Is Christmas here yet?

I was SO stressed when I got home from work yesterday!  Worrying about getting the food for Christmas Eve dinner, not knowing WHAT to get my dad for Christmas.  Luckily DH and I went grocery shopping and it was not too crowded and he offered to go look for something for Dad today since DH is off and I am working.  That helped!  It's going to be a different Christmas this year as my brother and his family cannot come to our house Christmas afternoon. So we are having my parents over Christmas Eve, and on Christmas day in the later afternoon we will go to DH's sisters house. It should be fun with all her kids and grandkids.

Our Christmas tree looked a little strange the other day! I noticed the lights at the very top were super bright!  DH said they would probably burn out soon and he was right...they did.  So the top 18" of our 9 foot tree has no lights!  Oh well what can you do at this point! I don't even think we have replacement bulbs since the tree is on its seventh Christmas.  No one will be looking at the top anyway...just the presents under it!

Wishing all of you a very Happy Holiday season, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!!

Yeah! Dr. Appts. Done for the year!

Finally had my last doctor's appointment for 2011.  All tests were good so everything looks like we are on the right track since I am now 50!  So glad to have everything done!

And how is everyone doing with their Christmas shopping/wrapping/baking?  I just have to get something for my dad....we were going to get one thing, and now he won't have the item it goes with since he is getting rid of it so we have to think of something else!  Done with DH and DS shopping and wrapping though, but I can always think of more things to get! 

At work today we have a holiday luncheon across the street at a nice party center that has wonderful food so I will be stuffing myself!  HA...another good reason to be done with the doctor appointment yesterday...don't have to weigh in after the luncheon! 

DH is off the rest of this week and then we are both off next week so I am looking forward to that.  He will probably be doing his shopping this week...that is what he usually does!

I pulled the threads to stitch Lizzie Kate's HOHOHO on the light blue linen so I hope to be awake enough tonight to start that!

Have a great day!

A finish finally!

I finally finished up Haunted Holler last night during the football game!

Also I wanted to share a picture of a Mirabilia I finished quite awhile ago.  She is still hanging in the closet unframed though :-( .  Someday!

Christmas is 11 days away!

Everyday our son gives us the Christmas Countdown!

Not much new here except for trying to get gifts wrapped. No baking done yet since I am still trying to figure out how to use my new stove/oven (see the day after Thanksgiving post to see why I had to get a new oven!).

My friend Wendy at  http://wentostitch.blogspot.com/ was saying she was thinking about making a list of cross stitch projects to work on next year and I think its a great idea.  Maybe it will keep me motivated!

Ok expert blog friends....how do I make Wendy's name the link to her blog?

Still here!

I am still here! Just busy with work, and end of the year doctors appointments, and getting ready for Christmas!  Slowly finishing Haunted Holler. I just have the house to finish filling in.

Got five presents wrapped this morning. I found that wrapping on kitchen island is the best spot!  A little higher than a table, and easier on the back.  Tree is up and hoping to make some cookies this weekend.

Pinterest

OMG Pinterest is a HUGE Time Sucker!

That is all!

Winner...

Patty is the winner by default since she is the only one who replied on my giveaway post!  Patty I sent you a message asking for mailing info.

Stitched some this weekend on Haunted Holler. Just have the tree to finish then I am itching to get to some Lizzie Kate holiday pieces!

My good friend Laurel went into labor this morning. 20 days early.  Please say a prayer that her labor is quick and delivery safe!

Giveaway!

I decided to have a giveaway!  I have a little kit from Katidid Designs of an Oak Leaf in pretty fall colors. It includes the linen and threads needed. I can't find a picture of it online, but I think that is because it was a special kit sold during last years North Coast Tour De Stitch. 

All you have to do to participate is become a follower of my blog and leave a comment ON THIS POST letting me know that you are!  I will use the random number generator thingie to choose a winner.  Entries accepted until Friday night (11/18) at 9pm.

Busy couple days....

Well DH ended up in the hospital but everything is now checking out OK so we are back home again.  I really dislike hospitals for one big thing...the SMELL!  Yuck!  They need to Febreze or something!

