A New Year

This is the same post I make every year at the end of the year. Sometimes I adjust it depending on my needs or life situation. So far it has worked well for me.

A New Year is right around the corner! A brand new clean calendar! It is up to each one of us what we do with it. Each year I take the same same basic goals with a possible extra or two tossed in for good measure. I prefer to use "goals" instead of "resolutions" because I feel I am taking already important things in my life and putting my focus on strengthening them.

1. To make an effort to learn something new every day. The joy of knowledge is indeed a blessing no matter what you choose to learn.

2. To make time for myself. It's amazing what 15 minutes sitting on the deck with a hot cup of coffee and watching the birds can do for my soul. A little time each day to refresh my spirit is all it takes.

3. To take time to appreciate each day. Too often we forget to see the beauty around us and take the simple things in life for granted. My continued goal is to look with my eyes but to see with my heart. To enjoy life and all that is a part of it.

4. To enjoy my family and friends. I am lucky to have each and every one of them in my life.

5.  Organize and Simplify! Two key words I always yearn to make a part of my everyday routine but often lose focus on. Organize does not mean that I have to go on a cleaning binge each day. It just means that I need to get my life and things that are a part of my life in some sort of manageable order so that I feel comfortable instead of constantly overwhelmed.Not putting things off until the last minute can contribute greatly to this cause. Simplify! Just what it means - plain and simple! Stop making a mountain out of a mole hill. Do what I can and leave the rest. Don't take on more than I can handle or that will leave me stressed out.

6. To remember. So many people have come and gone from my life over the years and I want to keep their memories alive.

7. To keep my faith alive and strong.

8. A Random Act of Kindness. Like so many others, I was raised to do them. Only back then they were called "manners" or just plain "consideration for others". So many people still do these and without even realizing it. For the New Year coming up, I challenge myself along with each and every one of you to make RAKs a regular part of your life and to become more aware of them. Whether it means opening a door for a person, buying a stranger a cup of coffee, taking the grocery cart back inside the store or something else. Let us all strive to bring back those values and in doing so we will give back and make someone's day a little brighter.

9. To Forgive. Things happen that cause hurt, anger and resentment but often the people who cause these feelings don't know or just don't care. We are the ones left with the bitter feelings that only mount up and make us more and more miserable. I will let the past remain in the past and let go of these feelings so that I can move on with my life.

10. To use kind words and patience more often. I will try to live by the good old standard rule "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all".

And of course the New Year would not be complete without some fun goals!

1. Take more trips. Even a day trip can be fun.

2. No pressure. Keep the fun and joy in my hobbies. After all, that is why I started them.

3. Take more pictures

4. Continue to write in my gratitude journal

5. To blog regularly

6. To work on my Stitching Bucket List this year

7. Work on my stack of WIPs this year

8. Work on some Christmas stitching

Have a safe and Happy New Year. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Until Next Year

Christmas was quite around here. The boys are older and go their own way to spend holidays with friends (but they always come home for food)! With the boys grown, there is not the same excitement and anticipation of Christmas morning. Instead we can sleep in now and then come out for a sweet tooth breakfast later on. The Grumpy Ol Gazer and I just relaxed most of the day. I stitched and he played around with his hobby.

The BBQ and Chicken and Dumplings were delicious and NO clean up! My kind of meal. We had an early pick up time slot for the Chicken and Dumplings on Christmas Eve so we just went in a little earlier and had a nice breakfast! I do love their pancakes!

One of my presents were two more project bags for my cross stitch. I like these alot.

I worked on A Virtuous Woman part of Christmas day but then I started a Christmas stitch as well. I found about 4 designs in my stash that I have either forgotten about or just kept putting off over the years. And I have had these for YEARS so I decided to start stitching  them this year! I started on Tate's Stocking by Raise the Roof designs. I love the design but I will be framing this instead of making a stocking. I like most of my Christmas stitching to be either a holiday song title or a verse from a Christmas song. Once in a while I will make an exception.

Our dryer died right before Christmas! It had been sick and making all kinds of terrible noises then one day, it just stopped never to run again. We once again have a dryer that is happily humming whenever someone puts in a load of clothes to dry. I guess we can count that as our Christmas present! It certainly beats going to the laundry mat every other day!

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

Have A Good One!

