A Day Trip to the Olympic Foothills

I'm so happy that many of you enjoyed seeing the Halloween village! Thank you so much for the comments and thanks to those of you who just look! Today's blog is about a little trip we took on Thurs.  The weather lady said that it would be our last sunny day for awhile so we decided to go for a hike in an area that is about 45 minutes from home.  It's not too strenuous and we get a nice bit of exercise! You can tell from the photos that we don't have the beautiful colors that you see in the East, but all the evergreens will still be beautiful when the leaves are all gone.  I hope you enjoy the walk!

 I couldn't resist this little pumpkin patch!

Just off the Hood Canal Bridge!

We saw several small water falls.

 You know you're in the NW when the trees are covered with Moss!

 A typical big leaf maple.

 Another you know you're in the NW when you can't travel too far without seeing espresso!( Thank Goodness)

  I hope you are all having a wonderful week-end.  We will be thinking of you in the NE as this storm gets closer!

Halloween Village

Thank you so much for taking a look at the blog and thanks for all your comments about my latest stitching projects.  Boy, there's a lot of green on the Christmas Garden! Today the SBA and I took a wonderful walk in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains.  I haven't sorted all the pictures yet.  That is for a future blog post. I did want to show you my Halloween village.  Now the interesting things is I started this after my children were grown.  No excuses, it's for the kids.  I just think it is great fun.  The dear SBA sets it up and that takes him half a day!( Am I not a very lucky woman???!!!) I hope it will give you some Halloween fun.  Have a great week-end!!

 This is the lighted version.

 Here is the unlighted version.

The Little Dead School House.  I had to have this one after teaching for 30 years!

 Great detail

Every Halloween Village needs a grave yard!

 And trick-or-treaters!

 City Howl

Details on the school house.

Thanks so much for joining me!

Cross Stitch Catch Up

nnnThanks so much to all of you who joined me on the Pumpkin Walk.  This Fri. we are going to  a place called Fort Nisqually.  They are doing a bon-fire- ghost story-regional history story time.  I think it will be fun.  Hopefully I will be able to get a few photos.  I have not posted much about cross stitch lately.  I have been busy with projects.  I have finished a project for my DIL.  Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving so her Christmas gift is a November cross stitch. I don't think she reads the blog but I'll wait to show pictures when she has received it.  I did a little owl for my DD. Thank goodness I kept my working copy of the JBW owl.  I had passed along the chart to Cath at the blog "The Stitchin ' Chicken" (A great blog by the way).  All I had to work from was my old copy where I had crossed out the parts that I had finished.  It did turn out ok and Laurie gets her owl.  My big project continues to be "The Christmas Garden".  I'll show you a up-date on the progress I'm making.

 The owl was stitched on 32ct. antique ivory with WDW Burnt Orange thread.  The branch was stitched with the recommended DMC and the leaves with GA Endive.

 Notice the little owl and the acorns.

Here we have an owl, a basket, and a pumpkin.

 Here we have the BBD "Christmas Garden".  I have a long way to go.  This one will be up all year so I'm not rushing it for Christmas.

I will close with this pretty view of our back.  I Love the fall!!!!! (Parrot tree and Grape vine) Have a terrific week!

Let's go on a Pumpkin Walk!

First, I want to thank all of you for taking a look at my blog.  I really appreciated your comments on my fall yard and Autumn  At Hawk Run Hollow. Tonight's post will be mostly photos.  The SBA and I went for the annual pumpkin walk at a garden center called Bainbridge Gardens.  They have a natural area behind the nursery.  Every fall they collect over 300 pumpkins from the community and from 6 to 8 in the evening they have a lighted pumpkin walk. We have gone for several years.  I do hope you enjoy the pictures!!

I hope all of you have a super week-end and get in lots of stitching!!  I haven't shown any stitching lately because I have done a gift for my DIL.  Tomorrow, I will show a little one I did for my DD.

A Fall Garden Walk and Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow

Thanks to all of you who looked at my blog.  I really appreciate all the very nice things you said about my Halloween decorating and the pansies! We finally are getting some much needed rain.  However, we had a nice break this morning and we got out to the garden to take a few pictures.  Our natural fall color is only fair out here.  We have so many evergreens.  The most common tree in our yard(natural that is) is the big leaf maple.  It turns yellow but that's about it.  So we planted lots of fall color as we landscaped our yard.  I hope you enjoy this walk!

 This pretty little fuchsia is called Santa Claus.  It is considered a hardy fuchsia so should come back every year.

 Little lime hydrangea

Lead-wort ground cover.  It has pretty blue flowers in late summer then turns this pretty red.

 Blushing Bride hydrangea,  white all summer then in the fall turns into this!

 Just a little surprise for the SBA!

This tree is called the parrot tree because of the color.

 A blueberry bush

 A pretty red barberry

The last of the dahlias.

This is one of the biggest designs I have done! Autumn At Hawk Run Hollow.  I like it because it goes from Sept. through Nov. and Thanksgiving.  I have the pattern for Shores so someday I'll get that one started.I took about a year to do this with breaks after each row! The frame looks great with it.  I purchased it from Valley House Primitives.  I do love their frames!

I hope you are all having a good week and thanks so much for taking a look!

More Halloween and a few cross stitch!

Thank you so much for all those nice things you said about my Halloween decorating.  I look forward to doing it each year.  Autumn has always been my favorite season.  I have so many happy memories of Halloween as a child!(Way back in the 50"s)!!!!! We could trick-or-treat alone and eat home made candies with no worries. Oh well, I think I'm sounding old!! Today I have included pictures of the rest of the front yard and porch, as well as the dining room and a few more cross stitch.  Thanks again for joining me!

 I showed these orange whisker pansies before.  Here they are planted with my black pansies.

 That's a better view of the black one.

 I have had this witch for many years.  She does need a new hat!

 This is on the porch between the two wicker chairs.(Notice the little coffee cup).

 This is the SBA's(Super Blog Assistant-he adds the photos) specialty-a very large spider web between the porch posts.

 Welcome to the dining room.  The girls are ready for the big day!(A Folkmanis puppet given to me for Christmas by my DD and SIL).

 My DH bought this for me at a craft fair many years ago in Ohio. She sits in my wonderful antique high chair. I love this chair because it is so well worn.  You can just imagine all the little ones who sat in this chair.

 A recent gift from the SBA's sister in law and brother.

 The dining room table.

 A PS I did many years ago. I probably used the recommended floss and linen for both of the PS designs.

 I love the little old rhyme on this PS.  It hangs in the Powder room.(Sorry it is a bit blurry).

I hope all of you have a wonderful week-end.  We are supposedly getting much needed rain!  Today really feels like fall!