The Grands Were Here!!

 We had a big week....first I want to share this picture of Niece Laura, with Sonny Perdue, the Secretary of Agriculture for the USA.  Laura is having many opportunities to meet important people in her role as Northwest Georgia Field Rep for Senator Loeffler.

Nana was so excited to have five of her nine grands in the house on Thursday.  Here are my cousin buddies, Margaret and Landon. These two have been close since they were infants. 

Grandpa and Elliott. Look at those dimples on that Elliott.  

 One  of my cousins said that Ben and Amelia look like they are in time out.lol No they are pretty good kids for sure. They had not seen each other in a while so they enjoyed the reunion as well.

 What makes a Nana truly happy? Seeing her grandchildren playing together. Baylor was in the corner playing with the toys in the toy box. He tends to be a solitary fella but he gave Nana and Grandpa some loving while he was here.  Kendall was here as well but you know the rule with the teenagers....no pictures. :) Kendall is growing up. She graciously offered to keep an eye on Baylor while we had pizza. She and Baylor took their pizza up to Grandpa's man cave.

This afternoon was good for all of us. It made us feel like things might just get back to normal one day.

Saturday Stitching

A more productive week this week in the stitching life.  Stitching always calms and centers me in the midst of LIFE. And this week has had a good bit of that so stitching time was in order.

Before I share my stitching, I just wanted to report on a trend that seems to be going on in the Floss Tube and Podcast world. One of my favorite Floss Tubers shared she was moving to the Patreon platform and in order to see her videos, you had to subscribe The lowest station on the Patreon site is a five dollar/month subscription which would allow you to see what you had been watching for free on You Tube. Sorry friend, I like you but not enough to pay to watch your posts. I watch a few You tube channels affliated with Patreon but their Patreon sites just give you additional content.  This particular  you tube personality uses silks quite a bit and maybe she feels that Patreon will allow her to bring in money to purchase her supplies. While I understand that, I am not going to be funding other stitchers habits.lol I have a hard enough time paying for my own supplies. So just be on the look out for more of this change in the stitching world.

Five out of nine ornaments are completed....they are hung by the salt lamp with care.:) So I am off to a good start with Jolly July.

The fabric I ordered to complete My Christmas List arrived this week. I will be taking this project o my mother's house so I can use her sewing machine to complete this stitch.

 I used this week to work on two of my bigger projects. This is Riley Harbor by Kathy Barrick. I moved down to the water and ship to break up the house stitching. I do love this one and I need to work on it more frequently.

Kringles is coming along as well I am doing the first 40 stitches on the left. I am marking off the stitches as I do them so I can keep up with my progress. I would say if I were doing this over, I would use White for the snow on the roof. I am using the called for colors but that snow is rather dingy an I might just take it out and restitch it in white. What are your thoughts?

I had some haul this week from Jen's Stitching Niche on Etsy. I want to stitch this Rack Stack during Jolly July. I also ordered some fabrics for future projects.  I have ordered several pieces of 16 count Aida. I am enjoying Aida once again and it is a rest for weary eyes.

Happy Stitching!!

Friday Five

 1. More changes to the living room....after moving the Ray Ellis prints together I decided I needed something else to pull it together as the ceilings in the living room are 10 feet tall. I went to Hobby Lobby where they had all their wall decor on sale for 50% off. I think this metal piece works without being too busy.

 2. I got both of these framed prints for $16 at Hobby Lobby. I needed something in my pea green laundry room. Not everyone is a fan of this color but it has always appealed to me and I think the blue and white prints in there are perfect.

 3. I am tired of burning my fingers when using hot glue so I ordered these silicon thimbles from Tonya's Sewing Room on ETSY. I am hoping these will protect my fingers from the glue. I will let you know how it works.

 4. A Good Book for Mystery lovers.   I could not put this one down and it has been a while since I have been able to say that about a book.  Peter Swanson really knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. This book is about the owner of a mystery book store who writes a BLOG titled, Eight Perfect Murders. He lists eight mysteries that involve perfect murders. Well the FBI comes knocking on his door to tell him that some recent murders look like the perpetrator was using this blog post for a blue print in killing. I wrote down the eight books he mentions so now I will be on the look out for them at the library.

5. Blackberries....Marvin picked a few ripe blackberries while we were at Grimmwood. I am not a fan myself. I like blackberry jelly but the berries have too many seeds for me.  Also I remember picking them in the hot summers with my family. We had to watch for snakes and when not watching for snakes we had to avoid the thorns on the bushes. For an indoorsy gal, this was a trial. I finally convinced my mother to let me stay home and iron while they picked berries. So I was ironing and watching Let's Make a Deal enjoying some alone time. I really have not changed much in that regard!:)

The Grimmlins at the Lake

 Margaret is enjoying the dock.

