2.14.2022 Spring is Coming

 Hi Everyone!  I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!  You don't have to be a couple to enjoy Valentine's Day.  I had a lovely lunch out with my daughter, Jenny and my 2 grandsons, Owen and Jack.  We went to The Green Frog Social House here in Lake City.  The food was wonderful and we had so much fun chatting.  There is a local Botantical Garden here in Lake City, so over lunch Jenny and I picked out 2 classes we are going to take over the next few months.  One is on cutting gardens, which I am going to make this year at my house.  Can't wait for that!!  The other is a tour of the gardens in our town.  That one should be a good one too!  I received 2 cards from the boys and heart-shaped box of chocolates.  Jenny gave me this beautiful Lemongrass candle she made.  I love the wooden bowl it is in-so pretty!  Megan gave me a bag of Lindt Truffles!!  She brought them up last weekend when she was here.  They were so good!!

The boys and Jenny are so thoughtful.  This could have been a really hard day and they made it better.  :)

Small signs of Spring have started to happen here!  I have a saucer magnolia growing in my yard.  I didn't even know I had one!!  I love to cut branches and bring them in the house.  Here is what I did with mine.

Here are the branches I brought in and put in the Dining Room.

I forgot I had this beautiful hand blown vase and I thought the magnolia color would go great with it in the breakfast room.  

We had a really cold day the other day and when the sun hit the field on the other side of the golf course steam started coming off.  It looked like a fog machine was being used!!  So beautiful!

My orchid is blooming and the amaryllis that bloomed before shot up another stem and has 4 more buds on it.  2 have opened and they are gorgeous!!

Originally when I got this orchid, my Mom had just left it to die.  She was moving and she said it had ants in it, so she put it outside.  She was going to let it die.  I saved it and brought it home.  I nursed it back to life and this is the 3rd year it has bloomed!  Glad I rescued it.

This is the second round of blooms on my amaryllis.  I just love this color!

John really loved Valentine's Day!  He loved when we would go out for dinner, he would buy me roses and a small gift.  I would give him his gift and we always gave each other cards.  I have saved all of the cards he gave me while we were dating and married.  I tied them up in a pink ribbon and put them in my memory box.  I am so glad I did that.  Sometimes I take them out and read them, reminiscing about the things he wrote.  I have to say I really miss his cards, he would always write something lovely on them.  I miss that man everyday!!  I decided I was going to buy myself some roses in honor of him (and I really love them!!).  Believe it or not I bought the roses in the picture below from Walmart.  This is week 2 and they look as wonderful as the day I bought them!!

Sometimes you just have to treat yourself!  Always remember to hug your loved ones, tell them you love them and appreciate the time you do have with them!

Sherri

2.7.2022 Rainy Monday

 Hi Everyone!  Well we are getting rain.  It is dreary, foggy and raining pretty good, but I don't care because it is good for my lawn and my gardens.  We had a drought for the last few months and I am hoping this helps with that.  It has to be good for the spring plants/flowers and our lawns.  

This view across the driveway into my backyard shows you how much rain we are getting.  The golf course is beyond the pine trees and there are a few puddles out there.  They disappear pretty quickly when the rain stops due to our loamy/sandy soil here.

My saucer magnolia really seems to love this weather/rain too!  It looks so pretty looking out my breakfast room bay window while I'm eating my breakfast seeing those gorgeous blossoms!

Not much going on here today.  I have to water and divide some plants that have gotten to big in a huge dish garden I received at my housewarming party in October.  I have a watercolor Valentine painting I want to do for an a spot in my house that needs a little color (I will show it to you when I'm done with it).  I will probably work on the shawl I'm knitting and while knitting I'll be listening to the audiobook, Such a Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass.  I finished reading Coral Cottage and that was a cute story!  Sounds like the perfect rainy day to me!

Everyone have a lovely day not matter what the weather is in your neck of the woods!  

Hugs,

Sherri

2.5.2022 Sunny Saturday

 Hi Everyone!  I hope everyone is having a great weekend!  The sun is out here in Lake City, SC but don't let it fool you because we went from temps in the 70's the last few days to 39 degrees!  I'll take the sun though.  

Today my oldest daughter, Megan is coming up for a visit.  The grandboys wanted to be able to celebrate her birthday.  Last Thursday Megan turned 41 and she had a great weekend with Jenny and a few other couples on Murrell's Inlet.  They rented a big house, everyone took a COVID test before they went.  The boys were disappointed they couldn't come to the big person party, so she is coming up today and spending the day with Jenny, the boys and I.  At some point we are either lunching or having dinner at a restaurant here in Lake City called Slabs.  They are known for their wonderful, delicious brisket!  Can't wait to try it out.  

