newest addition

My friend, Dave, had a table that he wasn't using anymore. Now it isn't anything real fancy, but I thought I could put it to good use since his use was a catchall and wasn't being used properly. I like the table because it has a nice big surface and a great full length ledge underneath. Right now my crafting area is small. I use a combination of a folding card table and a folding TV tray (not really a TV tray, but you get the idea) that can be adjusted to many heights. I push them together and I am able to lay my rotary cutting mat on it and I can also spread things out. BUT, this just isn't working anymore. I need something stable and sturdy with a great working surface. Thanks to my pal Dave I have what I need now and he has one less piece of furniture getting in his way. Here's my newest addition.

And here's what I've been working with. Please forgive the mess. This table is going to help with this problem ~ more room to make even a bigger mess. No, just kidding. It'll help curve the clutter.

A lot of this crap are things I've bought and haven't put in its designated spot. Some are empty boxes and plastic containers I need to store until I'm ready to use them or find a use now, and the rest is my ongoing mess of cross stitch charts that I'm trying to get into a permanent inventory list. That white shelf looking thing used to belong to my late-Grandmother. She had it, then Mom had it, then I had it, then Mom got it back and now it's back with me. I'm sure it's tired by now. I'm going to paint it because I'm not fond of the white. In fact, I don't own any white furniture. The only thing white in my house is my kitchen cabinets and appliances, come to think of it.

See how there are two tables pushed together? This is where my new friend (table) is going to go. It's sitting outside under our patio right now. My DH just picked it up Sunday. I can't move it myself. It is way too heavy for me. I'll hurt my back.

charlie brown christmas tree

I posted earlier about our Christmas Tree dilemma. Actually, there is noooooo dilemma because we decided to get a 2-3" tree instead of our usual 6-7' tree because our beautiful little monkey will tear it all down. No sense in making ourselves crazy so we opted out for our standard artificial tree and have gone with our sad little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

This is my first time having such a small tree. Next year when monkey-boy stops all this nonsense, I'll use this for a primitive home decorative tree and I'm already making plans for that. Yeah!!! Anyway, I need some advise on what I can do to make this a "happening" tree. I plan on putting hand-stitched, hand-made prim ornaments, but I don't want to overload it since it is petite.

Also, any ideas on what I could set her in? I don't have anything real sturdy but suggestions would be helpful.

I think I can...I think I can...

Okay! I said I had photos of Cameron climbing on the chair in the dining room. This is the first time he discovered he could push the chair anywhere he wanted in order to get to another location. Here goes...

What's dat??? (It's more like umfff.)

Sorry for the blurriness, but the level of excitement (open mouth) he expressed when he saw our neighbor walking up her drive, he just got giddy that he saw something other than cars and birds from "his" window.

This is fun, Mama!

Now, someone pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase tell me how I can get him to STOP climbing. Yeah, this is all cute and dandy, but he's climbing on every dining room chair (6 chairs by the way) and we don't know what to do about it. Any suggestions on how the mothers out there got their monkeys to stop climbing so much?

ALERT***The level of insanity is extremely high around here. lol

soliciting advise

I have sort of a minor dilemma. Well, maybe not even a minor dilemma, but rather a beaten imagination. I found this basket at Goodwill over a month ago. I can't even remember what I had in mind for it, but at $2.00 I couldn't leave it at the store. It is big and solid and in great condition. I need help! What would you do and how would you use it? I'm desperate for ideas.

Okay, I have yet another piece I don't know what to do with. Same story as the basket and I have the same mental block on what its purpose should or could be. Need help again!

