The Stitch Up

What I did during the Frankenstorm

Hurricane Sandy caused a major shut down around our area.  The metro wasn't running, stores were closed and the weather pretty much kept us inside.  Since I couldn't go to work, and we were tucked up inside for a couple of days I did a little stitching.  

 First up, I'm working on a few patterns to use for pillows in our basement.  My plan is a sort of "Mid Century Cabin" look, so I plan to pair these stitched up denim squares with some Mod pattern fabric.  We'll see how it turns out.  I was able to wrap this one up during the storm:

 

The pattern is from Sew She Sews.  It's a very cool tri-chem pattern and I loved the colors she used in the one on her blog.

I've also been trying to get a jump on some Christmas crafts.  I want to do ornaments this year and I've had several of Posie Gets Cozy's patterns for at least a year.  If I wait until after Thanksgiving to get going on Christmas crafts I don't finish anything until Christmas Day or maybe a couple days after.  I like to claim that I'm just giving out gifts early for Christmas next year - but no one is fooled.  So, I can thank Hurricane Sandy for a little extra down time.  I managed to whip out the deer from the Walk in the Woods set.  

It's so cute and it came together quickly enough that I think I'll be able to finish a bunch before Christmas.

We did have some downed trees in our neighborhood but overall everyone is safe and things are getting back to normal.  We're keeping the people in those areas that were hit truly hard in our thoughts.

 

Rainy Walk and a Concert

Despite it being Spring we've had a run of cold weather.  We had snow a week ago but mostly cold temperatures and rain.  I toughed out the weather for a walk in our neighborhood and did see some signs of Spring even with the chill.

Planting has gotten underway in the community garden.

The creek along the trail behind our house is running and things are looking very green.

A definite ray of sunshine to the day was an outing see the Wailin' Jennys at the Birchmere.

They sing beautifully and were so wonderful in concert.  I think if I just keep playing pretty tunes on the ipod I can push through the remainder of this yucky weather and make it to something remotely resembling Spring!

 

New Year Resolutions #3 - Get Moving

I have a long list of fitness resolutions that I won't bore everyone with, but it boils down to the idea that I need to get outside and get some exercise.  Which is a good goal but one that has been tough to meet with the crazy blizzards that have blown through here this Winter.

  

 

Even now that the blizzards are in the past, it's still cold and there is a bunch of snow on the ground. Which doesn't encourage a lot of getting out and getting active, but has been good for my embroidery projects.

We did get out to a pretty local park last weekend and had a nice winter walk, but it took some slogging through the snow.

 

I'm hoping that the Spring thaw will light a fire under my behind that sparks some motivation to work out.  In the mean time I am justifying the fact that my behind is firmly planted on the couch with the knowledge that I do have a lot of crafting planned and, the sooner I get it done the sooner I'm ready for an action-packed Spring.  Until then, I am enjoying the pretty winter scenery and relaxing!

 

 
 
 

Farmers Market Shopping

Falls Church has a very nice Farmers Market over at Cherry Hill Park every Saturday.  The highlight is the beautiful fresh produce from local farms in West Virginia and Pennsylvania but there are dozens of vendors with yummy treats to tempt everyone.  I was on the hunt for yellow squash and zucchini for a fall themed frittata I wanted to make.  But I was pretty quickly distracted by all the other great stuff.  I did make my way to the produce stands first:

How beautiful is that eggplant?  Gorgeous!

 

This is how they get you - the free samples.  I didn't come to the market looking for nectarines, but ended up buying them anyway as these were yummy!!!

 

 

The flowers were gorgeous - a mix of late summer/early fall beauties!

 

There are several bakeries offering awesome baked goods!  I saw a french bakery with huge croissants, a lebanese bakery with fresh baklava, but I went with this stand and picked up a sweet potato loaf and a blueberry scone for breakfast.  Trust me - it was all delicious!

 

There is absolutely something for everyone at this farmers market:  Artisan ice cream, specialty cheeses, local buffalo and lamb meat, sauces made from fresh herbs - and everyone offers free samples!  Except the crepe place above, but hey, I am happy to pay 7 bucks for a delicious piping hot crepe.

 

There are also several performers dotted around the market which makes the whole experience that much more fun.  I think I might not mind the grocery store so much if they had a few singers or jugglers or something kicking it in the canned goods aisle.  Piped in muzak just isn't the same.

I am procrastinating a bit about posting any current works in progress.  Mostly because I haven't made a ton of progress on any of my projects.  Eh.  I am close to finishing my scarf - so hopefully I'll have photos of that to post soon.  Plus - Fall is fast approaching and I'd like to have my projects be a bit more season appropriate this year!  Here's hoping everyone has a great Labor Day weekend.

Hangin' in There

 

The real DC summer weather has finally hit and the hot, humid days have left me a little lazy. In addition to limiting my crafting drive, it has also meant that instead of walking to my metro stop, I've been taking the bus. And I made a discovery last week about my bus stop - it was once the location of a "hanging tree". According to the commemorative rock, the confederate general Mosby used it during the Civil War to hang Union spies.

This seems like an unfortunate spot for a bus stop. I mean - how much bad karma am I soaking up each day that I stand on top of Union soldier graves waiting for the bus? Should I be concerned? Or is the heat getting to me? I'll try to post something a bit cheerier next time . Until then I'll just be - you know - hanging out!

(This is the first post I've done from my Iphone - there is a Typepad application.  It's not as pretty as my other posts - I'll have to figure out how you clean it up!)

My Walk to Work

To be honest - I don't walk all the way to work.  But I do walk to the metro.  It's about a mile and a half and takes just 25 minutes or so to get there.  It's a pretty walk that meanders through town and then down the W&OD trail and it puts me in a pretty good mood to start my day.  Plus - since I spend about 10 hours a day sitting in front of a computer screen (and I can often literally feel my butt getting bigger while I'm sitting there) it's nice to fit at least a little exercise into my daily routine.

