Yes, I AM a slacker...

However, I have been stitching, just not bothering to even turn on the computer some nights.

Here's Garden Grew:

I'm about halfway thru page 3- that motif on the lower right is the center of the sampler, and I'm working on the top "row" of the pages. There are 4 rows of five pages (see previous post)

I finished Blue Moon:

"Blue Moon" by Bent Creek Crescent Colors substitutions on white 28 ct. Jobelan

Had another snow day on Monday. We got about 6-8" of that white crap. It's been frigid ever since- 20's for highs, single numbers at night.

Bob was in the hospital again last week. The actress Geena Davis, who grew up in Wareham, her father was his roommate at the end of the week. She was there Saturday night when I went to visit. She's very tall (over 6 feet), very slender. She was wearing jeans & a sweater. Bob said she was there most of the time with her father, which meant a lot of people were constantly in the room to "see" the celebrity. I said hello, and left her alone. I would have loved an autograph, but the situation didn't lend itself very un-awkwardly. I'm more impressed that she tried out for the Olympic archery team and almost made it, than with her acting career, although she could "President"  Hillary under the table, even if it was just acting.

Bob's doctors have finally determined that his pneumonia keeps recurring because he's inhaling minute particles of food & water as he eats. That flap in his esophagus (I can't remember what it's called) and his throat muscles aren't working correctly. He's been given tips on how to eat and what not to eat. He says there isn't anything corrective that can be done- it's permanent damage that he'll have to learn to live with. So as disappointing as the diagnosis is, at least he finally has a diagnosis.

Axe has been good. She had the first set of spring shots on Monday. Did someone say "spring"?

LOST is on tonight.

TTFN

See- more Stitching!

Garden Grew:

Look at those little ladybugs by the water can- aren't they cute? I'm really starting to like this. I had some issues at the beginning and the floss list per page is enormous, but each color seems to be used on just one motif per page, so I can set out the 4 or 5 bobbins for each design, then put them back in the box when I'm done, instead of rifling thru 60 bobbins every color change.

Blue Moon:

Bent Creek. What can I say? It stitches up quick. I probably could finish this in 3 or 4 more lunch breaks.

Igor! It's ALIVE!

And it's even been stitching:

Garden Grew:

I'm a little less than half-way  thru page #2 (Left to right), and I started a wee bit on page 6 (I think)- that stick thing to the right , below the snail. The page numbering goes:

1-2-3-4-5

6-7-8-9-10

11-12-13-14-15

16-17-18-19-20

Here's Blue Moon:

I started riding again Monday night. Axe was a bit frisky after her 9+ days off. We had gone 3/4 of the way around on our first canter when she did a couple of crow hops, and dropped her nose with a nasty, ominous shake of the head. 35 year old muscle memory kicked in & I sat back & deep and kept her nose up, moved her forward and then halted her. Then resumed the canter without further incident. I'm very proud of myself. I really didn't want to land in the dirt with a dislocated shoulder or worse.

So I have to get going- I've got a little routine going where I get the dishes washed, then get ready for bed while the tea kettle boils, then sit down for TV & stitching- by 8:00 so I have to go!

TTFN

Some Stitchery

I've almost caught up to Glenna:

Having all the excess fabric folded and pinned in about 5 places on the Q-snaps was making my palms itch (I HATE creases in my fabric that are caused on purpose!!) so I re-hung it on a scroll rod. I had to buy some dowels to cut down to 36". Now it's too big to bring to the office, so I started this:

'Blue Moon" by Bent Creek on 28 ct white Jobelan w/ Crescent substitutions.

Found out today after a week of sheer agony that I have a sinus infection. So my chest and throat muscles have been just killing me to exhaustion from coughing. So I get my meds home and take the first doses. Then I get the freekin' hiccups. For about 45 minutes. Talk about running me over with a Mack truck!

It'll be touch & go, ladies, if I get to stitching tomorrow- I don't want to pass this on.

TTFN

A Finish & a Start

Here's Bittersweet Moon:

Blackbird Designs
“Bittersweet Moon”
28 ct. Cashel “Relic”, recomended WDW & GAST threads

I like how the "0"s in the year came out. Smyrna crosses I think over 4 threads.

