Stitchy Stuff

I did a wee bit on Creepy Kids before the re-cap episode of Lost tonight:
I can't wait for tomorrow! Stich & Bitch and premiere of LOST!

Small Favors

Well, she (the poor pony, that is) got turned out today, for part of the day anyway. I'll be MIA for a day or so- I have to file all that financial aid crap online- FAFSA & CSS Profile. And that gives me such a frikkin headache. I have a self-imposed deadline of the "end of the month" which is Thursday. I'm only letting you all in on THAT secret because I just realized that bit myself, just this afternoon. Somehow in my menopausal confusion, I equated "end of the month" with "end of the week". I'm only a day off, but it's my deadline for Pete's sake!!

Oh, and a word to the wise- don't opt to Print your tax return from Turbo tax- it takes about half an hour and 85 pieces of paper. They have a "save to PDF" option now- I suggest that.
Yes I wish I was here now, having a pint.

Another Day, Another Ride..

Well I got my fat behind on the couch last night and dozed off until 10:00 or so, complete with my stitching tote beside me. Then I went out & shoveled the driveway. I didn't have a lot to re-shovel in the morning, just one edge that had a little drift, and brushed my car off. I even got to work on time because there was lesser amounts the more north I drove.

However, the lady who's started leasing Axe by the ride, she lives in Sandwich, and she had a foot of snow, and her kids had a snow day, so she couldn't ride today as planned. That meant I had to ride again. I don't think Axe minded- I got the cameras working again on my computers, and I saw that they never put her out today. I don't know why, there are about 5 horses without snow shoes (Axe isn't one of them), so that means 5 paddocks free, right? The idiot barn owner rented out stalls to horses that he doesn't have paddock space for. So usually, several horses (not the barn owner's girlfriend's horses of course!) have to have half day turnout, so, theoretically, they all get out every day. Somehow, Axe doesn't seem to get out as often as the other half-dayers.

Yay me. And poor Axe! This really pisses me off the most about staying at this barn.

I'm tired

It's been a pretty good weekend; I had to go up to work and do a double side job; I got half of it done (a 3-car garage) but I expect some minor changes, and I got a foundation plan done for the other part of the job so the contractor can have the surveyors lay out the footprint.
I went up to ride the Axe-inator for a bit this afternoon. It's been snowing all day and I thought it would be quiet, but it was kind of busy so I only rode for half an hour. She was so good for me. She felt like she was jiggy at the trot and wanted to run, so I tentatively asked for a canter, which she took in one stride (Emily's been concerned that other riders haven't been able to get the canter without some evasive trot strides first), and she was so lope-y and easy, and I was able to stick like glue to the saddle. Sometimes I tense up and start to bounce, but today was great.
I really hope to stitch on FOS this evening. If I get off the computer I can!

SO There!

Fruit of the Spirit (aka Creepy Kids) progress:

Sorry it's at an angle- I'm trying to keep my shadow off it.

And more on the second Just Nan Xmas biscornu:

This is about an hour's work at lunch.

If I only had a brain..

I was making the mad dash around the house this morning wishing I had a spare 10 minutes to take a photo of FOS to post before I left, and a light bulb went off above my head: take the camera & software & cable to work and do it all there! Yay! Grabbed the stuff, and I knew right where the disk was because of fiddling with my (now operational) printer the other night.

So I'm driving to work and I'm so pleased with myself because I can also snap a shot of the other Just Nan Christmas biscornu that I started yesterday at lunch! Oh I'm so pleased!

Then I get to work and take all the gadgets out. And realized that I didn't bring FOS with me! Because I don't like to bring work on big work frames. Because I'm stupid.

Well here's my biscornu:

You'll just have to wait until after S&B tonight- and I stitched on it last night too!

2nd Post today

Here's my finish:

JBW Designs "Joy Love Peace"

32 ct Jobelan "Lambswool"

WDW Dried Thyme & Garnet

Here's that chart I got:

I love the lambs & the dog & cat and there are robins next to the herons I can use, as well as other small song birds up near the houses. Plus I like the whole design enough to stitch the whole thing too! Bonus!

I forgot a picture of FOS progress. :(

Here's a sunset from last week:

See the BEE-YOU-TEE-Ful (NOT) lighted sign behind my house? I have to put up with that until almost midnight every night if I want to seee stars. Even on Christmas. The bastards.

Back Again...

