed I tell ya! I am already looking at pillowcases and various linens around my house to stitch! Very nice book and well written; I can't wait to start on my first project.




Speaking of projects; I recently revisited my first love in crafting; cross stitching. I completely forgot how many supplies and finished projects I had that were never framed. The picture below has a few of them that have been sitting in a box for years. I washed them, hung them up to dry and now have to iron, mat and frame them with the exception of the God Bless America piece; that is a bread basket cloth. I think that one is my favorite because I love patriotic themes and would love to do a room in my home in a country patriotic decor. Oh well, we will save that for another blogging day!



Finally, Happy Blogiversary! I can't believe it has been more than a year since I started this blog! It is therapy of sorts for me and I know I've been neglectful of it lately but will try to be more attentive to it! There is nothing better than sitting down with a nice cup of coffee and reading all of my favorite blogs.

...until next time and peace!

Hold on to Summer Memories

Autumn is nostalgic
Winter is renewal
Spring is re-birth
and Summer is simplicity

Every year when summer rolls around I long for the breeze and sound of the ocean. Summer to me is a time of awakening and discovery. A time to remember when life was slow and simple as the long, hot days. Growing up near a beach I have many fond memories of summer; many summer visitors would make the long journey through autumn, winter and spring to our little beach town to open their summer cottages. Old friendships from the summers before were renewed. Lazy days sitting in rocking chairs on wrap around porches sipping lemonade, feasting on fresh garden fare and listening to stories of old from our elders accompanied with bike rides along the beach. Uncomplicated summers before cell phones and internet; when life was simple but life was good.

Monday Blues

I haven't met a person yet that loved Monday and I am no exception. It seems the weekends just go faster and faster and I can never squeeze everything into 2 days that I need to accomplish. Someone at work today asked me how my Mother's Day was. My reply was "ok" which sort of raised a flag insinuating that I did not receive a spectacular gift. Quite the contrary, my children gave me thoughtful, homemade, thought provoking gifts that can never be bought or traded for all the treasures in the world. How sad a society we live in when occasions are marked good or bad by the materialistic things we receive. Where did the simplicity in life go? Anyone that knows me would know that the day was just "ok" because I couldn't pick up the phone and call my own mother. No matter how many ups and downs we have with our loved ones; we never forget them and never stop loving them when they are no longer with us. Birthdays, Christmas, all holidays can leave a small void in the heart longing for a memory that was once shared with that person. I suppose I could ramble on and on but what I am trying to say that the most important things in life are not wrapped up in a box; they are the memories you hold in your heart with the ones you love.

Mom & I - 1982



My mother's roses in full bloom on Mother's Day; I'm sure she was admiring my gift to her from heaven.

Happy Birthday Mummy

Today would have been my mom's 68th birthday. Sadly, she was taken from us way too soon and definitely too young. I always called her "mummy" in the best British accent I could muster. She always thought it was funny and definitely preferred it over the traditional "mom". Since her death I have tried to honor her memory by planting something in my yard on her birthday. My mom was an avid gardener and always had beautiful plants and flowers. She definitely had a magical green thumb. I inherited her love of gardening but not sure about the green thumb. I had plans to plant another rose (mummy loved roses) like last year but it ended up turning into a larger project. Since cancer took my mom I have tried to live more naturally by buying organic, eliminating meat, and cleaning with natural projects. We live in a chemical world and more and more people are ending up with this horrible disease. So, growing an organic garden seemed like an awesome idea. It was actually a fun project for the whole family; we planted yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, peas, green beans, radishes and an herb garden. I even planted the rose for my mom.