Christmas in April ..

Bought a pretty Christmas quilt pattern in hopes of having it completed by Christmas ~ for me that is a pretty tall order but I'm optimistic!!  Here are the first three blocks.  The idea of "redwork" is so nice as there are no color changes :).  Makes it go much faster.  Look at these little cuties .. just love their personalities!

If you are a needlepoint person and haven't looked at Crabapple Hill Studio on the web ~ you really should.  Lots and lots of cute stuff.  Here is the pattern ..

The pollen count seems to have slowed down a bit so we are enjoying the outdoors ~ tending to the flowers, the lawn, the baby chicks and all the other little beauties of Spring.  Need to get busy planting flowers, especially my favorite ~ the Sunflowers.  This year I hope to have a garden and it's always fun deciding what to plant.  We have a late planting season here in the White Mountains so there will be no planting before May 31st.  Several years ago we learned not to rush Mother Nature .. not even by 3 days.  One year we were enjoying warm spring days and decided to put the garden in ~ and along came 3" of snow 3 days later.  I think my Father-In-Law enjoyed the "I told you so". 

We are headed to a bike race with some friends in Prescott ~ hopefully no rain!  Will have some nice pictures of the guys when we return.

Have a blessed day and thank you for stopping by!

New Mexico ..

Husband and I took a trip to New Mexico to see Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller in Rio Rancho.  It was a really fun evening with lots of laughter ~ so glad we went.

We went a few days early to enjoy the Land of Enchantment!  We took our bikes and tried out bike paths in Albuquerque.  Our favorite was a bike path that ran alongside the Rio Grande river ~ a really pretty ride.  As always, we ate Mexican food EVERY single day.  Love Love Love the spicy green chili dishes  ~ it doesn't matter what restaurant we ate at .. the food was incredibly spicy and full of flavor.   I won't mention the sweet and tangy Sangria!!!  

We enjoyed shopping at "Old Town" and at the new ABQ Uptown which is an outdoor mall and ..  with the perfect weather it was an every evening stop after Baskin Robbins .. yummers!   A great way to walk off the meal before heading back to the hotel.

Corrales .. what a beautiful little place.  If you ever get to New Mexico, near Albuquerque you must see this little countryfied (I made that up) community.  We were cruising around the roads enjoying the homes and pastures and ran into a sign on the side of the road that said, "The Farm Shop is Open"!  Let me just say ~ I brake for any such sign.

Here is the entrance . . . are you loving this already?

The sign that greeted us ... very well said don't you think?  We all love Springtime!!

This is The Farm Shop ... just full of unique items.  From olive oil direct from Spain to special handmade soaps and beautiful cutting boards handcrafted out of alligator juniper trees and very unique books ... they grow lavender and make products that sell in the shop.

The property is large and was once a ranch dating back to 1934 ~ called Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm!  It is located in the heart of the Rio Grande River Valley.  The Inn is open to overnight guests ~ the mornings include a full organic gourmet breakfast.  I'm thinking next time we will stay here.

This is the resident kitty ~ his name is Calvin!  Such a nice pose right next to the sign.

We are back home now ~ and happy to be!  Love going away for a few days but love coming back home again.

Hope life is good for you ... remember chin up and shoulders back.  Every day is a gift!