HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dear Friends:

It's hard to believe that 2017 flew by so fast, and is now over!  However, I welcome 2018 and hope it will be a wonderful year!

I changed out my cross stitch Christmas tree to New Year's!  I only have 4 New Year's cross stitched ornaments...maybe a resolution to make more is in order!!!  (Probably not--just another resolution to break!!)

I changed out the ornaments and put some party horns in the same topper I used for Christmas!  I'm dreading taking it all down, but I'll get it done.

I did want to show a few of my cross stitched Christmas ornaments that I didn't show in my previous post....I have loved these Mary Beale ornaments for years!!!  Aren't the colors pretty??

 

I showed our SNOW in my last post!  That's all gone now but we've had freezing weather!  It was 18 degrees yesterday!  Unheard of!!!!  I forgot to unplug my fountain, so look at it now!  I don't know if the pump will work when it warms up (I did unplug it when I woke up that morning and saw the ice).  If it doesn't work, I'll have to get another one.  They aren't expensive, but I'll have to get it before the handyman comes back!  It's always something, right????

You know I've been enjoying my birds lately.  I don't know if they can lick the ice! haha  I guess I could put a pan of water out there on the table when the temperature is above freezing.  It was today, but just barely, so nothing really melted.

One visitor came and I was very distressed to see him!  He is so regal, but he would also like to eat all of my little friends!!  This is a Cooper's Hawk.  I happened to look up and see all the birds fly away at once and then a flash.  I knew what it must be.  Luckily, he didn't get to eat anyone then.  I grabbed my phone to get a photo and then I ran out on the patio and told him to go away, which he did!  I'm sure glad no one saw that!  haha

I received another lovely gift from Catherine!  Isn't this beaded snowflake gorgeous??  She had sent me some smaller ones, and then this big lovely one!  I put it on the tree immediately and have really enjoyed its sparkle!  Thank you so very much, Catherine!!  You know how I love my trees!!!

Oh yes--the Christmas music at the Cathedral was beautiful!  I was so proud of my choir.  We were able to hire a few professional singers to come in and boost the singing, and we had a brass quintet and a couple of woodwinds, as well.  It was lovely!  The church was decorated beautifully.  Everything was great!  Now, a little rest until Lent!

I always have to show my two favorite "little folks"!  It's funny that some people don't like to wear the little paper crown from New Year's crackers!  Zoe couldn't wait to pull hers off!

And, I was actually stitching on a little ornament, and Omar decided he needed some attention!  Omar loves his mama!!

Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon!  I am trying to be more organized in 2018!  I hope I'll get more stitching done, more cleaning done, and throw out a bunch of junk that shouldn't be here!  I'm not making a resolution, though, because I never keep them!

See you soon!  Happy Stitching!

Frances

Snow and Christmas!

Dear Blogging Friends:

It's that wonderful time of year now!  I do love Christmas!  However, it's quite busy for those of us who serve as church musicians!  But the music is so lovely now!

I even got to visit with Santa!  Of course I told him I was a good girl!!

Most of you know that I live in Mississippi.  That means that we have plenty of warm weather, most of the year!  I was quite surprised to wake up and find this a few days ago:

 

Marly suggested that everyone should show their decorations, and of course, I'm last minute, but here they are!!  Yes, it's time to show my trees this year!  I ended up putting up 5 this year!  I didn't do as much last year, and I guess I'm just feeling a little bit better this year.  My husband had only been gone a few months last year and I just did the best I could.  Things are better this year.

Here is Omar with the big tree in the living room.  This is the tree that is our family tree and where Santa came for years!

 

This year, I decided to put up my glass tree.  I hadn't put it up for about 3 or 4 years.  It was time!  It's always been my favorite, and all of a sudden I had too many ornaments for one tree....I must really like them a lot!  Ha!  So, I decided to put them on 2 trees and just enjoy them that way.  One is in the music room and one is in the dining room. The 2 rooms are across the foyer from each other.  I have some Christopher Radko, as well as some Dollar Tree ornaments, all hanging together!  I love them!

This is my cross stitch tree.  It's the same small tree that I use for all the different holidays.  I really need to do some more stitching and have a bigger tree for them!  Maybe one day!  Even though I'm a cat person, I have always loved Snoopy, so I have some Snoopys sitting under the tree!!  

This is taken from my foyer, and you can see the big tree and one of the glass trees, along with the little cross stitch tree.  The other glass tree is in the dining room to the left, but I am not good enough with the photography to get it in the same photo!

Here's the little pencil tree in the breakfast room.  It's got Mississippi State stuff on it.  I didn't go to MSU--my husband and son did.  I'm hoping to send the box of ornaments to my son's house after Christmas.....I think they need it more than I do!!

My music tree and the Star Trek/Space trees didn't get done this year.  But that's ok.  There's next year!  And I think the Space stuff needs to go to my son's house, as well!  I was lucky this year and got my wonderful handyman to come and set up all the trees for me!  It was so much easier than waiting for family or someone to come and get it done.  That big one is quite heavy and awkward, so this worked out great.  And yes, he's coming back to take them down and pack them up!

