#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.