A Sunshine Sunday

On this quiet Sunday morning, I'm thankful that God let me sleep over. I haven't in a very long time and needed it so much! Church though is skipped. Arghhhh!

 I woke up to the sun!!!!
 
We had several days last week of rain, cold and fog.
Oh, so dreary. But I started thinking in my commute with this deep fog one night, that God must give us some dreary, foggy cold days so that we can appreciate the sunny, bright ones more. 

Makes perfect sense to me because I, for one, sure do miss the sun, especially in the Winter time when that bone-chilling, ache is abound. Not good for arthritis and I have that.

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are on the planet Earth this morning and it will brighten your day up a bit. I know my mood is better with the sunshine. It's the source of our Vitamin D as well. 

I just finished a course on Vitamin D which was pretty detailed. I had to pick some topics to renew my Women's Health NP license and I chose, out of the 6, Vitamin D. I'm more aware of it now as Vitamin D is pretty good for your health, not just your bones. Alot of controversery in studies now surround the additional benefits of Vitamin D; however, intriguing to read about. The sun is one big factor in how our levels of this vitamin remain healthy. If not, there are supplements, but you would need to have testing and see your primary care provider for more information.

You can see here why I love the sun today because this was my drive home one night. I passed a man who completely flipped his truck over the rails and down the moutain. Officers everywhere trying to figure out how to get him out. I don't know if he made it or not.

My phone was turned here not my head. :P

I felt like singing, She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain.

When I got up on the mountain higher, it was like this.

So for today, my friends, I hope you have a sunny day and if not just remember how appreciative you will be more when that day comes!

Happy Sunday!

Your Word is a lanp to my feet and a light to my path.~~~~ Psalms 119:105

Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. ~~~~ 1 Peter 5:7

One word--Cold

 

Only one word right now at almost midnight here in the mountains of North Georgia.

 

Cold.

 

 Frigid.

 

Bone-chilling Cold.

 

6 degrees at midnight, with a real feel of -12.

Prediction to get down to 2 degrees by morning.

 

I'm thinking of all the Midwest and northeast with such extremes in conditions that I hope and pray you are all safe and warm somewhere tonight. I've never seen it this cold in my life.

 

And that's a long, long time. :0

 

Hoping for a hot flash,

Jennifer

Letting you all know---it's been a very long 24 hours

Raging storms hit Georgia last night and we did survive. BG was out till wee hours working with GEMA as the storms had demolished parts of Alabama and were heading our way. In one county a sheriff's personal home was demolished to the ground while he was at work.
 I had gone to bed early as I have had some heart problems lately and woke at 12 midnight (by the grace of God) with my heart racing and it wouldn't slow down. I had a bad dream that woke me. I walked into the living room and saw the TV on with the very scarey weather coming directly over Helen, Ga. BG was gone. I figured because of all this weather he got called out. There were multiple tornado warnings heading our way.

So, sure enough I clung to Miss Abbie who was shaking more than I have ever seen her shake and my pillow near the basement where I could go quickly down yet still keep hearing the news. We did that for 3 hours and I finally went to bed and prayed that if it was my time, it was my time. I fell asleep.
Abbie was under the bed at this point in fright. She wouldn't come out.

Just woke up again this morning quite shook up while BG came in and he is now out again looking for 2 people he knows feared dead just above the house.

I was already off today and I'm going to keep pursuing what I had to do today in town on my list of to do but please pray for our state and Alabama too. I'm still trying to read the news to see the extent of the devastation. I'm still in shock at these storms and the damage they left.

Till later,
Jennifer

Working on Pink Hill Manor in between minutes of traveling

Well, we have now scooted over to another spot on the Earth yesterday but before I left the city, I spent another hour in In Stitches needlework shop again as it WAS on the way and I NEEDED some threads for the patterns Tanya got me. I love the colors and it was like a kid in a crayon box looking at all the colors on the wall. While there, I went ahead and pulled some colors for some of my own patterns I designed and it was just a load of fun. It was quite crowded in there.

When I get back home Pink Hill Manor will be rested aside for me to do the Royal Wedding Sampler by The Sampler Girl. Got the threads for it yesterday! I think it will be such a pretty piece to have stitched and on the ready for the wedding which will air, I believe, in the US at 6am that morning.

My spread on the bed this morning before we jump in the car again.

picked up this yesterday too.