Now, keep in mind that I have a 15 month old and 3 canines so it may not be wise to have these on the floor or within large breed and toddler reach. Thanks! :D

quick post

We've had a busy day so far. Cameron fell asleep during breakfast with waffle stuck on his face because he decided to wake up at 6:00 am ~ what is wrong with this child? I cut apart a pomegranate to prepare it for dyeing my linen ~ thanks so much Nancy! Afterwards, we had an appointment with the vet for our dog Chloe to get her stitches removed. Finally, no more visits until shot-time. After the vet we went to the post office to return our Blockbuster rentals. I love renting movies through the mail. I just love movies PERIOD! However, we don't have an account for renting movies through the mail. I received a 30-day free movie trial coupon - take advantage of that? I think YES! Try it out for yourself: Blockbuster FREE one-month trial (enter promo code: education). If it doesn't work, than I am truly sorry for your inconvenience.

Then we went to Michael's and picked up quite a bit of necessaries. Cameron did get a little testy and vocal, but what else is new. But I digress, we made it through without causing too much damage or ruckus. We bought 6 fat quarters and 1 spool of ribbon, eyelets, a bobbin winder, 4 unfinished wood frames for a buck each, faux berries and a brass water pitcher, muslin for doll making, a folk art sign (so darling!), an unfinished wooden cheese board (I have other purposes for this and I'm not tellin'!), 2 unfinished boxes with lids, stock paper, snowmen bells (for Cameron to play with), and last but not least Swedish Fish for me and Cameron to munch on since it was 12:00 and hadn't had lunch yet.

We left Michael's and picked DH up from the office and headed for some Chinese. Yummy in our tummies. Cameron loves rice by the way. We dropped DH back at work and headed for home. Cameron is watching Elmo...again. But he's going from the living room to see Elmo to climbing the chair in the dining room and peering out the window. I have pictures, but I'll have to show you later. We've got to leave now (once again) and pick up BIG brother from school.

I forgot to mention two things...First, we did drop Chloe off at home before we went to Michael's. Second, after reading Mary Kathryn's post about snow in Colorado, I looked out my window and what did my eyes see, but small little pieces of sleet in Tennessee. Ha-ha ~ I'm a poet and didn't know it!!!!!

Keep warm 'cuz it is brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr outside!

My Mom recently gave me two folk art plates! I am very excited to have them. I put them with my 2 rooster plates that I have displayed on the wall above our french doors. The plates my mother gave me are set in winter, but I think I'll keep them up all year round. They are very pretty!

Below are my rooster plates.

Here they are joined with my rooster plates. I know they don't really mesh well with one another, but they are plates and I love them. I had a group of 4 rooster plates, but my Mom likes roosters too and I decided to give her the other two ~ she got to choose which plates she wanted.

I made a new discovery today. I was on PatternMart.com and was adding various designs to my 'wish list'. I've been going through the alphabet of designers all afternoon with periodic breaks for other things. I'm not even finished going through the list. I'm on letter "J" right now. So far, I love PatternMart. It's a great place to purchase those folk art, primitive pieces you just have to get your hands on ASAP. If you're anything like me sometimes having to wait for mail just doesn't suffice the stitching hunger and sometimes I don't feel like trekking out to the shop. PatternMart gives you the option of ordering by download. It's great!

I found another primitive designer. Some of you may have already heard of her, but I am new to this style of cross stitch and home decor. Her name is Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives. I find her designs appealing and primitive, of course. lol

I also stumbled onto a ton of folk art-primitive-rustic-grungy type websites. It'll take me forever to go through every single one on the list, but I am enjoying myself. I am learning so much about textiles, differences in fabrics, and ways of "dirtying" up a piece. For instance:

The Rustic Rooster ~ this website has a great array of primitive, folk art, rustic pieces. I'm still sifting.
Simply Gianna Primitives ~ I love this site! It's very pretty and has lots to offer. I love the stitchery that could be made into cross stitch and embroidery pieces. Reasonably priced too.
The Pitchy Patch ~ this is a great little directory/market for anything primitive, folk art, grungy, patterns; you name it you'll probably find it here.
Prairie Creek Primitives ~ for the really grungy style.
Country Crow Stitches ~ this is just a great website. I found so much that I was looking for.

