Monday, July 31, 2017

Winding Sideways....

Not the most original title....but I guess it kinda explains my mood.  I started to type Winding Down....but that's not really the case....so then I typed Winding Up, but that's not really the case either....so that's how I ended up with Winding Sideways.  We are nearing the end of our summer plans so hopefully things will get back to normal...

I have one more trip to make, and it's this week.  We will be leaving our son home while we travel to Elkins, WV.  I've never heard of it before, and I'm not sure why  my husband picked this place, but that's where we are headed.  I'll let you know what we find when we get there.  I searched the internet for cross stitch stores along the way.  Nope...couldn't find a thing.  *sigh*  So if any of you good folks out there know of a good stitch store for me to explore please let me know in the comments.  I'll keep watching to see....and I'll let you know!  We will be celebrating our 33rd anniversary!  He likes to surprise me with these trips....making all the plans...and then telling me where we are going as we are arriving (or sometimes, as in this case, just before we leave).  Yes, I'm spoiled, yes, he's a keeper, and yes, he has a brother...but I got the pick of the litter!!  LOL!!

It's been a wild and crazy summer.  With three trips to Northern NY, visitors galore, and lots of appointments last week, I finally have a couple of days when I didn't have to do anything, and I got caught up on a few things.  

I finally finished up the July installment of the Linen & Threads SAL....just in time for the August installment to get published...LOL  Here it is so far....with a couple of close up shots.





I got caught up on This Corner of Earth Mystery SAL by Tempting Tangles.  They published all the words which I'm thankful for.  So this is actually a few weeks worth, so I'm ahead of the game.  


And....last but not least, here is where I'm at with Sweet Nectar.  I REALLY should do some outlining, it's going to be a bear when I finally do get to some of that.  You can see where I started a little bit of the hummingbirds tail in the center of the circleWi.  That should be fun!  I'm still only about halfway done, I don't know why this one seems to be taking forever....but I will persevere.  



I decided to do a SAL with a few of my St. Michaels friends with Summerschool Lessons.  It finally arrived in the mail, but not all of us have received our items, so I'm waiting until we can all start together.  Hopefully after this weekend I'll be ready to start.  I just love this pattern!!

I'm aching to sink my teeth into this sampler as well.  I think these colors of fabric will be pretty when I'm ready to get started.  What do you think?  I wonder what I will actually finish this year?  I'll keep you posted.  


One of my trips to Northern NY I came home with a few treasures.  My Mom is at that stage that she is giving little trinkets and telling the stories behind them as she does.  This last trip she gave me this little plate that came from Mrs. Gamble's home (the original Mrs. Gamble of Proctor and Gamble fame) Seems my mother's Grandmother worked for the Gamble's (Mrs. Gamble was blind and she was her caregiver) and was given this plate from their table service.  It was something my mother always admired, so her grandmother gave it to her.  I can only imagine how old it must be considering my Mom just turned 80.

The other treasure is something we gave her and Dad one year for their anniversary when we still lived in Germany.   Just recently one of the Hummels I had in our grandfather clock took a tumble and broke.  She offered to replace it with this one that we had given her.  I always loved this little figurine.  Thanks Mom!!  (I'm going to miss the one that broke, though.)


I've been losing weight a little bit here and there.  It's a daily struggle, especially when DH brings home these......Oreo, as if you weren't good enough before, you had to test my will power even more?  You are diabolical...and YES...they are as good as they look.  Since they are flavored coffee tasting, I have declared them breakfast food.  I'm surprisingly self controlled with these things, making them last as long as possible!  LOL



I ran errands like a crazy person today (two days until we leave) and one of them was to my LNS where a couple of wayward items sacrificially jumped into my basket.  When I get back, if I remember, I'll post pictures of my stash enhancement....especially if I find a cross stitch store between here and Elkins, WV!  I'm also thinking of having another giveaway....so watch this space!  

Just learned Katie is back in the hospital tonight.  She has a bacterial infection they can't seem to control with any known antibiotic.  They recently released a new one and they will be starting her on that one hopefully today.  They want to monitor her for a while to make sure she tolerates it ok so admitted her today.  Good thoughts and prayers are appreciated!  Thank you to those who have asked about her and prayed for her before.

See you  next time!  Till then, happy stitching!

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Gifted Gorgeousness July and Giveaway winner!

Well, here we are in July.  Where has the time gone?  I can't believe 2017 is half gone already!  Well....only a few more weeks and time will slow down I hope.  

It's time for Gifted Gorgeousness again!  Thanks to Jo over at Serentipitious Stitching, we have a little challenge going on.  If you would like to join in, you can register at any time over on her blog...here.  If you would like to see what others are doing for the challenge, you can check us out here.  I'll be leaving for NY today, so I scheduled this to post on the 15th.  That's the day we show what we have stitched from patterns that were given to us, or with fabric or floss that was given to us, or things we are stitching for others.  I don't have much stitching but here is what I have been doing.

My friend, the lovely Ms. D, came to visit for a couple of weeks.  She brought with her a kit that she had bid for in an auction.  She asked me to stitch it for her ( *GASP* She is not a stitcher....and didn't even want to learn with this kit...oh the horrors!!!) so I gladly answered her request.  It only took a few hours and was so easy to assemble.  I hope she enjoys it this Christmas!


