Saturday Stitching

 Thank you all for the sweet comments on my Wednesday post. It meant so much to me.  Now on to stitching....

I got some stitching and finishing done this week. 

This sweet little valentine stitch is a merry mini from Heart in Hand. I used the spring fabric I had ordered from Simple Stitches online shop. I got a real deal on their clearance spring fabrics back in the fall. Purchasing out of season is a great way to get quality goods at a bargain price.  As you can see, it is in the dougbhbowl.

February Word Play is stretched, pinned and laced. Pardon the background. I put this little vignetter here to draw your eyes away from all the outlets etc. 

I finished my version of Lindy Stitches chart of one of my favorite hymns. I framed this one myself to save a bit of money so the borders are a bit bigger than I usually like but it suits me. I used Liz's technique on framing this one. You can find her tutorials at her floss tube channel, Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch. She does not lace, only pins very well. Some things need lacing, others do not. I like to lace my Word Plays as I take out the pins once the lacing is tight. You can leave the pins in place with framing.  Before we open a can of worms about damaging the fabric, deterioration etc, let me just say that I stitch for my own enjoyment. I do not see my finished pieces as great works of art that will hang in a museum one day. With my luck, my piece would be used for a What Not to Do Tutorial!:)  Most likely these pieces of my handy work will end up in yard sales or thrift stores. My family will probably keep one of two of them but needlework is just not their style and I respect that. So I do not want to spend a lot of money on preserving something that will be marked $1 at the thrift store. Believe me, I have seen some beautiful pieces of needlework at local stores for $5.   So here is my finish and I like it.

I am in the process of making a sampler/needlework wall in my bedroom. I do not know why I did not think of this before. I have one at Grimmwood and I love it. 

I am stitching monogamously on Hen and Chicks by Brenda Gervais I will make this into a pillow for my dough bowl at Grimmwood. I am using some of the gray gingham fabric I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I am using tea and biscuits on my mother hen. I just love that color. I think I order a skein every time I make an order at 123 Stitch. 

The beginning of my stitching...

Where I ended on Thursday. 

I had a nice stitchy afternoon watching Annie Beez Folk Ark on Floss Tube. Annie was doing a WiP parade of her samplers and they were just beautiful. She told her viewers that the latest on Market is that it will be held virtually in March. So start saving your pennies. The Needlework Designers never fail to produce a chart that I think I "have" to have. So far this year I have been doing well on working on things in progress and only starting something new when an older piece is completed. Of course, it is just January. I am a big talker right now.:) Happy Stitching Friends.

Friday Fun

 I do have a few things to share today. I am not going to hold myself to a certain number....just the things that make me happy this week.

1. Christmas at Fairacre

 I love the Miss Read books and I have been collecting them from Thrift Books to add to my library. When you need to escape the cares of this world, a visit to an English Village, just like a cup of tea, hits the spot.

2. A Savannah Print

Niece Laura gave this to us as it was going to be tossed in the garbage during an office cleaning.  Forsyth Park is one of the best known sights in Savannah. Now it is hanging over Nana's that bowl. You can tell that Kendall and Landon have not been here lately by the treats in the bowl!!

3. Chocolate Cake

One of  my good friends had a birthday and I used it as an opportunity to bake a chocolate cake. 

4. Valentines Day Paper Goods from Hobby Lobby. 40% off this week!

These are so cute and really brighten up the kitchen.

Seasons of Life

 I have been a blogger for quite a while. I blogged for several years then gave it up. I missed it and the community I had loved.  So I started back a bit more enthusiastically and I have tried to maintain a three day a week schedule for some time now. 

Like all of you, I am sometimes weary of trying to come up with something new and interesting on a regular basis. Covid made that even more difficult. 

So I have decided that I will blog when I have something to share which means my posts will not be regular but I will still be blogging. I will keep up with Saturday Stitching as that seems to be on of the most popular blog days at Nanaland.  And I enjoy sharing my needlework with like minded ladies. 

In the season of life I find myself, I want to have less pressure to get things done. I want to enjoy the time I have with my husband. Another thing Covid has taught me is that life is precious and fragile, especially as we get older.  I want to have time to spend with my sisters and my mother. Every time I visit my mother ,I wonder if this will be the last time I see her. I want to have good memories.  My two sisters are such blessings to me. When I hear of families where the siblings are not close, I cannot comprehend that. I love these two sisters with all my heart.

