Busy, Busy Dainty Fingers

Hello, Dear Ones! Well, I have been busy all through this Covid-19 stayputness - stitching! I admit, I stitch a lot and try to stitch some every day. So I thought I would share some pieces that I've finished, well, not fully finished so I can display them.

 This one was just perfect for this time! Quarantine: Stay Home and Stitch.

 I'm a member of lots of cross stitch groups on Facebook and someone mentioned it would be neat to add our initials, the year and a little cross to show this piece was stitched during this Covid time. Above you can see my little cross!

 The designer of the above and below snaps is Waxing Moon and they have a series called 'House Trios'. The above is called Summer House Trio. The middle one has my little cross on it.

Guess what this one is called? Right! Spring House Trio and the first house has my little cross on it.

 Here is just a little cutie and I can't remember the designer...oops!

There's my little cross!

 I just love this one! How sweet with all of the little sheep!

 There's my cross!

 Just so sweet!

This one is from our fellow blogger, Priscilla Blain, who has now become an amazing cross stitch designer! 

Well, I have done other things during our lock down but stitching has been a big part of it!

Be a bunch of sweeties,

Shelia ;)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song ~

 

Let's Lock The Door

 

 Let's lock the door and throw away the key now
(Shom dooby-dum dooby-dum-dum)
I can't wait to kiss you (oh no)
One little minute more
We met at a party last week
And the moment your eyes looked into mine
Right then I just forgot how to speak
And the soda started tastin' like wine
How I wished everyone would go home
So I could say when I got you alone
Come on now
Let's lock the door and throw away the key now
(Shom dooby-dum dooby-dum-dum)
I can't wait to kiss you (oh no)
One little minute more
We started to talk and you smiled
Sorta like you knew the way that I felt
You moved a little closer in a while
Then I knew my heart was startin' to melt
There was just so much I wanted to say
But all the words came out this way
Come on now
Let's lock the door and throw away the key now
(Shom dooby-dum dooby-dum-dum)
I can't wait to kiss you (oh no)
One little minute more
Ah no! Oh yeah
No! Oh yeah
I'll kiss your lips like a kiss oughta be
And then I know you'll be sayin' to me
Come on now
Let's lock the door and throw away the key now
(Shom dooby-dum dooby-dum-dum)
I can't wait to kiss you (oh no)
One little minute more

~ sung by Jay and the Americans

Playing On The Baker's Rack

Hello, Dear Ones! I pray you're all doing well. I'm sorry if I haven't answered your comments on my previous post but we've been on a trip and I just didn't. I'll do my best to get back to you as I really appreciate it that you would read my blog and comment.

Okie dokie...I thought I would show you my little baker's rack in my breakfast room.

 This baker's rack is just one of my favorite toys! So much fun to play on.

 I love my Jadeite - antique, kinda new and Pioneer Woman new! I don't care as I love all Jadeite!

 The cake stand and large salt and pepper are from the Pioneer Woman's collection. They are really beautiful, don't you think? The little salt and pepper under the cake stand glass are kinda olden. You know how I love my yard birds so that little cutie there made it's way on this shelf.

 Just because I think this little yard bird is so darling - here's a close up! The tiny little metal chick on a nest is actually a salt cellar that my little mother gave me many many years ago.

More Pioneer Woman Jadeite pieces. Aren't they so pretty? The butter dish, sugar bowl and creamer. The plates behind are also Pioneer Woman. I think she must have heard how much I love Jadeite and decided to make some beautiful affordable pieces just for me!

See? Aren't these plates lovely with their scalloped edges? Dinner and salad or dessert plates.

The mug belonged to my daddy and he drank from that when I was a little girl. The dainty tea cup is one I found in an antique place years ago. The canister is  on the newer side but it's at least 20 years old. Then more Pioneer Woman bowls. The little chick on a nest was found at Cracker Barrel a few years ago.

Measuring cups and a small pitcher. A Rooster and a plump little chick sitting high upon my olden scale.

