Mountain Musings

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

Last Thursday I started a two-session machine applique class using the book Love to Machine Applique by Caroline Price.

We're working on this Autumn Leaves wall hanging and learning different applique techniques for attaching the leaves.

I've been working on my homework this week in anticipation of Thursday's all-day class and have enjoyed learning stitches like the satin, buttonhole, and feather (or chicken tracks) stitches. We also made a 3D leaf from organza and added it to the grouping.

Here's part of my project with only a few leaves completed so far. I have many more to trace, cut out, and attach before class.

I'm wishing the background fabric I selected had been a solid color so the leaves would show up more, although I do like this fall-colored batik. Maybe it will come alive after a variety of colored leaves are added.

I'll post the finished project when it's all done!

Are you working on any special projects this month--for yourself or for gifts?

~Deb

Good Morning, Sun!

One of the first things I do each morning is look outside to see what the day will hold for us...and then often I go grab a camera, especially when the sky looks like it's on fire.

Granny's sitting room faces east and looks towards the Blue Ridge, and this is her view every morning...well, not really the snow...I think she hopes that will go away soon.

Our early December snow has been beautiful, and we were especially thankful that Granny could enjoy her first snow here before my sister takes her to South Carolina after Christmas to live with her awhile...I'm trying not to think about how we will miss her...it seems we just got her!

 

We patiently wait for the sun to make his appearance. Sometimes it seems to take forever, but once it inches just over the mountaintop, it rises quickly, and the day brightens.

Taking pictures of the sunrise is like taking pictures of little Ethan, our grandson. I want to capture every move, every little change and every expression...you can never have too many!

58 pictures of the sunrise were taken in the making of this post! Aren't you glad I only posted 5 of them? :)

~Deb

Snowy Birthday for Sarah!

It's quite the s-n-o-w-y Saturday outside, and it's just perfect for our snow-loving birthday girl, Sarah! Today is her 23rd birthday! Happy Birthday, Sarah!!

The above view is taken from Granny's back door looking east towards the Blue Ridge, although no mountains are in sight today! Tom measured 6" already on the ground at lunch, and it's still snowing with 8" predicted before it tapers off this evening.

The above snowy view is taken out our front door complete with the Baby Jesus in a homemade manger with fresh cedar greens. Amazingly, the summer's red geraniums are still blooming! I'll post more outside decoration pictures next week.

The table is appropriately set with snowman plates in anticipation of tonight's celebration. Sarah picked Snow on the Mountain, Lime Jello Salad, toasted bread, Funfetti cake and ice cream for her special birthday meal. 

Wish I could invite you over to join us...but the unfortunate thing about snow in our neighborhood is that we can't get out and no one else can get in! I think we'll have fun though--she's already picked the games we'll play tonight: Pit and Trivial Pursuit!

Hope the rest of your weekend is enjoyable!

~Deb

December?!

And how did it get to be December already? November was here and gone so quickly with getting my mom moved in, working on a quilt for our grandson Ethan's first birthday fast approaching, and preparing for Thanksgiving guests arriving! To update:

Granny has moved in and is happily settled, and she invites her friends to come visit her...watch for a tour of her new room coming soon.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt that I frantically worked on to finish before company arrived was washed, dried, and wrapped, and I'm excited that it turned out so cute! (Click on photo to see detail.)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with relatives arriving on the train from Connecticut (it was so fun meeting them at the station in Charlottesville!). My sister drove up from South Carolina with schnauzer Barney in tow, and....guess what?!! Unexpectedly, all the way from Michigan...Micah, Elizabeth, and Ethan were able to come and celebrate with us!! Yay!

Can you picture a more thrilled Granny Deb?!! I loved it! In fact, instead of mailing the quilt for Ethan's December birthday, we had a Virginia celebration and opened gifts while they were here.

Also Jonathan had recorded all of us reading a page from The Very Hungry Caterpillar book to include with the quilt, so now Ethan can listen to our voices and get to know his Virginia relatives a little better!

Well, that's what we've been up to. Hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too!

~Deb

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

"O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever." ~ Psalm 107:1

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in Thy garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.

Words by Henry Alford  ~Cyber Hymnal

Company's Coming! Mountain Musings will be taking a blogging break this week to prepare for some of Tom's family arriving on Tuesday from Connecticut and my sister arriving from South Carolina. We're looking forward to some great holidays and hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving, too! See you back on the blog in December! 

~Deb

Marie-Madeline Studio Giveaway

The Long Ladies are at it again and are giving away a $30 gift certificate to their studio! Here's what you need to do to enter:

~leave them a comment on their blog!  

~tell them what you would buy if you won the $30

~blog about the giveaway and get an extra 10 entries!

Comments will be closed next Friday the 27th, and a winner's name will be drawn on Saturday. 

