~ Lisa's Tessie ~

Today is a very sad day for our family. Lisa's treasured kitty, Tessie, a beloved family member passed away after a sudden and brief illness. She will be dearly missed and forever loved.

~ Merry Christmas ~

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. May the spirit of this joyous season be forever in your hearts....Linda

~ Christmas Coffee Table ~

I have a new coffee table......well it's not really new, it's an old oak table Carl's parents made into a coffee table back in the 50's. When we were in Texas this past summer Carolyn, my SIL asked if we'd like it...it had been stored away for years. Yes, yes, yes.. I love it They say less is better but not for me. I always like to have lots of pictures and trinkets about and this table works perfectly.....Yikes, it looks like Santa has a sweet tooth....

I hope he doesn't eat the reindeer candy corn, that's for Rudolph and all the other reindeer.

Isn't that a tiny little Santa...he is so cute and his little arms even move....

I really like candles and this little arrangement is a combination of mercury glass candle holders and greens setting on a a silver tray I bought at a garage sale. My candles are from last year...if you have candles that still have some life, store them in the refrig and they are perfect for another year...I think these will be burning brightly next year too. Have a merry day, hugs, Linda

~ Christmas Is Coming ~

One week from today is Christmas. Are you ready? I am, well pretty much so. I finished my shopping and wrapped presents today plus.... I also worked on finishing a few more of these sweet little ornaments . Heidi designed 13 charming charts, which you can find on her blog......She posted a new design the 15th of each month. I have half the designs nearly finished and hope to get a couple more finished before Christmas. Have a merry weekend...hugs, Linda

~ December TU SAL ~

Here is my little ort jar for this months TU SAL. It's really filling up...I think I'd better moosh the thread down to make room for more orts. This past month I've been stitching some little ornaments and continue to work on Blessed Are The Meek. My ort jar with all it's little threads reminds me of a kaleidoscope. Who would have thought bits and pieces of thread could looks so pretty in a favorite jar, in my case a little shaker. Well, it's been a busy day...I'm heading to bed.... sweet dreams and hugs to you, Linda

Note~In case you are wondering, orts are little bit and pieces, leftovers. TU SAL, stands for Totally Usless Stitch A Long...L

~ It's Good To Be Back and I Won ~

Hi Everyone! I'm so happy to have Internet service again. All I can tell you is we've been without service since Thursday and had major problems and all the heavy rain just made things worse. Everything seems fine now and it's sooooo good to be back. Recently, Mama Bear, at Bears In Exile/Return Home, celebrated her 3rd blog anniversary with a give away and I was the lucky winner. Look at all the wonderful gifts that were in her treasure box. Beautiful napkins, look at the cute leaf shakers, stickers, tags, holiday soaps, lotion, oh my....just click on the picture to see the rest of the goodies....

Plus she included this wonderful book, Christmas Letters, by Debbie Macomber, a favorite author of mine. I love to read Christmas stories during December and this one is a delight...I'm loving it. Thank you, Mama Bear..... I'm happy we have met and to call you my friend. Holiday hugs, Linda

~ This Soap Smells Delish ~

Yesterday Lisa and I went to a crafts fair and look what I found. Licorice bar soap for the kitchen. This soap smells just like black licorice and it's wonderful. I also found a pretty little hand crocheted dish cloth made with Christmas colors....pretty, pretty. Hope your weekend was nice...hugs, Linda

~ Treasures In The Mail ~

I was so excited when I got my mail yesterday. I recently ordered Kitty Kringle's Pattern Book For Christmas and there it was. This precious book was created by Tanya, The Sampler Girl. It is a sweet story about Kitty and her love of stitching. There are 7 original and new designs by Tanya and even some recipes. I can't truly tell you how much I love this book, but trust me it is lovely.

I also ordered the darling candy canes too....they look very old fashion to me. I hope you visit The Sampler Girl, she has so many treasures. I know you'll find one or two pretties. Well, while it is still early and the house is quite, I'm going to have a cup of chocolate and enjoy Kitty Kringle...have a happy day, hugs, Linda

~ December ~

December is here and Christmas is coming! Thanksgiving was wonderful....yummy leftovers finished, a bit of turkey frozen and all my little turkey figurines tucked away. I've just started putting out Christmas....I feel like I'm a little behind. Anyone else feeling like that? This little elf is keeping....... me company in the kitchen. Just laundered curtains and a fun

swag I bought but I did tuck in little pieces of homespun fabric.

My granma's chopping bowl filled will holiday greens and a small tuck pillow with the sleigh I stitched for my honey. Well, I best get busy, see you soon...hugs, Linda

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~

Happy Thanksgiving! Wishing you and and yours a wonderful day filled with happiness, good times and good food. Warm hugs, Linda

~ I Love Licorice ~

I love licorice! Yesterday I was Christmas shopping and look what I found. Lotion from Bath & Body that smell just like red licorice. This is a special release just for the holidays....it's smells delish and I love it......hugs, Linda

~ Orts and Little Stitches ~

Good morning! It's Monday, another week begins, and it's also.. time to share my little ort jar for TU SAL. My little jar is beginning to bloom with a bit of color. For the longest time my only orts were black and a few pieces of orange from my Halloween stitch, but I ran out of the black I was using. I had to order it and while I was waiting for it I started stitching.....

Blessed Are The Meek by LHN, I just love this little stitch. I've decided to set my Halloween stitching aside for now and work on this piece and several little holiday stitches.

I just finished this little freebie from the Sampler Girl. I really like the bright color in the sweet little piece and the orts really livened up my jar. This was a fun stitch and worked up quickly.

