The Sampler Girl's Blog

link love

2012-01-27T22:45:00.000-05:00

::cinnamon bread ~ looks heavenly
::these ear warmers are up soon to make ~ I'm still thinking it will be cold & stay cold
::such a sweet Valentine freebie
::M.C. Beaton mysteries are always good ~ reading this one now
::bought this ~ had to have
::oh MY does this popcorn look good, or what?
::and this
::loved this book that my Mom recommended
::off to make my nightly tea, happy week-end!

Have you met Clara?

2012-01-26T13:10:00.003-05:00

Excited to see the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of The Needlework Retailer in my post box this morning ~ extra happy to see this particular issue because it includes a plug for my latest Clara design, Clara's Knitting Sampler 1891.

For those not familiar with this publication, it's sent to Wholesalers & Designers as a showcase of new products. One of my distributors included this pattern of mine to advertise. Not only is it extra publicity for my designing business, (Yay!) but it is one of my favorite design ideas, Clara.

There are four designs centered around Clara ~ my maternal Great-Great Aunt Clara. She escaped Russia with her husband and came to the states in 1924. The designs are a journaling series embracing an era gone by in domestic sweetness. Look for another Clara design coming out later this winter! Currently, these are the patterns available:

Clara's Skating Sampler 1891
Clara's Worke 1891
Clara's Christmas Dance 1892
Clara's Knitting Sampler 1891

simple sewing

2012-01-25T16:50:00.001-05:00

Whilst spending too much time on Pinterest recently, I found a simple, very simple, sewing idea that is so practical. There were some old shirts of my husband's that were perfect to cut up soooo here's one little pouch I made! So clever -- why didn't I think this up? Easy peasy. Perfect for a pair of ear buds.

For the tutorial, go here!

Get your joy on! + free pattern

2012-01-24T14:45:00.000-05:00

Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic.

~Rosalind Russell

I've never been one for wearing lots of makeup - just the basics, please: face powder, blackest mascara, a touch of eyeshadow, and lipstick. Lipstick is a must. I never go out of the house without lipstick on. If I have lost my head in this mommy-world I dwell and for some reason leave the house without lipstick IN my purse, I'll turn the car around. I know, I know -- but I do.

When Ben was in preschool (many years ago now!) there was a classmate of his who told his mother I was Mrs. Red Lips because of my daily lipstick-ed self. Too funny. Lipstick is my favorite makeup item, I guess you could say, and I can never have enough shades of rose. I blush quite easily so never wear the stuff.

SO when I came across the above quote recently, it spoke to me. Joy is something hard to wear at times but it really should be something we never leave home without. Spreading joy to others throughout your day can do wonders you'll never fully know. Strangers, angels unaware, who pass along joy to us during a given day ... well, you see how it goes. Next time you brush your cheeks with powder, add a touch of life's joy to your outlook, inward and outwrad. I did so today, extra much, while Zack was running around the playground. Time is fleeting for all of us and enjoying the small moments in a busy day, a hard week, a stressful life, can be just the thing to carry you.

At lunch there was a little bird hopping along the sidewalk, probably trying to figure if it's winter or spring as it's in the 50s here! Watching this little bird made me smile, that silly kind of smile, and here's hoping he (or she!) has joy in flights this afternoon. Anyhoo, when I got home I designed this little freebie for you to enjoy. May it bring you joy and remind you that joy is in your grasp.

My Little Bird, a free pattern
Copyright 2012 The Sampler Girl
(click chart to enlarge)

whew! 42 ... so far

2012-01-23T13:50:00.001-05:00

So far 42 isn't that bad! Lots of celebrating over the week-end and another party at the end of this week with stitching gals too! I'm a very, very lucky girl and blessed with a wonderful family and such thoughtful, caring & loving friends.

My husband took me to Bobby Flay's Burger Palace for lunch on Friday and it. was. delicious. Delicious. Fun. Hip. Cool place with good food. There are a few scattered around and this one in Washington, DC opened last August. I chose the Dallas burger and DH got the Crunchburger. We shared fries and onion rings (because we couldn't decide on one) and left happy.

It wasn't too far from Georgetown Cupcake sooooooo we scored another terrific parking place and even an empty table at Georgetown Cupcake which was exciting since I had never been in their newer location. I had ordered online some cupcakes for my Mom's birthday a few years back but had them shipped. If you're familiar with this cupcakery's show on TLC, DC Cupcakes, then you surely know they are quite busy and usually have a line out the door and down the block. I chose the Red Velvet Cupcake and DH had a chocolate & vanilla one. They gave me a birthday cupcake free which I let Ben devour after school that day -- he said it was "fantastic, oh wow, ... and thank you, Mom!"

Saturday evening my family took me out for Italian food and I tried to savor but still inhaled a favorite dish, Mushroom & Parmesan Baked Ravioli. Mom brought a Caramel Chocolate Cake which was. divine. Can you tell the gym didn't see me this weekend?

So yesterday evening, some of my dear girlfriends took me to Mike's American Grill where I enjoyed a fantastic (and big!) salad, finished with a pretty presentation (with candle!) of Key Lime Pie. I sure didn't go hungry the past few days!!!

- - -

I received so many lovely gifts. I have to share with you this beautiful bag that my friend, Cindy, made for me. I love it!!! It is gorgeous; she does beautiful work. Cindy has her own needlework business and makes the prettiest purses and totes. ::If you're interested in Cindy's bags, you can email her for more information ~ her email is cxslone@gmail.com

- - -

Off to put the kettle on for tea ~ have a great week and Happy Chinese New Year!

my birthday scarf

2012-01-20T07:45:00.000-05:00

Zack: Mama, are you 18?
Me: (trying not to burst out laughing) No, I'm 42.
Zack: (eyes big as saucers) Really?
Me: Yes.
Zack: Oh.

- - -

I was just getting used to being 41; I really liked it, more than 40 but it had a nice ring to it. You know what I mean? Sure, 29 was nice too; not yet 30, but we can't go back there sad to say. Now 42, eh? No comment ... yet.

- - -

I found this gorgeous ruffle fabric and had to do something with it. I tried to make a skirt but have to redo the elastic part ~ don't even ask. So I had some of it left and made an infinity scarf out of it. Just stitched a wide strip together to make a large circle and voila! a scarf to wrap around twice. I love it!! They had the fabric in several others colors -- perhaps I need to make a few more.

My husband took today off from work to be with the birthday girl-me so here's to a fantastic weekend planned. See you on the other end of it ... until then be cosy and creative! I'll eat cake for you.

New Pattern, Winter Greeting Souvenir

2012-01-19T17:40:00.003-05:00

Finally, a release for January!

Oh MY is it cold! Funny how the weather can be wintry here and summery elsewhere in the world but warm days will come again for us; I'm sure. Meanwhile, Jack Frost is visiting and I'm keeping cosy indoors with my designing, my books and my knitting. The boys are hoping for snow days to arrive ~ me too. This little pattern is my winter greeting to you.

The newest pattern is now available. Enjoy!

- - -
Click HERE for details on Winter Greeting Souvenir.
Design by Tanya Marie Willis Anderson, Copyright 2012
Pattern available in EPattern or Mailed format.

Got books?

2012-01-19T09:55:00.001-05:00

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” - Jane Austen

I think I've posted that quote before but it's such a good one! Reading is one of my most favorite things to do. I set a challenge to read 90 books this year -- sounds easier than 100, right? So far I'm on a good pace.

- - -

Finished an interesting read this week, What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.

I was really mesmerized by the plot - Alice, (aptly named since she went down her own rabbit hole of sorts) falls during a spin class at the gym and in doing so has a doozy of a headache and no memory of the last 10 years! The story was gripping from the start but it did go on and on and on too much and then ended rather quickly. I felt like I had fallen down that rabbit hole and then hit the bottom hard! Perhaps that was the author's mission all along. While the book wasn't a 5-star read for me, it was thought provoking.

What if you woke up and it was 10 years later than you thought it was? What if you didn't recognize your children? Remember the pangs of childbirth? Remember the day before the day before the day before yesterday? Remember your husband? Remember what you loved to drink, eat, do? Remember your friends? Remember milestones in life? Pretty tough to imagine since I do remember all those things, some are hazy and some more vividly than others! The book gives the reader a look at Alice's life as it was presently and it was shockingly different than she could have imagined it to be. The book's goal, I think, was to make the reader pause at her/his own life path.

Sometimes we think our lives will turn out a certain way. They don't. They may have elements of what we wished for, dreamt of, worked toward, but our road was set for us long ago, to follow and live so it's just one big surprise after another whether we like it or not, good or bad, sour or sweet. God has a plan. I know He does. I'd like to think that if I woke up tomorrow and missed a decade of my life, that I'd still be surrounded by my wonderful, loving family and have the life I have now, just with a few more gray hairs and lots of more books in the house. In order to achieve the life we want, we need to be in the present and not be bogged down with trivial distractions that clutter our path and keep us from living the life we are meant to live. Being the real you and keeping consistent to your true self is essential. Don't ever be somebody you're not and always give everything of yourself even when you don't get anything back in return.

- - -

Quite a different book is Red Sled by Lita Judge.

Zack and I read this picture book this week and it's a true delight. With hardly any words, the story flows along for the imagination of the reader, which makes for the best kind of picture book! The illustrations are darling - a bear spots a red sled in the snow leaning against a cosy house; he borrows it at night to take woodland animals for spins in the snow. He then returns it by morning so the child can use it once again, perplexing the child with the footprints in the snow. The ending is so adorable - the child sees it is the bear who borrows the sled and goes sledding with the animals too.

Life can be a mystery but we can be part of it and enjoy the ride. Even if goes by fast on a sled!

Do you like my hat?

2012-01-17T08:30:00.001-05:00

“In the nineteeth century, knitting was prescribed to women as a cure for nervousness and hysteria. Many new knitters find this sort of hard to believe because, until you get good at it, knitting seems to cause those ailments."
-Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

This hat took me 8 days to make ~ not bad I guess but it seemed to take longer. I didn't knit every day but I'm such a hurried stitcher/reader/knitter - silly, I know - but I want to be done with it and move on to something else exciting to stitch, read, and create. I do savor the projects, lest you think I zip through things too quickly - it's just that I've so many things I want to make. Ah, that's the rub, isn't it? The pattern grabbed, found on the Lion Brand Yarn iPhone app, grabbed my attention and I liked it immediately because it was longer in the back and flops, make sense?, a wee bit when on. You cast on 80 stitches and knit for 12" so it is quite warm and cosy. I've a little cold so I wore it around the house all last night. Then like a pair of slippers you wear too long, it grew hot. So methinks it will be ideal on snowy days to come. Bring on the snow!

When I asked little Zack if he liked my hat, he said "Yes, Mama - I like it 151 percent!"

Indigo in Lowcountry ~ the legacy of colonial woman, Eliza Lucas (1722-1793)

2012-01-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

In general then I rise at five o'Clock in the morning, read till Seven, then take a walk in the garden or field, see that the Servants are at their respective businesses, then to breakfast. The first hour after breakfast is spent at my musick, the next is constantly employed in recolecting something I have learned least for want of practise it should be quite lost, such as French and short hand. After that I devote the rest of the time till I dress for dinner to our little Polly {her younger sister} and two black girls who I teach to read, and if I have papa's approbation (my Mamas I have got) I intend [them] for school mistres's for the rest of the Negroe children . . .
~wrote 17yr old Eliza Lucas in 1740.

- - -

Once there was a young lady named Eliza Lucas. She was born in Antigua in 1722. Her father, Lieutenant Colonel George Lucas, a British Army officer posted in Antigua, had moved his family to the Province of South Carolina in hopes that the climate there would prove better for his ailing wife. He was called back to his military post in Antigua; war broke out with Spain. In a few years, he became Lieutenant Governor, and this left his daughter, Eliza, to run the estate and to care for her mother and a younger sister, Polly.

In addition to running the plantation, Eliza taught her sister and two slave children how to read and write, studied music and art, wrote letters, and studied enough law to be able to draft legal wills for nearby residents.

Eliza's father sent indigo seeds to her from the West Indies which she experimented with for several years, eventually perfecting a process of making blocks of indigo cakes to be turned into dye. The dye, (England had relied on the French for this before), was in great demand. It was used in military dress and coats of the era.

In 1744, Eliza married a widower, Charles Pinckney. Charles was a Chief Justice of the South Carolina Province. The couple had four children: Charles Cotesworth, Thomas, another son who died, and a daughter, Harriott. After her marriage, Eliza continued experiments with hemp and flax, reviving the silk culture in the Lowcountry. She took over management of her husband's many plantations and Charles Town properties after his death in 1758.

Eliza's two sons were national figures. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was a General in the Revolutionary War and a signer of the United States Constitution. Thomas Pinckney was also a Revolutionary War officer, later a General, and then United States Minister to Spain and to Great Britian. Eliza Lucas Pinckney lived to see America win its Revolution. She died after a short illness in 1793 in Philadelphia, where she had been taken for cancer treatment. She is buried there. At his own request, George Washington was a pallbearer at her funeral.

Eliza Lucas Pinckney remains a prominent woman in South Carolina's history.

- - -

Indigo in Lowcountry, a Sampler Tale
copyright 2005 The Sampler Girl
Click HERE for details on this pattern.

Verse on sampler is from one of Eliza's favorite hymns and reads:

When all thy mercies, O my God,
my rising soul surveys,
transported with the view, I’m lost
in wonder, love and praise.

Through all eternity to thee
a joyful song I’ll raise;
for, oh, eternity’s too short
to utter all thy praise!
-Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719)

A Grateful Heart, free pattern

2012-01-15T16:25:00.000-05:00

I began this year's Gratitude Journal the other night. The idea, from my 2012 daily re-read, Simple Abundance, is an excellent one and makes me mindful of the simple blessings in each 24 hours. While not every day is paved with bountiful goodness from start to finish, there are golden days, beautiful moments, priceless parts that I wish would never end, could never stop, and might last forever. In the good and the bad, sun and the rain, snow and the ice, it is comforting to remember our blessings, big and small, and even though we go through our own life's trials, there's always someone having a more difficult time of it. May we each find comfort in our own blessings to blanket us on those extra stressful times and carry us through with Faith.

Anyway, the book suggests finding a pretty notebook to record your 5 daily blessings/gratitudes so this is mine. You can see my current favorite writing instrument nearby, a squishy zebra pen who, when pressed, bulges his eyes out wildly!

The following proverb was in a recent entry of the book and I liked it so much that I wanted to stitch it and have it on my nighttable to remind me about being grateful for my many blessings.

Gratitude is the heart's memory.
~French proverb

Here is the free pattern of its verse so you too can embrace your blessings, hold them close and jot them down for memorykeeping.

A Grateful Heart, a free pattern
Copyright 2012 The Sampler Girl
(click graph to enlarge chart)

Count your blessings ... count them one by one!

show & tell

2012-01-13T15:20:00.001-05:00

Here are some gorgeous finishes that have been emailed to me or posted on The Sampler Girl's Facebook page -- all lovel! Thank you sweetly for sharing your finished pictures with me to see. All free charts can be found on this blog and patterns can be found on the website.

*If you have stitched one of my designs and wish to show it off here and/or Facebook page, you can email it to me at samplergirl@cox.net

Snowman free chart stitched by Monique L.

combination of designs, Fancy a Jane Day, Fancy a Darcy Day & Jane Austen lives Here (from The Stitching Janeite's Pattern Book) stitched by Edward M.

You are the only Fish in the Sea stitched by Cucki

And your Little Dog Too stitched by Tammy B.

Tea Time free chart stitched by Elisa W.

- - -

So, it's the 13th ... Friday, the 13th. Hope it's a lucky one for you. Pizza night here as you remember -- Fridays are favorites, no matter the number in our house. Enjoy!

simple abundance

2012-01-12T19:20:00.000-05:00

I am re-reading Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Since its publication in 1995, I've read it several years as a devotion and very much enjoyed it. It's great to pick up every few years as it all reads anew once again. It rekindles inspiration, reflection and gratitude. Each day's entry begins with a quote by a literary type, a famous person, an anonymous soul, a proverb, etc. At the close of every month, it has a list of fantastic things you can do during that month to make it extra special in small ways. Today's entry was very deserving of the book's title, on simple abundance, and it reads:

- - -

When money is plenty this is a man's world. When money is scarce it is a woman's world. When all else seems to have failed, the woman's instinct comes in. She gets the job. That is the reason why, in spite of all that happens, we continue to have a world. - Ladies Home Journal, Oct 1932.

- - -

Basically, the passage today makes the reader ponder and rethink our days and make them simpler in order to live in the life we have, in our means, and enjoy it rather than worry over what we don't have. "The simpler we make our lives, the more abundant they become. There is no scarity except in our souls." {Breathnach} If you haven't picked up this devotional book, then I highly recommend it. It will spark your soul and inspire you, I guarantee it!

Still knitting away on that hat! I've received emails and comments about it -- wanting to see a picture of me wearing it. Well, I must be a slow knitter or the blasted thing is going to be too long and when put on my head, it will pouff down in the back too much and I'll look like one of those residents of Dr. Seuss' Whoville. Hope not! It's not just a basic round hat but lops (great word but you know what I mean) in the back a bit ... you'll see. I'll finish it, and soon. It's to get colder here and I'm the only lass in the house (except for the cat) without a hat ... ok, well, she has fur and stays indoors. All the guys have hats, whether they choose to wear them or not. Apparently when you're in middle school, wearing a wintry hat (especially knit by Mom) to school is lame and not cool but if you're almost 5 years old, you'll comply, most cold mornings. Of course, once the snow falls AND sticks then they'll be in full parka-wear - cool or lame looking.

I delight in your comments - the recent ones have been a real treat. Yes, I have been giving a few more free patterns as of late - why not?! Don't worry - I still have ones to purchase :) Been busy emailing PDF orders - thank you sweetly for your patronage through the years. I am giddy that my designs are being stitched all the world round - very exciting to have you share with me your pictures too. I love seeing your finished works.

Tonight's dinner was enjoyed by each starved soul at the table ~ something I strive for because I hate seeing a picky eater go to bed wailing about being famished, when's breakfast, why don't you make food I like, yada yada yada ... so we had Crockpot Meatball Subs. D-lish. Here's the simple recipe I concocted.

Crockpot Meatball Subs, my way
Feeds 2 hungry adults and 2 starving boys. Makes enough for leftovers too!

YOU WILL NEED
2 jars Classico Spicy Tomato & Basil Sauce (you can use any sauce you wish of course!)

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups Italian style breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 splash of milk (I know, never measure this!)

1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper

shredded mozzarella cheese for topping
fresh sub rolls, toasted before serving

DIRECTIONS
In large bowl, mix (with your hands!) ground beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley, minced onion, kosher salt, parmesan cheese, and milk together and form into 1-inch diameter size meatballs. Place on a large plate and frig for a few minutes to firm a bit.

Spray crockpot with Pam.
Pour in both jars of sauce. Add chopped onion and green pepper, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir to combine. Add meatballs one by one into the sauce and spoon the sauce over all of them so none are left sauce-less!

Cover crockpot and cook on LOW for 7 hours.
Serve on oven-toasted sub rolls; top with shredded mozzarella cheese and enjoy!

snow + knitting = happy me

2012-01-10T10:05:00.002-05:00

We had our first snow yesterday afternoon and it was gorgeous. It only lasted a few hours before tapering off to all flurries and not accumulating more than a covering but it was fun while it lasted. Z and I had a great time in it -- it was cold!!

I worked more on my hat and while not in time to wear for the first snow, I'm in a hurry to finish it and put it on! Off to put the kettle on for tea at least and knit some more rows. Happy Tuesday.

*Oh and btw, that recipe I posted yesterday was delicious! I added a can of black beans to it and ended up subbing ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese after all. YUM!!

it's all good

2012-01-09T10:35:00.000-05:00

If you watched Downton Abbey 2 last night ~ WASN'T IT FANTASTIC??? Oh my, fun fun FUN. I spent a late night at my Mom's house watching with her and eager for next Sunday's episode for another girl's night. I knit a bit and excited about my hat-in-progress!

Found this healthy recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd fix it tonight. I'm not a cottage cheese fan (at all) but when it's cooked in a casserole, it blends in. Hope it's good!

Chicken Taco Casserole

Cooking Spray
1 lb Ground skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1 clove garlic
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
8 oz taco sauce
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1 cup low-fat tortilla chips, whole or broken up
1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray cooking spray on bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish; set aside.

2. In a skillet, cook chicken, onion, peppers and garlic clove until tender. Add seasoning mix and taco sauce; set aside.

3. In a medium size bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese; set aside. Place half the broken chips in bottom of the casserole dish. Add meat mixture to cover the chips, then cover the meat with sour cream mixture.

4. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining crushed chips. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with the 3/4 cup salsa.

___

It's a Full Moon tonight ... if your kids are extra wild, then you'll know why :)

Downton Abbey, again

2012-01-08T11:00:00.001-05:00

Close to a year since we were introduced to Downton Abbey; remember this free pattern? Tonight here in the states we get to see the second part, at long last! I'll re-watch the first series this afternoon and then head over to my Mom's house to see the newest installment this evening with her. Don't forget to watch!!

Happy Sunday.

Pineapple Bliss.

2012-01-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Well, that's what I call it. aka Upside Down Pineapple Cake .... my husband loves this kind of cake. Years back I made a very, very, very good version of it from a Cooking Light magazine. It was unique in that it called for fresh rosemary to be scattered in the melted butter/brown sugar mixture and then you topped it with the pineapple slices and then the batter. When sliced and placed before him, my husband's first comment was, Is there supposed to be grass on it? Yes! and rosemary is not grass. I will say that seeing the rosemary turn brown the next day didn't make the cake as pretty as first baked (and brought all new comments you can imagine) but still good flavor. Since then I've lost that recipe (yes - sad to say) so have used several other variations, sometimes with or without rosemary scattered in just for comments to spark.

Tonight we went to my parents' house for dinner (pot roast - one of my husband's mainstays which apparently I don't make enough) and I took dessert. Mom's dinner was outstanding. I concocted a new, simple version of ... you guessed it, Upside Down Pineapple Cake, which I call, Pineapple Bliss.

Pineapple Bliss
1 Box Pineapple Supreme Cake Mix
Caramel Topping (it's fat free - makes you feel better, right?)
Pam spray
20 ounce can sliced pineapple rings, juice drained

Prepare cake batter as directed on box.

In a 9x12 pan, spray Pam and then drizzle generously the Caramel Topping all around the bottom of pan. Top with all the slices of pineapple. Take a moment and smell the sweetness! Ok, pour the batter over pineapple slices and spread to even layer.

Bake 325-350 degrees (depending on your oven) for 35 minutes.

Cool about 5 minutes and then invert cake onto foil-lined tray or plate. yummmm

- - -

I finished Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich and it was hilarious. One of her better recent books! I received several emails after that post and yes, I do know there's a movie coming out of her first book - can't wait! I want to re-read the book before I see the film. If you haven't seen the trailer yet ... click HERE! Looks to be a fun ride. Morelli or Ranger? I'm always rooting for Morelli :)

- - -

Just want to say thank you for all the sweet comments on the Blog throughout the year -- I read them all and really appreciate you taking the time to jot a note down to me; love hearing from you. Hope your week-end is a splendid one.

Kindle Love

2012-01-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

After dinner last night (which btw was delicious, sweet, and yummy ... recipe below), I was on a mission. To make a sleeve for Phoebe, aka my Kindle. I had picked some Valentine fabrics for the project and I'm really giddy at how it turned out!! The Kindle fit (imagine that!) and I was able to follow the wonderful free tutorial word for word ... sometimes over and over, but I managed to get it done and even have hopes of making more of these little lined pretties. I'm sure it will go much faster next time because now I know what I'm doing.

