Friday Five

1. Olivia deHaviland

This lovely lady lived to be 104 and passed away recently. Who did not love her as Melanie in Gone with the Wind?

2. Mary Engelbreit sale

I love to send post cards and ME cards are on sale right now at the website.

3. A New House for Ben and Katy

We are so happy for Ben and his family to have this bigger house for their family.  The schools in this district have good special needs programs so that is a bonus.

4. A New Photo    Is this too much cuteness?

5. Coldwater Creek Sale

I purchased these two sweaters on sale and they can be used now and in the fall. Coldwater Creek may become a thing of the past as they said this may be their good bye. I know they have struggled to stay in business. I will miss them if they do close.

   

Decorating at Grimmwood

 We spent some time in Ellijay on our last visit to Grimmwood. We had seen a bookcase that we thought would work well at Grimmwood. At the time we found it, Barbara and William were with us and we had no room to bring it home. We knew if we were supposed to get this piece, it would be there when we returned. Before going to the Antique store we stopped for a cool treat at another local store. We sat and enjoyed our goodies while looking at this scene.:)

 I noticed the sign on the wall and I really liked it so I thought I would share it with y'all.

It is a bit hard to see so I will type it here...

If you look back, do so forgivingly. If you must move forward, do so prayerfully . However the wisest thing you can do is be in the present, gratefully.

I have been guilty of complaining about the current situation in the world but this reminded me to be grateful for every day that God gives me. We are not promised tomorrow.

When we walked into the antique store and saw that the book case was still there. I did say a little prayer thanking God for granting me a small desire.

 It fit in the car!! Yippee.

 I had a fun time decorating it.

 It fit perfectly in the spot I had imagined it in....I love it when a plan comes together.

Now the credenza is much neater looking. I had thought the shelves on the credenza would be perfect for books but they are deep and you could not really find a book without taking all the books out to search for one. Now the credenza holds some toy boxes for the grands, baskets and the binoculars we enjoy using on the farm.

The view as you come inside the door.

I love decorating. I got tickled at Audrey because she asked me why I had plates on the wall at Nanaland. To her little mind, plates were for one thing only.  I also had a tassle on a lamp that she was confused about...what is this? Why is it here?  I asked her if she had any decorations at her house. She told me NO. Charles confirmed it when he said that with two little ones, decorations are often broken.

I have to say that when my own children were young, we did have decorations and they were taught not to touch them. But then I was a stern mama.  I think it is important to enjoy the beauty of small delights.

Canton Grimmlins Visit

The Canton Gremlins are back home and Nancy reported they were happy to see their toys and their rooms after a week away. I remember when my own children went to visit the Grandparents that they would come home and enjoy playing in their room for the rest of the day! Allowed me to get them unpacked and laundry done.

 Snack time at the little table Nana bought just for the grands. I was not sure how Joshua would do without a high chair but he was a champ.  He sat in his seat and ate like a big boy. But then this boy loves to eat.lol

 Audrey was showing me how a monkey acts. She is a good monkey.

 Aunt Mimi came over to get some baby time in....this was the first time she had seen Joshua. They hit it off as you can see.

 Audrey wanted to pose with Aunt Mimi.  She is a patriotic Ninja turtle if you can't tell.

 Oldest granddaughter and youngest granddaughter.

 Kendall was glad to color and draw with Audrey. The chair is a barricade to keep Joshua away.:)

 Joshua enjoyed this little rocking horse that belonged to Marvin's father.  Joshua is the fourth generation of Grimms to ride the horsey. It is an antique but when Marvin and I inherited it, we painted it to make it look better. We should have left it alone. But we had not watched Antiques Roadshow back then.

 Who can resist a sleeping baby?

 Oldest and youngest of my biological grandsons.  Joshua took right up with Landon.

 Sweet boys.

 Oh No...Audrey made Aunt Mimi dress up.

 Then Landon had to dress up too.

 These two siblings are very sweet together.

 Joshua playing with a dinosaur that belonged to his daddy.

Landon got out his old trains for the cousins. Every night before bed we would watch Thomas the Tank Engine so Audrey knew all the trains of Sodor.

A final photo of Grandpa and Joshua. We are pretty sure Joshua will be our last grand baby so he is a bit spoiled.  He is 100 percent lap baby as we say here in the South. Joshua loves being held. This is a rare trait among our Grimmlins.

It was a good week but Nana and Grandpa found out that they are OLD. We both slept very well on Saturday night. I promised Audrey she could come back next summer by herself. She is such a big girl and takes care of herself for the most part. We are hoping that we can get out and about and take in some sights then.

Blog Break Time

Nana is taking a break this week to love on her Canton Grimmlins, Audrey and Joshua.  Please come back on Monday July 27th to see what we got up to here in Nanaland.  While I am gone, take the time to peruse my blog roll. You will find some very interesting ladies there who will keep you company until I return!!

