Peaceful Morning Walk

Friday was one of those still, peaceful, and perfect days for an early morning walk. I grabbed my camera and jacket and walked for a while all by myself in the quiet fog. We have had so much rain this fall that the ground is "squishy," but it was a crisp fall morning and just relaxing to be alone with my thoughts. I watched the birds at the feeder for a while. The blue jays were talking to each other and hurrying back and forth between the birch tree and the feeder.

While strolling and taking pictures, I ran across a LOT of deer tracks in the soft, rain-soaked grass. The deer have scuffed up a couple of the smaller trees (we should have wrapped them, I guess), and they have been visiting the backyard pond. We must be a local watering hole for them!

I still have not taken a picture of the rug, but I have started the background color and plan to get some work done on it this week. I need to clean my house, since I'm having Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, but I can't get in the mood to do it. I did some cleaning in my rug studio this weekend, and still have a bit to do. I found a poem this weekend, author unknown, and I hope you like it:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be
to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

God Bless Our Veterans and Those Serving Our Country

Maxine said it all in those two little statements! Thank you, Veterans, for your selfless sacrifices for your fellow man. May God bless you in wonderful ways for your bravery, and for your giving spirits. News clips from Iraq, Afghanistan and other places always bring tears to my eyes when I witness the professionalism and integrity of our American soldiers. America salutes your valour and honors your service to your country. Happy Veterans Day!!!!!!

Dorothy, Glinda and a Little Lion

I finally got a picture of Olivia (Dorothy), Allison (Glinda) and Kale (Lion) in their costumes. I'm obviously biased, but I think they are adorable! :0) Isn't being Grandma fun?

I've been making a little progress on my rug, and will try to post a picture in the next few days. I'm close to starting on the background, so I need to decide which way I want to go with colors. I don't have much to report, but I did have a very hectic day, and boy, am I tired!!

Sunday Afternoon

Nearly all of our leaves have fallen, so it is beginning to look like early winter here. The farmers have finally been able to harvest some of their crops without being rained upon, for which I know they are all thankful. My days have been spent mostly watching Olivia, Allison, and Kale, and then from 5:30 until bedtime (in my case around 1:00 a.m.) I do whatever I need to get accomplished and try to squeeze a little "me" time into the day. Many days that means falling asleep in my chair while I try to watch the news of the day!! Some evenings I do manage to get some rug hooking finished, even if it is only for a few minutes.

Sunday afternoon I decided to go to Jeffrey Alans to look at Christmas stuff. When I arrived, an employee handed me a form and told me to look for the decorated Christmas trees that they had placed around the store and choose which one I liked the best and sign up to win my favorite tree. There were about 9 trees from which to choose, but I had the hardest time deciding which one I liked! I have very primitive taste when it comes to decorating, and none of the trees were at all primitive. They had one that they called "Country Manor" which had lots of "lodge" type ornaments, but it really didn't appeal to me. The colors were bright Christmas green and red, which I normally don't use at Christmas. Some were very traditional with lots of satin ribbons and bows. Many had crystal and glittery ornaments. There was one tree that had a black and white theme which I didn't think of as very "Christmasy". I finally decided that if I were ever going to choose one, I needed to look at the artificial trees UNDER the decorations to see which one I liked. We always buy a real tree at Christmas, so we don't own an artificial tree (except for a few primitive looking small ones that I place in different rooms.) Finally, after about an hour of looking at all the trees over and over, I decided to check the box next to the black and white tree. The tree itself looked like a Frazier fir which is the variety of real tree that we normally buy each year. It took me so long to decided upon the tree for the drawing, that I didn't get to spend much time actually looking at Christmas decorating items!! I'm not holding my breath about winning! I'll have to plan some time to go to Michael's and Hobby Lobby, too.

Some of my favorite places to go at Christmas time to look at decorating ideas are three garden centers in our area. They usually have great ideas and it is just fun for me. I usually pick up a magazine or two and look for ideas in them. Last year Paula Dean had a great Christmas magazine with coverage of her trip to Old Sturbridge Village (I think that was where she went!) Lots of great ideas (and recipes) in those pages.

Well, I still have a few chores to get finished before I give up and go to bed! Hope you have a great rest of the week!

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my

first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately

wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a

stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my favorite

cake for me, and I learned that the little things

can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and

I knew that there is a God I could always talk to,

and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a meal and take

it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all

have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of our house

and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take

care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your

responsibilities, even when you didn't feel well, and I learned

that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes,

and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared, and I

wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of life's lessons

that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and wanted to say,

"Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking."

A friend sent this email to me today, and I wanted to share it with you. I'm sorry that I don't know whom to credit for the verse or the picture of the adorable child.

31 Degrees this Morning and Heavy Frost - Can Christmas Be Far Behind?

The weather this year has been unusual to say the least. Spring was cold, wet, and very late in coming. Summer was also very wet and uncommonly cool. Fall came early, has been extremely rainy and colder than usual...this does not bode well for winter!! If the moisture pattern stays the same, we may have tons of snow...sigh. Thoughts of snow have put me in a Christmas mood, so I'm posting a couple of wintry items. The small mat above is entitled, "Papa 'n Me" and I still plan to hook a larger (and maybe more elaborate) version. It features button stars, and the hat on the small snowman is a miniature stocking cap that I hand sewed onto the rug. My rug hooking sessions have been very sporadic lately, and I am frustrated at my slow progress on my current two projects. My life seems very hectic right now, and I'm looking forward to the holiday vacations to get down to business on some projects.

My brother (from Birmingham, AL) and my sister (from Knoxville, TN) were here this week, and I was able to spend some time with them. We had planned a wiener roast for Friday night, but the weather was windy and rainy, so we moved it indoors. Two brave souls weathered the rain and wind and cooked the hot dogs for everyone (14 of us) and we visited and ate waaaaay too much!! I found the cutest little sparkly black cat gift bags for Olivia and Allison, which we filled with candy and kids card games and gum. I bought Kale a little dump truck to play with. Everyone had lots of fun visiting and playing with the kids. Olivia was "Dorothy" from the "Wizard of Oz", Allison was "Glinda" the good witch, and Kale was the Lion with a "badge of courage" from the "Wizard of Oz" for Halloween. Their costumes were very cute...I hope to post a picture soon.

This is a needle felted snowman pillow which I designed a few years ago. Needle felting is so much quicker than hooking!! The snowman has blue bead eyes. I hope you all are enjoying beautiful colors and weather this fall, and I'm actually starting to think about Christmas decorating already. I guess it won't hurt to at least start planning how I want to decorate this soon! Have a great week, everyone!