New Rug in Progress

I've been busy and haven't posted for a while, so I thought I would give you a look at the rug that I am currently working on. It is my own design, and I like the way things are going so far. I haven't drawn the border on yet, but I plan to add one. The overall size should be approx. 24" x 18".

I posted some spider web pictures in an earlier post, but this weekend, we had some beautiful misty, foggy mornings, and we snapped a few pictures of yet another huge spider web in the back yard. They are so beautifully decorated with the dew! This one was over 36" in diameter. We seem to have an abundance of ambitious spiders in our area!

The web was attached to our grandchildren's swing set on one side and a juniper on the other. Beautiful...

I've been busy drawing patterns for the past week or two, and I hope to have a new needle felt pillow finished in the near future. I have several new rug designs that I want to do, but I just wish I had more time and energy to get them done!

I found a bargain at our local Kohl's store this weekend. They had an Urban Rebounder on clearance for $23.99!! It retails for $119.00, so I felt like I couldn't pass it up. We set it up, and I tried it out this afternoon. It is a lot more fun than the treadmill!! For those who are not familiar with the name, it is a really good rebounder (little trampoline) with a bar attached to hold on to. It also came with a couple of DVDs, so I tried the easiest one to start with. I've decided that I need some exercise in addition to picking up grandchildren all day 4 days a week! I'm determined to get more fit than I am now!

Our trees are beginning to turn. Right now we have yellowing ash trees and birch trees. There are a few red leaves on our black gum trees, our pin oaks, and also on two of our hard maples. We've had a lot of rain this week, and it looks like Fall will be pretty colorful around here this year! I LOVE FALL!!

Surprise in the Mail!

Don't you just LOVE surprises? My mailbox contained a HUGE surprise today, and here is a picture of the beautiful gift that I received from Lauren at Rugs and Pugs. She made this beautifully done punch needle version of the free pattern that I offered in my July 20, 2009, post. Thank you so much, Lauren! I will treasure this and your kindness, as well! My husband saw this when he got home from work and asked where the "rug" came from. I told him and he commented, "Her colors look good, don't they?" My husband NEVER comments on colors and things like that, Lauren, so you made a huge impression on him, too!

I had a very hectic day today and am really tired, so this post won't be long. I carried my grandson, Kale, through the mall this afternoon (yes, next time I will bring a stroller!) He weighs over 20 lbs., so my arms actually went numb before I made it back to my car. Twenty-plus pounds of wriggling baby seems much heavier!! What was I thinking????

Thanks again, Lauren!

Fabulous Fall!

I have some of my Autumn decorations up now, but I want to do more. For some reason, I'm a little tired of some of my stuff, and I'm in the mood to do something different. This grass garland has been part of my Fall decorations for several years, and I have never gotten bored with it. It is simple, but adds a lot to the wooden bowls, I think! I know of some people who completely take all their regular accessories out of their rooms and replace them with seasonal stuff, but I like to add seasonal things to what I have.

This pumpkin head doll was a must have from about 6 years ago. I love her wide, toothy grin! Her kitty has the same great smile.

The pumpkin is one that my daughter and I created together. It is rather large at 18" tall and has been stuffed with fabric pieces so that it is also heavy. We then hand painted the fabric and antiqued it. The faux bittersweet vine is just tossed over it for a little flair. I love projects!

I have a couple of other projects going on right now, so hope to post pictures soon! Have a great week, and I hope your weather today is as wonderful as it is here!

Another Centerpiece

A few days ago, I posted pictures of my dining room table centerpiece. Here is the wooden box I spoke of. I have had it for years, and I've used it for lots of different looks for Autumn and also at Christmas. It looks great with Christmas greenery and dried oranges and whitewashed grapevine balls inside. The antique box measures 33" x 11 1/2" x 3", and the corners are dovetailed. Which look do you like better, the wooden bowl from my post two days ago, or the wooden box? I love both of them, so I'm just curious which others like best.

Any suggestions as to other things to put into the box for Autumn? What I really need after looking at these pictures is a new dining room table and chairs! :0) This set is 31 years old and is looking every bit of its age! Another thing to start saving for!

Hope you have a great Sunday!

A White Rose for Remembrance

I've been watching television and news personalities today discussing the things that they remember about the horrifying events which took place on September 11, 2001, and I thought about what I was doing when our country was attacked. My daughter and I were home. She happened to be watching the morning news and told me that an airplane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. It did not occur to me at that point that it was anything other than an accident, and I remember thinking how horrible it would have been for the people on the plane to be able to look out of the window of the plane and to see that they were going to fly right into that huge tall building. We watched the intermittent coverage of the "accident" on national morning news and were truly horrified when the second plane hit the other tower. The graphic pictures of that second plane crashing into the tower made me feel ill. The realization that it was no accident was frightening. How could human beings do such things to other human beings?

So many people with families and lives, destroyed by hate. It is still hard for me to understand years later how people can hate so much that they are willing to kill.

The thing that I've been struck by today in watching the news clips of the events of Sept. 11, is the goodness and sacrifice of so many people who saw the need for help and selflessly risked themselves to help others. What a contrast! In this single event, we see both the worst of mankind and the best. We saw the hate which prompted the acts, and then we saw the kindness and love of those heroes who tried to comfort and to rescue the victims. It warms my heart and soul to know that the majority of Americans are kind and compassionate and caring.

This is a white rose of honor and remembrance for those who died and also for those who gave of themselves to try to save those that they could. God Bless You All and God Bless America.

Random Photos

This is a picture of my current centerpiece for my dining table. I have collected sewn and stuffed pumpkins and squash for a few years. There are also a couple of ears of corn and some candy corn. This very large antique wooden bowl has a great primitive finish. The bowl is 17" in diameter. I have always loved hogscraper candlesticks, and these are two of my growing collection, decorated for Fall. I'm not sure if I will leave this as is on my table. I also have a very long shallow wooden box that looks great with Fall items inside. I may post a picture of it decorated, too.

This is one of the kittens by the backyard pond. Looks relaxing, doesn't it?

Meet, Isis, one of the kittens. She is really sweet and good natured. She looks bored with picture taking today!

My daughter found this little baby in our drive yesterday. She is the size of a half dollar and still has her little egg tooth! She is a snapping turtle who could grow to 85 lbs. one day. Her shell is still soft and she is really cute! We've tried to feed her tiny fish from the pond, carrots, lettuce and earthworms, but she doesn't seem very hungry. I think we will take her down to the big lake soon and release her in the very shallow, muddy part where she should be able to find plenty of food and places to hibernate this winter. What a cutie!

Home Sweet Home

I absolutely love being home - I've always been a homebody and my idea of a great day is to be able to just stay home and make something I've wanted to make for the house. The next best thing is to shop for something for the house!! Today was wonderful, because I decided to cut some fresh bittersweet from my vines and to make an Autumn wreath for the front porch wall by our door. It is large (about 24" in diameter). I didn't want it to look too fussy, so I just loosely wrapped the bittersweet pieces around each other and secured them with a little wire. The wreath looks nice against the weathered wood of our house, and I hope it holds up for the next few months!

This is another wreath that I made a couple of years ago. I'm ashamed to say that I can't remember the designer's name of the pattern I used. I apologize to the pattern designer for my memory lapse. I still love crows, and even if I don't have as many crow items as I used to have (I have done some serious downsizing this past year,) I am still drawn to them!

No, Jess is not killing the kitten, she is "loving" the kitten. These kittens are soooo laid back and mellow, that Jess has to work at getting them to run so that she can chase them! I did have to intervene a couple of times today when Jess got a little too eager. The kittens took a few swipes at her also, to let her know when they had had enough!

Jess is growing still. She weighs about 14 lbs now. Her baby teeth are still falling out. She only has one canine tooth right now. The other 3 have fallen out, and she looks a little goofy with only one. The replacement tooth for the canine is coming in already right behind the baby canine, so it will be coming out soon, also!

Jess scared herself yesterday...and us! We were making iced tea, and the jar with the water and the tea bags was sitting up on our kitchen counter. We were not looking in that direction when it happened, but we heard a crash and Jess ran into the living room yelping! It scared me to death and we figured out later that she had JUMPED up and grabbed the paper & strings from the tea bags and had tipped the jar of hot water and tea bags over. It then crashed to the floor in front of her splashing hot tea all over the kitchen. After we checked her over carefully and determined that she was not injured - only frightened, we cleaned up the huge mess in the kitchen. There was tea all over our hardwood floor and the cabinets and the stove! It could have been so much worse if she had been burned with the hot tea. We had no idea that she could possibly jump up that high and reach anything on top of the kitchen counters. Needless to say, we are pushing everything waaay back from the edge of the counters now.

Hope you have a great weekend and Labor Day Monday.

Patriots in Iraq

I received this in an email today:

"From a Chaplain in Iraq:

I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings.

As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through the National Anthem the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 years-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and call for a movie. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here, the 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again. The Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. Again, at the same point, the music stopped.

What would you expect to happen? Even here I would imagine laughter as everyone finally sat down and expected the movie to start. But here, you cold have heard a pin drop. Every Soldier continued to stand at attention.

Suddenly, there was a lone voice, then a dozen, and quickly the room was filled with the voices of a thousand Soldiers, finishing where the recording left off.

'And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.'

It was the most inspiring moment I have had here in Iraq. I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you here. Remember them as they fight for you!

Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our Soldiers serving us here, at home, and abroad, for many have already paid the ultimate price."

Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins, LSA Anaconda at the Ballad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad

And yet there are those in high places who hate our military and want to tear it down. They don't respect what America has sacrificed to try to make the world a better place. They demean the very men and women who have put their own lives at risk to stand for freedom and for that which is right. They travel the world apologizing for what America stands for and criticizing her ideals. They won't even defend America with their words, but these brave Soldiers who finished the National Anthem defend her with their very blood. Shame on those who are trying to destroy what those Soldiers so bravely defend...SHAME ON THEM!!