Now this side of the shelf has some olden bowls. That biggest bowl has a little indention on the bottom like it could fit as a mixing bowl for a mixer. These olden bowls are very thick and heavy. The butter dish is older too.

My Rooster and chickens all wanted a close up and I obeyed so here they are!

Hope you've enjoyed seeing my Jadeite today. Do you have certain pieces of furniture you love to play with?

Be a bunch of sweeties,
Shelia ;)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song ~

Green Green
 

Green, green,
It's green they say,
On the far side of the hill.
Green, green,
I'm going away to where
The grass is greener still.
A-well, I told my mama
On the day I was born,
Don't you cry
When you see I'm gone.
You know there ain't no woman
Gonna settle me down.
I just gotta be traveling on,
A-singing...
Nah, there ain't nobody
In this whole wide world
Gonna tell me how to spend my time.
I'm just a good loving rambling man,
Say, buddy, can you spare me a dime?
Hear me crying, it's a...
Yeah, I don't care
When the sun goes down,
Where I lay my weary head.
Green, green valley or rocky road,
It's there I'm gonna make my bed.
Easy, now.
Everybody, I wanna hear it now...
~ sung by The New Christy Minstrels

An Answer To Our Country's Problem

Hello, Dear Ones! Like me, I know you are all distressed with what's going on in our country. I don't like to get political here on my blog - I love to bring happiness when I can. But, I just feel at this time I must say something.

I have recently finished this beautiful cross stitch called "His Name is Jesus" and it's a free pattern from Joyful Expressions. 

 

It is filled with the many names of Jesus! I enjoyed every stitch of it. I chose for my colors - red, dark blue, a lighter blue and gold.

 I'm a member of lots of Facebook cross stitch groups and someone suggested all of the cross stitch pieces we do during this pandemic we add a cross. So I stitched my initials, the year and a little cross.

Now back to the point of this post. Folks, we have left God, Jesus, out of our country in so many areas. Slowly but surely He's being erased. So sad that this has happened as He is the answer. He is the answer to all of our problems. His Word, the Bible, shows us how to live our lives. I am a Christian and do not apologize for that. I don't want to preach, well, maybe a little, but Jesus does love us and I know He is in control. We can trust Him and do our best to let Him guide us and give us wisdom during these troubled times. We need to treat each other with patience and love. I'm certainly not perfect and I know I make lots of mistakes but my prayer daily is for God to create in me a clean heart.

Thank you all for being my blog friends and I am saying a prayer for each and every one of you right now.

Be a bunch of sweeties,

Shelia ;)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song ~ 

There's Something About That Name

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there's just something about that name
Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away
But there's something about that name
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away
But there's something about that name

~ by Gloria Gaither

My Backyard

Hello, Dear Ones! I hope you enjoyed visiting my past blogging days with Stella the Blogland paper doll. That was fun to look back at all of the silly fun I had with her.

Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and continuing to take care of yourselves. We are going to the grocery store now in our masks. I was so brave today and went to Hobby Lobby! Oh, I loved it! Everyone was courteous and keeping their space. I realized how much I've missed getting out by myself. I've got to watch myself as it makes me want to go to more places but I'm going to be good and wait a little. 

Oh, one more little cute thing to tell you. One of our neighbors little girl had a birthday parade come through our cul de sac today! It was so sweet. All of the cars were decorated with balloons and streamers and posters hanging off the doors. The little girls were hanging out the windows and poking their tiny little heads out of the sun domes yelling out birthday wishes to their little friend! When I headed out to go to Hobby Lobby I saw the little birthday girl in her yard, rolled down my window and wished her a happy 6th birthday! Folks are getting very creative on how to live life.

Well, now I will get down to the nitty gritty of my post today. We are going to go into my back yard. The weather is getting pretty warm and the past few days we've really had some big thunderstorms and rain! But today was bright enough to take a few snaps for you to see what I've been doing

 This is what you see when you walk out of my back door - this lovely big ole oak tree! We really do have a very small yard and we like it that way and we've been slowing trying to plant things in the year we've lived here.