~Deb

D G's Mantel

My friends, Dorothy and Kathie, both left comments on the earrings I was wearing at the Taste of Home show, so I thought I would post a better picture.

Yes, I'm a Scrabble lover, and Hannah gave me these earrings for my birthday this past summer. They are made to look like Scrabble tiles and were purchased online at this Etsy shop.

As I was standing in line recently, a manager at Chic-Fil-A saw them and asked what the letters stood for. How about...Darling Granny? But Deb Girotti works, too!

Also several posts back, Kathie asked about our mantel as seen from a distance. Here's an upclose picture.

 
There's a red berry garland entwined with lights that we burn year round. The red, white, and blue stars that say Love, Peace, and Faith were found at a yard sale. The candle sticks on each end are antique quills from a textile company where my mom worked 60 years ago. Cool, huh? I like them.

There are also two handmade baskets my mom made sitting there, an antique Mason jar filled with cinnamon sticks and topped by a bear, a birdhouse that says Church in the Wildwood, and a cross-stitch picture that says, "Home Sweet Home."

On the left side of the brick there's a hanging star with a candle inside from Old Salem in North Carolina, and on the right side of the brick there's an antique lantern with a sign hanging from it that says, "Kindness warms the heart."

Hope that helps, Kathie! By the way, I love getting questions and enjoy answering questions when someone asks.

~Deb

An Unexpected Adventure

If you've been reading Mountain Musings for any length of time, you know how much I love adventures. Well, yesterday I had one!

When the phone rang, it was my long-ago friend, Christine, calling enroute from Williamsburg headed to Augusta Expo for the annual Taste of Home Cooking School. After we briefly caught each other up on family news, she asked me...

"I have an extra reserved ticket to the cooking show, would you like to go?"

Would I like to go? Me? YES! YES! YES!

So we made plans to meet up at the Expo!

Here's the eye-catching Christmasy stage decorated with lots of gift bags from the local Martin's grocery store and 80 poinsettias from Milmont Greenhouses in Stuarts Draft...all a small portion of the tons of prizes ready to be given away to attendees during the show (no, I didn't win a thing!).

Before the show started, my friend Christine, her daughter Rachel, and I had a great time chatting, viewing cell phone pictures, and catching up on acquaintances I knew during our years in Williamsburg. Plus, we enjoyed looking at all the free goodies in our gift bags we picked up as we entered the Expo.

Here are two of the many freebies which were in our bags, and these books were chock full of recipes. The Holiday book on the left contained all of the recipes which would be demonstrated on stage, so we could easily follow along and try them at home ourselves.

These eight dishes were prepared during the two-hour show:

• Sweet Potato Gratin
• Roast Beef Tenderloin with cranberry-red wine sauce
• Almond Puff Loaf
• Italian mini-Frittatas
• Cinnamon Nut Coffee Cake
• Caramel Chocolate Fondue
• Cappuccino Mix
• Fast and Fabulous Sausage Fajitas

And eight folks in the audience got to take one of these delicious dishes home with them, plus the beautiful platter each dish was presented on!! (Not me, unfortunately!)

The show was very informative and entertaining, and both my friends won prizes! Yay! Plus, I spotted other friends in the audience (Hi Jean! Hi Kendra!) when Kendra's name was called for a door prize, too. Yay!

All in all, a wonderful unexpected adventure! And a very special thanks to Christine for making it happen!

Have you ever been to a Taste of Home Cooking School?

~Deb

Queen and Her Court ~ Block 2

Our monthly Saturday Sampler class is tomorrow, and my block is all finished!! Now whadda ya think of that? 

In fact, it was completed a month ago before our Texas company arrived and before Granny moved in....thanks to Sarah's insistence that we get it done!

And tonight...it's hard to wipe the smile off my face!

~Deb

Previously: Queen and Her Court ~ Block 1

Gooseberry Patch Blog!

Special thanks to Morgan for alerting me to the fact that one of my favorite companies, Gooseberry Patch, now has a blog!! You'll have to check it out...I love their country header, their recipes, and of course, their contests!

Until midnight tonight...Gooseberry Patch is giving away three of their cookbooks to any blogger who blogs about their favorite Gooseberry Patch cookbook. Here's another rush post to get my contest entry counted!

My favorite cookbook is one of their older ones titled For Bees and Me. It's a gardening themed book with veggies, a sunflower, birdhouse, and watering can on the cover...no wonder it's my favorite!

Actually, it's no longer available through Gooseberry Patch, but I checked Amazon, and they have new and used copies for cheap!

My second favorite cookbook is another older one titled Good For You. Again, it's no longer available at the Gooseberry Patch site but can be found at Amazon.

I don't own the Good For You book, but my sister does, and I look at it every time I'm at her house. I love the down-home stories, tips, recipes, and country goodness in every book!

Visit the Gooseberry Patch site, sign up for their email, ask for a free catalog, and also check out their new blog!

~Deb