I did go to Crafty Ewe on Saturday (before DH's hospital stay).  Got the Amber linen for 6 Fat Men, and most of the specialty threads too.  I also picked up another Little House Needleworks ornament (the one with two snowmen).

Not much else going on...I think I failed the post every day in November ... oops!

Snow!

We got our first snow during the night! It is pretty much just on the grass, about a 1/2" or so!  It is supposed to be in the 60's this weekend so it won't last, but this is late for us.  We normally get a good bit of snow here on the shores of Lake Erie!  Mostly it comes in January/February though.  They are predicting 150 inches for us over this season.  Ugh!  I like it around Christmas, but that's it!

Working half a day today and then taking DH for a medical procedure.  Please say a prayer for him because his heart does not like anesthesia...it tends to go to an irregular heartbeat.  We are hoping this time it won't!

I am hoping to go to The Crafty Ewe this weekend.  I remembered I still have a $50 gift certificate that I got last Christmas.  So I figured I would go get the last three of Lizzie Kate's Six Fat Men, and some fabric! 

Thursday....and I have to get better at titles....

Wow I have such a hard time coming up with titles for these daily posts!  I will have to try and get better at that.

Feeling so-so since I started eating again.  I am sure after being SO empty, the system needs to get back in the swing of things once food is re-introduced.

I got my stash in the mail!  The LK HOHOHO!  That Morris Blue linen is SOOO pretty!  I can't wait to start it, probably this weekend.  I did stitch more yesterday and today on Haunted Holler which I am still loving!

Tomorrow is 11-11-11.  I read that people are flocking to Las Vegas to get married tomorrow so they have 11-11-11 for their anniversary date! That is pretty funny!  We were married 8-8-81, and people kept telling us we should have waited until 8-8-88!  Seven year...I don't think so!

Hope everyone has a great day and I want to say THANK YOU to Carol for commenting on my blog! I love her blog and am thrilled that she is reading mine, boring as it is!! 

I'm back!

I am back now that I am no longer loopy from the wonderful drugs they give you for colonoscopies!!  It was a breeze and I don't have to go back for TEN YEARS!  Woo-hoo!!

Didn't do any stitching last night because I kept falling asleep from the medications, but plan to get a lot done the rest of this week!

I did order some STASH though!  That new Lizzie Kate HOHOHO and the specialty threads for it since I didn't have those and the blue linen for it too!  They should be arriving today or tomorrow!  Have to stalk the mailbox!

D-Day....or should I call it C-Day?

Today is colonoscopy day.  Have to drink another 32 ounces of the lovely prep stuff in about an hour.  I am SOOOO hungry since I have had no solid food since Sunday evening.  My great fear now will be getting there and the doctor saying "oh not clean enough" even though I followed their directions to the letter and drank every bit of the yukky stuff!!  Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out 'clean as a whistle'!

Monday.....

Ugh another Monday...how do they roll around so fast?

Got a good bit of stitching done on Haunted Holler...its going fast!  Kind of nice to be using plain old DMC floss too. No worries about varigation and stuff!

Will post a WIP picture soon!

A sunny Sunday

Beautiful sunny day here today! I think it's about 62 degrees too. Ran to the grocery store and back to watch the football game and make some chicken soup. Tomorrow should be interesting...have to do a clear liquid diet and prep for Tuesdays colonoscopy. Oh the joys of turning 50....

Saturday...

a very cold sunny Saturday!  Got to sleep in a bit which was really nice (we normally get up around 4:30am during the week).

Don't forget to turn your clocks BACK an hour tonight when you go to bed (well for those whose area does the daylight savings time thing).  Personally I love the turn back except in a few weeks coming home from work in the dark will start being not fun!

No stitching last night, just too tired.  Watched some of the TV shows we DVR'ed.  Grimm, Whitney and Modern Family.  We laughed SO hard at Whitney...great show!!

Happy Friday!

Phew..didn't think Friday would ever get here!  But it did!  It was SO dark at 7:30am this morning.  This weekend we move the clocks back an hour so maybe it will be lighter in the morning? but then it will be dark at 5pm.  I told DH to expect to see me in my jammies around 6pm going forward! LOL!

