Tallahassee...

It's January...barely...so we are in Tallahassee. We really enjoy our annual trip to our state's capital city. There is lots to do here. 

If you have visited Mugwump Woolies in the past, you might remember that Annie and I like to "house hunt" when we travel. Tallahassee is a good place for spying some lovely homes.

...a brick beauty

...kind of a Colonial

...very cute

...a doll house

See anything you like? We like the grey one...#3.

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My girl and I will be out exploring today. Mr.MW will be in meetings all day...here.

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Tomorrow...we will be off to one of our very favorite places...Thomasville, Georgia...stay tuned.

There is some wicked weather going on in some parts...stay safe out there!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Gratitude

Gratitude...a well used word these days...bordering on hackneyed...over use. When a word is used far  too often it takes on a hint of insincerity....it loses it's "punch". That being said, this morning finds me immersed in gratitude. 

Did you watch Downton Abbey last night?

Poor, dear Sybil died. She died as a result of the seizures brought on by eclampsia...extreme hypertension. I have to tell you my heart rate was way up as I watched this...because this was me many years ago right after Annie was born. 

I remember being put into a dark room...alone...and being shot full of phenobarbital...the age old anti-convulsive medication. No visitors...no talking...no Annie. It was very, very scary. My poor mother...and husband waiting...Annie sleeping down the hall.

As sad as it was to watch last night's episode of DA...it spooked me in a whole other way. This Monday morning finds me very grateful...grateful for the grey hair on my head...the crinkly lines around my eyes...the extra lb's around my waist; all signs that twenty six years have passed since those scary days in that dark hospital room. 

Gratitude...I like that word...I like being here to feel it even more.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

They're on their way...

Yesterday, to our pure delight, Mother Nature gifted us with a magical show. Dozens of robins migrating North stopped by for breakfast.

Our squirrels hosted the party and were gracious...and generous...and welcoming.

We were mesmerized as we watched the sweet birdies cover the yards on our block. It was difficult to get a picture of them, as they would scatter when they saw movement inside the house. 

And then, as if on cue, they took to the sky and were gone. We were sad to see them go...but happy we were able to visit with them even briefly. Birdsong filled our heads for the rest of the day.

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I am a firm believer in signs. A few years ago we missed the visiting robins. We had not seen a single  one. I was born in the Spring and my mother always called me her "Spring Robin"...it was my birthday and I was lamenting not seeing any robins that year. I had no sooner gotten the words out of my mouth...we were pulling into the driveway...and there on the roof...sat a lone robin. 

Take heart my friends in the frozen North...the robins are on the way!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn/Robin (I added the y in high school)

...the Home Alone II Tour

In the Spring of 2010, we spent a wonderful week in New York City. When we told Annie we were going there she requested a visit to The Plaza...to see where Kevin McCallister got into so much trouble

in the Home Alone II...Lost in New York movie. She was so excited...the Home Alone movies have been her favorites since she was very small.

Annie gave us a running commentary as we approached the hotel. Telling us exactly what happened here and there...it was a lot of fun for all three of us.

Outside the hotel we met this lovely fellow...Neil, the Doorman. He was delighted to take Annie all over, telling her all about the filming of the movie and hitting all places that are in the film. 

Neil was one of the nicest people we have met in our travels. Much of the original hotel is now private space...condos that are not accessible to the public. Neil made sure our girl got to see some of these places....

...like this hallway where Kevin ran into Donald Trump.

The famous elevator Kevin slid in to to escape Marv and Harry.

There is a shot of Kevin here...on his way to Central Park...

...this is where he jumps into the trunk of the hansom cab...

..and of course...the well known Bethesda Fountain.

We made big memories that day! And, I have to admit, we heart New York!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Thank you...and other stuff.

Thank you to all who responded to my stitching sos...I so appreciate your taking the time to offer advice and insight. I am ever so relieved to find I am not the only stitcher out there with a fear of 40ct.!!!

Sadly, I have put poor Polly aside for now as I want to start the new year off with a finish, rather than a defeat. So...

...a simple marking sampler is just the fit.

 Someday, I'm going to tackle the beautiful Jane Tindall...see her peeking out of the bottom right corner...someday...but she will be done on a larger count and I fear the finished size will be that of a bath towel as she is a big girl. Life is full of compromises.

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In January, this is the view out my sunroom window...the flowering of the "kudzu". It's not really kudzu but is an equally invasive weed that covers everything...if you let it!

It is, however, very cheery and colorful.

Have a wonderful weekend...stay safe!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

S.O.S....I'm stuck

I started this wonderful little sampler recently and am now stuck. I am your average stitcher, and can read a pattern, but Polly has me perplexed. I am appealing to all you wonderful needlewomen in the hopes that your vast experience will get me stitching again.

