It's easier to sing than say

As you know by now music is a big part of my life, has been since early on.
Eva Cassiddy is a great musician and I love all her songs. It's sad that her fame and music only came after she died early from cancer. Her voice is so clear. And sometimes, or alot of the time, her and many other musicians can sing what I wish I could say. I think that's why I like to be creative. I used to spend many hours at the piano but since my arm surgery, I don't have the confidence to play except sometimes on a day alone. Those days are fewer but listening to music of all kinds, along with stitching have been two of the best ways I cope with losses, dissapointments, and hurts.

The tears flowed today while driving down the road, flowed again while sitting in a chair to get my hair trimmed. That was a new one for me.
But, I have to count my blessings because if I didn't know the deepest holes of pain, I couldn't be so thankful for the light that does shine. I couldn't be as compassionate or have empathy for others and that is definitely a job requirement in my career.

Even though it's painful, I've learned that welcoming in the opportunity to learn something from each situation can only be found by going through the difficult times.

Mothers' Day has always been hard for me. My first Mothers Day I didn't have my son and it was hard to answer many questions thereafter on "how many children do you have?" and do you celebrate it or not? Then, I had many good mother's days when my kids were growing up.
But in the past year my kids have decided to try every avenue possible to hurt me and it hurts to be treated that way after spending all my life caring for them but it really displays to me that they haven't yet learned about integrity and to be frank with one, the word honesty.

But, I'm not alone out there. There are many who either have children that intentionally try to hurt them, or are reminded by their own parents that they need to have children when they have decided not to, or don't even have mothers, or know their mother.

Tomorrow I will write more on my experience this year as a mother but right now I hope you enjoy Eva's song.

Please remember to go to the bottom of the blog and turn the volume icon on Playlist all the way down before opening the video to listen.

Have a great night's rest and here's hoping that all mothers of little children are greeted with breakfast in bed tomorrow. You deserve it.
Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world.

Nite,
jennifer

Feeding the soul

Started a freebie that was put in an order from Tanya, The Sampler Girl

It's a quote from a Jane Austen letter.

I'm using some fabric I had from Vickie Clayton HDF and Crescent Colors Blueberry

I won't tell you what it says yet. Just stay tuned for progress!

Listening to this inspirational CD by Randy Travis and lots of acoustic guitar--Three Wooden Crosses

feeding my soul with music

and feeding this soul

This is the position when she is begging for a treat with her eyes.

She likes feeding her tummy, especially with dried sweet potatoe dog treats.

Of course she will like any other other ones instantly if Ren gets another one. She has a little rivalry going on. LOL

She's getting a bath today!

But first, I'm heading to several places around running errands and getting some things done I have to do.

There are never enough hours in a day, for sure.

Hope your Saturday is fun too.

Friday Flashback

I'm usually talking about stitching or kids or puppies but this Friday Flashback is going to be this little boy:

A stubborn little boy, but cute as can be. Raised in a Dutch community, South Holland, Illinois near Chicago.

He was the baby.

I was in kindergarten when he was in middle school. Two different cities. Two different states. Never knew each other at that time. But I guess God knew our destinies.

Tough exterior, but inside a sweet heart (most of the time)...LOL

yep, this is my hubbie. I could just pinch his little cheeks in this picture.

His elementary school and middle school pics.

which leads to his mama when she was about 3 or 4 years old. And now she is almost 92 years old.

My mother-in-law, Evelyn.  She has the spirit of a 30 year old still. She is fun to be around and I miss her dearly. We didn't get to go to Chicago in December and I miss it so much.

She had 3 boys and 1 girl and was the Boy Scout mom and enjoyed tatting and does alot of cross word puzzles. She is still able to enjoy most things and loves to do the daily newspaper cross work puzzle. In fact, she has to do the puzzle.

Last time we were there for a visit I was stitching Quaker Christmas and it was her 90th birthday. She started saying the alphabet in German while she was watching my stitch letters on my sampler.

We took her to the Olive Garden and celebrated with a glass of wine, which she does not usually drink.

She was a happy lady. She said with her arm in the air......"WOO HOO"!

So sweet.

Hope to see her again soon.

I have to thank her for her son, my husband, who is my soulmate.

Happy Mother's Day Evelyn!

We need to have another glass of wine and share a few more stories!

Hope to see you this summer!

Things I hold dear to my heart for years

I have oodles of old papers from my children's young years, all in boxes. I saved them for times like these.

It reminds me of the truth, because children usually tell the blatent truth. I have tried many times to wean through these boxes but I just can't bring myself to throw not even one piece away. I've thought of scrapbooking them  and a few special drawings I have framed. Do you save your children's work? It's priceless to read with a hot cup of tea in hand and complete quiet.

Written to me by Brandon in 1995 in a school journal book assignment and will be saved forever

Hope your Friday, the beginning of a Mother's Day weekend is special. 

At Pemberley Framed

When in doubt about what to do?  Nervous about making this project finish?  Just dive in like me and start piecing and cutting fabrics and cranking out the sewing machine for a little finishing. I used more of the brown regency fabric than the blue as in the model picture on the pattern but I like it both ways. I used a larger frame. I really didn't measure anything....just winged it.

At Pemberley

designer, Tanya Anderson, The Sampler Girl

linen--32 ct cream belfast linen

2 over 2

fibers--Crescent colors and DMC

Frame from Hobby Lobby  9 x 12 in

tassels from Hobby Lobby

Framed tonight by me and thee

with love in May 2010

Yesterday's Adventures continued.......