I didn't do a lot of other decorating, but I put some balls around in pretty bowls.  I used a few of my mother's old glass bowls, and they look nice and hold great memories. These are some antique balls from my husband's mother.  They're sitting on my mother's furniture and by her lamp.  I love having family pieces around.

We can't have a post without precious Zoe!  Here is a reindeer, happy but refusing to wear her antlers!

Cross stitch friends are the greatest!  I have met so many lovely people through this blog!  My dear friend Catherine of I Love to Stitch sent me a lovely package recently!  It was a long day, and I was so excited to find an envelope from her in the mailbox!  Look at these lovely things!

She sent a wonderful chart, which I love, as well as some sparkly fabric that looks like snow!!  So pretty!  And she made a scissor fob that I love--I don't even own one, so I'm thrilled to have this one.  And she also made 2 beautiful beaded snowflakes, which are so sparkly and shiny!  Here's one on my tree!  I just love them and appreciate being thought of!!!!  Thank you so much, Catherine!

I have some closeup photos of ornaments, that I will post before Christmas!  I love to just sit and admire my trees!  I'll be back soon with those photos!  Plus some bird photos, too!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  Come back and visit again soon!
Frances

A Special Finish!

Hello fellow bloggers!

This has been such a jam-packed time, with lots of fun and interesting things!

This is another finish I finally got done, and really one of my most favorite ones!  I stitched this a number of years ago.  It was from a JCS Christmas Ornament magazine.  I will have to check and let you know what year.  (I forgot!)  I love this sweet cardinal with a scarf.  It is stitched on red Aida.  I have tried to use up scraps of fabric--I cannot bear to throw away good fabric, even though most people don't use Aida.  I think it turned out really well, and I love his funny legs and feet!!!

Cardinals are special to me ever since I read on FB about cardinals being sent by loved ones who have passed, as a sign to let you know they are around.  They come at any time, but especially at times of great joy, or times of sadness or difficulty.  I always feel peaceful when I see a cardinal!  So, this little ornament reminds me of that!

I got caught up in the Eclipse fun!  I thought it was great!  My son and his father-in-law drove up to Missouri to see totality.  It was a little cloudy there, so they drove to Paducah KY and watched it there.  They found an event at a jr. college there and it was narrated by an astronaut.  So, that was very enjoyable.  My brother drove to Athens TN and was in a large parking lot with many other people and said it was fabulous.  I stayed at home, on my driveway!!!  It was about 86% here, but I loved it.  It became a little darker, but similar to dusk.  It got noticeably cooler.  It was awe-inspiring! Nature is so amazing!  I had read to look at shadows through the trees--you would be able to see little crescents, and that is just what happened on my sidewalk!  So amazing!

 

There was a real "run" on eclipse glasses and people were paying WAY too much!  I got mine weeks ago and paid $1.99!  I think I missed my calling as an eclipse glasses model!  haha

This is not a great photo of Zoe, but it's the new one I took this weekend.  She (and her parents!) came over for lunch on Sunday, before my son left for the eclipse.  We had a good time.  I tried to get Omar to pay attention to her.  He pretty much ignored her, but at least he didn't hiss at her like he's done in the past!!!  She, however, was very interested in him this time, and was really eyeing his fluffy tail!  She will be 8 months old in a few days.  Time really flies!!!

That's about all for now.  I hope to have more news soon!  haha

Thank you for visiting!

Frances

Merry Christmas!!

Dear Blogging Friends:

As usual, I start my blog posts with some lame sentence about wanting to post more!  I will just let that go now--you've heard it already!

As you know, this is the busy Christmas Season, and I have been overwhelmed with music stuff, and a lot of other things, too!  But I do want to catch up and hopefully stay caught up!

So much has gone on since my Thanksgiving post!  (isn't that pitiful?!)

I am getting into a rhythm of my "new normal" since my husband has been gone now for 6 1/2 months.  It's not how I want things to be, but I've made up my mind to search for happiness and contentment, and that's where I am now.

You all know that I am a musician, and have a job as a church musician.  Well, imagine my surprise when this happened!!!

Yes, I had a little accident!  I was gluing something with plain old white glue, and got a little on my finger.  I went to wipe it off with my left hand, and heard a little pop!  It didn't hurt, but I looked at my right hand and the end of my finger was drooping!!  SO,,,I went to the doctor and it wasn't broken but the ligament had popped loose!!  Freak accident!  SO, I had to go to a hand specialist and I now have a little rod inserted in my finger. It will heal in 8 weeks and the rod will be removed.  I'm already finished 2 weeks.  Can you believe this???  I am still playing, with 9 fingers!!!!  It's not great at all!!  But I guess I'll survive! This is a minor setback!

My new grand daughter is due on January 4th!  I am so excited!!!!   I will keep you posted on that!

I did put up four trees this year..even did some with a hurt finger!  My heart really wasn't in it this year, but after I was finished and looked at them, it was the right thing to do!  I think I would have been extremely depressed to have no decorations.  

This is the family tree, full of decorations from events in our lives.  This is in the den, and where Santa always came.  We have decorations from our travels, things our son made through the years, old family items, and just a good mixture.  The last time my mother came up before she died, she stood there looking, and said that this tree was like a diary of our lives.  And it really is!

