Between Christmas and New Year's Day

We've been busy around here -- shock! shock! My son and his family arrived Sunday (21st). With two boys, aged 3 & 6, it's been fun and very active. We had our Christmas turkey dinner the day they arrived and exchanged gifts on Tuesday morning. Jacob (3) got a couple of styrofoam (?) airplanes which gave us great joy throwing them about in the backyard. The weather was perfect -- sunny, 60s with a light breeze. That fun ended when we discovered the neighbor's rocks and we could throw them into the pond out back! Why do boys always NEED to throw things into water??!! Lol! Anyway the family packed it up on Wednesday (24th) and headed to the other grandparent's house. We'll see the group again tomorrow, the 28th, before they head back to Maryland on the 30th.

In the meantime, we've got a family funeral to attend today. Hubby's great-niece's 17-year-old son passed away from an epileptic seizure recently. We'll drive on down today to express condolences. So sad and especially so during to the holidays.

So have you been enjoying the month of December? We started the month with extremely cold temperatures which flipped last week with unbelievably mild temperatures. We're about to get cold-snapped this upcoming week so I hope to get behind my sewing machine a bit. I've got Christmas gifts to finish sewing! ACK!!! And a couple of flannel blankets to put a crocheted edging around. Sounds like a good project for watching all the upcoming football games!

As I'm sure you've noticed, there hasn't been a lot of time for sewing or blogging for me recently. There's lots to  do with doctor appointments and things to get straightened out for selling Mom's house. However, I have made sure that I've gotten in a little handwork most everyday. That's the beauty of cross-stitch & embroidery -- pick it up and go! Time's up? Shove it aside. Hahaha!

Here's my cross-stitch project -- Scarlett. I took a picture last week of where I was. Today I discovered I never even shared it. DOH! So here's my progress in four steps for your enjoyment -- whatever!

November 8th

November 20th

December 19th

Today, December 27

She's definitely coming along, slowly but surely. I feel like I'm in the final stretch anyway.

Since I also mentioned embroidery, during Mom's weekly standing Friday hair appointments and bi-weekly PT appointments, I've been working on Primitive Gatherings Snowman Gatherings panel. You really can't see it but the top half is done and I've only got from about the waist on down. I hope to piece the outer borders this winter/spring. I've got the pattern and the layer cake for it.

That's about it from here. Take some time to enjoy the stillness of Winter here in the Northern Hemisphere or enjoy swimming & boating if you live in the Southern Hemisphere. Wishing eveyone a moment of reflection as we approach 2026.

I Like Thurs #175

Welcome back to another round of likable things. My first "like" is the weekly invitation from LeeAnna to share our posts and the next "like" is what all the other bloggers share. Visit LeeAnna's get-together HERE to see what I mean!

First up to like was the Senior Center Luncheon. We always have a good meal and a good time! Lunch, cookies, and entertainment!

Beautiful Cookies Bagged Up for the Taking

Look Who Showed Up! Santa & an Elf!

Mom Enjoyed a Santa Visit

She Tried to Convince Him She was a Good Girl! Lol!

Even I Got a Hug! I Liked That! Ho Ho Ho!

A Christmas package arrived in the mail. Polly liked that! Hahaha!

One of our lovely neighbors dropped off a bucket of Christmas cookies. Definitely the most wonderful time of the year and a big Holiday Like!

One night I made this Hamburger Stuffed Acorn Squash. Too bad I can't find where I got the recipe. Argh! I hate when that happens but, trust me, they were good and even hubby liked.

Last night we went to Olive Garden. We were supposed to go on November 25th, our 47th anniversary, but Mom didn't feel like it so we ordered Jersey Mike's subs instead that night. Last night we all enjoyed our dinner out and anniversary celebration.

Don't forget to check out the other posted "likes" HERE. Have a great week!

I Like Thursday #174

Good morning, friends! It is very cold out here in the Midwest. Today's high temp will be 23 degrees F and currently (6am) it is 20. Our ugly low tonight is projected to be 8. Yes, ma'am, that's pretty darn cold.

Weather Captured as Leaving
with Gracie for our Walk
(Check out the Feels Like! Brrrr!)

Let's move on to our prompt from LeeAnna -- it's all about board games -- do you play them? Is there a go-to game at Christmas? Etc.

My family loves board games. Fred & I used to play board games just the two of us a long time ago. Scrabble was a good one. We also played card games: Rummy & Crazy 8s in particular. A good dice game is Kismet which is a Yahtzee-type on steroids. The Cribbage board was also a good one.

