Hi everyone,
Just a sad note for me… our Joann Fabric’s is one of the stores slated to close. It was in our local news today. They tried their best to stay open and I have to admit I was a VERY good customer of theirs… in the last few years especially. I will miss them, but my hubby was helping me think of things I needed to get before they go completely out. I am definitely going to get another pair or two of those scissors I bought yesterday. They are heavy duty and cut through my leather like it’s nothing. I also bought SO many snaps from them… I might need to check those out! The nearest Joann’s to me will be at least an hour away… I guess there is always online shopping… (which I already said I don’t use very often because I’m a touchy feely fabric kind of person!) I’ll get by… hey, maybe I won’t be getting rid of as much fabric as I thought I would! :o)
Something else to share… Last year, after my sister, Deb’s Amaryllis had bloomed, her husband planted it in a pot… It’s been in their house and Mike has been feeding it “compost tea” each day. She sent this picture a few days ago…
Deb said it was like that episode of Gilligan’s Island where everything grew really large because of nuclear seeds… She said it was crazy to watch and they were even laughing at it. Here it was yesterday..
Mike measured and it was 28.5″ tall from the pot to the top of it.
Today it decided to bloom…
Deb said it might be the world’s tallest Amaryllis! :o) Mike has a green thumb like nobody else I know!!! Seriously!
That was the perfect introduction to the next subject…
A fun tag-along with Linda as she visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens right in her hometown… St. Louis! Let’s see what she had to say about her visit this time.
Hi Jeanne,
Last week when we went to the Orchid Show. It was a beautiful change from the weather we were and are having and smelled SO good! Of course, it was inside!
Here are a few pictures…
Love to you,
Linda💞
Wow! They are all so pretty, I can’t pick my favorite, but I bet those violet colored ones were beautiful in person!
Thanks so much Linda!
See everyone tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, Jeanne, JoAnn’s is closing a LOT of stores nationwide, including the three that are closest to me (Lynnwood, Everett, and Shoreline). You can find the article and the complete list here: https://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/joann-fabrics-store-closing-list-2025/507-dabec3ce-f13b-4472-9309-136e314c2df4 King5 is one of our local Seattle TV stations, by the way.
Wow, that is one Ginormous amaryllis!! I’ve never seen such a big one–tall, but also the flowers are huge! Sadly, I have the proverbial brown thumb and can manage to kill just about any plant that comes into my house! I will stick to sewing, and leave the horticulture to those who are talented in that direction!
Oh, my, what gorgeous orchids! Orchids and lilacs are my two most favorite flowers (and I had both at our wedding!). I love the purple/white/yellow ones (second picture) and the white/dark purple ones (sixth picture) but my favorites are those fabulous cattleya orchids (8th picture). The yellow ones in the last picture are beautiful, too. Thanks, Linda, for sharing!!
Thanks for the list of JoAnn’s closings. Sadly I’m losing the one nearest me and another one that is closing that could work for me because we go by it on the way home from church some Sundays is closing too and it’s fairly new. There is one I can go to if I wanted to but it is miles away from me and a pain to get to because it is in a huge shopping center. It’s an open-air mall where the bridal store is where Dionne and Stephanie got their wedding gowns so I’ve been there a few times and always get lost trying to find my way around and traffic there is horrendous.
Oh, Jeanne, of all the people to lose their JoAnn’s, you had to be one of those! I’m so sorry to hear that, and to others on the blog who might be losing theirs too, I am so sorry to hear. Thankfully, my JoAnn’s is still there, and while I don’t really shop there much, it is comforting to know that if I need any kind of sewing notion, it is close by. However, our Macy’s is closing at our local mall, so that is kind of upsetting, since it has been there forever, and I shopped there quite frequently. Such are the times we live in!
Wow, that Amaryllis is a stunner! What a beautiful sight on these dreary winter days it must give to Deb and Mike! After mine bloomed last winter, I planted it and it grew all kinds of leaves. Then as they say, you don’t water it for a time, and wait for awhile, then you take it out of the pot and it will grow again with the stalk of flowers. Well, when I did that, it had all kinds of roots and soil at the bottom, and I had no idea what to do with them, so I just threw it away! I still don’t know what I should have done.
Thank you for the compliments, Charlotte! I really enjoyed the orchids and look forward to it every year at this time. It’s a beautiful way to spend a morning or afternoon!
And thank you to Jeanne for showing them!
Wow! The bionic amaryllis! It is a happy plant this winter and a joy to behold.
