About Me

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West Virginia
When I started my retirement travels in 2009, I wanted a way to share it with family and friends as it was happening. Hence, "My Travel Journal". However I realized I wouldn't always be on a trip and wondered what to do with the blog in between times. My daughter pointed out, wisely, that travels can also include trips to the kitchen to try a new recipe, trips to visit family, trips to my neighborhood Starbucks, or a fun day trip with a friend. You're welcome to join me on any of these journeys! I've set up individual pages for each of my major trips (see tabs above).

Also, I have an Etsy shop where my current needlework resides. The last pieces I posted here were in 2013! So if you'd like to see what I have accomplished recently, go to (and I apologize for having to copy and paste):

www.etsy.com/shop/thedollhouseneedle

I recently added an "Italian Word a Day" thingie which shows up at the bottom of every page. You see the word and can click to hear it pronounced. I've been enjoying it and I think my accent is improving as time goes by.

October 16, 2012

Look at the view from my windows!

This is what I saw yesterday late afternoon after an all-day overcast and lowering clouds type day.  And I was so elated cause I've been watching and hoping for beautiful fall colors this year because conditions seemed so perfect but nothing much seemed to be happening.  The green was getting less intense and the little trees in the bank parking lot lost most of their leaves (as usual) but no really great color.  And I swear, I really think the day before yesterday it was not this gorgeous. Of course, I think the setting sun finally breaking through helped make the colors really pop.  (p.s. - and I'm right - I just left the computer to go get something from the living room, looked out the window on a bright sunny day and the hills look kind of boring...)

 So, here is October in "almost heaven" West Virginia.

 Is this WOW, or what???

And that beautifully colored hillside in the background was just kind of dead looking green the last time I looked. :)

And since I'm already here, might as well post this picture of the outside of the library roombox, finally finished and all the mess of making it put away!!  No more cardtable in my bedroom.  I still have to do things like fill the bookcases and get the books to stay put, probably also actually glue the bookcases to the back wall, but I can do that kind of work without much mess or fuss.

I really love this paper.  And I figure with such a very serious and kind of elegant library, the paper reflects January's "inner child" or maybe just the fact that she is, after all, my baby. :)

And while I'm at it, I'll post pictures of the little progress I've made on my 40-count Chinese rug...

Here's what it looked like on June 11, 2011 ( last time I had worked on it!):

And here's what it looks like as of today (I started up on it again around October 5 I think):
I know it doesn't look like much, but it is slowwww going

And this is what it will/would look like if I ever finish it:
If I get that far, I think I may try and fiddle with the two big gold half medallions on the long sides - put a little orange and white into them somehow.  But overall, I think it's a very unusual pattern.  I've seen patterns that are newer that are much more intricate and "oriental" looking but this is based on the Chinese Ninghsia rugs (that spelling may be wrong) and I really like it - so bright and busy!


4 comments:

Diane Adams said...

The fall colors are absolutely awesome! I love the wallpaper you chose for the outside of your daughters roombox and that rug, well I think its going to be just beautiful. Right now I'm working on miniature christmas stockings on 58ct gauze. Didn't realize how tiny that actually was.

Christopher said...

I love light like that---bright sun from one direction, but some clouds in the opposite direction. Philly was like that last weekend, from the train; dark, threatening clouds over the city, while in the west, clear skies with a blinding sunset---so the buildings and trees just popped against that dark sky!
The rug definitely shows progress... and it is such a pretty rug, in the finished preview!

FabShabbyRoses said...

Love the beautiful colors...we have gorgeous colors in New York this year too! Beautiful rug! And I too love that wallpaper on the roombox....where ever did you find that? Thank you for sharing!

Mary Lynne said...

Thanks to all of you for commenting and FabShabbyRoses thanks especially to you for taking some of the burden of commenting off Di and my son Chris who are such faithful followers! :)

The paper is a scrapbook paper that I bought at a local shop. It's a company called Graphic45 and the series my paper is in is called An ABC Primer Collection. I found some online after my scrapbook store ran out.

I will try to e-mail you with this info but so far, I've not been very successful at e-mailing my followers which is a shame cause I would like to welcome them when they first sign on...

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