Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Now Don't Get Me Wrong...

Now Jayne, don't get me wrong. I still love crows/blackbirds/ravens. And I am more than willing to have more of them - I just don't feel like stitching any more at this time. So, as soon as that bird feels like flying - you send him to the States and I'll treat him well.

And a question about my header picture - no, that is not my river - oh how lucky could I be. That picture was taken last 4th of July at Salt Fork State Park in Ohio. We rented a cabin and I got lucky with a great pic!

Just got back from PT - not a great session - when you go in without a limp and come out with one... well, you know.

Gotta go do something about the pain -
Denise

Something I Noticed...

My flock of birds must be complete. I have a blackbird piece that sits in the WIP pile and I have no desire to finish it. I just found Victorian Sampler came out with Button Up Birdies 6 and put it on the old wishlist. But, I only want it because I have the other five! And there are new crow pieces out on the internet that I have gone - "Ho-hum" to. Even the last bird on Northwind doesn't make me smile. So, no more stitching birds!

Wonder what my next obsession will be? Any ideas??

Monday, September 26, 2011

Northwind SAL Week 6!

Could someone please explain how we have been stitching this piece for 
six weeks? 
It seems like I started it yesterday! 
There is no way that many weeks have passed!

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I can stitch again not long but,
 I've got a needle in my hand. 
And this is all thanks to my sister who is soon to be an RN.
 Two more classes! 
I was having fits with all the bandages
 they had left on me. 
My hand was itching like mad and I couldn't handle another week in 
those same stinky old wraps. 
Keri to the rescue!
 I called and she came over as I unwrapped it - 
she saw what I had and went for new stuff. 
She came back and cleaned up the uck and 
gave me two band-aids.
 I now can make my index finger and thumb touch. 
Not serious amounts of stitching but progress!

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Onward to our progress for the week ~

Angela has found her wings and flew this week! More than half done - way to go!



My poor Rose - had another busy week and didn't get to stitch much. Her mojo has wondered off somewhere and hopefully, the cool weather will bring it back.



Now Shari, of the holy smokes it's fall, was busy also. She made bread, pie, caramel corn, and ice cream along with her normal meals this week. I say let's all go visit - don't forget your fork and spoon!



And that brings up my progress - get the magnifying glass! Look closely to the left side of the barn and see a bit more grass - that's all I got done folks.


This week I would like to finish up the snowflakes, finish the lettering, add the weather vane, finish up those barn doors, and work on some grass. The hand will tell me later if I made too big of a list.

I'm off to call the eye doctor and see if the boy made it to his appointment.
Denise

Friday, September 23, 2011

Observations...

After being out of commission for nearly a week, I have had a few observations.

1 - Television is a joke! If the shows aren't 'educational' then they are 'reality'. And if they aren't home improvement then they are 'news'. Talking heads aren't anything but annoying and there are way too many infomercials!

2 - Radio is not an improvement over television.

3 - Reading is great BUT you still become easily bored.

4 - Computer games, sudoku, and other 'games' to keep your mind from freezing up only work for so long.

5 - Stitching takes up a lot of my down time.

6 - You must watch sitting for too long as the scale starts creeping up on you.

7 - Being stuck at home and looking at the same four walls makes you twitchy.

8 - SAHMs are saints.

9 - Not being able to wash your hair correctly and styling (using that term loosely anyway) makes you feel less like yourself.

10 - Bandages stink after a few days and your skin starts itching like mad.

11 - Having never been in a cast (and thinking for years how cool it would be to have one) I now know it sucks.

12 - My life is very small.

13 - The world economy is in dire straights.

14 - When the highlight of your day is the mailman coming - you need to get out of the house.

15 - Making tacos for dinner and only eating with one hand does not make sense.

16 - Sweats are too easy to get used to and they do not let you know about what the scales are doing. But, you can go to the bathroom by yourself - and not feel like your 4 year nephew asking for someone to button your pants.

17 - Phone calls (even from telemarketers) excite you.

18 - I miss stitching more than I thought I would.

19 - You can not make pasta in a large pot without help.

20 - I have a short attention span!

21 - Getting old is hell.

22 - Retirement could be very boring.