Those orchids are just beautiful Linda. Great to be in a toasty hothouse during this cold winter. We were fortunate to visit the gardens at the Biltmore many times when we lived in Knoxville. The orchids were a permanent exhibit but most of our visits fell in the warmer months. I can only imagine what they would look like in an outdoor setting. Hawaii? I can’t pick a favorite they are all lovely. I like the look of the white ones in the hanging pot. Thank you for sharing on this cold, rainy day.
Thank you, Debbie! Going to this orchid show is like a visit to fairyland, so needed in this wintry weather most of us are having.
We too, visited the Biltmore gardens several years ago, and they were perfectly stunning, although I don’t recall the orchids there. We were there when the azaleas were in bloom, pretty spectacular!
The Amaryllis is the largest I have every seen! So last year when it bloomed it was a normal sized plant? This is really incredible!
Here is a list I found of all of the stores closing https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67817680c8de2134544a40b6/67acb1fd7e85b6e6bb57cfe4_Store%20Closure%20List.pdf. It appears that our store in Sterling Virginia is not on the list. I would drive down there, but the area is pretty congested with traffic. I had hoped to get some new heavy duty felt for the design wall in the sewing room in my new house. I have HD felt already but I have to see how that looks after I remove it from my walls. It might be old dusty and really only good for crafting …. white felt… a million snow men, or something. I know many that just staple gun patting on their walls but I like something a bit more durable, also I usually make some lines on the wall with a large ruler and light blue pencil.
I should venture out there and get the felt before there is no more quality HD felt in the world. I think I wanted 4 yards….
I am not completely familiar with Orchids, but they are exceptionally delicate and lovely. Thank you for taking such lovely pics of these Wow.
I love the Newberry Majesty Mendenhall…? the hot pink poppy looking ones. All of these are cuties
Today my goal is to pack two boxes of china cabinet. I packed one yesterday and I did a superb job. My new house will be packed to the rafters but I will try to find new homes after we get in there. Right now I am not in the right place to purge and move. I have donated quite a lot though.
Love to all. Stay cozy and warm.
Thank you, Rosemary! Yes, those hot pink poppy looking ones are beautiful in real life! Actually, all of them are!
Thank you Rosemary! Yes, I agree, the orchid you mentioned is really spectacular in real life, as all the others are when you see them close up! For someone who is not completely familiar with orchids, you certainly do k own their names! Did you ever have that one?
It really is sad that Joann’s is closing almost all of it’s stores including the one here and the one in our nearest town. In fact, up the north coast in Eureka, their store is also closing as well as those in the north Sacramento valley. I really feel sorry for those up there because it is at least four hours or more away for them to get to any other shopping. Joann’s, as everyone knows, wasn’t just for sewing, but for crafts, cake decorating, floral, storage, and so much more. It will be greatly missed here.
We had over an inch of rain last night and more expected today as well. Lots of flooded roads too. It was delightful though to see the giant amaryllis. Good job, Deb’s husband. And Linda’s lovely orchid photos are so uplifting. Absolutely gorgeous specimens. The last of three orchids my mother had outside, is not looking very well. Figures, as I have never been able to keep one going.
Very disappointed with our current school board in the school closure decisions. Three members quit when it was discovered that the shortage of money was on their watch. The non elected appointed new members have conflict of interest with their own children’s schools and have voted to keep those schools open. Very unfair and probably illegal. Everyone in the community is trying to come up with ideas to prevent school closures here, but the board of trustees are not helping by smirking and rolling their eyes as speakers plead their cases. So unprofessional.
And on to a rainy day here with winds and flash flooding. We’ll be out trying to clean up I’m sure.
Joy, thank you for the compliments! I thought it would be good to snare these pictures with the sofa sisters, since many of us have cold, snow and ice outside. There is no way we could ever plant orchids outside here, so this is the next best thing!
Hope you don’t get too much rain!
Linda’s pictures are amazing! What a beautiful venue to visit, especially in the middle of winter. Your pictures are always such a treat. Thanks for sharing your adventures. I’ve been to orchid shows in Santa Barbara, San Diego, Japan and Thailand and this one takes the cake!
The Amaryllis is truly amazing. I’m going to fertilize mine more than is recommended like Deb’s husband did and hope it’ll just survive, let alone do something like this beautiful performer! Good job!
Thanks for the information about Joann’s. I live equidistance between two Joann’s that are closing, about five miles in either direction. The one that was even closer closed in 2023, right after the worst of Covid was over. Sad 😔.
It seems I wrote a comment yesterday that never got sent. It was still there waiting for me this morning so I’m posting it here so Sissy will know I totally appreciated her lovely hankie outfits.
