Spring is in the air

This past week, I decided that my Person needed a small push into doing a bit of gardening. I spotted some daffodils that had been coming up about every other year right smack dab in the middle of our back yard. On alternate years, Mister would mow them down before they got going, so they didn’t show up. But with the mower being stolen at the end of last year’s growing season, and his being out of work, he hadn’t yet bought a new mower to deal with the greenery. Fortunately, Mister got himself re-employed, so I showed Person where the plants were. I just knew that we had to get them out of there since this is the very weekend Mister plans to purchase and test a new mower. I marked the spot – can you see me?

It only looks like a jungle, but it's really our unmowed back yard.

Could you get just a little closer, please?

Person then dug them up and we found a safer place in the front planting area where they are now happily ensconced. Once we finished with them, I noticed a pot of something that looked rather sad. Person affirmed that it was a pot of tulips left from last year that she had completely neglected after thinking them dead. However, they had little fresh buds coming up, despite being dry as tumbleweed, so she agreed to plant them as well. Then I spotted Grape Hyacinths in the back yard, all over the place just like the daffodils. She promosed to get them up soon and transplant them too, but I think I wore her out temporarily with the other plantings. As long as they are out by the time Mister gets a new mower, it will be OK.

Don't the flowers look pretty in their new (and much safer) home?

Person wasn’t as careful as she should have been when transplanting the daffodils, and broke one of the stems, so we brought it into the house where we can enjoy it.

And they look pretty in the house, too.

It’s very cheerful.

Where we have been

Two of us accompanied our Person to Arkansas and Janet Cordell’s carving retreat by way of Illinois and our Person’s mother’s home. Naturally I (Hitty Gracious) went along as I always do, and with me this time was Ida Ruth, who was most recently helped from the wood by our Person who wanted to be able to do this better than she has up till now without instruction.

The first stop was Grandmama Person’s house. We stayed there for a week where we hung out, slept, and had a bit of relaxation. Then it was on to Arkansas. Let me just mention here that driving from VA to IL to AR is a long trip. We slept through most of it. Finally, we arrived at the ultimate destination, Sky Vue Lodge where we stayed and ate our meals (great food).

Here we are just as we arrived in our tote at Sky Vue Cabin 3

The first night we met all the other carvers, mostly people whose names our Person had heard of on her HittyGirls list but had never met. Meeting them all was fun. We also had a swap where we received a lovely crazy quilt from Sue Thueson. We plan to hang it because our Person has declared that it’s just too too pretty to sleep under. I think she’s afraid we would ruin it.

What a work of art this is!

The next day, we went to the carving school down the road where Janet began the instruction.

The cabin where magic happens.

It is here where we wish to show a picture of our Person (photo by Billie Aye) and, more importantly, the actual wood in which our newest family member was trapped.

In our Person's left hand is the very block of wood from which she helped Lilly Emiline emerge

ASIDE: Naturally, our Person (clumsy thing that she is) attempted to slice off two of her own fingers on that same left hand in a not so graceful sequence of moves which she performed on the first day. We will not show the blood. Suffice it to say she learned her lesson and survived to tell the tale.

We got a bit bored with all the carving talk, so set out to explore the territory.

There were some great views from up here...

... and from down here.

Eventually, we located what appeared to be another little house, which we decided to check out up close. It was unoccupied, so we looked inside.

Wow - look up there. Lets check it out.

Swinging from the chandelier ...

Don't you just know, our Person made us come back down, claiming there was a Black Hole nearby, or something to that effect.

After that, she made us sit in this hollow tree and think about the potential consequences of our actions.

On Wednesday, our new family member was showing signs of life and came back to Sky Vue with us to spend the night.

Here we all are. Thankfully, the weather had turned warm, but our Person did provide us with a blanket.

Our week was flying by. Before we show you the family portrait, we wanted to share this extraordinary view of Janet sharpening a gouge. Check out the sparks.

All Hittys are cautious of fire and sharp impliments. This set our little wooden pegs on edge.

After five seemingly endless days of back and forth between Sky Vue and the cabin, hanging out in odd places, and trying oh so hard not to get into too much trouble, little Lilly Emiline finally came into being. FYI, Emiline is our Person’s grandmother’s name and is pronounced as “Emma Lynn.” She is on the small side, so I loaned her my dress, which was small enough for her, and I put on a different one. Our Person thoughtlessly neglected to provide our newest family member with suitable attire. That needs to be remedied quickly.

Doesn't she have the cutest little bare feet ever?? And so sweet and petite - we just love her.

Welcome to the family, Lilly Emiline.

Whirlwind of excitement

Sincere apologies for the recent lack of posts. Our Person finally got a full time job for which she has been training, and it means she is extremely busy when home and gone, and she cannot give me the computer time to create these posts as often as she used to. In any case, things have just been too busy for words. However, before getting the job at a law firm, she had pre-planned a little get-away. She will be going to her mother’s home in Illinois for a week followed by a week at Janet Cordell’s carving retreat.