Ok, the recipe!

Honey Barbecue Turkey Meatloaf
2/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 Tablesppon Dijon Mustard
3/4 cup Sticky Fingers Memphis Original Barbecue Sauce, divided
2 Tablespoons honey, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 lb ground turkey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pyrex loaf pan with Pam.

Add Panko breadcrumbs, 2 T of Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, 1 T honey, the salt and pepper to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add the ground turkey and use your hands to mix.

Transfer mixture to the prepared loaf pan. Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup bbq sauce, 1 T honey, and 2 t Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the surface of meatloaf and spread to coat.

Bake for 60 minutes or until done. Let rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice and serve!

J is for January, a free chart

2012-01-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

Cleaning and re-organizing my little design studio at the start of the New Year, I came across lots of stuff as well as several older patterns of mine. This little snowman was one of them! Enjoy.

J is for January

Free Chart
c 2002 The Sampler Girl
(click graph to enlarge!)

C DMC 310
S DMC 3072
X DMC 3755
N DMC 721
R DMC 498
B DMC 3750
W DMC DMC Blanc (fill in snowman with DMC Blanc)

- - -

I love the snow! My boys love a good snowstorm too. I'm not fond of the ice - who is? But the snow for packing snowmen means winter to me. Not everyone is a fan of snow, I know, but being a January baby makes me adore it all the more, I guess. The week I was born in 1970, a friend of my Mom's brought her a snowball at the hospital! My grandparents had to walk through the snow to get to the hospital to see me for the first time because the roads were impassable. I love hearing my grandmother tell that story every January :)

We had our first few flakes cascaded from the sky just this week; made for a pretty scene even if it didn't stick. Hope Jack Frost has more to send our way soon -- just enough to build a snowman, close school for a day or so, but keep us toasty warm when we head indoors for hot cocoa.

“Is it snowing where you are?
All the world that I see from my tower is draped in white
and the flakes are coming down as big as pop-corns.
It's late afternoon - the sun is just setting (a cold yellow colour)
behind some colder violet hills, and I am up in my window seat
using the last light to write to you.”
-Jean Wesbter (1876 - 1916)

Primitive Mittens, a Free Tutorial

2012-01-04T15:20:00.001-05:00

I can't wait until tomorrow to show you these little pretties. I can't! It's too cold here and they're just too adorable.

Helene is constantly inspiring me and this afternoon I set some of that inspiration to work ~ to make a pair of mittens for my little January table. What is a January table? Well, - it's a table that both boys run into from time to time, forgetting it's near the mantle, but it's a $4 wooden circular 2-shelf table that my grandmother found me for on half price day at the thrift shop so you do the math ... it's simple and sweet and the perfect size for a monthly display. A tiny faux silver, sparkly tree decked with a primitive hanging snowman (drives my husband nuts) sits on it right now; a lace doily from my other grandmother covers the surface and random wintry stitchy pieces sit ontop for display! A pair of primitive mittens would be the final touch.

Aren't they the cutest things?!

If you want to make a pair, here's how I made them but of course you can vary the materials and be creative!

*Primitive Mittens*
Free Tutorial
copyright 2012 The Sampler Girl

You will Need:
28ct Light Khaki/Natural Gingham Linen by Weeks Dye Works
1 skein Sullivans cotton floss #45231 or DMC 830
size 20 tapestry needle
polyfil for little fluff in each mitten
scissors
2 type of trims - one for decoration at cuff of each mitten and one for hanging
glue gun
pencil
mitten template (I used a pair of Zack's mittens for this bc I can't draw!)

- - -

Directions

Trace a pair of kids mittens (OR freehand draw a mitten shape) onto heavy cardstock paper. Cut out and voila, these are your templates!
Cut 4 squares of fabric and iron.
Using mitten templates, cut out 4 to make 1 pair of mittens. (2 pieces per mitten)
Using all 6 strands of floss, thread the needle and knot the end.
Match each mitten, back to front. Begin with 1 set and using the blanket stitch (See Below.), stitch all edges (except for the top). This is a fun, quick stitch! Before ending your thread and finishing the top, stuff with a little fluff for padding. Now finish blanket stitching and knot off your thread.
Do the same for the other mitten.
Attach a small strip of decorative trim to both mittens' cuffs with glue gun. This fancies it up a bit!
Next, cut a strip of the other trim for your hanging and using the glue gun again, attach it to the back center of each stuffed mitten.

- - -

My oldest is home from school now and starving. They're always hungry!! Ok - best off the computer now. Have a cosy night ... and make some mittens to adorn your own little January table this month.

Brrrrr

2012-01-04T11:30:00.001-05:00

Both boys are back in school and Christmas Break is officially over. It's already several days into January and routines are settling in once again. The calendar has been marked up. Winter has come to visit abruptly this week and while the weekend looks to be less frigid, it's might cold today! The basket of gloves and hats resides once again in its annual place and I'm happy to report each mitten has a match. Sometimes that doesn't always happen, I'm sure you know. They're like socks - who knows what happens to the other. Anyhoo, scarfs are lined up to grab as well and it surely looks like winter is here for awhile. My grandmother gave these adorable gloves to Zack last year, well 2 years ago!, and they are too fun. Wish they came in my size!

So with everyone's routines back on track, so it my workout schedule. It's extra tough getting to the gym on a wintry morning but I did with Phoebe, my Kindle. Yes, I named her - remember? I'm reading Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich and I laughed most those 40 minutes on the treadmill. Some of her books are just ok and some are hilarious and this is one of them. Good thing I wasn't drinking my water at those moments because I could've sprayed the guy next to me with a spray of Evian.

Best to work a bit before preschool ends ~ Zack is usually starving when I pick him up so I better have lunch planned too. Nothing like a hungry 4yr old to bring out the Grumpy Gus. Enjoy Wednesday!

lessons

2012-01-03T16:50:00.000-05:00

While sitting in the car on this blustery, winter afternoon waiting for school to end and for Ben to head our direction, I was telling Zack about the squirrel nests high up in the bare trees nearby. He was fascinated by them and while I'm usually spooked by them (remember, they house those pesky yet cute varmints!), I felt sorry for them all huddled up there swaying in the fierce winds, probably praying their home wouldn't topple to the ground ... or spying on me as the one whose birdfeeders they like to wreck the most ... but Zack asked me how the squirrels knew to build their nests. I told him that God taught them to build their nests and that's how they know what to do!

My grandmother sang me a song over and over and over when I was small: Who taught the bird to build her nest ... and it ended with the simple, reassuring verse, God taught them all the way. God teaches us all the time, whether we realize it or not, whether it be something small or big. How comforting to know that God is continually giving us wisdom and even more when we seek it from Him.

Still windy and quite nippy as it approaches 5pm in the East ... dinner about to be fixed so I best get to it. Perhaps you have discovered something new today and just think it's a whole new year to embrace the wonders of everything. Here's hoping January has started on a new foot and a hopeful one for you, dear Blogger friend.

and the winners ARE ...

2012-01-02T11:45:00.000-05:00

Congrads to Kellie and Jenny, the winners of the Giveaway! You each have been emailed so please reply with your mailing addresses and a copy of the magazine will be sent your way. Thank you to ALL who entered!!

Make your own Cookbook 101 + Free Chart!

2012-01-01T13:30:00.001-05:00

...no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.

~Julia Child

I collect recipes. Madly. With a passion. I'm forever bookmarking foodie links and then misplacing a recipe that I've fixed and want to make again and hmmmm, wonder what happened to it! I hoard cooking magazines and finally have reached magazine-shelf capacity! I've gathered recipes on cards, papers, envelopes, random scraps and filed them just about everywhere. I love to cook, bake & EAT. Through the years I've tried to put my recipes in folders, somewhat, and the categories just get messed up and well, the 'system' never lasts.

SO with a New Year, comes my desire to finally make my own recipe cookbook. Nothing fancy, something simple, and yes, easy to find when I need it!

You will need a 2" 3-ring binder, lots of clear page protectors, 3-ring dividers with pockets, and all your recipes! I tore page after page after page out of magazines with the recipes I kept the magazines for in the first place so happily the magazine shelf is lighter. I printed out several (to start) some of my favorite tried and tested as well as wanna-try bookmarked recipes on the computer and put them in categories: Breakfast, Main Dishes, Appetizers, Crockpot, Sweets, Sides, Tips & Other. The Tips section has magazine clippings of healthy tips on food, roasting techniques, etc. The Other category has info on special menus I've created in the past. I'm sure I'll fill several of these binders in no time flat - can't wait!

If you want to make your own cookbook, go for it. Your stomach (and family) will thank you! You can add some needlework to the cover as I plan, if you wish. Here's a freebie from me for you - pick colors to match your binder, use larger count fabric for fun, fringe the edges of finished stitching and adhere to the spine or front of your binder.

After church this morning instead of going out, I was giddy to open my cookbook to my favorite Chili recipe and it's about done. So best to it! Starting the New Year off with a delicious start here.

Recipes Free Chart
Copyright 2012 The Sampler Girl
(click chart to enlarge!)

Happy New Year and may it be a healthy, happy and delicious one.
- - -
*2 winners for the Giveaway will be randomly picked today & announced tomorrow!

Getting excited?

2011-12-30T10:20:00.000-05:00

After dinner last night we went in to the city and saw the National Christmas Tree. Z was thrilled to see all the electric trains in whistling motion going around and around and around the tracks in the grand display. If you haven't been to Washington, DC in December, the National Christmas Tree is always a highlight. There are smaller trees, one for each state, surrounding the big one and it all makes for a lovely treat on a wintry night. When I was a child, there were reindeer as well for the kids to pet which was very cool but they don't do that anymore. The trains draw attention for all ages.

2 days! That's it - that's what's left of this year 2011. Get excited ... 2012 is almost here!
Don't forget the GIVEAWAY!! 2 winners randomly picked on Jan 1.

GIVEAWAY at The Sampler Girl's Blog!

2011-12-28T17:14:00.007-05:00

What a lazy, relaxing, yet productive day! It's cold. The kind of listen-to-the-wind kinda day at times. Now it's dark outside and only past 5pm here in the East. Pizza should be arriving at the door any minute and the hungry boys somewhere in this house will be so so so happy that Mama deemed it Pizza night and it isn't even Friday :)

So back to my day. The boys kept busy and quite content with their Christmas toys which afforded me a good long while to weed through the mess that had piled up in my itty bitty design studio. Happy to report all is done and that makes me giddy! So much so that I thought we'd do a Giveaway. I haven't done one in such a long while so how's about it?

I found I had several copies of Just Cross Stitch Magazine, the issue from Jan/Feb 2009 which included my design, Persuasion Pillow Pattern.

::To enter, simply add your name and email address (don't forget this part!) to the comment field below and you're entered! I'll pick 2 winners randomly on January 1st.

Good luck! Oh yummers - pizza man is here ... just in time! Have a cosy night.

wishing for s n o w

2011-12-27T11:20:00.001-05:00

Only a few days left in the year! It's a rainy start to Tuesday here and I'm wishing the raindrops were snowflakes instead. Thinking if I stitched something snow-themed, then snow might come, right? We'll see what happens. Anything's possible ...

*Thank you sweetly for your comments on Miss Maddy in the last post -- she was purrrrfectly content with all the praise for her prettiness. She wears her age of 16 very well.

16 years ago today ... + free pattern

2011-12-26T12:20:00.002-05:00

I saw Miss Maddy Cat for the first time. Oh she was so little! I had breakfasted with a dear friend at nearby La Madeleine and then went to an animal shelter because I desperately wanted a kitty of my own. I can still see the memory (you know those kind of memories) - the small set up in the animal shelter, the cages with all the cats so wanting a home. And there was Maddy. This little puff of fur, a maine coon, 6 months old, meowing and reaching to me through the cage. I told the lady helping me that this was the cat I wanted to hold.