My route first takes me past Cherry Hill park which has the original farmhouse and barn that was built on the property in 1845 still intact.  According to the information page the farm was raided and overrun several times during the Civil War but somehow survived.

 

 

 

After the park, I meander through the neighborhood before hitting the Washington & Old Dominion (W & OD) Trail which leads to my metro stop.  The trail is actually 45 miles long - I just walk along a portion obviously - and follows the old W&OD railroad route that used to run through Virginia and DC.  It's green and lush along most of the trail and on the average morning I see cardinals, blue jays, robins, and wild bunnies as I walk. The hubby says that he imagines me frolicking down the lane like Snow White or something: skipping and waving at the animals as I go singing along my way.  I have to admit that it's hard not to smile when I see the cardinals and blue jays and I still giggle a little when one of the rabbits hop across the path.  However, I do not EVER skip and singing is rare despite the fact that I rock a pretty good morning music mix on my iPhone. 

The path is also crowded with lots of others walkers and bikers on their way to work in DC.  I'm always surprised by the number of people on the path no matter how hot or cold the days get.

 

 

The walk home is also nice - it's great to stretch my legs and relax after a day of sitting in one place.  Everything looks extra pretty at dusk.

 

I like seeing the houses in the neighborhood lit up with everyone coming home for dinner.  This is one of my favorite houses on the route:

 

All in all it's a nice way to begin and end my day and makes the time trapped inside the office pass by a lot easier. 

Despite the long work hours I have been able to do a little embroidery here and there and I'll have a new project to post soon!

Who's the Idiot Now, Smart Guy?

I decided to do a little retail therapy at the mall on Sunday to squeeze some enjoyment into my one day off as most of the rest of the day was taken up with chores and errands.  As I was browsing through the magazines at Barnes & Noble I heard this married couple chatting.  Him:  "They said on the news that we're going to get 7 - 10 inches of snow tonight".  I thought to myself 'we got an inch of snow last night, it's already melted, we haven't gotten 7 inches of snow all YEAR - this guy is an idiot'.  About that same time the guy's wife says to him:  "You're an idiot".  Ha!  Him: Sigh "I'm just telling you what they said on the news".  (I got the impression that they have this type of conversation a lot.)  But sure enough as I went into other stores in the mall the salespeople were making plans to close early because of "the storm".  At Trader Joe's it was packed with shoppers and the guy at the checkout said it was because of "the storm".  And the news report said we would get 7 to 10 inches of snow.  At this point though, the sun was still out and it was hard to believe we were going to get any snow.  But Monday morning:

 

Ruh Row:

 

  

So - it turns out the guy at the mall knew what he was talking about.  We got 6 inches overnight and it kept snowing through about noon.  It stuck around a few days as it was pretty cold Tuesday and Wednesday - but its mostly gone now and it's scheduled to warm up to 60 tomorrow so I think it will all melt by Saturday.  A nice little winter blast there but I figure that's got to be our last winter blast this season.  Right?  Maybe I should go skulk at the mall and see if I can get anymore good weather tips!    

I know I've said this before - but my current project is wrapping up and I think I will have time for crafting and maybe some blogging over the next few weeks!  This time I mean it!  Stay tuned!

Snow Day!

It's a Snow Day!  Well, not quite.  It started to snow this morning, but the poor kids in the DC metro area only got about a 2 hour reprieve on school instead of a complete pardon.  I on the other hand, just finished a contract job, have yet to start a new one, and am home to enjoy the pretty, chilly scene outside:

 

 

Those of you from states that actually get a good amount of snow are probably not too impressed with this little dusting.  And really - this is about as much as we're going to get.  It's already started to rain instead of snow and the newscasters are calling this "conversational snow". 

But it is more than enough snow for me justify snuggling on the couch to finish an embroidery project AND to make a yummy, stick to your ribs, winter meal.  I am trying to decide between cream of tomato soup, potato soup or spaghetti with a nice meaty bolognese. I'm leaning toward the potato soup as I have been on a quest for a few years to make the perfect potato soup.  Something with a kick of flavor as potato soup can often be a little bland.  Plus, I have all the makings for cornbread in the pantry which is the perfect addition to potato soup.  This was one of my favorite meals that mom used to make on yucky days back when we were kids and I still love it!  All right - I have a game plan.  But I might have to venture out in the snow for a few ingredients.  Oh who am I kidding?  Most of it has already melted.  Potato soup - it is on!

Let it go people - just let it go

Can you tell what this is?

 

Let me excuse this picture by telling you that I took it at night, with my iphone and just as I was taking the photo someone pulled up in front of the house and I got scared that the person who lived there would think I was some nut job taking photos of his house (which I was/am).  So that's why the photo is shaky/blurry/impossible to see. And in case you can't quite figure out what it is - it's a Christmas tree!  A Christmas tree people - all lit up like it's Christmas Eve instead of Valentine's Day.  Now, I try not to be too judgmental about how long people want to drag out the holiday season or their housekeeping standards.  I'll even admit that I still have a wreath up - although I justify this by my belief that it is a "winter" wreath rather than a "Christmas" wreath.  But I think we can all agree that Valentines Day is way past the appropriate time to be lighting up the tree and singing Christmas carols.  So please join me in judging my neighbors and I will keep you posted on whether this tree is still up at Easter!

I just wrapped up another project.  It was interesting, but for about 5 weeks the only thing I saw other than the metro or my computer screen was the neighbors Christmas tree.  I hope to have a week or so to craft, blog and clean the toilet before the next project - but we'll see.  In the mean time Happy Valentines Christmas Day!!!