We are all quite excited about the latter since we are pretty sure that means we are getting a new sister. Today, everything is topsy-turvy while she tries to get ready for the trip as well as finish up things that must be done before she goes. One of those things is a trade for when she attends the retreat. She says it’s half done now. Good. Then, she has a little charm quilt she’s making for a trade with one of the other HittyGirl members that she will take along to mail. The third thing is in regard to another bit of excitement here, which I’ll reveal shortly.

In an extremely important event, I wish to announce that we have a new member of the family. Our Person helped her out of the wood herself, and she arrived on Monday, March 2 in the midst of a snowstorm, something we rarely have in Virginia. Meet her now.

Ida Ruth - Her first official portrait.

Ida Ruth came out of a Paulownia wood blank by John & Hal, and she was welcomed with open arms by the family. This was only the second time our Person has helped a Hitty from the wood, and we want her to learn to do this better so that we can have lots more sisters. L’Orange, always curious, seems particularly fond of her. You can see she’s a bit unusual and instead of the blue eyes and black hair as the rest of us have, Ida Grace has dark brown hair and green eyes. We all like her, not only because she’s very nice but also because she’s so different from all of us.

Family welcoming Ida Ruth

Around the time Ida Ruth emerged from her prison within the wood blank, we received two lovely swaps. One is a little dolly that we let Ida Ruth hold so should would feel more welcomed.

Ida Ruth with Michelle's tiny crocheted dolly swap.

The dolly is so tiny – Michelle said she used two strands of embroidery floss to make her. Amazing. And you can see that L’Orange looks as if she’s simply going to eat her up – but she never would. She’s a good duck. Then, the darling cloak arrived from another friend, Linda K and again, attempting to welcome her, we let Ida Ruth wear it.

You can see that the cloak fit Ida Ruth perfectly.

We didn’t want her to go outside wearing it, however, since she might have completely disappeared in snow of the same color. The cloak is versatile – the hood is a separate piece with attached scarf. Quite handy for putting on in the cold or taking off for nicer weather.

Now for the other upcoming excitement here. We are going to be hosting a travelling Hitty!! We aren’t certain exactly when she will be here yet, but it won’t be long after we return from our trip (of course I get to go!). We are all rushing around, trying to prepare for her arrival.

Miss Hitty Geneva Grace Stratton, naturalist, photographer, author

Geneva Grace will be staying with us for a week or so, and we are extremely pleased to have been chosen as one of her stops along the way. So there is a flurry of excitement to yet anticipate.

So you can see that, between unusual snow storms, a new job for our Person, a new sister’s arrival from the wood, swaps coming in, swaps going out, and the departure of our person for two weeks, it’s been a busy time with more excitement to come.

We promise to report fully and faithfully about our trip to Janet Cordell’s in our next blog and on the new sister we anticipate.

HittyG for the Capital City Hittys

Valentine Adventures

This week, our Person announced that the Capital City Hittys had received our very first Valentine in the mail. It came from Erin, Dauphine, and the Weathertop Hittys. Since it was our very first Valentine, we didn’t quite know what that meant. She explained that it was a special heart-felt greeting sent for a special holday that was all about love and friendship called Valentine’s Day, which was Saturday. We took an informal poll and decided that, since Valentine’s Day was Saturday, we would wait till Saturday to open it, just like we waited to open our Christmas presents until Christmas morning. Our Person questioned that, but we said absolutely positively that we would wait.

This morning, she got up, excited to watch us with our Valentine envelope. She was suspicious when she noticed that a few of us seemed tired, leaning against a piece of furniture or on one of our friends. When she presented the envelope to the volunteers – Julie, De, and Fi – they pointed out that the envelope appeared to have been tampered with. Hmm. The rest of us remained surprisingly quiet.

Say, does this envelope appear to have been steamed open to you?

They dutifully continued with the unveiling, and suddenly, before us all, were the beautiful Valentines with personal inscriptions to us on the back. Oddly, our Person read one which was addressed to her and said something about her not liking pink!! She protested that idea quite vehemently, claiming that quite the opposite, pink is, in fact, a favorite color of hers, and she doesn’t know how Erin could have possibly gotten the idea that she didn’t like it. But red is OK with her too, and we all admired the wonderful cards. One even had a likeness of our ancestor on it! Erin, Hitty Dauphine, and the Weathertops, we thank you for making this a special day for us all.

Wow - these are great! We should make Valentines next year, don't you agree?

After the initial excitement, during which time our Person recorded the events with her camera, she came upon a few unauthorized photos, apparently taken during the night while she slept. We think the pictures tell the story fairly well.

My it's dark in here. Well, it's the middle of the night - what do you expect?

Hold that kettle steady, now. I've nearly got this piece loose.

