Post Thanksgiving...Pre-Christmas

 
Greetings! Are you in the midst of the crazy holiday rush? I am trying hard to remain calm, cool and collected but as Christmas nears, I am getting a little tense......time to break out the CBD oil??? I am all decorated but still have shopping to do, cookies to bake, meal planning and driving to Baltimore to bring my parents down for Christmas. What will be, will be is the mantra I am trying to follow!!! :)

I'll start with a little recap of our week in Black Mountain, NC. We have stayed at High Rock Rentals three times now and it is a beautiful, relaxing spot. This year we stayed at a new, larger cabin to accommodate our expanding family and pulled in just in time to see out SIL struggling to get up the steepest hill ever!!! He kept spinning out on the gravel road (they have front wheel drive) and finally had to back up, pull over and let us try with our all wheel drive. We made it, but had to unload their van, carry everything from it up the steep hill and then without the weight in the back, he was able to make it up the rest of the way. Not the best way to start our week but it was uphill (pun intended) after that!! Here's a shot of the hill and the 90 degree turn towards the end!!!

Looking down hill from the 90 degree turn--picture doesn't do justice!

90 degree turn just as you get to the top steep hill

Here is a shot of the cabin from across the holler....

From there it was a week of beautiful sunrises....

Hiking....

Swinging....

Reading......

This was my stitching chair.....

Stitching on the porch...

Ping pong tournaments....

Hot tubbing....

Camp fires with s'mores....

And a delicious Thanksgiving dinner lovingly prepared by our SIL, Alex....

All in all a grand week relaxing, bonding and joy!!! I did get quite a bit of stitching done while there. I did manage, on our last day, to squeak in a visit to Sassy Jacks. I didn't get much but was very pleased when my younger daughter bought a kit to try...maybe there is still hope!!! Here is what I bought:

While in NC I finished another Xmas ornament and got about 3/4 of the last one done ( I did finish that one later at home). Now to finish-finish all four!!!

Last weekend on the FB page, Our Sampler Years- Yesterday's Needlework for Today, people were sharing their perforated paper pieces. This prompted me to pull out some Tokens and Trinkets I had bought when they were closing down. I got this little stocking done--isn't it sweet? It was a chart by Wendy White for Redefined, Inc. I stitched it with DMC 75, a variegated red and changed the wording out...now to figure out what to do with it.

I've also been working on a few gifts, but they will have to wait until after Christmas to share.

I was lucky to take a class yesterday, offered by the VGN, from Simona of Mani di Donna. It is called Winter Harmony Basket. Here is Simona's model:

Last, but not least, I was able to go to the boutique at Christmas in Williamsburg last Friday. I mainly bought gifts, so sadly can't share those, but did want to share some of the lovely decorations we saw while strolling Duke of Gloucester Street. They are made from natural materials and items that would have been available in colonial times....always so pretty!

 
Thanks for hanging in with me for this long post. I hope to be back before Christmas but can't guarantee it so, if not, please have a very Merry and blessed Christmas/holiday season and...thanks, as always, for your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi