Books!!! Figs and Stitchery

My son has inherited a whole lot of books...books of all kinds, children's books, cookbooks, mysteries, fiction, how to books, you name it. A good friend of theirs is moving and had a online book business which he handed over so now Don is working on starting one. He's asked me to put some on Ebay so I'll be working on that soon..meanwhile our garage is full of books! They're trying to sort them out. Its difficult as there are so many. A few old children's books caught my eye from the 50s and 60s.
We're also canning and preserving

 

This is canned fig conserve, the recipe is in my canning and preserving page. Figs, crushed pineapple, lemons and chopped pecans, very yummy! So many figs!!

 

Still doing stitching also, and working on some fall items such as more of these cute spider candle mats.

 

also more tags...

I'm working on getting my second Etsy shop back open, Sweet Home Stitchery. I closed it last year as I just couldn't get it together to stitch much with the grandbaby here. I plan on reopening it this fall and filling it with lots of good stuff. 

and lastly a photo of my hometown, Oceanside, Ca

the beach and the pier

 

 

A Civil War site

Oh my gosh!!!
I ran into a wonderful website...its fantastic! many of the photos taken at the time have been destroyed, thankfully many  also been saved...
original photographs from the Civil War   

I knew how devastating the war was but it wasn't until I read "Killing Lincoln" by Bill O'Reilly just how strong the feelings were and also just how many were killed, something like 750 thousand, more than any other war we've ever had. My own family was split up with three brothers for the North and one for the South. This happened quite often from what I've read.
My great grandfather fought in that war and my brother has his Calvary sword. He fought under General Custer and was at many of the major battles. He spoke of being at Appomattox and the soldiers beat their swords on rocks after the signing of the surrender. 
Here we are some 150 years later, and so many don't realize the sacrifices that were taken to insure liberty for everyone as the Constitution promised. Guess schools don't teach this. Hope you will visit the site and it will be a sober reminder. If you have children at home, please share the site with them also, but I want to warn that there are some disturbing photos, not for the very young.
I highly recommend "Killing Lincoln" also. He also has a second children's book called Lincoln's Last Days which is written for 5th graders and up.

Stitchery

I've been busy doing some stitching and thought I'd do a quick post to show you the new tags I made. These are from Primitive Stitches (the pattern that is) and I just need to add the ribbons. I think they turned out really nice. This pattern is called Winter Salt Box Houses.

These are older patterns but some of my favorites....

I have another new pattern with owls but they aren't finished yet. I do enjoy stitching them, they're all hand stitched on fabric and fun to decorate with. They make nice ornaments for the tree, wreathes, to hang on a door knob or other uses. Make great book marks also.
Its difficult for me to stitch with everyone in the house but I've been getting up early around 5:30 so I have some quiet  time in the early morning. Its about the only free time I have!

Monday Inspiration

Poinsettias in July and Mid Summer Crops

Something I haven't shared, last Christmas we got two poinsettia plants which we all enjoyed through out the holidays. afterwards, I planted both of them in a pot on our patio. One of the plants didn't make it but one did and its beautiful....

I'm hoping it will bloom this winter and it loves the heat of the summer as long as its under the shade cloth..I water it often as its a tropical plant. So it is possible to save this for another year and it would make a lovely house plant even if it didn't bloom. At least I think so. I don't have many house plants because of the cats and grandchild but I used to keep our house full of pretty plants back in the day. I know there have been rumors that poinsettias are poisonous but that is have shown to be false for the most part. No worries.
We're well into summer now, July, August and September are hot months and our heat goes well into October sometimes. The garden, except for the tomatoes are about done. We harvested the pumpkins and have them in the house, hopefully if they're kept cool, they will last for the fall. I've kept pumpkins for months that way. There are plants that we can start at this season, pole beans, winter squash and pumpkins to name a few. Carrots, brussel spouts and broccoli are good too. Here is an article from Black Fox Homestead about crops that be planted mid-summer.

Favorite things Tuesday

some things I really like...

vintage photos 

Fairy Gardens

 

Good Food!

Depression Glass

A warm country/primitive home

embroidery and patterns

you can find my Pinterest boards here