Here's Emily at warmups for MHJ finals today. The "big" show is on Sunday. The other girl is her trainer, Liz. Liz is a very calm, low key girl- just the person to keep Emily calm & focused.

Well where have YOU been???

Some blogger- I think they're going to revoke my license!

I've lost my stitching mojo for sure- the only X's i've been making have been at S &B each Thursday evening. My boss has been out sick for a week- some major head cold for which he has been taking antibiotics for the past 2 days- but I haven't even stitched at work.

Major drama at the barn where I basically offered to quit so as to not have to deal with the assfaced boy. Basically he has been treating me, and during the week, Emily, like his own personal hired help, groom, lackey and maid. And I HAVE HAD IT! And I let the bosses know, and really want to bring the horse somewhere else and go back to drawing on Saturdays for Tom. But now the bosses are offering compromises, and Emily wants to stay, and I can't quit with the very strong possibility that they'll hire the assface boy to care for the horses- I wouldn't let him take care of my pet rock for Pete's sake!

Emily moves her stuff back to school next Wednesday, and has moved back to my house until then. Next week Ms.Axeu is having a sleepover at a friend's barn so she & Em can have extra training for the Mass Hunter/Jumper finals which will take place Labor day weekend. This will also factor into barn crap, as a new boarder is coming in with 11 horses, and the Axe has to move her stall- another thing that DOES NOT MAKE ME HAPPY!

The top photo is from a show about 3 years ago, the pink tack one is at team penning about 2 years ago- they had a ton o' fun!

Well, I hope to finish Bittersweet Moon tonight. I'll post a photo as promptly as possible.

TTFN

Holy Cow!

2 posts in one day!

Here's Bittersweet Mon's progress:

I have to do the moon, some of the berries and a couple or three acrons, plus the date to the lower left of the tree, and my initials under the tree. And i think that's it!

Here's Delilah lounging at the computer:

I got "Advantix" for the pets; the vet says it's the best, and will kill all adult fleas in 12 hours. Plus she said I could give Chickie 1/4 to 1/2 Benedryl tablet twice a day for the itch. She's been not scratchy for about 2 hours, and just scratched some more.

Kitty's starigna t my finges on the keyboard- OOOHH the pressure!!!!!!!!!!!

O-M-G!

Has it been a week??!! I DO have progress on Bittersweet Moon- but no pictures. I'm almost done with it, actually.
Poor Chicken has been scratching herself crazy- the new kitten seems to have infested us with fleas. I never had a problem with Rosy & Aslan before. I called the vet today & she recommended Advantage over the Frontline Plus I'd been using. I have to pick that up tonight & get some for the cats, too.
I'm going to be SO in debt by the end of this month- Emily has a huge horse show at the end of the month, plus back-to-schcool shopping, plus inspect & oil change & 15,000 mile check-up my car, plus a delivery of fire wood, plus there's other stuff I'm forgetting. Oh- $200 spent at Walmart Saturday night.
I've been neglecting paperwork & mailing pacjkages & my boss is always around to screw up my lunch breaks, so no Thoughts of Baby for over 3 weeks.
The barn is REALLY sucking- wait until Emily finds out what happended last night!
I haven't benn slepping well AT ALL as you can see by my deteriorating typing skills.
Calgon take me away!

Sundaes..

I worked lots of hours this weekend and ended by mowing 3/4 of my lawn. I still have to vacuum.

So when i ran out of gas i got one of these:

It's a Dairy Queen waffle bowl hot fudge sundae. Yum!

Here's progress on Bittersweet Moon:I haven't done anything on Thoughts of Baby for a couple of weeks; boss man has been in a lot. I also seem to have neglected my Xmas ornament of the month program. So many stitches to make, so little time. No further visible progress on the quilts since picking the combos, although, I received a Fabric Place coupon & would like to add some blues to what I have & get stash for a purple combo. AAARRRGGG! I MUST finish what I have & started FIRST!!

Here's some kitty loving:

That's Aslan facing the camera while Delilah gives him a hug. He's been so patient with her- he's really been missing his little sister.