She handed Maddy (Amira at the time) to me and led us into a little room where the two of us could get acquainted. I was immediately smitten and knew this kitty was the one. I went back to the animal shelter the next day with my boyfriend (now husband) and we picked Maddy up and the rest .. is history.

I named her, Madeleine, after the restaurant I had been to before seeing her the day after Christmas in 1995. If you follow my blog, then you know that Maddy went completely blind this Fall and is on blood pressure medicine daily. She is doing very well and still the Queen of the house :)

The stitching at the top of this post is in Kitty Kringle's Christmas Booklet. The chart is available here on the blog as a special treat -- Maddy loves treats! Enjoy.

Stitch Count: 35 x 34
Fabric: 32ct Belgian Linen, Natural
X DMC 839
V DMC 580
O DMC 869
| DMC 370

2 days ...

2011-12-23T16:20:00.001-05:00

Made a quick, sort of, trip to Trader Joes this morning as did a hundred other shoppers in search of festive foods. Came away with many tasty items including these decadent dark chocolate peanut butter filled cupcakes. Yes, I thought the same thing. WOW. I so hope they turn out as fantastic as they look - oh and here's hoping their container remains unopened until tomorrow night's dessert.

- - -

My 4yr old has glazed eyes by now in anticipation of Christmas morning -- the countdown is winding down. The hourly 'can't I just open 1 present?? please??' from little Zack's darling face as he races around the tree, makes my left eye twitch but it is a warm feeling inside to children experience Christmas with such magic and frantic excitement. There's nothing like childhood - especially at Christmastime. The other afternoon I pulled out some crafts to help ease the late-afternoon wild hour and Z insisted on putting his reindeer on the tree. It's really huge but still sits in the branches!

My 12yr old is thrilled to finally be on Winter Break ... until next year -- sounds so far away when you say it that way :) Remember when it was going to turn from 1999 to 2000? All that Y2K stuff and nonsense. How weird it sounded and stranger still to write it out?! Now we're about to call it 2012 ... amazing. But not yet -- see you on Christmas Eve. Until then ... be cosy & merry!

Time well spent ... Reading!

2011-12-22T10:15:00.002-05:00

I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!

How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! --
When I have a house of my own,
I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.
-Jane Austen

I've read 78 books this year! I read every chance I get. With my Kindle, I can now borrow books from the library too and don't worry, I still read real paper and spine books ... even though my husband likes to refer to my Kindle (which I named Phoebe, remember?), just a screen and not a book-book. Oh I love reading!!

Now the year hasn't ended just yet so I will probably squeeze 1 or 2 more books in to make it 80 but here are the titles of my most favorites from the year, in case you need book recommendations or gift giving ideas. I use the wonderful book site, goodreads.com, to keep a log of my books read and to read; it's a terrific website to review titles and rate books on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being 'you loved it'. Avid reading friends join you if you wish and there grows your nightstand's wanna read pile :)

My Favorite Reads of 2011

Emily and Einstein by Linda Lee Francis
Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer
Love Always by Harriet Evans
How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares
Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriquez
She Walks in Beauty: A Woman’s Journey through Poems by Caroline Kennedy
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz
10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Children the Social and Emotional Skills to Lead Smarter, Healthier, and Happier Lives by Goldie Hawn
Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel

Some wonderful new (or new to us!) Children's Picture Books . . .
If you Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff

The Three Little Fish & The Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist

Good Boy, Fergus! by David Shannon

Piggy Pie Po by Audrey Wood

Doctor Meow's Big Emergency by Sam Lloyd

If you can't think of what to give someone this holiday, give a book ... or a Kindle gift card! The genres are endless and time well spent reading at any age is a good thing. Here's to books!

enlisting the elves

2011-12-21T10:00:00.003-05:00

Remember this little guy?

Well, he's been moving about the house more frequently as the countdown to Christmas winds down & apparently last night, he found the hershey kisses near the Scandinavian tabletop tree! Zack was first to tell me that he didn't eat the chocolates and then was surprised that elves eat candy. Why not?!

So I see on my calendar that it's just a few days until Christmas - 3 days until Christmas Eve and as my oldest likes to say, it is already Christmas Eve Eve Eve EVE, Mom!! Yes, the excitement level has peaked and continues to soar here. I've never put presents under the Christmas tree before Christmas Eve only because our Miss Maddy maine coon kitty would rip bows off, tear paper, climb gifts to get at ornaments ... you get the idea. However, now that she went completely blind this Fall, she hasn't noticed the tree! Very, very sad but I'm sure she'll find her way treeside on Christmas Morning. In the meanwhile though, I've been able to put the presents all around beneath the tree and love how it looks. Imagine! However ... Zack constantly asks me if he can open just one present, just one! It is quite tempting for him but so far he hasn't taken any in his room and opened ... 4 days to go, right?!

I've merrily glad to have all my shopping completed. However, that leaves me with more wrapping to finish and I used to love/relish/adore/crave that part ... now, not so much. I get weary and where everything used to have a bow on it ... it's lucky to have tape on all sides now. The kids just rip everything open anyway. Besides, money on bows can be spent on caffeine to keep us awake on the 25th!

Oh I found the cutest little elf tags to print! Click HERE to grab a set.

Nearly 10AM and feels like 2 in the afternoon -- been up with the chickens (if I had chickens) as I hosted a Holiday Brunch @ school this morning. I groan and groan about volunteering and undertaking such a large project but it was a smashing success and very rewarding; the teachers and staff at Ben's middle school were so appreciative and thankfully, starving! I was blessed with an army of parents bringing in all types of breakfast yums. But yes, you can imagine my relief that my volunteer hat is off until next year.

I leave you with another free pattern -- be sure to enlist an elf to help and make your holiday less stressful as much as possible. Oh, and snatch a hershey kiss whenever you can --- just make sure you throw away the wrapper --- you can see our little elf forgot.

Elf, a free chart
Copyright 2010 The Sampler Girl
(click chart to enlarge)

Stitch Count 31W x 70H
COLOR CODE
X DMC 502
/ DMC 355
| DMC 434
U DMC 822
O DMC 3820
V DMC 3856
BKST eyes and mouth DMC 3864
To add a jingle to your elf, sew a jingle bell to each of her shoes.

It's a Wonderful Life ~ 3 day SALE!

2011-12-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

Oh I love this movie!!! I guess you knew that by now as I have designed four patterns inspired by it. The latest, George Lassos the Moon, is just as fun to stitch as the other three!

'It's a Wonderful Life' came out in 1946 soooo for 3 days only, all my Wonderful Life themed patterns are 19.46% off. Offer ends December 23rd. Enjoy!

It's a Wonderful Life Pillow Pattern
Bedford Falls Ornament
Every time a Bell Rings
George Lassos the Moon

the power of T E A + free pattern!

2011-12-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

"I was very tired, but slept to a miracle and am lovely today."

-Jane Austen

When was the last time you had a good night's sleep? I mean, a really good night's sleep. The kind where you wake up and feel completely rested and not hurried by any means to blur about the room but rather step lightly into the morning light and be truly with it & excited to begin the day?! This world is so busy - always in motion - never asleep - everything is always on - there's always something to watch on television - something to read - something to do - something to play - some place to be!

With two boys, 4 and 12, there isn't much quiet in my house as you can imagine. Even when my littlest guy has quiet time in his room, there's still noise. Oh the noise, noise, noise! However, as loud it can get, I am forever appreciative to have the blessing of hearing. It is sweet though on those rare occasions when the house is quiet and I can hear the wind blow wildly, the cat purr, and the silence of spirit.

This time of year is hectic. Busy, busy, BUSY with everything you can think of and more. Children are anxious to open presents, big or small. It's tricky to get a really good night's sleep on any given day but during the holidays, I find you either collapse in a heap and power nap or count your to-do list instead of sheep. I used to be a terrific sleeper until child number 1 came along. I remember quite vividly one night soon after Ben was born when I got up with him and honestly don't recall how one foot moved infront of the other to get to the crib. I had never experienced such exhaustion! Since then, I don't sleep as soundly but find that when I have a cup of tea before bed, usually chamomile, then I sleep more comfortably, even if it's not for long. The sleep is better - make sense?

I've been trying to wean myself off a lot of diet coke (i heart diet coke!!!) and successfully have limited my intake by replacing it with water and iced green tea. I find decaf green tea to be a restorative and energy booster for me. Tea is a wonderful medicinal for all and the varieties available are astounding. Tea helps me sleep better, more restful and works wonders for the stress level. Hot or cold, tea is my comfort drink of choice.

So next time you can't sleep, put the kettle on and make a cup of tea! Here's a little free pattern for all tea lovers to enjoy! Pick colors of your choice and feel free to email me your finished creation at samplergirl@cox.net and I'll show it off here or on Facebook.

Drink up!

Tea Time
Copyright 2011 The Sampler Girl
Free Pattern - not for resale.

(click chart to enlarge)

The Sampler Girl Blog ... goes KINDLE!!

2011-12-17T12:15:00.003-05:00

Exciting news! The Sampler Girl's Blog is now available on Kindle.
CLICK HERE for all details!!

Happy Birthday, Jane! New Pattern: Cake for Jane Austen

2011-12-16T10:30:00.001-05:00

Happy 236th Birthday, Jane Austen!

For all stitching Janeites, this NEW pattern might delight you as it does me. I've pretty giddy about it!! Five designs included in chart; each has been stitched on 28ct antique white linen and then coffee dyed for a soft aged effect ~ then 'framed' in simple wooden hoops, adorned with Regency style ribbon at the tops and ready to fancy any Austen day . . . with birthday cake!

Cake for Jane Austen
Copyright 2011
The Sampler Girl
Click HERE for pattern information.

So add a little Jane Austen in your life and perhaps you'll find a Col. Brandon or Mr. Darcy to keep you company. Jane Austen lives on!

Calling all Jane Austen fans!!

2011-12-15T12:30:00.001-05:00

***A special pattern to celebrate Jane Austen's 236th birthday will be released on December 16th. Stay tuned. You won't want to miss it!!!

busy as an elf

2011-12-14T08:19:00.005-05:00

This is an extra busy time of year for my printer! With new pattern release inventories, website orders, distributor orders, and Jane Austen Centre orders -- it's no wonder my precious printer went kaput the other night! Thankfully, my Mom has the same printer so she let me borrow hers while I'm in this crunch time. Such a frantic month of year as it is -- not a time for the printer to decide to take a holiday, not yet!

- - -

Check back on the December 16th for a special design
to celebrate Jane Austen's 236th birthday.
See you then, dear Blogger friend.

football & food

2011-12-11T15:43:00.007-05:00

Now that baseball is over, football watching has been in full swing here. The guys watch and the littlest guy wants to be a part of it all ... even when they head outside to toss the football around. Zack has gotten quite good at the hike part. My brother in law from New England visited recently and brought the boys really cool new Red Sox caps ... Z loves the flames on his!

- - -

I fixed this comfort food dish on Thursday evening and we devoured it so quickly, I didn't get a picture of it! Trust me, it was delicious and a perfect meal for this time of year - made great leftovers too. I adapted the recipe from Cooking on Clover Lane blog.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

1 package chicken tenders

1 bag 12 oz egg noodles

6 oz frozen corn

6 oz frozen chopped broccoli

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup fat free sour cream

1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

1 roll of Ritz crackers

1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Poach chicken in a large pot of simmering water.

Cook until done (about 15 minutes).

Remove chicken but keep water!

Bring chicken cooking water to a boil and cook pasta in it.

Cook pasta till al dente....don't over cook.

Drain.

Cut chicken into small pieces and mix with noodles.

In a separate bowl, mix together mushroom soup, chicken soup, frozen vegetables, sour cream and parmesan.

Season with salt and pepper.

Gently fold together cream soup mixture with the chicken and noodles.

Place in a 9 X 13” sprayed baking dish.