Pink Hill Manor by Blackbird Design

stitching on Irish Cream 32 ct R & R linen

stitching in hand so far

overdyed threads, many colors, muted pinks, browns, greens.

stitching this one individually for the "pink" area in our house!

I'm in love with Jakey Brown by CC.

Late yesterday we had a late lunch so by the time we got here, we saw a Cracker Barrel and ate for the 3rd time (ok by me!) last night. I got the Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. It was DELISH!  (Tanya, I dunked a chicken finger in honey mustard sauce for  ya LOL)

I then came to the hotel and unrolled my yoga mat and after 30 minutes of yoga my bones felt better from the ride.

I didn't work on stitching at all last night but fell in the nearest hotel bed from exhaustion. I woke up at 9am with breakfast on the ready here!  Nice! Woke up to the news to catch up and saw where a panel blew off another plane........thanking God we drove this trip. Too many plane issues for me to travel that way anymore.

BodyGuard and I miss Abbie so much......unreal so much. We called again and she is sorting out her dog food in colors and tempermental. She will probably pout a little by the time we get back.......but with the right dog treats and love she will be fine (hopefully). We've never left her this long. BUT, I found out there is a doggie store here somewhere so she WILL get a Tshirt!!

Well, severe storm warnings here late tonight and tomorrow with tornadoes, hail. Will be hunkering down here tomorrow with my stitching. I was thinking about all the folks all across the US being affected today and tomorrow. STAY SAFE!

Stitching through the Storm will be tomorrow's posting.

Until then,

Jennifer

Pray Without Ceasing

Yesterday at work, I heard about the devastation in Japan. When I got home, we were glued to the TV and awestruck by the horror that this country and others through aftershocks went through and still are going through now. Words are not enough.

 When I first saw the pictures online yesterday morning, the phrase Pray Without Ceasing came to mind and wouldn't leave. I felt like I should put my thoughts to graph and will share with you. This horrible disaster effects the entire globe and it's my hope that we all who live far away and close continue to Pray Without Ceasing.

To keep your stitchy hands busy while watching the news, stitch this one up as a reminder that our guardian angels are busy and we should be in prayer for the recovery in this global event.

I am touched so by the victims of the disaster and those who have loved ones there and do not even know if they have survived or not. How horrible is the unknown.

Pray Without Ceasing

copyright 2011

Feathers in the Nest

in memory of those who are struck by the Japan disaster March 2011

in honor of all of us who contribute to recovery with prayer

stitch on linen of choice

 CC Vintage Violet--med/dark purple

CC Fool's Gold---gold

CC  Frozen Margarita--light green

This will be online as a freebie for the month and if you would like to stitch to display, email me your finish (and email again if you don't see it....I get lots of emails) and I will display  on the blog.

Thanks again.

Jennifer

I won a Giveaway and jumping for joy---a giveaway in the mail and SNOW all in one weekend

Well, it's officially Sunday.

 Not just any Sunday, but the one where about 7+ inches of the white powdery snow is supposed to start falling late in the evening. and after  midnight tomorrow.....even more.

If I sound ridiculously excited ( i know, i know)  I am!

Today was a good day of Busy Nothings (Jane Austen) and somewhere down the day I accomplished some laundry in my PJs. It was simply too cold to go out in it until the snow comes. THEN, I have my thermals ready!!!!!!!! My childish nature comes out the strongest in snow weather. Always has and probably when I'm old with a walking cane, I'll throw it down and lay in it then too someway. I hope to make snow angels and name them by Monday. I hope to bake the cookies I missed during the holidays with a big cuppo something. I'm hoping that channelling Scarlet O'Hara will last through the weekend! ;O

Not one stitch today but resting my eye ball a bit.

I did just finish ordering for the first time Walnut pieces to stain some old finishes for the prim look in hopes that they are not quite looking like they are coming out of a fire. ( or FARE from the mountains.LOL) but just enough to look primmy.

I also ordered 32 ct Belgium linen for a few new patterns I have and one small pair of vintage scissors.
I ordered these from Pineberry Lane. If you haven't visited this site......it's a good one, my friend.

Speaking of scissors, Miss. Jolene drew my name in her recent giveaway. It was a very nice and sweet (as usual Jolene) expression of her thoughts of her birthday and Christmas, her Birthmous was the celebration.

