Okay, I'd be lying if I claimed it has been all bliss but it has been a solid and satisfying partnership with much love, friendship, laughter and affection. We are one of those lucky couples who have grown together rather than apart. We still share many interests and have learned to tolerate those interests we do not share, mainly by leaving one another enough "alone" time to enjoy them. We have a lovely balance of unity to solitude. Anyway, it works for us.
To celebrate, we spent the weekend [Friday evening through Sunday morning] at a lovely Bed & Breakfast in Cold Springs, NY, The Hudson House. I have a bad habit of bringing along my camera but not using it. I get so involved in the
doing that I forget all about the
recording. I suppose that's not such a bad thing. So I'll just have to describe the place. This inn has been in continuous operation since 1830 and the current owners have decorated it accordingly with period wallpapers and spindle backed wooden chairs in every corner with a wing back chair thrown into the mix every so often. For the rest, there were loads of distressed tables, wardrobes and cabinets. The headboards were also period pieces. The food was wonderful, the service top notch but the bedroom was kept at a suffocatingly hot temp. We had to open the balcony door periodically just to be able to breathe. And, like so many hotels, motels and B & Bs, the rooms were very softly lit. So no cross stitching was possible. On the other hand, I did manage to finish crocheting Liam's crib blanket. On the plus side, downstairs in the public bar and restaurant area, there was a comfortable and cozy sitting area complete with a fireplace. This was the closest the place came to the common room one expects to find in a typical B & B. It would only seat half a dozen people, though, and was clearly not meant for mingling with other B & B guests. It was furnished more like a gentleman's club with leather sofas and barrel chairs. It was more of an adjunct to the bar than an amenity for overnight guests. The town was quaint and filled with shops,and galleries and restaurants. Unfortunately, as it was the off season, many were not open. The few that were open were a bit disappointing. The
antique shops were more properly classified as collectible shops: lots of china, bric-a-brac, depression glass, Beatles and Elvis memorabilia, old toys and old tools. It is mildly depressing to see that a lot of the kitchenware in such places is quite familiar to me, since it graced my childhood home. Kitschy 50's era stuff like Corningware, melmac dish sets and Avon bottles just doesn't do anything for me. It was low end junk back then and remains so today. I was looking for antique needle work accessories, pin cushions, ivory knitting needles and crochet hooks and found nothing of interest. Of course, many of the shops were closed. I'd say the place is worth another look in Spring or Summer. But if we go again, I'll definitely want to time our visit around a concert or two at Boscobel and make reservations to eat dinner at the Culinary Institute of America. There's also a needlework shop in Hyde Park that would be well worth a visit.
In warmer seasons, one can enjoy a gorgeous view of the Hudson River which is literally across the street. There is a charming gazebo and many benches along the river a stone's throw from the Hudson House's front steps. The view in the winter was quite dramatic: an icy river lined by bare trees and mountains. But with temps hovering in the high teens we weren't tempted to linger.
Here at home, I have set up my Anniversary/Valentine's Day tree in my entry hall. The ornament that is front and center is the one I stitched in 2014 and has my wedding day stitched in the center. I'll keep this tree up until Valentine's Day, after which it will be replaced by my Spring tree. the goal is to stitch a few more Spring and Easter ornaments between now and then.
Last week was a busy one: three 12 hour workdays, Mon-Wed and a half-day on Thurs followed by a 4 and 1/2 day mini-vacation in the Catskills. While I was away, this lovely package arrived from 123stitch. Two Prairie Schooler charts: Primitive Year-Go-Rounds and a chart that has all sorts of patriotic and election day type charts. And loads and loads of Caron Waterlilies and Watercolours skeins just right for Fall and Christmas stitching.
many flea-market-y, low-end antique shops as I could find, enjoying the grand weather and the little bit of leaf color in the mountains, checking out some of the restaurants in the area and vegetating on the porch of the Bavarian Manor Inn. I found some great tea cups & saucers, a nice piece of green Depression glass and a bit of Staffordshire ware [tomorrow, I'll place photos on my other blog] as well as a darning egg and a very old pin cushion shaped like a miniature ottoman in the shops. I have been trying to remember the word that describes the wear specific to silk when the woof threads remain and the warp threads tear away. It's not shredding, or running or fraying. There is a very specific technical term, just out of reach of my aging memory ... how frustrating!
level. Having worked in Catholic schools and in parish ministry for over 20 years, I have seen too much and been disappointed too often to place much hope in the hierarchy. When my reading got to be a bit much to absorb with equanimity, I reverted to the more soothing activity of stitching. So much better for the blood pressure! Pictured here is the very little bit of stitching I managed. The lighthouse piece represents my start on a candle mat chart from Prairie Grove Peddler and the latest bit of Midnight Belle Soie stitching was done on the next Quaker motif on Workbasket's Quaker Sampler, a WIP from 2010.