Melt 1/4 cup butter and then stir crumbled crackers into butter.

Sprinkle on top of casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes.

- - -

Till next time!

New Patterns!!

2011-12-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

Two NEW patterns are now available ~ they finish up my designing year 2011 rather joyfully, I think ~ hope you enjoy them! The first is lovey-dovey, simple and sweet and the second is the fourth design of mine inspired by my favorite holiday classic, It's A Wonderful Life.

Love you, Dear
copyright 2011
Click HERE for pattern info.

- - -

George Lassos the Moon
copyright 2011
Click HERE for pattern info.

May your December be moving slowly along as hoped, allowing you to enjoy and embrace every magical moment. Happy week-end!

random thoughts

2011-12-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

::Annual Norwegian bazaar with my Mom on Saturday = fun times! She spoiled me with some darling new Christmas items including a new doll. The Oslo one is very special and reminds me of the fun we had there together many years ago.

::The boys each have a simple Advent calendar this year -- no candy, just a countdown to the big day. The first thing Zack does in the morning is put that candy cane in its number place!

::To distract both boys from my fragile Nativity scene, there's the Playmobile set which seems to loose animals and itty bitty hair parts every year but alas, we still have the main characters so that's a good thing. I snapped a picture while they were all in place -- they move around the table a lot this month.

::Found $9 in my pocket = a happy surprise.

::Making a list and checking it many, many times. So glad there are iPhone apps for everything including list making.

::Evening with Santa @ the preschool tonight -- maybe if I'm lucky there will be some spiked punch. Yea - well, a Mom can dream.

::Two more designs coming out before this year ends ... stay tuned!

December Greetings!

2011-12-01T12:18:00.007-05:00

Welcome, December ~ don't be in a hurry to leave. I want every day to linger and not whiz by. May your month sweetly slow down the pace even though holiday happenings busy it up ~ enjoy every moment.

Look at this beautiful pillow made by Robin H. - the design is the recent freebie, C'est Noel. Such a festive finish and perfect to show on this first day of December!

New Patterns + Free Chart

2011-11-30T18:15:00.003-05:00

There are 2 NEW patterns now available at the webshop! Hope you like them ~ the first is the fourth 'Clara' design in this yesteryear series of journal samplers. The second new release evokes sweet affection for any holiday of the heart.

Clara's Knitting Sampler 1891
Design by Tanya Marie Willis Anderson
Copyright 2011 The Sampler Girl

- - -

You are the only Fish in the Sea
Design by Tanya Marie Willis Anderson
Copyright 2011 The Sampler Girl

. . . and . . .
Believe it or not, tomorrow is December 1st!
Tis the season to spread joy.

**BELIEVE**

Design by Tanya Marie Willis Anderson copyright 2009 reissued here
as a FREE CHART ~ NOT FOR RESALE.
(Click chart to enlarge)

food, glorious food

2011-11-25T16:05:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was warm here ~ in the 70s! We had a fantastic meal at my parents house last night and happy to report the leftovers have already been opened even though after that big a meal, one would think they could never eat again. Ever. It's still in the 70s today and doesn't quite weather-feel like the start of the Christmas season but I've started putting away the Fall things already, cleaning house, and bringing out a touch of red and green anyway.

- - -

If you click these, you will be taken to their recipes ~ each were delicious!!
Pumpkin Pie Dip
Served with ginger thins, mini nilla wafers, wheat thins, and apple slices
Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
I could not stop eating this! Lordy, it is amazing. Didn't add the jalapeno pepper because it was kicked up just right - I'm making it again for Christmas!
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Sooooooooo creamy and good.

Mom made this absolutely fabulous pecan pie ~ she said the recipe was on the Karo syrup label; I found it online HERE. She used Light instead of the Dark syrup - this pie was an out of body experience kinda good!

My brother and his fiance's dogs, Hazel and Sophie, came as well and thoroughly enjoyed the turkey! It was priceless watching them sit by the table for their portions :)

happy thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:40:00.002-05:00

I am so very thankful for all my blessings. Love to you and your dear ones this holiday season. Eat up!

slow cooker garlic chicken

2011-11-22T19:12:00.007-05:00

The recipe is from the December 2011 issue of Everyday Food (the cute little recipe magazine from Martha Stewart) that came in the mail yesterday. As I quickly browsed through it last night, I knew this was to be dinner tonight. YUM!!

  Slow-Cooker Garlic Chicken 
serves 4

 1 whole chicken (3.5 - 4lbs), cut up and patted dry 
coarse salt and ground black pepper
 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
 1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
 6 garlic cloves, halved 
2 teaspoon dried thyme

 1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
 1/3 cup all purpose flour
 fresh Italian parsley for serving  

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In large skillet, heat olive oil aver medium-high. Cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes.  

Combine onion slices, garlic, and dried thyme in crockpot and season with salt and black pepper. Top with chicken pieces, skin side up, in a tight layer. In small bowl, whisk together wine and flour until smooth and add to crockpot.   Cover and cook on High until chicken is tender, about 3.5 hours (or 7 hours on Low).

  Serve chicken (sprinkled with fresh parsley) and sauce over rice or couscous.

thankful

2011-11-22T13:32:00.003-05:00

So many things to be thankful ~ it's been a rain (downpour at times) mixed with sun kinda-of year here but sometimes those can be the sweetest to the heart's memory.

Happy Thanksgiving ~ may you be loved greatly and blessed abundantly.

nov 16

2011-11-16T11:30:00.004-05:00

Dear Blog,

It's raining heavily and the leaves are sitting in big wet piles scattered everywhere I look. I'm convinced the leaves are bigger this year than last. They are. I am sure the squirrels have something to do with that. Yes, it all comes back to the squirrels. It's Wednesday and the week doesn't feel like it's completely started but glad to see it's nearly at weeks end anyway. Since I last wrote ...

*My husband has surgery next week on his ring finger (finger fracture & tendon avulsion) ... poor thing!
*My middle schooler made Honor Roll!
*My preschooler told me I was a good girl for washing my hands.
*My Kindle has been my workout companion even more lately which makes the treadmill time go faster! The desire for a Kindle Fire is growing ....
*Forced to watch a Ghost Adventure show on Gettysburg and actually liked it but don't tell the guys that.
*Volunteering for the upcoming school book fair has become more a bother than I had hoped but it will be fun, it will be fun ... it will. The posters I'm making are cool - it will be fun. You get the mantra.
*Trumpet practicing turned to duets with Ben as I played the piano which have been golden moments for me, if not really loud.
*I joined a ladies singing group at church and really like it! We sang twice this past Sunday and I must sing ok because they didn't kick me out yet.
*Ended the baseball season with a parents v. kids baseball game; I had a single - yay! The parents won - so much fun on a gorgeous Fall afternoon.
*Actually won several games at Words with Friends instead of being creamed.
*Laughed I cried so hard reading a book.
*My little brother is 35 TODAY!

I know I'm missing a bunch of things but you know how a week goes -- whoosh, like the wind! Till next time, dear Blog ... thank you for being here for me. Time to pick up Zack from preschool and hear about his day as well as his demand for lunch.
Tanya

C'est Noel, a free pattern

2011-11-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

Christmas will be here next month! Oh my goodness ... time to make ornaments. Here's a free chart for you to enjoy!

::C'est Noel::
copyright 2011
Designed by Tanya Marie Willis Anderson
The Sampler Girl
CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE!

cheerful company

2011-11-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

My boys have a long weekend as the new school quarter begins on Wednesday. Didn't school just start?? Anyway, we're off to enjoy this beautiful Autumn day and embrace a few fallen leaves, some yummy Chick Fil A sammies, and catch some laughter in the sunshine. May you find some Cheerful Company this week ahead. Mine will be zany but blessed. I wish you the same ... if less on the zany.

I Wish You Joy, a Jane Austen Souvenir ~ new pattern!

2011-11-04T11:45:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I've released a new pattern! I've oodles of ideas floating around this mommy brain of mine and more of them jotted down in my journals and sketch pads that clutter the studio desk.

A few months ago I came across a poem by Jane Austen to her brother, Frank, which was quite lengthy but had a short and strong sentence, I wish you joy. That's all we really want, isn't it? Someone to wish us joy, happiness, good fortune in our busy path down life's road. To make us content in knowing someone is thinking of us and wishing us good thoughts. So this design is simple and sweet - one that can be stitched for just about any occasion. (The linen banding used for the model is also available on website for purchase.)

I Wish You Joy, a Jane Austen Souvenir
copyright 2011
Designed by Tanya Marie Willis Anderson
The Sampler Girl

Click HERE for details on the pattern.

Happy Week-end!

oh i love this time of year

2011-11-02T16:10:00.001-04:00

This morning I skipped my gym visit and cleaned house ~ opened the front door and let some fresh Autumn air in. Such a beautiful day here ~ lots of sunshine, crisp breeze and leaves cascading down at all angles. All the Halloween stuff is put away and the Thanksgiving stuff is starting to make its way out and about. Here is a little sampling ...

Hope your November is off to a thankful, cosy start. Mine sure is!

remembering

2011-11-01T17:00:00.001-04:00

This year has surely had its share of sorrow for our family. In the past 10 months, my paternal grandfather, my mother in law, my paternal grandmother, and my great aunt have passed away in addition to five friends in the community. My mother always says that God never gives you more than you can handle but I keep saying I've reached my limit!

On this November 1st, All Saints Day, I remember those who have passed on who have been dear to me and while we weep for those not here with us anymore, we wrap their memories around us for warmth and know inside they are always there with us.

This is a beautiful engraving on my Uncle's grave:
And when I come, I will put on your grave a bouquet of green holly and heather in flower
It is the end of a translated poem by Victor Hugo for his daughter who had died. My Uncle died in a car accident when he was 19 years old in 1971; I was a baby so don't remember him. My paternal grandmother who passed away in September is with him now and that makes me happy for them both.

May your life be full and blessed with love and laughter.

B o o !

2011-10-31T15:55:00.000-04:00

My goodness, how did it get to be the last day of October? I know it was only yesterday I was cramming a cart with school supplies and now the 2nd quarter is beginning. Preschool and Middle School sure do have their differences! I'm keeping up pretty well -- seems like my boys (esp the big one) is desperate for a break so if I blink, it will most likely be the long Thanksgiving weekend!

Lili has stitched and finished Salem 1692 Show Towel not into a towel but a stunning little bag. Oh my, it is wicked cool! Lili's blog is always so lovely and her needlework most inspiring.

- - -

Happy Halloween!

Saturday past

2011-10-26T14:20:00.007-04:00

It was time for our annual spooky luncheon @ Nancy's house this week-end and it was a frightful delight! I'm going to show off her beautiful decorations as I always do -- such a memorable, fun time. Nancy fixed chili which was out. of. this. world. Two bowls kinda good!

F R I D A Y

2011-10-21T16:25:00.002-04:00

Reading

Added to my list of favorite reads for this year was Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz which I could. not. put. down. so I was curious to see if I'd like her previous books. just as much. The new one is the start of a new series with the second book to come out next year (not soon enough for me!) but I discovered her series, Blue Bloods. I just finished the first one (below) and now have the second and third in the series to occupy my weekend reading time! I'm not one to sit through a vampire move and never read any of Anne Rice books but when the Twilight saga came out, I joined in the craze to see what it was all about and enjoyed them. However, I like de la Cruz's writing much, much better.

Knitting
Still working on the 2nd fingerless mitt and really aim to complete it this weekend because I already want to make another pair!!!

Cooking

Fixed French Chicken in a Pot recipe from the Cooks Illustrated iPhone app last night and it was so moist, so wonderful, oh my gosh - you need to try it!! Had curry couscous with it and my kids thought I had gone nutty because I kept saying over and over and over how yummy it was. They didn't buy it but I was glad - more for me.

