Merry Christmas to all…

and to all a good night!

The 2012 tree:

The 2012  mantle:

Chickie after all the gifts were opened:

My dinner:

My feet are killing me after being on them all day. I got wonderful gifts from Emily. I will tell you about it in another post.

Merry Christmas!

It’s Been a While….

Since you’ve seen Beacon House. I worked on it last week, but only in the snow bank so any progress seemed invisible. But this week we went in a different direction:

After some errands this morning, I grabbed some crackers & cheese for lunch. Chickie loves her cheese!

Home Stretch…

Here’re my last turkey sandwiches:

Turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce with a light schmear of mayo.

And here’s Chickie hoping I drop those sandwiches:

Best Laid Plans…

Spike TV decided to air a complete Star Wars marathon beginning at 9:00 am. I’m not  huge fan, I did see the first Star Wars way back when, and never saw any of the 3 prequels. I caught the end of prequel #1, and about 1/3 of #2, before I couldn’t keep track of rebels, clones, Siths, Jedis, who was a good guy and who was bad. So I switched to Science TV, which is airing a Fringe marathon starting with season 1. I know who’s good and bad on Fringe.

Chicken has had to go out about 8 times. It’s no wonder I get nothing done- or at least I can use that excuse. I did get to Joann’s for some stuff with my 25% off my total order. 6 more days of this nonsense, and I’ll be done…..

Begin again…

Well, I’ll jump right into it:

I had kind of lost my blogging mojo by the end of June, and then at the beginning July my boyfriend of 14 years passed away unexpectedly. Well, as unexpectedly as anyone with COPD for 3-4+ years can. And that kind of took the wind right out of my sails. A week after his memorial was my birthday, then a week after that was his birthday.  So it’s been a tough month.  I’m already starting to have more good days (those without crying my eyes out) than not-so-good ones, so I’m doing OK.

I don’t mean to relay all this for  sympathy, but as an an FYI for you. Whenever one of  the blogs I read just disappears without explanation, it bothers me. I assume it bothers you too. I wonder if they’re coming back, what’s happened in their life (if anything) and I keep checking back less and less frequently, until I relegate them to the “Low Activity” bookmark folder. I check that occasionally, and sometimes the blogger starts posting again.  So I can’t and won’t promise that I’ll post any more regularly for any time soon. I just don’t have the proper mind set right now. God knows a crabby depressed Xeyedmary isn’t a whole heck of a lot of fun to read.  Even on a good day.

My kitchen table is piled with various things that I have no ambition to deal with at the moment, and since it’s the best spot to take photos of my stitching, I haven’t been able to do that either. I have stitched a bit, filled in more snow and water on Beacon House, and worked a bit more on that Xmas sampler I can’t remember the name of- “Joy Sampler” by Lizzie Kate maybe?

I may clean the table off and be more diligent in taking progress photos, and just post those with little commentary. I think I can handle that.

Any whose: I just uploaded some photos I took  last month:

Here’s what I grilled for myself for my birthday dinner:

 

An angus burger with caramelized onions and American cheese on a bed of baby spinach with mayo & ketchup. Bob had promised me we’d go to our favorite diner in Mattapoisett for their SCL  burger for my birthday- which is pretty much what I recreated, but without the fries.

Emily gave me a couple of cupcakes- refugees from an event she baked for. And that’s an icy cold glass of Bud, for a toast to my honey.

Here’s my wittle bitty baby:

She’s been glued to my side- so sweet.

TTFN

And then…

Here’s this week’s progress on Beacon House:

More alphabet and lower border and snow ground cover…

As I was pulling into my driveway, Mommy turkey and her brood of 6-9 chick lets were crossing my street up into my yard. I ran & got the camera  but while Mommy and half the babies hid in the shrubs, these ones thought if they froze, I wouldn’t see them:

Chickie says: “I’m the ONLY Chicklet round here if you please!”

Shaved Chicken…

Poor puppy is getting up there- I’ve had her for going on 9 years, and she was an adult dog then, so my guess is she’s anywhere from 12-14 years old. She doesn’t tolerate the hot so much anymore and it doesn’t help that her coat is like a collie’s fur. Last fall I had her trimmed to clean clean her up some, and I like the results so much I vowed to have her done for summer. And vee-ola- here she is: (don’t laugh too hard)

Here’s what she used to look like:

I keep doing a double-take and laugh when i look at her- poor baby! She feels like a seal. And her little legs crack me up now that I can actually see them.

I’ve been busy doing stuff I’ve neglected around my house- scraping and re-painting exterior trim on my house, lots of cleaning. I have to mow the lawn at least once a week to keep up with it. I still am having trouble taking out my stitching except for Thursday stitch nights. Can’t figure out what that’s all about because i love Beacon House, even with it’s wall-to-wall stitching, and there’s very little on TV to watch these days.

Off to mow- rain coming tomorrow and Tuesday!

TTFN

Thursday Stitching Update….

Here’s where I’m at on Beacon House:

I added the first little girl while I was barn sitting, and managed to get one of the swathes of snow completed tonight.

