Phew!

DMC issued a press release that I received, as a subscriber to their newsletter:


In recent days, there has been a significant amount of information in the form of press releases, media reports, etc. regarding financial difficulties and operational restructuring plans at the DMC corporate offices in France. Those activities and court filings within the legal system in France are directed towards seeking a formal resolution for two divisions within the DMC Corporation (Sportswear fabric and a small chain of retail stores found only in France) that are not related to the embroidery thread and craft activities, which remain the core business of the corporation. In addition, the U.S. division of DMC operates as a separate legal and financial entity with its own financing, receivables, payables, etc, and as such, is not included in any legal filing or petitions to the courts that may occur in France. We are financially secure and fully prepared to conduct business as usual here in the U.S. DMC has been manufacturing needlework threads for 262 years and we remain committed to providing stitchers with the highest quality embroidery floss, specialty threads, needlework fabrics and other supplies they need to continue to enjoy the wonderful art of needlework. We look forward to continuing to serve all of our customers and loyal users of DMC products into the future. Joseph D. McCabe President/CEO DMC, Inc.


Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

GGGRRR!!! I should have composed this entry in Live Writer- blogger seems so slow & difficult!
Um- this is Tipsy Tree sans beads & charm from the JCS 2007 Ornament issue. My GNTA & CC substitutions on 32 ct. Natural linen (stash on hand). Boss's schedule has been erratic lately, with PITA clients stopping in around lunch time. Often.
Good ride tonight; one of the trainers watched her canter to the right and thought she didn't look lame so much as just weak in the hind end/hocks. Trotting a lot should build up those muscles.
Had to go to Boston yesterday and pick up the first return load of dorm stuff- gad those 4 flights of stairs times 5 trips just wrecked my thighs!!!

GASP!!!!!

Have you heard the news??????
Rumors are rampant on the interwebs that DMC is filing for bankruptcy!!!!!!!!!! See Melissa's blog, and RCTN. One of the RCTN posts had a link to a Reuters NEws story, but it didn't come up for me.
AAAACCCKKKK!!!!!
So in addition to hoarding rice and flour, now we have to stock up on DMC! Where will I find the space for all this stuff????

Back In the Saddle Again....

I got to not work Saturday- such a novel concept! I slept until 8:00 am, went to the bank, the dump, got hay, got coffee and- drum roll please... I even stitched! for about an hour, then Ernie called to say he was coming up to put a new shoe on the horse-YAY! Then I got Bob, we had supper & watched TV, then brought Bob home, then rode and she felt great considering she was stall-bound for 3 days. I rode again tonight and she still felt good- nice slow sweet canter, not racy at all. Rain the next few days are going to screw things up at the barn- everyone will want to be inside riding- GGGRRR!

Here's Snowflakes:                                                                                             

I finished the house except for the chimney, and ended all those straggly flosses, I had just gone under with that last brown one & Ernie called so I had to put it all away.

 

 

 

 

I love this tree:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The house is slated to be torn down and this tree has to go as well, as do these ones:

I've wanted to get photos for years, and finally had a camera, and the "economic turndown" has stalled the project, so I can enjoy the trees this spring. Cloudy morning today, though, but I wanted to get a picture before the rains came and washed away all the petals.

My crab apple is going to blossom this year- last year it was too stressed by caterpillar damage and drought.

Hopefully, they'll wait to pop after the rain!

Bitch Bitch Bitch...

I've been in a most foul mood- for a VERY long time- like a week! It could be hormonally related; it could be that my boss has stayed in the office every frikkin day which involves a lot of stupid questions starting with "How do I..?" and statements starting with "Look at this.." and when I turn to look, he doesn't show me- is EVERYTHING rhetorical??!!; it could be that he gave me his head cold; it could be that I'm working on the job from hell that involves removing my glasses to read itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny little words on 8-1/2" x 11" paper, then putting them back on to draw what I've read, times twenty floor plans and turning to look at nothing makes me lose my train of thought; it could be that gasoline keeps going up in price with no end in sight and it's making me nauseous wondering what will happen if we get a hurricane; it could be that Axe is getting shiteous care up at HBF and has lost a shoe and I can't ride her, nor can she go outside, until it's replaced, whenever that will be; it could be that I've been exhausted all this week- more than usual (full circle back to hormonally related and head cold); and I really wish that the new Avon eye cream I just bought will "erase" those dark circles under my eyes as promised- so far after two days- Nuthin' hunney!

Well So Much for That!

Poor Axe lost a shoe. I'm not sure if she lost it in the paddock, in her stall or while I was riding last night. I'd like to think it was while I was riding, so I won't feel so bad about riding her on her bare tender toes-y. I discovered it's loss after I was done & cleaning her feet. I took a steel rake around the indoor 2 laps to no avail, fished in her stall with a pitch fork, and looked out in the paddock (it was getting dark).