These are just several of the 50+ that I book marked in my Favorites. I still have many many to route through. I did get a little stitching done, but not as much as I should have. I traded from being mama, to stitching on my quick-stitch weekend piece (and it isn't done - boo hoo!), talking to my Aunt on the phone, to web searching for primitives and decor, to adding to my wish list on PatternMart.com.

I have so much I want do and I just can't seem to make room. I am usually very good at scheduling and sticking to a plan. Maybe I have too much on my plate. lol And I have plans to start working part time? Oh man, how am I ever going to get anything done?!?!

It's late! Talk to everyone Monday. Goodnight, sleep tight!

the family "spread"

I hope everyone had a Thanksgiving just as wonderful as mine. Our Thanksgiving was a low-key, no-nonsense celebration of thanks. One of our dearest friends, Dave, was able to join us. During dinner each family member shared one thing they were thankful for. Most of us were sentimental and put thought into our thankfulness-sharing. Of course there is always one person that can either make or break the deal. In this case, it was my DH. He ended things on a lighter funnier note. When asked what he was thankful for he blurted rather quickly while chewing, "firearms." We laughed. Thanks, Honey! I want to share some food photos and a few 'around-the-house' pics. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

Gobble-Gobble!!

My late Grandmother made this turkey many, many years ago. I believe it is canvas and needlepoint. We weren't able to eat him though. Ha-Ha-Ha!!! Hardy-har-har!

Cranberries...unfortunately I don't eat them. I'm strictly a meat-n-potato girl. But they looked real pretty.

Called Yams of Fire ~ this is a family signature dish. It has been on the table as long as memory serves. If you want the recipe I can arrange it for you. :-)

The Spread. We tend to eat buffet style. We just find it easier to have everyone served this way.

Delicious stuffing. All my life I've claimed not to like stuffing and I have always believed that I did not like it. Maybe at some point I didn't like it. Anyway, I didn't help myself to stuffing Thanksgiving Day. However, the day after I ate some more Thanksgiving food for lunch at Mom's I decided to try stuffing and would you believe I LOVED IT!!! Ha-ha

That is it...I'm done! I'm not doing this anymore! (Mom is really giving a double wave for the camera-girl.) ;-)

Cameron is patiently waiting to eat...as he always does. He's so good at dinner, but not this time. He got his food. Took a couple bites and then decided to beat the crap out of his broccoli and turkey. He did eat though - mushy style.

My wonderful Dad lighting candles on the mantel. He loves a fireplace, but this evening it wasn't cold enough to have one lit. So, we opted for candles instead. It was so relaxing out in the woods with golden illumination in the house and the smell of baked pie and warm turkey. Hmmm...

My brother, Mark, getting ready to sit and chow down. He actually shaved. Ha-ha

Cameron was jamming to Papa's jukebox. He loves the song 'Sh-Boom'. Cameron loves to boogie and get down!

After dinner, clean up and dessert, I decided to look through Mom's heavenly stash of cross stitch galore! The Crafty Lady is a design my late Grandmother cross stitched and my Mom was blessed to have it after she passed. The verse is perfect for any stitcher. Crafty Lady is on the wall when you enter into my Mom's office/stitching den. (Click on the picture to enlarge so you can read the verse. It's excellent!)

Okay, Mom might kill me just a bit for posting this picture of her room. It looks messier than it really is and she is still organizing it since the renovation to this room. That stuff in the black leather chair is mine. I always bring a butt-load of stuff with me, but some of that is Cameron's, I'll have you know. The baskets are all cross stitch. This isn't all though. Out of view is more. I believe she may even have some things down in the finished basement. She's been stitching pretty much all her life and she's been collecting for at least 30 years (is that right Mom?). Anyway, this is my favorite room in the house. Most people gather in the kitchen, but we gather here (me and Mom anyway).

That is it! I'm done sharing Thanksgiving and ready to move onto Old Mother Winter and Christmas which is right around the bend. I do hope your Thanksgiving was a memorable and delicious one. I'm still eating the desserts. Yum!