Saturday Stitching

Happy Jolly July. I have gotten quite a lot of stitching done this week. But before I share that, Congrats to Carol in Arizona! Carol you are the winner of the Madame Chantilly chart. Please send me your snail mail at agrimm55@hotmail.com.  I will get that in the mail to you next week.  Ten ladies entered the giveaway and using the random number generator, Carol was the lucky number 7.

Once I started stitching this piece on 14 count coffee/tea dyed aida, I realized it was a BIG stitch. So I just stitched Candy Cane wishes. I will be on the lookout for some 36 count even weave to stitch the complete ornament as that is the one I want on my tree. This will make a cute  gift for someone. I used three strands of Licorice Red. Three strands really makes it pop.

A Brenda Gervais Design...

I left off the candy at the bottom. I wanted a more prim look for this piece of stitching.

I just love Rack Stack by Plum Street. This will be finished into an ornament for my tree. I love the red I used for the holly berries. It is Classic Colorworks Ladybug. It was in my Priscilla and Chelsea Christmas floss pack from Fat Quarter Shop.  I am going to remember this pretty pinky red.  And my border met up!! Always a nice thing for a stitcher.

One of my sweet North Alabama Stitcher friends sent me some happy mail this week.

This will go into my stash for next year.

I was surprised to find some gingham stitching fabric at Hobby Lobby.

As you can see, it was priced reasonably so I picked some up to try. The vintage blue looks rather like a blue sky with clouds. Hobby Lobby has stepped it up in the cross stitch department. I will  be sure and give you a review of this fabric when I have stitched on it.

Happy Stitching Friends.

Friday Five

1. Fun stencils from Dollar Tree. Audrey and I will be using these next week.

2. Homemade biscuits with strawberry freezer jam and apple butter. What makes these two jars of goodness special is that they were both made by Men!!  My friend, Deborah, gave me the strawberry jam made by her husband while the apple butter was made by my brother in law, William.

3. I finally found some Conecuh bacon. We love their sausage but I had looked for the bacon without success. Then I went to our small neighborhood grocery and there it sat in the freezer case. It was pricy but I wanted to try it. Delicious....worth the extra cost? Still debating that!!

I found these craft magnets on Amazon for a great price...$14. They are sitting in my cart waiting for my next Amazon order.

5. My sweet baby boy. I think this one is going into Nana's gallery.  Victoria Nielson did it again!!

Easy Summer Dessert

Summertime means that we have so many yummy fruits available....peaches, blueberries and strawberries to name a few.   These fruits taste so yummy on cheesecake. Many do not consider Cheesecake an easy dessert but I am sharing a recipe that I have used for over 35 years. I call it Liane's Cheesecake. Liane was my neighbor in Louisville. We were both young moms and our daughters were good friends. I can still see Liane standing in her doorway as Amelia walked down the sidewalk to play with Lauren.  And other days I would stand in the door way and wait for Lauren to walk to our house.  Liane and I shared lots of common interests including crafts and cooking.

One day I mentioned to Liane that I enjoyed cheesecake but it was so difficult to make. ( I was not a very experienced cook at that time). Liane gave me her recipe and I have used it and shared it over the years.  I have probably shared this before but I have some new readers who might like to try this recipe.

Liane's Cheesecake

1 Keebler graham cracker pie crust ( purchase the larger extra two serving size) These can be hard to find so I pick up several when I find them in the stores.

1 pound sour cream
1 block cream cheese( softened)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until well mixed.  Add sour cream, eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.

Pour into pie crust and bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Cut into slices and serve plain or add the topping of your choice.

The hardest thing about this cheesecake is allowing it to sit in the fridge for 8 hours. This is a great company dessert as it is made ahead and you have one dish marked off your list!!

The Stream

Well it is more like The Sauna here as Summer has finally arrived at Nanaland. I cannot complain as this has been a milder summer so far.  After all it is July in Alabama.

1. As you may remember I am on a quest to read the Eight Perfect Murders as described in Peter Swanson's novel by the same name. I am trying to find them at the library but without much luck as many are older books. I did find The Secret History by Donna Tartt at the library and while the murder may have been perfect, the characters in the book are less than stellar. Thanks to Thrift Books, I found The Red House Mystery by A A Milne. So far I am making myself read it but I will say I wish Winnie the Pooh was one of the characters. However I cannot see Pooh or his friends as the murdering types.:)

2. I will be taking a blog break the week of the 20th. I am going to be keeping Audrey and Joshua all week so Nana is going to be tired. Grandpa is here as back up but you all know the mamas do most of the work. I am trying to find crafts etc for us to do as many things are shut down here.

3. I spent some time in the attic/craft room on Saturday. I have decided to clean out some of my craft supplies as I just do not use them very much. I also went through boxes of seasonal decor and pared it down. The little thrift store just up the road makes it easy to let go of things I have been holding on to as their profits go to missions.  I am thinking of getting a slim Christmas tree this year and really using only much loved ornaments on it.  I love Christmas but putting it all out and then putting it away is getting to be a chore. And Christmas should be enjoyed.

