Updated

I updated a sidebar area.  It still said books read in 2013.  Obviously I never posted any 2014 books.  However, I did read  81 books or 29,604 pages - which ever way you prefer to loo at it.  I read 12 chunksters - meaning the book was over 450 pages.  That's a lot of pages!

The book from December 2014 ( the last full month) that I would recommend is Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie.  It starts slow but well worth the read.

In early February, I will remove the January list then make a recommendation.  I will try to follow this pattern thru the year.  We shall see how I actually do.

National Puzzle Day

This is for my SIL that loves jigsaw puzzles.

Don't be puzzled by today. National Puzzle Day honors puzzles of all size, shape and form. Crossword puzzles are by far the most common. Sudoku, a number puzzle, is the most recent puzzle rage. There's easy puzzles, and there's puzzles for experts. They fit the needs of every person, and every skill level.

Puzzles are a favorite pastime of millions of people, young and old. So, what's with this fascination over puzzles? There's numerous reasons for it's popularity. For many, doing puzzles is fun. Some people just like the challenge of completing them, and graduating to evermore complex and difficult puzzle solving levels. For others, it is a way to kill time, and to eliminate boredom. Others still, do puzzles to keep their mind sharp, or to learn new words.

Whatever the cause for your interest, spend National Puzzle Day doing puzzles.

Personally - my first choice is crossword puzzles, then jigsaw puzzles.

Today is grandson #4 first birthday!  Hard to believe it is already here.  He has grown so much and has already been walking for a few weeks.  Before I know it, he will be in school.    His big brother (grandson #1) will miss starting kindergarten by 21 days this year.   Here he is at Christmas:

Last week I finished my class piece from the National ANG seminar this past September.  I held off showing it here until my teacher saw.  I figured she deserved the first look.  Well. today she posted it on her blog.  Check it out!

And here are my photos.

The photo on the right was the inspiration photo.  We were to replicate the photo in color.  We could choose 10 fibers and only 10.  One of which had to be Very Velvet which was for the bottom french knots.  At first all I saw was was the bright teal.  The more I looked at it, I slowly saw a lot more - the green sheers on the right, the dark chandelier on the left and the dark band on the light in the center, the spots of greenery and purples in the vases, etc. And so on.  Below are the close-ups.

WELCOME

My name is Jackie

This blog is about life in general - mostly my needlework, the books I read, my family, my cat, etc.  I am also into genealogy, so occasionally I mention it.  I like quirky or unusual (little known) "holidays", so I go out looking for them and then post on the appropriate day.  I occasionally give out my reading status (i.e. so many books per month, etc) and sometimes even recommend a book or two.  I admit to averaging 75-80 books per year. And I am awed by those who can read more.

I noticed a couple of other posts that were quite "talkative" so here I am mere minutes before the scheduled post is to be posted, editing away, seeing what I can add.

For those that like cats, here's Max.  He does like to soak the sunlight from the back of the couch.  Since this became a favorite resting place, I have placed an afghan over the back of the couch (less car hairs to clean up) and he enjoys the extra warmth (it's a bit cold this winter).

I will admit that I like dogs too.  But my husband is a definite cat person.  However, our son has a puppy - a boxer - and he is quite a friendly "little" guy.

This is where Max spent Christmas until the presents started to show up.  And once the dog arrived, Max decided to spent the holiday in our bedroom - away from all the noise and general chaos of several adults, 4 kids, 4 and under in age, and a dog (still a puppy).

Though I talk about my four grandsons, I rarely show photos.  They do deserve some privacy and I prefer to keep them safe.  One of them has a Big Birthday coming up soon!

Please read the past posts so you can see some of my stitching.  I hope you enjoy!

It turns out that January 21 is National Hugs day.  How did I ever miss that one.  Click here and check out what was stitched.  Yes. stitching tied in with an off-the-wall holiday!  A great two-for-one!

TUSAL

This was due on the 20th.  I went to take a photo and the camera died.  Just batteries but it took me a day or so to get them replaced  (far too much going on these days).  So here it is: the first TUSAL of 2015!

The purplish strands are from a new design.  The teal is from a finish (photo coming soon).  Not sure if you can see some of the pink which also part of the new design as well as some misc.

Squirrel Appreciation Day

This holiday is just NUTS!

Squirrel Appreciation Day is an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate your tree climbing, nut gathering neighborhood squirrels. It's held in mid-winter when food sources are scarce for squirrels and other wildlife. Sure, squirrels spent all fall gathering and "squirreling " away food. But, their supplies may not be enough. And, the variety of food is limited. So, give them an extra special treat today to supplement their winter diets.

Not everyone likes squirrels. While they are fun to watch skirting around the yard and trees, they are aggressive at bird feeders. Squirrels tip almost any bird feeder and spill the seeds in search of the particular seeds they want. In the fall, they attack pumpkins on front porches in search of the seeds inside. For gardeners they dig up and steal flower bulbs, and may eat some of the veggies in your garden.   

When you think about it, mid winter is the best time to appreciate squirrels. In the winter they provide a little entertainment. During other times of the year, you may look at them as a pest in the flower and vegetable gardens.

According to Christy Hargrove, the founder, "Celebration of the event itself is up to the individual or group -- anything from putting out extra food for the squirrels to learning something new about the species."

A good day for all members of Alpha Gamma Delta to celebrate!

