I love doing cross stitch projects and have many finished pieces (but rarely fully finished). I have been doing this craft since my late teens. I love how the industry has grown and there are so many great patterns and designers. Not like when I was young which was only white or beige Aida and DMC threads. Although I still love Aida and DMC there are so many other threads and fabric to choose from.

Being the 250th anniversary I wanted to do something special to commemorate the event. I have several in the pipeline which I know will not be done this year.

The one I am currently working on is from Lori Holt called Scrappy Americana Flag. Because this almost a full coverage piece it is taking me much longer to finish.

A lot of stichers are working on this one and I have seen many finishes. In fact my sister finished and framed this piece.

I only have the red stripes, the words and the border to finish.

Another stitch I have seen many people work on is Teresa Kogut’s 250th Celebration piece.

Other patterns I am interested in stitching are as follows:

I suspect none of these will be stitched before July 4th but some of them are easier so I may get them done shortly thereafter.

The Holiday Sampling from Primrose Cottage is part of a series that originally were the seasons. They now have branched out to holidays. I strongly suspect that a Halloween Sampler is coming soon.

I know my eyes are bigger than my stitching fingers but time will tell on which of these get stitched.

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Here I am kicking off my bucket list for Autumn during a hot summer day. I have noticed a lot of social media influencers are starting their Autumn posts because they are so over this hot summer. I am too! I am not a summer person, keep your hot sweaty days, your bugs, your expensive electricity bills. I prefer the cool breezes of Autumn, the leaves turning golden colors, the pumpkins lined up on the porch, being dressed in cuddly warm sweaters holding a cup of hot tea and having a bowl of homemade soup for dinner.

I am actually retiring this year at the end of September. I can hardly wait as I have worked a long time to get here. I will now have more time to do my crafts and try new things. As a result, my autumn bucket list has more crafts and cooking than previous years. I have the list broken out between cooking, crafts and other fun stuff. Some stuff is new, others are my tried and true annual “to do’s”. I reserve the right to add more as I come up with cool ideas.

Wish me luck as I venture into the “ber” months.

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I think I forgot to mention the other Halloween tea I bought for the season. I realize this will last until next Halloween. But I could not control myself.

I got tea from Snarky Tea and Plum Deluxe Tea. Both are specialty tea companies who make their tea to order.

Plum Deluxe came out with the Trick or Treat Box.

The Licorice Spice Herbal was very tasty. What made this box so much fun was the Trick or Treat feature, Some teas did not taste that great, hence the trick and others were treats. they give you a score card which I rated the teas. It was fun to play along.

Snarky Tea did a Witching Hour tea mix. They gave quite a mix but the samplers are smaller which would be perfect for the 32 ounce mason jar.

I really like Snarky Tea and have a subscription to make cold brew tea Their tea is so flavorful. Below is the November cold brew delivery.

Today I should be receiving December cold brew package.

Sparky Tea always does a blending guide in case you want to mix it up. So far I have not done a blend but will one day.

Here is January 2025 release

Looks like I will have some good choices in my future.

So I will have plenty of tea in my future. Pinky up!

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This year I did not see as many scary movies as I did in the past. Sometimes I just cannot make the time for a two hour stint to see a film. I do better kinda watching oldies but goodies and doing other chores at the same time.

SIGNS

A classic film by M Night Shyamalan. What I like about this film is how they figure out the different signs from the past to the present that prepare them for the event of today. Signs are everywhere. Sometimes comedic scenes, some intense scenes, Both the adult and children actors are good.

THE SIXTH SENSE

This is another film from M. Night Shyamalan. The first time I saw it I did not realize he was dead. Bruce Willis does a great job acting in this film. Some scary scenes and I feel bad for the boy.

ROSEMARYS BABY

I love the older movies. Mia Farrow does a great job acting like the meek woman who turns for help to only be betrayed over and over again by those around her. The older neighbors who are a coven of witches/devil worshippers who trap her into becoming the mother of the antichrist give older people a bad name. Lol. A classic film.

APARTMENT/ A7

This is basically a remake of Rosemarys Baby. But instead of her husband betraying her in the classic movie, it is life and the missed opportunities that drive her to the apartment where she will fall victim to the devil.

PRACTICAL MAGIC

A classic to watch every Halloween. I love this film. I really want to live at that house and eat pancakes (the non poisonous kind) outside with the ocean in the background.

HELLBOUND

Imagine if the face of God came to you to tell you the exact second you are going to die and then to be dragged to hell by 3 monsters but not before they throw you around and burn you to a crisp. I would be terrified. And the world goes crazy and fanatical groups try to persuade your thinking. Scary as heck. And now I am watching season two.

