Tiny Needle Tuesday October 5, 2021

 Hello, Hello!

We are back.  And safely, despite some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen on our way home yesterday.  It sounded like hail hitting the car.  Fortunately when we arrived home it was clear.  We actually came back a day early due to my having to be at the office on Wednesday.  I always need a day at home before jumping back into reality.  Today will be filled with laundry and probably a small grocery run.

Anyway, I did not take a lot of pictures, but have a few to share.  We started and ended our trip with camping in Rhinebeck, NY.  I know!  Not for NY Sheep & Wool.  Our favorite campground in the area has closed (thank you COVID) so we stayed at a new-to-us place that wasn't the greatest.  In between those Sunday nights, we journeyed to Southern Vermont...left our camper there and just took the car over to New Hampshire and the White Mountains.  We stayed in a beautiful log home about a quarter of a mile from where our friends were.  There was no one around and we had beautiful views of the mountains.  The weather was often overcast, but one day I woke from a nap to find Fletch coming to get me - looking out over the deck there was a huge rainbow.

You can see there was not a whole lot of color in the trees...still a bit early.  But one day our friends drove us up to Mt. Washington (where we had lunch at the Mt. Washington Resort - an AMAZING place) and we saw a lot more color there.  One night I cooked dinner for us (BBQ Shrimp) and one night Lois fixed a delicious venison stew.  We never would have known it was venison if she had not told us.  It was like the most tender roast you have ever had.

We drove back to Vermont visiting some familiar and favorite places along the way.  It had been three years since we had been in Vermont - far too long.  Driving back to Rhinebeck on Sunday, we stopped at the Eric Sloane Museum in Kent, CT.  A small, but very impressive museum filled with old tools and artifacts Eric Sloane had collected over the years.  There was also a small gallery with a number of his paintings and drawings.  At the back of the building was his studio/library/whatever room.  We have a few of his books and have always enjoyed his pen and ink drawings.  On display were two swifts!!

Both of them a little larger than the swift I have!

Meanwhile it is Tiny Needle Tuesday and I have two finishes to share!  Amazing...but with internet service and connectivity availability lacking for the entire trip I managed to stitch quite a bit!  First up, I finished Coverlet Birds.

I'm happy to have this one finished.  It's a bit larger than I wanted - really too large for a pin cushion.  In this photograph you can't really distinguish (or at least I cannot) between the blue and green.  But, after the red, there is a bit of green, then all blue until the end where it is green again.  The Ginny Thompson Flower Thread was very annoying to use, so I will pack that away for quite some time.

The other piece I finished is Malabar Farm - a small (pin cusion size) piece designed by Stacy Nash.  I had started this quite some time ago and then promptly lost interest...but it was in the stitching bag I brought on the trip, so I took the time to finish it up.

Yes, that is yet another bird - a peacock!

Due to internet issues I couldn't even read blogs while we were away, so I will enjoy some catch-up time today.  I also need to go through all the work emails so that I am caught up when I go to the office tomorrow.

It is good to be home!  We had a lovely time, but how wonderful to shower at home last night and sleep in my own bed!  I hope you have all been well.