 I always have kept this picture as this is what the back yard looked like when we bought our home. No grass, just dirt! Y'all, that was so nasty! We had sod laid down and I worked on the flower bed under the oak tree. We've been planting and so far everything is growing in nicely.

 I dug up some of the ornamental grass from the front yard and planted it back here last year. I guess I'm kinda a gawdy kind of decorating gal too as I have windchimes all hung up on the limbs of the tree. If you look at the fence I've got some little bird houses hung up there and in the one on the left side - there's some itty bitty birdies in there! Those white boxes are some solar lights we found at Costco and they put off a soft white glow at night.

Some of the plants are Red Sisters (the two red leafed plants against the fence), some 'ears', two ginger plants, one croton and some coleus. Speaking of coleus, did you know if you break off one of the little stems and stick it in the dirt it will grow? I found out that works when I accidentally stepped on one and broke a little stem off. Yay! free plants! 

 Here's a closer peep at my big old flower bed. It's mostly in the shade so I had to plant accordingly. It does get some morning sun on this side. It sure is fun though watching it grow and poking more plants in.

 Oh, and here is my sweet potato vine! I love this plant. It's sitting in a pot which is sitting on a big ole stump of a crape myrtle that Mr. Precious chopped down last year. Uh oh! I see someone has been eating lunch here.

 This is looking back up to the back door which walks into the breakfastroom/kitchen. Oh, I'm a bit saddened. You see that wicker? Well...that is the wicker I always had in my past two sunrooms. I don't have a sunroom anymore and they sit out here in the elements of weather! I'm bad as they are slowly dying! Nothing I can do about it since we don't have a roof over our little deck just a little eave. You win a little and you loose a little.

Here I am in all of my masked glory about two weeks ago when we went to Buc-cee's! It's a great place for fudge!! and gas and other things. Buc-cee was all makes up too.

Be a bunch of sweeties, 

Shelia :)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song ~

Green Green Grass of Home (not to be morbid - but I love this song and love Tom Jones)

The old home town looks the same
As I step down from the train,
And there to meet me is my Mama and Papa.

Down the road I look and there runs Mary,
Hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.

Yes, they'll all come to meet me,
Arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green, grass of home.

The old house is still standing,
Though the paint is cracked and dry,
And there's that old oak tree that I used to play on.

Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary,
Hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.

Then I awake and look around me
At four grey walls that surround me,
And I realize: yes, I was only dreaming.

For there's a guard and there's a sad old padre.
On in on we'll walk at daybreak.
Then again I'll touch the green, green grass of home.

Yes, they'll all come to see me
In the shade of that old oak tree
As they lay me neath the green, green grass of home. 

 ~ sung by Tom Jones

 

Bye Bye Stella!

Hello, Dear Ones. Well, if you've stayed with me this long you know all about dear Stella and her adventures with me and this is where we'll say goodbye to Stella. Enjoy...

Hello, Dear Ones! I have a lot to say today and I'm hoping you will stay with me.

Bye Stella! :(

First of all I'm having to say goodbye to Stella today. I'm very sad and heartbroken but I know she'll always have a little place in my heart and hopefully I will in hers! The idea of Stitching Stella (this is her true name I've just been calling her the Aida Cloth Paper Doll of Blogland) was thought up by Lindsay-ann and Lorrie! This is just the cutest idea! She's been traveling all over Blogland and in December of this year will go back to England! If you'd like to follow her adventures, please go to Lindsay-ann's or Lorrie's blog and catch up on Stella.

Here is Stella almost ready to go. She has her passport ready. I will write a page in her passport book about her adventures in Galveston.