Monday Blahs

Rainy, humid Monday. I need sedatives for Chicken when it thunders- she quakes like she's about to go into cardiac arrest. And she sticks to my side like super glue, including jumping into the shower with me this morning!

Here's my progress on Bittersweet Moon from S&B Thursday:

The alphabet is done except for the "G", and i added another star. Here's a close-up of the berries & acorns- Smyrna crosses over 2 threads, I think, and acorns over one:

Here's what I hope is a better shot of the 2 different WDW Cadets:

The skein on the left being new, and on the right the older skein with which I stitched the house.

Below is what I think will be my pink nine patch baby quilt combo:

and here are the 2 possibilities of the darker, blue combo. I only changed the top upper right square for the 2 combos:I think I like the lower set better.

I haven't been baking at all- it's been way too hot and humid, and I have no AC except for the computer room.

I've been depressed lately, and wanting to just cry at random times. I think I need more sleep, but don't have time even for that. I'm tired of the "Drama of the Stupid People" at the barn; most of the people up there are just so f$#-!!-d up, it's not funny. I'm thinking of checking on the rates at another barn where I know the owners are sane, stable (no pun intended!), and NICE; where I won't be treated like a citizen from the 3rd world because I shovel stalls on weekends. I think they're cheaper. They may have shoveling positions; if not, I'll check into either UPS or FedEx or Walgreens to see how few hours I can work & still get health insurance- another insurmountable problem that has my hair turning white with anxiety. God damned state of Massachusetts & it's foolish "universal health care". What's wrong with paying out of pocket???

Ireland so made me happy...

Day After Birthday..

I had an unexpected surprise or two:
At S&B Jean presented me with a gift: Knotted Tree "Spring Floral Sampler" to go along with my Fall Floral Sampler! I was so surprised! Thanks Jean! Plus, she baked a loaf of Strawberry bread which was very delicious!
I woke up yesterday morning to find an envelope marked "Mom", and inside, a cute kitty card & a gift certificate to Cranberry Cross Stitch (Deb's store, aka: the weekly venue for S&B).
I was floored by that! Em & I have been having "issues", shall we say, but she has been making a monumental effort to comport herself in a pleasant manner, and I greatly appreciate it. The pains she has been taking are truly a gift of their own, but a card & a certificate on top of that are more than I expected.
Greg took me out for lunch and let me go home after, so I was even able to take a nap.
We had grilled chicken Caesar salads. After my nap, I went grocery shopping, and Em had just taken a cake out of the oven: strawberry with funfetti frosting. yummy!
I made a bit of progress on Bittersweet Moon, but not enough to warrant a picture just yet.
I've been reading 'The Horse that God Built", and picked up "Mystic River" at the beginning of the week, and just received "Without Reservation" (about the Conn. casinos) and now 2-3 chapters in. I REALLY want to re-read Harry Potter start to finish, in preparation for the finale. (As I'm sure every one else has done!)
OH what's a girl to do???!!!

Mid-Week-ness

I'm tired.

I have progress on Bittersweet Moon, Thoughts of Baby, and I finished Red House Sampler, except for the charm which I'll get at Deb's tomorrow.

I also forgot to mention that Bob got me a small bouquet of flowers and 3- yes- three!! - cookie sheets for my birthday. I looked unsuccessfully for some at Cirellis last weekend- I use those silicone pan liners which don't fit the disposable aluminum sheets. My silicone mats fit perfectly!

I cannot advise strongly enough: if you bake a lot of cookies (XMas, perhaps, ladies???) those silicone or Sil-Pat mats are terrific! I have just some generic blue-colored ones that my local supermarket were selling as part of a "bakeware-of-the-week" sale. I think I paid $6.99 for each mat. My former cookies sheets are the air-bake ones, but I have grown away from using them. I don't know if it was the beginning of my oven thermostat going wonky, but I started getting irratic results, and had better luck with the plain old disposable (or re-usable, if you're cheap like me!) aluminum pans. The mats were too big, though, and I was loathe to trim them; again- I paid good $$ for them and I'm cheap & didn't want to throw away any of it!