Christmas is a comin'

I had a birthday earlier this week. I have always enjoyed having my birthday so close to the holidays! All of the music, lights and festivities just make my day even more special! I had a nice day. We had a storm which I used to get some stitching done then the Grumpy Ol Gazer took me out for a birthday dinner at one of my favorite places with no clean up and a new dutch oven that I had mentioned wanting (and needing).

Several day later I stopped by my LNS with my birthday coupon and picked up a new project (like I really need one)! I was looking for a something Christmasy to start on for next year!

I had said once before that I had stopped cooking on Thanksgiving but I broke that little rule this past holiday. Because I had just gotten out of the hospital, I really did not want to stand in any long lines. Christmas is a different story though. I have never cooked on Christmas. We usually had family dinners to attend and when we got home everyone was always so busy "playing" with their gifts so I would just place an order with our local BBQ restaurant for a pan of BBQ with all the fixings and pick it up on the Christmas Eve. Everyone can eat as they please off and on all day (and into the next day sometimes). By now this has become a standing tradition. The BBQ is ordered to pick up on Christmas Eve and this year I added a pan of chicken and dumplings to the order. This (along with Christmas Eve leftovers) should last us several days or more.

I did not get any Christmas stitching done this year. I usually try to do at least one but I missed out this year so I will share several of my favorites from the past. I am already looking for one or two to do next year!

Poor Maidens by Plum Street Samplers

Feliz Navidad by Blackbird Designs

There is no update on A Virtuous Woman this week. I did not get very much done on her this week and I wanted to wait to get more done before showing her off but I am really enjoying this stitch.

Around the end of this month we need to do a big clean out around the house. We just have too much stuff that we never use! Just junky stuff (boxes, old papers...)  It seems like we just did this same thing about this time last year, too! How do we accumulate so much JUNK!

I probably won't post again until after Christmas so I hope everyone has a wonderful and Merry Christmas! Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

I'M BACK!

While I was in the hospital last month, the Grumpy Ol Gazer asked me what he was supposed to do with all my cross stitch if anything should happen to me. Wait A Minute! First of all, I asked him if I had been that bad. Then he told me that if I did not make some kind  of list for him he would probably just throw everything out. Supplies and finished pieces! Now, that got my attention! LOL. I doubt seriously he would throw out any of my finished work but he knew how get me moving! I know what I want done with each piece and my supplies but I need to get it in some sort of order that he could understand. Just in case.

I have been spending a good amount of time getting organized for 2020. I started a Stitching Journal with a page for each piece, the information about it and who should get it. Pages available at Etsy from blackcrowdigital. I have been working on this on the weekends.

I also ordered some organizational items. A project roll for keeping finished pieces looking nice until I can frame them.

And several project bags. One for current stitching and one for my good hoops. Early birthday presents from me to me. All from Etsy.

After starting feeling a little more like myself I had the stitching itchies. I wanted to work on Mother's Tree but I have been dying to start on A Virtuous Woman by Carriage House Samplers ( and I am using my new Hardwicke Manor hoop) so Mother's Tree is taking a break for right now. My call. I am stitching on 18ct. Aida Khaki by My Vintage Needlearts over at Etsy.

Not much stitching time the past week . We have had appointments and errands to take care of. We should be free for the rest of the month now and can do whatever we please. My infusions have been moved back a month so this will give me some extra free time to catch up.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Our oldest son hung the lights outside the house and did a wonderful job. The Grumpy Ol Gazer helped me out in the kitchen so it wasn't so tiring because I was still pretty weak but everything turned out nicely. I did not get around to making a pan of dressing that the boys look forward to but I will save that for Christmas Eve dinner with a turkey breast. After an early morning doctor appointment the next day, The Grumpy Ol' Gazer and I enjoyed a lazy breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Thank you to all my readers for being patient while I got my strength back and started to feel more like myself again.

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

Be Back Soon

I have not forgotten my blog. I have been in the hospital. I am home now but still have a long way to go before I am myself again. I will post again when I begin to feel better.

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

Thank You

Just Words

Yes, I am still working on the Mother's Tree but the hand cramps started over the weekend so I took a few days off from the needle to let my hands rest up before getting back to work.