23 - Tying your shoes is not easy with one hand.

24 - Being bored, having a debit card, and internet access can be dangerous (see number 14)

25 - Opening packages with one hand is still exciting.(also see number 14)

26 - Having friends is a blessing.

I did get one totally unexpected package this week. His name is Sam and he's come to show all my other crows how to fly!


Thank you Mary Jane!!

Well kids, that's a wrap from my spot on the love seat for this week!
Denise

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Day After...and SAL Update

Some have told they played hockey the same night as their surgery ( my doctor) and several others were good to go the next day. Not me - Just getting letters capitalized is an accomplishment. Haven't tried the shower yet - be glad this isn't smell-o-vision.

Here's how the doctor left me for the next 10 days. No stitching going to happen as my thumb and index finger do not touch.



I'm going to just caption these and call it good. Sorry - no clever comments today.

Angela's

Mine

Rose's

Shari's
I'm going to try to stitch using my right hand but think I'd be better off reading some of my new books being delivered this week!

Hope today finds you happy and healthy!
Denise

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Just for the Record

I mentioned earlier that I planned to cook most of the day and do other chores. And I thought I would put out another post to let you know how successful I was today.

Ham Loaf - done
Spaghetti and Meatballs - done
taco meat made - done
hamburger and sausage for pizza - done
beef roast - done
coffee cake (not on original list) - done

Did not make either chicken dish - thought this was enough. Thank goodness I have an extra freezer.

Other chores -

Groceries - done by Rob
laundry - done
dishes - done by Rob and I
sweeping - done by Logan

And Rob made dinner for tonight - city chicken - macaroni and cheese. Plus, Logan got his laundry done too.

Would you like to see the coffee cake - this one came out much better than the last one - a big thanks to Edgar for posting this cake a few weeks ago.


Almost time for bed - short night tonight.
Denise

Bad Game Last Night and Random Things

And we had our tushes handed to us by the Canes! Somebody should have told the boys - "Men, we can not win a football game only hitting field goals. We need to catch some of these passes!" I gave up in the 3rd quarter - I knew how it was going to end. Some fan I am! lol

What to talk about...um, stitching. What has happened this week? Got the barn mostly finished on Northwind and putzed around with a LHN ornament.

Family...had Courtney's cake and ice cream yesterday. My sister and the kids were coughing and hacking - so they were kind enough to not come over. What we all need more coughing and hacking. Hmm, promised her some cake -- haven't done that and Courtney was supposed to take the rest to her house and she forgot. Eat the left overs or pass them on? Something to ponder today.

Work...don't work for several more weeks and am loving it! For the first time in ages I can say with complete honesty - I LOVE MY JOB! No sarcasm at all. (hehehe)

Home...Rob is off that crazy schedule and is back to being at home for a few more days. Logan is digging a ditch for a groundhog. Oh yeah, I've got to tell you about this story!

I live across the street from my parent's house. My kids and now my sister's kids all use the same bus stop we did. How very random and strange (small towns kill me). Anyway, Logan doesn't ride the school bus anymore. The driver, Tom, asked my sister what Logan was doing. When she said not much Tom asked her to have Logan call him. (real small town). Let me explain something else - Tom was MY bus driver from 1980 or so on. Sorry, off track again, so Logan called Tom. Tom needed a ditch dug around his shed. Seems the groundhogs are getting into the shed and around his motorcycle. So, he enlists Logan to dig the ditch which will then have metal and wood (not sure of the exact plans here) placed in the ditch to discourage the groundhogs from digging into the shed.

Now, I was thinking live traps, shotgun, poison or putting down concrete flooring. But a ditch? Seems Tom tried the live traps and there are several more groundhogs hanging around. You can't shoot anything in corporation limits. And the poison...don't think he tried that. Apparently, the digging of the ditch is cheaper than concrete. Needless to say, this has been an interesting week on the Logan front.

Today is GROCERY DAY. One piece of advice I've heard "never go into a grocery store hungry - you buy more." Well, let me expand on that - never make out the grocery list when hungry either. Yesterday morning before breakfast I decided to do the dreaded grocery list. Meal plans for next week - pork chops, spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, beef and noodles, italian baked chicken, red pepper chicken, ham loaf, and homemade pizza! Count that - 8 meals and 7 days!

