A Beautiful November Weekend

Finally, a weekend with absolutely no baseball activities!  A time to catch up on some much needed yard work..

And since it was such a beautiful Sunday, we headed over to Longwood Gardens to see the mums before they switch everything over to Christmas.

Come walk with me...

Oops...not the puppy, he's not allowed at Longwood...let's try that again...

My little guy found this heart for me...

A peek at some Christmas Holly...

Adorning the entrance to the conservatory...

The masterpiece....yes, that is all one plant...

I had to take a pictures of a few of the orchids as well...

Not sure what this was called, but loved the color...

A section of the outdoor train display...

Oh how I wish my Winter berries looked this full!

Loved the shades of browns...

Climbing the Chimes Tower...

Still a touch of color outside to see...

One of our favorite spots in summer when the water is flowing, but it is neat to see the structure of the stones as well...

One of the garden cats...such beautiful stripes...what's she watching?

These garden rats were disturbing her hunt...

Hope you enjoyed walking along...this could very well be the last of our warm weekends.

 

There has been little stitching.  I am playing catch up on the monthly ornaments, so I am stitching more of the little sleds.

Hopefully, I will be able to soon show you the goodies from the last exchange I participated in.  There are a couple people still waiting on their packages.

 

A quick reminder that if you place an order at the Strawberry Sampler, you have until the end of November, to put "Bramblewood" in the comments to receive 20% off ~ a little something for those who entered the giveaway.

 

Oh, and Panzer wanted to let everyone know, that he is still a puppy, turning 8mths this coming Thursday, even though he weighed in at 119.4 pounds.  I thought we were getting a dog, not a small horse....

 

Today, a very sweet little neighbor boy, aged 5, brought me flowers and chocolate...so sweet..

“He thought how sad it was to be an Animal who had never had a bunch of violets picked for him.”
― A.A. Milne

 

 



Pink Winners!!!

First, I want to thank all of those that kept us in their thoughts and prayers during Sandy.  Fortunately, we survived with very little impact.  Our hearts go out to those that were so severely affected.  Mother Nature is definitely a commanding force.

 

Thanks to all of you who entered the Pink Giveaway.  It was inspiring to read each and every comment, and to "meet" some new people as well.  I really wish I could send something to each and every one of you.

The prizes were listed on a piece of paper, names were placed under the requested prize/prizes, and the numbers were plugged into the random generator.

 

Without further ado,

Prize #1 ~ there were 49 entries

goes to

Deborah!!

Deborah said...

I would love a chance to win any of the prizes. One of my dearest friends is a survivor and she cross stitches. If I were to win one of prizes, it will go to her. Thanks for the chance.

October 28, 2012 12:10 AM

 

 

Prize #2 ~ there were 44 entries

goes to

Myra!!

Myra said...

Very generous of the Strawberry sampler and you too. I would love to be entered for the needle minder and scissors. Thanks for the chance.

October 27, 2012 8:01 AM

 

 

Prize #3 ~ there were 52 entries

goes to

Siobhan!!

Siobhán said...

What a great giveaway! If I have to choose, I'd go with the scissors & pinkeep or the linen. 
Stay safe!

 

Do you remember when I alluded to everyone winning?  Well, the girls at the Strawberry Sampler have offered to anyone who places an order, 20% off of their order.  All you have to do is place "Bramblewood" in the comments section of your order, and place your order by the end of November.

For those of you overseas, the shop does ship all over!  If you are concerned about shipping costs, please feel free to contact the shop for a shipping estimate.

 

Thanks again to all of you.  Please keep checking back, you never know when another giveaway will pop up!

 

And to all of those who are battling...

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
― A.A. Milne

Pink Giveaway!!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
  Many of us have had our lives touched in one way or the other by this disease.  Perhaps we have known someone that is living with Breast Cancer, participated in fund raisers for research, or just simply worn pink to show our support. 
The Strawberry Sampler has generously donated the following items for a Pink Giveaway.

Prize Number 1.

The Chart and threads for My Pink Needle.

 

Prize Number 2.

The Kelmscott Needle minder called "Spirit of Hope" and the adorable pink Storklette scissors.

 

Prize Number 3.

A very pretty light pink fabric, from Picture-This-Plus, called Sorbet.  The winner will choose a single-cut size of either 16ct Aida (shown on the right side of the picture) or 32ct Linen (shown on the left side).  You'll have to trust me that the fabric is more pink than what the picture shows!!

