A Stitching Post

 I finished my second Christmas ornament for the year. 

Again,  I used up some leftover ends of linen to do part of this pattern.

I chose not to complete this pattern after starting it to keep the ornament smaller. I love these patterns and have seen them used in so many ways, and maybe one day I will do some of those things I have seen. I just chose not to go to big with the ornaments.

Here it is all finished up.

It has joined the other one for the time being. I think the next month's selection is going to be a bright and cheery one.

Now, it is time to pull out The Shepherd's Song for the remainder of the month. It is coming along. I finished the big house in the center. I still have a few more windows to install, but those shouldn't take too long and then I can get back to the sheep and flowers. Each time I pull this out I start humming in my head the old hymn, "Surely goodness and mercy, shall follow me -all the days, all the days of my life."

My days are filled with this goodness...

I do have a little color. I brought these into the garage over the deep freeze at Christmas, so they have lived to give me some joy.

I typically plant white pansies, so they will look good at Christmas, but after Ian there were no pansies anywhere for weeks. I was thinking I might not have anything in my pots and then orange and only orange showed up. I think I love them! May not go back to white next year. 

My other 2 little pumpkins playing in the Jeep that Santa brought.

That's it here in my little neck of the woods. 

Sandy

Good Riddance, January

 I know I said it was the end and I really think I meant it. I didn't have the peace that I thought would come though.

The moment I typed that closing post was very emotional for me. January was NOT a kind month to our family. No deaths or terminal illnesses, but there are things that can come at you so fast and hard that they are hard to process. I don't think I will recap January in the traditional way. 

It involved a flooded house, multiple flat tires, a swamp rat:), sickness, and more. That will just get you started. Like I said - no deaths or no terminal illnesses, but rather a bombarding of trouble. 

Arlene, Jeff didn't get to me...Lindsay did.

I sometimes feel with all the world's problems that me writing about stitching, flowers, and puttering around my house can seem somewhat frivolous almost. I am very aware of the world's circumstances but I go back to that quote by C. S. Lewis from this post about doing sensible things. Lindsay was the one who encouraged me to rethink the decision. I went back and reread all of 2022's posts. What a journal of the good things in our family's life! I don't write much about the bad, because we don't forget those things, but instead choose to focus on the good which Lindsay reminded me is what we need to hear.

I am sure any reading will think I have lost my mind and that is ok. I think the journal of our family's life is worth keeping up for now. I don't have nearly the time I did when I started this venture so I don't promise replying to comments all the time. If you want to read come along, because I feel compelled to rethink that decision.

What is going on now?

Still some turmoil... but things have calmed down some.

Jeff has been sick. An almost case of pneumonia I think. Palmer has been sick. Mother has been sick. She has been diagnosed with COPD. She has never smoked a cigarette in her life nor lived with a smoker. She has had asthma her whole life. She still doesn't think she has it, but that is what the doctor says so I think we have to go with it and prepare for the colds and sinus issues being a bit harder than normal. I have surgery scheduled for Valentine's Day. I know---not a fun way to spend that day, but I am ready to get it behind me. Oh and the pleasures of turning 62 get you an EKG and other tests to have surgery. I didn't know all that. My EKG was abnormal which meant cardiologist visits. I have been cleared thankfully. Remember January was not fun.

I am so ready for spring. Everyone who has ever read a winter blog post from me knows winter is not my season. I have coped with it by staying busy on house projects, but this year that was a no go having Lindsay and Tyler and 2 kids living with us. Oh that is more of the flooded house thing. I have not been able to do many of those January things that keep me grounded. 

Trust me when I say I am so over winter even if it is not over us. I have done some things in preparation for it. I lost a lot of plants with the Christmas deep freeze so I basically did a redo downstairs and planted some new roses.

I thought I had lost one of my old roses, but it has started budding from the bottom. Thank goodness. I will now have a white, coral, red, yellow and pinky rose. I can't wait to cut roses again. You may remember I could never grow them in the ground, but they do wonderful on the back deck with containers.

The day lilies replaced the roses up front and have been just the biggest delight. They are all popping through the ground right now. I can't wait. 

Lindsay and family gave me a hummingbird feeder for Christmas. It has been placed outside ready for the hummingbirds. 

I ordered a second one since I like this one so much. One will go in the shade of the side yard. I have been reading away on them. My bottlebrush shrubs are still up in the air on whether they all survived the freeze as well as the lemon tree. Time will have to tell us.

The spider lilies have started popping up out of the mush too.

Many of the camellias have been finicky. Some have popped on out while others have not. It has been a very different year for the plants in the neighborhood.

There is still many plants up in the air and I have had to replace several of my pots with new things so more to share outside soon.

I have been stitching on The Shepherd's Song when I could and reading an old book from the 1980's by Lewis Gizzard. That has been fun to see if from a perspective of living in 2023. He was one of my favorites in the 80's. 

I did pull out my ornament for February yesterday to keep up with my plan for one a month. A stitching post will come when I finish that.

As for family, I have said many thanks for this big old house which was large enough to welcome Lindsay and family for 3 weeks. 

I got to celebrate Tyler's birthday with them. Everyone else was sick. 

The boys sat with me for most of the meal at Outback, but they managed to get in the laps of their parents for these photos.

Tucker had his very first t-ball practice and LOVED it. I absolutely can NOT wait for the games.

Yes, besides all that cuteness in his baseball outfit, that is concrete floors. It will get back to normal or whatever normal is these days.

Palmer is in daycare now. I think he does like playing with the other children. 

He has been sick so he has had a few extra Mimi days.

Playing with his train. Astute eyes will notice a large fern is not in the window anymore. It had gotten so big that I needed to take it outside. It needs to be divided into 2 pots. I moved all the toys over to that spot and I like the change. I also moved some other plants around. 

I should have done this one ages ago. No more plant on the top shelf of the built -ins to climb up and water. 

I just spaced the existing items out a little farther. Like I said, I should have done that ages ago. 

I moved all but 2 of the plants out of the kitchen. I will take a picture of that soon. It looks so much better. I moved one plant into the living room to replace the fern but in another area and got rid of some.

Little Miles and I are falling into a routine and he is happy and thriving at Mimi's Daycare.

I pick him up...

We do our thing here...

He is 6 months old.

Gus is doing great..

He is my best bud.

Just the thought that it isn't January anymore cheers me up a bit.

I am not insane, but letting things get to me. I have way too many blessings to not try and be a light in the world.