I won a brand spanking new pair of Gingham Sonia scissors, the embroidery ones and the label says from the Shepherd's Bush. I remember reading I thought on her blog she went there and was so envious. Oh, how I wish I had those opportunities BUT I am ever so thankful to Jolene for picking me. I needed something GOOD happening in my life and these scissors and the lovely pattern, materials, floss and design/linen for a scissor keep for them, was like having Christmas morning all over again and more. I don't know how to say thank you enough!  Love you Jolene!!!!!!!!!!  You always know how to lift spirits.

Take a look-see

Jolene, girl, I'm doing a happy dance and I haven't done that in a very long time. Thank you.

Now, I'm going to try real hard to go to sleep and hope that tomorrow the snow comes alot and I can make a snowman just like BodyGuard, gun and all.  Hehehehehehehhehe

Sunday colors in our yard/forest

I hope you are not tired of pictures of butterflies. They catch my attention as soon as I walk outside on the porches. They are HUGE this year and so beautiful. I wish I could capture the whole bush of butterflies at one time with about 50 flittering around, it's so pretty. Today the sun came out. Yep, the sun. We haven't seen that in 2 days now. It flooded so much last night that Body Guard said the in town between two major food businesses there is a cave now. Like the cement just fell in like an earthquake. I will have to take a trip into town later to see this. Evidently there had been some underground deterioration in the pipe system for awhile and unknowing. I would have had a heart attack if I was eating across the street and saw that!  It just made national news, so you may see this huge disaster on CNN.

But aren't we blessed, so blessed with shelter and protection?

I think I will start naming these butterflies. I did get a closeup standing by the tree here.

and more feeding on the bush.

His eye is on the sparrow, so I know He watches me........remember that song?

One of the butterfly bushes in the sun......in the SUN!  YEAH!

We have definitely had our share of rain and moisture. Seems my rosemary is coming along well in it's new home.

This is the road to the road to the road to another road to our house.

There's no place like home.

A couple of few weeks back I threw some seed bags I got at Target into the flower holders and it has rained hard alot so this may be weeds. I don't know. I just want to use them up. But it was a bag of wildflower seeds. This one above is growing fast. Is this a lily pad? a weed? I'm not really into the names of flowers and knowing whether it is a weed or flower. But one lady up here told us when we moved to the mountans that the definition of a weed is "an unwanted flower". She loved all kinds of stuff. I think she may have been ON weed.......just joking.

This is the variety of wildflower/weeds coming up from the seeds.

These came back as a perineal. Don't know the name but I like them.

This man is begging for his 2nd meal of the day. He lives for food. Please don't freak out with him on the table. We don't eat on this table......LOL

No, we don't, Thomas does. Have you ever seen a cat so babied?  Well, I think all our furbabies are.

Yes, Thomas has his food on the table with cover if it's raining. Plus the Labs, Thelma and Louise, ie. Ruby and Raven, can't get to it as easily.....and they will try.

He made a mess of it today.

Hopefully, he's off warding away the rodents like snakes and mice for the homestead. He usually does a great job and sometimes brings us one for a present! I then scream loudly.

And while I'm in our sheltered, nice, cool house, I look over next to me and on the stack of pillows, is Abigail. She's taking a nap.....thank goodness.

Yesterday all day and night through the storms she clung to me like Velcro and I was trying to get some stitching done.

This morning woke at 11:45am. Yes, you read that right 11:45am. I have not slept that late in about 10 years. So, I'm ready now for the day at 1pm.

Missed the morning completely. But so glad for the extra rest even though it was half-filled with strange dreams about Brandon's toys he had when he was about 8 years old. Weird.

Till later,

Jennifer

Frozen Friday Flashback

Remember this in February?

Yep, I remember the frozen commutes home in the dark. I just can't get myself to say

Brrrrrrrrr    right now though.

It might be the major hot flash in the airconditioning I'm having right now.

Or that the humidity is thick.

But one day, we'll all be so glad again for warm hot days.

The week....from.....a hot place

This week at work is likened to that of swimmingdrowning and coming up for a draw of breath ever 4 hours. Beyond busy.

 Body Guard is home now, thank goodness. No more nights of staying up till 3am. I do not stay by myself well and can't even remember another time I was, so thank goodness he is now certified in another area of work and thank goodness he is home. He can teach Traffic Control Design now......whatever that is. He says to tell all, There's No Place Like Home.......LOL

He visited Nashville Tennesssee for his training this week and saw the airport side of it.

That's one place I want to go one day but visit the music part of it. I have it on my bucket list.

The weather man predicts rain today in the afternoon and tomorrow to relieve the hot mountains of the heat.