Started stitching Haunted Holler this morning.  I pulled some 28 count platinum lugana for it, and it uses six DMC colors that I amazingly had!  I think it will be a quick stitch.

Any big weekend plans? Weather is supposed to be sunny and 60 or so here so we might go to Chagrin Falls to check out the color of the trees and leaves!

Have a great weekend!

Ok decided what I am going to stitch next....

and it is not either of the two I posted yesterday!  Found this in my box of goodies and decided since it only takes like six colors of DMC I will do this!

Oh boy....Post Every day month??

I just read about posting every day in November!  I guess I will have to give it a try, but I don't think I have that much to say!!

The weather is BEAUTIFUL here today.  65 and sunny!  Guess we better enjoy it while we can.  Some years we have already had snow by now! I would be happy if we just got snow the two weeks over Christmas and that was it! But we usually get the majority of ours in Jan/Feb and early March.  They are predicting 150 inches for us this winter (not all at once of course!)

I cannot decide what to stitch next. I was going to stitch Prairie Moon's Toil and Trouble but now that Halloween is over I am not so sure.

Maybe I should start this Lizzie Kate 2011 Santa instead:

What do you think?

Oh I do have a question for you experienced bloggers....how can I get my blog to show on other people's blog lists on the side of their blog?  Is there something in my settings I need to enable?  Thanks!

Also, check out the giveaway on the Hanging by a Thread blog! http://pccrafty.blogspot.com/2011/11/giveaway-x-2.html

Phew!!!

So Halloween is over!  We had 334 trick or treaters!  Our neighbors REALLY get into Halloween, so here is a picture of what was next door (before it got dark!)  The scary ones would lay on the grass and wait for kids to come and then jump up and scare the bejeezus out of them!  It was the talk of the 'hood .... "that scary clown house"!

Happy Halloween!!

Here is my "Spooky" piece!

Here is my finished "Spooky" by Homespun Elegance. Stitching on 32 count bone lugana, using various WDW and Crescent Colours threads that I had on hand.

A little nice weather..some stitching...

Oohh yesterday and today we have had some pleasant weather. A little rain early this morning but now its breezy and 66 degrees! No real sun but that's ok! We are supposed to get colder later this week and they even mentioned the "S" word for Friday !!  Ugh!!  Not ready for that but it won't stick much yet, except maybe to the grass for a bit.

Here is a picture of some pretty leaves. This was taken with my cellphone through the car window and the sun is not out, so it is not as pretty as when the sun is shining!  This is the end of the street going into where I work.

I actually have been stitching on Spooky by Homespun Elegance!  I just have to finish the border tonight and then I will take a picture to post!

My dad brought us the last of his wax peppers from his garden so DH is going to make sausage stuffed peppers this weekend. They are SO good! Can't wait!

Have a great day!

Sad day...

A bit sad today...my dad called and told me his brother (my uncle) passed away.  Uncle Al was 88, and we had just celebrated his birthday in August.  I am glad I was able to go see him then.  He has been sick for quite awhile with just one thing after another, and I think his body just gave up.  I feel bad for my dad though...he is the only one left from his 'immediate' family.  The thing I remember most about Uncle Al though, is he really "lived life"!  LOL...when he was in his 60's he got a scooter to tool around on! 

I actually pulled fabric and threads out to stitch something and am determine to put a few stitches in today!!  It is Spooky by Homespun Elegance.  Just a small cute Halloween ornament!

Hope everyone has a good day!

Kathy is having a giveaway! And so is Lisa!

Check out Kathy's blog ... she is a great writer, and she is also having a giveaway!
http://astitchersheirlooms.blogspot.com/

Also, Lisa at Hockey Mom is celebrating her 3 year Blogaversary!  Check out her blog for a fun giveaway too!
http://cadurst.blogspot.com/

Nice relaxing Sunday

This was a very rainy weekend here in Ohio. And cold too! Today I had to go to a baby shower but before I left I put stew in the crockpot and when I got back DH and DS were still in jammies so we ate, and I made some pumpkin bread that we enjoyed tonight with hot chocolate while watching the Browns game. I will probably but a few stitches in tonight too!