I think we can work it open the rest of the way now. Be careful - you're ripping it.

Wow - these are great!! Look at this workmanship and the great picture. I think it looks like someone we know, don't you?

HEY!! Turn off the lights. We have to get these back in the envelope before anyone notices.

Ho hum. I’m SOOOO tired. Wonder why?

The Quilt Fairy

We were visited by the Quilt Fairy last week. She has been making the rounds of many HittyGirls members lately (don’t her wings ever tire?) and she dropped in to bring us a tiny baggie with 12 little quilt charms. For anyone who doesn’t know, a charm quilt is made up of little squares of different colored or printed fabrics. No two can be alike. Hey, that’s just like a Hitty – none of us are alike either!!

A wee giftie from the Quilt Fairy

Our Person volunteered to assemble this quilt for us. We Capital City Hittys love quilts, but our Person had never made us one before, so we were a bit skeptical. I think she was too. However, she completed it last night, and we are proud to present our lovely new Amish-like quilt: thank you Quilt Fairy and Person.

Ta - Dah!!

You can see by the little hairs on the quilt that there is an animal in residence – Wiki Wiki has already made herself at home on our quilt. Fortunately, she has never tried to eat us, and we are grateful beyond words.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress

My person belongs to HittyGirls and the latest excitement is that there will be a photo challenge related to the Traveling Dress. The dress will arrive, we will try it on, have our picture taken, and enter one of the pictures – just one – in the challenge. There will be a prize for the winner, but honestly, the best part is just getting to try on the dress. The dress, owned by the famous Hitty Lotzalove Sevashteen or just Sevashteen or even HLS (which to me sounds a lot like “Her Royal Majesty” for some bonafide reason) will make the rounds, and we get to try it on!! Ooh – a dress touched – nay, owned – by the famous Sevashteen? It sets our hearts a twitter and causes splinters down our spines. Here is the link with pictures of the dress. We knew you would want to see it – we keep looking and waiting our turn. It’s like being part of Cinderella, all of us waiting to try on the glass slipper and see if it fits.

Fabulous opportunity for a Hanna Kahl-Hyland Hitty

The picture is of Hitty Hanna, carved from Holly wood by Hanna Kahl-Hyland, doll carver extrordinaire!! We here at the Capital City Hittys love her to pieces (well, not literally). You can see that L’Orange really likes her. She has the most exquisite eyes, creamy complextion, and amazing details. She and Judy Bee have discovered they can trade clothes, too, and the two girls seem to have struck up a friendship. We can only hope that Judy Bee (who is a bit of a michief-maker) doesn’t rub off on Hanna as much as Hanna rubs off on her.

We are pleased to let our fellow Hitty lovers know of an upcoming opportunity to adopt one of Hanna Kahl-Hyland’s Hitty dolls. In a recent note from her, she told us about her latest Hitty creation and asked us to tell folks that she’s going to be listing one of her Hitty dolls on eBay in about a week, something she’s never done before. This doll will have a special outfit and come with some impressive accessories, though we won’t spoil it by saying more. Hanna is trying to keep her prices low and realistic. The Hitty should be listed next weekend (Feb 8 or so), so keep a watch for it. I know we will.

Hanna also passed along that she will accept names for a contact list. This list is simply to be notified of a doll, not an order list. Nothing would be firm. FYI, our Person was on her contact list for 2 1/2 years before Hitty Hanna came to live here.

We think our Hitty Hanna is eye candy.

I was PIFfed

PIF stands for Pay It Forward. I got the cutest little shawl and adorable tuffet on which to sit. Our friends, Valerie and Gabriella sent them. I think they felt sorry for me, hanging out in all those piles of fabric in just my undies. Actually, my person felt sorry for me too, and put my dress back on. Thankfully by the time the postman delievered my little gifties and Obama showed up, I was dressed again.

Your tuffet, madam.

I was lucky to have it in time to sit and watch the inaugural balls on TV. Nobody else had such a comfy spot to sit, nor were they as warm – except maybe for Hitty Rae who always wears a sweater in the winter.

Me on my tuffet, watching the Inaugural balls on TV.

We all watched, again and again

After the official swearing-in of our 44th President, we begged to watch it all over again through the magic of the Internet and courtesy of CNN.

The swearing in with Michelle by his side, holding the Lincoln Bible

At last the words we waited to hear, Congratulations, Mr. President!

And then we all shed a few happy tears as we shouted and applauded our new President.

Hooray, hooray!!! It's a glorious day of celebration. But tomorrow, the serious work begins.

Hooray for President Obama!!!

An unscheduled stop at the Capital City Hitty’s home had everyone on pins and needles. Some nearly fainted with the anticipation.

Move your head, please. Oh, he's so cute!! I think I feel woozy.

The official greeter was Larie

Welcome to our home, Mr. President. Er, thank you, but that isn't until tomorrow. But sir, for us, you are already the man!