When I put my stitching aside to give my hands time to get over the cramps, I play in my stash. I have so many designs in my Stitching Bucket List but I have ear marked 10 of them for 2020. LOL. I am not saying I will get all 10 completed next year (that would be a miracle) but those are the ones I have my sights on. I am staying busy to make sure I have every thing I will need for each sampler I do complete.I have also been concerned about storage of these finished samplers (until I get them framed) so I was able to find a cross stitch project roll protector

We had plenty of unexpected errands to keep us busy all week as well. Our weather has gone from chilly sweater mornings to wearing that sweater ALL day!

Thanksgiving is coming up and I no longer cook that big meal for several reasons. My husband and I decided it would be easier and more enjoyable to just go out. There are not many places open on Thanksgiving that appeal to our taste so we decided to do something different this year. We are going out for an early Thanksgiving breakfast (at one of our favorite places) before the crowds start and then everyone can just do their own thing the rest of the day with sandwiches and such. Easy clean up.

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

Emelia

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know I had worked on Mother's Tree by Lavender and Lace. I worked steady and it seemed I never got past that tree. I don't know if it was the one color stitch after stitch or just frustration but I started to get terrible headaches every time I worked on it.

I was at my LNS picking up some framing and I mentioned this to the shop owner. She told me "make it your own". I thought on this for a while and I have decided how to do it. No tree but just as meaningful with the record of women in my family. A very simple design.

This has been a very hard piece for me to start. I just have this horrible feeling that I will stitch it, have it framed and BOOM, I will start finding new ancestors that should be on the tree! I have decided to make a detailed list with any extra information (and new mothers that should pop up) printed out and attached to the back after it is framed.

I am going to use the same alphabet but I am changing the colors and NO TREE (did I say that before? LOL)  I am going to stitch her on 18 count Aida Irish Cream from MyVintageNeedlearts over at Etsy. This is beautiful Aida fabric but it is sort of hard to tell that it is lightly mottled by my pictures.

Emelia Clarke Poer is the only woman in the tree with both her maiden and married name. The other women will only have their maiden name. Their daughter's maiden name is the mothers married name. She is my maternal 5th Great Grandmother.

Emelia (Milly) was born in 1791 in Lancaster, SC. She married Salvadore Poer on December 10, 1810. They were married in Lancaster, SC. After they married, they moved to Burnsville, NC. I looked and looked for Emelia's parents but birth certificates were not required back then. Most people just used the Family Bible.

Emelia and Salvadore had 4 children. Three girls and the youngest was a boy.

Emelia died in 1858 before her husband (who later remarried). Her grave is either lost or destroyed but there is no record where she was buried other than in Burnsville, NC.

I have some longer names coming up and I am not sure if my fabric will be wide enough. I will try to fit them in the way I had planned but I may have to shorten one or two. Either way, I will have the full info sheet on the back. Who knows, maybe I can finish this piece up by the end of the year. That would make me happy enough that I would not be upset about my lack of finishes in 2019!

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

Short Season

Once again we had a very short Fall. On Halloween we had a day of heavy storms and tornado warnings but the weather was in the 80s and humid. When there was a break in the storm, we had some cute little trick or treaters come out. November 1st, we woke up to temps in the 30s and it barely even reached 60 all day! Winter has arrived!

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

Happy Halloween

Making Plans

Once again I am late with my blog post! It hasn't been a very busy week but I did feel icky quite a bit. Not sick just bleck! So I rested when I could. 

I can't believe that this year is almost over! And, even more, I can't believe how little stitching I was able to get done! While I had the ickies over the past week, I decided to make my stitching agenda for next year! 2020 has officially been declared the Year of the Stitching Bucket List!

While going through my stash to see which charts still needed to be kitted, I noticed that most of the designs that make my heart beat a little faster are inspirational pieces. I love all samplers but if they have a prayer, a proverb or even an inspirational quote I am hooked!

How did this happen? It all began with one piece. My very first inspirational cross stitch. My Home is Built in Glory by Heartstring Samplery. I stitched on it during a difficult time of my life when my father was sick before he passed away. The words and the design gave me great comfort.

Then I began to stitch prayers and similar designs for my infusion projects. But it did not take me long to realize that I wanted to do these more often than that!

So bear with me the next several months as I shuffle through various pieces until I can lay my sights on what lies ahead in 2020 for my stitching!