Sorry- but I didn't even touch a computer since work last Friday afternoon- just lost my mojo I guess.
I finished my JBW Designs "Joy Love Peace Tree" at S&B, and worked some more on Creepy Kids- it just doesn't seem to show the progress very well... subtle it is. I also found a new chart that had some great critters that I can use to substitute for the Creepy Kids on the front lawn, but since I also didn't open my stitching bag since Thursday, I can't remember what it's called.
I made Cookie Madness Oatmeal Scones- talk about the yummy! Then I made Bob & I a small pork roast for Sunday dinner before the Patriots game.
The game the game the game...I was nervous going into it (surely not as nervous as the players, but when I tend live vicariously thru so many others, it DOES become somewhat personal) and watched with baited breath thru the whole thing- those Chargers came to Foxboro with a hair across their ass, and those are the teams that make me nervous! But my boys came thru - go Lawrence Mulroney! Can that kid run a ball or what??!! Tom Brady looked.... well....off? Disinterested? Distracted? He did his job, but not well. I know it was cold, but he seemed so disengaged with what was happening on the field when he was on the sidelines. He didn't even look excited that he had won. The other event that pissed me off was the fact that CBS didn't show the coin toss. At the Colts game last weekend, they honored the winners of the Pass, Kick & ?Jump? ?Run? contest. A girl from New Hampshire won the 14-16 age group, and was wearing a Patriots jersey (all the other winners were wearing jerseys from their favorite teams) and the Indy crowd booed her! talk about low class. Anyway, the Pats organization invited her to participate in yesterday's coin toss because they felt bad that she was booed, but the network DIDN'T show it! That was like a slap in the face all over again! I hope her family was able to tape it themselves from the sidelines. ....
Anyway. The wee Manning boy is also going to the Superbowl- how crazy is that? ANd yes, the fact that the Giants gave the Pats a run for their money 3 weeks ago is not making me particularly confident, especially when the Giants have their good players back from injury. Brady better show up to play in Arizona, is all I'm saying.

And the Winner is....

Hawaiian Biscornu!

Freebie pattern from Tante Zolder (My Aunt's Attic)

28 ct. Jobelan "Summer Sky"

Thread Gatherer's Silk "Hawaiian Sunset"

As you can see, the beads did not happen. I started stitching it together, and I couldn't coordinate the thread & which stitch to bead onto; so i just left them out. I suppose I could go back & go around again with beads. Maybe later. Here's the back:

I started the 3rd JBW Designs ornament: Joy Love Peace Tree:

This is with WDW Thyme & Garnet threads and that 32 ct Jobelan "Lambswool" (same cut I've been using- it's really getting around!)

These are felt stuffies my Mom made. I forgot to put them away Monday when I got all the Xmas stuff put away:

Have to ride the horse tonight and finish making up some grain- college girl took her horse home to CT for the holidays with her bags of grain, and didn't bring the bags back. I guess she thinks I pop them out my ass like a 63" tall ziploc bag dispenser.

Wicked Awesome!!!

Snow day today! And you know, it feels better as an adult than when I was a kid having a snow day from school! MAybe becasue I appreciate it more.
Well, I shoveled out twice, wasted time on the interweb, made chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal for breakfast, talked to Bob twice, went up to ride the horsie (first time since before Xmas- Emily took care of that while she was home; she went back yesterday), didn't fall off; went to the post office for Emily, got a cup of coffee and now am wasting more time on the World Wide Web. I need to get my ass on the couch & do some stitching- like beat the crap out of that biscornu for laughing at me!
Oh and go PATS! And ha ha Peyton cry baby! The Chargers whooped your sorry ass despite the ref's calling EVERY penalty on SD. Could you believe those calls!!!??? Surprise his baby brother grew a set and kept it together to win. See Eli- all you have to do is let yourself be hit a few times- it doesn't hurt - really!
Speaking of hurt- I need about 5 Aleeves right now.
Where's that frikking biscornu..............

Yawn!

OMG! Is this the loooooooongest work week ever???!!!

RETRACTION!!!!

I just saw the word "Hawaiian" spelled correctly somewhere else- NOW I know why it hasn't looked right! I thought it was because I was omitting the apostrophe! Well, OK, obviously my spelling has nothing to do with my dyslexic typing skills...or lack of caffeine....or time of day... or aggravation with spawn of my loins......I take back my disclaimer from the other day about (SNORT!) knowing how to type! See here: http://anotherxcrazyblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/ummmm.html

BWAAA HAA HAAA!

More Progress...

On Fruit of the Spirit:

Here's a closeup- sorry for the blur- of the over-one crows:

I tried cropping this in Image Composer, but it retained the boundary box of the original. I need to learn some editing software.

