Tonight Begins the 18th Year for Dorrell Delineations!

When I counted the number of years I had blogged, I had to recount! But when I stopped to think about it, that has to be right. Lots of words...and lots of photos...but I didn't post photos every night when I started writing this. I thought that I would have a new barn photo to share tonight, as we had a barn trip planned for today, but we ended up having to postpone it. I stayed nome and did more around the house. I'm starting to get things ready to put Christmas away. Today I cleared everything off the guest bed upstairs. I had things on it that needed to be put away...that's done and that room looks good again. The upstairs is in need of attention...mainly it needs boxes put away...and, that can't be done till I put Christmas back in them. But today's clean up in the guest room is a start. I have also been doing some alterations on some of my clothes. One job...shortening two pairs of pants that I have been needing to do for a while. I have one pair in the chair next to me all ready to hem. So I have spent some time in the sewing room today. Once I get this pair hemmed, I am going to turn to my stitching...ready for some relaxation at this point in the day. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! It was strange not to post a photo that has something to do with Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 12 = Epiphany

Legend has it that 12 days after Jesus was born, the Wisemen arrived bringing gifts to the newborn king. There is no timeline in the Bible telling exactly when they arrived...we just know that they didn't visit him in the stable, as it is told that they visited Him in a house...whether this be 12 days after His birth or two years we don't know. Nor do we know how many came to worship him...the number three comes from the number of gifts noted as being presented to him...gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Years ago one of my fellow teachers told me that she never took down her Christmas decorations until after Epiphany...and that sounded like a plan to me, as doing the tradition of taking them down on New Year's Day...just wasn't the way I wanted to start a new year! So now...when the mood hits, I will begin putting things away till next Christmas. My goal always is to have them down by Valentine's Day!!! I have had a busy day and am tired tonight. I continued with my cleaning up efforts this morning. Carolyn stopped by with her daughter late afternoon. Carolyn wanted her to see my tree. It's always fun to see my friends' grown children. After lunch, I headed to church to work in the library with Donna. We straightened up the library and put away the Christmas books that we had on display. We worked and visited. It's always good to catch up with each other. My energy has dwindled. I think that I am heading to my recliner and watch some TV and out in a few stitches. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 11

It has been a fairly busy day...mainly doing things around the house...picking things up and straightening up. Just things that need to be done after a weekend of mainly stitching...unfortunately once in a while a little cleaning needs to be done. For the first time in a while, I cleared off the card table from craft projects and put the card table away...the family room got bigger! I did run an errand to the Credit Union this morning. othrr than that I stayed home until Inwwent to prayer meeting this evening, I haven't done much stitching today. I hope to sit and stitch for a while this evening. I got home later than usual from prayer meeting...lots to pray about tonight! I still have a load to get out of the dryer and get them put away...then I will be through for the day! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 10 = Sunday Favorite

12 Days of Christmas: Day 9

It has been another stay-at-home day. Cooking mainly kept me busy. I made a pot of soup that was more labor intense than most that I make...lots of chopping, slicing, and dicimg and it had a longer cook time than most that I make. I made ham barley soup...I just had a bowl for my supper...pretty tasty. I have already divided it up and have a container for the freezer chilling in the refrigerator. I continue to spend time stitching on several projects. I am making progress on all five that I am working on currently. Alternating between needlework pieces has been fun...I'm sure that soon I will decide to just work on one and get that one finished. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 8

It has been another fairly quiet day, though I did go out for groceries today. I continue to pick up the mess created by making ornaments and other crafty things that I did over the holidays...amazing how many spools of thread are spread throughout the house...or buttons or fabric scraps. I thought, yesterday, that I had all the spools of thread back in their storage places. But...no! I found a tub that I had put things in when I cleared off the sewing machine to hem bridesmaid dresses. Then just a few minutes ago I found another spool here next to my chair that I used to make my 2025 Christmas ornament. I'm sure there are others hiding around the house. But at least I know I have put quite a bit of the creative mess away. I have done a little more stitching and plan to end my day stitching. I'm still spending my stitching time divided up between 5 pieces...so each of my current works in progress have at least a little done on them since 2026 arrived. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 7 = New Year's Day 2026

It has been a pretty quiet New Year's Day. I stitched into the wee hours of today...last night...I started a sampler. There is a tradition in the stitching world of starting a sampler on New Year's Day, and, if you finish it by the end of the month, it will bring blessings for the year. This sampler is known as a blessing sampler. I'm not much on the "do something on New Year's Day and it will bring you luck," but I decided that it sounded like fun to stitch a blessing sampler. I have started a very small redwork sampler. I will share it with you when there is more to show! I haven't taken a picture of it yet. Joy arranged to come over this afternoon, as she had need of my serger to finish off some skirts that she has made. I am pleased to share that Joy has made great strides in her recovery from her concussion...she is ever so much improved. She told me today that PT is about to release her and that her speech therapist is going to release her, if all goes well, later in January. She still isn't totally headache free, but her joyful smiles are back and she is back to doing the crafty things that she loves. It was a good start to 2026 for me to get to visit with her. I made one of my favorite casseroles: Tortilla Pie, a Martha Stewart recipe. I had all the ingredients needed for it in the freezer, refrigerator, and pantry...so it was just a matter of thawing, grating, opening a can, layering, and popping it into the oven. I enjoyed a nice square of it for my supper and look forward to enjoying it as leftovers. I am going to stitch this evening. I am playing a game with five of my stitching projects. I have assigned a number to each of them and am using a random number picker app to choose a number for me and then I stitch on that project for at least one thread...it has been fun so far. When I finish blogging I will be putting in at one length of floss on my large redwork Bristol sampler. It has been more than a week since I have stitched on it so I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with it! To br continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! And, for the first and last time THIS year I will say "'Tis the season!" I guess it is time to go back to the real world after the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year season!