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

Fall is in the Air

I need more walls!!! I think this is a common battle cry for every stitcher who needs more space to hang her work! For now, I am fine but I do have a sizable stash that may cause issues on down the road. Oh well, I can rearrange or just start hanging my work in other rooms of the house. I do like my work to be in the main area of house so I can see it easily!

We had several wonderful thunderstorms this past week! As long as I can stay in and have no errands or appointments to drag me out in the rain, I love a good thunder day for snuggling up and getting some stitching done! I am just loving this finally Fall weather we are having! The sweater mornings are the best!

I lost my massaging gloves! They are crafter's gloves for people with arthritis or other hand issues (like my hand cramps). When I feel a hand cramp coming on, I put these on and BOOM it's gone and I can keep right on stitching!  They are GREAT! They are called Creative Comfort by Dritz. I ordered two pair this time so I won't have to worry for awhile.

No gloves. No stitching. Thus, no pictures. Hopefully I will get my gloves very soon and get to stitching! This has been a hard week not being able to pick up my needle and hoop!

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

Fall has Finally Arrived!

No, I have not given up on Sister's Garden by La D Da. I am not as far a long with it as I would like to be due to hand cramps and a very sore finger! But here it is to date! I know I got a little off track last post. That is what happens when I play in my stash

I have several empty spaces on various walls waiting for future stitches to be hung there. The main area is a blank wall. Not too big but I have it planned it. I know what I want to stitch and hang there. So why am I not working on any of it!!! When i choose another piece to stitch my mind always wonders back to the pieces I want to hang on that wall! I hate to leave a WIP to be picked up later but I just can't get these others off my mind! 

                   

The weather has finally cooled down and it actually feels like Fall. I could not take much more of the mid 90 to 100 weather!

I ordered some threads for a few pieces in my stash so I can kit them up and a little more of that wonderful fabric from My Vintage Needle Arts. My favorite sweaters were on sale so I grabbed a couple! The sale was so good it was like getting two for the price of one!

The Grumpy Ol Gazer helped me plant several new bushes. One is a butterfly bush. I noticed that one of my yellow roses is starting to die out so we planted close to that and will cut back the dying rose later.

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

What A Week

What a week!! Errands, appointments and getting the outside of the house painted!

I've got pictures this week!

I love Samplers! All Samplers! But I have noticed that I am always the happiest when I am stitching on a prayers, a Proverb or some other type of inspirational design. I always saved these for my infusion projects but why limit myself to just several times a year! And I have so many in my stash!

I know the last thing I needed to do was to buy more cross stitch patterns but who ever said I did smart things!  I have added a nice handful to my Stitching Bucket List! You can see my full Stitching Bucket List over at my Pinterest page (link on right side of page).

A Saviour's Praise by  Shakespeare Peddler

Vintage Birds by Jeanette Douglas

The Fall by Barbara Ana Designs

and Quilting Bee by Blue Flowers

and several others

Sometimes going to the grocery store just wipes me out! I come home and all I want to do is sit in my chair to recoup but those groceries don't put themselves away. The Grumpy Ol Gazer and I decided to try out the grocery pickup services offered by our store. I can grocery shop online, let them get it all together and we just pick it up!  I still like to pick out produce and meats but other than that, it saves a lot of energy!

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

A Quick Catch Up

I know. I didn't post last week. I could have but it would have been so short and sort of dull so I decided to wait until I had a little more.

Where is Fall? The calendar says it is Fall but the temps outside say completely different with days up in the mid 90s!  I am ready for sweater weather!

We celebrated another anniversary! I told the Grumpy Ol Gazer that we would never have a 43rd anniversary again! LOL. Later the same week, he had a birthday.  He had been hinting around for a DNA test kit for some time so that was his birthday present! Since they were on sale, I bought one for myself too.

In between all the busyness I was able to get some work on Sister's Garden by La D Da. I was hoping it might move along a little faster but when life (and hand cramps) happens....  I just love it more and more as I stitch on it!

My bushes came in. The Grumpy Ol Gazer said he would help me put them out this weekend. There will be blueberries and blackberries for the birds next year. And a lovely butterfly bush to attract flutterbies!

I played in my stash again and got my charts ready for next year's stitching. I think I will leave it as a surprise since I may not get around to all of them or I might change my mind!

