Happy St. Valentine's Day 2026

 

{Adaptation of one of the designs in the Primitive Trio of Hearts Reproduction Motif Pillow Tucks" pattern by Jenny Hoffman ("Country Rustic Primitives"). I believe it is stitched on 40-ct Raw Wichelt linen, but it might not be. 😶}

I hope you found some small joys in the day.

The Long Season

 

{The first full moon of 2026: A rare "Wolf" supermoon. It was very overcast here in Nod but it still lit up the night. Believe it or not, this was around 10 p.m.}

{Awful photo but, unbelievably, Jupiter was visible!!}

{"Winter 1839" design by Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives}

He Is Risen...

 

{"He Is Risen" - design by Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives}

Wishing you a joy-filled Easter.

Monday in Nod

 The current view outside my window invites a bleakness of spirit.

Another 10+" of snow fell overnight and it is snowing still.

I know it won't stay long, yet that is of little comfort as it seems that any snow this time of year, no matter how soon it melts, is more wearisome than during winter proper.

The cold reaches deeper, the wind bites harder and, at least for some, sleep beckons more insistently.

{Liza Bean}

Since I had no intentions of venturing out, I baked a boule of artisan sourdough wheat bread.

Thinking it's going to be another soup night.

While the bread was baking, I pulled the last stitches in my Easter stitch.  This is He Is Risen - a design by Jenny Hoffman (Country Rustic Primitives). 

 

This evening I will return to my hooking on "Early Bird" by Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm.

(Sorry for the crappy photo...I was too lazy to take it off my frame to photograph...some Mondays are like that.)

And then, later, of course, I will lose some hours with a book.  This is one I just finished:

I had previously read and posted about Ms. Setterfield's "Once Upon a River" (you can check that out here) and loved it, so I had to read another of her books.

I was equally enthralled.  

It's hard to condense this rich book in a few sentences, other than to say it is a haunting story, beautifully and magically written.

It begins with a young William Bellman shooting a rook with his slingshot...and the turns his life takes after.

A little bit of Dickens...a little bit of Poe...a lot of wonderful.

And, finally, a Mia update for those of you who inquired.

Mia came home from the NICU sooner than anyone anticipated.

Unfortunately, however, after a few days at home, she was struggling to breathe and had stopped eating, so ended up in the ER and a brief stint back in the NICU.

She is once again home and, once again, doing well. Thanks to everyone who prayed, and who wished her well.

And that's a Monday in Nod.

The Elusive Anna Bolen...

I wrote your name in the sky,

but the wind blew it away.

I wrote your name in the sand,

but the waves washed it away.

I wrote your name in my heart,

and forever it will stay.

The elusive Anna Bolen...

...not to be confused with Anne Boylen (who probably should have been a bit more elusive).

Anyway - Long story short:  I stitched this piece sometime before WWR but, true to form, I did not "fully" finish it and it must have gotten packed away in one of the many boxes that still haunt my lower level - just another casualty of WWR.  

Unlike a few other things that I recently "found" while excavating in my basement, I had actually remembered doing this stitching and kept looking for it each time I brought out the hearts for the season.  My mind's eye actually "saw" her completely finished and it puzzled me that I could not find her.

Then, a few months back, I unearthed several "finds" in an ambiguously marked box "down there."

And there was Anna.  

She was not fully finished (as in my recollections of her), but there she was nonetheless. 

I had already stitched the little coverlet heart on the front and had wrapped the remaining coverlet around her before she was entombed, so I did not have to search for a backing fabric.

***Unfortunately, I do not remember whose design this is, or what flosses I used, but I do know it is stitched on lightly distressed Osnaburg.  If any of you know whose design it is, please let me know so I can give proper credit.***

***UPDATE!*** "arcadia" suggested this might be one of Jenny Hoffman's (Country Rustic Primitives) designs.  I had suspected this, but could not find it and did not think to message her.  I since have, and she confirmed that this is her design.  The pattern is currently listed in her Etsy shop.  (If you search for it, it is named "I Wrote Your Name" and not "Anna Bolen."} Thanks "arcadia"!

In other news, I have decided I do not like pink. It's one of those things that just isn't for everyone.  Funny because, when my sister married and left home, I was so excited that I would have her teeny tiny room at the top of the stairs (hey, it was better than sleeping in the "big" room that was part of a storage area and had no doors).  After much pleading, my parents bought me some pink paint and I painted the room pink.  (It was about the only color that would go with the gross linoleum flooring.)  

It was the first and last time I was allowed to paint ANYTHING.

But I digress - that's another story for another time. As I said, I have fallen out of love with pink and so am giving away this punch needle heart and the two coordinating fabric hearts (they reverse so you can display with the solid fabric or the polka dot fabric).

They aren't as "white" as they appear in the photo, as the fabrics have been lightly distressed.  They are lightly stuffed and all three have jute hangers.

If you are interested, just comment on this post (and this post only)...or send me an email with "pink" in the subject line. Please, no sharing on social media, etc.

If there is more than one of you who would like to adopt these, I will randomly choose a winner on Thursday, February 3rd. That person must contact me within 3 days or someone else's name will be chosen. I cannot guarantee that they will get to the winner by Valentine's Day, but I will try.

And, lastly, I intended to post my latest read in my last post, but totally forgot about it. (There's a lot of "last/lateness" in that last sentence 😆).  This is what it was (I've since finished it and moved on...I will share that one next time):

My abbreviated review: I am a bit equivocal about it.  It is a debut novel and has some typical sophomoric "issues" (what happened to good copyediting??) and the "plot" was a bit trite....but there were a few surprises along the way...ok, not along the way...at the end...but even that should not have been totally unexpected.  Probably the most interesting thing I can say about it is that it made me remember the difference between a "sanatorium" and a "sanitarium."  (If you don't care to look it up, essentially a "sanatorium" is a facility for long-term physical illnesses (e.g., tuberculosis) while a "sanitarium" is a long-term care facility for those suffering from mental illnesses.

If you like Lifetime mystery shows, you'll enjoy it.

In my defense, it was left at a friend's house and I "inherited" it.

It is hard to believe that there are only 2 more days left in this wretched month. (I detest January and February if you didn't know.)

I hope those in the path of the winter storm out east stay safe and warm. (Saundra...the cleanup can wait until spring.)

Happy Weekend!