Going Green....

Mother nature is going green....

I took time for a stroll through my back yard early this morning...checking to see what is springing forth through it's winter blanket of leaves. I love this time of year, when our tree-lined street is turning that lacy green...so fresh & new! Nature does provide many beautiful shades of green and I wanted to capture them in photos this morning, so I had my camera in hand during my morning stroll.

Enjoy the many beautiful springtime shades of green....
(Click on pictures to view at a larger size)

Wild violets...a hydrangea peeking through & reaching towards the warm sun, Spirea bush...

3 Leafed Clover...Service Berry Buds, Hydrangea Buds




Purple wild violets, Cardinal Candy Viburnum, Lilies, Clover....



Jack Frost just poking through, New grass, Bleeding Hearts, Tulip



Daffodils & Surprise Lilies....

Creeping Jenny, Columbines, Brunnera Jack Frost, Bleeding Hearts....

What is your favorite shade of green?

Hope you all are enjoying beautiful spring-time weather as well...get outside & enjoy it!

Have a good weekend,

brenda

Cell phones & grandma's

Anyone that knows me, knows that in the past I haven't been too keen with cell phones. Call me old-fashioned, I guess... My cell phone always tended to be in the bottom of my purse without any charge.

THEN I became a grandma & I learned about receiving pictures, pictures of the grand baby via phone. Need I say more...my phone is always charged! The moment it makes that crazy little sound, I drop what I am doing IMMEDIATELY & go running to see what the little one is up to.

This is the picture that arrived today via phone, with the message "Anyone know of a good fishin' hole?" He is modeling his new hat & sandals for Grandma. He looks pretty proud of his new hat, don't you think?

I said my usual "oh, isn't he cute...isn't he precious?" I then immediately picked up the phone, the one that hangs on the wall that is, & called his mommy!

enjoying grandmotherhood,

brenda

She's Baaaccckkkk!!

Upon entering my front door yesterday, I looked down and saw this mess on my front steps....

I then looked up & this is what I saw.... she's BAACCCKKK!

Mother robin is back again this year. As you can see, this mother robin's house is currently quite messy, she has some house cleaning to do...yep, just like me! If you look real hard you can see that she even found some blue Easter basket grass to weave in and out of her nest! Truly amazing! The robins work on their nest in the early morning and then you don't see them much for the rest of the day. We had a nice spring shower over the weekend...made for perfect mud for nest building. The robins start with larger/coarser grasses and mud for the main structure of their nests. They use their big ruby-red breast to form the nice hollow of the nest...fun to watch this process of the nest building. Once the nest suits the parents, they will line it with finer, softer grasses. Mother robin will lay one egg a day, usually 3 - 5 eggs. The robins will then hatch, one a day...in the order they were laid!
Do you suppose it is the same robin as last year? I often wonder this...It is a great place to raise a family of birds as the the small porch protects the little ones from the elements...no rain under here!!

I did some searching through old photo files from last year and am going to share our 2008 robins nest with you...

If I went upstairs and opened the window & hung my body out the window I could get a pretty good view of the baby birds.

Four tiny robins just hatched....Feeding time....

The babies would pop their little heads up each time we went in or out of our door. They become sensitive to noise/motion and think it is mother landing on the nest with a big juicy earthworm....

Here are a few more pictures that I snapped last spring.....

The red bud tree & crab apple trees in full bloom...my favorite time of the year! These trees always put on quite a show in our yard, usually just in time for Mother's Day weekend.

A shot of the trees outside our bedroom window....

The orioles arrive here in the springtime just as the red bud & crab apple trees are blooming. They enjoy the sweet nectar in the blossoms. They also LOVE oranges & grape jam. I load up my oriole feeders and we welcome these springtime visitors to our yard. One of the most beautiful birds...the Baltimore Oriole.

Male & female Baltimore Oriole enjoying oranges & jam for a morning snack.

Ending with a few more pictures from last years garden....

I love this picture! I didn't notice the delicate spider web on the tomato plant until I downloaded the picture onto my computer (click photo for better viewing). Isn't that just cool! We enjoyed these sweet tomatoes in our garden salads...the plants were simply planted in a clay pot and put in sunny spots throughout my backyard.

I had some fun making photo collages....

Looking forward to robin eggs, blooming red buds & crab apples, and the return of the oriole,

brenda

AS BUSY AS A BEE!!!

"No bees, no honey; no work, no money."

As of lately I do feel like a BEE...going from one half-way completed design to the next, and then back to the other! A bee with it's head chopped off, perhaps!!

My stitchers & myself have been busy stitching, sewing, stuffing & adding final touches to the next group of new pattern releases. There are designs that need to be framed, photo shoots that need to happen, ad layouts to create, one deadline after another, AND it is too nice to be inside...I'd rather be outside enjoying the nice spring time weather, BUT 'tis my job!