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

Good Morning

I will be back soon with another post! Until then may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart,

Feed Those Birds!

You know me and my birds so I just could not resist listing some Autumn bird watching tips!

1. Don't wait until the really cold weather to start feeding the birds again. There are still plenty of berries and insects but now is the time to begin because they are already shopping around for yards to frequent and stay close to for the upcoming Winter months that are around the corner. I always say that I feed the birds November through the end of May but I actually start putting out just enough to get their attention around Mid October.

2. Several things that will attract them over Autumn and keep them close during the Winter is a good variety of feeders. Also try putting out several trays on the ground. I use large terra cotta saucers for the ground feeding birds. Use a variety of seeds, unshelled peanuts, dried fruit to keep them happy. And remember that variety does not mean big bucks! Keep it simple.

3. Don't have a suet feeder? Try smearing peanut butter on the bark of a tree or simply break up the suet and put it into a bowl for the birds. Don't hesitate to make a feeder with pinecones, peanut butter and seeds like we made as kids. It works and the birds will love you for it!

4. Keep those bird baths full with clean water. Even a few old shallow pots or bowl set around with water are good. Birds don't care how much you spend or how fancy it is. They just appreciate that you do it.

5. If you have bird houses and/or roosting pockets, clean them out and get them ready for shelter on those chilly nights and even colder Winter time. No bird houses? You can still provide shelter. A pile of twigs and old leaves make for a comfy cozy night.

6. After you have taken care of the basics, sit back and enjoy watching the birds!

Now is the time to put out the word to your feathered friends that your yard is a good place to be over the upcoming seasons.

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

It's Summer Again

Oh, how wonderful the weather was the first part of  the week! I have even been wearing a sweater in the mornings and evenings!  I took advantage of it and went outside to clean out some bird feeders and houses so they would be ready for this Autumn. While I was able to get outside and do a few things, I cleared off places for my blackberry bush, blueberry bush and butterfly bush.

Of course all good things must come to an end and so did our Fall preview! It got hot and humid again and I just didn't really want to get out in that!  The Grumpy Ol Gazer mentioned one evening that "we haven't had real food in a while. Just quick to fix dinners." Well, like I tell him every Summer, it just gets too hot when the oven is going along side of the outdoor heat! But I caved and fixed one of my favorites the other night. Notice I said "one of MY favorites"! I made my mother's recipe for stuffed peppers which I always loved, some steamed squash and a garden salad.

I do love my hoops and just can't stitch without one. I usually get the German Hoops and they are very good quality with no splintering. I have been wanting a square hoop though and it finally arrived! I love stitching with it!

A Sister's Garden by La D Da is coming along nicely too. I am really enjoying this piece. Such a pleasure to stitch on!  I am stitching her on Aida 18ct. Khaki that I got from My Vintage Needlearts over at Etsy! She has some beautiful colors but I think I will getting more of the Khaki!

I got so involved in A Sister's Garden that I forgot to work on AAFG. It's not going anywhere so I can pick it up later on. I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

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

I'm Late. I'm Late.

I am late with my post out of laziness. I kept forgetting to take the pictures I needed. We had a week of big thunderstorms each evening. I love when it rains at night. I sleep so good! Back on topic, after all that rain we are now having a week long preview of Fall weather! Love it! After taking a break from stitching over last weekend, I decided to start the week off with a new start but my threads had not arrived.

I spent the first several days working on AAFG. I am almost finished with section 8! Only 5 more sections to go! Maybe I will finish it up by the end of the year (no promises) if I stick with it. A reader suggested that after I finish with it, I could coffee stain it to hide those old age stains! Good idea!

I usually like to begin my infusion project about the time I go in to see the doctor which won't be until mid November so I have plenty of time for a new start.  I decided to do something smaller and on the simple side so I chose A Sister's Garden by La D Da so it does not cross over into the infusion project. The colors are so pretty. Hopefully I will start on it soon.

On the home front, I noticed that my wild rose is blooming again! Our oldest has taken over the yard work and he keeps my bushes trimmed back nicely. Of course my Grandma would probably have a heart attack if she knew how he does it -- with a machete! But it works! LOL.

He trimmed my pyracantha bushes way back. We actually thought they were dead (which is why he trimmed them back) but they are coming back and hopefully they will have some yummy berries for the birds this Fall.