 

There will be three random draws.  Simply leave a comment on this post, and tell me which of the three prizes you'd like a chance to win.  You may throw your name in for one, two or even three chances! 

The winners will be chosen on October 31st ~ and provided Hurricane Sandy hasn't knocked out the electricity or that I am not in a sugar coma from eating the boys' Halloween candy, I will post the winner's names that night.

Hhhhmmmmm.....there will be three prizes, but really, everybody wins.....stay tuned!

 

Perhaps one day, a way will have been found to make Breast Cancer Awareness month a thing of the past....

“When you do the things that you can do, you will find a way.”
― A.A. Milne

Baseball, Puppy, Exchanges and a Giveaway

Once again, my fall weekends have been full of baseball.  The boys have been practicing and playing their hearts out. 

The team my oldest plays on placed third in their first tournament and second in the most recent one!  The last tournament was played at Ripken in Maryland.  The big honor was given to my oldest.  He was the starting pitcher for the game played in the Ironbirds minor league stadium!

One of the hardest things for a mother is to see their children hurt.  Well, it happens in baseball.  On Sunday, he was hit with not one, but two pitches ~ two separate games ~ but, he was hit in the same exact spot!!  OUCH!

This was the next morning.  You can see the laces from both balls on the left hand side.  Sadly, this prevented him from being the closing pitcher in the championship game.  They played hard, losing only by one point!

 

My middle guy has become quite the catcher.  His team is still in the developmental stages, but are improving and blending. 

This is one of his new baseball buddies.  If you follow the newsletter from the Strawberry Sampler, you've read of Beth's nephews.  Well, Chris and my guy are finally playing on the same team!!

That's Ms. Beth, she has become the official scorekeeper for the team!

While catching is his thing, he can also pitch when needed. 

This is the smile of a pitcher who just pitched a 4~pitch inning!! 

And even though they didn't win, the boys still had smiles and were ready to move on to the next game!

The little guy has been patiently attending his brother's games and playing on an indoor team.  It's really hard to take pictures inside through all the fences.  Here he is, my budding photographer, taking pictures at his brother's game.

And of course, he had fun making it look like he had really big muscles with his shadow! 

 

Panzer has been growing ~ at 7 months he weighed in at 104 pounds!!  He really enjoys his morning walks ~ he's up to anywhere from 1.8 to 2.4 miles each morning.  Bonus for me too, as it is getting me moving!  He loves his ball.

And playing tug~o~war 

And riding in the car 

Nap time! 

He takes over Daddy's chair, hiding his head, hoping we won't see him!

Signs of fall are around as well.

Pumpkins and gourds at an Amish farm.

The Amish have harvested their tobacco. 

The farms in the area are quieting down.

We've had some morning frosts. 

And, some beautiful, crisp mornings.  

 

Are you ready for some stitching now?

I participated in another Stitched with Love Exchange.  This one was called the Animal Antics Exchange.  My partner was Cherise and she was wonderful!  Here are the goodies she sent to me.

I just love this piece!  It is now hanging from the hutch in my dining room for everyone to see. 

She also included some threads, a chart, some buttons, ribbons, needles and fabrics!  All things that I can and will use.  Thanks again Cherise! 

And here are the goodies I sent to Cherise.

I included some fabrics, threads, buttons, ladybug ribbon, a ladybug charm and a brand new copy of the chart that I used part of to create my exchange piece.   

 

It's also that time again ~ time for the Tusal.  And once again, I am a little late!

You can see my jar looks a little fuller this time!  I decided to show it with my current progress on "For The Birds".  This is an enjoyable piece to stitch.

This following is a piece my mom stitched for her cousin and I framed for her.  I really love how this turned out.

 

I want to thank Vickie for this sweet gift.  She makes these bottle~cap pincushions that are just adorable!

Doesn't it look like a chocolate cupcake?  I love chocolate, so it's perfect!  And since I have all boys, I love to see pink!  She also made the pins, aren't they all great!?!

 

Phew!  Another long post.  Sorry for that!  I do have some giveaway news.  I am going to be hosting a giveaway, thanks to the Strawberry Sampler and in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Unfortunately, most of us have been touched in some way by this disease.  We are still hammering out the details, but there will most likely be three winners and maybe even a little something more.  Check back next week for more information!!

 

In honor of Panzer getting me on my feet and moving, I will leave you with this Pooh quote:

“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh