Just Another Week

 I hope all of you ladies had a special Mother's Day! I did. It was a quite day around here. I wasn't feeling at the top of my game and just wanted to lay around the house. The restaurants are always super crowded on Mother's Day so the Grumpy Ol Gazer brought in some chicken to eat while we caught up on some movies. I did get some Mother's Day bling (needleminders). A bee, a bird and an owl. Cute!

 

I cancelled my Ancestry.com subscription when the Grumpy Ol Gazer retired. That was 2 years ago. When I cancel, I usually re-subscribe about once a year because they are always finding new info. I did that over the weekend and have already found some new family items for my side and the Grumpy Ol Gazer's family!

 

I placed an order for All Things Great and Small by Barbara Ana Designs, Consider the Lillies by Heartstring Samplery and His Eye is on the Sparrow by Heartstring Samplery along with all the threads. I have a good fabric stash so I was able to find what I needed instead of having to order more.

 

I stitched on the #bbdweekendsal (instagram) for a bit. I mentioned before that I am working on A Sister's Love from the Winds of Autumn book. I have actually done more that this and I am LOVING these colors! I need to decide if I am going to use my mother's and aunt's initials (they were sisters and very close) or if I want to use the initials of my infant brothers who never came home from the hospital (since I am their big sister). 

 

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

What A Week!

 August is a rough month for me. My moma died on August 12 and my dad passed away 40 years later on August 13. I usually hope that these two days will pass without my realizing it. I think of them every day anyway. These days just make the sadness more intense.

The last Sunday in July is always Decoration up in the mountains (where my moma's family is from). All of the cemeteries are decorated with flowers galore! It is a beautiful sight. I have only been up there several times to see it in person but I have heard about it and have seen yearly pictures all my life. This was my Grandma's headstone this year.

I will have another update on Bee Skep soon. I have been working on it some. It is almost like my mojo just flew out the window!  I decided to stop working on the house for a bit so that hopefully it will renew my mojo when I come back to it! I want to at least be near a finish on it before I post another update. Soon, I promise.

I have been making all kinds of stitching plans in my Needlework Press calender/planner book  along with playing in my stash! I will wait a while to share so that I don't jinx any of these good plans!

The microwave arrived. The first of the new appliances. The new range was delayed but will arrive soon. I really do like it and am looking forward to getting every thing else in place to complete the picture!

We measured the counter top area in the kitchen and placed the order for the new counter tops. I think they will help make the kitchen a little brighter and bigger. Especially after we paint. The Grumpy Ol Gazer opted to put them in with some help from our son instead of hiring someone to do it. The installation cost more than the counter tops! He has put in counter tops before and they were wonderful. They will be delivered later this month.

I have two more infusions this month and I will be finished until 2021. I hope the mask thing is over by then! It was really hard to wear that mask through the entire infusion. Other people that come in for an infusion may stay 30 minutes to an hour. I am there for 4-5 hours depending on how long it takes for them to hook me up and get my meds together.

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

Shame on Me

I had another post written and ready to put up but things change. I am still working on Virtuous Woman. Just not as fast as I would like. It has been a busy week with doctors, errands and just feeling icky so I did not get as much stitching done as I had hoped.

I am still waiting on Little Birds by BBD to arrive with the thread pack. Oh, and the fabric. But I have everything set up to store it all in when it arrives.

Another new stitch will be Quaker Bluebirds by Willow House Samplings. I am not a big fan of Quaker designs but the birds on this piece won me over. Also, I have been wanting to do a solid red sampler for a while but was waiting to find the right one. This is it.

I seldom work on more than one piece at a time but for some reason, I changed it around this year. Several (or more) projects on rotation but in no particular order. Just whatever strikes my fancy to work on. I am playing around with the idea of making weekends, Christmas stitching. Nothing is written in stone so no pressure. It should be interesting to see what happens!