 

This is my music tree,  It has all types of musical ornaments, with emphasis on little grand pianos!  I love this tree.  It's in my music room, of course!  I can see it when I play my piano!

This is a skinny little tree for Mississippi State University!  I did not go there, but my husband and son did.  We have season football tickets and it's just a big deal!  So, I still put this up, even though my husband is gone.  But our son loved it.  It's tucked in the corner of the dining room, so we can see it when we eat!  ha

Finally, this is my cross stitch tree.  I made most of the ornaments, but have a few that were gifts or from exchanges.  I love this tree!  And I have a couple of new ones this year! One was a gift from a FB exchange that Dixie Samplar started.  I absolutely LOVE my ornament!!

Isn't this beautiful??  I am so lucky!  I just love it!

I also had a small finish--finally!  ha!  My dear friend Janie was down from Indiana to visit her mother and she came by and we did some finishing!  I will show you one for another holiday later.  I love this silly little ornament!

I am worried that I might be a no-reply blogger.  If anyone has found that to be true please let me know!  Google + has messed everything up!  It looks like all is ok but I read an article saying that just because it lists your email on your profile, it still might not show up!  I just don't know!  ha

You know I can't post without including Omar!  My son and daughter in law brought him this fabulous kitty cocoon, handmade in Nepal!  He loves it!  I think it suits him perfectly!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Keep stitching!  Thank you for your visit and please come back soon!

Frances

Merry Christmas!!

Dear Blogging Friends:
I have not run away!  I have not been abducted by aliens!  I'm not in hiding!

I've simply been quite busy!

I know all of you are busy, too!  It's just that time of year, and starting a new job as a church organist/choir director on the First Sunday of Advent was rather daunting! However, it all came off without a hitch and our Christmas services were lovely!

Speaking of my new job, you may remember that I am now the Cathedral Organist!  It's been very exciting, and sometimes a little scary!  But all has gone well.  Everyone has been so nice and I think it is going to be a lovely experience.  Below are some pictures of my lovely workplace, all decked out for Christmas!

It is so beautiful!

The ceiling is gilded and stenciled.

 I love the poinsettia trees they use on the back altar!  

The plants are stacked on forms.

The two side altars are beautiful.  One has the antique nativity set.

This is the organ I play, and the choir loft in the back.

The music went beautifully!  I had a little girls' ensemble, a flutist, a brass quintet, and an operatic soprano solo!  Truly lovely!

My blog isn't the only thing that suffered during the holidays!  I did get decorating done at home, but not on the usual level!  I just ran out of time to get my 5 trees up this year!  Oh well, the two that matter most DID get done!

This is our family tree where we open gifts.  You can see that they've all been opened!  

 

We missed my mother this year, but we still managed to have a happy holiday and enjoy each other. The black leather baby shoe was hers.  It has been on my tree for years! The little frilly shoe was mine!  I'm told it was white but now yellowed!

 

My son and his wife gave me two lovely white cat ornaments, in honor of Omar!  I love them!

 

I'm very sentimental, I guess!  The little mermaid ornament is actually a fishing float that was in my father's tackle box!  We used to laugh at it as children, because she doesn't have on a top!!!!  The sweet ceramic Santa was made by my father not long before he died.  My mother loved ceramics and he would go with her, to talk to the husband of the ceramic lady!  He painted this for me and I treasure it.

This is my cross stitch tree in our foyer.  I love the angle where you can see both trees at the same time!

 

I love all my wonderful cross stitched ornaments!  I enjoy stitching and finishing!  I have a few left to finish for next year!  Isn't that always the case??  The beautiful Glad Tidings ornaments was a gift from Andrea last year--I love it!

 

Look closely at the beautiful heart ornaments!  These were a gift from our wonderful Jacquie!  I cannot believe she sent me these beautiful creations!  I was so touched when I went to the mailbox and found a package from England!  And if that's not enough, look at the precious little round felt applique holly ornament!  She sent that, as well!   Thank you so much, sweet Jacquie!  You really made my day and I admire these and think of you each time I look at the tree!

Well, friends, things will slow down dramatically now that Christmas is over!  I will not have to be at the church constantly, and I can get my world back!  In the middle of all of this, the designer has been coming and working on the house.  It's coming together beautifully, and I will show photos of that when it's done.  We finally got gas logs in our fireplace and they are beautiful.  But, it's been close to 80 degrees here, so we haven't enjoyed them yet!!!  We've had rain and hail and hot weather!

I have done some stitching, and intend to show that very soon.  

Speaking of Omar, isn't this too cute?  My husband had been somewhere and took a little zipper bag with him.  Of course, he came home and deposited it on the floor!!!  Well, Mr. Omar decided to check it out!!

I appreciate all of you, and in spite of my lack of activity on my blog, I have tried to keep up with yours and enjoy what all you have been doing!  You all provide sanity in a crazy world and you are most appreciated!  If you are still reading this long post, thank you for sticking with it and know that you are a wonderful part of so many lives online!  

Happy 2016 to everyone and I am looking forward to a new year!

Thanks for stopping by and please come back soon!

Frances