Random
*If I haven't already told you, I'm addicted to Pinterest. It's all Paulette's fault. She introduced me to it and I can't stop checking on it. If you haven't yet been on this addicting, wicked cool site then you must BUT beware, set a timer for yourself or hours, days will pass you by while you surf it.

*Surprising your 4yr old after preschool with a happy meal does bring smiles ... and not just to him but a crowd of other little folk who pine for fries instead of turkey sammies. It's Friday -- treats are the way I go. Turkey doesn't make for a good surprise.

*Apparently I bought granola bars that had Nick Jonas' face on them. My oldest son enlightened me on this fact after school today -- not cool for lunch in the middle school at the guys table. oops! Good to know.

Happy Week-end!

tree hugging ... no really!

2011-10-18T19:30:00.001-04:00

While out & about today, I noticed something I had never seen before. At closer look, I realized it was a knitted scarf hugging a tree. It wasn't wrapped around the tree as if it was lost and put there for its owner to return and find but rather looked like it had been put there for a purpose. I had to take a picture of it! I inquired about it and turned out it was put there to keep the tree warm. To keep the tree warm. Yes, you read that right. Not that there's anything wrong with that - it's a very nice gesture of someone to do but wow, that was a first to see.

Before leaving, I saw another tree nearby with another wrap! Aren't they cosy looking? Each had a flower or butterfly on it. I felt bad for the bare tree trunks nearby but I don't have time to knit tree cozies for them -- hope they survive the winter :)

Z and I went for our pumpkins today. Pumpkins are so photogenic! Do you think people make cozies for them? Just curious.

1 down, 1 to go!

2011-10-17T16:55:00.001-04:00

Over the week-end I finished one of my fingerless mitts and am in love. So cosy! The pattern is nice and simple; one I found on my Lion Brand iPhone App called Warm Wristlets (weird name if you ask me). I adapted the pattern and made them longer at 11" and used a size 7 needle. Very nice and knit up quickly. One more to go!

I probably would have had both finished but Paulette introduced me to (or rather got me addicted to!!!) Pinterest so many hours were spent there this week-end. Wow. What a site ... full of inspiration on all levels. If you aren't yet in the Pinterest vortex ... you need to be. No, really, you do.

Off to make dinner!

Listen up!

2011-10-15T16:30:00.002-04:00

24 hours sounds like a long time, really, it does. But a day goes by so fast, doesn't it? We have to sleep; figured that out the hard way and can't give up my sleep so that cuts down these precious 24 hours! So in the time allotted as wakey-time: Mama's taxi is going in circles around town, the washer & dryer are in constant motion, food is put on the table or pulled through a car window, baths are drawn, groceries are brought home and put away, daily school stuff is dealt with ... I can't go on or I'll pass out thinking about it in such detail but I'm sure you can imagine the rest.

So in those golden times when I'm in a queue with other happy-to-be-caffeinated, frenzied moms waiting for choir to end, for the school bell to ring for the day, for the ballgame to finish practice ... that's when I'm either saying 'serenity now' about 100x or catching up on a current pageturner or finishing stitches in a favorite project. Time is so precious and our kids grow up too darn fast so I don't want to miss anything so I'm there, I'm present, and I think that is important. My me-time is important too and while it comes when it can be marked on the calender sometimes, it does come and then I'm refreshed and ready for all this zany mothering full throttle once again.

Knitting is my current therapy. I've wanted a pair of fingerless gloves for quite awhile now as it gets quite chilly in a certain part of the house every winter so they'd come in handy soon enough. I am a big fan of iPhone Apps and there are several wonderful knitting ones. There's a free pattern on the Lion Brand Yarn app which I'm working and loving. It's a basic (translation: my speed) pattern for fingerless gloves. I picked up some soft, yarn from Lion Brand called Fisherman's Wool in color Maple Tweed and well, it's fantastic to the touch.

While knitting, I've recently enjoyed listening to some wonderful Podcasts on reading, cooking, sermons, and of course needlework. A favorite is Fluffy Fibers - if you knit, read, sew, cook, or delight in domestic loveliness, then you'll surely enjoy listening to Isabelle's needlework insights and surely get inspired. I sure do! So be sure to check out iTunes for needlework Podcasts. If I ever could figure out how to create one, I'd do it too. If there's a Podcast you enjoy that you think I would like also, please let me know!

To those who have inquired about Maddy cat, I thank you sweetly! She is doing well; adapting splendidly to having lost her sight in both eyes and seems to be feeling kitty good at present. She takes her medication for the blood pressure every morning as if it's a treat so I know it's helping her greatly. Her follow up to the vet a few weeks ago went well; the vet was happy with how she was responding to the medication already and her blood pressure was down to a good level. Maddy still keeps to one part of the house but meanders around when she feels like it. I miss her meowing, her kitty choir as we called it, but content to know she's comfortable and doing well.

Happy week-end!

w i t c h

2011-10-13T14:33:00.005-04:00

Oh my gosh - this is wicked fun to stitch ~ click HERE for the pattern by The Primitive Hare. I added buttons to the sides, used GAST Fisherman's Wharf on linen band, and fancied up a basket with kitchen towels ~ spooky cool!

I don't know what to call this post.

2011-10-13T12:30:00.005-04:00

Tonight's dinner might not thrill the boys but the pumpkin bread will!

My favorite music lately is by Ingrid Michaelson ~ this song is gorgeous.

Enjoy your Thursday -- tomorrow will be even better.

Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 ... and I knit.

2011-10-10T22:15:00.001-04:00

Since I think every space in this beautiful state has been discovered and claimed, on this Christopher Columbus holiday, we sought adventure on another level -- you could say we explored. To appease everyone, we hit chuck e cheese, the batting cages, chick fil A, and the yarn shop. Guess which was my pick? :) I had no idea that Martha Stewart now tinkered in yarns but I guess, why not -- she sells everything else. Anyway, the yarn line is very nice but I was most interested in the Mambo yarn; these lines are by Lion Brand. I chose 2 skeins (they aren't very big) of the Cardinal color and came home eager to find a pattern online to work. The free patterns on the Lion Brand site are few for this as I guess it's still rather new but none appealed to me very much. The yarn is so thick - beyond bulky it should be called! It uses size 19 needles and let's just say, it's awkward but fun. I quickly discovered (ah ha!) that a coffee/tea mug mat would be ideal and it is. You could make a larger size for a trivet - the yarn is that solid for any hot pad you want to make. It's a bugger to use, keep that in mind, but try it out!

This week is off to a great start ~ happy sailing!

Saturday night knitting ...

2011-10-09T17:00:00.002-04:00

Whilst the little one slept and the bigger ones were being scared at a haunted house last night, I cosied up with Miss Maddy and knit her a little shawl. Maddy went blind in both eyes recently and has kept to one area of the house where all her necessities are which makes perfect sense although we miss her in the rest of the house! The keeping room where she stays now, is the coldest place in the house during winter months to come. We've had a few chilly nights here already and even though today it is a gorgeous 80 degrees, it will get cold again soon enough!

A little shawl for Maddy to keep her kittyself warm was the perfect idea because she seems to love it! The yarn by Lion Brand is called 'quick and cosy' in color, Olive, which is the color of her eyes. I watched a fantastic chick flick last night, Just Go With it, while I knit away and before going to bed, I put the shawl over Maddy and she seemed to be quite content.

Maddy went for her follow-up appt with the vet this week and gladly her blood pressure is already down so the meds don't need to be tweaked; they are working wonderfully for her. She is adapting very well but again, stays where she knows familiar areas. She gets lots of extra kitty attention and love and is comfortable so that's all that we wish for her. She's in no pain and still rules the house like the sweet Queen that she is.

Friday night stitching ...

2011-10-08T18:10:00.000-04:00

Are you sitting down? You better sit down. Ok, here it is -- I stitched. I know, I know -- can't believe it myself. Been awhile and even longer since I've finished something. Last night I was surprised with an hour 1/2 to myself so I picked up Paulette's newest pattern (Beans, Beans) and decided to be realistic. No way could I start another project (yea, right) but I wanted to have one of these darling caffeinated girlies in my kitchen so badly that I thought I could certainly stitch one of them. Each coffee-addicted chick in Paulette's pattern rocks but this one was my favorite --

I had an oval frame in the stash and think it's perfect. Thank you, Paulette, for such a clever pattern -- YOU rock ... keep drinking that "magical brew" because it makes us all happy!

the news from here

2011-10-05T10:15:00.004-04:00

Stitching

Monique sent me the scariest pattern (from her new line, The Primitive Jewel) this week but also the cutest! If you read my blog, you have read my issues with squirrels and while I used to adore these frolicking little critters, now I loathe them. However, Monique designed a most appropriate design as they most probably do possess witchy magical powers to snatch as much food from the birds as they do. Anyhoo, I heart the pattern ~ it makes up into a necklace, wicked cool.

Reading

Can't put this book down and trying to savor ever page. It goes fast and I hope the author has the next book in the series out quickly.

Eating

Recently discovered a passion for Israeli Couscous. At a church dinner this past weekend, the dinner included pearl Israeli couscous and it was delicious. It had pumpkin seeds and raisins in it - absolutely fabulous. So I fixed this recipe as a side dish last night with grilled chicken and it was wonderful. I will say, you will want to half the salt suggested because it was too salty so next time I'll be sure to cut that way down. Otherwise, excellent flavors together. If you have kids who eat anything, they'll gobble it up but my boys examined their portions and opted to just eat the chicken on the other side of their plates.

Link Love
If you haven't already discovered Floss Box, then check them out ~ fun stitchy stuff!

Pumpkin Spice Coffee is now at Trader Joes ... go hither and fetch ye some! Their website has recipes too!!
Cheerful blog with great ideas.
Another beautiful stitchy blog.
These are on my list to make - don't they look carb-delicious?

This & That
Yesterday I took Z to feed some horses in the area. We took apples and carrots; some horses looked more appreciative than others but it was a fun Fall morning spent with my little man. We went to Chick Fil A for lunch which sweetened the day even more. Don't worry -- we hadn't seen chickens before, just horses.

Have a blessed Wednesday -- Friday is coming.

skillet lasanga

2011-10-04T15:50:00.001-04:00

I'm nearly always in the mood for pasta. This recipe is in one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks and also online HERE. I added fresh spinach rather than the fresh parsley and used part skim ricotta cheese where it suggests whole and it was divine. The turkey sausage made is perfect; my favorite lasanga recipe yet!

My mom went to IKEA this week and surprised me with several packs of paper napkins with cross stitch designs (too cute!) and this precious placemat. It's large and makes a great table center. Aren't they the cutest couple?

Trying another new recipe for dinner ... I'll let you know if it turns out to my liking :) Happy Tuesday!

looks like ...

2011-10-02T15:45:00.000-04:00

October is here!

What day is it?

2011-09-30T17:25:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but when school starts, Autumn hurries along and I find myself having to recheck my calendar to see what day (or month!) it is. Funny, I do know when Friday is because my boys chant 'it's pizza night' before I have a chance to wonder.

- - -

There's something wonderful about simple routines, like pizza & family movie night, in the week's busyness that makes life grand. Every day or evening seems to be filled with some thing even though we are not an overly committed (that sounds weird) family but the calender fills up regardless. A week can echo sadness, heartbreak, happiness, surprises, good news and bad, additions and subtractions but I find that with Faith in God I can manage my way. Some days maybe better than others but that's where the Faith comes in even more.

- - -

Miss Maddy lost her kitty sight in both eyes this week; the vet says her retinas detached completely; her blood pressure was high and now she's on the tiniest pill every morning to help control that. I take her back next week for a follow up. She's not in any pain which is good but stays to one part of the house where all her necessities are which makes sense. It is very sad to see her in this way though; Maddy is 16 years old and we adopted her from the animal shelter when she was 6 months old. Our pets are such dear ones to us and sometimes we forget they get old too. I miss her looking at me but she's been getting extra love and content being pampered. Afterall, she is the Queen around here.