And I want to pre-cook as much as possible today. You know - make the taco meat, make the spaghetti sauce, do the roast, grind the ham, cook the meats for the pizza. That way next week - pull it out of the fridge half made - toss in some other stuff and voila a meal!

Should I post again tonight and let you know how much I actually do? Because not only do I want to do this - I have laundry, house cleaning, and dishes on my plate too!

And why can I do all this when my back is killing me?? Because the doctor told me "You do not have enough arthritis, spinal degeneration, or any pinched spinal nerves to make you hurt the way so say you do. It must be a chemical thing causing the pain" In other words - my back pain is ALL in my head!!! Can you say a bunch of bad words with me?

But, tomorrow at 8:30am I will be at the hospital getting ready for the carpal tunnel surgery. Could you all say a little prayer asking for a quick surgery, steady hands (mine and the doc's), and little pain?? Hence all the cooking today!

Alright the men in my life have FINALLY risen and are looking at me funny. Like they think I might make them breakfast - everybody laugh with me hahahahahha!
Denise

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Amazon.com has fabric????

Did anyone else know this? I was just on Amazon and happened to scroll to the bottom of their home page and saw fabric as a division of Amazon. I clicked the link and went to Fabric.com. They have Moda! And clearance pieces of fabric for $1.95!

Guess I learn something every day!

Is it too early for Christmas ornies?

I seem to have my seasons mixed up. In August I stitched fall - Sept rolls around and I'm stitching Christmas stuff.

Maybe this being off work is screwing up my timing. I know I'm sleeping better - so maybe I'm getting out of whack from that.

Oh, would you like to see them? They aren't finished because I have yet to figure out how I want to do them. Sigh...it'll come to me sometime after Christmas. 

Fresh Fallen Snow
Little House Needleworks
JCS Christmas issue
Recommended floss and a scrap of fabric

Frosty Flakes
Little House Needleworks
My colors and a scrap of fabric
I changed out the Avocado to Ruby Slippers. Simply because I didn't have any Avocado. I like my change. Sort of brightens the piece up.

That funky mood has come back today - not as bad - but the mojo has hung around this time. Oh - you should see what I got done on Northwind.

Nothing much to report - so all is well.
Later - boys and girls - Denise

Monday, September 12, 2011

Northwind SAL Week 4!

I knew it! Publish one post and a second is soon to follow! lolol

The ladies have been busy this week. Would you like to see what they been doing??

Angela has been hard at work. I had to smile -- if you read what she has stitched - The dot shall have snow. Dot? lol It reminded me of a pic Shari sent a few weeks ago. She had been stitching the word poor and hadn't gotten the leg in yet and it said poop.


Rose has had a busy week and doesn't feel she got much done. The way I figure it - each stitch done is progress. And she's keeping up with the snow flakes. You'll see in a minute I haven't done as well.


Shari has had those needles smoking again! She's down to the solid stitching. All the verse is fini! She likes stitching words. Can you tell?
                                                


And now mine. I ran out of lettering floss (not really but it wasn't sitting beside me when I ran out) and decided to hit the barn. The roof is on but those snow flakes need help. 

That barn really didn't take all that long to do. Maybe by next week it'll have walls! 

I'm off to put dinner away and watch some tv - take care and enjoy your evening!
Denise

Viewer Questions

It's Monday and things are moving a bit slow. Will post Northwind SAL progress a bit later. So I thought I would answer some questions you've asked. And since I am notorious for not responding to those questions you leave in the comments - I thought today would make a great time to do so.

First - I won a give away a few weeks ago and recently got my goodies! Susan at Afford Your Passions was so very kind as to share a wonderful magazine


Oh - to have a house on the beach...someday!

Paula asked about the big cookie. Yes, it was the size of a pizza pan and it was chocolate chip. And by now - mostly gone. Yummy!

The MRI results will be revealed Thursday morning. I'll let you know how that goes. ha...

The surgery for carpal tunnel is on my left hand --- many asked if I am left handed. In a word - YES! This should be interesting. I told myself I would practice being right handed. I'm a week away from surgery and have not yet even tried to do anything right handed!