Now when she leaves a destination, her hostess is to add something to her dress. Well, if you've been following her adventure with me, you know she sneaked off and got a Henna tattoo! I just couldn't let that pass and decided to put a sweet sparkly tatto heart on her shoulder for a reminder.
Here's a close up!
Not to worry, with her pretty long hair and the strap from her purse, it's covered very nicely! But we'll all know it's there, won't we? :)
Another addition I'm sending along with Stella is Gally, the little dog she picked out in the pet store. Gally has been constantly at Stella's side and just had to go along with her.
Look at that cute little fuzzy face!
Also, I could not let Stella go off without a souvenir from her Broadway musicals, so she's taking her own Playbills from her performances.

Oh, I must tell you...this Playbill will really be valuable someday! It has a mistake on it! We had to get the info out in such a short amount of time that there's a typo! Stella did seven performances - Monday thru Sunday and this says...Mon. - Fri. Wow! I wonder how much we could get for this one on Ebay? Well, hopefully Stella will keep hers.
Bye bye Stella and Gally! I'll miss you so much! Who's going to help me Tablescape and Foodie Friday? Who will sing me songs in the evenings? Well, I guess she'll just have to take these marvelous skills of hers to her next destination!

Where is Stella going next? She's headed to Ohio to visit Kady at Life On The Edge! So make sure you go vist Kady to see what our darling Stella will be doing next!

Bye Stella...sniff sniff (Chloe Dawn is doing the puppy happy dance now! She was so jealous of Stella and Gally! ) .

I hope you've enjoyed these olden blog posts. I was just thinking of how fun this was and I hate to say this but those of you who haven't been blogging long have missed such a special time we all had in the olden days. I think all of the blogs I've mentioned except Susan at Between Naps on the Porch have stopped blogging. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you've enjoyed seeing Stella and of course my silliness. I guess that's still around! :)

Be a bunch of sweeties,
Shelia :)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song~I love this song :)

Circle of Friends

We were made to love and be loved
But the price this world demands
Will cost you far too much
Spent so many lonely years just tryin' to fit in
Now I've found my place
In this circle of friends

In a circle of friends
We have one Father
In a circle of friends
We share this prayer
That every orphan soul will know
And all will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends

If you weep, I will weep with you
If you sing for joy the rest of us
Will lift our voices too
But no matter what you feel inside
There's no need to pretend
That's that way it is in this circle of friends

In a circle of friends
We have one Father
In a circle of friends
We share this prayer
That we'll gather together
No matter how the highway bends
I will not lose this circle of friends

Among the nations, tribes, and tongues
We have sisters and brothers
And when we meet in Heaven
We will recognize each other
With joy so deep (joy so deep)
And love so sweet (love so sweet)
We'll celebrate these friends
And life that never ends

In a circle of friends
We have one Father
In a circle of friends
We share this prayer
That it will not be long
Before all will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends

That it will not be long
Before all will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends

Circle of friends...
~sung by Point of Grace

Foodie Friday with Stella

Hello, Dear Ones...here's another Stella post. I promise we're getting close to sending her off!

Hello, Dear Ones and welcome to Foodie Friday. This most fabulous event is always hosted by our ever so famous and wonderful Gollum, Micheal Lee, at Designs by Gollum.

Well, most of you know I have a visitor ~ The Most Amazing Stella, our Aida Cloth Paper doll of Blogland! She is a hand full as well as a hoot! She's also very helpful and a very loving little gal!
Needless to say, she has been helping me out tremendously in the kitchen. She's very into the Memes and had to DO Foodie Friday for my post!

So this is Stella's Foodie Friday...

