Stitch the Winter Olympics: Parade of Nations

Welcome to day two of the Winter Olympics stitching challenge.  Yes I had most of the day to stitch yesterday, so here is where I left off from Hummingbird's Garden.  This will be going back on the back burner for a few days (don't worry I have it scheduled a few times during the challenge.  I REALLY want to finish it this month so my fingers better get flying!!)  I put in over 600 stitches!  Lord knows how many are left...lol.  

The topic for today is Parade of Nations in which we are supposed to stitch something patriotic for any country.  I chose to stitch American Flag by Aysegul Tastepe.  I'm stitching this on 36 count black over one...yes I am crazy...haha.  I fell in love with this pattern when I saw it at the Maryland State Fair two years ago I think.  It took me a while to find it.  I love how it looks so far!  Here is where I'm starting today.  Let's see how far I get on this piece today!  

So far so good with the Olympic stitching!  I hope you are safe, warm and happily stitching wherever you are today!  Happy Stitching! 

Stitch the Winter Olympics: Opening Ceremonies

Who is up for the challenge?  I just learned a few days ago that The Naptime Stitcher is hosting the "Stitch the Winter Olympics" Challenge.  I did this two years ago when the summer games were held in France.  I do love a good challenge don't you?  You can head over to Facebook where she has a pdf file explaining the challenge, what we are to stitch each day, and a few other things of interest.  Just search for The Naptime Stitcher, scroll down to her January 25th entry and you'll find the pdf file.  I'll be doing my best to keep up!  Today's challenge is to stitch a new start or something you started in 20026.  Since I'm still working on my blessings sampler (Hummingbird's Garden by Samplers Not Forgotten), I'll be stitching most of the day away on this sampler.  Here is where I'm starting today.  

With a little luck, I'll show how far I got tomorrow, then post the next day's challenge.  Let's all have a little fun and cheer for our team while we watch the games!  If you do choose to participate, use the hashtag #stitchthewinterolympics on any social media you choose and follow along!  Thank you Katie for all your hard work!  Go USA!!  And Happy Stitching!      

Finally making progress!

Well here we are...and things are finally looking up!  The sun is shining today, the government is up and running again, and I feel like I might get some things accomplished today!  I had my youngest granddaughter here yesterday, she just cracks me up.  I had some music playing and she was dancing along to it, she has been doing some things on her own now to keep herself occupied but turns every few seconds to make sure I'm watching, and she is a joy to spend time with.  I'll have my hands full when she finally takes off walking on her own.  

I didn't get a lot of time to stitch yesterday, but I did make some progress after her parents took her home.  I worked on Hummingbird's Garden while we watched TV last night.  I worked on the vase at the bottom.  It's coming along nicely!  

Monday and Tuesday I was able to make some substantial progress on Let Freedom Ring.  I had another page finish and actually put a lot of stitches in the next page too.  I'm hoping to have two pages done by the end of this month.  More than I expected!  Whew!  I was beginning to lose hope I would finish this in time!  I did change some of the words.  Where it was supposed to say "Let Freedom Ring" I changed to America's Semiquincentennial 2026.  I like how it looks!  Edited to say....ooops I just realized I spelled semiquincentennial wrong.  Oh dear!!  I'll have to fix that.  UGH all that over one.  *heavy sigh*.  Oh well, onwards and upwards I always say...

Has anyone else made plans for stitching to the Olympics?  I know it starts tomorrow, and I did make a list of things I hope to stitch for each event.  Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to post what I'll be doing.  For today I'll be working on Hummingbird's Garden again and have chosen a few days during the Olympics to stitch both Hummingbird's Garden and Let Freedom Ring.  I also have a few other things I'm hoping to stitch.  After the chaos of last month, I'm happy to be making any kind of progress....haha.  I especially hope to finish Hummingbird's Garden.  

Ok, I'm off to get my day started.  I slept in quite late this morning so I'll need to get my skates on if I hope to get my regular routine going.  I hope everyone has a great day!  Happy Stitching!    

Pete and repeat were sitting on a fence...

Wow...can this year get any crazier?  Well there's good news and bad news folks...the good news is the cyclone bomb missed us, but for those who were in the path... know that I've been praying for all of you!  I do have relatives and friends in that area and I'm hoping they weathered the storm ok.  

The bad news is the folks in Washington can't get a simple budget passed without playing the name game, pointing fingers (didn't their mothers tell them that was rude?) and holding the American people hostage.  Mike (who doesn't carry his phone around all day) picked up his phone yesterday and was bombarded with messages about the government shut down happening on Monday.  Yes he will be working without a paycheck until they get things sorted AGAIN.  And yes, we don't expect it to last as long, but who knows that for sure?  Anyway...just another bump in the road, right?  

