Munch and Make Returns

As faithful readers know, stitching makes me happy.  Stitching WITH FRIENDS takes me to a state of bliss.  Throw some mouth-watering delectables into the mix?  Practically euphoria!  Munch and make, a craft gathering with neighbor ladies, has returned after a three-year hiatus.  (OK, I knew it had been a long time, but really three years?  Yes, pandemic first and then life, busy life.  Anyway ...)

One friend plied her needle on the table runner you see at left.  And do you know, she gave it to me at the end of the afternoon?  I was SOOOOO touched.

 

How about this quilt?  My neighbor is a prolific quilter and prefers to have one quilt at a time in production.  On the day of our gathering, she was finishing the binding.  You probably cannot see it, but the corners of the quilt have nests with little eggs in them.  Love the plump birds on this incredible work of art.

 

 

 

 

Everyone brought goodies - sugar-free chocolate, oat cookies, lemon blueberry ricotta cake, fresh fruit.  The panda nestled among the munchies was hand-made by another neighbor during our gathering.

 

My project is the cross-stitch for my sister that I first shared in this January post.  It's coming along nicely; I am head over heels in love with the blackwork patterns that make up the flower at the center of the design by Lesley Teare.

 

I hope to have another Munch and Make in mid-March - watch this space!

If you would like to see the previous Munch posts, go to March 17, 2019, April 11, 2019, October 6, 2019 and January 29, 2020.

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I am joining Lee Anna at I Like Thursday this week.  The prompt is "What thoughtful things does your special person do for you, or you do for them?"  Spousal Unit brings me coffee in bed most mornings, a routine that began when I retired.  He has always been the cook in our family - even though it is one of his "responsibilities" in the house, I still consider the effort he puts into cooking overall, and finding new recipes (almost always a hit), to be one of the things about him that I truly appreciate.  Occasionally, I try to surprise him.  A note left in an unexpected place, or candy just for fun.  After Valentine's Day, I perused the on-sale Valentine's candy and was delighted to find this.  It would be a long story to explain the boxer shorts with the hearts, but it has a funny meaning for us!

 

 

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Linking to Mosaic Monday

Red Ribbons and Bows

I generally do not decorate for every holiday.  Before I retired, I didn't have the time.  After I retired, I swore off collecting more "stuff".  Stuff has to be stored, and we have prioritized our valuable closet space for outdoor equipment!  And yet, Valentine's Day, with red dominating the color scheme, is easy on me.  I already have many red articles in the house, and some "Christmas" items can be re-purposed for Cupid's Day.  Let's take a look!

My Mom's apron doubles as a table-runner in this tableau and her vintage tomato strainer has red handles, seemingly meant for this occasion!  The Handarbeit candlestick holder already held a red candle, and it was joined by the matching flask.  Handarbeit, which means "handwork" or "handmade, is marked on the bottom of each piece of pottery. 

 At the other end of this table I placed two brandy snifters, partly filled with plastic candy hearts.  (I'll admit these hearts were one of my few purchases a couple of years ago to augment my decoration stash.)  Another candelabra with the requisite red candle moved from the fireplace to round out the arrangement.  

 

For years, we had had several garlands of red beads, and they have been used in many ways, most frequently at Christmas.  Since we moved into our log home five years ago, I had yet to find an appropriate place for them during the Christmas period.  As we packed up the Christmas decorations at the end of January, Spousal Unit noticed them in the bottom of the box, and suggested it was time for them to find a new home.  Of course, this was quite motivational to me, and you won't be surprised to see that I found several creative uses for them!

Did you notice the red ribbons with the pine cones?  Those were recycled from Christmas crackers several years ago!  The mantlepiece is strung with a glittery red tulle; the massive red vase was a retirement gift from colleagues in Poland.

My decorations extend (slightly) outside as well, thanks to Spousal Unit.  You see, he gave me a complete set of garden flags, one for every holiday/season, as a Christmas present.  Doesn't this flag brighten up the monochrome scene below?  (The dark something to the left of the flag is my metal moose sculpture, almost overcome by the snow.)

I am joining LeeAnna for I Like Thursday.  This week, the prompt is: What do you like about Valentine's Day?  Do you have a special cake or truffles, for instance.  Do you give cards, get chocolates, give gifts?  You could send flowers to a best friend, or give a sweet heart necklace to your daughter, or call your Mom ...  It's about love and showing it.

As you might surmise, I like decorating!  Generally, Spousal Unit and I do get each other cards, but not much more than that.  Going out for dinner on Valentine's Day is no longer "special" in my book - reservations are almost impossible to get, and prices are exorbitant.  I prefer surprises, such as a small bag of chocolate hearts that I gave Spousal Unit a couple of weeks ago.  Beyond my dear Spouse, I don't do anything formal for anyone else on Valentine's Day.  I do make an effort to find simple but meaningful ways to show love throughout the year, from hand-drawn cards to scheduling video calls with family to organizing social gatherings to commenting on blogs!