I appreciate the many hugs you've all sent my way! Not nervous yet...too much to do! Now, Sunday night -- there will be no sleeping!

Oh, Jayne, don't watch that mailbox too closely - it might explode! Tractor boy might get frisky! I'll let you know if I need your help. Knowing I can count on you makes my day!

Ok, boys and girls, time to check the old inbox and see if any pictures arrived!
Denise

Saturday, September 10, 2011

3:08 left in the game

and Toledo just took the ball away from Ohio State. It's been a see-saw today and tough game for OSU. Although, I must admit to cheering for Toledo a couple of times.

Had my MRI this morning. It was cancelled for Wednesday - rescheduled for Friday - cancelled for Friday and scheduled for this morning. Finally- the machine is working. Did have a small scare - the MRI thing (about half way thru) started making a weird honking noise. I thought for sure I would be stuck in this tube like a sausage in casing for the rest of my life.

Super busy next week - PT three times, taking DD to her dental appointment, and my back surgeon appointment. Not one day off. Sigh - soon some of it will stop!

Nothing much else happening here at home - DS took his ACT this morning and is having friends over tonight.   Pizza, chips, soda, and a big cookie. Should be enough for 3 boys. Sorry - young men. (hiding behind my hand laughing at that thought - still boys to me). Logan just came upstairs and told me he rearranged an old toy above the heat duct to look down on them - really?

Stitching has been hit or miss - mostly just Northwind. Made some good progress there but elsewhere...

Toledo is almost in the red zone and called a timeout. Time to watch the remaining 65 seconds.
Denise

Monday, September 5, 2011

Northwind SAL Week 3!

Ok - no posts in a week and two today. 
Something froze over! 
(well, the temps did fall by nearly 30 degrees since Saturday!)

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I think I am going to show our results this week by alphabetical order. Seems I have already been doing that anyway. 

That means Ms Angela is up first!
She thought her progress wasn't much - but I'm rather impressed! And look how fast she is catching up. Give her some cool weather and a chair on the porch --- look out. She'll be framing this baby before we know it.


Next up is Rose ~
(btw - I happened to catch E!'s ninetieth showing of Titanic today. Rose made it to a life boat! And Titanic sank like a rock. Wouldn't you think after that ship sank time after time the people would throw all the wooden stuff overboard and make a floating platform for those unable to get a lifeboat???) Sorry - got off track there! 
Anyway - Rose got a great start to her lettering! And she is ready to fly along next week! 


Shari, Shari, bo-berry is up next ~  
Now you want to see a machine stitch - check this out! She has hit the bottom of the lettering. Holy Smokes - She has a few lines on top and she'll be putting the verse to rest! 


And now --- me. I've managed to get 2 of the 3 birds in (like that's a shock) and the top half is fini! Thinking this next week will find me finished with the verse too. And then the BARN and GRASS. Almost solid stitching for the bottom quarter of this baby. Screech! Those are the brakes being applied and the wheels coming off. 


Ok kids - since I've managed to post twice this week (umm, today) I'm off to create havoc somewhere!
Denise

Nothing much to say...

I haven't been around much lately. Feeling a bit blue I guess. My mojo has weakened. My baby turned 18 and DD is soon to be 21. (And don't think I haven't realized that is a major source of my blahs) Being home 24/7 is great but has it's pitfalls too. PT...it works and has its place but I'm looking forward to the 6 weeks being OVER!

On the stitching front - Northwind. And that's all. I was working on another blackbird piece and decided I wasn't loving the floss. So, I sat it to the side.

I've read a few blogs and find myself not commenting (sorry everyone - I know we all like comments). Mostly though, I just scroll through and look at the pictures. If one strikes me - then I open the post. It's not right and I hate this attitude I've found myself carrying around.

Basically, the reason I am posting this is to say "Yes, I'm alive and well." For a bit...surgery on my left hand is 2 weeks from today. I think that may be starting to grind in the back of my mind too.

Hopefully, I'll post our SAL results for the week. Waiting on some pics.
Hope your holiday is more cheerful than I am!
Denise