Turtle trot 2015

Already I am starting out late.  This should have been posted on the 10th.  I suspect I have other unfinished projects that should be added as well but luckily for this list they seem to be in hiding.  So here is my 2015 list:  (a total of 17 projects, not to mention new designs or any new projects that get started)

Carrying over from 2014   (original list was 19 items, I finished 6,maybe 7)

1. Birth announcement for grandson #2

2. Birth announcement for Grandson #3

3. Tiles – Karen Kluba

4. Afghan, Quaker motifs

5. Casaquidi Scissor case

6. Tomato pincushion – Mill Hill

7. Mediterranean Tiles – Ro Pace

8. Halloween Spider – Jane Casey Zigler

9. Trees – Karen Kluba

10.  12 months of houses – Blackbird designs

11. Williamsburg piece – Lauren Sauer

12. Sewing Motifs

New  (started, not finished)

1. St. Basil by Carol Lake

2. Needle and Thread

3.  Baseball game

4. Hockey sticks – needlepoint canvas

5. Class piece form 2014 ANG seminar

Wish me luck and lots of stitching time.

PS Since it is National hot tea month and Santa is safely away at the beach relaxing, I thought it was time to change the top photo.  Enjoy!

National Pharmacist Day

National Pharmacist Day is honors pharmacists, and recognizes their important role in medical care. A Pharmacist must be knowledgeable of the chemistry of all medicines. They can inform you of a drugs' side effects, and all aspects of prescription medicine. Very importantly, they understand and recognize the inter-action of drugs together...many people take numerous drugs.

National Pharmacist Day recognizes this important role. If you are in the pharmacy today, make sure to wish your pharmacist a good day.  Gifts and cards are not required.

I have relatives, friends, and neighbors that are pharmacists.  I hope you all have a great day!

Grow your Blog

I'm going to do it and see what happens.  Sign ups are here and have to be done by Jan. 17th.  The big day is January 25th.

National Bubble Bath Day

January 8th

and so starts the 2015 obscure holidays

National Bubble Bath Day 

Bubble baths are so much fun. We wish everyday could be Bubble Bath Day. Today is a fun day to relax an enjoy the warm and soothing pleasures of a bubble bath.  Best of all, it can be enjoyed by kids and adults. For kids, it's playtime. For adults, it's soothing pleasure.

On Bubble Bath Day, there are a couple of ways to enjoy your bubble bath. It depends upon how old you are.

For kids, it's simple.... Just fill the tub with bubbles and toys. Then hop in and play!

For the ladies, its time to relax! Fill the tub with bubbly water. Hop in and just enjoy the soothing water and bubbles. Before hoping in, set the mood with candles placed (safely) around the bathroom and tub. Add a music, playing softly on the sink counter.

For the guys: Don't feel left out! With permission, you can hop in, too! Get in touch with your feminine side, and make sure the candles are lit. You can relax. 

Oh, and don't forget your rubber duckie!

The link for the TUSAL is here.

SAL

This year I don't plan on doing any of the "new starts" SALs.  I have too many starts now and not enough finishes and I don't know when I get inspired by a new idea for the business (I'm still working on three new ideas now).  So I thought I would continue my Turtle Trot.
However I came upon a SAL that I can handle.
   It's called Gifted Gorgeous SAL.  We report on the 15th of each month for 2015.   I have one gift in the works and three more lined up and that meets one of the qualifications.  This fits right in with what I have planned for the year.
   Meanwhile I continue to revamp my Turtle Trot list for 2015.

PS I almost forgot.  I signed up for the TUSAL.  Posting dates are:

January 20
February 18
March 20
April 18
May 18
June 16
July 16
August 14
September 13
October 13
November 11
December 11

I hope to be more on time this year!

New Year catch up

A few  photos from Christmas then the New year.

One of the things we started years ago, was hanging the Christmas cards on the door so that we could see them and not have them stuffed into a basket or whatever.  This year, we left the bottom of the door empty.  Too many little fingers were wanting to take them off.  When we went to the oldest daughter's for Christmas day, we noticed that her family's cards were on the back of the front door as well.  And her bottom half was empty as well - after all she has one of those sets of little fingers in her household.  But it is nice to see a tradition carried on.

This was Christmas eve when everyone was here.  Grandson #2 was looking under the tree for any more wrapped gifts - just hoping for a few more toys.

A few days after everyone left the house, Max decided to come out of hiding (from our bedroom) and spent part of the day here!  He was very cautious for quite a few days.  After all, he isn't used to having 7 adults, 4 "rugrats" and a boxer puppy (who isn't small) hanging around the house.

Yes, stitching!  I actually finished this in 2014 and had a friend finish it for me.  I love the purple edging she found for it.  It goes with the purple in the piece.

And a side view.

My new year's day start.  Chart is below.  As you can see, I didn't get very far.  I had one color that it called for.  The green was easy to substitute but the other colors, not so much.  Since the chart only has a computer generated photo, it isn't any help at all.  The chart isn't list on Little House's website so I couldn't find any comments or other info on it.  So, last night I went thru some stash and picked colors I liked.

More progress next week hopefully.

I picked something small on purpose.  I have so many commitments during January.  Some are stitching related, some are genealogy related and others are more volunteer related, etc.  For example I spent most of the 2nd in a budget meeting and reviewing the books for a small non-profit.  On the 3rd, I attended the board meeting for the same non-profit -which turned out to be very loooong!  

Today I hope to relax and maybe even stitch, especially since it has begun to snow.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Happy New Year!

      

Did you know that January is Hot Tea month!  Celebrate by drinking lots of hot tea and for those of us in the cooler climates, drink lots!

 The traditional set

 The fun set - tea for two

The fun set for the tea party