Monday, July 25, 2011

Here today...gone tomorrow...

Hi there blogging buddies!

If you wondered where I've been, my brain is back in Virginia, sitting near this tree, looking out at this view...vegetating...in my dreams...wishing I were back there in the cool mountain air!! LOL

I know it's been ages since I've posted in any yahoo groups, since I posted much about stitching, since I've done any stitching at all. This summer is going by waaaaaaay too fast, and is still promising to be even busier. My friends that live nearby are probably wondering where in the world I've been, and the answer would be....traveling to and from medical appointments and spending time with doctors, dentists, and physical therapists. *sigh* I'm sure you're as tired of hearing about it as I am doing it, but I'm nearly there. I had a very good experience today when I switched Gastroenterologists and had an appointment with one today who was kind, compassionate, explained in detail all that the recent tests were showing, and what my Dad had experienced and why I shouldn't be worried. They still can't understand why I'm anemic, but because they can't find anything drastically wrong, I can relax and just treat the symptoms for now. I'm cool with that! He also explained why I'm feeling exhausted and again, it's nothing to worry about, this too shall pass! How do you spell relief? I spell it D-R-H-E-R-L-O-N-G!! I learned today that he is a teaching Dr at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and that I was lucky indeed to get an appointment with him. That was two appointments today, three to go this week!

Did I happen to mention it's HOT here? I remember a line in a movie..."It's hot....like Africa hot!" With temperatures being broken as the highest temperatures here in Maryland since they began recording temperatures!! The hottest day so far has been 108 F and with the humidity it feels like 123 F. For those of you who use metric...THAT'S HOT!! That means it was 42 C but felt like 50 C!!! I'm so thankful for air conditioning!

Ok, now for fun stuff! STITCHING!! And for the past couple of days, I've been doing a lot of it!! FINALLY!! I've wanted desperately to get back into it but just haven't had time. Anyway...on with the show!

I finally caught up on several SAL's I've been working on.

Sampler Romantique from http://magicaspuntadas.blogspot.com/ parts 9 and 14! According to the designer we are now half way through the project. I've seen some really lovely interpretations using other colors and fabric, so mine seems pale in comparison, but I do love the way it's coming out!



Owl sampler from Oakhaven designs yahoo group...I love the little July owl...so patriotic!



Star Sampler from http://periphaeria.com/tales/ is coming along nicely too...this has been a quick stitch which I've enjoyed!


The Tree of Stitches going on at The Stitch Specialists yahoo group has been a fun one also. I love learning the new stitches, and we are nearing the end now, there are just two forest creatures left to stitch!



Friendly Stitchers yahoo group is also offering a SAL with unique stitches that have been fun to learn also. I've just been doing the stitches, but others have been adding the name of the stitches below them...and now I wish I had done that too. I have been thinking I might restart this in the future and do just that...I'll have to think how I would like to present this one...but here is my attempt at the new stitches.


I started a new SAL a little while ago...I know, call me crazy, but this one intrigued me, and since I've seen others choose different color thread and fabric, I thought I would give it a try. This SAL is called Guimauve et Violette and can be found on this website http://talonsaiguilles.over-blog.fr/ I've switched up the colors and this is not a good picture, but I thought I'd show you how mine is shaping up....again...I'm not sure about the colors.


I did some stitching on my UFO last week, and hope with all my might, that I can keep stitching on it once a week (the next couple of weeks are going to be insane, so I hope I can keep it up!!) It would be awesome to finish this up before the year is out...it's been a challenging piece!



When I finally finished catching up on all my SAL's I started stitching on one of my crazy January challenge pieces. I have only three left, Cirque des Carreaux, pictured below, Tree of Stitches and Sampler Romantique, both pictured above. Since the other two are SAL's I'm at the mercy of the designers, but the Tree of Stitches should be done soon. That will leave two, so I'm feeling hopeful that I'll be able to finish before the year is out. Whew!! I can't wait, because there are quite a few other pieces I'm dying to start....


I also stitched on a biscornu, which I'm also dying to post pictures here because I think it turned out neat...I'll have to wait until I hear from my partner to see if she's received it before I post the picture.

And that, as they say, is that! The next couple of weeks appear to be eaten alive with things going on, so if you don't hear from me for a while, don't panic, I'll be back before long! Thanks for stopping in, and if you have stopped by, please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!

*Hugs*

Friday, July 15, 2011

My surprise...


Hi folks! I guess you've been wondering where I've been...well the name above says it all. I have to say, my hubby really outdid himself! I mentioned in my last post that DH was planning a surprise. BOY did he!! Surprise me, that is!

First off though, I have to start with our little trip in the spring. We decided one night that we would take a long weekend and visit Virginia and Monticello and a few other places. Well we decided too late to get in on some of the better tours of Monticello and so I lamented on the way home that I would have liked to see the behind the scenes tour. The very next week, DH made plans and made reservations, and planned this surprise back in April! You have to know my husband, he's terrible at keeping surprises, but he did indeed keep this one until we left last week.