The recipe of the week is Shepard Pie. This is a quick fix but very filling! No need to make any sides other than some bread because all the veggies are in the pie! I use instant mashed potatoes because peeling the potatoes causes hand cramps!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion chopped (roughly 1/2 cup)
• 1 garlic clove crushed or minced
• 3/4 cup tomato paste one 6-ounce can
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables or about two 10 oz. packages frozen vegetable medley, thawed (carrots, peas, corn, and green beans)
• 1 pound white or russet potatoes peeled and cut into about 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F and coat a 1.5 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Peel and cut the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes, and place the potatoes and a pinch of salt into a pot of cold water.
• Cover, and bring to boil. Remove cover and boil for 10-12 minutes, until fork tender.
• While the potatoes are cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Add the ground beef, onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the skillet and cook, breaking up the meat, until it is browned. Drain any excess grease.
• Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth. Add vegetables, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• While the meat mixture is simmering, drain the potatoes and return to the pot.
• Add ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt or sour cream, milk, and 1 teaspoon salt to the potatoes. With a potato masher or hand mixer, mash to desired consistency.
• Add the meat mixture to the prepared casserole dish, then top with the mashed potatoes and remaining cheese.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until heated through, and cheese and potatoes are slightly browned.

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

Time for Birds

Hi. My name is Sherry and I am a stitchaholic! I love everything stitching related (patterns, fabrics, floss, stitching aids, hoops....) and I can't control the urge to get more and more! LOL. Whenever I say I am only going to stitch from stash, that is like adding adding fuel to the fire and I go on another binge! I am not complaining though because I enjoy it all so much!

Our yard is like a swamp because of all the rain we have had over the past several weeks! I am ready for the weather to clear up!

Here we are in a New Year. It usually takes me about a month to get used to writing a new year date when required.

I was going to post an update on Virtuous Woman this week but I am still behind where I would like to be on this but the holidays just kept me busier than I had anticipated plus I had to do some frogging, allergies and hand cramps always figure in several times a month or more. I was going to leave it be but upon examination, it made the whole piece look out of balance! So I frogged.

I hate to admit it but 2019 was a terrible year for my stitching! I did not have enough finishes to even mention a number! I plan to do a lot better this year! One thing that will help will be to clean up my little space!

For several years I have thought of doing a BAP that would take the entire year (or less) to stitch. Just something I could take my time with. I finally found what I have been looking for! Little Birds by Blackbird Designs. It is exclusive to The Attic Needleworks. The charts are on back order but I hope to get mine ASAP!

As for our cleaning binge, it is not going quite as fast as we had hopped but I feel if we can do at least 1 room done a week, I am happy.

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

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.

Goodie Goodie New Framing!

We have had enough rain to hold us over for the rest of the year (or longer). I really don't mind a rainy day as long as I don't have to get out in it. I like stitching to the relaxing sound of the rain falling.

The painting is finally starting to take off! While the GOG is working on finishing up the main rooms, I have been hanging some of my cross stitch back up. Some old friends and some new ones that have been hold up in my closet waiting for space!

Since I am working on my family history again, I thought I would share some of the more interesting ancestors from my tree.

Charles James Cannon born in New York City November 4, 1800. He died there on November 9, 1860 at age 61. He was of Irish parentage.  He was a famous poet, play write and novelist of his time. He often wrote under the pen name "Grandfather Greenway". He also compiled a series of readers and a spelling book.

I was able to pick up my framed items that I dropped off at the LNS. I will share a few this post and some more next post.

Feliz Navidad by Blackbird Designs

Because Nice Matters by La D Da

Prayer of St. Frances by Lizzie Kate

I love a good mail day and my fabric along with some threads arrived so that I was able to kit The Prayer of St. Frances by My Big Toe. That will be ready to start on about mid May. I like to get a several weeks head start on my infusion projects.

I also worked some more on Mother's Tree. I am going  to make this an alternate stitch for weekends only. I confided in my trusted LNS friend and framer about how the tree seemed to cause more hand cramps. We discussed alternatives and finally settled on a way that will look just as good. Like she said "Make it your own".

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