As we added members to our table, Scrunch, Pinochle, and Hearts were favorites. As our family gatherings grew, we added Parchesi to the mix. That was always a good time with players moving in & out. One year we even had 3 four-man teams competing in a Christmas tournament! Such great memories! A very big "Like".

This past Monday was our Christmas party at Quilt Club. Those of us that participated in the mystery quilt brought our tops to share. What a show!

These were all that had room to hang. Then there were many more shared at share 'n' tell.

Here's Me with Mine

Diann at Little Penguin Quilts reminded me HERE that Christmas decorating can start small. It could even include a Christmas coffee mug, so I brought one of mine out this morning. My coffee tastes so much better in the holiday spirit and that includes with a piece of Carole's Pumpkin Orange Bread! Carole shares a lot of her recipes and this one is definitely a keeper. You can find it HERE and she even included a PDF for easy download!

And that, my friends, is the end of another I Like Thursday post. Visit LeeAnna at her Not Afraid of Color blog HERE to see what others have shared. There's plenty to like there!

I Like Thursday #173

Another week has gone by. I wish I had more to show for it. There have been SO MANY appointments and business that needed attention! Monday I took Mom to get her hair done because her hairdresser was out of town on the regularly scheduled "Friday Hair-do Day" and afterwards took her straight to PT. Tuesday took Mom in for a fasting blood draw. Denny's breakfast was afterwards. That afternoon I had a meeting with the final roofer for Mom's house. I am so ready to get that sucker sold! Wednesday was PT and then I hauled Mom to radiology for a bone scan. This morning I was at her house for Terminix to do their thing. Pshew! Now I need to contact the two roofers to tell them we're going elsewhere and the one roofer that we're ready to go.

LeeAnna's prompt this week was: Do you remember making construction paper turkeys? Using your own hand? Taking them home and having a parent put them up in the house? My answer: No but I remember doing those things with my children. Loved their creations!

If you'd like to see what others answered, visit LeeAnna's blog here. After all, this is I Like Thursday post!

Thanksgiving-wise, I managed to quilt four placemats. Unfortunately I've only got binding finished on two. That's OK because only Mom & I use the placemats. It's a Villa Rosa pattern and only uses 4 fat quarters for the fronts that you slice, mix, and sew back together.

Fronts

Backs

My needle is still working tiny Xs on Scarlett. Where I was last week ...

Progress as of today ....

I'll be stopping by Hobby Lobby tomorrow after Mom's Friday Hair-do appointment to pick up more floss!

I also found a couple of minutes to start laying out the next round of blocks on the mystery quilt at my LQS. The quilt was revealed at our last meeting and it would be great to have the tops completed for our next meeting in December. The quilt pattern is Monterrey Medallion. Here is the center medallion getting Gracie's approval.

Above is the stack of star blocks that will surround the medallion. They're clipped in the order I'd like for them to surround the center. It's tricky because the quilt is scrappy and I don't want any like fabrics to be near each other. If it ends up happening now, oh well!

If you'd like to see how much fun Mom has at PT, click on the video below. This is one of Mom's favorite activities. Turn your volume up to hear her giggle! Please forgive the amateur videographer!

I'll leave you on that note, hoping you have a great Thursday!

I Like Thursday #172

After a long pause, I'll see if I can jump back on board again. LeeAnna has continued to give me the monthly prompts for I Like Thurs posts even though I've been dropped from the list. Lol! Totally understandable since I haven't been dependable. Check out all the good things going on at her blog Not Afraid of Color.

So, my introduction over, the prompt this week was do we decorate for Thanksgiving? Yes! Of course! Although it's mostly for Autumn. Here are my Thanksgiving-specific decorations.

Ancient Home Interiors
Grateful Children

November Mug Rug
I Hang Mine

November Thanksgiving Insert
My BFF & Her Hubby Made This for Me

Pilgrms & Turkey
Also Made by My BFF

I'll leave you with a parting shot of Miss Polly patiently waiting for a little attention ...

... and one of my favorite pictures of my niece at her brother's wedding patiently waiting for Miss E's arrival!

Make your Thursday a good one, friends!

Hi! Remember Me?

It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, just haven't been in the mood to write a post, I guess. Reckon I just needed a kick in the pants from Cheryll for Friday Night with Friends. Here's the link if you'd like to see what my friends have been working on.

Recently I started Stacy Nash's Scarlett. It's a cross-stitch pattern from the Animal Cracker Series and this is pretty much where I was on Friday night. I think I'd already sewn two rows at the bottom of the dress before I remembered to take a picture.

This is where I finished up last night (Sunday). The dress's main color is finished and I'm stitching in the ecru dots. I still have the right paw to fill in and then I'll move to the edge of her dress and feet(?). I'm stitching on 32 count linen, one thread over two threads.

Not sure if I shared the finished top to my hexie project. Here it is ...

I've already figured out how I want to quilt it and then I plan on doing a knife-edge finish. The current measurement is 39" x 54.5", making it a nice crib size, I'd guess.

Last month we were in South Carolina for my nephew's wedding to his beautiful bride. It was wonderful seeing family & friends there. Here are a few pictures ...

Champagne waiting for us after the ceremony

Not Leaving Until I Get Cake!

All the Sisters on Both Sides

Ahhhh .... Sharing a Quiet Moment

We splurged and got a 2BR suite. Worth the extra dollars for the extra room. We had a kitchen, a living room, and then a hallway with the two bedrooms & bathroom. Here's a picture of Mom enjoying Chick-fil-A (another splurge for us) on our last evening before hitting the road the next day. Loving her centerpiece bouquet from the wedding.

Still has Earrings on from the Honeymoon Brunch

Mom had an early eye appointment one week, so afterwards we took advantage for a Mexican lunch date for the two of us.

Sunday, October 26th, very early in the morning, found Fred at the ER. He got to spend the next couple of nights in the hospital for bowel adhesions. Remember all his surgeries back in 2020 with the kidney cancer issues and then the surgical hernia? Well, I understand now that it's not unusual for adhesions to occur following numerous abdominal surgeries. Lucky him! He finally got released Tuesday, October 28th, in the afternoon when the doctors gave him a thumbs up. Fingers crossed we don't have to go through that again!

Fall arrived while I wasn't blogging. Here are a couple pictures of the beautiful trees in our neighborhood.

Ginko Tree Yesterday in All Its Beautiful Golden Splendor!

Gingko Yard After All the Wind Yesterday
What a Gorgous Golden Yellow!

That'll wrap things up for this post. My apologies for letting so much time slip by between posts. We're all good, trying to keep up with medical appointments, readying Mom's house for sale, and keeping up with life in general. Enjoy your week!

My Hexagon Obsession

Angela has chosen aqua/turquoise as the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month. Perfect choice since I've been obsessed with my Fishbowl Hexie project lately and there's plenty of aqua to be seen there. It's growing quickly as I assemble the main parts. There are more light hexies to go in the corners for the first outer border.

Currently 34" across at the Widest Point

Do you do English Paper Piecing? Should I remove all the papers now with the exception of the outer edges? Would that make LARGE assembly easier? I'd be interested to know your opinions on these questions.

Last week during one PT appointment, one hair appointment, and one podiatry appointment, I managed to applique just about all of both large flowers on Tangled Daisies (pattern by Jillily Studios).

Cross-stitching in the evening gives me a different kind of peace. I've been adding the lettering to Be Kind by Primrose Cottage Stitches. Slowly but surely, this project is coming along.

As for Gem Tones, I can tell you that both blocks have been fully cut out and the sewing may start this week. We also got our next clue for the mystery sew along from my local quilt shop. Maybe I'll work on that! Who knows what mood I'll be in later this week.

The All-Illinois Shop Hop started this month and will finish Sept 30. I've managed to squeeze in a few stores, one of which I didn't even know existed and is so close to me! Tarsha Homestead is a lovely small shop and the owner is just about the sweetest person you might meet on the hop! Maybe it's just that I fell in love with her "yard". It's full of chickens running around everywhere. She said she may have about 45-50! Here are some of her chickens

Strutting her stuff!

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

I had to call my brother, who also has chickens, to tell him about the beautiful chickens. My SIL sent me a picture of theirs -- including a rooster too!

In between all this fun, I've been trying to get some of the gardens under control. This was this morning's project. Check out the mess in the wheelbarrow!

My current book is Nightshade by Michael Connelly. How can you go wrong with that author, right? I'm in about 75 pages and all I want to do is keep reading! I think it's his latest book and it may have been recommended by my blog buddy Little Penguin Quilts!

Read about it HERE

I guess I forgot to let you know I finished Quilt City Murders by Bruce Leonard. It was pretty good and I like his style. It was fun to read also because I've been to the AQS quilt show in Paducah many times so the town's descriptions were mostly familiar to me. I'd definitely recommend it if you like a murder mystery and quilting! It's the first in a series of his books. I just noticed too that Nightshade is also the first in a series. Guess I know what I'll be reading in my future! Lol!

I think I'll wrap this up now. I don't think there's much more for me to share this week. Let's hear it for another week in the books. We'd love to say that things are cooling off here in the Midwest but not just yet. Summer is still alive and HOT!

Make it a good week!

Linking up at SoScrappy.