No hints or sneak peeks of the new ones....titles only!

Sarah's Garden

Schoolgirl Sampler

A Gardener's Prayer

Sheltering Tree

Feather Your Nest

Spooky Hollow

Boo & Jack

Ghosts & Goblins

Frozen Frosty

...and a couple that don't have names as of yet!!

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

This one gets a smiley face!

When time allows I enjoy trying new recipes and I must admit this one is going to get a smiley face in my book! I can feel my jeans getting tighter by the moment...so yummy & so simple to make!

CHOCOLATE & PEANUT BUTTER RIBBON DESSERT

What You Need:

12 Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies, divided

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

One 8 oz. package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

One 12 oz. tub Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed & divided

2 squares Bakers Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Directions:

Crush 8 of the cookies in a resealable plastic bag with a rolling pin. Mix cookie crumbs with melted butter. Press into the bottom of a foil-lined 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 3 cups of the shipped topping. Spoon 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture into small bowl. Stir in melted chocolate until well blended; set aside. Spoon half of the remaining cream cheese mixture over the crust. Top evenly with the chocolate mixture;cover with remaining cream cheese mixture.

Freeze 4 hours or overnight until firm. Lift up on the tin foil, removing dessert from pan. Peel away tin foil and cut into slices. Top slice with a dollop of remaining whipped topping & crushed cookie crumbs.

Enjoy & have a good week,

brenda gervais

Good Friday Sale!

Shop online with us on Good Friday, April 10Th for springtime savings at Country Stitches! Order between the hours of 7 AM - 10 PM (Central Standard Time) and receive 10% off of select items. Some exclusions do apply. Do not shop too early or too late as sale is just between mentioned hours. Sale applies only to online/Internet orders.

Wishing everyone a joyous Easter holiday,

Brenda

My two day sabatical from work....

I enjoyed a nice break from pattern design work & helped out with Beckham while Mommy was recovering from oral surgery. Beckham was so good for Grandma & I had a wonderful time. He no longer looks like a baby...he is all little boy! He has found his fingers and enjoys singing with his thumb and index finger in his mouth....so cute & makes for a sweet little bedtime song. I now have lots of new pictures to tweak & create with in my photo editing program....yippeee!!!!

It sounds like winter is returning over the weekend with a foot of snow forecast & blizzard conditions....a good weekend to curl up in a chair and do some needlework!

Have a good weekend,
brenda gervais

A little photo fun...

I stumbled upon a fun photo editing program called, Color Select Studio....so fun & so easy and for just $14.95! The program automatically turns the photo into black & white as it is uploaded and then it magically remembers the colors in the picture. You then simply paint the colors of the details you want to "pop" in your photo.

You may remember in a previous post how the little cherub in the above photo didn't want to sit in his car seat? Here is a picture of him prior to this phase...there is nothing more precious then a picture of a sleeping baby, especially a content baby in their carseat! I love this picture and I LOVE his little blue argyle socks & I couldn't resist capturing the socks in this photo. As of late, the whole carseat/carrier thing seems to be going better & Mommy doesn't have to fly through the grocery store like a mad-woman!

have a good day,

brenda

Yummy Spring Time Salad....

"Tender slices of grilled chicken seasoned with barbecue sauce tastefully tops off this main-dish salad. It makes a super supper on a warm Spring/Summer night."

I seem to cook different foods depending on the season. Winter foods at our house consist of homemade soups, roasts in the crock pot with carrots & potatoes, and a variety of hot dishes. As Springtime approaches I begin to look forward to Spring/Summer time cooking...lighter meals with fresh fruits & vegetables, and grilled meat. We enjoyed a weekend of beautiful weather here...warm enough to grill & move into some of my favorite Springtime recipes. Today's recipe share is a family favorite & one we enjoyed at our house today - BBQ Ranchero Chicken Salad.

BBQ RANCHERO CHICKEN SALAD (serves 6)

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 sweet red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed & drained

1 can (2 1/4 oz.) sliced black olives, drained

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup Ranch salad dressing

1 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Grill chicken, brushing sides with BBQ sauce each time you flip it over. Grill until done.

On serving plates, combine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, red pepper, olives and black beans.

In a small bowl, combine Ranch dressing, chili powder and cumin; stirring until well blended.

Slice chicken breasts; arrange over lettuce. Drizzle salad with dressing and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.

Serve with garlic toast & fresh fruit.

have a good week,

brenda

WELCOME SPRING!

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...

Happy Spring,
brenda

Just in case you visit my blog today....

Dad & I wish you the best on your 26th! Too bad you live 10 hours away, or I would fix you your favorite meal for your b-day!

I'd throw one of these on the grill....cook it medium well along with an onion wrapped in foil....

I'd make some gravy for these....



