1/1/2014

Hope you put away

the old year

with fond memories

and look ahead

to happy new tomorrows.

Happy New Year!

Love, Joy & Peace

Wishing you and yours

A Very 

Merry Christmas!

Take the time to slow down, 

reflect on the meaning of the season

and enjoy time with family and friends.

 

FOR THE LOVE OF HAND EMBROIDERY

 

Today is my day to guest post over at 

Jane's Fabric & Quilts 

Hop on over there and take a peek at my post and all the other great posts!

Happy Monday!!!

BRRRR -- It's Bitterly Cold Outside

The actual temperature this morning was -5F and with the windchill, it feels like -25F!  I don't know what's going on with our weather, but I do know it's way to early in the season for such cold temps.  I'm trying to stay optimistic by hoping this means that winter will end a month early!

All my stitching is for gifts and I've been overwhelming myself with all that is on my To-Do List.  The length of my list, coupled with the fact that I only have a short time to get everything done, caused a panic attack.  Does that happen to you?  The panic attack actually rendered me unable to do anything. 

After much reflection and prayer, I've re-evaluated my To-Do List and cut it down considerably.  Whew!  I'm feeling much more relaxed now.

Since I can't show you any of my stitching, 

how about some backyard pics?

It's so cold, even the birds were less active this morning.

Only staying at the feeders momentarily

before returning to the branches

All puffed up

I have at least 3 pairs of Cardinals that visit my feeders.

It's almost like they were posing for my photo shoot!

Take time to relax and enjoy the season!

My Little Birthday Visitor

Woke up to dense fog yesterday morning and when I took Dottie Dog out, I barely noticed something was occupying the hole in the big Maple tree.  The fog lifted just enough for me to get some pics.


Remember that Eastern Screech Owl I told you about a few weeks ago?

It was perched in the hole!

In researching owls, I learned that Eastern Screech Owls will stay perched in a tree like this for the entire day and their feather markings help them blend into the tree bark.  

These photos were taken from my upstairs deck which allowed me to be almost level with the owl and the tree is about 20 feet from the deck.  The hole in the tree is only about 5 inches wide by about 7 inches tall.

When I got home from work just after dark, I took a flashlight out to see if the owl was still in the tree.  It was gone, but it was a nice little surprise visitor for my birthday.

 
I received this beautiful project bag from Meari for my birthday.  It is just so perfect and brings a smile to my face every time I look at it! 

Thank you so much, Meari!

Hubby made dinner and a cake to celebrate my day.

DD and her fiance stopped by with a few gifts.

Bird seed and a new feeder

and floss...

In the card, DD wrote "One pound of bird seed and one skein of floss for each year of age".

I had to chuckle when the kids told me how much bird seed and how many skeins of floss they were giving me because they think I am younger than I am! 

I'm not sure if they were just trying to make me feel better about getting older or if they really think I'm younger, but either way, I really don't mind, lol.

What are you working on?  Are you shopping and decorating or busy making gifts?

Have an awesome day!