A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  JESUS CHRIST

Love is sharing your popcorn.  CHARLES SCHULZ

People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants.  But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.  ELIZABETH GILBERT

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Linking to Mosaic Monday

 

A January Jumble

Jumble (noun) = an untidy collection or pile of things

Jumble (verb) = mix up in a confused or untidy way

BRITISH = articles collected for a jumble sale

Well, "untidy" and "confused" are negative words to me, but this post is certainly a "collection" and a mixture.  So, "jumble" it is!

 

As most of you know, our last cat, Maggie, crossed the rainbow bridge on September 21, 2020.  I don't miss the dust and the litter boxes, but I do miss the affection that accompanies a loud purr and rubbing on my legs.  So, it has been a joy to interact with several cats this month, including cat-sitting for neighbors vacationing in sunny Florida!

 

Speaking of critters, it has been a bumper month for trail cam photos - the Bald Eagles have returned to fish for Northern Pike at the lake below our house.  I wrote about this in February 2021, when Golden Eagles joined in the feast as well.

 

 

Here is the patch of open water - the "fishing hole".  Last summer, the beaver built a secondary dam below the main dam, which has created this little catchment.  Apparently, the fish are swimming through gaps in the main dam and wind up in shallow water that makes for easy pickings for the raptors.  Bad decision!  The camera is positioned on the other side of the water, so the views you are about to see are looking toward where I am standing to take this picture.  (click on the pictures to make them bigger)

 

 

 

All of this happened in the space of a few minutes.  Later that night, another raptor came to the "restaurant" - an owl!  This is the first time I have ever captured one with my trail cam!

I have been doing a little cooking once a week, to give Head Chef a break.  I didn't take pictures of week 1 - Normandy Pork Casserole - a recipe from Low Carb Diabetic - and I would recommend the dish!  Week 2 was Slow Roasted Salmon, and I am not giving you the link since the spices overwhelmed the salmon.  But I documented my work ...

 

Speaking of food, Head Chef gave us a New Year's resolution - Eat More Jam!  How many jam/jelly/related jars do you have?

I am joining LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday.  The prompt for this week: What are your favorite colors?  Do you wear them or decorate with them?  As I look around the house, I see many shades of brown, augmented with blues and reds.  As we bought furniture over the years, we went for subtle shades and used pillows and blankets to add the color.  If I consider my closet, the base palette is brown and black, but with a rainbow of blouses, scarves and sweaters.  Is there a specific color your family would say is your favorite?  Purple.  My bridesmaids wore purple, and I have a purple suede outfit from the 1980's that Spousal Unit wishes I would wear more often!  Has it changed over the last few years?  Today, my style choices are functional - designed for our active and outdoor lifestyle.  In other words, not much purple and no suede!!!

 

 

This week, I am also linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date.  Her theme this week is scarves.  I wrote an entire post about scarves on February 10, 2019.  This was one of my favorite collages from that post.

Finally, I leave you with this whimsical fairy house that my neighbors created from a tree stump, lovingly harvested from the property of my Dear Neighbor Friend.  I am so thankful to live here, and to have so many "jumbles" to share with you.

This week, I am also linking to:

Brian's Home for Thankful Thursday.

Eileen for Saturday's Critters.

Mosaic Monday

 

Stitchin'

I am having fun.  I am stitching.  Two projects underway, and several in the planning stages.  My fellow stitchers, can you ever have too many ideas or creations that you want to make?

Before I show you the current work, I can finally share the ornaments that I made for the kids as Christmas presents.  I love the process of looking for subjects that are suitable for the recipient, and yet not too big for a tree ornament.  Pinterest is fabulous resource, and the convenience of downloading designs for a minimal price is a far cry from the days of thumbing through racks of cross-stitch books at Michael's!

The fiance made his first trip to the UK in 2022, and since the itinerary included London, this ornament was an easy choice.

 

 

 #1 Son is a little more challenging - cats are an obvious choice, but I am reluctant to give him only cat ornaments.  So I took a little bit of an indirect tack this year, and this is all the more appropriate since together we have watched a documentary about how some people still claim the earth is flat!

In this post in December 2021, I wrote about discovering Spanish blackwork.  In December 2022, I finally began my first blackwork piece.  Last year, my oldest sister purchased an RV, and mentioned that she planned to call it "Bloomer".  I scoured Pinterest for cross-stitch designs with that word, or with a pertinent theme.  I was delighted to locate a pattern with many of her favorite colors, and blackwork!  Bingo!  