Ok, please don't laugh but as sad as I was coming back home, I perked up quite a bit when we were cutting through country roads and in Homer, Ga. which is about 25 miles from our house and if you blink, you would miss the little town.  It's pretty desolate out at Homer and I think the first time I ever saw Homer city sign was the day I used Google map to get the shortest route to the Athens Ga. Dept to take Meghan for her driver's license at 16. (another story for later).  That's been awhile....

anyway, I couldn't believe we had to stop the car at a snail's pace because a big beautiful peacock was strutting down the middle of the highway!  BG was driving and I said, "Stop, stop!  I've never ever seen a peacock this close." I've seen them in pictures, movies, and samplers of course but not face to face.
I think their colors are so pretty and I didn't have my camera with me, only my cell phone which I know very limited information about my phone.....not too much a chatter on the phone.
Luckily it was charged up!!!!  LOL
So, we tried to get a pic through the windshield but he kept walking steadily and I finally got out and then BG slowly drove behind me. I followed this silly peacock up the road about 1/2 mile.....in sandals. Finally, I just took my sandals off in the road and kept going behind him to get a good pic.
The colors are not too good but you can see our little adventure:

a bit giddy, I was, and through the windshield not a good pic

then out the car I popped and

the road was a bit rough without shoes.......LOL

still walking, now trotting...... see the railroad ahead?

he kept going and I kept going slow and steady to get closer.

by this point BG pulled over to the side of the road and just watched me.

He does that alot. He knows when I'm excited about something just to let me go and do my thing!

Peacock and me......crossing the tracks

he looked back a little and kept going and I followed. I wanted to get a pic of his beautiful colors.

to tell you the size of Homer......not one car passed us the whole time.

he finally stopped and I got a better pic

I started getting visions of linen and Crescent colors and maybe a design or two floating in my head. I think Presidential Blue would have described his body color perfectly.

where this peacock came from is a mystery but he had the most brilliant blue head and body and his tail was pretty and LONG but I couldn't get the pic clear as I was excited. He walked as if he was very confident in himself and owned the highway.

So who would have thought you would see this in a little bitty town in the mountains?

BG came and picked me up and he was amazed at my running down the road to get this peacock pic.

Isn't he pretty?

A first up close with a peacock, age 46. A true Feathers in the Nest moment.

 ; )

A Road trip day

Today started very early, my day off.  I had some business to take care of on a round trip about 3.5 hours from here. Every 3 months I go there to change the flowers and I always go on Mother's Day.
On our trip I stopped at a very large Hobby Lobby to get the flowers as they usually have a great choice and selection and I got the prettiest bright pink tulips. They looked so real and placed them on my son, Aaron's grave. I got a pic of them on my camera phone but right now unable to find the cord to put them to my computer but I will this week when I find them. I pray my usuals to myself, change out the old faded ones that I had put there last,  always wonder what he would have grown up to be. He would be almost 25 years old now. Mother's never forget even when others do. I wish he could be nearer so that I could tend to his gravesite as I used to when I lived there but there are people that hold such strong grudges that this will probably never happen. But I will never lose hope, not as long as I'm alive. And as long as I'm able I will tend to it.

I got a unique stepping stone to add to my butterfly bush garden. All yellow butterflies remind me that his spirit is with us.  It's plaster but at half off, I couldn't resist getting this.

And I also found a tassel that I adored to add to the At Pemberley sampler I finished.

And because I'm emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted right now, I'm not going to stay into the morning hours to finish it but tomorrow night I will after work. It's going to be lovely.

I saw the tassels on the model on the front of the chart and I loved them so for the added regency it gives the piece that I decided to hang them at the top corner as well.

I also snagged a frame there that fit this piece better at 50% off, I couldn't believe it.

It's a pretty heavy frame and I felt it to be more fitting for the piece.

On the road trip I read my Jane Austen "Her Works" book that I got in Boston. Very good book!

I read all about Pemberley and I think anyone would love to go there for a stay.

This has been a delight to work with and I'm excited to get to work on this tomorrow night.

I may not have a Pemberley, but I have a safe haven in the mountains where there's peace.

And there's no place like home no matter where it is.

finished At Pemberly and gathering my finishing items

it needs ironing, triming up, fabric sewn on  and framed but I did finish the stitching tonight.

I will never forget tonight. One phone call will change your life forever and I oh, so wished I was at Pemberley where there was joy, honesty, and children who were glad to have parents. Parents glad to have children. It must only happen in heaven. Maybe it happens at Pemberley.

Some great much needed good news!

When I got home from work, I couldn't believe I had won a giveaway!!! Yep, and I sure needed something good to hear this week.

I'm so excited and it's a mystery. You can read her post here at Jennifer's (yep, her name is Jennifer too!)
Blog  here
Confessions of a Serial Starter  (ok, please don't laugh but I almost typed Killer instead of Starter, OH MY, I'm glad I caught that) Too much TV Cops shows I guess...LOL

Speaking of that kind of stuff, I actually have to reread my notes at work because instead of sample, like urine sample ordered, I type sampler which doesn't look too good in a medical record.

Yep, we'll order a sampler for ya!  : )

Till later~~~~~

Pemberely progress

At Pemberley

by the Sampler Girl

cream belfast linen 32 ct

fibers, DMC, Cresecent colors

New Start

So guess what this new start is?

About 1:30am when I still couldn't sleep I started this:

Yep, At Pemberley by The Sampler Girl

I was pulling threads in my studio at 1am. Just felt the desire to start it. I was jumping for joy that I had the overdyeds that was called for and of course the DMC threads as well.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

And now onward to Sunday morning or at least what's left of it.

I woke up when church started so there goes those plans.

Now, off to make me a nice, sweet waffle and a cup of Joe.

I think there are many times I would love to be at  Pemberley......so a girl can dream, right?

I may just turn on an audio book of one of the Austen novels and slip right over there......