I am already planning my garden for next year. I have a blueberry bush, blackberry bush (both self pollinating) and a butterfly bush ordered. The Grumpy Ol Gazer said "but the birds will get all the berries" Exactly! And I am already looking at tomato plants along with several other veggies and fruits to put out.

I have stayed indoors as much as possible lately since we have had some terrible heat and air quality warnings.

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

HAPPY DANCE

Creation Sampler is a finish! Yea! I can now consider this infusion project #5. I finished minutes before my I posted my blog. Below is my final picture (excuse the wrinkles). What you don't see is the second bird at the bottom and I have also added the year under my initials. I prefer to work on just one piece at a time but once in a while I will make an exception and work on two but no more.

I had planned to start a piece earlier this week but with errands and some left over side effects from the last infusion I did not pick up any stitching. I did go through my stash and kitted up designs that had not been kitted yet. I always like knowing that I can just pull a design out and be ready to stitch.

I realized that there are less than 5 months left in this year and I really have not stitched that much! Well, I have stitched but few finishes. I decided to make a plan for the remainder of this year and take it on into next year.

I pulled out And A Forest Grew by Rosewood Manor. This is my longest running WIP to date! I try to work some on it at least once a year but one of my plans will be to TRY to work on this piece at least two days a week until I finish it (good intentions). It has been stained over the years from taking it out and putting it back up. I will have to decide how to work around these battle scars.

Do you have any WIPs? What is your longest running WIP and how long how you been working on it?

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

Day After Day

It's raining. It's pouring. The old man is snoring. Bumped his head. Went to bed and didn't get up till morning. We used to sing this as kids whenever it would rain. I do love a good rain shower! It just makes everything feel new.

I spent the first part of the week getting ready for the family get together! Babies from my wild rose. Potted and given out to happy cousins!

We had a great time and it was so nice to see everyone again! Cousins can be so silly! LOL

.

Creation Sampler is moving right along now that I have come to the words. There was a deer beside of Adam but I left it off so that I could put my initials on it.

I have been thinking that I may enter a cross stitch piece or two in one of the county fairs around here next Fall (2020). Give me time to get some special stitches done. I have never thought about doing this before and it just hit me like a lightning bolt! Why haven't I and why don't I do it!!!!!!

I had my last infusion for this round so I am done with that until December!

I have to play in my stash at least once a week. It is just fun to visit all the wonderful designs I can't wait to work on! I ran across Margaret Cottam by La D Da. Now how did I forget about her?? I have Part One and Part Three. Where did Part Two disappear to? OMG! After a quick panic I realized that Part Two was stuck to Part One! Whew! She will definitely have to go on the priority list! This picture is not my work. It is from the La D Da website.

After I finish my current stitching I really need to get busy working on my Stitching Bucket List. These are designs I have wanted to do for so long and I even have planned where to hang them on the walls! It is time to make them stop waiting! The hard part is that I keep seeing all of these other beautiful samplers that I want to add to my stash! I need a blindfold! LOL

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

TWO JULIAs

Our family is full of stories and story tellers. I love to hear these stories over and over. I never tire of them! Let me share a story with you this time (told to me by my Aunt) instead of my stitching.

Thomas Casey Westall and Andrew Henson Westall were half brothers. The same father, William Brittain Westall but different mothers. There were many other children but I am going to focus on these two. They lived in Yancey County, NC.

Thomas was the older of the two and Andrew adored his big brother. Thomas married first and Andrew followed suit a bit later. Thomas and his wife had a number of children. One of which was Julia Elizabeth Westall.

When Andrew and his wife had a little girl, he asked his big brother if he could name the baby girl after his daughter. Her name was Julia Ann Westall.

The two Julias were first cousins and Julia Ann went on to become my great grandmother. She passed away when I was 5 but I still remember her well. I remember their house. I remember her weak laugh (because she was quite old by then). I remember how I would lean in gently to hug her like she was a precious china doll. Her funeral was the first one I had ever been to and I remember being fussed over to look just perfect. I remember being told to act well mannered and polite. A pretty big memory for such a little girl!

Julia Elizabeth, the older cousin, married and moved away from Yancey County. She was later to become a mother. The mother of Thomas Wolfe, the author, who wrote many novels such as You Can't Go Home Again and Look Homeward, Angel.

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