All thru the house...

If my name was Rockefeller, I'm sure I would have a set of dishes to match every season, pre-season, post-season, holiday, moon phase, and mood.  Yes.  Dishes and salt shakers.  Gots to have the salt shakers.

Seeing how fall is my absolute favorite season, I don't know how I've scraped by for so many years with such a woeful lack of autumnal tableware.  Imagine my glee when I walked into Pier 1 (for a candle, mind you) and found the most perfectly perfect paprika hued luncheon plates and golden yellow leaf-shaped salad bowls:

fresh from their shipping crates.

I could not believe my luck!  On the very night I needed a $5 candle, Pier 1 was putting out all their new, gorgeous fall tableware!!!  Seriously!  That kind of thing never happens to me.  I am pretty sure my "Happy Dance" looked more like the "Not an Earthworm" dance that has only been seen once, years ago, when I found a baby snake in the basement.  O yes.  It was something to behold.

Did I mention that these dishes perfectly matched my (precious few) existing fall-ware pieces?

I would say I'm tickled pink, but maybe tickled paprika would be more appropriate.

But wait!  There's more!

At this year's WV Pumpkin Festival, guess what I found!

Blenko Glass pumpkin

Perfectly perfect little artisan glass pumpkins - which fit perfectly in the golden yellow leaf-shaped salad bowls.

OMG.

I think I can die happy now.

Right after I change my name to Rockefeller...

Paging Dr. DooLittle

Happy 4th of July friends!  Hope you all are enjoying a little down time, family fun and local festivities, wherever you are!

You might be wondering what the 4th of July has to do with Dr. Doolittle.  Well, it seems a little hummingbird got itself lost inside hubby's man-cave and collapsed from exhaustion sometime Saturday.  Hubby found it, realized it was still breathing and brought it to the house for us to nurse back to health.  Having skipped Hummingbird Rescue 101, I really wasn't sure what to do for the tiny little creature.  Poor little thing. 

Deciding it probably needed rest and fluids, we put it inside a decorative bird cage I have in the sunroom (for safe keeping), set a dish of nectar closeby, covered the cage with a pillowcase and let it rest.   It rested all night and seemed stronger this morning.  I thought fresh air would be good for it this morning and took it out on the deck with me.  Soon it was stretching it's wings and looking all around, as if to say, "Where am I?  What happened?  Where are my clothes?"       (Kidding!)

Within an hour or so, it took flight, still weak, but we are praying for the best and have ordered a hummingbird repair kit from Amazon, just to be prepared in case this happens again!  ;-)

In addition to being a holiday weekend, this is the weekend of the MSACF that I blogged about last year here.  I had really hoped to get back there this year, but it just wasn't to be.  :-(   Maybe next year.  I'm glad though that they have had excellent weather this year for the festival.  So many years passed, it has been miserably hot or rainy.  Nothing but blue skies for them this year! 

It's also time to register for the State Fair.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to send anything or not.  Registration deadline ends soon so later this afternoon (after cookout festivities and before fireworks display), I plan to survey what I've managed to stitch since last July and make a decision.  That is one nice thing about writing this blog.  It does give me a very accurate record of when I finished what.  At the rate I stitch, you'd think it would be easy to keep up with!  However, this year, I've been more interested in getting other people to enter the Fair than I have been about entering the fair myself.  Like, my sister, who is in a photography club and has taken some wonderful photos.  I have encouraged her to submit a few to the fair this year.  It would be great to see her bring home a ribbon or two (and some prize money)!

Gotta run friends!  Have a safe and happy 4th!

ABC progress

Just popping in with a quick ABC update.  The power was off here yesterday from 1:30 pm - 11:30 pm, so not only did I not get much stitching accomplished, I also have a little weekend laundry left over to catch up tonight.   AND my favorite quarterback in a Cowboy uniform, Tony Romo, is on the teevee tonight, so I must be quick!  (don't mention this to my favorite QB in a purple uniform - Brett gets so jealous).  The thudding you hear is me running up and down the stairs to the laundry room during commercial breaks!  (how 'bout that Cowboy stadium/palace? not too shabby)

Back to the stitching, I love Love LOVE this piece.  I've been luxuriating in the colorway. 

Bandana, Steamed Broccoli, Old Oak Tree, and Hickory Sticks seem like they were made for each other and for this linen. I snapped this pic quick with the iPhone, so it's not super great. Hopefully, it will be finished soon and I'll break out the "real" camera for her glamour shot. I'm still trying to decide on the final wording for the lower portion of the piece. And just so you know, I'm waffling (shocker) about whether to follow thru with my pillow idea (seam allowances scare me). I'd like to have the little pillow as we discussed previously, but I don't trust my lead foot! I also accidentally noticed how blank the space on the wall looks between my two lady chairs in my previous post. We all know how cute this little number is framed. Hummmm..... decisions, decisions.  Where's my life coach when I need him?

Mark your Calendars!!!  Big doin's this weekend folks:  the WV Pumpkin Festival is back in town!   I'll be standing in line for my pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin fudge and maybe even a new fall wreath for the door.

Then, one week from tomorrow, (cue the themesong Willie), we are on the road again for NATIONAL!   YAY!  But first, I must survive facilitating an all day training session at work tomorrow.  dread, dread, dread...

My "Fair Share" (photo heavy)

Well friends, I outdid myself at the MS A&CF today! First, let me set the stage. (cue the song birds) It was a beautiful morning drive through the foggy mountains of WV. I arrived at the fairgrounds around 9:30ish, Starbucks ingested and in full gear, shopping bags over my shoulder. The temperature was perfect, humidity low for the first time in months, gentle breeze blowing and plenty of clouds to buffer the summer sun. Deep breath in..........Aaaaaahhhhh.

Now, let's get down to business. THE HAUL (btw, before you see these pictures and think I've gone off the meds and my OCD has hit warp speed, I buy duplicates for presents for my all-too-fortunate sister and others):

The FOOD STUFF

ThistleDew Farms honey products, yummy fudge, award winning BBQ sauce

The WOOD STUFF

hand crafted cherry wood from Allegheny Treenware, LLC

The POTTERY STUFF

mini bowls intended for doll houses but make great beading bowls for stitchers!


The EXQUISITE STUFF

lacquerware plate by Linda Tong
This square plate really dazzles the eye. 24 carat gold, silver leaf and black lacquer. A little elephant, owl and hummingbird begged to come home with me also. How could I say no?

The MISC STUFF

luxurious soaps, lampwork bead, Literary Calligraphy cards

sleigh bells for the front door during the holidays, and more gifts for b/d's and Christmas

As you can imagine, I spent the better part of 5 hours shopping, grabbed some crawfish nuggets (don't judge until you've tried them) and fresh squeezed lemonade before departing the fair grounds......with 2000 other people. It took 100 minutes to go 3 miles, seriously. Oh well. Small price to pay for such good stuff. Speaking of price to pay, you know how the calories you consume on vacation and on your birthday don't count? Well, while I was waiting to merge into traffic and adding receipts, I decided that money spent on handcrafted things doesn't count either. Suffice it to say, I've had a superb day!!!!

Yes, but what's for dinner? How about a little tossed salad, grilled chicken, sugar snap peas, and Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc. And for dessert? Super sweet black cherries.....YUM!