I want to make more time for my grandchildren so they will have good memories of me when I am no longer here.  My two grandmothers were very present in my life as we all lived in the same town. I will admit I was closer to my maternal grandmother.....I guess that is true for many children.  Grandmother was one of the most calm people I had ever known. I do not remember her ever raising her voice to me.  She let us cut out doll clothes with scraps of cloth, we could bath our dolls in her bathtub and she always was up for making us a pan of popcorn and a jug of grape koolaid. My Grandmother T was a different kettle of fish. She was loud,  she was not afraid to correct us and with a passel of cousins around, I now see why she might have been short tempered. She taught me to like Sweet Tea. When we had family dinners your choice of drink was sweet tea or milk. I was never a milk fan and sweet tea was an acquired taste for me but now I love it. She was a worrier and I think I inherited that trait, sadly.  But she was also a woman of prayer. If she said she would pray for you, she did.  She made Danish Cake for special occasions. My sister, Kristi, prepares this favorite when we cousins get together. It is a very rich cake with dates and coconut. Great with a cup of coffee. 

So don't worry about me just deleting my blog. I will be here but just on a less frequent basis. My blog friend, Sandy, and I both agreed that we love having a record of our lives that we can look back over. Blogs allow us to remember the things we might otherwise forget. 

He's in My Spot

 Well one of the brighter political notes of recent days is  the Bernie Sanders meme that we have all laughed at. 

Amelia sent me this one as she knows I am a Patrick Swayze fan.

And this one of Alabama's Najee Harris jumping over Bernie made me laugh out loud. And by the way, Najee did jump over another opposing player on the field. He is amazing.

It looks like Bernie even made it to Sugarees, my favorite bakery in New Albany, Mississippi. I guess he is waiting for a slice of their caramel cake.

But my favorite one is from The Big Bang Theory. 

Let's all take a moment for laughing. It is good medicine.

Saturday Stitching

 Good Morning Stitchers.... This will be a shorter post as I just have a few things to share. 

I finished my exchange piece. I really wanted to keep it for myself but I will have a surprise arriving in the mail sometime in the next week and I am sure I will be glad I joined the exchange. 

Here is the box I will be mailing on Monday. I added some of my person's favorite candies as well as some needle minders.  We were reminded that we should not go overboard on the boxes as we do not want anyone to feel their box was not up to snuff.  I totally get that.

I finished up Easter Parade by Blackbird Designs. I did change his little back pack because I was finding it hard to tell that the flowers were in the back pack.  Just my own little quirk, but isn't it nice to be able to alter charts to suit yourself? Now I have two bunnies to FFO. I need to take my stitches to Hobby Lobby and see what I can find to finish these little Easter charts. 

Another finish was my February Word Play....again my own color choices.  I hope to get it pinned and laced this week.  I am joining Barb at Lost in Floss for her Word Play SAL. #lostinwordplays on Instagram if you care to join us. I have enjoyed seeing all the other stitchers choices. Some stitch it as charted while others of us just go crazy.:)

I have no haul this week as I am trying to stitch on the things I have started.  I did get a stitchy kindness chart from my friend, Sandy. It is a St Patrick's day piece so maybe I can get it stitched for my dougbhbowl. Speaking of my dougbhbowl, I found a new place to display it. It sits on the extra chair in my dining room.  Now I have something to look at as I pass through my home.  This is a second dougbhbowl as  I keep one on my dresser in the bedroom. I enjoy it every day.

I have a small give away this week. My mother orders from Herrschners and she received this Dimensions Embroidery kit with her order. She does not want to stitch it so she asked if I wanted to take it home with me. Well I think it is cute but I know I will not stitch it but I thought one of you gentle readers might be inclined to stitch it. To let me know you are interested in this kit, tell me your favorite Valentine candy.  This will be available to readers over 18 who live in the continental USA.   I will announce the winner next Saturday.

 

I must take a moment to wish a Happy Anniversary to Ben and Katy. 12 years ago today they were married in a small ceremony at Katy's sister's home. It was just lovely. Now they are raising their 3 Grimmlins which includes our Spectrum boy. It is not easy but they handle things with grace. 

Can you believe this was Kendall 12 years ago? She was one of the flower girls. Landon was just a few months old when Uncle Ben got married.

Katy, with her mom and her three sisters. They are all gorgeous ladies.  Please send up a prayer for Pat, Katy's mom. She took a fall several weeks ago resulting in a brain bleed. She is at rehab now and doing well but all prayers are appreciated. We cannot do without our Granny Pat. 

Wild Flower Cafe

 I am interrupting Friday Five to share this cute cafe we visited yesterday on our way home from Grimmwood.

Wildflower Cafe is located in Mentone, Alabama. High atop Lookout Mountain, Mentone has the highest elevation of any incorporated town in Alabama.  The area is known for summer camps for boys and girls and is also the perfect spot for a summer home. Vacationers enjoy this area due to its beauty and many scenic spots. Mentone is home to a variety of craftsmen including potters, painters, soap makers and jewelers.  