I've not had much time, but did devote yesterday (one of my free days this week....alas, there won't be another for at least another week) to getting started on the July intallment of the Linens and Threads Mystery SAL.  This is being stitched on 28 count black over one linen thread using some floss I bought a while back at a flea market.  It is vintage Bucilla floss, and I really wish they hadn't gone out of business.  This floss is the best I've ever stitched with.  Hopefully I'll find time some time this month to finish up July, I hate to get behind in a SAL, I can never seem to catch up!  Wish me luck!!  Someone asked for close up pictures, I think if you click on the picture it will enlarge, then you can use adjustments on your computer to enlarge it even more.  I just don't have time right now, but maybe in a future post.


Oh, and I almost forgot!  My partner for the ornament exchange "Christmas in July" has received her package....so now I'm able to show you pictures of the ornament I stitched and finished for her.  This is one of the four Christmas Baskets designed by Drawn Thread.  It was so much fun to stitch, and thanks to some help from a friend, I think the finishing turned out quite nice.  Through texts she offered a few little finishing touches that made it look quite nice.  Here are a few pictures of the finished product!  So glad Julie liked it....I'm thinking I might like one myself!  




Oh, and before I forget, Linda is the only one who indicated they would like the chart from the giveaway post....so, Linda, it's yours!  Please send me an email with your address and as soon as the dust settles, I'll get it right in the mail!  I'll try to have another giveaway soon.  So....keep checking back!

Katie is still in the hospital, so if you are so inclined, would you please offer a prayer for her.  They originally thought she would be home on Friday, but that doesn't seem likely to happen now.  On the other hand, when I called to check on my Mom, she neither had an appointment nor had surgery.  She has insisted for weeks now that "something" was happening on Thursday, but nothing did.  Strange how the mind works.  However her foot is still in considerable pain.  I will find out for sure when I see her (I'm traveling to see her today).

And that is all that's fit to print.  I hope you are having a lovely day!  I'll check back to see how the other Gifted Gorgeousness Stitchers are doing soon.  Till then, happy stitching!

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Life ...

Well, it's been a wild and crazy summer so far.   I don't even know where to begin.  It's been full of fun, heartache, and scary moments so far.   Sadly, no stitching to report...but hopefully this week I'll get a few stitches in and I'll have something to report for the Gifted Gorgeousness in a few days.

More than three weeks ago, I drove to NY to visit my Mom and celebrated her 80th birthday with her.


I picked up my friend, the lovely Miss D.  She and I have been friends for 50 years.  She's the type of person you may not see or talk to for a few years, but when we see each other we pick up where we left off.  It's good to have friends who you have known for so long we are practically family.  We have had a few adventures in the past couple of weeks.  

We attended a paint night...


We've been to the beach...




We saw the ponies on Assateague...



We've been to Mount Vernon to see where George Washington once lived...


We went back in time to Medieval Times and watched a joust...





We've been to the aquarium in Baltimore....



And walked a bit at the Inner Harbor...



We visited one Smithsonian (The American History Museum) before the rain chased us away...




We revisited Washington, DC for the 4th of July...




We visited Gettysburg as a side trip on the way back to NY.   Took a few tours, and hugged a witness tree (same one President Lincoln had his picture taken by....supposed to be good luck)




All in all it was a lovely trip, full of laughter (no body gets our humor like we do...LOL) and history, and all around good fun!  I hope she had as much fun as I did!

I left the day after I dropped her off, picked up a college buddy of mine and her husband, and made the return trip with them.  They were headed to Williamsburg, Virginia so I drove them down through the crazy cities on the way (I'm used to crazy city drivers, and they are not, so I offered to drive them down.)  With all the traveling, I figure I drove about 2, 400 miles so far this summer.

I had only been home one day when Ben's fiance' fell ill.  She was rushed to the hospital around midnight Sunday night so Ben and I traveled to the hospital where we spent the night in the ER.  When they finally admitted her the sun was coming up, so we came home to sleep for a couple of hours.  She had emergency surgery on Monday afternoon and has been in the ICU since then.  If you would like to, we would appreciate your prayers.  Katie has Cystic Fibrosis and though we have been through this a couple of times, this was far worse than what we have seen before.  My heart breaks for her parents, but even more so for my son who loves her dearly.  Here she is with my husband and his Father's day gift from her.


My Mom is to see a specialist this week about trouble she is having with her leg and foot.  I am torn between two loved ones, and this is a difficult position for me to be in.  I cannot be there for her at the moment, but hopefully by the time my college friend and her husband are ready to travel back to NY on Saturday, Katie will be a little more stable and I'll be able to go and spend a little time with my Mom.  I'll be adding another 1,000 miles to my travels this summer.  I must say, I'm getting a little "saddle sore" from all the driving!!  LOL

So now you see why I haven't had much time to stitch, but hopefully I'll get a little in this week.  Wish me luck....and hopefully I'll see you back here in a few days.  Happy Stitching!!