What gave him the idea is a picture that was in our hotel room in Charlottesville. There was a picture of a waterfall (he knows I LOVE waterfalls) and he asked where it was. He googled it when he got home and found it was near Steele's Tavern, Virginia. It was called Crabtree Falls. He then googled bed and breakfasts near that area and came up with the Osceola Mill. I HAVE to rave about this place! Not only were the rooms lovely, the setting peaceful and quiet, but the owner made things just lovely for us! We had the place to ourselves for the first three nights, and we were treated like royalty. The food was AMAZING, and we enjoyed our stay so much we've decided we'll go back if we ever get the chance. (And we HAVE to, because again, I didn't get to see everything there that I wanted to.)


Did I mention the breakfasts were amazing? They even put rose petals on our plates the first morning!

Did I mention we had a hummingbird visit each morning while we ate breakfast?

So...what did we do? Well we made a mad dash back to Monticello for the behind the scenes tour (we got to see the dome room, and a few other rooms that you don't see on the regular tour). I'm only posting this one picture, as this was the only room we could take pictures of.

We hiked part way up crabtree falls. Just to let you know, this is professed to be the longest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi. I believe it, it's a 2 mile hike to the top. I want to go back when I have more stamina and really make it to the top. I was only able to make it partway up before I ran out of water and energy. Here are a few pictures of it on the way up, not to mention the hike we had to take...it's called a "moderate" hike.



The butterflies we saw along the way were all amazing!!!


We visited Woodrow Wilson's birthplace in Staunton, Virginia. No pictures were allowed inside either, but they would let us take pictures of his Pierce Arrow (how would you like THAT as your presidential limo?)



We drove along the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, both celebrating their 75th anniversary this year.



How do you like my hair now? Did I mention it's growing in curly? I've always had arrow straight hair...what a difference! LOL


We stopped to hike up to wigwam falls, just a short little hike but well worth it for the view!


On the way home we stopped at James Madison's home near Orange, Virginia.


We did a few other things on our trip, but sadly, no stitching. So today, I tried to make up for my naughtiness by stitching on my UFO today. I didn't get far, but at least there is some progress.


I did stitch on a biscornu for an exchange but no pictures as it's not together yet AND hasn't been sent to my partner yet...but as soon as I get an address and the right button, it will be in the mail and winging it's way on to it's new home.

Other news...I'm still babying my arm and getting some workout at physical therapy. I hope I can clear things up before we head off again. We're heading north soon to see our mothers. It's been a while since we've been able to get out of town.

DS has a wonderful time on his trip to Louisville Kentucky. Next week he'll be headed to Daytona Beach for Big Stuff, another Christian youth gathering. What a lucky guy he is!

Ok, off to try and get a little more stitching done before I head to bed. We have a busy weekend planned. Thanks for stopping by...*Hugs*

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Happy 4th of July!


Hi Folks!

I'm a day late wishing you all a Happy Fourth of July!! In church this weekend we sang about freedom, and after living and visiting other countries that don't share the same freedoms we do, I'm grateful to be living in this country. We aren't perfect, far from it, but thank heavens we can express our opinions, practice our religion, and vote for our government any way we choose. It truly is something to celebrate!!

We had a busy weekend! We saw two movies...Transformers Dark Side of the Moon, and Mr. Poppers Penguins. What can I say? I live with two guys and I'm always outvoted. I'm hoping, now that DS will be away for another week, that we'll actually get to see something I want to see! What are the odds? LOL Both of them actually turned out to be pretty good movies, I can't complain too loudly!

We were invited to some new friends house Sunday afternoon, for a little dinner. Just the two of them, DS, DH and I. It was delightful getting to know these ladies better. They attend our church and invited us because they wanted to know us better. The food was great and the company was even better! But I'm so proud of my son, because he offered to help with the dishes, picked up plates and dishes from the table and conducted himself like a mature adult. The ladies commented on his behavior as we were leaving. Can I just say, I'm so very proud of my son! And the trip he is taking this week is with the youth group at church. He had to be approved to go, there had to be letters written about him from members of the church and only 6 from our church were going (5 teens and a chaperone). He'll be performing a mission (delivering baby items for new moms) and attending classes as well as a concert and there will be representatives from Christian colleges there that will be trying to recruit students. Pray for him and the rest of the group if you would, I think this is going to be a great experience for DS!

This past week was jam packed with appointments (as will this one coming up!) so I didn't get much stitching done. I did work a little bit on my UFO. Someone asked what floss I was using, it is DMC 3808 and I too like the way this one is shaping up!


I put a few stitches in my Cirques des Carreaux and this time I have it right side up...I realized the last time I posted it, I left it on it's side. Oops...LOL


I started another SAL...silly moi! I don't know why this one appealed to me, but I decided it wouldn't take but a minute to stitch each part...so here it is. I'm not following the colors they chose, and the patterns can be found on this blog http://talonsaiguilles.over-blog.fr/


I have a new member of the bird gang in the back yard. This fellow is so pretty, but he chases the littler birds away...shame on him!! Luckily for the other birds, he doesn't hang out back there all day!


Last, but not least, is my tree of stitches being offered on the Stitch Specialists yahoo group. I was behind the last two stitches, but thankfully caught up this morning. I'm loving this design, thanks again Abi!


I'm behind in a lot of other things as well, I don't know when I'll be able to catch up...and I decided to take part in a biscornu exchange on Friendly Stitchers yahoo group. I don't know who I have yet, but I've already picked my design and started stitching. If I play my cards right I'll be able to get it stitched and in the mail before I leave for my trip...so wish me luck!

That's all the news from this end. Hope you had a great holiday and got some rest! See you soon! *Hugs*