Day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Welcome back everyone.

Just three days left in our 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop...it's crazy how fast time goes!

 I have a couple of special and talented ladies lined up for the next two days, then, I will make my post, sharing a tutorial and recipe...oh...and a little surprise too!  Now, did you really think I wouldn't have a little something special for my faithful followers??  But....shhhh....no more about that now!  My lips are sealed.

Did you have a chance to hop on over to Maria's blog yesterday?  She shared a cute pig ornament pattern and tutorial, as well as a yummy cookie recipe. As I was reading the ornament tutorial, I thought (as did one of my blog followers) what fun it would be to decorate an entire tree with farm related critters...sheep, goats, cows, pigs, horses..and of course chickens.  How cute would that be?

To find Maria's post, just scroll down to my Day 9 post for all the links.

Today we travel East to Maryland, where we catch up with my dear blogging buddy, Theresa of Dulaney Woods Treasures.  Theresa lives in a suburb of Baltimore, where everything is close but also far enough away to give the area a small town feel.  There is an aquarium, science center, B & O Train Museum and beaches, to name just a few of the fun places to visit in her area.  She is also close to Lancaster, PA...where there is great outlet shopping, fabric shopping and antiquing too.  That all sounds fun to me! 

To say Theresa is talented is an understatement!  This gal is extremely gifted in cross-stitch and needle-punch designs, sews prim creations and loves to travel to meet her stitching pals, attend shows and visit all kinds of scrumptious shops and such.  Many years ago we were paired in a Christmas swap, and we've swapped every year since.   I am the blessed recipient of  some wonderful pieces of her work...and I truly cherish them all!  We've also been able to meet on a few occasions for lunch, when she travels back to central NY, where much of her family is.  We've had a great time chatting away, and I had a chance to have Theresa, her son Silas and her sister, JoAnn out to our home earlier this year.

Theresa believes that there are so many things that are special about this time of year...none of which is more important than being with family. She enjoys a nightly stroll in the cold air, with the smell of wood smoke in the air; listening to Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole while baking cookies for friends and family; and the wrapping of gifts as the snow slowly falls outside.  

Theresa recalls that as a child, her parents would take them up to their camp lot (of 8 acres), where they would pick out their Christmas tree.  She and her sisters would wake up early Christmas morning, before her parents were up, and play Christmas carols.  Her older sister would play the piano, she would play the flute (hey, I played the flute when I was young too) and her little sister would sing. Oh, how wonderful that music must have sounded to her parents as they woke up - the sweet angels.  In later years, they enjoying wrapping up a tin of coal, which would be passed from one family member to another...wondering who was BAD this year! LOL

Theresa's must have Christmas treats include chocolate covered cherry cookies, cherry shortbread cookies and peppermint bark...and nothing beats a cup of hot chocolate after shoveling snow.  YUM!

Let's hurry on over to Theresa's blog now - The anticipation is killing me! LOL

To discover more of Theresa's wonderful work, you can visit her blog, her Facebook business page and Primitive Handmade Merchantile, where she offers her wonderful creations for sale each month.

I will see you tomorrow - be blessed!