On a positive note, I was able to finish a page of Let Freedom Ring before the end of the month, YAY!  

I made some substantial progress on my blessings sampler, Hummingbird's Garden by Samplers Not Forgotten, though I wasn't able to finish it before the month ran out of days.  Hopefully February will show better progress, though it's a short month.  I'll do my best!

January wasn't a total bust as I was able to finish off two things I started.  Santa Holding Heart Mill Hill Kit... 

and Winter Snow Owl by Blackberry Lane Designs.  

I have ideas how I want to finish both of these, so with a little luck I'll get them fully finished before the month is out.  Sadly I didn't get the monthly Christmas ornament stitched from the JCS Ornament challenge through the facebook group.  Hopefully I'll get it done this month along with the one for this month.  Such lofty plans for such a short month...haha.  We'll have to see what the Lord has planned.  

So I'm off to meet up with the kids for brunch.  They aren't too pleased with me as I begged off watching Miss Q this past week.  It's crazy how much a week of flu will knock the socks off you.  Thursday was the first day I actually felt really good, well rested, and full of energy since before the first of the year.  Too much going on and very little rest.  I hope I can keep rested now, it feels so good to feel good!  On that note, I'll bid you a fond farewell until next time.  Happy Stitching! 

Here we go again...lol

Hi folks!  Sorry it took so long to update, it's been a wild ride.  We never lost power, but I ended up with the flu starting on Friday and I was flat out by Saturday.  I don't think I was awake for more than a few hours all day, most of the day was spent sleeping.  Since last Saturday, I've lost 6 pounds...not fun...lol.  I think I'm finally back to eating normal meals now...haha.  We did get several inches (I am not sure how much, 4-5 is my guess) with a nice inch or so coating of ice.  It was a mess to clean up, though I was too sick to help out.  Thankfully our neighbors took pity on Mike and gave him a hand.  So we are cleared out for now just in time for the bomb cyclone headed this way this weekend.  I'm feeling a little better today, though a little shaky, so begged off when the kids asked me to watch Miss Q.  

For the first time in 1421 days (almost 4 years) I didn't stitch on Saturday.  I couldn't stay awake, or hold a hoop.  I barely stitched on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.  Gotta be honest, I'm sad I broke my streak.  Yesterday was the first day I actually made any progress stitching...and have nearly finished off a page from Let Freedom Ring by Lila's Studio.  Sorry it's so dark.  

I'm hoping to finish off this page (not much left to do in all honesty) then I'll get back to Hummingbird's Garden.  I won't be able to finish this "Blessing Sampler" by the end of the month so already my yearly plans have gone belly up.  As I've said before...we make plans and God laughs.  So I hope this isn't an omen of how this year will go...haha.  I'm learning to roll with the punches.  Ok, I've been fed and watered, done my daily Sodoku, prayed for those who are sick, without power, and for our country as a whole...it's time to stitch!  Who's with me?  Happy Stitching! 

Are You Ready?

This probably won't make a lot of sense to a lot of people....but we've been busy the past few days.  Buying groceries.  Buying water.  Buying batteries.  Buying equipment to weatherproof the house.  Buying gas for the cars.  Filling buckets with water.  Digging out our cooler and freezing bottles of water.  Gathering blankets.  Gathering flashlights.  And praying like mad.  I don't usually get crazy over predicted storms, but I'll be honest and say this one scares me.  We are right on the line where it will be heavy snow at first, then sleet, then freezing rain.  I can deal with snow, but freezing rain...uh NO.  My mom was trapped in an ice storm in Northern NY one year.  They were without power for over a week.  She couldn't get out of her house to get supplies, couldn't draw water, had no heat or any way to get warm.  The police finally rescued her and brought her to a warming center where she stayed for a few days...bringing what non-perishable food she had on hand to share with others who were in the same situation.  While I get that a great portion of the country is having below freezing conditions and a large amount of snowfall, we are not prepared for this in Maryland nor are they dealing with the ice.  So we gathered things, charged our bricks for our electronics, charged our phones and tablets and weather proofed the house.  I think we are ready.  Not panicked, but prepared and hoping for the best.  Did I mention I gathered some stitching stuff?  LOL  Yep, that will keep me sane during the daylight hours I hope.  We have plenty of games to keep us occupied during the evening hours.  Whew...let's hope it's not as bad as they say it could be.  And don't worry if you don't hear from us for a while.  We won't be on Facebook or writing blogs until we are sure we won't lose power...though I did promise to keep a few friends up to date.  The snow begins around midnight.  I'll keep folks up-to-date unless or until we lose power.  In the meanwhile I'll let you know the other stuff that has been keeping us busy!  