I avoid 40ct....it's useless...I can't see the holes! I think this linen is 35ct....

My dilemma is this...the instructions say stitch second alphabet using one thread over one thread...I get that....this is what I don't get....

See the lower case abc..

...this is what I came up with...yuck...I am now totally convinced I can't stitch one over one...it's too small for me. How can I keep the alphabet small...but not stitch over one? I use a magnifier, but in this case it's not helping much.

I'd appreciate any advice or ideas...thanks so much.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

...the cold and flu season

I've been fighting a flu bug for, what seems, a very long time. It hasn't budged and is just bad enough to throw me off my game. I managed to get Christmas back into the recesses of the attic and that's about it. Thankfully, no one else has succumbed.

I have not had the energy to pick up a needle or hook, so I have been keeping company with this Virginia gentleman. So far, it's a great read...but then I am partial to anything about a fellow Virginia born citizen and Mr. Jefferson is one of my favorites.

 Also caught up with the folks above and below the stairs at Downton Abbey. Can you believe I had never watched it? Managed to find a reasonably priced used copy...both seasons...and was in early twentieth century England glory for hours at a time. I recorded the third season premiere and am now caught up.  I have a rabid schoolgirl crush on Lord Grantham.

I took the white duck slipcovers off the camelback and wing chairs in the living room and remembered how much I like anything with a Jacobean pattern. This is the linen on the sofa. I will be playing in this room this week...a bit of blue is creeping back into my decor. 

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I am always at a loss as to how to answer when someone asks a question on this blog. I don't know "where" to answer them...email...blog. I feel bad when I appear to be indifferent so, from now on, if you ask a question, I will reply under your comment...duh. 

Barbara asked about my kitchen window....since I love my window I will give you the backstory. When we first moved here the window was a plain house window. The sun room it looks into would have been an outside lanai (screened porch) on the original house plans...but the builder made it a room...closed in with walls and windows just like the rest of the house...so the window in the kitchen was the same window as the other windows. Shortly after we moved in we had French doors installed to replace the original sliding glass doors. The same fellows made a custom folding French window for the kitchen. That window stays closed most of the time. The sunporch is where our tv is and it is so nice to be able to close it off from the rest of the house.

But...it is nice to have the option of opening it up...

...and folding it flat against the wall.

Here's hoping the pics explain it better than my fuzzy flu laden brain was able to...no fair looking at the mess on the counters!

I have been remiss leaving comments, but I have visited you and left with a smile.

Thanks for your visits and lovely comments...welcome to my new followers...I love having you drop by.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

January kitchen window...

 

After all the color and sparkle of Christmas, my kitchen window is wearing neutral colors for the quiet month of January.

Some things stay put...this early wrought iron trammel light is one of them...

...and the photo of my two loves is another. This Anne Childs original greets me every morning. I had the privilege of meeting Anne and John a few years ago, and was able to pick my favorites for purchase...a really difficult task.

Another of my favorite things is redware...and an Amish puzzle ball is always a great find.

Through the years I have made many different valances for my window. It's an easy and inexpensive way to change the look. This valance is a nubby linen.

An old farm rack holds baskets directly overhead while standing at the sink. This rack also gets a change up now and then.

So that's my kitchen window for this month. I'll be back next month with my February window...I'm seeing red already!

GO Irish!!! (our brother in law's alma mater).

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

January 2013

Photograph by Dave Doody

Don't you love a new calendar? I do. Colonial Williamsburg sends me this beauty every year because I contribute to their foundation every year. It's a beautiful calendar...full of simply luscious photos.

Photograph by Tom Green

Gorgeous!

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This was the scene at our house on New Years Eve...Annie and I are very attached to "our girl". She would not start and was hauled off to the dealership for a fix. She's almost eighteen years old...but she just hit 63,000 miles...she's basically "brand new" for a Volvo. We're keeping our fingers crossed it's minor and that "our girl" will be home soon. We do get a kick out of it when she visits the dealer for maintenance...the guys all ooh and ah over her...the salesmen even come to have a look at her...and the ole' gal revels in the admiration. In all honesty, she's aged well and is clean as a whistle inside and out. 

We're hoping for a full recovery!

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We spent yesterday with great friends...eating great food. But the holidays are behind us, and today I am at a lost as to where to begin to put my house back in order. There is not one room that does not need tidying. 

Tomorrow I will be back with a pic of my January Kitchen Window. Thought it might be fun to show you a new window each month.

2013 is off to a very busy start at our house! 

Enjoy the day,

Robyn