Easter Blessing!

Wishing all of you a blessed and happy Easter! 

He is risen!  

He is risen, indeed!!

The Blessing of Spring

It's been a long time since I wrote that last post!  I thought it would be a good time to share a beautiful quote about spring.  I found it in one of my notebooks where I copied it down in 2006.

 

It is not the variegated colors, the cheerful sounds, 

and the warm breezes which enliven us so much in spring; 

it is the quiet prophetic spirit of endless hope, a presentiment of many happy days,

the anticipation of higher everlasting blossoms and fruits, 

and the secret sympathy with the world that is developing itself.
 
~ Martin Opitz

A Recent Road Trip - Part 3, Stanley Gardens

These were all taken at Stanley Gardens in Vancouver. I don't think any of these need an explanation, so I'll just add the photos and you can enjoy the beautiful gardens.

10th Annual Quilt Shop Hop

I had so much fun the last few days visiting some of the stores participating in the annual Quilt Shop Hop here in south central Texas. First of all, the drive between all these stores takes you past some really beautiful patches of wildflowers, which are in full bloom right now. One drive along a major highway was especially pretty, with seas of pink, blue, white, yellow and orange wildflowers. When I left in the morning it was in the 60s, and by late afternoon we were in the 80s and sunny. The only thing unpleasant was all the pollen from the live oak trees floating in the breeze (which caused me to wake up today with icky eyes, sneezing, and general allergy symptoms). But, it was worth it. I wasn't able to get any photos of the wildflowers since I was driving at the time (I hope to in the next few days), but here's a picture of our latest rose that just blossomed.


Back to the Shop Hop. I planned to be really good. I had decided that I'd pick up the free quilt block pattern at each shop I visited and have my "passport" stamped, would sign up for their raffle, select my free fat quarter of fabric, and enjoy the refreshments. I told myself I wouldn't shop. Of course, I can easily talk myself into things, so here's how my day progressed...

I left the house, drove through the local Starbucks for a Cinnamon Dolce Latte for the long drives, and made my first stop at the closest quilt shop to us. I received my passport and did all the free things. I looked around, and I left without buying anything. Yay for me! Here's my fat quarter and the quilt block:


The next shop is one of my favorites since it's in an old 1910 Craftsman house. It's just so nice to walk around their rooms and everything looks like it really belongs in there... quilts, wooden floors, fabric, wools, fibers, books, wavy glass in the windows, a beautiful garden outside, etc. I left there after purchasing a book I thought I really had to buy then, because there was just one and it might not be there next time. I have to say that I'm really happy that I did buy it because it has some really sweet patterns for quilts about Louisa May Alcott's life, and it's a new book, just out in 2008!


Next I drove down to a town about 20 minutes south. They have a very large shop and always do the greatest job with themes. It was fun to wander from room to room, looking at everything, enjoying their theme (a sea theme this year), and picking up things I had not seen anywhere else...


Back to the car and a 40 minute trip, this time to the far west side of our city. And yes, they had beautiful things that none of the other shops had. *sigh* As I handed the sales woman my credit card I told her I was heading home. It was just too dangerous for me to visit any other shops since I spent a bit more each time I went to the next one. I just love these ribbons, and I also bought some beads which I gave to my daughter for her jewelry-making projects. That fabric is patchwork, beautiful and very summery. It's going to be a tablecloth in the eating area of the kitchen :)


Of course, things changed. Yesterday our daughter mentioned a fantastic book shop she wanted to visit, and I thought it would be perfect to do a little road trip together. An hour later she was at the bookshop, and I was at the quilt and cross stitch shop, picking up my free items and buying some cross stitch charts they had on sale (but were on my wishlist). I drove back to the bookshop, we went for lunch at Einstein Bagel, and then headed home. I see I forgot to take the picture of my free fat quarter and quilt block...


There are two more days of the Shop Hop - today and tomorrow. I'm staying home! I just can't trust myself in those last 7 shops!

Spring Arrivals, Friends and Family

It's been quite awhile since I had a chance to say hello. I've been busy doing some decluttering here in the office to make room for all my New England and New York books. My collection of those books has really grown (both fiction and non-fiction) and they needed a home. They've been sitting on top of the bookcases for a long time, but now have an area all to themselves in one of my smaller bookcases.



Spring has been here in our area for quite some time, and all the flowers are blooming, the grass is green once again, and all the trees have their leaves. Here are a few photos of our wisteria. It grows along the side fence, and this year it's finally starting to become a little fuller. We've only had it a few years and each one brings more blossoms. It will bloom again the end of the summer.





This was the first rose of the season. It was taken in February, just a month after my husband cut the rose bushes back (they were still blooming in December).



I've been busy working on lesson plans and reading to keep ahead of my 9th grade American Literature students. I have a favorite pen I always use in class and they've all fallen in love with it. I received it a few years ago from my friend Terri in a swap on one of our groups, and her husband made it. I was recently talking about it and our friend Heidi asked me to share a photo. It goes perfectly in color with the wisteria photos, doesn't it?? :)





Last week when the mail arrived I was so excited to open a package from my friend Mary Kathryn, and find this beautiful pillow that she stitched and sent to me. I just love it and it will always have a special place in our home.



Finally, now that allergy season is slowing down, I've been able to get back to cross stitching in the evenings. I really missed it the last couple of months, but managed to work on a crocheted table runner. I shared pictures of that here a few weeks ago when I was working on it, and today I'm adding the finished photos to my Keeping of Christmas blog, in case you'd like to stop in and take a look.





Right now I'm working on one of the new designs by Prairie Schooler, Weather Wise. I just love this design. The saying is one my great-grandmother always said, so there's a family tie-in... the colors are perfect and even though it's a summer scene, they remind me of autumn... and I'd love to live in the little village and go sailing on that boat!







Speaking of family, just the other day when I was going through some things in my closet, I noticed an old red box sitting there. I couldn't remember what was in it, and when I opened it up I was so excited. It's full of all sorts of trims for sewing. Now that I've found them again, I'll be putting them to use in some of my needlework finishes!








Some of them were ones I bought to use on baby clothes when I was pregnant (back in 1984). I also used them on a few little dresses and overalls when our daughter was a baby, and later a toddler.








The other trims belonged to my grandmother and great-grandmother, and were passed down to me.

I noticed the dark blue lace (it's a heavy crocheted looking lace) was wrapped around a card of some sort, so I gently pulled it out.





Isn't this great? You can tell how old it is just by that car on the front. Inside the card is the train schedule for the Long Island Railroad in Richmond Hill, Queens, NY. The date on the card (which is a bit hard to see here) is May 14, 1924.





















I hope you enjoyed my little show-and-tell for the day, and I hope to get back to visiting with you all on a regular schedule!

Happy Easter

Wishing all my blogging friends a joyful and blessed Easter!!

A Day At The Beach

My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last weekend, the same day as graduation. We decided to postpone our celebration until Monday, when we went down to the Gulf about 2-1/2 hours away. We visited a small beach town called Rockport, known for the birds in the area. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant overlooking the fishing boats, walked along the pier, walked along the beach (I had to get my feet wet!), and then stopped at a cute Starbucks for an icy drink. The building looked like a lighthouse, and we sat outside enjoying the view of the water, the sea breeze, and the scent of the sea. A perfect outing!

The photos in order are:
~ The pier at Rockport
~ A brown pelican
~ Two large birds (pelicans or cranes) taking off over the water
~ The beach with wildflowers up front and a white crane in the water
~ Close up of the wildflowers on the beach
~ The white crane
~ An inlet cove
~ The patio at Starbucks