Emily brought a new kitty into the house and named her Delilah, after the song. She seems sweet. She (Emily)needs to carefully introduce her to Chicken and Aslan. She's going to be a long hair it seems. BUT- she's (emily says she's a she, but I haven't checked) black! Which is a prerequisite in this house.

S & B Progress pix...

Here's Bittersweet Moon:

I added a couple of the leaves & infilled stem vein, plus started the alphabet, and added one of the stars.

Here's Thoughts of Baby:

Sorry it's dark- I scanned it & it's rolled on the strtcher bars so it's not in contact with the platen. It's coming along nicely though.

Here's Red House Sampler:

I finished the red of the house & the bush & started the windows.
Here's that WDW Cadet color discrepancy I mentioned a couple of posts ago:I hope it's more apparent on a newer monitor- mine here at home is dying and displays colors too dark. The full skein is much greener that the used one. The used one is what I stitched the house in on Bittersweet Moon.

Um...oops?

So I forgot to take a photo before I went to S&B- so sue me!!
Here's one after:

I won't show you what the "undo" portion looks like on the back; let's suffice it to say that it will probably involve Fray-Check to make it permanent. I bought a replacement skein of WDW Cadet, which is the body color of the house (as in pale blue). The new skein is drastically different than the old. the new is much more green-ish blue. I should take another picture with both colors side-by-side to show you.

Here's little Chicken: she's jonesing for a hot dog:

She said she noticed that she was overlooked yesterday at cheeseburger time; she thought she had waited long enough thank you, so could she have her burger now please?

Well, well, well

SOOOoooooooo.........
Didn't get to the picture of Bittersweet moon (yet). I'll be sure to take one when I get home before S&B tonight. I did get 4" squares cut from all my fabric for the baby quilt(s) Tuesday afternoon. I had quite a lot of fabric to iron & cut. Then yesterday morning I got caught up in cleaning my baking cupboard- at soem point a bottle of those silver dragees (is that right??) you know- those little silver sugar balls for cake decorating- spilled and collected at the bottom of the cabinet (wall hung). I've been seeing a few ants while & since Mom was here, and after a bit of investigation, it seems they've been attracted to this sweet sticky mess. At first I was only seeing 3 ants pig-piling, but Tuesday night I saw a pig-pile of ants pig-piling over it, so I knew I had to take action. DONE!
I wanted to make a lemon meringue pie for the 4th, but Bob came as I was airing the cleaning agent-smell from the cabinet, so I ran out of time.
We did hot dogs & potato salad for lunch, then burgers around supper.
She-who-shall-not-be-named (for now) made herself Velveeta with hamburger. She really needs to clean up her greasy mess afterwards. I'm starting to feel sorry for her former roomate.
I did get her car's inspection sticker with no problems, other than that they didn't give me the report that it had passed. Bob had gotten a letter from the registry to return the plates because it had failed the emissions, even though my 60-day re-test period hadn't passed. I hope I won't need that report.
I will REALLY try to post later.

Progress...

Here's my progress on Red House Sampler- I've managed a couple of days of stitching at lunch at work. I'm pleased with the variagation in the tree.
Here's my new start: "Thoughts of Baby" by Erica Michaels on 28 ct jobelan "Raspberry Lite"- the haze of pink is just that- clouds of pink across a white field. I'm using Crescent Colors "Prickly Pear". This represents 2 hours of work. I will be taking a photo of Bittersweet Moon's progress when I get home today & post. The people on the 15th floor are leaving early today, while those on the third floor are kiss-asses and are staying until 4:00. ME- I'm leaving by noon.
I washed all my fabric, and supplemented with stash, and have to iron it all. I want to start cutting out 4" squares today. Greg's daughter is having her baby any minute; I think I'll have enough fabric for two quilts. Tomorrow I'm off, and I'm NOT going to work at the barn. I need to sleep until I wake up. The weather has been glorious the past few days- nice & cool and perfect for sleeping in. Then I hope to be up and stitching something- either cross stitch or quilts.
See you this afternoon.

On my Own (almost) Again...

Mumsie left today; I brought her to work with me & my brother picked her up to bring to Logan. She's called to say she's arrived.