Hope your week-end is filled with love, simple pleasures, AND pizza!

just cuz

2011-09-26T15:56:00.004-04:00

What kind of a person would take a picture of her iced green tea? Me, apparently.

The same kind of person whose son would put such a face on a cute little pumpkin.

- - -

Zack: Can I have a piece of Halloween candy, Mama?
Me: Ok, just one.
Zack: Yay!
Zack: (spitting it all out ...) Gross! Someone put pieces of crayons in it, Mama. I don't like it.
Me: Those are peanuts, Zack. What a mess!
Zack: Sorry. I don't like peanuts.
Me: You love peanuts.
Zack: Well, not in Halloween candy.

feet first

2011-09-23T17:27:00.003-04:00

Another wet week here. I saw the sun shine for a few hours the other day; I'm pretty sure I did. Yep, it was there. A patch of blue sky into the heavens too. Hope the sun comes back soon though. I miss it cheering me up. In the meanwhile, there has been plenty of puddle-jumping to get Mama wet and laugh.

Enjoy your week-end.

Christmas Ornaments 2011 issue!

2011-09-22T15:58:00.003-04:00

Just Cross Stitch Magazine returned my ornament model today and copies of the magazine! Very exciting to be a part of the collection of designs within this year's issue.

- - -

Thank you sweetly for the dear condolences via email and comments on the Blog and Facebook. It means a lot to me.

whites on a grey day

2011-09-21T15:40:00.001-04:00

My paternal grandmother passed away this week-end. She was 85 years old. Grandmother was a tough woman; she was one of the strongest characters I think I've ever known and I'm mighty proud call her Grandmother. Her life was hard and I can only imagine that made her all the tougher in spirit and soul to endure life through sun and rain. My father's Dad passed away last Christmas Day and while my grandparents were divorced decades ago when I was small, my Grandmother never remarried and held a hurt, but loving heart till her last days. She had the bluest eyes, the most radiant smile, and the best laugh that made you laugh too.

While helping clean out her apartment I was fortunate to gather some of her linens for my heirlooms. I've laundered them and they need to be ironed but wanted to show them here as they are so lovely and so special. Sadly I don't know the stories behind these items but knowing they were held by her hands mean the world to me. The first is a large tablecloth; the second is a beautiful round table cloth; the third are monogrammed towels; the fourth is a stamped table runner; and the last picture is one of two gorgeous (and heavy!) bedspreads with classic snowball trim.

Grandmother was a beautiful woman inside and out; I found this sweet picture of her from earlier days and I think it's lovely. Life is fragile and sometimes we think someone we hold dear will always be around when they won't ~ may you love deeply and show it always.

Needlework TAG SALE !!!

2011-09-20T10:25:00.000-04:00

There's a Needlework Tag SALE going on at the website! Fibers, fabrics, and other needlework items are available for purchase at Tag sale prices. Spread the word and see if there's a treasure waiting for you. Click HERE for details!

Happy Monday.

She flies again ...

2011-09-14T12:48:00.003-04:00

The Witch School Sampler 1821
Copyright 2009 The Sampler Girl
For details on this pattern ~ CLICK HERE!

Sometimes I don't know if I'm coming or going! It has come to my attention that the design above couldn't be found on my website and I apologize ~ I had deleted it by accident and included it in some OOP patterns in recent months. Sorry ... so the chart is back on the website for purchase. Sorry for any confusion. This is a wicked fun stitch!

quickie post

2011-09-12T18:00:00.002-04:00

Nothing like a good one-dish dinner when you're already in for a busy week. This dinner was super simple and delicious. I used to attend MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) and really miss it; we did a cookbook two years ago and I refer to it quite often. Lots of wonderful recipes from busy moms in it. This is adapted from one in it. Enjoy!

Chicken & Cornbread Casserole
10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 cups cooked chicken
1 pkg Jiffy Cornbread mix
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4 oz Mexican shredded cheese

Stir together enchilada sauce, tomatoes, corn, black beans and chili powder in a skillet or sauce pan. Stir occasionally and cook over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Add chicken.

Whisk together cornbread mix, milk, egg, and oil. Add 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese.

Pour chicken mixture into baking dish. Spoon cornbread mixture over chicken. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese evenly ontop.

Bake @ 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

- - -

Zack started preschool today! Those 3hours went by SO fast; there are oodles of things I have on the designing desk -- very exciting. Stay tuned. In the meantime ... it's off to baseball practice.

Happy week.

Has it really been 10 years?

2011-09-11T11:45:00.000-04:00

I was watching the Today show.
Ben, a fairly new 2 year old, was playing happily in his playpen.
Live on the TV, I watched as the report of the first plane hit.
I stood frozen.
The second plane hit.
I picked up Ben and hugged him tight.
Went for the phone to call my husband at work.
While on hold with the receptionist, a third plane went in to the Pentagon.
I was terrified and stunned.
What was going on?
Finally spoke with my husband and his office building's lights had shook when the Pentagon was hit as it was in the vicinity. The staff were gathering in the conference rooms to plan how to get out of the city and head home.
Then a plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
The morning went by fast like a moving-picture-book but also seemed to last an eternity at the same time.
I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. I couldn't cry too hard infront of Ben but it was difficult. He was so happy playing again.
My husband made it home later that afternoon.
The rest of the week was as if everyone in this area moved in slow motion and barely could speak, searching for words to comfort. Looking in the sky and not seeing any planes was eerie as we were near an airport and there were always planes flying overhead. The silence in the skies was weird and then all we would hear for days and nights were the patrolling jets zoom this way and that.
Can't believe it's been 10 years.
My children don't know what the world was like before September 11th.
It's still a beautiful world but forever changed.

What a Wonderful World
One of my favorite songs sung by Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces, of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really sayin', "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

read it - watch it!

2011-09-09T21:38:00.003-04:00

Popping in to say if you haven't read this children's book yet, then where have you been? Well, don't worry - I hadn't heard about it either. (Refer to last post!) Soooo, tonight we watched the short film of it on DVD and it. is. adorable and for any age!!! Will have to now get the book and a copy of the movie to own.

Signing off -- week-end! Enjoy yours.

N E W!

2011-09-08T16:35:00.001-04:00

At some point over the summer, the beloved Gameboy Advance was handed down from B to Z. Whenever Zack plays a game from Ben's vast collection of games on this electronic collectible, he says it's NEW. Ben always says, to you it is, Dude, I've already beat that game!

Well, it's kind of like that with most anything you discover in your own time: Books, TV shows, music genres, and even needlework designers. I discovered the wonderful TV series, The Gilmore Girls, a month after it ended and had to watch all 7 seasons on DVD like a mad woman to catch up ~ it was new to me! Black olives -- oh MY are they delicious and never absent from my pizza toppings again ~ new to me! Bluegrass music is really awesome but makes me super-hyper if listened to while cooking ~ new to me! I started doing Yoga earlier this year and can't imagine myself without it ~ new to me! I could go on and on and on ...

- - -

So where is this babbling going, you might ask? Well, I have 2 NEW patterns now available which may be really new to people and not to others. Both were included in The Sampler Girl's Halloween Boo-klet which I no longer print and sell. I wasn't about to see two of my favorite patterns from the booklet say good night quite yet, so have made them available for purchase on their own.

They are ...

The first time I watched the movie, The Wizard of Oz, was at my grandparents house. I can remember covering my eyes when the cowardly lion popped out from the trees and especially when the monkeys flew out to find Dorothy. My most vivid and favorite part of the film is when Miss Gulch is rapidly riding her bicycle with little Toto in the basket. This design was thus inspired here.

As for this design ... well, I’m a Janeite through and through and while I don’t swoon over ALL the genres that have vamped, so to speak, the life out of Jane Austen’s characters, I like to think Miss Austen would find it all very amusing, if not pretty clever and ‘out there’. Enjoy the Zombie Ball, Austen style!

**All details on these designs can be found at the webshop: The Sampler Girl

- - -

It's refreshing to know we don't know all we know at this very moment ~ we continue to learn about and find new passions all the time.

a wet start

2011-09-07T12:10:00.000-04:00

Down to one child until next week when preschool starts up again. Ben started 7th grade (middle school here!) yesterday and while we thought it couldn't rain even more than then, it is today! And all week apparently. Week-end looks good though - fingers & toes crossed. Sure feels like September with these cool, soggy mornings.

Back to work, slowly ... orders resume shipping end of the week. EPattern orders have mostly been sent if not already in process. Happy Stitching .... hard to believe another season is upon us again.

See you soon!

the last of summer here ...

2011-08-29T20:25:00.002-04:00

... see you sometime in September!

just the facts

2011-08-27T17:25:00.000-04:00

::dinner was delicious
::it's highly windy & raining wildly because of this storm
::so far this book is very good
::i heart this juice
::obsessed with this game
::this movie is fabulous

paint + foot + sheet = Z's idea

2011-08-26T14:56:00.007-04:00

Since the beginning of summer, Z has asked to paint a sheet with his feet. I don't know where he came up with this idea but clearly my craftyness has rubbed off on him (Yay!) soooooo this afternoon, on probably the hottest day of the week so far, we went outside so he could paint a sheet with his feet. He was giddy with excitement and the sweat was worth his happiness. Now to the pool ~ where I will put my feet in water!

A dinner birthday party, haircut day, AND an earthquake ... it is only Tuesday, right?

2011-08-23T17:45:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my Mom's 61st birthday. We celebrated over the weekend for a girls lunch and last night we had the family celebration. Everyone came over and I fixed, at her request, curried chicken, which is a family favorite. It's served over rice with peanuts and raisins and well, it's delicious!!! I can never make it like my grandmother because she has some kind of gravy talent I lack but everyone seemed to enjoy it, even my grandmother. I'll be heating up leftovers for dinner shortly.

Didn't take many pictures last night ~ decided to park the camera for most the evening. Here's a picture of Mom's cake. I didn't make the cake but did make homemade vanilla ice cream to go with it ~ great combination. Who doesn't like a party?

- - -

This morning I took the boys for their end-of-summer-back-to-school-is-soon haircuts. Let's just say Zack was more willing to get in the barber chair (and behind the camera) than Ben. Ben always much older after his haircuts and I can't believe my 12yr old is so big. Time moves too fast ... I know I say that often, but it does!!!

- - -

We lunched after the haircuts event and then took Ben to a friend's house for the afternoon. Soon after that while driving it felt like all 4 tires were going flat and the road became quite wobbly. I changed lanes and it stopped and felt normal. Then I noticed people everywhere outside on their phones and turned out we had a rolling earthquake hit measuring 5.9!! Got home to pictures on the wall crooked (this bothers me on a non-earthquake day!) but have left then for Ben too see because he'll want to see the damage from the quake. It's been over a century I think they said since we've had an earthquake here. Very scary though and thankful we are all OK.

cosy

2011-08-21T15:24:00.001-04:00

It was such a bright and sunny morning ~ after lunch out we were going to head to the pool but the clouds came out and hid the sun! Completely dark outside now and a storm is on its way ~ tea is made and my book is good; the children are occupied and this is turning out to be a blissful Sun-day afternoon after all. Just ask the Miss Maddy.

Birding 101, Free pattern, and of course a recipe ...

2011-08-18T11:25:00.000-04:00

Birds are fascinating to me ~ not the movie Birds (that's just freaky!) and I have no real knowledge of which bird is which from another other than the Virginia Cardinal (red) and the nasty Blue Jay (blue - easy one) and you know I can spot a squirrel from a mile away. That's a bird in another variety. Anyway, finally, finally found a feeder that the squirrels can't climb, pull down, and break so the birds are content eating in peace while the squirrels meander on the grass for scraps that fall. This morning the feeders were busy as usual but by the time I grabbed the camera, a few were left for posing. Oh and time, again, to fill the feeders -- these birds sure eat lots.

Miss Maddy was too sleepy to bird watch this morning -- for all I know she probably did her viewing earlier. She's hiding now.

Last night I fixed a favorite comfort food recipe. The best thing about it -- leftovers for tonight so no cooking for me! I've probably posted the recipe before but just in case ...