Here is our little Darling, along with her constant companion, Gally, in my kitchen. She has been going through my recipes to find out exactly what she would fix for this post. See, she has her little recipes all picked out! Wonder what she'll cook? Inquiring minds want to know! ;)
Oh, Stella told me she could not cook without her apron and chef's hat on. So I scrambled around until I found just the perfect ensemble for her. She posed and I snapped! Oh, my goodness! Do you see who had to get into the picture ~ Gally! Look at that little silly standing on top on the counter! Get down, Gally! She's peeping around the fridge thinking I won't see her!
I do believe our Stella knows her way around the kitchen! Let's see here, veggies, tomato sauce, garlic and cheeses...sounds like Italian to me or it could be Mexican. Hmmmm...I'll guess I'll have to wait and see. Gally! That little stinker is eating an entire bowl of fruit! Oh, my goodness! She'll definitely have to wear a diaper to bed tonight if you know what I mean! :) or if you get my drift! Oh, no no Nannette! Let's not even go there! :)
While Stella was putting the finishing touches on everything, Gally went outside and started to set the table. She is such a wonderful little helper. Isn't it amazing how my backyard all of a sudden looks like Italy or the south of France? :) Look how lovely the patio table looks! See the lovely centerpiece - well, sidepiece, filled with fresh flowers from my garden of course! :) OH, and look at the way she's adorned the vase with grapes and ribbons. She's good!

Oh, and our Most Marvelous Stella has even dressed for the occasion ~ a lovely pink strapless dress and a hat. Oh, I don't guess anyone told her you're not supposed to wear hats after 4:00 pm. I wonder if our Miss Janice is reading this? She'll give Stella demerits, I just know it! I'll just let it pass since she went to so much trouble to please me! And that silly little Gally! She's put on her little bib so she won't get sauce all over her! That's a little precious fuzzy face! Speaking of fuzzy faces, where's my little Chloe Dawn? She is hiding! Ever since Stella has been here, Chloe Dawn has been so jealous. She won't play with Stella or Gally. My goodness!

Okay, let's see what our Most Wonderful One has prepared for our dinner. I see a nice little pasta salad, grilled eggplant Parmesan and herb crusted tenderloin and chicken with wild rice on the side. Yes, I was correct! We're having Italian food! Yummy! Mr. Precious...dinner is served!

Well, now the reality of cooking a big ole meal has kicked in! Dirty dishes! But our gal Stella is up to the challenge of making my kitchen shine again, of course with a little help from Gally! Stella did make quite a mess of things...sauce is all over the place...on her, Gally (the bib didn't work very well, I guess) and my cabinets! "Okay, okay, Stella, I'll go to the den and watch "Cops" and you can clean up! Tell Gally to get down from the windowsill!" What is a Blogland hostess Mommy to do? :)

Be sure to come back Monday and I'll share with you where our dear Stella is going next!

Be a bunch of sweeties,
Shelia :) , Stella and Gally

I'll leave you with a little Note Song~

Mambo Italiano

A girl went back to Napoli Because she missed the scenery  

The native dances and the charming songs But wait a minute, something's wrong  

Hey, mambo! Mambo italiano! Hey, mambo! Mambo italiano  

Go, go, go you mixed up sicialiano  

All you calabraise-a do the mambo like a crazy with a 

  Hey mambo, don't wanna tarantella Hey mambo, no more a mozzarella 

  Hey mambo! Mambo italiano! 

  Try an enchilada with da fish a bac a lab and then a  

Hey goombah, I love a how you dance a rhumbah 

  But take a some advice paisano Learn how to mambo  

If you gonna be a square You ain't a gonna go nowhere  

Hey mambo! mambo italiano! Hey mambo! mambo italiano!  

Go, go, Joe, shake like a Giovanno 

   Hello kess-a-deetch-a you getta happy in the feets a  

When you mambo italiano 

 Shake-a Baby shake-a cause i love a when you take a me  

Mama say "stop-a or I'm gonna go to papa"  

And a hey ja drool you don't a have to go to school 

  Just make-a wid da beat bambino 

  It's a like a vino Kid you good a lookin' but you don't a-know what's cookin' till you  

Hey mambo, Mambo italiano Hey mambo, Mambo italiano  

Ho, ho, ho, you mixed up Siciliano it's a so delish a ev'rybody come copisha  

How to mambo italianoooooo! 

  'Ats nice! UNH!
~sung by Rosemary Clooney