I've applied pesticide around my foundation, cleaned 6 containers of leftovers from the frig, removed the bedding & folded up Mom's bed, moved Emily's college crap into the computer room, got gas for the mower & my car (I forgot this morning-oops!), returned DVD's & books to library, picked up a baby present for my friends Dianne & Jen (it's been 2 weeks & I haven't been to see the baby- SHAME on me!!)

I bought a butt-load of fabric today- 25% off sale ending today at Fabric Place.

I hope to make a crib quilt for the baby. Of course- Jen & Dianne aren't taking my calls, so maybe I won't have a chance to give them a quilt->sniff<
I want to make a Disappearing 9-Patch, a shown on Quilts & ATC's blog: http://quiltsatcs.blogspot.com/2007/04/disappearing-9-patch-tutorial.html

Here's my progress photos on Bittersweet Moon:
I miscounted the door opening and have since infilled (at which point I realized my error). Now I have to undo. No stitching until tomorrow.

WWHHOOAA!!

For some reason Blogger remembers me here at work! No typing user name & Password!
Tonight at S&B, we're going to Jean's house for a Pot-Luck X-Stitch night. I made lemon squares (and didn't look close enough to read I was I supposed to grease the pan!! I hope I can get them out) and S'Mores bars (courtesy of Cookie Madness- I'm tellin' ya- get yerself over to her blog if you 're a cookie fiend!) These babies look yummy!
I was able to stitch a little on Red House Sampler at work the other day; we didn't watch TV last night - Mom was reading a library book - so I pulled out Bittersweet Moon and did a lot on the house. I started to fall asleep, and maybe due to my sleepiness, I neglected to re-count the height of the front door opening I had left. When I got to infilling the door (all surrounded by pale blue siding stitches), I realized I was 2 whole rows short, which is a HUGE screw-up because the door has two sets of smyrna X's vertically, and I CAN'T fit the top set.
I'll have to undo (with a seam ripper no less) and re-stitch.
"I hate when that happens!" - Billy Crystal
"I know what you mean." - Christopher Guest


Have a photo:

Another Lost Weekend

I made quite a bit of progress on Bittersweet Moon last Thursday, however, since my scanner is currently hosting a bedside lamp on its top, I've unilaterally decided it's more trouble than it's worth to scan progress pix.
OOOH-
maybe I can still take a picture outside. No additional progress on The Red House Sampler. Greg said something about taking me to Connecticut on Tuesday to look at gyms- I REALLY don't think so.
Emily has been driving me nuts with her socializing- in & out at late hours, disrupting my sleep (and my mom's). I'm so afraid she'll let herself be involved in something stupid (i.e. illegal) with this group of kids she's been hanging out with- drinking or partying. I wish she was back with the old group, although she mentioned a couple of the boys turned into binge drinkers at college.
Ax lost a shoe yesterday. Unrideable for now.
I have to pay my car loan. This will have to suffice for a post.
TTFN

GGGGRRRRR!!!

So here it is: almost 10:00 at night; I'm finally having supper- a bowl of cereal. We had a neighborhood meeting with the realtor about the re-zoning and I had to go up & make grain at the barn after.

I still have dishes to wash- someone made herself tacos for lunch and its associated greasy mess.

It's going to cost $660 to replace the fuel pump on Em's car and THEN I still have the cost of the tune-up & oil change.

Anyway: here's my progress on Bittersweet Moon:

Aren't those curly branches just the cutest??!! I am SO loving this design & can't wait to start more of my BBD stash.

Here's my new work piece:

It's Red House Sampler by Heart in Hand on unknown (cocoa-ish) color CC 28 ct. even weave with recommended GAST & WDW threads.

I've been lusting after Vickie Clayton silks lately- I want one for one (or more!) BBD project in particular from that book I bought. PLus I think I want to start either my other Long Dog or even re-do St. Georges in a variagated silk.

Well the dishes await, and then sleep. I've been reading the Secretariat book Em got me for Mother's Day- it's a good read. There's a TV movie about Ruffian Saturday night. I know already I'll cry.

TTFN