The 23rd Day of Advent - The Shepherds and the Angels

I love today's passage! As a mother, I think my favorite verse is the one that says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." That's just what moms do... remember all the special times in their children's lives so they can save those precious memories and think of them throughout their lives.

The Shepherds and the Angels - Luke 2: 8-20

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angels said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
'Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Friday Baking - on Sunday... Viennese Crescents

I received this recipe from my mother-in-law about 30 years ago.  Dennis loves these cookies (although his favorites are now chocolate chips), but it's fun to make these at holiday time.  Today is a perfect day to make them since it's her 98th birthday!!


VIENNESE CRESCENTS

1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans or almonds)
1 teaspoon vanilla

~ Mix all ingredients together with a spoon. Don't use an electric beater or hand mixer.
~ Shape into crescents and roll in powdered sugar.
~ Bake in a 300 degree oven for 35 minutes.
~ Remove from cookie sheet and roll again in powdered sugar.

Throwback Thursday - Knitting

 

My maternal grandmother and my mom were both avid knitters when I was growing up, and my grandmother is the one who taught me the basics.  The first thing I ever made when I was about 10 was a hat and booties for a new baby cousin.  Obviously it was a very easy pattern and it was fun to work on it in a weekend when I stayed with my grandparents. 

When I first married in 1971 my grandmother knitted Christmas stockings for my husband, me, and our dog.  I think she might have gotten them as a kit, but she always transferred instructions to graph paper, using one page to write the basic instructions, one to write the directions line by line, and then another to chart the design.  I never had the original instructions, but she gave me her handwritten pages for the stockings and I've used the pattern many times. 

I also shared the handwritten pages with my friend Margherita when I worked in New York City, and over the years she made over 200 of them!!  She was from a large family, as is her husband, and whenever anyone married into the family, a brand new hand-knitted stocking was one of their gifts.  I loved that idea!!

My mother never made any stockings, but she used to knit a lot of afghans and baby blankets, sweaters, mittens, and slippers and socks.  In the photos you'll see the instructions for the stockings, some of my grandmother's knitting needles which were passed down to me, and an old very basic book to knit socks and winter accessories using just 2 needles.  While the photos on the front cover look very outdated, the actual instructions and patterns make very nice items which are quite easy.  For several years when we still lived in New Jersey I used to knit mittens in assorted sizes to donate to the Catholic Charities at one of the local hospitals.  It was always a lot of fun to work on those in between other projects I worked on, such as sweaters, vests (when they were popular), afghans, and slippers.

I came across these patterns and book earlier today so decided this would be perfect for Throwback Thursday.  I have a lot of yarn in my stash and am thinking that it might be fun to make some mittens again, and I can donate them to one of the downtown charities that takes in cold-weather items for the homeless.  Or, I might just finally knit a new stocking for my husband, Dennis.  I made his back in 1982 and over the years it's been shredding a bit from being overly stuffed with lots of snacks :)  I did a much better job when I made Jacquelyn's in 1985 for her first Christmas.  Or, perhaps I just don't buy things quite as bulky for her stocking stuffers.

 

Wordless Wednesday - The Horrors of Halloween, 1989 :)

Throwback Thursday - Great-great Grandparents

Photos of my maternal great-great grandparents, William Leslie Young, Senior. and Rachel Anna Gilbert Young, taken in the early 1900s.

 

Throwback Thursday - Family at the Beach

I was selecting a photo for Throwback Thursday for my Facebook page and decided to use this one of my family at the beach when my mom was about 1-1/2 years old.  My grandmother is to the right, and my great-grandmother behind my mom.  I wish I knew who the other couple and their daughter is.  The woman (behind my grandmother and wearing the hat), looks enough like my grandmother that I think she might be a cousin, but I can't place any of her cousins that had a daughter a couple of years older than my mom.

I'm really blessed to have received all the family photos from the 1800s and on, and I love having them all along with several photo albums.  Back in the 1980s my grandmother made me sit down with her and go over all the photo albums so she could identify any of the people I didn't know.  I love that she did that, and I was able to add a lot of notes to all those photos.  Unfortunately, we didn't do that with all the loose photos which were in several boxes.

We're a family of only children, with my grandmother, my mom, me, and my daughter.  We've all had close mother-daughter relationships, like best friends.  So, that's how everything got passed down to me and I cherish all the photos and heirlooms.  My grandmother also gave me details on all the heirlooms - who they belonged to, when they were used, etc.

BUT, I'd still love to know about some of the people in these loose photos.  My mom's cousin, Jean, was a couple of years younger than my mom and they grew up right next door to each other in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York.  She lives in Tucson and several years ago I spent several hours with her and she was able to fill me in on many of the people, and she also told me wonderful stories about when she and her sister and my mom were growing up.  Lots of things I never knew (my mom died when she was just 45 and I was 22, so we never really talked about all those "old days").