We had heard a lot about Wildflower Cafe but we had never eaten there. Even during the week they encourage reservations. We took a chance as we were there just as the restaurant was opening for lunch. 

Here is a look at the entrance ....quite eclectic!

The entrance was still decorated for Christmas. 

The front dining room  is very homey too.  In the summer time you can eat outside. 

The waiting area is cozy and filled with many of the wares of local tradesmen. 

The view from our table for two.

I had the pesto provolone grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of creamy tomato basil soup. Our meals were delicious, my only complaint is that I wish they would use dishes instead of paper products.  I know they serve pricier foods on the dinner menu and surely they use dinnerware for those meals so why not for lunch? As the place was filling up with people who had driven up from all over Alabama and Georgia, I guess no one but me cares about this issue.:)

Marvin had the Conecuh sausage sandwich with chips.

For dessert we shared a slice of hummingbird cake. ( No humming birds in this cake..it gets it name from the sweet nectar of bananas and pineapple chunks in the cake.) Cream Cheese frosting makes it even sweeter. It is a good dessert to share. 

I picked up a nice sweatshirt as they were clearing out the winter goods and getting ready for spring. 

We marked another restaurant off our list...we have a few more places to try on our jaunts between Decatur and Grimmwood.

The Stream

  Let's run away from reality this morning. I don't know about you but my go to mode these days is ostrich with head in sand.

1. Have any of you watched the new All Creatures Great and Small on PBS? Marvin and I were dubious as we watched the original series back in the day. However I give this one a thumbs up.  The Yorkshire Dales are the perfect place to visit and escape from the cares of the world.

2. Marvin and I settle down every day after lunch to watch Shtizel on Netflix. It is a Jewish soap opera set in the Haredi Orthodox community of Jerusalem. Subtitles are needed but it is neat to see Jerusalem today and hear the Hebrew language. ( Some yiddish thrown in as well)  We call it "our story" just like our grandmothers and mothers called their soap operas.  Right now we are pulling for poor Akiva to find a wife. 

3. Recently I found some Adult Bedtime stories on You Tube. My favorites are Agatha Christie stories read by Hugh Fraser. Mr. Fraser was Captain Hastings on the Poirot series.  The down side is I fall asleep, then spend the next day finding where I need to start over at in the recording.  A soothing British voice is perfect for nodding off to dreamland.

4. Speaking of Agatha Christie, that woman was a prolific writer. I found  a new Christie character or at least new to me, Christopher Parker Pynes.  He is featured in several short stories and he is very entertaining. Quite different from Poirot and Miss Marple.

5. Well from the tone of this Stream, you can see that I have been escaping from all the news of the world. I promise that I do clean my house and keep up with the laundry. Having a husband who helps out is a nice benefit of retirement.  Marvin mops the kitchen floor for me, empties the dishwasher and keeps his man cave tidy. However I do not look too closely at the man cave when I venture up there.

6. One last holiday task awaits me this week. I need to organize our attic storage/craft room/ seasonal decor room. I will admit that when we took things back up after Christmas I just sat boxes down willy nilly. I am thinking of getting rid of some of the craft supplies. Kendall and Landon are not really interested in crafts anymore and the other grands are seldom here.  It is a good thing to recognize there are seasons to life and sometimes we have to move on whether we like it or not. So I will toss bottles of dried out paint, put some things in the thrift store pile, then clean and tidy so everything is in its place.

Feeling Fancy

 Since I can never post pictures of the teens, I am taking this opportunity to post one of Kendall. She went to a dance at the local country club last weekend. Some of the mothers from the high school put this socially distanced dance together for their teenagers.

 

Kendall is the one with pink hair.  As a Nana, I think she is beautiful no matter the hair color but I am hoping this is a phase and that one day she will let her mom take her to the salon for a blonde or auburn color.  But as a seasoned Mom, I know NOT to mention this at all because then it becomes an instant NO!! 

Landon was teasing Kendall about going to the country club. Here he is showing us all how to be fancy. Note the raised Pinky Finger. Frankly we are not the country club types but we can put on with the best of them!

And another picture of Landon wearing his new Russian Hat. He is ready for cold weather. 

I am so glad I raised my children in the dark ages before cell phones. Seeing all the new challenges parents must deal with in raising teen agers reminds me to keep praying! 

Saturday Stitching

 

It has been a good stitching week here at Nanaland. With the cold dreary weather, it is nice to sit in my recliner, turn on some classical music and pick up my needlework.