I will have to add "Bloomer" to the bottom of the design, but that is easy to do.  Over Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to ask her about the font style she would like.  So, I was all set.  Below are some pictures with current progress.  (I think she will use this a pillow cover.)

 

During my time in the blogosphere, I have seen many mentions of stitch-a-longs, and viewed creativity in action when my fellow bloggers post pictures.  This year, I finally decided to jump in.   Somebody out there (identify yourself!) introduced me to Loretta Oliver, and I subscribed to her email for access to free cross-stitch patterns.  On December 29, when the Great Big List of Stitchalongs to Join in 2023 popped into my email inbox, I decided to take a look.  Imagine my delight when I found The Steady Thread Botanical Blackwork Stitchalong.  Flowers AND blackwork, a perfect combination for me!!!  And it's free!

The Steady Thread is very thorough, and at first the detail of the instructions seemed overwhelming, but I took it one step at a time.  I chose the circular hexagon pattern, and decided on ivory 14-ct. fabric.  (In hindsight, I think I would have preferred 16- or 18-ct.)  I intend to put the finished project in our guest bathroom, so I had an idea of a preferred color palette.  (Traditional blackwork typically utilizes only black thread, but given the location for this piece and the botanical aspect of it, I wanted to experiment with color.  It may not seem like a big deal to you creative folks out there, but this is a STRETCH for someone who likes pre-made designs and can't cook without a recipe!!!)

The design has 49 hexagons in total, and each Friday the pattern for the next hexagon is released.  The Steady Thread provides a key for the placement of each week's hexagon, and "hexagon paper" that you can print in order to plan your color palette, if needed.  In the picture below you can see most of my "color design", and the two hexagons that I have already completed.

 And a closer look.

I still have a few questions, such as how participants share progress (I think it's on a FaceBook page) and when we are supposed to complete the leafy frame.  Watch this space!

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I am joining I Like Thursday at Not Afraid of Color.  You can always find something inspiring among this group.  Check it out.

This week the prompt is "Do you use a calendar?  Is it digital and do you like it?  Is it a wall calendar and who's do you have this year?  Is it a diary type that sits on your desk next to the computer?  Share yours, and if you like it, how did you choose that one?  Do you have another system to remember things?" 

I use a classic Franklin Planner (see above) and it has a flower motif.   Throughout my career, this style served me well and I continued in retirement. I use the month pages to keep track of significant appointments and events.  In between the month pages, there are two pages per week, so there is room to write down daily tasks, but not many.  So, I do find I need a separate sheet of paper to capture my very aspirational list of everything I would like to get done in a day!!!

So, as you can tell, I am a very visual person - I tried a digital calendar and just couldn't SEE enough to make me comfortable.  The closest I get is the "notes" function in my phone - I use it to record ideas when I am away from my Planner and to-do list.

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Also linking to Mosaic Monday.  If you like creative photo collages, this is the linky party for you!

Abundant Joy

The wrapping paper and ribbons are tucked away for another year, but the joy that came with the unwrapping remains!  Let me highlight just a few of the presents I received on Christmas morning!  (I am joining LeeAnna for I Like Thursday.  I bet others have their own joys to share!)

LeeAnna's prompt this week is "facing a turning of the calendar page, and a new year stretching out in front of us, is there anything you would like to try or to learn this coming year?"   Faithful readers of this blog will know that I have been working on drawing skills; isn't it wonderful that #1 Daughter and The Fiance support my endeavors with tools such as this book?

 

Christmas has delivered a precious gift in the form of time with family.  #1 Son made it safely from Idaho Falls, and we are relishing these days together.  He loves documentaries, and we have watched "Icarus", about doping in sports, and "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?", the story of a teenage boy who decided to take on Pepsi after its ambitious cola-wars ad campaign.  Playing games.  Making cookies.  And good old-fashioned conversations around the dinner table.

Food in our house is always delicious, and Christmas brings some extra-special culinary delights - smoked turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and fruitcake that has been brushed with brandy for a couple of weeks.  Yum!

 

In retirement, I am with Spousal Unit for most of the day, but those days tend to be filled with a flurry of various activities.  In the week between Christmas and New Year's, life is slower and we can truly enjoy each other's company.  I call it "re-connecting".   This week, we hopped aboard the Montana Trolley for a tour of the Christmas lights around town.  Overall, the displays were underwhelming, but watching the excitement of the littles on the trolley was heartwarming.

Of course, to me Christmas signifies the Ultimate Gift, Jesus' birth and through it, our salvation.  

Wishing you a very Happy New Year, and many blessings in 2023!