Got Books!

I was feeling cranky today - well, crankier than usual. Then I realized I had not been to Barnes & Noble since last week! That is a long time for me. So I zoomed over there today the minute I got off of work. The B & N I go to is right next to the library that I work at. So it is very convenient and very dangerous! I found a few books I wanted, but since I have them on hold at the library, I decided to save my cash (for cross-stitch charts and fabric) and just wait until my holds come in. I did get one book for me called "Crybaby Ranch". I've never heard of it before - just bought it on a whim. And then I bought the new John Grisham for my husband as a birthday gift - shhh - don't tell! I also picked up a couple of magazines - grabbed a hot chocolate at Starbucks and zoomed home to clean bathrooms. Pop - my bubble of fun was over for today!!

Weekends Go So Fast!

When my alarm went off this morning, I couldn't believe the weekend was over already and it was time to go back to work! Arghhh! Didn't do much over the weekend. We got out for a bit on Saturday in the chilly, cloudy weather. It seemed really late all day long. We went to run some errands first and then wandered around a few shops waiting for the Out Back to open. Who knew it didn't open until 3:30 on a Saturday. Not us! I was starving by that time and told the waiter to bring food and quick! Skip and I shared warm bread, a garden salad, fried shrimp, chicken, and ribs! It was so yummy and I was stuffed like a pillow by the time we finished. Wish I could have found some room for a decadent dessert. I spent the rest of the weekend doing house chores, watching tv, reading, and crafting. I finished a scarf for me made out of hand dyed cotton yarn in shades of chocolate brown and purples. Cross-stitched a bit too! Only four more days and it is time for another weekend and I can hardly wait!!

Not Ready Yet....

This is a table that my best friend Barb and her significant other Ray made for me as a Christmas present years ago. Underneath the table is a candlebox - made by them also. Each year I move the table out of the way and put my tree on the hearth. After taking down the tree each year, it always looks so desolate and lonely over in that spot. So after putting the table back, I always string a strand of Christmas lights around it. Sometimes I leave them up until March! When I'm ready, I "put Christmas away" for another year. If you click on the picture and make it bigger, you can see more details of the table and the items on it.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

It snowed on Thursday, started to melt on Friday, which made it messy for doing errands. So of course I had to stop at the bookstore and get some hot chocolate at Starbucks to make everything all better!

Today is a chilly Sunday and a good day for just staying in. I've got a few house chores accomplished, read the Sunday paper, colored my hair (again!). Now I'm going through some emails while sipping a hot cup of International Cafe Francaise Coffee with a bit of cocoa and decaf coffee thrown in to punch it up!
My husband is starting on another puzzle. I'll let him get all the sorting, and the border parts done and then join in!

I've got a chicken with some vegetables cooking in the crockpot. Later, all I will have to do is fix some brown rice to go along with it. The leftovers will make some yummy sandwiches and salads for later in the week. Here is the recipe for the chicken:

Chicken in a Pot

One three pound chicken, whole or cut up (I use whole)
2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces (just eyeball it - no need to get out the ruler!)
a bit of salt and pepper and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of basil
1 cup of water or chicken broth or white wine - ( I use chicken broth)

Put carrots, onions, and celery in bottom of crockpot. Add whole chicken or chicken pieces. Top with salt, pepper, and liquid of your choice. Sprinkle basil over the top. Cook on low for 7 to 10 hours - or on high for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours

I cut up all the vegetables yesterday, so this morning at 9:00 A.M., I just threw everything in the pot and switched it to low. Should be ready to eat around 5:30.

Snow snow snow! Haiku

Frost on the window
Snowflakes tumbling from the sky
Your kisses warm me

It is Puzzling...

My husband and I started doing jigsaw puzzles a few months ago. This is the third one we've finished. They have all been 1000 pieces. I think this one is such a pretty picture - I would love to have a framed print of it on my wall! The next one we are going to start is of marbles in various colors!

Witches - Oh My!

My former sister- in- law Barb (who is my best friend), and my niece Sara love Halloween and witches. I'm stitching these two designs for them (well, the one is finished and the other one is almost done). They will have to fight over who gets which one! The one of the solid black witch is done on 28 count linen called "Witches Brew". Don't you just love that! I may end up having to stitch both of these again - for me!

My Lacey....

This is a picture of "Lacey Gracie Sue". She died three years ago (at age 14) .

I still miss her terribly.

My Kit-Kat

This is my cat "Katie Sue Bird". She is a bit whacky at times, but still cute, funny, and sweet.

A verse...

I meant to do my work today,
but a brown bird sang in the apple-tree,
and a butterfly flitted across the field,
and all the leaves were calling me

Reading Challenge

I co-moderate a book group on Yahoo called ontheporchswing. We are currently just starting our first reading challenge. Whoever wants to join in has a year to read 5 books with specific words in their titles. The words are: house,home, or cottage; brother, sister, or family; a color in the title or in the author's name; some type of water in the title - e.g. ocean, lake, river, etc.; and a person's name.

The books I've chosen for my challenge are:

Blue Water
The Perfect Elizabeth - A Tale of Two Sisters
Home Away From Home
Cranberry Queen
Sophie and the Rising Sun

No pressure - just read the books, talk about them if we like - encourage each other!

My first entry

I'm Linda - married with no children, except one fur baby named Katie Sue Bird. I love to cross-stitch. I also knit and do punch needle. I co-moderate several yahoogroups. Looking forward to talking about my daily life and posting some photos when I can of various things!