A Nurse's Day Off

Wednesday was a beautiful day in the city. While in Center City for an appointment I had to take advantage of the weather to visit the bookstore and stop at a needlepoint shop that I spotted on a previous visit. Haven't done needlepoint or cross stitch in a while but maybe visiting the store will encourage me. There's only so much time in a day and work, sleep, housework, reading, and gardening fill most of my days. Although most pictures of flower arrangements I took didn't come out a few did. It's looking and feeling like fall. 

Rittenhouse Square is having a craft fair this weekend. I haven't been in a few years. Maybe I'll come this weekend but Linvilla Orchards may win out. It wouldn't be fall without going to see the pumpkins, a hay ride, and apple cider doughnuts. Thinking about fishing and picking apples this year. 

Couldn't leave Barnes and Noble without some magazines and 2 books. I've started reading the books and love them both. One drew me because I  previously shared that I loss my mom in 2014 and since then have been doing some reading about the experiences of others who have loss their mothers and what life is like afterwards. I've read a couple of chapters and like the book although I'm not looking to discover and learn about my mother because I feel I knew who she was. I loved her and we had a good relationship. She was a beautiful and good mother, friend, supporter, and encourager. She loved her children. The chapter on "messages from beyond" mirrored some of my experiences since my loss. The Garden Interior may be my second best gardening memoir although I've only finished the first chapter, the writer's style makes me savor every word.  Yes I would recommend this book to other gardeners who enjoy reading about the gardening experiences and adventures of other lovers of God's gift of the earth and the beauty he created to spring forth from it.

What did I think of  Rittenhouse Needlepoint? Many years ago there was a needlepoint shop in this area. They sold beautiful canvases printed with the most unusual and exotic designs and quality threads and other accessories. One plus of the shop was discounted canvases. I saw nothing discounted at this shop. The tiniest canvases were big prices. No, I would not pay over $100's for a needlepoint. Maybe people who make that type of money do. Do you know how many plants I can buy with that? Okay, I saw nice designs but not like the other shop. Rittenhouse is a nice shop with 4 good reviews on line. It's appealing in appearance and pretty. The staff is friendly and doesn't hound you to buy anything. They even have classes. If you go, remember it's on the second floor above another shop. Will I go back????? I think I'll go on line and look at their full line of canvases and maybe if I see something I like, I'll go back but they're other shops that may have more variety and other choices that I'd like. The plus. It's wonderful to see this type of store still in business because many people don't know what needlepoint, cross stitch and this types of stitching is. Needlepoint goes back to ancient Egypt and is still often what I still see women do when I watch old movies of affluent Victorian women in their homes. I learned to needlepoint from a teacher in school. When I grew up, amazingly home economics, sewing, and cooking were still subjects taught in school.  She taught me the basket weave stitch but there are other stitches such as the continental. I prefer basket weave. As a child my mother did embroidery and embroidered pillow cases, doilies, and tablecloths and this may be why I still love these types of linens. I haven't learned many of those stitches and my mom is no longer here to teach me but there's still time to learn. I always tell my daughter, you can teach yourself anything. 

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera and don't fully know how to fully use my phone camera so I couldn't capture how pretty the flowers were.

After coffee at Barnes and Noble and meeting my daughter who was also in center City for an appointment, we had lunch at the CheeseCake Factory, stopped at Reading Terminal Market another favorite and finally made our way home. I didn't order the cheesecake because I have other plans at Linvilla Orchard's. I'll see you there.