Stitching to ensue later this evening/night after getting all my chores done, or at least half done.

My cup of regular Lipton's tea holds the secret juice to motivate my scrawney legs today, the helper of my stiff joints like a tin-man, along with arthritis medication. Yep, I do believe rain is coming today. I can feel it in my joints.

Today, I am going to attempt to sew a cover for an outside cushion. I've had the fabric a year so I think it's time to brave it. I also have a project of sewing going on for 2 panels in the kitchen cabinets....a bit prim I think, but I like the cottagey look better.

Because yesterday was a grueling 11 hour day of.....I can't go into it.......I came home and didn't even look at the computer and went comatose on the sofa thereafter. I dreamt that I declared July as the National Month of Yeast Infections.

Today I will use the Random Number generator to see who will win the Sallie's Feather Tree sampler by Carriage House Samplings and the Hardwick Scissors from Kelmscott! Thank you to all for participating!!!!

Back to the hot and steamy day while the sun is still out~~~~

My stitching on Tuesday

Maggee ordered this pair of scissors from The Nest Feathers Shoppe. I decided to stitch a simple matching fat quarter pouch for her to accompany this......so Maggee your order is in the mail first thing in the morning. I have a soft spot for Breast Cancer Awareness and had this fabric a long time before I got the scissors.

But I think it made a perfect match and maybe a usable little pouch too.

Then stitched a little on this piece by The Sampler Girl called Sweet Land 1831, a patriotic pocket.

The rest of the day was resting and watching lightening storms....strong storms and the electricity kept blinking. At one point the wind was at 56 miles an hour, reported by the weather channel. I thought sure we were getting a tornado at one point but we didn't.

There was some flooding in Helen.

Tomorrow I will draw 2 names for the give-a-way so stay-tuned!

Hope you enjoyed your Tuesday!

In reflection and the day after

Today after the lightening hit we did get back online. We have contacted the insurance and there is quite a bit of electronic damage. I can't online go into detail all the damage but we do have online and one laptop....mine ....YEAH!!! working. Two other computers fried, one completely fried (of course the newest one), and the other one is snowey but working well enough to see. The first electrical check was done but someone is coming tomorrow to do a thorough check as it charged with such force through the basement level and kitchen.

These are a few pics of the power that blew off and melted wires and plastic, peeled back the surrounding wallpaper........very scarey thing to happen. Let's put it this way, I was standing in a bedroom with the phone in my hand almost to dial like I said before. I literally thought a plane struck our house and that is possible as there are small planes that fly over here alot. The force knocked over bronze book ends on a table and I hit the floor faster than fast and laid there with a ton of thoughts running through my head, wondering if it was an airplane on the roof burning, or someone was shooting through the window.......etc. I then panicked when the phone was dead. Then got up and went to the security panel for emergency button....all blown up...... with cell phone in the car, way down the drive, I finally braved the storms running to call on my On-star car phone system through the rain and more lightning. I literally ran around looking for fire for an hour or more until help arrived. I didn't touch anything else.


They think it hit a tree, hit ground, into the house through the phone, cable line and then surged through all the electrical. Even things that we though had grounding did not protect it. I did learn a lesson. I didn't realize lightening can hit things and fry them even if they are not turned on.

We have one snowey functioning TV for right now until the cable guy comes back in 7 days to bury another line......
Fried two of BG's computers and other stuff.......I didn't really appreciate all these gadgets we have until that happened! ;) Now, I'm soooo thankful for my laptop and TV.

But, insurance is taking this seriously and having  a detailed interwall and attic inspection of all wires tomorrow as the power was with such force and melting electrics. The funny thing was that the overhead kitchen lights were the only thing that stayed on, with the stove that I had on cooking some beans on low. Everything else went out.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!
Thank goodness I have internet and all my computer was saved....data, pics, etc.
Thank goodness for alot!!!!
Thank goodness you have stuck with me through this non-stitchy post and also thank you for the support.

As far as stitching, I haven't been able to stay still enough to stitch anything.
 But I have just sat down and watching Nancy Grace and will pick up my stitching as I watch and hope we get back to normal.

And ironically, the piece I'm working on........

The rest of the quote says....."they have clung to me all my life"

I definitely need to finish this one up!!!

And when I finish this pattern, I know exactly where I'm hanging it now......

Right where I was standing.......

Here's hoping that your week is going well and may God shelter you from these Summer storms!!

Till later,

Jennifer