Spring is Here!!

Hi Everyone!  Today is the first day of Spring!  It sure feels it here in NC.  The birds have been really busy here at the feeder, the flowers are popping, pear trees have bloomed and their leaves have come on and the weather has finally turned warm. I am trying to get the plants I brought from our old house to the new house ready to plant.  Some I will have to wait because they are getting ready to bloom.  One is the tree peony below that when I moved from NJ almost 16 years ago I brought to NC with me!!

18 year old Peony Tree

One of the 2 really huge buds on the peony tree.

I planted a camellia this year and it is showing off!

With everyone not knowing how long the COVID 19 will be around, I bought a tomato plant, broccoli plants, lettuce and basil.

Basil

Lettuce

Broccoli

Tomato

I wanted to grow some veggies anyway.  I am also going to put some seeds in a pot.  Yellow Squash, Green Beans and Cucumbers (also more lettuce).

I have been working from home since Tuesday of this week.  I really don't mind it at all.  I certainly don't miss the commute!  I can play classical music or listen to a book on Audible or Chirp.  I can wear my jeans and a t-shirt.  I have seen more of my neighbors (walking outside in the fresh air only) than I have since I moved here in November.  I am walking the dog more and just getting more healthy with my food choices.  So I guess there are some good things that have come out of this horrible virus!  I keep everyone in my prayers daily re:  COVID 19.  

I will be blogging more also.  It is a good way to communicate with people and let them know what I am up to!  I missed blogging and I'm looking forward to sharing more.

Everyone be safe and take care!  See you tomorrow! :)

Just Checking In

Just thought I would check in with you all!  I have my new house all together now.  I will take some pictures soon and show you all where I am living.  I want to get some paint this weekend for my bedroom and bath.  It is just plain looking-cream and white and I need some color to liven the place up!  I have painted a little more.  I painted the feather below:

This was a really fun project.  It taught me how to "run" colors into other colors and then wait until the project dries completely.  Then I painted leaves, stems and dots in white on the feather.  Very different but beautiful! 

I have been knitting every night on the baby blanket for my niece, Devyn's little baby girl, Bradley.  She was born in the middle of January and I want to get it completed before she is too big for it!  Here is my progress so far:

My niece likes pink, white and gray together.  She should be happy with this!  I work on it while I'm watching TV.  The pattern isn't too hard.  I only have 1 row I had to take out because I must have knitted an extra stitch. 

I have been trying to keep myself busy.  I feel if I keep myself busy, I won't miss John as much.  Believe me some days that doesn't work at all.  Some days he is on my mind constantly.  I still talk to him while I am watching TV.  I think the dog thinks I am crazy chatting away about the show I am watching, etc.  Oh well, I could be crying my eyes out all the time so I think chatting away is better. 

I have been listening to alot of Audibles lately too.  Sometimes I'm tired of TV, so I just knit and listen to the book on Audible and get lost in the story!

Well my friends, I better get going but I thought I would just check in.  Hopefully I will start posting more regularly and have some pictures of my new house.

Take care my friends!

I have started painting again!

My life will be different now that John is gone.  I have to learn to fill my days (weekends) and nights with things I love to do.  I hadn't painted since the end of October or beginning of November.  With packing up the house and moving and then losing John, I had so many things to do.  I have finally put Christmas away (about a week ago) and I needed something to do that I really enjoyed.  I have been knitting a baby blanket for my niece, Devyn's new baby due on the 16th (this Thursday!!).  I can do that while watching TV though.  I decided on Saturday to take my paints, paper, brushes, etc. out and try my hand at painting again.  I painted two paintings.  One was of a field with a very storm sky (angry almost) with 2 silos in the distance.  The other was of a pomegranate whole and a sliced in half pomegranate.  I was very happy the way they turned out, but I especially love the pomegranate painting.  Next I want to paint a very colorful rooster.

Here are my paintings:

I will be painting more things in the future.  It was very soothing and calming for me to create these paintings. 

I have lost the love of my life.

I am sorry to say that on 11/27 my husband, John of 40 years passed away.  We were driving up to NJ for the Thanksgiving holiday with my family and he had a blood clot go to his heart and he had a fatal heart attack in his sleep.  I thought he was snoring, so I tapped him lightly.  I immediately felt like something was wrong.  I turned on the light and realized he was in distress.  I started CPR and called the front desk for 911.  We were all unfortunately too late.  John was my best friend, confidant, hero, lover and so much more!  I really am lost without him.  I am trying to keep it together but as everyone who has dealt with grief knows that sometimes you just have to let the tears flow. 

Christmas was really hard for our family.  The grandboys lightened the day but they were missing him too!  Megan and Ken came up from Georgetown, SC (they live there now) and they stayed with me from Christmas Eve afternoon thru the Saturday after Christmas.  There are many firsts without John coming our way.  We all just have to learn how to make new traditions and get on with our lives even though that will be one of the hardest things I will ever have to do.

John watching TV with Owen

John loved his family.  We always did everything together.  We are now trying to figure out things to do with the family that is left.  I know that John is up in Heaven looking down at all of us, watching and protecting us.  He was such a good man, husband, father and grandfather.  He also did work with the Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and when we lived in NJ he worked with Make A Wish Foundation and the Christian Outreach Project at our Church.  He was always a giver.

I love you John and I always will.  You were the love of my life and continue to be in my heart!  I will always love you to the moon and back!  Love always, Sherri

"Do Scarecrows Sleep at Night"

I used to live in Branchville, NJ.  We went to Branchville United Methodist Church.  After we moved away the town started to have a scarecrow contest.  Everyone would dress scarecrows up and add items to make a theme for their yard.  2 ladies that live in the town, Jeanne Heinke and Agnes Rizzo decided to write a book for the children of the town called Do Scarecrows Sleep at Night.  They asked several people to paint pictures for the book and I happen to be one of them!  I was told it would be a page in the book and what the them was.  So my picture had to have Pumpkinhead Jack, 3 signing angel scarecrows and they were to be in front of the Branchville United Methodist Church at night.  Pumpkinhead Jack would also be telling them to go to the park to list to Kiss.  So I had a month or two to create this painting and send it to Jeanne for publishing in the book.  I completed it in about 4 weeks and this is the painting:

This past weekend there was a book signing for this book and it sold out!!  They are going to have more printed and I hope they sell out too!!  It was fun to be part of such a wonderful thing.  Almost all the proceeds from the book is going to be given to the Frankford Twp School.  What a worthy cause!  My 2 daughters, Megan and Jenny went to that school.  It is so wonderful that this charming town got together and created the scarecrow contest and now these 2 wonderful ladies created such a charming and wonderful book for children.  This makes my heart smile :)!!

Autumn is Coming to NC!

I can feel a difference in the air lately.  Even though it is still hot and humid here, things will change soon.  Actually the weather person said this morning on the news starting tomorrow, Wednesday the weather will become cooler and less humid.  Atleast through the weekend that is.  Friday we leave and go to Megan and Ken's new house in Georgetown, SC.  I am sure it will be warmer and humid there.  That's ok, it will be good to see them and help them with the new house. 

The flowers from the spring and summer are getting tired of blooming, some of them look ragged and worn out.  The hummingbirds and bees are busy gathering pollen and especially the hummingbirds getting ready for the long flight to warmer climes!  We have this little hummingbird (female) she has almost no tail feathers.  She is the cutest, little thing.  She has to work twice as hard to fly, eat, etc.  She rests after each sip of the nectar I make in the hummingbird feeder in our yard.  The shepherd crook that holds up the feeder is her favorite place or the armillary in my cutting garden.  You can almost hear her panting as she catches her breath LOL!!  She has been visiting us for about 3 years now and each year I am amazed this little creature has made it to and from warmer climes and back again.  I will miss her when she takes her leave.

I do love this time of year!  All the rich spices, pumpkins, colors, mums, etc.  I have already put the Autumn wreath I made last year with the pheasant feathers stuck in it.  I have filled the wonderful, hand-carved wooden bowl my Dad made for me with lots of pumpkins.  I have decorated the mantel and changed out all my candles throughout the house.  I have not put any Halloween items out yet, that will be put out next month.  I can't wait to make my first Apple Crisp!  There is just something about that first bite of Apple Crisp for the season!  I also love pumpkin bread, it is so moist and so full of flavor.  I still have fresh pumpkin frozen from the pumpkins my sister, Sue grew in her garden in NW NJ.  I love home-grown pumpkins.  The pumpkins are known as milk pumpkins because they are very light in color.  They make excellent pies, breads, muffins, etc.  I always make my Great-Grandmother Sisco's pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.  My oldest daughter, Megan loves that pie!!  She and I are always so excited Thanksgiving brings thanks, family and our pumpkin pie!  I have passed the recipe down to her and hopefully she will continue making this in her new house.

Everyone enjoy the Autumn Season and most important of all enjoy what nature shares with you.  Whether it is a colorful tree or bounty like pumpkins, gourds and squash from your or someone elses garden. 

Enjoy!!!

Hurricane Dorian

Well by now I am sure everyone is tired of hearing about Hurricane Dorian.  I certainly am.  I wanted to let everyone know we are all right though.  Mint Hill didn't have any affects from Dorian at all.  Our daughter, Megan moved during the Hurricane to Georgetown, SC.  She did have damage but everything is all right now.  Her new house was fine but she lost a few trees (one narrowly missing her husband's car)!  She did however, have all of her possessions in the garage of the new house waiting to close on the house.  The garage flooded and everything they owned got wet!  They lost 2 Queen size mattresses and box springs, 1 wardrobe, 2 cubbies, some board games, 2 pieces of artwork and 1 whole box of cookbooks.  They were very lucky they didn't lose everything!  Their closing also got postponed to today (one week after they were supposed to close). 

I am just glad they are all right and most of their possessions are all right.  You can replace thing but you cannot replace people.  I wish them all the luck in their new home!!