While I wait for Megan to drive up from Georgetown (she's about an hour away from here), I'm going to work on a shawl I started a few days ago.  It is called the Road Trip Shawl.  A group of friends of mine (we live all over the US) are knitting this together.  We post pictures on our private FB Messenger page.  I'm enjoying it.  It is different than the shawls I usually knit.  This one has a little picot edge (which I have never done before) on it.  I thought it was going to be hard, but it really is quite easy making this.  Here is a photo of what I had done yesterday.

Road Trip Shawl-it is hard to tell but were the little holes are they are butterflies.  So pretty!

I will show you the progress as I go along.  The color that I started with is called Basil by Heidi and Lana, then I will be using a speckled yarn called Wintry Mix and then there is a strip called Lilac and then Basil again.  Should be really pretty!

I have been thinking about gardening already.  I will be putting a cutting garden in this year.  I am really excited about that.  I love fresh flowers in the house!  I also am going to put in a bigger veggie garden.  Last year the raised bed veg trug was really more for just herbs.  I will continue to use that for the herbs this year.  I already have parsley and chives in there.  They wintered over.  

Well that is about all I have for you today!  I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Sherri

February 1, 2022-New Month-Another Month Closer to Spring!

 Hi Everyone!  Time really flies! I thought I had just posted on here but I realized it has been weeks!  Today the sun is out and it is a little warmer.  We are by no means ready to hop into Spring but we are another month closer.  Happy February!!  Some of the trees and shrubs here have started to bud up.  That is really exciting to me!  My camellia that I planted hasn't bloomed yet, the buds are still on it but I'm not really sure it is going to do anything this year.  I was so hoping it would, I just love to see flowers of any kind this time of year.  It is definitely staying lighter later in the day, so I guess that will start getting better and better.

This weekend I had my grandson, Owen (he is 10) staying with me.  Jenny, his Mom dropped him off at 9:30 on Thursday and then picked him up around noon on Sunday.  We had the greatest time, reading, playing games, watching movies, going to lunch, etc., etc.  We even had time to run to the store to get his Mom a Valentine's gift for him to give her.  It was Megan (my oldest daughters) birthday on Thursday.  Megan, Ken, Jenny and 4 other couples rented a house out in Murrell's Inlet, SC.  They were very responsible and made everyone take a COVID test before they went.  Everyone was negative, which is good.  They all took turns cooking the meals and then celebrated Megan and Tom, their other friend who was having a birthday with their favorite cakes.  Kevin, Jenny's husband was supposed to go down for the day but we had a little ice/snow and he didn't want to drive in that.  That is why Owen got to stay longer.  

Owen-10 years old

The ice and snow we had didn't last very long-it was gone by 1:00 the same day (Saturday).  I did get some pretty photos though:

I took this looking from my driveway to part of my backyard and the golf course.

Same thing driveway, to backyard to golf course just a little further down.

The snow and ice were heavy, so my pine tree boughs were drooping onto the ground.  As soon as it melted thought they sprung back up thank goodness.  I was afraid some branches might break off.  

I opened my front door and this is what I saw!

I took this shot from my driveway, through my neighbor's backyard of the pond and golf course.  I thought it was so pretty!  You can barely make out the pond in the middle of the picture on the left hand side.  I think that is the 10th hole.  

I love when it snows, looks pretty and then goes away!  I lived in northwestern NJ for 45 years, so I have had enough major snow in my life.  This is a nice change.  

Everyone have a really nice day!  Keep warm, enjoy life and be kind!

Sherri

1.15.2021 Saturday-This Week's Antics

Hi Everyone!  Boy is it cold here-only in the 30's.  I know for some of you that doesn't sound cold but here in this part of SC it is.  It is a very cloudy day here today.  It is a good day to knit and read.  I have been working on alot of jigsaw puzzles online.  I find them very gratifying and I can listen to my Audible book at the same time!  Sometimes these old hands need a break from knitting!  I have been enjoying knitting though.

This week there were a few things going on.  First, Tuesday I had to drive Jenny (my youngest daughter) to the hospital at 5:45 a.m. for her hernia surgery.  She did great and is on the mend!  Then Thursday I took my 2 grandsons, Owen (10) and Jack (8) to Brookgreen Garden in Murrell's Inlet, SC.  They are homeschooled by Jenny.  They have homeschooling classes at Brookgreen.  So this class was on dinosaurs.  The boys had a great time and so did I.  They learned about the history of dinosaurs, fossils (they even made one), they were able to touch and hold real fossils and artifacts (like horse teeth, camel teeth and wooly mammoth tusks).  They also had set up an "archaeological dig" for the kids.  They really loved it!  Here are some photos of Brookgreen and the boys.