I got a new phone today- my battery wasn't holding a charge- I'd make one 35 minute phone call & I'd get the low battery beep, plus pressing any function keys took so long to respond, I'd re-press, at which point I'd be 2 steps beyond the process I wanted - SO frustrating! So i left it at the Verizon store at lunch so they could check it out- the guy was just going to replace just the battery, but I offered to leave it for the afternoon. When I came back to pick it up, they had replaced the battery & the phone except for the battery cover! Evidently the software was corrupted in the phone and the battery "had some swelling". Yay me!

As far as my computer, I realized when trying to shut down, Xp had some updates to install; it's running good now, so hopefully that was causing "connection" difficulties as well as the click-lag. If there's nothing I can't stand (is that double redundant?) is loooong click delays! And my local area connection is "unplugged" again!! DAmn!

Not a Good Internet night..

well I was going to post, but my "local area connection" keeps being disconnected and i KNOW it has to do with a certain college student and her 24/7 internet socializing (please tell me just what kind of pleasant, cheerful, healthy, EMPLOYED people are doing awake at 3:45 in the morning typing acronyms and abbreviated text to each other instead of getting a good night's sleep so as to WAKE UP the following morning to go to WORK!!!!!)
Ahem............. i'm having a hormonal moment. If she's F#*%!D up this computer I'm so going to lose my top.
I gotta go before I smash something.
S & B tomorrow; hormonallly-challenged as I am, I haven't done any stitching since that last ornament (or F.O.S. that I didn't photo) due to over-tiredness. Which HASN"T in any way been influenced by someone going to bed at 4:00 in the morning............................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Blog-o-versary to me!

I think it's been a year since I started blogging- go me! I'm finally getting readers, and commentators- thank you all very much for your kind support!
I stitched on Creepy Kids (FOS) on Thursday, but it didn't seem like enough visible progress to warrant a photo. And I must get back to & finish my Hawaiin Biscornu- it's laughing at me in my stitching tote because I threatend to use beads around the edges.
I made a pot of chili this afternoon; it came out very good - "it'll put hair on your chest" as my dad always said about such things; say - would you rather have hair on your chest or a uni-brow? I digress...
Usually my chili is weak, but I put in 3 or 4 of those little finger-size dark green chilis- are those jalapenos? And they had Rotel tomatoes in my little old white-bread suburban supermarket- with cilantro & lime juice. And 3/4 of a can of Budweiser, that other 1/4 can hit the spot at 11:30 in the am! Lip-smacking, I tell you! I used chuck stew beef cut into 1/2" cubes, plus some hamburger leftover from Em's tacos the other night. Bob had given me one of those "Vidalia Chop Wizard" (As Seen on TV) for Christmas- perfect on the onions & peppers. I definitely should write the recipe down before I forget.
Now I have a ton of dishes all over the counter- all holiday leftovers are removed from my house and I have all those containers to wash.

2nd Finish of the Year!

JBW Designs "Reindeer"

32 ct. Jobelan 'Lambswool"

WDW & Sampler Threads substitutions

I showed an angled view so you can see the beads; they're a little big, but they're what I had on hand.

Here's Aslan looking quite pleased with himself:

I know he's squinting from the flash, but that right eye looks a bit "off", doesn't it? He's ten now, and he's starting to show his age. Rosie (his sister) died a year ago. His fur is so "old cat" looking, or maybe because Delilah's is so lush & full in comparison. He loves his pats, though- even more than Chickie. I'm off to stitch on Creepy Kids (FOS) tonight.

Another Close One..

JBW Designs "Reindeer". I still have beads (snowflakes) and additional confetti stitches in that outer green border. And yes, I AM cutting it close on the fabric size.

I forgot to mention that in the middle of the night last night, Chickie jumped down off the bed, went downstairs, and came back up with one of her puffy toys, and then proceeded to cuddle back down next to me, with the puffy toy. Must have been a bad dream. Gosh I wish I could read her mind!!

Back to Work

It's going to be tough next week when it's a full week! I started another JBW Designs - the reindeer one.
I also went back & tried to label old posts in case anyone wanted to look something up. Over the weekend I tried to add a photo to my banner, behind the blog name & description, but it wouldn't format properly. Obviously, I wasn't doing something right, but since I have no HTML knowledge, I can't figure out what to do to make it happen. And I've seen more than several blogs disappear from trying to edit the format; they come back but with cautions of losing old entries. So I'll leave well enough alone for now, as bored as I am with the template.
No S & B tomorrow- Deb is taking a well deserved week off. I'll try to work on FOS.
LOST comes sback at the end of the month- I can't wait!!!

And in With a New Finish...

"Tiny Motif tree"

by JBW Designs

32 ct. Jobelan "Lambswool"

Sampler Threads "Pine" & "Cupid"