All Kinds of Stuff

First, & most importantly ...

I sure am   : )

Secondly, my birthday was last Wednesday.  It started out with this.

A cup of Birthday Tea by Adagio Teas   : )   It has sprinkles in it!!!

Pretty cool, huh   : )

I had a very nice day.  John had lots of surprises planned for me.  He took me out to breakfast, & then we went to the mall where he bought me some of my favorite Teavana tea as well as a box of Godiva Open Oysters.  I know that the angels must serve Godiva Open Oysters to Jesus on special occasions in heaven   : )   There were various gifts given throughout the day, & then he took me to dinner at one of my favorite places to eat ... Big Boy!  I had the always wonderful bacon burger with onion rings.  In lieu of making myself a birthday cake, I planned instead to bring home a slice of BB's pumpkin pie as my birthday dessert, which I did.  I ate it while we watched a little something on DVD.  Within 2 hours, my perfectly lovely day turned into a nightmare.  Food poisoning!!!  I'm sure the pie was the culprit.  The remainder of my birthday until about 3 a.m. the following morning was not fun.  I'll spare you the details.  John wanted to take me to the ER.  I told him I'd be fine.  I'm still not quite back to normal today, but I'm better.  

On Friday afternoon I felt up to taking a little walk up & down the street.  The fall colors have been so pretty here this year ... I brought my camera along to share some of them with you.

     

They're all so pretty, aren't they?  There was a nip in the air along with the smells of autumn.  Truly beautiful!  

I've continued crocheting & have started a new blanket based on fall colors.

And I finished the ripple blanket I gave you a peek at last time   : )

It's a gift for John but he doesn't know it yet   : )

I also finished my yarn bag pieces (it was also available for peeking at in my last post) but I haven't sewn the pieces together yet.  Maybe I can share that next time   : )

I will leave you with one final photo ... a birthday gift from our poodle princess, Vickie ... a cross stitched pincushion with a pomegranate design. I've taken several photos but can't get any of them to truly show what a beautiful pincushion this is & how beautifully it has been stitched & finished.  This is the best I could do.  Thank you again Vickie!

Need Decorating Help

Okay, I need more than decorating help, but for this post it's decorating help I need   : )

I basically love this townhome we're living in.  Sadly it has a lot of issues, but it is still homey & comfortable.  I've said it before & I'll say it again ... I will be quite unhappy when it comes time for us to leave it & head off to pastures of unknown color.  One of the issues I have with this townhome are the transom windows above our front door & window.

I guess they look nice, but this side of the townhome faces a tad southwest ... so in the afternoons, direct sunlight pours through these windows as if it's pouring through a magnifying glass.  As the sun makes its way across the sky, the hot, blinding, glaring light goes from one side of this room to the other, eventually hitting John & I directly in the face as we sit in our recliners.  

What can I do to block the light coming through these transom windows?  Each of them have a sill several inches deep, so I could set something up there, but what?  Since Christmas is drawing near (71 more days until the big day!!!), I thought about maybe just getting some nice fake pine garland from Hobby Lobby to scrunch up there.  I don't know how great that would look, but it would be something.  Can anyone suggest another option?

The weather is turning much cooler now.  Temps at night are predicted to be in the 30s this weekend!!!  I am giddy with anticipation!!!  This morning I decided to open the lid on one of my favorite Christmas teas ... DAVIDsTEA's Santa's Secret.  The description reads as follows ...

Ever wonder how Santa manages to deliver all those presents in just one night?  Well, here's the hush-hush formula.  He uses a special combination of Chinese black tea, peppermint leaves & spices ... all sprinkled with real little candy canes.  It's both energizing & remarkably soothing.  All Santa needs in one cup, & his motto changes from "ho ho ho" to "go go go!"

See the little candy canes mixed in with the tea?

And it came in a nice storage tin decorated with candy canes   : )

I found some other teas that I might want to try this year.  This first one is sure pretty to look at! The name of it is Santa's Little Helper, made by Art of Tea.  

Santa's sleigh bells would not be ringing without a lift from Santa's Little Helper.  Awaken your holiday spirit with this fun & deliciously sweet infusion of rich dark tea interlaced with wintery notes of cooling mint & smooth decadent chocolate.  Steeps a wonderfully engaging cup with an expressive aroma that captivates the senses & invites you to start the day. 

Santa's Nightcap sounds good too!  It is made by Tea For All Reasons.  

A Rooibos blend that combines eggnog flavoring with cinnamon pieces & little candy sprinkles to create a yummy taste delight.  Now, won't Santa be be anxious to visit your house?

Here are a few more luscious sounding teas made by Tea For All Reasons.

Cookies for Santa

With its whimsical gingerbread men & holiday sprinkles, this is not only a delight to look at but a delight to taste!  Santa would be so pleased with this treat, especially if he is trying to cut back on the whole cookie thing.  Rich in cookie taste, our hand-blended creation is full of all the ingredients that make for an irresistible treat!

Della Robbia

Full of fruity flavoring & nuts, this super rich & spicy Christmas blend combines Chinese black tea with apple, orange, currants, cinnamon, almonds, & cloves for a spectacular taste sensation.  This may become a new holiday tradition!

Christmas Memories

A refreshing, hand-blended Rooibos tea with the addition of cinnamon, orange peel, apple bits, currants, cloves, & almond flakes.  A comforting & delicious way to remember Christmases past.

Tea For All Reason has quite a variety of Christmas teas as well as all-year-round teas.  I will definitely be ordering a few.  You can find them on Etsy by clicking here.

There are certainly more Christmas teas available on the internet.  If you know of any good ones, do comment to let me know   : )

And incidentally, what a sweet husband I have!  I told him I made a cup of Santa's Secret tea & that there are only 71 days left to Christmas, & he is now playing a Christmas CD   : )

I know my blog has been sadly lacking in stitching info these past few months.  I am still without a table upon which to clamp my magnifying light so it will be lacking in stitching info for who knows how much longer.  In the meantime I have been tackling some knitting projects, & I think I've mentioned in the recent past that I have taken up crochet.  I have surprised myself by how much I am enjoying crochet!  I am almost finished making a blanket, & my current WIP is a project bag.  I can't really show them yet as they aren't finished, but here's a glimpse of them both piled here in front of me   : )

Well, my cup of Santa's Secret is finished now, so I will head downstairs to make myself a cup of something else.  I know I have more Christmas teas in my cupboards.  "Ho-ho-ho!!!"  Or should I say "Yum-yum-yum!"   : )