I had to make sure my Ellowyne was otherwise occupied before I checked out the beautiful hankie dresses Sissy created. My Ellowyne is a recent family member but I have not sewn anything for her yet, even though I have several wonderful patterns for her. I’m sure if she sees all these beautiful outfits Sissy made, she’ll want me to do the same and I know I’d be all thumbs making hankie dresses. And I don’t think I have the imagination to take a hankie and create something wonderful like these dresses. But it does make me want to pull out one of the patterns for Elllowyne and make her something pretty. I love all the hankie outfits but the first and second are my favorites and also the outfit with the pants. You could call the pants outfit “Diaphanous Duo”.
I’m blown away by the wonderful Amarylis. Really a sight to behold. Good job Mike.
And Linda I always love when you and Jeanne share your visits to the Botanical Gardens. I love orchids. They are so amazing and exotic. Wish I could have seen these in person.
Well today is going to be a fun day. They guys rented a machine for chipping out concrete and I’m going to have to listen to it all day. We have three small slabs that need to be gone and two of them are close to the back of the house which is the proximity of my study and sewing room so there is no way for me to escape the noise. Ugh!
Weather roller coaster here – again. Last night it was in the 30s and today the high is in the 50s. Valentine’s Day will be colder, Saturday will be in the high 70s and starting Sunday we will be back to winter again for a few days. I’m not fond of the hot summer days but at least they are consistent.
Thank you, Barbara! It is a pleasure to be able to share the pictures of the Orchid Show, and we look forward to going every year. Each year outdoes the years before. There is no way I would be able to see orchids like these if it wasn’t for this show!
Maybe ear plugs would help you today!
Sorry about that, Jeanne. The JoAnn’s we always went to is closing as well. It was a half hour drive, so not close. The one a little farther away, but still doable is closing also. Also the one I went to as a teen and the one nearest to where my grandparent’s lived. We lost our personal JoAnn’s decades ago which was still on the other end of town.
Wow, that is an amazing Amaryllis. How nice it’s still blooming for Valentine’s day tomorrow.
Beautiful photos. Linda! Those orchids are gorgeous. I love the first photo ones, the ones in the eighth photo, and the yellow in the last. We used to go to The Conservatory to see the orchid show as well as the butterfly exhibit. Haven’t been since before 2020 now. Thank you for sharing the wonderful photos.
You’re welcome, Laura! I cannot pick out what I like the best of these, and these wear not the only orchids they had, by any means. I just love them all, I guess!
We also have a butterfly house that is in a separate place, but a part of the Mo. Botanical Gardens. Right now they have all blue butterflies showcased, and I bet it is beautiful!
Linda I just loved the orchids. I lived in Singapore for 2 1/2 yrs (71-74) and we stopped for two nights there when Sam and I with Asher went to UK in 2019. There are orchids everywhere.
Sissy I loved your photos yesterday You are so talented. Ellowynne is a beautiful doll.
I didn’t get to go to Joann’s when I visited my brother. I don’t think craft stores were his thing lol. It is very sad that they are all closing. We have two big stores that I think are similar here, Spotlight and Lincraft, both Australian owned. I’d be lost without Spotlight! They just opened a second store (well, more than a year ago now) about ten minutes away which is great. In distance it is probably the same as the one in the central city but much easier to get to from here.
Joy, I think you said you were interested in ‘A living will’ that I mentioned. I asked my friend and she sent me a copy which I forwarded to Jeanne. If you get my e mail from her I will forward it to you as well.
Summer has been MIA here!!! It isn’t cold but very inconsistent, Joy! I hope my second summer in UK is a bit better but I won’t hold my breath. When we were there in 2019 it was so cold Sam had to buy a coat, she wore it more in the 6 weeks she was there than she has in the 6 years since!
Have a great day everyone
Hi Anne,
I was going to share the link to your will document tomorrow…
”My” Joann’s is not on the list. I hope that means it will stay open for a while longer.
It is close to Mid Rivers Mall—-
just off I-270 W. I need to go there, just to check out patterns, ect.
I really enjoyed the conversations about fabric collections. We moved to our present house three years ago. I had to donate a lot of my fabric and sewing supplies to a place that had girls that were learning to sew, and didn’t have the money to buy their own things. I didn’t mind that, but it was really hard to put my prized things into the “donate bag.” I did manage to save some, tho. But in the move, the cords to my sewing machine disappeared. I still need to get more power cords.
My computer has been on the fritz, so could not send any things (letters) off. I am going to get things straightened out soon, tho. —-with the help of computer savvy friends and family, I am getting things back to normal. I really enjoy seeing Jeanne’s projects and the discussions about whatever is happening.
I am also a doll collector—-I have a lot of Kish, Tonner , and Pluscok Dolls. I used to make a lot of doll clothes for them , but I have been out of service lately .
I hope this letter goes through the
email ,mail system.
Hello to all. I really enjoy reading your letters.