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 Disappearing Crow

Yes, I've been gone again.

And, like all other of my disappearances, this one was not for enjoyment.

The short version of the story is that I got sick...very sick. Hospital-stay sick.  After an ambulance ride and a day and night in the ER, I was diagnosed with a kidney infection and sent home with medications....

 But I didn't get better.

No doubt, as the hospital called me within 24 hours and wanted me re-admitted as my tests showed a "rare strain" of bacteria which was resistant to all oral antibiotics except one.

And, given my amazing luck, it was the one and only antibiotic to which I am allergic.

As a result, I needed special antibiotics administered by IV...in the hospital.

After a week of additional testing...and me being my cranky self...they decided to insert a picc (a "peripherally inserted central catheter") in my arm so I could administer the antibiotics myself and sent me home.

I am slowly recovering.  The antibiotics were finally stopped and the picc line was removed last week.

I am still compromised - incredibly tired and weak, but I'm getting there.

I have, however, missed the past several weeks.

My house is caught midway between Christmas take-down (serves me right for procrastinating in that department) and Valentine's Day and, at most times, I am still uncertain of what day it is.

There are a dozen and a half things to catch up on, missed deadlines, and unmet expectations, but they will have to wait.

Accepting that part of "this" has been difficult.

One thing that I've neglected is replying to some of the (later) comments on my last post.

For that, I apologize; however, I was literally unable to read or process things for a while. But please know that I have since read them and my lack of a reply does not diminish their meaningfulness in any way.

Happy Hearts Day

 

Are You There Tina Grace??

Three days have come and gone and an email has gone unanswered with no response from the winner of the giveaway (two posts ago).  While it is virtually impossible that any recipient-to-be will receive the heart before Valentine's Day at this point, I have, nonetheless, drawn a new name from those who originally entered. Hearts, after all, aren't just for Valentine's Day.

The name drawn was Tina Grace.

Tina, if you are still interested in giving the pink heart a home, please contact me at your very earliest convenience.  To be fair, I will give you 3 days as well, but if I don't hear from you by then, I will move on to Plan C.

I hate when things get to Plan C.

Hopefully once this giveaway business is settled, I will be back with a proper post.

Pretty in Pink

 

{"My Dear Hearts" by Blackbird Designs...Stitched on 36ct "Tango" by Picture This Plus}

I stitched this little heart is from "My Dear Hearts" by Blackbird Designs last year but just now got around to "finally" finishing it...and, no, it was NOT a WWR casualty.  When I got done, I decided it is definitely "pink-ish." 

 I may have to stitch this one again on a red linen like Aztec Red. (Ha! Yeah right!). Until such time, if any, that THAT happens, I just may have to reconsider my relatively recent (last post recent) dislike of pink.

But, for now, it is Thursday.  And, as promised, I have drawn a winner for the needlepunched heart in my last post.  The winner is:

BUT....

Although not exactly the same as the first, I did have another of the hearts and decided to draw a second winner.

The second name drawn was:

Congratulations to both Teresa and Marshel.  Please contact me within 3 days with your mailing address and I will get your heart in the mail.

Thanks to everyone who played along.

 I wish now I had more hearts.

💕

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!

Not Feeling the Love

 That pretty much sums it up these days....on so very many levels unfortunately, but I'll stick to the most obvious:

Valentine's Day.

Since I have a predilection for hearts, I have an excuse each year to add splashes of red to the overly white and dreary days of January and February.

And each year I usually do a small cross stitch pinkeep, or even a small punched or hooked piece, to commemorate the uneventful day.

Not this year.

The best I could muster was finally finishing the heart pinkeep I stitched (ahem) 2 years ago that has been lingering in Never Never Finished Land.

{"Love Bird Pincushion" and "Love Letter Needle Keep" from With Thy Needle & Thread's "Be My Valentine" pattern.  Stitched on 35ct Abecedarian from R&R Reproductions using WDW flosses.}

I did pull out a few heart things....

But, with 9 days to go, that will likely be all she wrote.

I also managed to pull out my "intended" holiday project - pattern, linen and floss...  I don't suppose that counts though.

{"Sweetheart Pincushion" by Blackbird Designs}

Perhaps next year.

Our winter has begun in earnest.  We have had several snows since October of course, but yesterday was the biggest snowfall so far this winter.  

This little fella was out and about in the early part of the storm. I hope he made it home safely.

We got a little over 8" (hmmm, the forecast started out at 2")....then the winds came, and now the Frigid Cold.  As in -20º frigid....and that's without the windchill.

Yeah, just not feeling the love.