More Progress on Spirit of Christmas Stitching

Went down to Strausburg, Virginia yesterday with my stitching friends.  We called ourselves the Stephen's City Hookers a few years ago.  We first got together hooking rugs.  We were really punch-ruggers, but Hookers sounded so much more dilettante.  Since our supply of rug wool from Paternayan has pretty much dried up (more on that in another post) we have just been stitching together for the last year.  We're good friends now - would call on each other in dire straights and you just can't beat that.

So anyway, they really enjoy the occasional road trip and have been hankering for one over the last few months.  So it was decided we'd go to Strasburg - which I always confuse with Staunton, goodness knows why.  One of the compadres had been to a restaurant there called CHRISTINA'S and said it was wonderful food.  I had a BLT on wheat with a cup of the soup of the day - Pumpkin with Roasted Red Peppers and I'm tellin' you, that soup was GOOD!  A BLT is a BLT is a BLT, but this one was large and yummy and went very well with that soup.  I was torn between the sandwich and the spinach - cheese quiche.  The lady behind me later ordered the quiche and it smelled divine!  One of my friends had the specialty salad that comes with candied pecans and cilantro dressing amongst other things.  She really loves that salad. 

Then of course, we had to have dessert.  On the table were red velvet cake, a chocolate brownie and I had the ginger cookies that were very gingery - almost on the edge of being too gingery.  But, I brought some home.

We exchanged some of our Christmas gifts.  I gave the girls thread winders from Gift of Stitching.  I ordered them all the way from Australia and think I got a fabulous deal.  The cost of duty and shipping are all included in the price of the tread winders for one thing.  For another, they are much bigger than I expected them to be.  I was thinking they'd be about the size of a 50 cent piece.  Nope, they're bigger than a silver dollar!  Well made too.  So, if you have been dithering on whether or not to get some, just know that I was satisfied and will continue to get them.

We also visited the Strasburg Emporium.  Found a nice selection of stitchy stuff in one of the booths.  Picked up some old issues of cross stitch magazines for $2 a piece.  If anyone's looking for an antique set of 3 sewing scissors, they have one there; in their own case; for $135.00.  They were pretty, but I didn't need them.  They also had some vintage buttons.  I saw in another booth a chair ticketed as a "French Wing Chair".  It had an unusual shape and beautiful carved wood on the wings, arm faces and legs.  It also had some unfortunate upholstery.  It was comfortable to sit in too.  The chair would be gorgeous reupholstered, but the price was too high to make that possible.

On the way back to our meeting place, we drove a two lane road instead of the highway.  Drove right under Signal Knob - made famous in the Civil War.  I decided I like the way that mountain looks.  Mountains, you may or may not know, do something for me.  Some people it's the sea, some people it's valley's or fall trees or ski slopes.  But, for me, it's mountains.  I just get this visceral emotion looking at some mountains.  There's a gap when you come from Frederick, Maryland toward Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.  It always does it to me.  Yesterday I had that feeling when I looked at Signal Knob.  Sometimes I wonder if it's something like a genetic memory - some of my ancestors passed that way in their migration south and west.  I don't know what it is, but the thought in my head yesterday was that I could look at that mountain for the rest of my life.

Had a meeting that kept me out last night until nine and fell into bed when I got home.  However, up at 4AM because I've been waking up too hot and can't get back to sleep.  This has got to stop.  Anyway, came downstairs and stitched while I finished watching Helen Mirren in The Queen.  Fabulous!  And, here's my progress on the Spirit of Christmas Stitching.  Hope you enjoyed.