It’s very windy today/tonight in SE MAss. I thought Chicken was going to blow away just now while she did her business! I thought I was going to blow away!

Time for supper and TV.

TTFN

Saturday Stitching….

I think I’ve figured out why I haven’t felt like stitching lately: I’ve been reading. I don’t know why, but if I’m on  reading jag, I don’t stitch. I want to stitch, but it’s so much easier to pull out a book.

Anyway, this morning doing barn chores, the other lady, Michelle, asked if I’d do a little sewing project for her. Her husband is a police officer, and the Velcro on his rip-off tie needed refreshing. It never occurred to me, but evidently, perpetrators may grab the officer’s tie in an effort to thwart arrest, and potentially cause harm by choking the officer. So the ties have a Velcro closure at the back of the neck so they’ll rip off easily.

So because I had to dig my machine out, I also grabbed some more fabric to make Ort Bag #2:

You’ll recognize the floral fabric from Emily’s Christmas apron. The pale blue was something I had in my stash. This one came out more like Deb’s- the weight and floppiness was just right. I just need to work on the curves at the tips. I should also invest in some “invisible” thread.

Chicken wants me back on the couch:

Spring Chicken

Chicken got a much needed grooming earlier this month.
Hairy Chickie:

Groomed Chickie:

TGIF….

the only part about moving my computer back into the computer room is not having this next to me while I blog:

Please pardon the kitty scratches on my couch.

Under Construction…

More Beacon House tonight:

We had a full house at Joanne’s tonight- everyone showed up despite the rainy cold weather. We made plans for our Christmas party: we’re going to an Italian restaurant called The Chateau. It’s supposed to be fabulous- I can’t wait!

After discussion with Linda (no blog) and Deborah, I’m going to keep the 2 trees I’ve already stitched and stitch a mix of  the correct colors & incorrect for the following 4 trees.

Chicken was glad to see me when I got home.

Delilah I’m not too sure:

What a puff ball!

Garden Growing by Leaps & Bounds..

I finished a ten-day stint barn-sitting, and I’m trying to get back to my normal routine. Chicken was at my BF’s for the 10 days, and was spoiled rotten; so much so that I think she’s unhappy at being home!

Here is my Garden Grew progress. I am now 3/4 done!

    

I have created a fix for my Quaker Halloween and installed an A/C in my downstairs office (formerly the kids’ room) in preparation for the Hotter-Than-Hades Heatwave Tour coming to a town near you soon. Chicken demanded that at the very least. She also wanted dropped eggs on toast for breakfast and a medium rare rib eye for supper, too.

Yeah, right….

Yes, I’m still in here somewhere…

I even picked up a needle at lunch today for the first time since…...maybe January???? on that Wee Santa Em gave me for Xmas.

I WAS planning on stitching tonight but those plans got de-railed. I will try to take some pictures tomorrow- it’s too dark & messy right now. I have progress on Quaker Halloween (we skipped S & B last week) but as I was finishing up 2 weeks ago, I realized the center spider web was one stitch off-center. So that needs some ripping-out. Luckily that part of the motif worked up quickly, so I should be back on track soon.

Next month, I’ll be able to take this out again:

Sorry to be such a lackluster and sporadic blogger; just lots of noodgy stuff going on. In fact, when I went to the dentist Monday,  instead of  being my usual walking dead, my blood pressure was up to 142 over 74. Normally I’m low 90’s over 60. So now I’m conscious of trying to take deep, relaxing breathes and I’ve noticed my jaw being clenched more often- again with the dentist!

I know I have a back-up recipe on my computer somewhere, but I don’t feel like digging it out tonight. Maybe I’ll have a chance tomorrow.

Em has been house-sitting for friends this week, kind of inconveniently far away from here, so I’ve been walking Axe around the indoor-another chance of trying to relax! She’s such a good pony!

Chick pea needs a walk, and American Idol is coming on.

TTFN

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

With all the crappy weather we’ve been having, a pot of soup has been sounding like an oasis of comfort and warmth. I browsed thru Tasty Kitchen’s recipe index and found this soup. Here is my version, but please refer to the original for a nice photo- I was too busy slurping to take one!

Easy One Pot Tortilla Soup

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ½ green or red pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 pinch cayenne (or to taste)
• ½ lb. Boneless chicken, ¾” dice
• 32 oz plus 1 can chicken broth
• 1/3 cup enchilada sauce
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 can green chilis (Ortega Fire roasted are good)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• ¼ - ½ fresh jalapeño, chopped finely

1. In a large pot, add olive oil & heat on medium. Add onion & green pepper and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sprinkle cumin and cayenne and stir.
2. Season chicken pieces with salt & pepper, and add to pot. Brown each side about 4 minutes each. You can also substitute pre-cooked shredded chicken and add it at this time, and proceed to next step.
3. Pour in chicken broth, canned chilis, corn, jalapeno, and enchilada sauce. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
4. Right before serving, stir in sour cream. Serve & garnish with tortilla strips, avocado, cheese, sour cream, lime & cilantro.

It was Em’s idea to add the corn- nice touch!