THE JUDGE FROM HELL

Even Demons make mistakes. For accidentally sending the wrong person to hell, this demon is sent to earth to kill off murderers. Imagine you are sent back as a judge who lets horrible people off without a punishment then finds them later and kills them by making them relive the horror of their victims death. Then for fun, branding their forehead with the word Hell on it. All in a days work until you fall in love.

ITS THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN

A childhood classic. Every time I watch this little cartoon I am transported back to my youth excitingly waiting to see this show. Back in those days you looked at the TV guide to find out the time and day it was playing and planted your butt in front of the television set. No streaming services, no DVR, no VHS or DVD. Pretty much you snooze you lose. I still love the part where Charlie Brown goes trick or treating and always gets rocks.

That was it for Halloween movies and shows.

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Part of any holiday is smelling the scents that bring back memories. Of course my house cannot smell of cinnamon and candy corn all the time so I decided to get some fragrance oils that match the holidays. A little bit here and there will help.

With scents like Candy Corn, Marshmallow, Autumn Wreath, Caramel Corn, Night Air and Pumpkin Pie it will smell like Halloween.

I also have the Autumn scents from the same company.

These scents are definitely Autumnal. Apple, Brown Sugar, Forest Pine, Snickerdoodle, Harvest Spice, and Vanilla.

I bought a small portable aromatherapy fan to keep at my desk.

It is very small and you can use it anywhere including your car. It comes with a USB cord so you just charge and go.

I also got a larger one that was more functional with a timer.

It changes color and is quite soothing.

I know people use fragrance oils for other purposes, but I am at a loss. These are not essence oils but more fragrance oil so I would not use them on my body.

I read you can place a few drops on the toilet paper roll, the cardboard part. Also put some drops on cotton balls and place in drawers. If you have other suggestions please let me know.

I did order the Christmas scents but they have not arrived yet.

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I know it is mid November and I am still posting Halloween items. But I am at that age where resting in bed holds more charms that doing everything off my to do list. In fact that list has grown to 2 whole pages. But I need to finish my Autumn/Halloween bucket list.

An easy item on my list was to drink some yummy witchy cocoa. Since it was kinda hot in October I wanted to wait for cooler weather.

I found this cocoa on Amazon. I was attracted to it because it was orange, but also only required hot water. I never seem to have fresh milk on hand.

So pulling out my new favorite tea drinking cup, I grabbed a moon and ghost cookie and started to boil water.

Once the water was the perfect temperature, I mixed that orange brew up.

I bought some cute pumpkin hot cocoa bombs from Target and thought I would add them in. Once the chocolate melted marshmallows popped out of the cocoa.

The cocoa was very rich and creamy and very very orange. It was a nice way to end a busy day for me.

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Onto the third of this series of Mocktails for the Halloween season.

This time I made the La Mummy. Made with the orange La Croix sparkling water, it was zesty and fun to drink. I might make this again but instead of lemon juice I think I will use orange juice. I really like my glasses. I bought these at Joann Fabrics. It felt very Halloween like to drink this mocktail.

I have one more drink to make. Sadly I cannot locate the drink in the store so I might get creative, Halloween if anything is about bringing out the creativity in all of us.

For some fun I found this picture on the internet. I loved the show Bewitched growing up. Aunt Clara always reminded me of my Granny whose name was also Clara. Same style, same features. And now I too feel like Aunt Clara. Oh how time marches on. LOL

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It seems this year Winter has been dragging its feet. Here we are mid April and we still have random rain storms and cold spells. Today was a nice, warmish day, but I am not convinced that Spring is here.

I do see some of the trees in the neighborhood are starting to bloom, so maybe it is being shy. Let’s bring on Spring by posting some beautiful Spring pictures.

I like to think of Spring as green gardens with blooming flowers. Sitting outside reading a book and wearing a feminine flouncy dress with a light cardigan on a picnic quilt, maybe a puppy or kitty playing in the grass. All things new and fresh. The scent of flowers filling the air.

Somehow Spring does make me want to sip some delicious Spring tea blends, dainty cups on lace doilies. Of course there would be baskets filled with warm muffins or scones next to crystal glasses and china plates. I long to have a set of mismatched plates and tea cups for such an occasion. Makes me want to pull out my Mothers vintage snack sets which were so popular in the 40’s-60’s. I do not recall the pattern I have as it has been a few years but this looks familiar. I think I have a few different sets.

My puppies are not blog/instagram stars and so I post this random cute puppy. I did find a photo of Penny enjoying the spring grass.

Just a little words of Spring to bring in the season.

Thanks for viewing my blog. Happy Spring.