Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Yule Tide...it's on the way!

The first cold weather of the season...it sets the whole holiday doings in motion. Today, Annie and I started our Christmas decorating. I know it's early, and Thanksgiving is still a week away, but we just couldn't help ourselves...it's cold outside!

We worked in the living room today. Fired up the bayberry candles and Perry Como (one of my very favorite nuns at boarding school was his first cousin). There are boxes and all sorts of mess all over! 

Hope you are staying warm and starting to feel that Christmas magic!

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Thanks to those of you who offered advice on transferring a rug pattern to linen. I did find this great sticky mesh I bought a while ago and it worked like a charm. However, the linen I had would not stay on my frame...it would not grip. So I ordered new linen and traced the pattern onto that...just haven't had time to pull any loops.

Can't wait to get started!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Veteran's Day

On this Veteran's Day, I thought I would share with you a special document that has been in our family over one hundred years. 

The photos are not the best...I was dealing with a lot of glare.

This is a framed certificate given to my great grandfather, Joseph Knapp, by The Grand Army of the Republic. This was an organization of Civil War veterans in Pennsylvania.

 

It is a large document 16 by 22 inches. In my lifetime, it has hung in my grandfather's office, my parent's family room and, most recently, my husband's office.

  

The colored graphics are beautiful!

But to me, the best part is the hand lettered list of the battles my great grandfather took part in...as well as the dates.

 Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia...he was even in Atlanta at one time and took part in the Battle at Big Shanty.

I wonder how he got that far south from Pennsylvania...troop train or on foot. He would have been around twenty five years old at the time. I wonder how many friends he lost, the horrors he witnessed.

He was discharged in Harrisburg on September 12th, 1865...close of the war.

Here he is decades later in his Grand Army of the Republic regalia. Wish I had that hat and those medals. I do, however, have that nose...and those ears. I see my grandfather, my father and myself when I look at this picture...there's something nice about that.

This document was presented to my great grandmother and their children on August 20, 1901. Alphonso was my grandfather.

I am so happy our family has kept this written history in it's possession all these many years. It is big and heavy all framed up, but it has made our family journey through many states, just as Joseph traveled through many states during his days as a soldier in the Civil War.

And another veteran in the family...my handsome father.

Thank you to my great grandfather. Thank you to my father. Thank you to all veterans!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Randomness...

I'm a fan of the talented Maggie Bonanomi and have decided to hook this fun rug from her latest book.

I have never transferred a paper pattern to linen. I have some of that red dot paper and a black Sharpie ready to go.  And I've had the pattern blown up to the recommended size. Any advice would be most welcome. 

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Thomas Jefferson was not the only notable person we met on our trip to Philadelphia. We paid a visit to Betsy Ross and found her sewing away in her shop.

She took time to come out to her garden area and cut a five point star for Annie. Annie was a bit intimidated as Betsy was talking "in character".  

Elfreth's Alley is a beautiful block of original 18th and 19th century houses...continually lived in for the last three hundred years.

George Washington's chair is the only original piece of furniture in Independence Hall. Lucky save!

Of course we met Rocky...on a cold and rainy day!

Then warmed up with some hot soup at the local Whole Foods. And scored some 

great Halloween cookies for dessert.

The iconic symbol for the city of brotherly love.

Annie and Clancy awaiting breakfast from room service. The kid knows how to enjoy life! The night before she even scored a bottle of ginger ale...soda is banned at our house. 

I spent a lot of time looking out this window. That's Logan Circle out there. I sat here day and night...knitting, drinking tea, watching...just being. It was a highlight of the trip for me!

Saying goodbye to the Four Seasons...Philadelphia...Annie and Clancy are anxious to get home!

It's chilly here this morning and I'm loving it!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

November Kitchen Window

My kitchen window for the month of November  holds many of the same favorite things as my October window. A Shooner turkey is happy sitting among the branches of bittersweet.

Of course the appearance of my favorite turkey is the first sign that Thanksgiving is coming.

If you are new here, this beautiful feathered fellow is an original watercolor by Lori Brechlin. He's around all year, but holds pride of place in November. I should give him a name...hmmm.

A new addition...pines cones fresh from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Another piece of Shooner Redware...the colors perfect for the season. Similar to October with a few changes here and there...but a window that reflects my favorites this time of year...Shooner, bittersweet and pumpkins. 

Hope you all are enjoying this fine Halloween. Annie readied the basket full of candy early this morning and placed it by the front door. I, on the other hand, got my yearly Halloween duty done early in the month...I consumed a bag of candy all by myself. Whew, glad that's done! Pressure's off...I'm the only one in my house that eats candy...marked it off the list early this year.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

...a Virginia Gentleman

This dapper gentleman addressed the Florida Bar Board of Governors while we were in Philadelphia last week. He talked about his thoughts while writing the Declaration of Independence in that very  city. He was a big hit!

Poor fellow was accosted by a few of the wives after leaving the meeting. 

Annie told him her mom was born in Virginia, too.

I wanted to bring him home, but there wasn't room in the car.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Valley Forge

If you read my last post and guessed George Washington, you are correct. George...and Martha...did indeed sleep in this room.

We just returned from spending a wonderful week in Pennsylvania. On the way to our destination of Philadelphia, we spent a couple nights in Valley Forge. It was the highlight of the trip!

The house that General Washington used as his headquarters during the long, cold winter of 1777-1778 is pictured above...it is the original house. Unlike the British who commandeered homes for their personal use, Washington compensated the owners for the use of their property. Martha joined her husband here during that bitter winter. The home was relatively new at the time.

This room served as Washington's office. All the woodwork and most of the floors are original to the period. The floors where the public walks are not original. The Park Service has done a remarkable job of dressing out the quarters. They look so authentic to the period...just wonderful!

This room was the bedroom of George and Martha. It is dressed out perfectly! The early bed clothes...the furniture...the small details make it a visual feast!

Next door...another beautifully dressed bedroom.

And a third bedroom down the hall.

So many wonderful details in this historic house!

Washington's personal flag.

Mr. MW and I read a lot of history about the Revolution. To be able to visit Valley Forge made for an unforgettable day! 

If you are ever close to Philadelphia, take a ride out to this beautiful place so key to our freedom.

I'll share more pics from our journey later in the week.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

p.s. Because it is part of our National Park System, Vally Forge and all it's glory is free to the public. They have a great visitor's center with lots of info, exhibits and a film.

Mr.MW has a print of this painting hanging in his office and was thrilled to see the original painting here at the visitor's center at Valley Forge National Park.