Happy Solar Eclipse Day

Marvin found this old tee shirt in his closet and decided he would wear it to work tomorrow.

It is rather wrinkled so I will have to touch it up with the iron!! It is from the American Physics Society or some such...Marvin told me and I forgot. :) Marvin  is a certified Georgia Tech Physicist...or Fizzist as Mama G called his title.

Here is the list on the back...August 21 is the third listing from the bottom!  You can tell Marvin loved this shirt and wore it a lot before he grew out of it. But since he has lost weight, it is back in the gym rotation!! I am only allowing him to wear it to work tomorrow for the Eclipse.  Y'all in the path of the eclipse, be safe.  In the south we are expecting a lot of people traveling here to view the eclipse. Here at Nanaland, we will be watching the eclipse on television.

Stitching Saturday

Thanks for dropping by to see what I am stitching this week.

A little more progress on Smoky Mountain Christmas.

I started Pumpkin Patch by Prairie Schooler.  It makes me feel that fall is just around the corner.

And I pulled this piece out of the attic and hung it in my laundry room

I stitched this MANY years ago. Prairie Schooler is the designer and this chart was just re released to a new generation of stitchers.

I ordered this magazine thanks to a great review by Stitcherista on Floss Tube.

I do not do punch needle but their primitive cross stitch patterns are so neat. And I am promising NOT to take up another craft.

I am also planning to get some finishing done this week.

Hope it turns out like I picture it in my mind.:)

And finally...Happy Birthday to our youngest son, Charles. He is 34 today.

He shares a birthday with Bill Clinton because the labor and delivery room was full up on August 18th, when I was to be induced into labor. So instead of sharing a birthday with Patrick Swayze, he shares one with Bill! We plan to have lunch with him to celebrate.

Facebook Friday

Corrie ten Boom has always been one of my spiritual heroes.  Even though she has been with the Lord for many years, she continues to inspire people via Facebook.

As a stitcher this really spoke to me. I will be honest. While the front of my needlework looks pretty, the back is sometimes a mess. I have been working on making the back of my needlework look better  even though no one sees the back except me and the framer. :)

This is a great picture story of our lives...we cannot see how God is working the threads together to refine us and make us shine like gold.  But we can trust His Wisdom.

Maybe one day I will show you the back of my work!

The Stream

Put a toe in and see if the water suits you!

1. I found a new candy that I can never purchase again. M&Ms Caramel.  Oh my...I got a small package of this candy at the grocery store today and it was love at first taste. Marvin and I are still trying to shed a few pounds and those candies must never cross the thresh hold of Nanaland.

2. Marvin and I have watched Dr Who for many years. After David Tennant gave up the role, we rather lost interest but we keep an ear out for Dr Who news. Well imagine our surprise when BBC announced the new DR Who will be a woman. No, just NO on that one.

3. The Solar Eclipse seems to have taken the US by storm. We will have 95% darkness here in NoAla. Many are driving up to Nashville, where it will be total darkness. You might like to look up Destin Sandlin( Smarter Every Day) on You Tube. He has a very interesting post regarding the Eclipse. Kendall and I watched it together. Destin and his wife, Tara, attend our church. I got to know Tara when I first started volunteering at MOPs.  Destin makes learning fun and easily understood.

4. I changed purses yesterday. With the Georgia Tech football season rapidly approaching, I took out my GT cross body. It will be perfect to carry around town but I also purchased a clear purse to take to the games. It is really sad that Southern Belles cannot show their colors at the stadiums.  I remember the Good Ole Days when you could carry a cute purse into the game and no one blinked an eye.

5. I have been a bad girl this week. I have ordered several cross stitch patterns. I keep telling myself that I need to stitch the charts I own but it is hard.  I can remember my mother purchasing fabric and saying that she would stitch up that fabric one day. She had a drawer that was full of fabric. I guess she did eventually use up her stash and if I live long enough I will stitch all my stash.:)

6.There seems to be a lot of interest in Princess Diana of late. I have seen several tv shows about her. Suddenly I realized that it will be 20 years since she died on Aug 31. It hardly seems possible.  I remember that red sweater she wore with white sheep across the front and one black sheep among the flock. I wanted a sweater like that so badly. She was a lovely fashion icon in those early days before we knew the fairy tale was only in our minds.

Well I have several errands to run today. I must get to Hobby Lobby and look for some fabric to finish off my smalls. I want to get them done so I can use them in my fall decorating.

My Imaginary Life

As we do not have cable or internet at Grimmwood, we have to take some of our DVDs with us if we want to watch television. I suggested to Marvin that we take season one of Ballykissangel this weekend.

Then I had to smile because it brought back a sweet memory. One of my younger friends and coffee buddy for several years moved to Ireland.  I asked if she was going to live near Avoca, where Ballykissangel was filmed back in the 90s. So bless her heart, she traveled to Avoca and wrote a blog entitled This is Your Imaginary Life Arlene Grimm.  She put in lots of pictures for me and I was able to travel to Ireland without leaving my armchair. ( This might be my favorite way to travel.)

I know a lot of you have Britbox or Acorn tv and if you see Ballykissangel listed on your viewing guide you might want to check it out.

Father Clifford is an English priest whose new assignment is in Ireland. It causes all sorts of adjustments for Father Clifford and the village he is to shepherd.  And Father Clifford does not drive...oops.  This show will make you laugh and cry...in a good way.

If you go to Ireland you might want to stop and visit in Avoca.

It looks like the perfect Irish village to me!

You might want to drop in at Fitzgeralds pub for a sandwich and pint!

I am looking forward to visiting with my Irish friends again. After all it IS my imaginary life.

Tomato Torta

My sweet next door neighbor gave me some home grown tomatoes and I decided to make this recipe that I had clipped but I had never tried.

Tomato Torta

Place a pie crust in pan, prick with a fork all over bottom and sides and bake 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

Take pan from oven... place two cups of mozzarella cheese in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon of dried basil leaves. ( If using fresh basil use 1 1/2 tablespoon.)

Top with sliced tomatoes.( For best results, slice your tomatoes and let them drain a bit on a layer of paper towels.)  Add 1/2 tablespoon of basil leaves.( 1 1/2 T if using fresh basil). Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

We have found an olive oil store in Ellijay, Georgia and we had purchased some olive oil infused with balsamic vinegar so I used it to brush the top of my tomatoes.

I served it with a Kale Salad and let me just say this recipe is a keeper.

Back to School

School has started here in Alabama.  This summer breezed by and now it is time to buckle down to classroom studies for the Grands.

Kendall is in the sixth grade.  While she was looking forward to seeing her friends every day, she was not looking forward to advanced math.  She is a smart girl but advanced math was a bit of a struggle. Amelia wisely decided that this brain needed a challenge. It is always one of those lightbulb moments when you realize you are not quite  as smart as you thought you were.  It happens to all of us.

Landon was happy to find that he would be in the class with his best friends. Amelia said he is sitting beside one of his besties and we both wonder how long before the teacher moves him to another seat.

Meanwhile in Hoover, the Grimmlins headed off for another year.  Margaret is in second grade and Baylor is in kindergarten.  Katy said Baylor had a good first day at school. When they got home from school, Baylor went right to his room got in bed and took a nap.  Please continue to pray for Baylor man as he is in a transitional classroom and it is a new type of class for the school system.  Margaret face timed us on Wednesday evening to tell us about her class. Her two best friends are in her class as well so that made her very happy.  We found out that Margaret was chosen for this particular class because of her kindness and being a friend to all.  We were so proud of her.

And the littlest Grimmlin is still enjoying summertime.

She has really enjoyed pool time this summer.  She will not be going back to day care as her Kim grandparents will be taking over childcare now that they are living in the area. I am thankful that they  are willing to do this for Audrey.


Fall is coming ....school, high school football games and cooler mornings are all signs!!