The view outside my office window this morning:
The one positive in losing all the leaves on the trees – a better view of the mountains. These, by the way, are the Gunks I referred to in a previous post. The Shawangunk Ridge. It’s a continuation of the Appalachian Mountains and it extends to the Catskill Mountains.
Rock climbers love the Ridge. They come from far and wide to climb here.
The UPS driver dropped off a package yesterday morning. As I wasn’t expecting anything via UPS, I was intrigued.
It was from my sister.
She made this beautiful shawl for me! Isn’t it lovely? Meredith and I are both partial to gray. (As my hair turns more and more silvery, gray seems to suit me.)
I often wear a shawl around the house in the mornings and I planned on taking one that I made years ago with me to Hartford. But this one is much, much prettier! So I will be taking this beauty instead.
My sister is very talented. I love her dearly.
I’m going to start in on my research today. This morning I realized that I leave for Hartford in a little over two weeks. There’s much to be done before that date, including buying Don’s Christmas presents!
Tomorrow is the tour of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. We’ve become members of the Sanctuary because we want to support what this incredible facility does. We are joining in honor of Pliers and Ashley, our elderly horse friends, who were saved and rescued by the Sanctuary. I’ll have lots to share with you this weekend.
The rain has finally stopped. It was rather torrential for two straight days, which will certainly help our water table. I’m grateful today for a peek at the sun and for clouds swirling and moving as this front moves out.
I’m waiting for another Nancy Drew, soon to arrive in the mail. It will be nestled in the space between Anne of the Island and The Secret at Shadow Ranch, as it’s #3 in the series. I had to do some shelf rearranging yesterday, moving some books to other shelves in order to accommodate my little collection. That reminds me: I need to keep a lookout for more Hardy Boys for Don – maybe a little stocking stuffer or two.
Happy Thursday.
A beautiful shawl, sisters with talent are great. I have one of those sisters too!
Aren’t we lucky, Doris?
The shawl is gorgeous and she is very talented!
I was wondering, and I don’t know if you’ve mentioned before, but who is your source for the Nancy Drew collection?
Oh, there’s not one source. I find them in used bookstores, in antique shops, on eBay and on Etsy. Finding them is another version of sleuthing!
I’m a big Etsy addict! I may have to start a new collection!
Go for it, Chris!
Love the shawl—both color and pattern. Such a sweet surprise! Today, it’s sewing for me. Slipcovers for sofa cushions. It is time. These have been on my to do list for a couple of years now…and company’s coming…
Nothing like company company to jumpstart something that’s been on the back burner, Shanna!
Meredith is very talented. And you two are very lucky to be sisters. I’m also partial to gray. It’s a gorgeous shawl and will be great to take along to Hartford. How wonderful that you will be taking a tour of the sanctuary. Give all the animals lots of love from me. :) Happy December!
I will! Happy December to you, Tammy!
The shawl is lovely – Meredith is very talented. My daughter likes to wear a shawl when studying instead of a another sweater. She likes grey too!
I really love the shawl and will happily wear it every day.
After torrential rain and tornado’s yesterday we have lovely sunshine here! So much loss and devastation in TN from the fires. I’m enjoying the new Reacher story and hope to finish it by tomorrow. Taking all the cats to the vet for nail trims and for Annie Belle to see my Vet for the first time. She limps after she is laying down a long time so I need it checked out. I love the shawl that Meredith made for you, she is so talented. Your Nancy Drew collection is growing so fast, I’m glad you have been able to find those books. I found a piece of McCoy pottery yesterday at the thrift shop for $1. I’ll share it soon. Now to wrangle the cats! Hugs!
Linda, you find the best deals!
She sure does!
Sending good thoughts Annie Belle’s way, Linda. Let me know what the vet says. Good McCoy score, my friend!
Beautiful shawl…lucky girl! And your mountain view is a reminder of good things that do happen after the leaves fall! Enjoy! ;)
Exactly. I’ll just have to remind myself of that as the winter progresses and progresses!
Yes you will….as it gets whiter and whiter out there. But it’s a positive thought for today…I’m going with that! ;)
xoxo
You live in a beautiful area. I’d love to see those mountains…names I’ve heard all my life out here on the West Coast: Catskills, Appalachians. True benefits of a second story…maximizing those views.
The shawl is dressy! Her handwork is lovely.
Your Nancy Drews on the shelf are, I dunno; satisfying. Glad to know people like you/us appreciate these things and endeavor to amass an intact collection if possible.
I went in a couple of stores yesterday and I was sort of crestfallen of how emptied, already, they were of holiday decorations. I’d had a long talk with myself to not buy; just wanted to look. Maybe the clerks haven’t recovered from Black Friday and its continuing weekend sales, but it was sort of woebegone. Since the Recession, I notice that many stores seem to be very watchful of not overstocking, so I guess this is the result.
But, here we are…Happy December 1!
We really love it here. Don, who moved a lot as a child, in not in the best way, then was an actor who was mostly on the road doing theater, finally feels like he’s found his home. That makes me so happy!
Oh, that IS a beautiful shawl! Nearly all my older female relatives were handy “with their needles” as the saying goes. My mom, both grandmothers & aunts on both sides could knit & crochet, and Grandma on my Dad’s side could tat too, which is really becoming a lost art now. All of them, at some point, tried in vain to teach me, from the time I was about 8 or so. With no luck at all. College roommate tried for about a year as well with equally-abysmal results. I was dubbed a hopeless case by all. The only needlework I can do is embroidery and cross-stitch, which I do enjoy. But I can certainly appreciate the work done by others and your shawl is gorgeous. Really pretty gray too. One of my favorite colors because it goes with nearly everything – I can’t think of one that doesn’t look well with gray. Your shawl will look great no matter what color you’re wearing! ⭐️
#ThisIsNotNormal
My grandmother, who crocheted, quilted, sewed, tatted, embroidered and crocheted (she really could do anything) tried to teach me how to crochet when I was a kid and it didn’t take. Neither did sewing. I often think how happy she’d be to know that I’ve made quilts, crocheted, embroidered and knitted. That would make her smile! And she’d be thrilled to see all of Mere’s handiwork.
So, what did you girls do then…teach yourselves as adults? How did you learn to sew, so you could make a quilt? Home ec classes in school?
Mother tried to teach me how to do all that stuff and I’d have none of it as a young girl, then never developed the abilities as an adult. Did I just convince myself I wasn’t good at it? Mom particularly loved to hook rugs.
Tatting has always gotten deep appreciation from me. My mom knew a lady who would even tat an edging to paper greeting cards. She was a very, very old lady; I’d never seen any kind of work like that which, clearly, was ART.
Yes, we taught ourselves or had someone show us or, in the case of crochet for me, watched videos online.
My grandmother tatted edgings on her hand towels and pillow cases and of course, made doilies. That is a skill I do not have!
The shawl is just lovely!!!! I have seen a couple of the infinity scarves she has been knitting as well. She does such beautiful work. I think it is a bit of therapy for her in her oh-so-busy life. So thankful little Z is doing much better.
2 weeks til Hartford!! Time seriously seems to absolutely fly by as soon as Halloween is over… at least for me, that is what happens. If not for lists, I think I would just happily sit in my chair w/ a cup of coffee and read. (Especially with “Denial” being my current address!!) Have a thoroughly delightful Thursday!!
I’m coveting one of those infinity scarves, Chris. I may have to break out my needles and make one. She often says that if she didn’t knit or crochet she’d go crazy.
Time is flying, for sure! It seemed so far off and now it’s around the corner!
(I share the same address, by the way!)
Don’t you just love surprises, Claudia? You and Meredith are fortunate to have each other. I often wish I had a sister; though my brothers are great, it’s not the same!
We are very aware of how lucky we are. We lost our brother 25 years ago and our other sister has cut herself off from the rest of the family. So we never, ever take each other for granted!
The shawl is just lovely! What a lucky sister you are. Today seems like a spring day with the sun after all that rain. Wishful thinking that winter passed in a flash.
Yes, I’m afraid it will be back, Karen!
Well, the rain has stopped here too, it is 42 degrees but with the high winds it feels like 32….That is a gorgeous shawl…Mere is a sweet lady….The books look great on the shelf…Have fun tomorrow!
We will, Nancy! It’s very windy here, too. Since I’m not enamored of windy weather, I’m staying inside!
The shawl is just lovely. I always wished for a sister. My brothers are great and I am thankful for them, but a sister just seems to be different. Two weeks until Hartford? Where did the time go? I love that you are having success collecting the Nancy Drew books. I think I will be reading some of my Nancy Drew books this winter as I sip hot chocolate. Doesn’t that sound cozy and fun?
It sure does, Dottie, and I’m glad you said ‘hot chocolate’ because you reminded me that I want a mug of hot chocolate right now!
That’s one pretty shawl, Claudia! I am missing the leaves here as they hid the workers behind out house who are replacing the huge water tank; I will be very glad when they are done, but it won’t be till next September.
Oh, yes, of course you want those leaves hiding the workers! Ah well.
That shawl is so lovely. And you are luck to have such a loving, caring sister. I actually tried to learn how to crochet and knit twice in local classes offered at our technical institute. No luck. I just could not get the hang of it. I am an expert seamstress though! :)
If you are an expert seamstress, I bow down in front of you! That’s something I could never quite get. I can sew a seam, but that’s about it! Good for you, Sandy.
That shawl is outstanding; so very beautiful and elegant. It always needs to be where it can be seen and enjoyed. Love that shade of gray…….Dianne
Such a lovely soft shade of gray, Dianne!