I'd open a bag of fresh frozen this....




And then after we are all stuffed from a big birthday meal, we'd force ourself to eat some birthday cake! And feel like this....






And then we'd all sit around and sing the birthday song to you!


Happy Birthday to my Colorado Rocky Mountain High Boy!
We Love you,
Mom & Dad

It's so fun being a Grandma!

While I don't get to see this little one as often as I'd like, I do enjoy calls from his Mommy several times a week to keep me updated on all the new things he is learning...some good & some well not so good. Beckham has decided he doesn't like his car seat...oh no! He does eventually fall asleep...that is until you get stuck at a red stop light and then he awakens & the complaining begins again...doesn't want to be in his car seat!




Yesterday was a beautiful day...a beautiful day for mom & dad to take the little one on a stroller ride. You know the fancy strollers the young couples use these days? The ones where the car seat becomes the stroller seat. The car seat faces backwards in the stroller, like the car, until they become older. Did I mention he doesn't like his car seat...the stroller ride lasted approximately 2 blocks. Mom & Dad gave into the complaining, that turned into crying, and headed home much sooner then they anticipated. They got home, took him out of his stroller & gives his mommy a big smile and laugh, with tears still wet upon his cheeks! If Beckham only knew how much his mother has looked forward to warmer weather so she could take her little one on a stroller ride....

In a later phone conversation with my sister, we pondered if he would enjoy the stroller ride experience in a stroller that wasn't his car seat.

You know, one of these....

the type we used when our kids were little! The Umbrella Stroller! Granted it wasn't exactly one of these....

But the umbrella stroller seemed to worked great, they were nice and light weight and you didn't have to drive a SUV just so you had a place big enough to store the thing while traveling with it.

We even still have an umbrella stroller hanging in the rafters of the garage at Grandma's house...the one that I used when Uncle Matthew was a baby! It even is a boy one....blue denim, perfect! Hmmmm......

My sister then reminded me of this

and then asked me if I would have thought about using this to push my babies around in..



or this.....

(ahhh....I loved that old buggy! I spent many hours of my childhood using it as my "pretend" lawnmower!)


I then decided that the umbrella stroller thought was probably just that....a thought! And you can be the one to guess my answer to my sister's question!

have a good week,

brenda

Looking for model stitchers....

Thank you to all of you who have shown interest in stitching for me...there are lots & lots of stitchers out there with many years of stitching experience...this is going to a tough decision! I am no longer taking names at this time.

I am looking for a few ladies that would be interested in stitching new cross stitch models for me. Must be able to work with a range of stitch counts, including small stitch counts (32 - 35 count over 1 thread). Must be willing to work on dark fabrics. Workmanship must be of high quality. Backsides of your work must be neat, tidy & free of knotted threads. Model stitchers must be willing & able to dedicate 10 hours a week (at a minimum) to stitching once a design is sent to you. Past experience with model stitching for a design company or cross stitch shop a plus, but not necessary if you have years of stitching experience. If interested, please email me at order@countrystitchesonline.com and I will get back to you with a small questionnaire.

With thy Needle & Thread,

brenda

Ebay treasures & a Challenge!

My latest fetish seems to be searching for "things" to tie the mini friendship samplers on to. I found some goodies from eBay seller staglaneprimitives. This seller has some textile bobbins with great colors of wool threads still on the bobbins. The blue is the best robin's egg blue...my favorite shade of blue! Also from the same seller I bought the best rusty tin oil can. There are many more oil cans for those of you that are stitching my ABC pin keep and are in need of small oil cans. Most items are "buy it now"!

Here is the "Have Ye Any Wool?" sampler tied onto the bundle of olde textile bobbins.

Here is the "Bittersweet" sampler tied on the olde oil can.

I foresee a "tie one on" CHALLENGE with the Friendship Samplers pattern....details to follow, so get stitchin!

The "Friendship Sampler" pattern packet will be ready to ship on Monday, happy stitching!

With thy Needle & Thread,

brenda

This & That....

Tis going to be a beautiful day here today...almost near 60 degrees! I did hear a robin outside my window yesterday morning as I was doing my morning stitching...gives one hope that Spring is just around the corner!

An update on the itty bitty samplers...this series is all stitched, photos are taken & instructions will be completed over the weekend. I have titled this pattern "Friendship Samplers" as they would make a great little gift to give to that special friend. These samplers work up quite quickly and all 6 will be offered in one pattern! They are precious simply tied onto items, tucked into the arms of your favorite doll or teddy, tied onto a gift, or don't forget they would make a sweet necklace as well. We do sell the tin frames that fit these tiny samplers. Stay tuned right here on my blog for release date of this pattern.

Also...we got a shipment of patterns from some of our favorite designers in... with more to follow. Check these out on our WHATS NEW page!

With thy Needle & Thread,

brenda