Mary Engelbreit drew this cute picture. Sewing does bring rest to my soul especially in this last year of uncertainty and now in the change of seasons in Washington, DC.  I keep hearing all this talk about self care during the pandemic. Well Cross Stitching is my Self Care.:)

I completed the stitching on my Valentine's Exchange in North Alabama Stitchers. Now to finish it and start collecting some goodies to include in my box to my stitchy friend. 

My sampler in honor of my daughter and granddaughters got another line this week.

Valentine House by Waxing Moon is coming along. Soon it will be ready for the dough bowl.

One of my Two Red Houses is complete. 

I was reading online that this years Needlework Market has been cancelled. This is the big event that usually takes place in March, was moved to May this year and is now cancelled.  They are hoping to make it an online market.  I was rather sad when I read the news as we all look forward to the new releases at Market Time.  But we must do what is best and putting it online may be even more fun for the vendors and the stitchers.  Word is the Market will be back in 2022.  

If you have not checked out the Hoffman Friday releases, I noted that an old Prairie Schooler chart, Christmas Traditions, was re released.  The old Prairie Schoolers are New Again to some younger stitchers who have come to love this designer. 

  Haul....this week I can report that I only received one chart, Lizzie Kate's Christmas ABCs. It was back ordered so I was not expecting it until February. It was a pleasant surprise to find it in my mail box this week. 

Happy Stitching Dear Friends.

Friday Five

 1. Snow

When it snows in NoAla we have to record it. It is a good thing we did as it was gone by one pm.  This is the best kind of snow. It looks pretty then leaves.

2. A Boy and His Barn

We got Joshua a Melissa and Doug Barn with animals as part of his Christmas gift. Charles says he plays with it for hours at a time. I guess he got some of his great grandfather's farming genes.

3.Swig Cup

I came across this pretty red cup at Sass and Company here in Priceville. I love a pretty cherry red and can you have too many Yeti like mugs? I am addicted to insulated drink ware. It keeps everything so hot or so cold. 

4.An Unexpected piece of Decor

I purchased this little wreath for a song at Tuesday Morning recently. I planned to use it in some crafts come spring but in the meantime, I tried placing it in this basket on top of the armoire in my bedroom. Instant cheeriness.  Now I may just leave it there and craft something else.

5. A New Book Series

This is the second in the Winsome Series by Katherine Reay. The first book was The Printed Letter Bookshop. I cannot resist a book about bookshops.  The cover of this book was just so pretty. Also I am a sucker for pretty book covers.  This is a Christian themed series without being too syrupy sweet. I am hooked and my friend, Deborah, enjoys them as well. She says you can download them on Kindle for a very reasonable price. I got mine from Thrift Books because we all know I like to hold a book in my hand!! So far there are just two books in the series so you have time to visit Winsome before the third book is published.

Roll Tide

 Well the Alabama Crimson Tide is the National Champion and made history for their number of wins. This Mama always buys son, Ben, a commemorative tee if his alma mater wins and this year, Miss Margaret wanted one as well. 

Ben's tee.

Margaret's tee.

By the time I arrived at Academy the shirts were picked over and only Margaret got the locker room shirt. Here in Alabama, fans line up even on a cold January night to be first in line to get their team shirt. Academy should know that most Bama Fans are not smalls and mediums. If you wear that size, you were in luck.:) I had to get Ben a bigger shirt and I hope after it is washed for a while, it will shrink. 

After buying the tees for the Bham Grimms , Nana stopped at a little shop called Sass and Company located in a shopping center near the Glens. I had eyed it for a while and decided today I had time to browse. I was the only one in the shop but I left with my own Alabama long sleeved tee. 

You may be wondering why Elliott did not get a tee. Well Elliott is an LSU fan. That stinker. Ben told me that last night, E was pulling for Ohio State. So no shirt for him until he repents. :)

When we first moved to Alabama 36 years ago, we were surprised by the rabid allegiance to Auburn or Alabama. In Georgia, there is a one sided rivalry between Tech and GA. Every now and then Tech will pull out a win on Thanksgiving weekend but it is seldom.  I used to tell my family in Georgia that when you apply for your Alabama drivers license you must choose to be an Auburn fan or an Alabama fan. For many years we really did not care for either team but when Ben went to Bama, we became Bama Fans. 

To my friends who were pulling for Ohio State, your team is a good team. They cleaned Clemson's clock. Most Bama fans thought it would be a rematch of Bama and Clemson in the final game.  I did not think it would be an easy game and it was not....but Alabama is just a hard team to beat when they are determined and this year they were fighting to reclaim their title. 

Roll Tide.....Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer!