A New Week and A New Winner

Here is another recent layout. I decided to pull out another picture of my Dad from his album to work on. I feel as though my scrapping mojo is returning! Yea! Before I took my break, I was really into scrapbooking about nature but this time around I am stoked to do some layouts about people, events and trips and telling these stories. I may eventually even pull out some of these mini albums that are sitting in a basket to work on!

I have been working My Home is Built in Glory but I have my doubts about it being finished by my deadline now. Life has just kicked up lately and really kept me hopping. I haven't even had time to visit all the other blogs I enjoy keeping up with and reading so much. I will keep working on it though and hopefully I can still finish it off by the end of the month. I promise a progress update picture very soon!

The giveaway winner this time is Meari. Congratulations! I still have more charts in my clean out pile so be watching for another giveway or two before year's end!

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

Mountain Roads, Giveaway and Life

Life really got in the way this past week preventing me from doing as much as I would have liked on anything creative! Doctor appointments, the house suddenly began to beg uncontrollably for some attention and just so much more (it seemed).

I did work on My Home is Built in Glory some more but I think I bragged too much about how well my plan for my hands was working because I had a bad several days during some colder weather. I haven't taken a progress photo yet because the lighter color I am working with right now doesn't show up very well in a snap shot unless it is surrounded by the darker colors (which it isn't yet). I am still determined to get this piece finished up by November 21 though.

We went up to the mountains again over the weekend. Lots of lovely crisp weather and winding roads! Even though most of the leaves had already fallen off the trees, it was still a wonderful day. I always seem to forget just how much I love the mountains until I go back up there and fall in love all over again!

I told you it wouldn't be long until I had another giveaway! This time the giveaway is for Snowflakes by Little House Needleworks. To be entered in the drawing leave a comment on this post along with your email addy or a link to your blog so that I contact you if you are the winner! The winner will be announced next Monday so you have until Saturday night at midnight before the cutoff.

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

A New Month, A Winner and Goals

Wow, I can't believe it's already November! We were out of town over part of the weekend. I wanted to go visit my stepmother since I hadn't seen her since before my first surgery. The house is up for sale and hopefully she will not have wait long for a buyer.

I did manage to get in a little stitching before we left but I kept a watch on the clock so as not to overdo. Just not enough progress as of yet to show again.I was able to do another scrapbooking layout which is pictured at the left. I thought I would get back into the habit of listing monthly goals from time to time so here are a few for November.

1. Do at least 16 layouts
2. Finish My Home is Built in Glory
3. Have another giveaway or two
4. Make Thanksgiving dinner
5. Take plenty of pictures. I have been a slacker in this area.
6. Frame 1 or 2 finished pieces
7. Pull out some Christmas stuff to put out later this month
8. Clean out some more closets

The winner of this giveaway is Patti. After cleaning out my stash last week, I have quite a few more charts waiting for their turn in a giveaway so be watching. There will be another one very soon! Keep checking back!

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

Special People

November is National Hospice & Palliative Care Month.

This year’s theme, “Preserving a Legacy… Treasuring Memories,” reminds us that hospice and palliative care brings comfort, dignity and peace to help people live every moment of life to the fullest, leaving loved ones with memories they can treasure. It takes a special person to work in Hospice. The people that were there for my Dad and our family were so thoughtful and wonderful.

Almost the Weekend!

I worked on sorting out pictures the past several days. I have so many albums already done but I still have boxes and boxes just waiting for some attention. Not all of these will be scrapped so my job was to sort out which ones would and which ones wouldn't. I now have 1 box of photos not to be scrapped and 3 large boxes of photos to scrap! I also have a big pile waiting on several CDs waiting to be printed out so they can go into the scrapbooking pile. *sigh*

I had to pick up several colors I had run out of so that I can finish up My Home is Built in Glory. I am hoping to have it totally finished by November 21st which was my Dad's birthday. That is my goal. I have taken a break from stitching so far this past week and my hands feel great! I guess this means I will be cutting back on my stitching (but not stopping) during the colder months because I really don't want to take any of those strong arthritis meds.

I also worked on several more layouts. This is one I did from the pictures I inherited from my Dad. It is a picture of him at 6 months of age with his nanny, Rose.

Remember to sign up for the giveaway by leaving a comment on the Oct. 25th post. Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart! Happy Halloween to all.

My Favorite

What I love about Fall ---

1. The beautiful colors of the leaves changing
2. The cooler days
3. Time to pull the sweaters and flannel jammies out
4. Time to start feeding the birds again after the summer break
5. Memories of childhood when I see piles of leaves
6. Holidays with lots of good food
7. This year, remembering my Dad on his birthday and at Christmas. Two days he loved to celebrate up big!

Remember to sign up for the giveway by leaving a comment on the Oct. 25th post. Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Scrappy Days

Halloween is right around the corner! Are you ready? We don't get but maybe a maximum of 3 little ones dressed up each year. Most of the trick or treaters around here go to parties and/or haunted houses. I always buy plenty of candy anyway, just in case and because I am secretly hoping we will get flooded by miniature ghosties and goblins. If not, I know the sweet treats will be eaten by my guys.

I did this layout a little over a year ago but had stashed it in a drawer so while I was digging my scrapping supplies out over the weekend, I ran across it. Parts of it were crumbled and needed some tweeking. After a few touch ups, it looks as good as new and is the perfect layout to begin Dad's album with.

What are some of things that I really love about scrapbooking?

1. Challenges. I just love a good challenge. Whether it be a word challenge or a theme challenge. They can really get the imagination spinning.

2. Journaling. I can't stand to see a picture with just a name and date on it (and yes, I have plenty of those myself). I feel that pictures deserve a story or even just a simple quote (which I use often but prefer not to). Journaling makes it all more personal which is how it should be because that is how the photo really began - with a story. A family gathering, a party, just a fun "off guard" shot........ but there IS a story about the event, the person or just some feeling it may all draw out. No matter the reason, it deserves to be told because it may not seem important right this minute but it will be to someone else (who you may not even know) on down the road.

3. Family History. I love family history and it ties in so perfectly with scrapbooking when putting it all together.

4. Photography. It thrills me to no end when I take a picture that is more than what I had hoped for. Whether it is the subject matter, the quality or even just a feeling behind it all.

Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway by leaving a comment on the October 25th post. Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Correction

Obviously, I did not make myself clear enough in the previous post for the giveaway. The giveaway is for the chart not the finished pieces. If you are still interested, please leave a comment on the previous post. Thanks!

Weekend Chores and Giveaway

I have spent the weekend trying to get some organizing done. Some of the things I have gotten done so far are cleaning out my stitching stash, I pulled out my scrapbooking supplies and got them set back out, I went through the kitchen cabinets and got everything looking nice and neat again. And I still have some errands to run later today for some DMC and ink pads.

Oh no, I haven't put away my stitching by any means! I am just dividing my time now with scrapbooking. They are both hobbies I enjoy and never seem to catch up on. Hopefully by splitting time between the two, my hands won't bother quite as much or as badly with the colder weather getting closer to making an appearance and I can make a dent in both!

It's giveaway time again! This time it will be for Quaker Rabbit and Turtle by The Workbasket. If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog or an email address so that I contact you if you are the winner. The deadline will be midnight on Friday October 30th. I will announce the winner on the following Monday (November 2nd).

Into the Weekend

I have a new project. Like I really need something else to keep me busy in between my stitching, getting my garden ready for the winter, regular chores around the house and more. LOL. But this is just neccessary! After my Dad passed away one of the things I brought home were all his pictures. For years I had begged him to please take them out of those sticky albums and I even offered to fix them up for him. When I got his albums, I saw that he never did. He probably meant to but he just never got around to it. Anyway, I need to do that now. I have lost too many photos in the past to these once famous albums. It's not a project I am in a hurry to finish up. I just want to take my time and enjoy each of these photos as I scrapbook them. Then I will have a wonderful album of my Dad's life.

In the meantime, here is an update on the progress of My Home is Built in Glory. I am getting closer and closer to the finish line! How exciting after all this time!

Thank you so much for dropping in and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Are You Drooling?

Be sure to check out the wonderful giveaway for these yummy fabrics!

Tuesday Morning

While my hands were still bothering me and I was on restricted stitching, I decided to pull out some of my stash and sort through it all. Yikes! If I can complete half of all this I will be oh so happy. Next I pulled out the stitching basket that I use as a catch all and keep beside my chair. I found lots of lots of goodies in here! Threads, fabric, missing charts (now found) and more! After all this I had sort of gotten on a roll so I decided that my finished works were beginning to pile up and it was time to frame one or more. Unfortunately, I didn't have the size frames I needed! I put them on my weekend errand list so I will be sure to look for them. I have a stack of frames just waiting to be used so maybe that means I need to start choosing designs to stitch that will be compatible with the ones I already have on hand.

My hands are doing much better now and thank you all for your well wishes. The cold weather usually brings on more of these flare ups but they are usually better after a few days of TLC. I hope to have more stitching pictures soon. I worked on With My Needle off and on during the weekend but not as much as I would have liked because of my hands. I am now back on MHIBIG and stitching away on the vine border!

This is one of the framed prints I brought home awhile back. It had belonged to my Dad and was a part of our home for as long as I can remember. Even after I no longer lived there anymore, I always remember seeing this print hanging somewhere where ever my folks moved to. It was never out of sight and just always said to me "my dad lives here". He told me a wonderful story about this print that makes it even more special to me. During the 70 year life of this print it has been framed and re-framed numerous times. It now hangs in my home and brings a smile to my face and a tug at my heart each time I walk past it.

Thank you stopping by again! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

Rainy Days and Rainy Nights

This should have been the perfect weekend for me to stitch my heart out but my hands decided they had not hurt really bad in a while so they took this weekend as their opportunity to get in my way of stitching till my fingers fell off! LOL. DH had gone out of town with the guys for some astronomy fun and I had my stitching corner all prepared for my fun time! I did start on With My Needle but don't have enough done to show any progress just yet. I did work on My Home is Built in Glory until Thursday Night and was able to get the first portion of the vine border completed. It really does add a lot of kick to this piece! I will be so glad when it is finished!

Oh, and by the way - the astronomer guys all packed up and came home earlier than planned because they just got tired of sitting out in a field in all the rain and cold waiting for a break in the clouds so they could see some stars! Even though it was nice to have DH back home early, I know he was miffed when the next day the skies cleared off. the rains stopped and the sun popped back out!

As you can tell, I changed my background again. I do love, love, love the rich colors of Autumn and this luscious brown just sets off all the Fall fun to come!

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me. Keep checking back because I plan on having another giveaway in the near future!

Taking a Day

Harold told me I needed a day off. No housework, no doctors, no worries. Yesterday we decided to take a day and go up around the mountain area, see the leaves changing and just soak in the simple beauty. After several days of rain and blah weather, it turned out to be a nice day and it was just what I needed after everything that has been going on in my life lately. I actually laughed for an absolutely silly reason! The first time I have laughed since my father passed away. You can click on the pictures to see them larger.





My favorite shops were the dulcimer shop and Mast General Store. I don't play the dulcimer but always loved the music from it. I picked up a cornstalk doll and another Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle and Harold got some canned pickled Green Tomatoes he had been hunting for.





I am hoping there will be more day trips in store for us (probably later in the Spring) but for now my soul has been satisfied and refreshed with the glory of God's work and the fun crafts and wonderful foods of the local residents!

The days have been warm enough but rainy and overcast. The nights, on the other hand, have been downright chilly. I love my cozy warm pajamas so while we were out one day I picked up a new pair of luscious snuggly fleece jammies to lounge around in while I stitch on these chilly evenings! And speaking of stitching, I was able to work on My Home is Built is Glory some more. It is coming right along. Enough so, that I am ready to get everything ready to start on With My Needle. I am thinking I will work on MHIBIG on Monday thru Thursday then pick up WMN to work on Friday thru Sunday. Good deal.

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart! Thank you so much for stopping in again!

Checking In

I spent the latter part of last week and the weekend working on trying to finish up My Home is Built in Glory (which didn't happen). I had debated on whether or not to do the vine border but after some thought decided to go with it since it really did add so much to the overall look. It shouldn't be much longer now and I will have another finish as well as a very special one.

I have With My Needle kitted up and ready to start on along with several other new market pieces that arrived! I was thrilled to see Sarah Woodham by Shakespeare Peddler in my mailbox and DH had ordered A Mind Independent and Free by CHS for me as a surprise (but he couldn't keep a secret and told me earlier) that arrived also. I went out and stocked up on my thread stash so I would be ready to stitch on any of these new designs when the time is right.

The past few days have been really icky! Overcast, periods of rain and even chilly enough to put on a sweater! I like the cooler days but not so much the cloudy weather. Even though we are still on DST, the days are getting shorter and shorter which is the one part of Autumn I don't like even though those shorter days give me more reason to stitch!

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart! Thanks so much for dropping by!

Home and Happy

I am home from the hospital once again. The procedure was obviously a success according to what the doctor told my husband after it was all over and I was still snoozing away. I ended up staying the night just because I was feeling a little ill and they were not going to release me until about 1am anyway. Who wants to drag home at that hour? LOL. After all was said and done, I got home yesterday afternoon with only a sore side and a sore arm (I got two vaccines while there).

Look what was waiting for me when I got home! Another one of my market orders! With My Needle by The Good Huswife! I just love this design and hope to pick up threads this weekend so I can start on it in the very near future!

I wanted to pop in and thank everyone for keeping tabs on me during all this! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!