tate farms . . .

As much as I'd love to be retired, if I do need to keep working, the place for which I work does us well. Our annual meeting was on Tuesday.  It takes a lot of time prep work, and then it's a long afternoon of meeting, but then we have the next two glorious days *FREE* which makes for a five-day weekend!  I put Wednesday, the first day, to good use!

One of the things I feel like I must do in order for my birthday month — and autumn in general — to feel complete, is visit Tate Farms!  I love to go with/take the grands, but truth be told, if no one could go with me, I'd go alone!  It really is one of my very favorite places. But this year, the local grandgirls were happy to go with me (which gave mama a bit of a break)!

It really was a lovely, glorious day.  First things first, we took the group photo in the pumpkins!

I got one of the girls, and also was gifted a shot with the girls, thanks to another visitor!

I knew where we'd go once we got inside the farm . . .

I think you'll be able to understand, after seeing this photo, why Edith refers to this as the "corn pool"!!  LOL!  They were having swimming races in the corn!  

From there we spotted the corn train.  It really was a lovely day ... look at that sky!

We headed that way via several additional photo opportunities and activities.

Not pictured are the bouncy thing, the petting zoo, and the bicycle track (which I did so Edith could ride on the back) (you didn't want pictures of that anyway, trust me)!  

The girls did have fun on the train (check out Ellie with her hands in the air, like she just don't care!), but Edith spotted the 'rainbow slide' on the ride, so we headed there next.

It's a big, tall slide!  But she insisted she wanted to go, so the three girls went up, and I waited at the bottom with the camera.  The two big girls thought it was amazing!  Edith, not so much. Heh. Her face says it all!!

After we'd seen and done all the things, we headed to find refreshments!  We ended up getting a famous pumpkin slushy ... (yummy!!) and glazed pecans.  Then we put all wristbands in for a show of Tate Farms solidarity . . . 

All for one, and one for all!

Yep ... check that one off my bucket list!  The only thing I'm sorry about?  I didn't get a pumpkin!  

Dang it, Bobby.  Hmmmm, maybe I'll need to make a second trip . . . 

:)

rabbit, rabbit . . .

And just like that, it's November.  WOW!

Thursday evening after work I headed to visit the grandgirls and spend the night.  On Friday we made our annual visit to Tate Farms . . .

It was hard to get a photo of everyone together!  We were full out in motion for our three hours there! But it was a fun day.  :)

Saturday was bright and beautiful!  What a fabulous day for Halloween ... and June Madelyn's birthday!

We got to facetime with her and sing her "Happy Birthday" and watch her open her presents!  June is eight!  I miss them all SO much! ♥

I also took some time to make another apple bundt cake.  We've got a social thing (outdoors) this afternoon, and this is my offering.

The cake smells so GOOD!  And of course, topped with fall sprinkles! *wink*

I spent some (most) of my birthday Etsy money and my 'gifts' came in this week.  I'm so excited!

I got a number of assorted bundles of wool.  I'm going to get working on my Hospital Sketches in wool, soon, and I wanted a nice variety of wool to pull from.

I also got this really sweet Piglet ornament kit.

I think I'll make it and let Joc give it to Evey.  She will be so excited (I hope)!

One last purchase . . .

Pictured with my Give Thanks stitchery!  I adore themed "accessories"! So it came late, but the needle minder is so darling, I was happy to stitch with it yesterday (and will continue to stitch with it this evening, with some slow Sunday stitching).  I also got the most darling pair of owl embroidery scissors, and those I'll use year-long!

Linking up with Kathy's Quilts today and her slow stitching post.  I leave you with one last look at October . . . 

Spooky and beautiful; the blue, full moon!  Have a great day!

:)

time well spent . . .

The association I work for had its 182nd Annual Meeting last Tuesday.  It's a big deal for me and a lot of prep work and a long day . . . but we get the Wednesday and Thursday following the meeting off, giving me a long, five-day weekend.

And I made good use of that time!

Wednesday, I met Joc and the girls at Tate Farms for my annual pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch.  I didn't bring home a single pumpkin (can you believe it?!), but we spent an hour or so hanging out in the corn crib!

Literally. 

We all sat (or lay, as the case may be) in the corn crib for an hour and talked and played (and napped). Needless to say, I did bring home some corn, though not intentionally.  I think we all did! LOL!

I also spent quite a bit of time cleaning, organizing and making the Nook habitable (again).  It was bad.  I have 'before' pics but I daresn't show it!  However, I'm quite happy to share a couple of 'after' pics:

I work so much better when my space has, well, space!

One of my quilty birthday gifts was Creative Grids 8" hexagon trim tool.  I wanted it specifically to make these fabric trivets . . .

So easy to make and such fun! These will make good hostess gifts over the holiday season!

I also spent a couple of minutes finishing up my little squirrel embroidery--just a simple border and in-the-ditch quilting.  Not a great pic, I know . . . 

I'll get another one (cuz it's really cute) before I gift it.

I spent some $$ on Kathy Schmitz's website and picked up a couple of patterns. I've already finished up one (that's some secret stitching), and am ready to work on this cutie . . .

Isn't that fun?  My whole reason for going there was to get this darling new pattern:

It makes me SMILE!!  And while I was there, I signed up for her monthly One Stitch at a Time monthly embroidery club!  I adore her designs.  ♥

If you're working on new stitcheries, you've also got to have new floss . . .

It's almost as satisfying as new fabric!  And costs way less! 😆😏

And finally, while I was cleaning the Nook, I came across a bag of felt and templates for the poinsettia pins.

So I decided I start working on those, too.  Because they also make a sweet (and easy) hostess gift or "tag-a-long" for gifts. 

So, there I am.  Stitching pretty much daily.  I've still got the bicycle stitchery that needs to be finished, as does the secret stitching project.  I'll share pics of that after the fact!  Have a great week ahead!

:)

and this week . . .

It's the birthday pumpkin edition!  Yay!!  I've had a marvelous birthday weekend, so far, involving grandbabies, sleepovers, family, eating out, crafting, friends, touring Amish country, and Tate Farms, my favorite *pumpkin* place!!  

How can you worry about being a year older when all of these fun things are taking place?! It's been a totally 10/10 time! At Tate Farms, the favorite 'station' for all the grands was the corn crib. Oh. My. Goodness.  Even the littlest of the littles didn't want to get out! The big kids all wanted to be buried in it, though . . .

Sawyer wanted to try it first.

Ellie wanted to give it a go!

June's up for the challenge!

Olivia decided she'd lay on top of the corn!

Everley wanted to be on top too . . . on top of Ellie!!

It was such a fun afternoon -- I really do look forward to the Tate Farm visit most of all in the month of October -- each year the group enjoys it more and more!

Last week I gave a little pumpkin teaser about this week's pumpkin craft . . .

Are you ready for full disclosure?  Haha! 

It's a stuffed pumpkin, which is not really a 'new' idea -- not even to me (see this post) -- but I loved the look of these sweet little pumpkins crafted up by Martha Pullen Company, and went for a little re-creation!  I thought for sure I had a small spool of thread to top it off with (you know, from one of those little travel kits or something), but I didn't, so I settled for a cinnamon stick and the floral wire for twine.  I used a slip of wool with some embellishment for the little stem cap.  And of course the hand work I was doing in my sneak peek was the vine stitching on the pumpkin itself, which is a little hard to see!

For next week I'm already working on a cute and super fast and easy project . . .

Which is once again doubling up as my slow Sunday stitching!

My stash remains unchanged.  I used a little for the pumpkin, but not enough to justify a change! Maybe by next week?

I did get some darling *birthday chrysanthemums* in the mail from the gals in the Birthday Hexie Club!!  Just look at all this purple/teal gorgeousness -- there are 19 ladies in the club, so there are about 18 packets of chrysanthemums just waiting to be stitched!  

Well, 19, actually, because the darling blogger (Sarah, the Hexie Queen of sarah did it!) who so graciously allowed me to be a part of their local club, stitched up an extra set for me, *and* mailed them all, *and* sent along the darling green hexie napkins!!  I suppose I'll be doing some hand-stitching coming up soon with these (the chrysanthemums, not the hexie napkins)!  Ps...I didn't count the chrysanthemums in as stash because they came to me as "finished pieces".  

All righty then . . . I'm linking up today with Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts. And I'm off to enjoy a post-birthday breakfast (which is pretty similar to my birthday breakfast, truth be told):

Happy Sunday!

:)

the tenth of october . . .

I know it's been quiet on the blog this week . . . but that's because it's been super LOUD in real life this week!

My sister and her crew, from Texas, spent their fall break camping with us! We've had a marvelous time, especially since her youngest are right around the ages of my grands! Hilarity and craziness have reigned this week!

So it goes to figure that there's been very little stitching done this week (a little, and I'll catch y'all up on that a little later).We've hiked and played in the creek and visited the Botanical Gardens and cooked s'mores and just, in general, have had a marvelous time! 

We had a big first -- Sawyer earned his "slept in a sleeping bag in a tent" badge this week!  He's an old pro now and has asked if if can move to the camp and live in a tent all the time. :) This is his 'morning after' cup of hot cocoa, to celebrate his victory! Please do notice the boots and pj's.   

Today, because it is 10/10 (that magic day of the year I like to refer to as the kickoff of my month-long birthday celebration), we are headed to the PUMPKIN PATCH!  Yay!!

Just in time for the kick-off . . . my order from Stash Tea . . .

Happy birthday tea for me! Hahaha!

Have a great weekend . . . I know I will!!!

:)

the pumpkin issue (part 1) . . .

Because I know, knowing me the way I do, that there will be at the very least one or two (or three or four) most posts where pumpkins figure prominently!  And after that explosion of acorns on my blog post Saturday, I felt like I really needed to pay homage to the fruit of fall . . . the object d'art *and* culinary delights in autumn . . . my favorite and yours (or at least it should be):

The PUMPKIN!!

I purchased pumpkins finally this past Friday, at my favorite pumpkin place of all times, Tate Farms.  We did our annual family fun day!  Ellie came in and felt right at home -- she's definitely a kindred spirit -- and headed for the fun "Apple Gourd".  It ain't easy being green.

Of course, there are other things at the farm to do, so we hit the swings . . .

The big pumpkin-colored bouncer (Sawyer and Ellie *both* loved this thing) . . .

And the corn crib . . .

It never ceases to amaze me the difference a year makes.  Last year, Ellie cried at everything and June was a nice round bump in her mommy's silhouette!  This year Ellie cried when she had to *leave* everything and June is nearly a year old!  Sawyer pretty much enjoyed it all and especially the ability to roam-at-large.

Then it was time for our hayride out into the pumpkin field! 

I think everyone enjoyed the ride ... but their eyes were WIDE when they saw all the pumpkins in the field!

Ellie kissing her pumpkin pick!

Paw paw helps orchestrate a prime 'photo op'!

Sawyer found LOTS of good pumpkins!

June, enjoying a close encounter of the pumpkin kind. 

Family shot sans Sawyer--who was too busy playing in the pumpkin patch!

The farm has a darling little country store and I found the *cutest* pumpkin hat for baby girl June:

Every October baby (especially an October 31st baby!) should have a pumpkin hat, right?!?!?

I picked up a couple of pumpkins for me . . . 

Sawyer, June and Ellie pumpkins, right??!!

And I have plans for these guys, too . . .

You'll just have to wait and see! 

And finally, not working on much right this minute except my sweet little pumpkin candle mat!

I've made some progress and actually got started stitching on it yesterday!

Whew!  That should be a good fill of pumpkin goodness . . . for now.  Have a GREAT Monday!

:)