North Coast Tour de Stitch

This past weekend the North Coast Tour de Stitch began.  This is in the northern Ohio area, and this year five cross stitch shops are participating.  You buy a 'ticket' for the tour (proceeds go to breast cancer research) and then you proceed to visit each shop and get your ticket stamped.  There are raffles and prizes for participating also.

So last Saturday (10/8) DH and I drove to Clare's Stitching Post in Vermilion OH; then to Curiosity Shoppe in Oak Harbor OH; and then down to Craft Gallery in Findlay OH.  On Sunday we hit Just Stitching and The Crafty Ewe, both in Strongsville OH.  It was a lot of fun, and I bought WAY Too Much stash (ok about $200 worth).  The weather was perfect for a nice drive though...sunny and the leaves are starting to change color too.

So I really need to do some organizing of my stash cabinet...hopefully I didn't get too many duplicates..LOL!!

Edited to ask a question of my 3 followers (LOL!)....how do you motivate yourself to actually sit down and stitch? Do you leave your stitching laying out so you can easily pick it up?

Back....

We are back from vacation. A week in hot hot hot Florida.  It was 92-94 each day, and the day after we left to come home...83.  Go figure.  I hate the 90's but love low 80's!

Today is my 50th birthday.  I didn't think it would really bother me, but I do feel kind of depressed today and just sort of want to be left alone.  It does not help that I go back to work today after being off all last week plus the Friday before that.  Ugh. 

No stitching...I have NO idea how someone can stitch on an airplane. The seating is SO tight and narrow, no elbow room for stitching! 

We took lots of pictures so I will try to post a few in the next day or so (we went to Disney so you have to take lots of pictures there!)

Hump Day!

It's Wednesday....Hump Day!  Once we get past today its all downhill to the weekend!  We are getting the house powerwashed today.  Got a coupon for $99 so hopefully they will do a good job. One of the neighbors had theirs done and it looks nice.  Ours isn't terribly dirty, but some spots could use it.  I like that the screens and windows get cleaned while they do it!  Then I just have to do the inside of the windows this weekend!

No stitching.  I thought I would get Summer Garden done before Labor Day but no such luck.  Its one of those pieces that takes longer than you think it will!

Vacation in 9 days!  Disney and tropical drinks coming soon!

Thanks for the comments on my blog posts! I know it is definitely not the most interesting blog but I am trying to improve!

Never Forget

Busy but getting nothing done?!

Hello again.  Wow things seem like they have been very busy this past week but I don't feel I got much accomplished!  We did get the treadmill moved, so I have no excuse not to get back on there!  I did 15 min. on Sunday and 17 min. on Monday...working up to 30 min.  I guess some is better than none.


I was bad and ordered the new Lizzie Kate 6 Fat Snowmen patterns.  SOO cute!! I could not resist!  I guess I better get busy and finish Summer Garden!

New blinds!

We built this house six years ago, and the master bathroom has two huge windows, right over the 'garden tub' (that no one ever really uses).  The windows are 31"x31" each and meet in the corner.  We have had those temporary paper shades on them all this time, but we finally ordered some Bali Difflusion blinds! They are really cool....they are made of a heavy plastic that sort of looks like glass block with a vine design on it.  DH is getting his drill and whatnots right now to hang them since the UPS man just dropped them off! Pictures coming soon!!

Update: Oh they look SO nice!!  And you cannot see through them from outside either!  Here is a picture..not great since I took it with my cell phone.  Edited to say: Those walls are NOT bright yellow!  And we didn't choose the window size, that is the only way the builder would do them.

Chagrin Falls

DH and I are visiting the little town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio today! It is a very quaint village with some good sized waterfalls! We are waiting for a pizza in the cutesy little pizza shop right now!

Here is a picture of the falls!

What!?!? 3 months!???

I cannot believe its been three months since I posted! Sorry I have to get better at this blogging thing! Today is 8/8/11 and it is our 30th wedding anniversary! I love DH more now than 30 years ago and frankly am very proud of us for making it this far!!