 Love seeing a big smile on our Baylor's face.

Elliott is looking so tall.

I was wondering what I would post about today as it is a slow week here at Nanaland. However Aunt Franny came through for me. She posted these on her FB page. The Grimmlins  Aunt Franny and Family were camping at Oak Mountain in Birmingham for the weekend so Katy and Ben took a break to join them.

We have not seen these grands since the end of February and we are sure missing them!! Kendall and Landon came by with their mom to spend some time with Grandpa on Father's Day. We enjoyed hearing about their trip out west. I told them that they were very fortunate to have parents who made sure they were seeing the United States. I was waiting for Landon to say....OK BOOMER. :) Yes we Boomers lived a simpler life but I am glad my grands have been able to travel and see the sights.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Father's Day at Cracker Barrel

We were traveling back to Nanaland on Sunday Morning and we stopped at Cracker Barrel so Marvin could enjoy a nice Father's Day Breakfast.  Seating was at half capacity so we had a little wait. I walked around the store taking pictures to share with all the CB fans here on the blog.

The dining room was decked out in patriotic glory....I love all the eye candy at Cracker Barrel.

 Flamingos are still a big thing it seems. I know some of my girlies love flamingos.

 These mugs seem appropriate for this day and time.

 I love that barn with the flag on it.

 Here is a close up of the truck....another favorite of mine.

 I may have to pick up this essential oil book for Nanaland.

 Yes, probably so!!

 All the patriotic gifts were on sale...I am thinking fall things will be on display once the 4th is celebrated.

 I need this where I can see it every day!! Sorry for the shadow...it was on a lower shelf in the store.

 More garden themed merchandise.

 There was a table of wedding gift items as well.

Yes, I am a Professional Nana!!

Hope you enjoyed strolling through Cracker Barrel with me this morning.

Thank you for all the prayers for my mother. She is doing better but she is not liking the limitations that aging brings. We were able to have home health come to see her several times a week. They will assist with multiple things and I think it will be good for her to have someone come and visit several times a week. My sisters see her every day but she needs some new faces.  We also arranged for a part time sitter for a while until we can see how she is going to do long term. This is someone she calls her fourth daughter so I think it will be good for her to have that company as well.  I know many of you have dealt or are dealing with similar situations. One day at a time is the best approach and we will do what we have to do. Keep those prayers going up please. We appreciate them.

Saturday Stitching

Well no photos today as we are off to Grimmwood for a few days. So I thought I would do a Stitching Stream.

1. I lost my mind and ordered G Legere. Not familiar with it? Google it. I have seen several ladies working on this one and it just spoke to me.  A reddish pink house and pears...two of my favorite things. I will be stitching it using DMC. I was looking at the list of silk flosses and if I purchased them all I would have spent $200. Yikes!!   I am working on finding the perfect fabric for it.

2. It looks like most LNS 's are open once more. I am glad to see them back up and at em. However many shop owners report they were quite busy with mail order and curbside business.

3. I am trying to decide if I will take Kringles to Grimmwood as my road stitch.  I have not touched it since I put in a bit of the roof.  A stitcher on Instagram recently posted a photograph of her completed project. I would like to say it inspired me but it did not.:)

4. How many of you are planning to do Jolly July this year with Chelsea and Priscilla? I plan to work on several Christmas ornaments along with the grands ornaments. I would like to complete all the grands ornaments so that I can move on to Fully Finishing them. Hobby Lobby is rapidly stocking its Christmas craft area.

5. All of my giveaway winners have received their goodies and while going through my stash I found a cute autumnal chart that I plan to pass on. Be on the look out for that giveaway. It was an impulse buy and while I still like it, I have to tell myself that I have a LOT of Fall Stitches that are fully finished and come out each year. What season is best represented in your stitching?  I really need to work on some late winter and spring pieces.

6. My cousin, Dewilla, introduced me to a new floss tube channel, Stitch Roadie. Anna is about my age and still stitching up a storm.   Another older Floss Tuber I enjoy is Stitching by the Lake, Marlene Bush.  Maybe I should say Seasoned Stitcher instead of older stitcher.  Speaking of Dewilla, she is my husband's first cousin but we have been friends since we met in 1975. She has recently taken up cross stitch again and she is kitting up Shakespeare's Fairies. ( I hope I got that name right) It is beautiful, I admire the ladies who stitch the Mirabelias and Nora Corbett designs. She just retired after many years as an educator so she has time to enjoy her old hobby.  I hope we can all stitch until our fingers or our eyes wear out!! On that note I will close this weeks Stitching Saturday. Hopefully I will have some eye candy for you next Saturday.