4. I am loving my "smart" tv thanks to the fire stick. Now I can watch Floss Tube on the big screen. I have been missing some of my regular floss tube stitchers but I found two new young stitchers you might enjoy watching on Floss Tube. One is Mountain Laurel Stitcher. She is a children's librarian as well as a stitcher and shares a book at the end of each floss tube.  Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch is another young stitcher who lives in Austin, Texas. She is such a prolific stitcher....amazing. And finally  Georgia Girl Stitcher. Megan is starting med school at Auburn and she said she will probably just post once a month. If I were in med school, I would need cross stitch to calm down at the end of every day. It is fun to see young woman carrying on the craft that we love.

5. Regarding the tv, so far we have-not chosen a streaming service. We have been watching a lot of our favorite old British shows on You Tube.  Morse, Poirot etc are there in abundance. Also Lord Peter Wimsey and Inspector Alleyn. We watched many of these detective shows on Mystery on PBS years ago.

6. I will have some new photos to share soon. Charles and Nancy had some family photos done in a sunflower field. They were nice but Joshua was having none of it. He just looked very unhappy in all of them. So Nancy took him to the photographer's studio for a do over.  I need a picture of Joshua to add to my grands wall so fingers crossed I will have one to add to my gallery.  This situation reminded me of the time I took all three of mine to get a picture made. Ben was five, Amelia was four and Charles was one. We called it the funeral photo as it looked as if they were all in mourning. The photographer did his best but they were REFUSING to smile.  And this is why picture day is always so stressful!!

Saturday Stitching

Well it has been a Jolly July so far here in Nanaland.

I have one FFO....MY Christmas List by Silver Creek Samplers.

 Here it is all rolled up and tied. I got this idea from Stephanie Webb at Lindy Stitches.

And here it is unrolled.  So often we stitch things and we really do not get to sit and look at the final product. This finish makes this more of a Christmas book or scroll.  I used the darker fabric on the inside and the contrasting material on the outside.   This will probably sit in the dough bowl with other Christmas goodies when December rolls around.

Ornaments were stitched daily....

I finished this one! Mani di Donna is the designer for this ornament. It is stitched on 32 count blue gingham.

I got a good start on Rack Stack by Plum Street.  I love the holly. It is stitched on a 32 count fabric from Jen's Stitching Niche.   I am using two strands of floss on this piece.  A reader asked how I decide if I will use one strand or two strands on 32 count. It really depends on the fabric. Some fabric seems to shrink more in the dying process so I only use one strand of floss if that is the case. I use two strands of floss if it does not look too bulky.   If I am stitching a prim piece, I only use one strand of floss. ( Check out the finished ornament above ...I only used one strand on that stitch. But it is definitely prim.)

Another finish. It looks very different from Cathy Habermann's Chalkful ornament.  Hands on Design  charted this one with a border.  I decided to give it a more prim look by leaving off the border.

Good progress on Ebenezer's Blessing by Erica Michaels.  I am stitching this on 16 count Tarnish Aida from Jen's Stitching Niche.  English Ivy and Cupid by Classic Colorworks are the flosses used here.

And now since it is Jolly July and Christmas means gifts for special people. I am giving away this chart by Madame Chantilly. Never used so in perfect condition.  To be entered into the giveaway ...answer this question.....What is your favorite Christmas movie??? Do not use the word giveaway and you must be over 18 and live in the continental USA. Good Luck. I will announce the winner next Saturday!

Joyful Stitching to one and all!

Friday Five

1. Amelia sent this to me for a chuckle. Did your mother ever tell you to quit being ugly. It is a Southern Thing. It has a special meaning to us because it brings back a memory of a three year old Kendall. We were in New Jersey for son Charles' wedding. It had been a long drive, all the tensions that go with weddings and Kendall had just about had her fill. She and Grandpa were outside the church before the rehearsal, enjoying a small playground on the property. Marvin asked her, " Are you ready to go inside and be nice or are you going to stay out here and be ugly?" ( Stupid Question award, Grandpa) She replied, "I want to stay out here and be ugly!!!"

2. Marvin caught this picture of a hummingbird on her nest in a tree just off our front porch at Grimmwood. Isn't it amazing?

3. The Rolling Store. I took a snapshot of this picture my mother had in an old scrapbook of hers. The Rolling Store was stopping at a farm in our county.   I just loved the Rolling Store.

4. Flowers from my sweet neighbor. They were right out of her yard. Daisies are such a cheerful flower.  Remember that line from You've Got Mail????

5. Covid Humor....Sometimes we just have to laugh. And I did when I saw No David, turned to No. Covid. ......Masks for Sale instead of Caps for Sale and finally Alexander has a very bad year and not just a bad day. As for Miss Nelson, I am not sure who she is but as a preschool teacher, I regularly read the other three books to my class.