SnOwCD

That would be OCD when it comes to shoveling snow. I can’t seem to go out and just do my own car; I have to do the whole driveway in my own precise methodical way. And regret it for the following 3 days.

Then come in & have a big bowl of oatmeal. Not instant or quick-cooking, but the old fashioned kind- YUM!

with milk & maple syrup! This is Silver Palate brand oatmeal- very tasty, a little more coarse than Quaker Oats.

In preparation for our snowstorm, i baked a cranberry bread (thanks for the idea Jeanne!) AND a batch of brownies last night. I think it’s PMS.

The 2 guacamoles helped out this afternoon for round two(they also came out to clean out the rest of their own cars in the am), and although I picked up the shovel “just to make a path to the cars”, I handed my weapon over to Em when they came out, and picked up the windshield brush/scraper to clean off the cars.

Chickie is exhausted from all the shoveling and is now sacked out on the couch.

Digging out….

I’m alive!

I have been stitching a little, too:

my alternate December ornament:

This is Rosewood Manor’s “Victorian Lace Snowflake” from the 2007 JCS ornament issue with DMC……..crap! where did my thread go???? on some kind of antique white even weave. And here’s my January ornament:

Heart in Hand’s “Wee Santa 2010” on a 28 ct. Dirty Linen with suggested threads. This is one of my presents from Em & DB.

I also resumed my Quaker Halloween, but alas and alack, no picture today (I don’t feel like it!)

It hasn’t been very conducive blogging-wise lately. I’ve been fretting about the mess my house is in, but I took care of a lot of it by finally getting sick of my Xmas stuff being up and finally putting it all away Saturday. The mess made me not have a good place for photos. Plus Chickie keeps wanting to go out a soon as I start something, be it cooking, cleaning, typing, napping; you name it, I start to do it, and she needs to go out. She’s had a few accidents in the peeing department. So when I get an inkling that she needs to go, we GO! (Not that she’s good at giving hints either- I think she’s reading Stewie’s blogs over at the Spinster’s.)  Other  than that, she’s well on the mend, although the vet neglected to sign the spay certificate, which means I have to stop there one day after work so I can get my reduced-fee dog license. Here she is bring guilty:

Here’s a picture of Aslan:

He loves to hang out under the lamp. He hasn’t figured out that the fluorescents don’t emit heat like the incandescent. I’ve been giving him a spoonful or so of Chicken’s canned dog food (a new post-surgical development) twice a day to try to put some weight on him. He loves it!

I made a big pot of chili Saturday, and had it cooking in the oven while I packed things away. It came out very yummy!

My local town rebels and I have been keeping tabs on our town government still, just to keep them honest. It seems like they routinely have pertinent issues on their various agenda that require our vigilance.

More snow for Wednesday. My boss has already said the words “snow day”! YAY! Of course. it’s all dependant on those wicked awesome meteorologists. So accurate, dont’cha know.

Aren’t YOU tired of cooking?

It’s been Master Iron Top Chef in Hell’s Kitchen around here for the past week- what about you? I did make an Almond Poppy Seed bread, although in a tube pan, for stitching tomorrow night, though. Baking is a great way to warm up my freezing house!

In stitch-y news: a finish!

‘’Tis Red” by La-D-Da, JCS 2010 ornament issue. WDW “Envy” on antique white looks-like-28 ct. even weave.

Onwards to my December ornament!

Chicken goes back to the vet on Friday for suture removal; I know she’ll be traumatized by the ride in the pet carrier, but hopefully she won’t have to wear the radar cone anymore!

Snow Business….

Lot’s of it!

This is this morning, after shoveling twice yesterday, and again this morning (no work! Yay!) Another gray & dismal shot of the snow-covered trees:

We ended up with about a foot. It came down dry & powdery, then we had some rain mixing in to make it wet & heavy. This morning was also wet & heavy, turning dry & powdery- the old “If you don’t like it, wait a minute…” maxim.

I made out like a bandit with presents:

look at these:

The kids got me ALL of the charts I had posted about in November! Em even asked the sellers to NOT show their return addresses as anything stitchy since I retrieve the mail! How clever! Plus they got me a 500 GB external hard drive so I can back up my stuff, PLUS a new pair of work boots PLUS a bunch of new ornaments PLUS a book about Secretariat PLUS a bunch of chocolates & coffee & other little goodies! My mom sent a package of pecans and a check (THANKS Mom!)

The kids gave Chicken a Snuggie (LOL) and a new coat and several toys that she loves (she’s much better, acting more like her happy self every day):

Notice her shaved butt. I tried sticking bows around her satellite dish, but they kept falling off.

We had a fun day. I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast (me), churros for Emily, eggs & sausage for Adam. They went out to visit Emily’s cousin from my “out”-laws while I went down to visit Bob.

When we were all back home, we had braised short ribs, from the Short Rib lasagna recipe I posted a while back, plus PW Creamy mashed potatoes, and broccoli. YUM!

I hope you all had a very nice holiday; thanks for visiting with me and leaving your nice comments- I do appreciate them!