Mama's Hot Chicken Salad
2 Cups diced cooked chicken (nice way to use a rotisserie chicken from the store!)
2 Cup cooked white rice (I used brown rice for the first time last night - even better!!)
1/2 Cup mayo
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
3 t lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

Combine all. Pour into flat, buttered baking dish. Cover with Rice Crispies. Bake 30-45 minutes in 375 degree oven.

- - -

I designed a little free chart for you but somehow a squirrel got in it!! Monique - are you happy?!

3 birds & 1 fat squirrel
Free chart by The Sampler Girl
Copyright 2011

(Click chart to enlarge.)

baking, reading, summer stays ...

2011-08-17T15:25:00.001-04:00

Remember these muffins? Well, I made blueberry ones last night for breakfast this morning and well, they. are. delicious. I think I prefer them to the raspberry. They are fantastic!! The lemon extract and the blueberries are married together perfectly. Didn't have any half and half so I substituted 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream. Both of which I luckily had in the frig for homemade ice cream recently!

Finished Emily & Einstein and loved it. Beautiful story that actually surprised me at how much it touched me in the end. Highly recommend it!! One I do not recommend is Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons - weird. Strange. The beginning was good and I liked the characters but the last half of the book took a bizarre turn and it was like some hokey camp movie, and not a good one. Although I could see it as a movie on the Lifetime channel.

A book that is so good that I'll recommend without having even finished it yet is Love Always by Harriet Evans, recently read by a good reading friend, Siobhan, and it is really hard to put down! My library doesn't carry it so I got the Kindle version.

Summer lingers here. I know several blog mommies have kiddos in school already! Mine don't go back until the day after Labor Day and you can bet they're excited about that. They do get out later in June so it all balances out but I do like that we have until Labor Day to summer it up. Hope your day is most splendid and if you fancy a muffin, I think there are a few left ...

A R T

2011-08-16T16:10:00.001-04:00

The forecast was iffy this morning so on a whim after breakfast we headed into the city; I hadn't been to the National Gallery of Art in several years (terrible!) and there was a French Paintings Exhibit that I'd been wanting to walk through. Today was the day! We got a splendid parking spot (I really have the best luck in DC finding a parking spot - very cool talent) around the corner from the East Building and in we went.

Here are a few snapshots of the gorgeous French paintings as there are many in the exhibit and we practically had the rooms to ourselves which was nice. The museum began to fill up towards the lunch hour and was pretty packed by the time we left around 3pm. We took the lighted movable walkway underground to the West Building which is very cool for the boys. Lunched in the cafe which was delicious. Came home in creative moods and souvenirs. Wonderful summer day with some education thrown into it ... just don't tell the boys that!

good morning

2011-08-15T08:52:00.001-04:00

Give me the joys of summer,

Of Summer Queen so fair,
With wealth of lovely flower
And fruits and sun-kissed air!
-Winifred Sackville Stoner

sprinkler

2011-08-12T18:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Week-end!

The Dolley Madison Sampler

2011-08-11T10:05:00.002-04:00

Dolley Madison sits on right ~
her niece stands at her left.

No woman in this country and few in any other filled a larger sphere in their day than Mrs. Madison did in hers, and non will ever leave a name and memory more respected, loved and revered.

-August 11, 1849 (162 years ago today)
Hon. Alexander H. Stephens (later to be the VP of the Confederacy)

...

This week I watched American Experience's Dolley Madison currently on Netflix. It is a well-done documentary and I highly recommend it to all American History lovers. If you have followed me for awhile then you remember my First Lady Sampler Series. I did research on several of the early First Ladies and designed a sampler of tribute to them, including their biographies in each.

In 2003, I designed a sampler dedicated to Mrs. Madison. The research on Dolley, which is included in the pattern pak, is most interesting and informative. A few years ago I stopped printing The First Lady Sampler Series and continue to get emails to re-release them. Lady Washington's Sampler is still available and now The Dolley Madison Sampler is back on the website. These patterns are only for purchase from me. Click HERE for info on The Dolley Madison Sampler.

A companion sampler is in the works!

Wordless Wednesday.

2011-08-10T10:22:00.000-04:00

read & eat

2011-08-09T18:20:00.000-04:00

They say never judge a book by its cover but I sure hope this is a good read because the cover is so gosh darn cute! I'm just a few chapters in so far and I'm curious how it will all turn out ... never heard of this author before now.

It's been a sun-mixed-with-clouds kind of day. The boys are in Vacation Bible School this week so the mornings are my. own. I've been near giddy getting back to the gym after dropping them off and so far the six hours to myself have restored me greatly. Summer is relaxing but can be a zoo at the same time. My boys are 7 years apart in age so it's tricky to find things they both will enjoy doing but I'm fortunate they work together, most the time!, and are good sports for the other when dragged to something they rather not. Recently, Zack has started using Ben's old Gameboy Advance. Remember those? Well, Zack thinks he's struck gold and it's funny listening to Ben try and get Zack to 'the next level' as he knows all the tricks even after all these years. Nice to already have this stash of vintage electronics (ha!) in hand-me-down-drawers I might add.

You know if I post a recipe here, it's a keeper! So this one will wow you like it did me. It's just the prettiest quiche ever, don't you think?

Tomato & Basil Quiche
recipe from allrecipes.com
1 T olive oil (or more to coat your pan)
1 onion, sliced (I used 1/2 of a large onion)
2 tomatoes, peeled and sliced (I used 3 small ones)
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour (I used double that)
2 teaspoon dried basil
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake pie shell in preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft; remove from skillet. Place tomato slices in a bowl of flour and basil to coat. Then saute them in the skillet for desired darkness. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk; season with salt and pepper.

Spread 1 cup shredded cheese in bottom of pie crust. Layer onions over cheese and top with tomatoes. Cover with egg mixture. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes or until filling is puffed and golden brown.

Think I'll have one of my favorite cookies with tea later -- the packaging always makes me smile.

this & that AND homemade ice cream ...

2011-08-08T21:10:00.001-04:00

Almost a month until school starts here so there's plenty of summer left to enjoy. This week the boys are in Vacation Bible School ~ the big one is a helper and the little one is a participant. And I'm one happy Mama .. my mornings are my own this week!! I spent the first one at the gym and luckily remembered how to get there since it had been a few months since my last visit. It felt so good to be back in my workout wear!! Didn't even take the Kindle today or listen to music but rather plugged into the TV screens and the time went merrily by especially when the Rachael Ray show came on and Gwenyth Paltrow was the guest. She fixed a recipe from her book and immediately I knew what was going to be dinner!

Here's the recipe for Fried Zucchini Spaghetti! I did use a bit more flour to dredge the thinly sliced zucchini pieces because don't know how the suggested amount could possibly coat everything and also fried them up in a wee bit more olive oil. Oh MY they were so delicious and well, see for yourself ...

It was very difficult to not gobble them up before the pasta was finished. Here's the finished dish! See the parmesan saucey ooey goodness?

Still going in slow mo with the stitching progress and then my Mom surprises me with this stunning sampler pattern over the weekend. The designer is Willow Hill Samplings. I've been doing a lot of genealogy research on my family this summer and this sampler will be fantastic to create for an heirloom. I love it! Been thinking I need to enlist those elves of the shoemaker (remember that fairytale?) to stitch everything I desire while I sleep.

Our neighbor brought over a dozen tomatoes from her crop and they. are. out. of. this. world. good. Even better than the farmers market, Yes! They found their way in BLTs last night and will be added to a tomato and mushroom quiche tomorrow. Nothing quite like a fresh summer tomato.

Lest you think all we do is eat around here ... ok, we do. There is a lot of serious kitty napping going on to fight the heat and humidity.

Many late nights spent reading lots of good books ...

...and playing this stupid, fun, addicting, crazy, time-consuming, wonderful game in every version available; the Rio one being the current favorite. Oh and Words with Friends is a fun, fun, FUN one too! I keep telling myself it's good for my brain so game on :)

Went to a few thrift shops recently with my grandmother and found some great treasures. One of which is this cute decoupage on wood with a Ballet studio scene. I think the girl standing, holding her doll, admiring the window filled with ballet pretties is so sweet. Reminds me of my childhood days in Ballet classes. I hung the picture above one of my grandfather's sketches of a ballerina that I cherish. He drew it in 1951.

I guess we always come back to food ... my kitchen was lacking an ice cream maker. I know, I know -- but I'm a kitchen gadget nut and it was on my wanna-get-list-sometime. I've had a few birthday gift cards that I hadn't used yet (from January!) so put one towards a Cuisinart brand and love. it. We've only tried the simple chocolate ice cream recipe so far and if the others are anything like it, then we've struck gold. It is beyond delicious.

Finally I leave you with a picture that I most see during the week -- water in mid air.

Oh I love summertime.

simple pleasures

2011-08-04T17:04:00.002-04:00

"I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string."- Lucy Maud Montgomery

scenes from Saturday

2011-07-31T15:25:00.000-04:00

Saturday afternoon was a little stitch-in @ my Mom's house. Mom wins the prize for actually finishing something (Yay!) and it's beautiful!!

Nancy was working on a Halloween design:

Betty worked (amid a few cursory remarks lol) on this birdie beauty:

Now I'm afraid to post my abundant amount of stitching so as to not be a show off but okay, here it is.

Mind you, I haven't stitched in 3 months and apparently just sitting down with needle and thread was a stir enough that I couldn't muster much but the tree. Part of it. The design is by Little House Needleworks. I changed the colors and well, it will be sweet when it gets more progress.

My Mom's house is always decorated so cosy-like so here are a few snapshots of displays in a bathroom.

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The week-end has been quite relaxing even though wicked hot and humid but it is summer so ... see you again in August! That's tomorrow, right?

30 years ago today ...

2011-07-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

... I was away at music camp with my church's youth group. Our music director's wife woke us girls up very early that morning to watch the Royal Wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. We were huddled together on a couch, all in our little gowns, watching history and dreaming of being a princess. The dress Diana wore was stunning and the wedding remains one of many beautiful memories in my childhood. No one knew what the future held for the Royal couple and Diana in the end but their beginning looked like a fairytale even though the Royals are just real people like you and me ... ok, so I don't have a personal servant who puts the toothpaste on my toothbrush (and I really wouldn't want that) but there's nothing wrong with fairytales as long as you know where you are in real life!

If you follow my blog, then you surely know I was up early once again for the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. I even had designed a special sampler, A Royal Wedding Souvenir, for the occasion. Today through the week-end, that pattern is on sale at the webshop. Click HERE for details.

Happy Friday and may every frog you kiss become a Prince!

it's me again

2011-07-28T21:00:00.000-04:00

Maddy, the cat of the house. I've been sleeping of course but the crazy boys that live in my house are playing with blocks and play money so I decided to be the banker. The game seems very strange to me, as do the boys, but they pet me and I like that :)

come on get happy

2011-07-28T10:40:00.002-04:00

Ok, so the bacon wouldn't curl up on the sides - turkey bacon never does. Breakfast this morning still made my kids smile, even laugh - ok maybe at their silly Mama who has hit the mid-summer wall with them around at every turn ... but I'm still loving having them around. Really. I am. Really. Did I mention that Vacation Bible School starts soon? 3 hours/5 days ... to. my. self.

This was Ben's plate (above) - Zack had a cyclops version because he only needs 1 muffin. I wanted to make the egg nose bigger but that's all the egg Ben will eat ... at least he'll eat that much!

Have a happy day and SMILE!!

morning here

2011-07-27T08:55:00.000-04:00

Just about 9AM in the East and not much happening yet. There's been quite a lot of excitement over the new cereal with its toy. Some things never change but at least Zack eats the cereal ... and well, Spongebob does bring a smile to your face. Yes?

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It's Floatie day at the pool so we'll be schlepping more stuff than usual -- looks to be a sunny, warm one here. Hope something makes you smile today!