The Real Spirit of Christmas

"Christmas is not a time nor a season,

but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and goodwill.

To be plenteous in mercy,

is to have the real spirit of Christmas."

~ Calvin Coolidge

♥

Summer in my Heart ♥

Winter has not officially arrived, but our winter weather has.  Snow is falling as I write this.  Our property looks like a magical winter wonderland.  Growing up near Sacramento I was never able to completely relate to the beautiful Currier and Ives winter scenes.  To me, winter has always brought with it rain and fog.  Winter snow is a new experience for me.  As wonderful as my new winter scene is, I miss the beautiful colors of my garden. 

I'm not one to sit idle for very long and I find it difficult to stay out in the cold for extended periods.... so.... I have been a little crazy.  Oh, and stir crazy as well.  :-)  I decided that sitting by the fire and embroidering might be a nice combination.  I initially planned on embroidering a winter scene;  perhaps a snowman or two.  While looking for a transfer pattern I came upon Sublime Stitching's "Dream Garden" and immediately knew that this was the one! 

"Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow" .... for there's Summer in my Heart!  ♥

Another First

I've done many things throughout my life, but driving a tractor wasn't one of them...... until now! 

My husband calls this his "new" farm tool.... I call it his new toy.  That being said, I didn't want to be left out of the fun, so I took it out for a spin around the property.  I'm happy to report that I didn't have any accidents.  In fact, I even learned how to use the hydraulic bucket. Come next summer I should be able to add Farmgirl to my resume.  I've already got a cute cowgirl hat, now all I need is a pair of overalls..... with hand embroidery of course.  ;-)

When Yellow Jackets Attack.... Ouch!

John and I were in the forest this afternoon gathering firewood when I heard him yelling and slapping his arm.  He said he had been stung.  I became concerned when he started grabbing at his shirt near his chest.  I began running toward him when I crossed over the source of the problem; a yellow jacket nest.  They immediately began stinging me.  I had gloves and long sleeves on but they managed to get at my wrists.  Unfortunately, John had a short sleeve shirt on and the first sting got him on the inside of his bicep.  The part that freaked me out the most was when they got into my hair.  I had it clipped up and believe me, that clip went flying somewhere deep into the Fremont National Forest. I must admit, I heard the word "Damn" coming out of my mouth a couple times as I was scrambling around slapping at my head. I must have been quite the sight. My immediate thought was for us to climb up the bank and hit the road, but John had initially been down there wrapping a chain around a dead tree and there was no way he was going to leave his chain behind or pass up the opportunity for a nicely seasoned piece of fir.   

I must say, that true to our natures, we carried on.  We both ended up with multiple stings.  As John put it, "We didn't let those stinkin' wasps keep us from getting our firewood."  I agreed!  He and I are definitely cut out of the same pioneer type of mold.
 

Tune in tomorrow for another episode of..... 

Aren't you glad you don't live on the Haven Homestead?

Open for Business

Sugar Whimsy

Hooray! 

 After many hours of sewing
my Etsy Shop is finally open.

Click on "Sugar Whimsy" above 
and take a peek at my current creations.

I am working on a few new patterns 
and hope to have those done 
by the end of next month.

If you have a chance to view the shop
please post comments 
to let me know what you think. 

♥

Snowy Hits the Slopes

While we've been busy
packing for our move,
Snowy has been playing in the backyard!