DH has a birthday in January.  I decided to make plans for a trip to the beach in Ocean City.  Little did I know that it would be bitter cold...and that the tickets I got to see a Billy Joel tribute show was in a bar...lol.  Of course we saw the sunrise...

and those pesky seaguls...

Our hotel was the last one on the right with the blue roof.

So...we spent our time driving out to Assateague Island to drive along the National Seashore.  The last time we were there they told us about a free pass for military that gets us into any national park along with anyone in the car with him...so the National Seashore is one of our favorite places to explore.  The first day is was raining, but we were lucky enough to see some horses...  

some ducks...  

some Sika deer... 

and a Blue Heron, wasn't he grand?

The next day we were lucky enough to see several horses just standing by the road like they were posing for pictures.  Haha...

then there were others who were out on the salt marsh staying away from prying eyes....

and one that hid in the bushes.  

We took a walk along the path to see what we could see along the shore...the water was so clear!  

I guess you've been wondering if I've been stitching...why yes I have!    First up is a finish, this is Winter Snow Owl by Blackberry Designs...stitched on 32 count Pearl Grey over two.  I stitched this for a cousin a while ago and promised myself I would stitch one for me too!  So here it is!  

I added a few stitches to Hummingbird's Garden by Samplers Not Forgotten stitched on 40 count Moonstone over two.  I love all the specialty stitches in this one!  

Last but not least is Let Freedom Ring by Lila's Studio.  It's been neglected all month so it needs a little love.  I'm finally working on page 5.  I'll be working on this one while it's snowing I hope, as long as I can see.  

So that's all that I have for now.  Let's hope the lights stay on and I'm able to get online to check on all of you!  Stay safe if you are in the path of the storm!  Happy Stitching!  

Craziness Reigns Supreme

If it's true that there is no rest for the wicked, I'm wondering where I went wrong...lol.  It seems every day there is something new I need to take care of.  Can I just say 2026 started off with a bang?  I'm truly tired and there is no end in sight!  

Two days before the first weekend of the year my husband decided we needed to go to Hershey to see the holiday lights before they were taken down until next year.  It was bitter cold but we thought, why not?  So we packed up the van with all the stuff we would need for an overnight trip, packed up the kids and the grandkids and took off!  Um...it was a fun ride there, we found a great place to have lunch, dropped off our stuff early at the hotel, and went to the park, where we were freezing even before it got dark.  Poor Ms. Q wasn't having any of it, poor little mite.  Little Miss Sassy Pants had a blast riding on a few rides, but we finally decided to throw in the towel after we had a hot pretzel and wonderful Hershey Hot Chocolate.  YUMM!!  Hopefully next year will be better!  Don't worry, the wheel chair is because the arthritis in my knee and the pain in my foot wouldn't let me walk too far, so I chose to ride.  It's not a permanent thing.

Next up will be Hubby's birthday...so stay tuned.  I'm hoping his surprise will be a good one!  I do have good news though...I had an appointment with the Orthopedic and I've been given the nod to be done with physical therapy.   Well you would think that would free up some days....nope.  Hubby has been taking off days here and there, and has decided  we need to hoe out the basement and get rid of stuff we haven't seen/needed in years.  I agree it's a mess down there, but am I in the mood to do it?  NO!  I just got some time to stitch...haha.  Oh well, onward an upward.  I'm writing this today, and since he's now at work, I'm taking the day to stitch before he finds more chores for me to do.  (We took down the rest of the decorations yesterday and packed it all away until next November).  

I have found some time in the evenings!  I wanted something quick and easy to take to Hershey with me and pulled out this Mill Hill kit, Jim Shore Santa Holding Heart.  I decided I'll make a stand up, so stitched it on 28 count Sage.  Now to find time to fully finish it...haha.  Unless there's a miracle of the addition of time, it may be next Christmas before I get there....hahahahaha.  

I've been slowly adding stitches to Hummingbird's Garden.  When I first started this, I thought it would go quickly.  I guess I didn't really look at how densely this was stitched.  I still have a lot more to go in the block I'm working on, but at least the fussy stitches are done, and I'm just filling in spaces.  Still it's a LOT of stitching!  I'm itching to get back to Let Freedom Ring... I need a clone!!  

I haven't posted any updates on American Flag either, so here's where I left off stitching on that.  I hope to get back to this one soon too!  This is where I left off on New Year's Eve.

I think my blog writing will be hit and miss for the next few months.  Hopefully I can get Let Freedom Ring done in the time I'm hoping to.  And hopefully I'll find more time for stitching along with all the other chores I'm being asked to do.  I thought retirement would mean things would slow down...I was mistaken...though life seems a lot more rewarding...it's a trade off!  I hope you all enjoyed the holidays, and the January doldrums stay at bay.  Happy Stitching!