"Rally, Mohawks! Bring your axes! Tell King George - No more taxes!"

Today in history, we churned (shook) butter and then we had Boston baked beans, Boston brown bread and tea.

Then we pushed away our tea, painted on some war stripes with local paint rocks, and rallied to the Boston Harbour where we dumped crates of tea overboard (and onto the head of a surprised poodle who was snoozing in the sun!)

Happy Halloween!

Elizabethan Garden Sampler - Finished!

This is a Brightneedle design. It was pretty quick to stitch once I located all the Anchor threads. I really enjoy Brightneedle designs, but I have no desire to stitch them over one! This was stitched over two on 36 ct linen with the recommended threads.

Wordless Wednesday

Pumpkin & Salmon

Ha, Ha! Don't worry - these two ingredients are sharing a post not a recipe!

Last night, I tossed a few handfuls of cranberries in my pumpkin pie. That was the best idea ever! I used the traditional recipe on the back of The Can, except I used soy milk instead of evaporated milk. You should definitely try the cranberries! Very Yum!

I was raised on salmon (the "l" is silent) patties. Sophie Loren once said," Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." Well, I owe a lot to salmon patties and lima beans (and half a canned pear with a dollop of mayonnaise, a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and a maraschino cherry). Anyway, I made salmon "cakes" last week with sauteed celery, onions and red peppers. They were incredible. There is something magical about sauteed red peppers. When used in combination with either corn or broccoli, they approach the sublime. Hey - I could put chopped broccoli in the salmon cakes next time......

Unromantic?

I am having a really difficult time getting Nutmeg down to school this morning. Last week she got her 4/5 year shots (yes, I know she is 7), and her legs hurt so much, I let her do school on the couch. That set up some really bad habits. This morning, she has a cough and a headache and cannot possibly do lessons. I sent her to her room with Tylen@l. Then I sent her dad up to check on her. She told him the problem is that school is so unromantic!

I'm giving her 10 more minutes for the meds to kick in and then it is down to the schoolroom! Unromantic! Pah!

Halloween Tree

Well, I finished some of my halloween ornaments. Do not enlarge this picture! I do not want you to see the bumps and ridges and strings of glue - yes I used my glue gun. I know that is probably terrible, but leaving them sitting in the basket because I cannot find the correct glue is terrible too! I wonder what will happen when my real life black cat discovers this tree of hanging wonders? Hmm....

Church Ladies

S'mores!

A Pair of Black Stockings

I have mentioned once or twice the profound influence literature has on Nutmeg. Anne Shirley in particular has shaped Nutmeg's "notions." Sometimes this is not positive: she freaks out when anyone compliments her freckles.

Yesterday, Nutmeg found a pair of black stockings in her drawer. She is wearing them again today. Why? Because they look like the stockings old-fashioned girls wear. In fact she told me last night she was an "old-fashioned girl with new-fangled notions," (American Girl). I mention this firstly to let you know how adorable Nutmeg is, and secondly, to show the difference between girls raised on Little House, Green Gables, and other sweet tales and girls raised on Hannah Montana, Cheetah Girls and High school Musical. My daughter is not running around the house half-naked singing about wanting some guy. She is knitting, picking flowers and reading Misty of Chincoteague. Will she being doing that when she is 13? Maybe. Maybe not. But a 7-year old has no business watching shows or listening to music about teenage or adult themes. Why push them into puberty? It will come quickly enough.

Halloween Stitching

Wordless Wednesday

The girls each had a friend spend the night on Saturday! But I still found time to participate in the Halloween Party on the Stacy Nash Cross Stitch Yahoo Group! Thank you, Tanya, for a wonderful treat! When the party started, and the Party Favors (cross stitch charts) started coming, I was dismayed to find I had no black thread - no DMC, no Anchor, no overdyed anything! Determined to stitch something "prim" I found "Blessings" a freebie on the PrimitiveBetty website. I stitched it with briar rose. After I looked in my thread box about 27 times, I finally found good old DMC 310. I stitched the next design which is also a PrimitiveBetty design.

Sunday evening, while watching "Bizarre Foods" I stitched a Blackbird Designs ornament.

I have tons of Christmas designs that have not been made into ornaments. My goal this year is not to stitch more ornaments, but rather to make them into ornaments. I think I hear my trusty glue calling!

Who is your neighbor?

We are very careful about saying, "Thank God!" around here - the whole Ten Commandment thing and all. But I said "Thank God" just now for all the right reasons. That adorable little 6-year old boy has been found alive and in good condition.

My husband gets very annoyed that precious news time is devoted to sentimental and/or sensational personal stories. He is an attorney, and sees family tragedies and dramas everyday. When I am watching a national-soap-opera-story on the news, he makes snarky comments such as, "Yeah, and what makes them special?"

I justify following these stories because it makes me more human. My daily life is not filled with rape, abduction, and spouses murdering each other. But I need to be aware that many are not as fortunate as I. These news stories cause me to count my blessings.

These are my Neighbors - in the biblical sense. They are real people suffering. I have an opportunity to pray for them and the hundreds of others in similar situations.

"There but for the Grace of God go I." Maybe we don't "rubber-neck" just because we are nosy or like the shock -value. Maybe we slow down and get a better look because we are suddenly struck by the realization that it could happen to us. Maybe we slow down and look because we are reminded of a communion we have with others on this planet.

Hmmm....