No stitching going on but I am half done with Summer Garden! I have to finish that before summer ends!!!

I promise I will be back soon.

Still raining!

We had a few nice days that actually got HOT in the low 80's.  Then it rained again.  DS and I ran out to get a sandwich Thursday evening and there was a lot of lightning, so I told him let's get our sandwich and just head home to eat it.  Well while I was in the sub shop the skies opened up and it downpoured.  When I ran to the car (about 10 feet) the water was ankle deep! My shoes are totally soaked and I have been trying to dry them out on the "air" cycle in the dryer.  Anyway, I could not see ANYTHING driving home.  Never been so scared!  Didn't want to try and pull off because the water on the sides of the road was so deep I was afraid I'd get stuck in it.  So we kept going.  All this in a 30 minute window!  I think the weather said we got 2" of rain in that time.  Crazy!

Our neighborhood has the annual "Neighborhood Garage Sale" this weekend.  OMG people who garage sale just seem to be rude and park anywhere they feel like.  They just walk out into the road and cross the street (and we have sidewalks here!).  It's been crazy. 

No stitching going on this week.  Had a pain in my right index finger by the first joint so I was resting it. I think I pinch-hold the needle too tight!

I think we're gonna need an ark soon

This rain is crazy! I tried to cut grass last night and it was so wet and then it rained all night and all day today too. Plus it's cold...about 46 degrees. Yuck!

Make sure you sign up for Edgars giveaway...link in post two below this one.

Hi guys! Another rainy weekend....

It has been SOOOO rainy here this Spring.  But I scrapbooked three pages today, made three cards and finished stitching this Lizzie Kate design "Peep"....only a week late for Easter! Sorry it isn't ironed ... I was too excited to have something to actually post!  The fabric is lugana in the color Miracle Mint, a very pale green.  It came with the pattern.

Has anyone tried Bohin needles?  I got some and frankly do NOT like them.  The eyes are too big and the thread keeps falling out, and they bend!  You should see that one in the top corner...it's bent right in the middle! I had to throw it out.  Going back to my John James Petite 28's!

Well now to figure out what to stitch next...hmmmm.....

Edgar is having a giveaway!

I just love reading Edgar's blog, especially all about San Francisco!  He is having a 4 year blogaversary, so go check out his giveaway!

http://blacksheepsite.blogspot.com/2011/04/four-years-and-counting-blogoversary-is.html

Wow this blogging thing is hard to keep up with!

It's been over two months since I last posted on here and I pretty much have no good reason why!  Just not enough time in the day I guess!  I did finish stitching the ornament and have two other pictures of finished cross stitch projects too.

The first finished piece is a Shepherds Bush mini kit.  Quick and fun!

The second is another Shepherds Bush kit, of the cutest little Halloween Sheepie!

This is the ornament from the JCS 2010 Christmas ornament issue

And this is a picture of my craft/scrapbooking area in the finished basement of our home.  DH was so wonderful in getting me all the Ikea shelves and putting them together!  Since this photo I have swapped the tall shelf on the right with the oak colored cabinet on the left.



Long weekend....back to Monday...

Hello!  My husband and I had a nice long weekend, since we took Friday off for a much needed "mental health day".  It was so nice to sleep in and just relax.  I did do a little stitching on Sunday during the football games.  I am working on an ornament from the 2010 JCS Ornament issue.  Hoping to have it done this week sometime.  It is a little boring because it is all one color thread (blue). 

Back again...

Hello, I am back for a second day.  Over the weekend I finished stitching Shepherds Bush's "Spooky Sheep".  What a fun little stitch!  The previous week I stitched up SB's HoHoHo kit (not sure that is actually the name of it).  I will get some pictures up soon. 

Back to work today and it has been crazy busy.  I am on my lunch hour now so its a nice little break before heading back to cubicle world.

Gonna try blogging!

Well I thought I would give blogging a try this year. I love seeing all the pictures that people post on their blogs of their finished cross stitch pieces, or their scrapbooking pages so I figured what the heck, maybe I will post mine too! We'll see how this goes!!

Here is a picture of a card I made a few months ago for a friend at work celebrating her 50th birthday.