This gorgeous statue is at the entrance to Brookgreen Garden.  Just beautiful!

This was a statue right outside the pavillion the boys had part of their class in.  It is huge and just so beautiful.  I think the cranes in the statue are life size.  So detailed.

Jack got to hold a shark's tooth that was found right on the beach in the area. The thing was huge and extremely old.   They dredged sand from the ocean floor and alot of fossils came up when they did that. The horse tooth and camel tooth was in amongst those fossils.  So fascinating things to learn about!

Owen is holding the horse tooth on the right and the camel tooth on the left.  Those teeth were huge!  He loved seeing and touching things in person.  These boys are so lucky to have this opportunity at Brookgreen.  They have been to quite a few classes there.  They are also very reasonable.  They are $7/child per class.  

We were able to meet up with Megan (my oldest daughter) for lunch.  We went to a pizza restaurant.  We love it there.  They also have another restaurant in Charleston.  We had alot of fun before heading home.  The drive should have been an hour but there was construction and then an accident so it took us almost 2 hours to get home.

I got a few things for Christmas that needed to go outside.  Finally got around to putting them up.  Megan and her husband, Ken gave me both of them.  The first one was mason jars made to look like watering cans.  They have fairy lights inside of the jar and then fairy lights coming out of the spout like water.  So cute.  Here is a photo of them at night.  I put them in my veg trug for now.

The other gift was 2 uplighting solar spotlights for my 2 huge river birches out in front of my house.  I put them together and then put them in the ground.  I love them!

The same night that I put the spotlights out, when the sun was setting the sky was like it was on fire with color.  My neighbors have beautiful palm trees in their yard.  I was able to position myself to get this great photo-so beautiful!

Wednesday, I think I spent the whole day winding yarn.  I buy most of my yarn from Heidi and Lana from Ohio.  It comes in a skein.  I then take my yarn swift and ballwinder and wind the skeins into yarn "cakes".  Then they are all ready for knitting.  Here is a photo of Wintry Mix from Heidi and Lana.  Love this color.  Of course, I was drinking hot tea all the while I was doing this! :)

Lastly, my amaryllis opened all 4 of the buds up.  It is such a different color than what I usually grow.  It is stunning and I hope to plant it out in the garden this summer and then pot it back up so it will bloom again before Christmas.  I really have been enjoying all my plants that I have this year.  This house has so many great windows for light.  My orchid is getting ready to bloom again.  Well 1 out of the 4 I have.  The others are slackers.  LOL!!  Here are some pics of the amaryllis in the sunroom.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!  I know some of you are supposed to get a winter storm.  I think we are only having rain here.  I know the upper part of SC is going to have ice and some snow.  My family in NJ is supposed to get 8"+.  Stay safe and warm!

Sherri

Monday, 1.10.2021 Winter Has Arrived

 Hi Everyone!  I hope you are all staying warm and cozy on this cold, cloudy day!  Atleast that is how the weather here in SC is.  Yesterday it was 71 degrees and today it is 43 degrees!  The weather here has been so weird lately.  One day it even was 80 and 2 days later it was in the 30's!  Oh well, it could be worse.

I have really been knitting alot lately.  After I took all my Christmas down, I just felt like knitting.  I am working on a shawl called Boneyard by Stephen West.  When I'm done with this shawl, I'll be starting another one with a group of friends of mine.  We will be knitting at our homes all over the USA but we will be posting on a special group post of our progress.  We will also be knitting in all different colors from each other.  It should be really fun!

This is the Boneyard Shawl I'm working on now.  It is still on the needles and not opened up all the way.  When I'm done I'll post a better photo, but this is it for now.

I got all the Christmas things down about a week after Christmas and then I took the tree down a week after that.  Everything looked so bare, but it is getting back to normal now.

This is where my tree was in my living room.  It is so nice to knit or read here.  The light is great here!  I missed that when the tree was up.  The tree was really nice in the front and side window though.  It looked so pretty from outside!  I love the Christmas tree lights at night.  I even put them on sometimes during the day!

We had a warm spell here in SC.  One day it was in the 80's!  My parsley and broccoli started growing again and the broccoli was producing heads.  I cut all the heads off (left the side ones so more comes on).  The broccoli was so good!  Nice, tender and delicious.  I always steam my veggies and this was so tasty this way.  

Broccoli in the strainer and parsley on the paper towel.  I dried the parsley and I will be using it soon.

I now have an orchid and an amaryllis getting ready to bloom.  The amaryllis is blooming now and the orchid maybe in a little less than a week or a week!  So excited!

This is the orchid.  It is huge!  This is the second time since I've had it that I got it to rebloom.  

The amaryllis is open almost all the way.  There are 4 buds on there right now and it looks like more are coming.  Only 2 are opening right now.  I love these plants!  I am going to put this in the ground for the summer months.  I never have done that before, but I'm going to try it this year.

My youngest daughter, Jenny has been working on a hexagon Halloween quilt for probably 3 years.  She cut out all the fabric and sewed strips together.  Her sewing machine broke.  I sewed the strips she had done all together for her this past week and it came out really nice.  So proud of her for sticking to this.  It isn't easy working with hexagons.  She also made a smaller shaped hexagon quilt (not Halloween themed).  She completed that last week with the help of her sister, Megan also.  They will be warm in that house this winter!!

The skies at night and sunset have been so pretty here lately.  Here are 2 shots I got within 2 days of each other.

This Fall I had a chimney sweep come out and clean both fireplaces.  I have been enjoying the living room fireplace so much starting around Thanksgiving.  Today I decided to start up the other one in the family room/den.  That one is much bigger.  I will probably have to call the man that delivered the wood before Thanksgiving and ask him to drop off another load soon.  It makes the house so cozy and warm!

This is the Living Room fireplace.  It is small but it throws out the heat like crazy.  Nice and cozy!

This is the family room/den fireplace.  It is much bigger and although it was a little hard getting it started, there is so much heat in this room now.  The dogs went in the other room, I guess they were too hot!

Last but not least is a photo of my 2 lazy, sleepy Goldens.  Emma is on the left.  She is a Golden/Yellow Lab Mix ( looks just like a Golden though) and Ginger is on the right.  She is an English Cream Golden.  She is huge and weighs 92 lbs.!  She is a gentle giant though.  Emma is a bit on the high strung side.  Ever since John passed away she is so nervous and keeps following me from room to room.  I think she thinks I won't come back.  She was so in love with John and keeps looking around for him at times.  Even though he passed away 2 years ago, she still remembers him.  I'm sure she is wondering what happened to him and why he left her.  It has gotten so bad at times I have to give her a sedative from the vet.  They say she is still grieving just like the rest of us for John.  Poor thing!

Emma on the left and Ginger on the right.

Well I haven't been posting alot lately and I hope I didn't overwhelm you all!  I was sick for about a month.  I didn't have COVID.  I was tested for that.  I did, however, have bronchitis, sinus infection and ear infection.  I'm doing better now but I am still resting more than I was before I got this nasty stuff!

Everyone have a wonderful day!  Take it easy and enjoy life!

Sherri

Happy New Year! Books I Read for 2021

 Happy New Year Everyone!  I know I am late saying this, but I've been busy putting my Christmas things away.  I have yet to take down my tree.  I just love how it looks at night.  The lights twinkling makes me happy!  Maybe tomorrow I will take it down.  

I read 26 books for 2021.  Here is the list:

1. Nantucket White Christmas by Pamela Kelley 

2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 

3. The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 

4. Sunset on Moonlight Beach by Sheila Roberts 

5. Golden Girl by Elin Hildebrand 

6. The Break-Up Book Club by Wendy Wax 

7. Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena 

8. It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark 

9. The Noise by James Patterson and J.D. Barker 

10. The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait by Cleo Coyle. 

11. Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes by Karen Rose Smith. 

12. The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell 

13. The Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson. 

14. House on the Harbor by Elizabeth Bromke 

15. The Secret Wife by Gill Paul 

16. Pumpkin Spice Peril by Jenn McKinlay 

17. Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier 

18. Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier 

19. The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki 

20. Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs 

21. Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan 

22. The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street by Karen White 

23. Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop by Rebecca Raisin. 

24. Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost 

25. The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews 

26. The Therapist by B.A. Paris

The last one, The Therapist was such a great pyscho-thriller!  My sister, Sue had recommended it and now she is reading all her books.  

Right now I am listening to Tell All the Bees I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon.  I love this series.  I have read every book in the series so far.  The narrator has a very soothing voice and is a great storyteller, so much that I fell asleep the other day listening to it.  It could also have had something to do with being so tired because we had terrible winds and rain during the night and I got no sleep!  

I have been knitting alot on my Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West.  I am using yarn from Heidi and Lana.  I use mostly just their yarns.  When I get the shawl done, I will post a photo on here.

Well, that is all I have for today!  I wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!!

Sherri