#12 Coffee

Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven.  ~Jessi Lane Adams

#11 Winter

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~Edith Sitwell 

Winter? A Blessing? 

To say I love winter would be a bit of a stretch.  Most everything I've said about Spring and Autumn is stored in my memory banks from living in an area that has all four seasons.  Time softens the edges of our memories, and we tend to forget the bad and remember the good.  So, I have romanticized all the seasons.  

First and foremost, winter says Christmas! My favorite time of year.  I love it all.  I love the decorating, the bell ringers, the too much baking, the smiling strangers who wish each other "Merry Christmas", the music and television - (gee, I really miss those old holiday variety shows where Perry Como or Andy Williams would walk around the set dressed like Dickens' characters, singing, while styrofoam snowflakes fell - but I digress).  Yeah, I love it all.  

When I was younger, after the holidays I would settle into "can't wait till spring" mode, but it wasn't until I got a little older, that I  realized time is flying by... even in winter.  Make the most of it.  Winter is a time to regroup.  Read those books you didn't have time to read all summer.  Work on those projects that were put off when you were too busy working in the yard.  

Just a couple of weeks ago I talked to my daughter while they were snowed in.  Oh, how I miss that! No work - no school - no guilt.  Hopefully you've got electricity and food in the pantry... you can sit back and enjoy the gift.  

Now that I'm living in a Mediterranean climate, I only experience two seasons for the most part.  The one where the days are longer and its nearly always warm and dry and the one where the days are shorter and its a little cooler, and maybe, if we're lucky, it might rain.  

In case it's not clear, this square is a pine cone hanging from a branch.  It's the first time (and hopefully, last) that I removed my stitching and did it over.  I just couldn't see the blessing in a hornets' nest.

My original Winter "pine cone"

#10 Autumn

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." ~Elizabeth Lawrence

The holiday season kicks off in fall... starting with Halloween, then Thanksgiving.  It's a busy time, and yet, things are starting to slow down just a bit. I love a walk in the woods, (or even the neighborhood), listening to the leaves crunch underfoot, the colors,  the symbols; scarecrows, acorns, leaves, squirrels, and the food!  We can start enjoying squash, soups and stews again.  As the days get shorter, so does the outdoor to-do list, but I don't think I've ever gotten everything checked off by the first hard freeze... oh well, there's always next year.  So far, this is my favorite square.  I love how it turned out and what it symbolizes.

#9 Summer

"Sun is shining. Weather is sweet. Make you wanna move your dancing feet." ~Bob Marley

Suntans, sandals, picnics, gardening, family reunions, ice cream, fresh mown grass, weddings, vacations, Independence Day, lightning bugs, watermelon, swimming, long days and warm evenings.

It just goes too fast.

#8 Spring

"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring." ~Bern Williams

 After a seemingly never-ending winter, it is such a joy to see that first little crocus peeking out of the snow, the first robin, the trees starting to bud... the color green!   Spring is a time of re-birth, lengthening days, and renewed energy.  A time to open the windows, shed the heavy coats, and get outside to start digging in the dirt again.  Summer can't be too far behind.

#7 Bicycle

When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.   ~Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.

I can't remember exactly which birthday I got my beautiful, new, shiny blue bicycle, but I do remember how much I loved it. It was a couple of summers before I could reach the pedals when I sat on the seat, but it was a much smoother ride than the little red two-wheeler, with the hard rubber tires, that I'd learned to ride on. That was a baby's bike... I was growing up.


A kid in the 60's had to have a bike.  We weren't driven everywhere like the kids today are.  My family only had one car and my father needed it to get to work.  Not that we had that many places to go... we never left our little neighborhood, but it opened up a whole new world of  imagination.  My friend Carol and I had a secret game where we'd pretend our bikes were motorcycles.  With playing cards clipped on the wheels with clothespins, we'd race up and down the street, to hear our 'motors' and stop now and then to conjure up some new adventure.  The best part was that the two of us shared a secret... no one else knew what we meant when we said we were playing "M".


When my son out-grew his bicycle, at least 15 years ago, I inherited it. It's got sturdy tires and speeds I don't even know how to use - I just play around with them until I can comfortably peddle and leave it there.  My husband put a nice, wide seat on it and now I use the bike for errands that are close to the house.  I like it - I get a little exercise and my shopping is limited to what I can fit in my basket.


My favorite, though, is to go down to the beach. Nice, long rides... sometimes we go north, sometimes we go south.  The path is smooth and mostly flat.  My husband could leave me in his dust, but he never does.  You see things that you'd never notice when you're flying by in a car. It's amazing how far you can go on so little energy. I think it's the perfect exercise for an un-fit person like me.