Out With the Old....In With the New

Wow!  2014 just flew by!

Here's my last cross stitch finish for the year.  It's a CEC freebie "Cup of Cocoa" mitten.  I'm in a stitching group who will be doing a sal of the mittens for 2015.  We also do a themed bimonthly exchange block and January will be CEC designs...so this little guy will serve 2 purposes.

Today/tonight I'll be working on Texas Snowman by Redbird Designs.  I've stitched it twice but for exchanges so the one I'm stitching now will be mine (ALL MINE!!!!!!).  Here's a picture of one that I finished.  (The little horseshoe charm came with the design and I haven't yet found a replacement the right size for it.  It's cute without the charm too.)  He'll hang on my snowman tree next year.

It occurred to me recently that, despite love samplers, I haven't been stitching enough of them.  So...I'm hoping to make 2015 "The Year of the Sampler" for me.  I'll start off Jan 1 starting "Hetty Child" by The Sampler Company.  I'd also like to stitch (or at least start) "His Eye is on the Sparrow" by Heartstring Samplery.   I can't even think of this one without the hymn playing in my head.  ;-)  I love that hymn so I think it's totally appropriate.

On to food!  As we were finishing the last of the pie the other day, my guys had the "deer in the headlight" look...despite the fact that we still have loads of cookies in the house. Yesterday I decided to bake a pumpkin pie and, since some bananas were getting very ripe, some banana bread too (for the freezer).  DS requested homemade whipped cream too and since we had some cream leftover from something, I made some of that too.  I'm probably high on the candidate list of "Mother of the Year".  What do you think?

It's cool here in SE Texas...bitter cold according to some (but not for us since we've lived in the "frozen tundra" of MI and OH).  I'm enjoying it.  The plan for DH and me is to stay in tonight and snack on appetizers.  We'll decide later which time zone to celebrate the New Year and toast 2015 with a glass of champagne.  We really are party animals! 

Happy New Year!!!

Happy stitching!

Merry Christmas

The decorations are complete, the gifts are bought (need to be wrapped), and the cookies are baked.  I have just a few more odds and ends and we'll be ready for the big day.  Tuesday will be pie day, I think.  (Cranberry Blueberry and Lemon Meringue)


                                                               Sugar cut-out cookies

 DH's Almond Biscotti

Date Nut Pinwheels

Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

No Bake Cookies (Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Oatmeal)

Peanut Butter Blossoms

DH's Rustic Nut Bars

Spritz

Do you think we baked enough?  

I also managed to finish the kids' ornaments for this year thanks to Foxwood Crossings' little sleds and the designs that go with them.  I got a late start but they worked up quickly.  Taping them on the sleds with a little Stitchery Tape is a finishing technique I can handle.  (New Year's Resolution:  learn some finishing techniques and "finish" some of the many ornaments I've stitched.)  I also stitched a gingerbread house ornament but everyone on the planet seems to be out of the sleds.  I hear that the manufacturer says they'll be available again in the spring.

These little "sled guys" are addicting.  I also have a leaflet of snowmen for these sleds so I'll probably do some of those for next year's snowman tree. 

We're "down" a few kids for this Christmas.  Our DS who lives in Denmark was here in October and he'll be back in the States for DD's wedding next year. Our DD and her finace' are traveling in Asia.  (Hong Kong, Viet Nam, Cambodia).  Here's a picture they sent from Hong Kong:

Merry Christmas!

Happy Stitching!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

I worked on decorating 3 Christmas trees this week.  (Well, if you don't count the little ceramic tree, the already decorated tabletop tree in the main bathroom, and the little wire tree.)  I added the third tree this year that I bought on sale after Christmas last year for the entry.  I had so many snowmen ornaments that I decided to theme that one:

I thought I might have to go out to buy more snowman ornaments but, as it turns out, I already had plenty.  The topper is a snowman made from plant pots.  I also added some crochet snowflakes made by my late Grandma.  She was so talented!

I also found a little snowman to hang off the front door's doorknob and today while at the thrift shop, I found a wooden snowman bowl to add to the snowman "collection":

Dining room tree:

The angel on this one was made by my sister-in-law for my first baby.  I put it on each of my kids' cribs so I think of it as their "guardian angel".  The tree skirt is a latch hook one that I did many years ago.  It's all bunched up because our dog likes to mess with it.

Living room tree (a 9-footer this year):

The crochet angel on top was another of my late Grandma's creations.

Of course, one can never have enough ornaments so I vow next year to "finish" some of the many cross stitch ornaments I have done or received over the years.

I finished and mailed off the model so I was able to stitch and finish a little freebie from Lori Brechlin for the Prim Stitchers Society Facebook group.  It's called "Sleighbells":

Our church choir's cantata is this Sunday.  We've had 3 rehearsals for that in addition to the little Faith band rehearsal.  I've been drinking a lot of tea to take care of my throat.

I'm still doing some shopping but almost finished.  On to cookie baking!  It seems I work off a daily list these days.

Happy stitching!

Trip to Chicago and Playing Catch-Up

I accompanied DH to Chicago where he was attending the annual RSNA meeting.

RSNA 2014 Annual meeting

He'd eaten at an Italian restaurant on an earlier trip and thought I'd like it too.  I did.  Good food, interesting ambiance, and a waiter who was very friendly and funny.

Pizano's

I also got to have lunch with one of my (axe murderer) friends, Pam.  (DH calls my internet buddies "axe murderer friends).  We enjoyed a great lunch at Park Grill right under The Bean. (I had no idea what The Bean was until I looked it up.)  I don't know if the food tasted so good because it was or if it tasted even better because I got to eat with my friend that I hadn't seen in WAY too long.  (Please forgive my "hat hair".)


Park Grill

Here are a few pictures I took:

The Bean

There's an outdoor ice skating rink just under The Bean.  For some reason, I didn't snap a picture of it with the skaters.  Maybe I was too cold.  ;-)


I've not mastered the art of selfies but here's my reflection in The Bean:

Some cityscape:

Did I mention that it was cold?!  The day we left Texas, it was in the 70's.  We arrived to the 40's in Chicago but the temps plunged down to the low 20's one day and then warmed up to the 30's.  I actually enjoyed walking around in the brisk temps.  Probably knowing that I'd warm up in a few days helped.  (It's in the mid 70's here in Texas now.)

On the stitching front....I'd intended to finish up the model and send it out before we left but I discovered I was one stitch off so had to do some frogging and restitching.  I'm really down to the last little details now and hope to send it out Monday.  THAT will teach me not to push through and stitch when I'm too tired...it was a rookie mistake.  But....I love the design and you will too when it's released.

I worked a bit on a little Christmas piece for myself while in Chicago but haven't taken a picture yet.  Hopefully next time I post here, I'll have a finish pic to share.

I was the lucky winner of one of Nancy's (Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe) recent contests...I won the entire 1795 floss collection.  WOO HOO!!!  I was going to take a picture but Nancy's is all arranged beautifully so I'll borrow it to post here.  Isn't it gorgeous?!

The trip caused me to be late preparing for Christmas so we're hoping to put up the tree and some decorations today.

Happy stitching!