Must go now. I have some stitching to tend to ~ I can hear my linen and needle calling me. Have a wonderful weekend!

after Thanksgiving sale

There's still shopping to be had!!! Click over to The Sampler Girl website for a fantastic deal. Tanya is having an *after Thanksgiving Sale* of all her Jane Austen inspired charts and all her First Lady Sampler Series for 50% OFF. Yes!!! You heard that correctly. HALF OFF!!! But you only have until Sunday, November 30 to take advantage of this rarity.

Just in my own opinion, this doesn't happen all this often ~ that a cross stitch designer reduces by 50% in selling their designs. Like I've said in the past, Tanya is the best. I am her biggest fan!

*NOTE: Do not add your desired chart(s) into the Order section. Just email Tanya with what you'd like to purchase and she'll take it from there. It's that simple. Working with Tanya is easy.

thoughts on the matters

Movin' on up! Cameron officially met a major milestone over Thanksgiving and made it onto the dining room chair without assistance. Yay (complete sarcasim)! Me and DH were sitting at the dining table and Cameron was quietly pushing one chair around which is normal for him to do. I guess we were in la-la land, or our hearing impaired, but the next we knew Cameron was much louder and really close to my ear. I turned my head to the right and there he was 6" from my ear with the biggest most accomplished grin to date for him. I was surprised and happy for his triumph, but my mood fell immediately to dread. I said to DH that this wasn't good; we're going to have to start putting the chairs on the dining table. Ugghhh...so far we haven't had to do that, but give him time that Mr. Cameron...give him time!

Black Friday ~ we did not observe this day. Even though I initially wanted to do a little shopping I felt a little under the weather in the morning. I felt better as the mid-morning, afternoon kicked in but I had to get Jose from his Nana's house. While at Mom's I did get to eat Thanksdiving dinner for lunch...and it was GOOD!!! Afterwards, I spent about 2 hours going through all her charts while slamming down a brownie. Mom has soooooooooo many charts! It's heaven. Then Jose and I headed home.

Now my mind is focused (more like overwhelmed and flooded) on the Christmas/Winter season. It'll be here before we know it and I haven't even attempted to shop for gifts. This is my family's second year picking names from a hat. The kids are excluded of course, but us "big kids" pick a name and set a spending limit. Last year it was $25.00 which we thought was reasonable and we'll probably implement again this year.

We purchased a very small artificial tree from Home Depot for $4.99. I believe it is a 2-3 footer. Sad, I know. In fact, I think it is really intended to be a table-topper decor item. It isn't what I necessarily have in mind to take the place of a Christmas Tree, but with Cameron's monkey-ing ways we'll be miserable for a month with a 6-7 foot tree embellished with all the trimmings. It'll just be a complete mess and a disaster in our living room. Ornaments will get broke and torn, lights mangled and removed, and garland in places I don't want to imagine. We'll probably get a glimpse of Cameron dangling from tree branches if we're lucky. In the end, it just isn't worth all that chaos. Jose is disappointed but we all are. We figure though it is just a tree. The real blessing is each other...and presents! :-)

gobble-gobble

Gobble-Gobble everyone! Happy Thanksgiving to All! Here's to wishing you a humble Thanksgiving Day filled with good food, loving friends and family, memories to add, laughter and thankfulness in your life. I love Norman Rockwell illustrations of life since past. This is exactly how a feast should be. Look how blessed everyone looks.

We are heading over to Mom's soon for our Thanksgiving dinner, which I think she is serving around 4:00. I am having a difficult time getting Cameron down for his nap. Daddy is home and Jose is not and this is perplexing to him. He's fighting every attempt we make at getting him to relax and lie down. He's watching Elmo right now and it appears from where I'm sitting he might just give up soon. Whoa!!! I still have a little more getting-ready to do, but that won't take too long.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!!! Be safe.