Have a good week...hugs, Linda

~ November Peddler's Fair ~

This past weekend the weather was beautiful...perfect for the Peddler's Fair. I was hoping to find a piece or two to add to my Thanksgiving things and I'm always looking for..... Moonstone, when I spotted this piece. It's so pretty, I fell in love with it. At first I thought it was Moonstone but it is French Opalescent by Fenton, very similar to Moonstone and I think they mix well together. I filled it with Fall pieces and it is on our dinning room table.

I did find this pretty blue plate and sweet, sweet.......

little turkey. Gobble, Gobble........that's turkey talk for have a happy day...hugs, Linda

~A Bowl Of Fall and Cookies~

I think Fall has finally arrived. The evenings are cool and crisp and the days are bright and sunny. On Monday I had a dentist appointed ( my check up was great). In front of his office there is a beautiful old tree. These mini cones are from it...they are so delicate. I have no idea what kind of tree these are from...do you? Anyway, I gathered a hand full of cones and some leaves too, and this is my little bowl of Fall...courtesy of Mother Nature. As soon as the weather turns fallish I think of comfort foods and baking. I love to bake and today I made these simple but delish cookies......

I know I've shared this recipe...but just in case you haven't seen it, here it is again...

Just three ingredients....

Mix by hand.....and then place on a cookie sheet ( I like to use parchment paper on my cookie sheets)...I use a generous teaspoon full, but you can make them just about any size. Gently flatten with a fork tine dipped in sugar.

Bake and Enjoy. This is BJ's recipe at Sweet Nothings and I love it. Each time I make these I say thank you to her. hugs, Linda

~ Happy Halloween ~

Witching you a Happy Halloween.....hugs, Linda

~ Texas Stitchers ~

I love this picture! We all just pulled out our stitching for this shot. Carolyn and Jennifer are part of our SAL. The way it works we choose a chart, have homework to do and each week we see where everyone is on the project, even if your not finished we move on . If you fall behind you just have lots of stitching to do. Our latest project is Kindrid Spirits. Here is.....

Jennifer's. This is her first stitch. Didn't it turn out great? And

this is Carolyn's....love it. Didn't they find the neatest frames? What? You say where is mine? Well, uh, I'm still not finished....naughty me. I'll post mine when I finish...I had to order more thread but that is not why I'm not finished...I just fell behind....hugs, Linda

The Cedar Chest and Hole In The Wall

While in Texas look at this cute little antique treasure we visited. The Cedar Chest is an old home that has been converted into an antique shop. Each.....

room is filled with wonderful goodies.The rooms sort of have a theme...there are just the coolest kitchen items and linens here and

this room is filled with lovely old china, depression glass, and wall art. There is even a room filled with boy things...tools etc. We all found a treasure or two and......

then piled in the cars and headed to the neatest place for lunch....

The Hole In The Wall. The food is delish!!! Everyone had something different. Carl had meat loaf and mashed potatoes and I know Mary had yummy taco soup, I had the best cheeseburger, but I've forgotten what everyone else had. Not only is the food wonderful the dining room is decorated with wonderful vintage advertising signs...this is a favorite lunch spot for our family and I know out next visit we'll be going there again.

More too come........hugs, Linda

~ I'm Back ~ Our Trip Was Great ~

I'm back and we had a great time. We traveled through...... five states and drove just over 3,890 miles....yeehaw! Along........

the way we enjoyed awesome sunrises....and the most............

....................................beautiful and amazing..........................

scenery. I truly enjoyed every moment of the drive and seeing such pretty country but the best part was seeing and visiting with our family. That was wonderful!

Here we are at a neat little diner, McKee's...we had just finished a yummy breakfast and the waitress was clearing the table when someone snapped this picture. I know the table is a bit messy but I loved the picture of the brothers and sisters. James, Carl's BIL is on the left then his (Carl's) siblings...Larry, George, Mary, Carolyn, Carl and me. To be continued....hugs, Linda

~ An October Get Away ~

Hi everyone. Have you been decorating for fall? I haven't had..... much time to set things out, I've been trying to get ready for another get away. This is about all I have out in the way of fall decor. I found this sweet little pumpkin while on vacation with Lisa. It's from a favorite shop in Cambria...the Feathered Nest. I really like the crushed velvet and love, love the vintage green beads. I'm going to be gone until mid October so I'll probably just decorate for Thanksgiving and then Christmas...this year has just flown......I can't believe the holidays will soon be here. Can you? I hope I get a chance to visit before I leave, but if I don't take care, and I'll see you towards the end of October....hugs, Linda

~ Coastal Beauty ~

It is said " a picture is worth a thousand words"....I agree. Enjoy. Hug, Linda

~ More From Morro Bay ~

Main Street , Morro Bay is filled with the sweetest shops. In....front of each shop and along the sidewalks there are planters and flowers beds filled with gorgeous flowers...you can't help but smile when you see how pretty everything looks. We spent the day visiting the shops, antique stores and some really neat thrift stores. Then we pampered ourselves with a manicure and pedicure......that was a treat. Saturday evening is market night on Main Street......

Wonderful fruits and veggies.....we bought some small red grapes.....delish.

Look at these beautiful little eggs...it's hard to believe thy are real..too pretty to use.

Wonderful homemade items...I love these soaps. Lots of pretty, pretty...

flowers and plants. These sunflowers were just some of the amazing blooms we saw.....time to head for dinner now....tomorrow is another busy day...hugs, Linda