Friday Five

1. Apple Pie

Marvin pointed out Chief Ew'e Needa Pie.  He likes to be on the blog every now and then. 

2. Button Jar

I found this treasure at the little antique store I enjoy visiting that is on the Tennessee Georgia border....Yesteryears of Tennga. 

3. Warm Socks

I saw these in Ellijay and I thought to myself these jewels would be very welcome come fall and winter. If my feet get cold, I am cold all over. There was only one pair of the hot pink style so  I decided they would be part of my birthday gift from Marvin. 

5. Bunnies

Another Ellijay find. Aren't they too cute?

5. No photo with this one but just a declaration of my love for the old Blogger interface. I was alerted to the coming change by Linda at Linda's Life Journal. She has been using it.  I tried a post with the new blogger but I was not impressed. Is it just me? Have you tried the new blogger format. I prefer Legacy and I hope they keep it there for us to use in addition to the other option.

Wednesday Check In

Just a short post today. My mother is not doing too well over in Georgia so I may be MIA for a while. As I have said, we have no internet there so posting is not gonna happen.:)  I have scheduled a Friday Five but Stitching Saturday may have to wait until next week. I know we are all concerned about our blog friends when they do not post for a while so I wanted to explain my situation.

Mother will be 90 in August and she has done pretty well living alone with my sweet sisters checking in on her. Her heart rate and blood pressure has been fluctuating making a trip to the ER a necessity. She is doing better today but my sisters and I are going to have to make some decisions about future plans for her , keeping her in her own home is a top priority.

Many of you have been down this same road, caring for an elderly parent so  I know you understand. I think one of the most troubling parts of this road in the journey is knowing it lies ahead for us all one day.

If you would remember our family in your prayers we would sincerely appreciate it.

Virtual Vacation

We were at Grimmwood over the weekend and we had used up our data on the phones so no comments got added to the blog ....hope I got everyone's comment added to the posts.  We have not run out of data in a while so that was NOT fun. I am just settling down in the cozy chair to read everyone blog's for the last few days.   We had some guests this weekend.  Marvin's younger brother, William and his wife Barbara spent the weekend with us.

This photo was taken at our favorite Ellijay restaurant, Cantaberrys.  We spent the day visiting local shops.  

Meanwhile the Roberts Clan was enjoying their family vacation in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Barbara and William will be flying to Montana on Wednesday so their airplanes will probably pass in the air.:) Barbara was asking Amelia how the weather was out there so she could decide what she needed to pack.

Amelia was trying to get a photo of Kendall but Kendall caught her.

A plane full of bandits.:)

A family picture in the beautiful big sky country.

Amelia and Todd with the bison in the background.

Bison....they almost look small compared to the mountains.

Brothers and Buddies.

So glad these children are seeing America.

They were going down an embankment to go rafting. Kendall was a little timid but Todd helped her down. He is a good step daddy. Her helpful brother told her if she fell she would  reach her destination. Boys!

I always think of Yogi Bear and Jellystone National Park.

The grands...

I will leave you with a laugh.

Saturday Stitching

Another finish....

I started this in 2018 and it is finally finished. I just sat down over the weekend and decided it would be DONE.  I am going to make it into a roll that can be enjoyed by the grands. I had to order some Christmas fabric from Fabric.com. This site has all kinds of fabrics available all year long. So for us crafters it can come in handy. Plus they have a bigger variety than the local stores.  I hope to FFO it soon.

And an FFO...

I put the rick rack on the drum but I left off the beads.  I am so glad I took the drum with me to Hobby Lobby as this orange is definitely more yellow orange. It reminds me of the colors in the 64 count Crayola box. I am sure there was a yellow orange just this color.  On the left is my Weatherwise by Prairie Schooler. They look nice together.

I got a good bit done on Souvenirs of the Heart.

I am stitching this one over one on 32 count Oaken from Jen's Stitching Niche. I tried to stitch with two strands but it was very bulky. I find that 32 counts can vary a great deal. Sometimes I can use two strands of floss, other times just one.  I am loving this little red house.

I got out my July 4th stitches....

Metal buckets are great for displaying stitched pieces.

This sits on my breakfast bar but the back of the vignette faces the sink. I decided to pretty it up a bit as well.

My friend, Gina sent me the Summer card that she crafted. The Liberty is a  cross stitch card from blog friend, Barbara. I popped another patriotic stitch on the back of the bucket holding the flags.  Now I have something pretty to look at as I do my kitchen duties.

A big blue bowl full of patriotic goodness.  It sits on my dining room table.

Fourth of July Hoopla on the tea cart.

It is fun to move things around from year to year.  Happy Stitching!