So, since I was using this photo for TBT, I decided to talk about it a bit here.  The photo was taken at either Coney Island or Far Rockaway beach - popular places with my family back in late 1800s to early 1900s.

Joanne

On Mother's Day

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; 

her husband also, and he praiseth her. 

Many daughters have done virtuously, 

but thou excellest them all."

Proverbs 31: 28-29

Wishing Joyful Blessings to all mothers and daughters today!!

Joanne

A Recent Road Trip - Part 2, Vancouver

Today's pictures were taken in the Vancouver area ~ around the university campus, the downtown area, and some from Stanley Park.





One of the streets near campus lined with beautiful pine trees, and a wonderful view of snowy mountains across the water.

















Walking along the main mall on campus...












... you see many flowers like these wisteria at a bus stop











.... and these orange azaleas














... and the white rhododendrons














... and these pretty trees













... and these, with the sunlight shining through the branches











Another campus road with a beautiful view













... same view as above, but close up so it's a bit blurry













... And yet another view from a different part of the campus











This was taken downtown. As we were sitting at a red light I noticed the pretty building's reflection in the high rise and decided to pull out the camera. It's a reflection of the Hotel Vancouver, now a Fairmont Hotel.
















We spent the afternoon at Stanley Park. I'll share the pictures of all the gardens tomorrow, but today I'm sharing the beautiful views of the city and the surrounding mountains.









I used the close-up setting for this one so I could get a picture of some of the cruise ships at the dock.












... a sea plane that had just taken off












... a view along the walkway at the park... the scenery with the water, mountains and trees is just gorgeous.










And two of my favorite things we kept seeing in the area...

the chubbiest crows we've ever seen (and I LOVE crows... they show up in a lot of my favorite stitching designs)... AND...







... Black Squirrels!!! I love squirrels and have lots of pictures of the ones here at home (and many in my favorite stitching designs, once again)... but we don't have black ones here. This guy was cute and pudgy and didn't mind posing for a quick picture. I think my next autumn stitched piece that has a squirrel will look like this little guy :)


I'll be back tomorrow ~ with pictures of the beautiful gardens at Stanley Park!!

A Recent Road Trip - Part 1, Enroute

Our daughter will be attending graduate school in Canada in the fall and we decided to visit the campus this spring. Since she and I love road trips we packed the car and headed northwest. My husband prefers to fly and met us up there. I took many, many photos, so thought I'd share some of them over the course of a few days. Today are a few photos taken enroute... some going and some coming home. That explains why you'll see the same general areas looking cloudy in one photo and sunny in another :)




This one is from New Mexico, heading north from Gallup driving towards Shiprock.










Another one of the rocky views along the New Mexico highway. It's a little blurry since it was taken out the side window at 70 MPH :)










The view of a rest area/shops called Hole in the Rock near Moab, Utah. You can read about it here.









Arch in the rocks near Moab, Utah.













A stormy view of the snowy mountains in Utah, not too far from Salt Lake City.












A view of the historic downtown area of Ogden, Utah... love the snowy mountains in the background!!











A pretty scene of snowy mountains and a lake in Oregon.













The same lake and snowy mountains, along with a few pretty trees.










Come back again tomorrow to see photos of Vancouver, which I just loved! I took so many pictures at the beautiful gardens in Stanley Park, that those will have their own separate entry.

Two New Designs - Of Generations Past

I finally completed stitching, and finishing, my first two designs that will be offered for sale at my website Of Generations Past . I hope to have the website updated later tonight with all the ordering information. I thought I'd share the pictures with you here at my blog.

This design is perfect for Valentine's Day, an anniversary, or just to say "thank you" to a special person. I think it would be perfect tucked in a basket full of cookies or muffins for a sweet gift.









This piece not only represents the great book by Betty Smith (1943), but in my case, I used the date 1878 when my great-grandmother was born in Brooklyn, a very special person on my family tree. I'm including a complete set of numbers so people can personalize their design. I have to thank my online friend Sharon as she and I emailed about being from New York and Brooklyn. Shortly after one of those emails, and after talking to my cousin Cyndie, I was standing in the hot shower (where, for some reason, creative ideas seem to pop into my head), and I could just "see" this design.

Some New Fabric

I had the urge to visit my favorite quilt shops this week and couldn't resist a few things. The beginning of the week I found this pretty fabric at Las Colchas, a wonderful shop downtown in an old 1910 craftsman home. It will be perfect with a few other fabrics I bought there in the fall. By the colors you can see that I'm already thinking ahead to next Christmas :) They also have a nice selection of wools and I thought these two would be pretty to use for a few Valentine's Day items.










I made two trips to another shop I just love called Memories by the Yard, which is way over on the other side of town (about 45 minutes away). I bought the aqua and green prints with the apples the first day, and then decided I wanted to add to those two with a few complimentary prints. So, I went back yesterday. I bought the gold and the aqua to go with the apple print in those shades, but decided to wait on the companion prints to the green and rose apple print since I think I might have some fabrics here in my stash that will go well.









This time my daughter tagged along and she found these cute fat quarters that she'll be using for a few projects of her own (tote bags, for example). She bought a few that go perfectly together with the bags in mind, and then a few others "just because".




I have no plans to leave the house this weekend, so I'm hoping to get some stitching done for two projects to sell at my Of Generations Past website, and then to get busy doing some sewing!

Thanksgiving Memories (Revisited)

"Only one more day and then it will be time to eat.
I didn't take but one bowl of hasty pudding this morning,
so I shall have plenty of room when the nice things come..."

~ Louisa May Alcott, from 'An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving'

Whenever I'm asked about a favorite holiday, I'm always torn between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love Christmas ~ and especially all the preparation for months ahead (I love to make homemade gifts or ornaments when I can)... but I love the simplicity of Thanksgiving, and always think of it as a family and friends day. I send some Thanksgiving cards with personal letters to a handful of family and friends, and really enjoy having this time of year to remember all the special times shared in previous years.

Our Thanksgiving these days has usually just been the three of us, but we still set the table with the pretty china, and have a special meal. Our daughter (23) is a vegetarian (and has been for over 10 years), so we always have several side dishes. My husband would be happy with just the turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy :) All three of us love the leftovers for the next few days, and a favorite thing is to make turkey soup.

When we lived in Tucson we always had a house full of people including family, friends, and some more casual acquaintances from our church. I'd do the turkey and one or two things, and everyone would bring a side, appetizer or dessert. I'm glad that our daughter got to experience these special celebrations when she was growing up so she can have wonderful holiday memories, too.

I still think my favorite Thanksgivings, though, were as a child. I was just going to write about it again, but realize I did last year, so I'll just copy it here (after all... it's time to go make the dressing and peel the potatoes). I hope you don't mind the "rerun" :)

~ Joanne

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. In some ways, it's my favorite, because it brings back wonderful family memories... and traditions that began in the late 1800s. My great-grandmother was from a large family that was very close. After all the children had married, a tradition of Thanksgiving gatherings still continued for well over 70 years.

Thanksgiving Day was spent at my grandparents' home where several of the generations of cousins and friends gathered ~ and I loved sitting at the special "children's" table since my grandmother always ate there, too. There were stories to tell, news to catch up on, and a lot of wonderful food... much more than we could possibly eat, but everyone's favorites were included. I remember all the men going out for a long walk after dinner "to walk off the heavy meal and all the desserts" (there were always three pies ~ pumpkin, apple and mince), and all the women chatting and laughing in the kitchen as they put leftovers away and washed and dried the dishes. I think this was the scene in many homes back in the 1950s and '60s..

But, the holiday celebration didn't end there. One of my great-grandmother's sisters and her family owned a dairy farm on a mountain in "upstate" New York, and that's where we went for the weekend. Those are some of my best memories ~ sleeping in the feather beds, playing with all my cousins, and being pulled around on a sled in the snow by my cousin's pet goat "Herman". Yes ~ it almost always snowed there that weekend, and anyone who knows me knows that snow is one of my favorite things.

We always arrived late that Friday evening since my father and grandfather had to work that day. On our way up we would stop at a "scenic outlook" for our picnic dinner of turkey sandwiches and chicken bouillon to drink. My grandmother had a regular ritual for preparing all those turkey sandwiches each year and placing them in the crisp waxed paper and folding it a certain way. They always looked like little gift packages, and were prepared and wrapped with love (and she always cut the crust off my sandwich *smile*).

The first thing I'd do when I woke up on Saturday morning was run and look out the window to see if there was snow. Then it would be time to run downstairs, stand over the heater to warm up, and have breakfast. The main thing I remember about the breakfasts was the hot cocoa made with some vanilla in it ~ it always tasted so good and special in the great big mugs. My cousins and I would all go out to play, and when we'd come back in ~ wet and cold from the snow ~ we'd hang our mittens and scarves on a line in the kitchen to dry near the stove. Even though we were cold I was always thirsty, and there was an old well-worn tin measuring cup that was used for quick drinks of water. The water was delicious and icy cold, and the cup kept it that way. Isn't it strange, here it is over forty years later and I can still "taste" that hot cocoa and water!

The weekend always came to an end much too soon for me, and as we'd pull away in the car, we'd look back and see everyone standing on the porch waving goodbye with handkerchiefs and dish towels. We could still see them waving as we drove down the mountain, and it was something to remember until we drove back up that mountain the next Thanksgiving weekend... to spend a short time together once again, making more special memories.

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!