I called the blacksmith, who never answers his phone because he's constantly pestered by people (like me) who want (well, other people demand) instant service. So until I show up at the farm & there's a new shoe in place, I won't be riding. Which is kind of crappy for poor Axe who needs her exercise. I can walk her around the indoor. I can also probably duct tape her hoof. Hooves tend to crumble if not shod (unless your horse is used to shoe-less) and walking across rough surfaces.

She's such a good pony.

I also got Mr. Lawnmower started last night after picking up/raking most of the willow branch mess in my yard. He was a bit reluctant, but with some prayers to the gas-powered equipment gods, he gave a healthy cough of white smoke and sputtered to life. The grass adjacent to my patio had gotten taller than Chicken.

I asked Deb to order these for me thru the Needlework Show:                                              

This is "Sampler of Steeds" by Arelate Studios. Just some funny equines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Is "WhistleJacket" by Scarlet Quince. It would be awesome if I could somehow convert this to a black horse! The description notes that the background is stitched and it calls for 87 colors! I think I'd use a hand dyed fabric myself and call it a day.

 

 

This is "E Davis" sampler by The Linen Sampler. My best friend's name is E* Davis. She lives in a hip-roofed colonial- so I thought this would be fun to stitch for her.

*****Blush*****

Now I am going to be permanently scarred from the terminal embarrassment of  having been "outed" by my fellow stitchers at  S&B. Talk about self-conscious high anxiety!

****going to my safe place*****

Anyway, i have to go up & ride. There's a horse show tomorrow & Bob asked me last week to help out because "Hayley can't get back from Springfield in time" (my ass- she took Friday off- she's taking a 4-day weekend! So what else is new?!)

So I have to get up at 4 to be there by 5 am.

Sucks to be me.

TTFN

A BIG AHA!!!!

Me thinks one of you "bitches" has found me!!!!!
Good sleuthing! Must be all those tips from Janet Evanovich books!

I Suppose...

I should post a stitch-y photo, seeing as this is supposed to be a stitch-related blog.

Here's progress from FOS:

I added the flowers under the right side house, and a kitty to the left of middle. I think one more kitty should do it, and then I have to infill all the grass, and dp the text at the bottom.

I made a New York Crumb cake, recipe from Cook's Illustrated for S &B tonight. I'm too lazy to post the recipe (that would involve typing) and I believe one must "sign-up" to view content at America's Test Kitchen . If anyone wants me to post it, feel free to comment. I substituted sour cream for the buttermilk to no ill effects.

My wacky plan to go up to the barn early to avoid people actually worked- like buttah! I was done by the time AssFace boy got there, AND I was home before 6:30! Score! Axe was good. Definitely feeling better.

Speaking of score: I won a door prize from the Online Needlework Show! From Stikideen von der Wiehenburg. I get to pick any chart which they'll send after the show. I chose "Vierlanden Sampler Ancke" . Well will you look at all those link-y thing-ys!

Shameless Tv promotion-izing

I was a huge fan of the 1st season of American Idol- love Kelly Clarkson, but in subsequent seasons lost interest- the talent pool, the "surprise" eliminations of popular contestants, the rumors of "fixing". I always seem to get back into it towards the end of each season, maybe because the quality of the performances ratchets up. I came back from the barn last night in time to hear this performance by David Cook and was totally blown away- so much so that I just searched on Youtube and re-watched and then re-watched again.
I'm not a Mariah Carey fan at all, but I appreciate her vocal skills and consider her one of this generation's best singers , along with Whitney Houston, and even Christina Aguilera, which kind of tells you what my ears consider good singing skills, however unqualified my opinion is. While David Cook certainly isn't in the same catagory of vocal skillage by any means, his performance has to be THE best of the entire season, much like Kelly Clarkson had with her late season "Stuff Like That There" and Fantasia's "Summertime". Check it out (I hope this works!): "Always Be my Baby"

What's up?

Sorry- lost my blogging mojo big time. I also haven't stitched since last week. Been tired and pissed off about the stallion- hell- the whole barn situation.
I went up last night to ride after 7:30; a couple of people were finishing up outside, no one in the indoor, I turned on the lights to warm them up and by the time I was tacked, there were 4 other people in there, then a fifth came in. Two were this mother/daughter who have 3 horses between them. The mother had been talking to the stallion owner while I was getting ready and I heard her say how "Al gets here at 3-3:30 and stays until 8. She rides everybody, blah blah, rides her own horses blah blah" which kind of doesn;t explain why were the two of them riding 2 of their horses at 8:00 at night. That couldn't have been accomplished 3 hours ago??
With all the riders and a crazy jump course set up to block most of the perimeter and avenues of escape, I got 4 laps each cantering and trotting to the left, 1 lap cantering to the right, and about 18 laps walking, trying to position myself to canter without crashing into anyone.
Supposedly the stallion owner is "having her lesson" tonight at 6:30. I know because at least 3 different people have asked and want to watch, like it's an episode of American Idol.
So I'm going to try to go up before 5 and ride. Then I'll have a choice of inside or out.
GGGRRRR!

Are YOU smarter than a Barn owner?

Brilliant man that he is, took in a former boarder, who had left a year ago during the great SilvaFalcoln Scandal Exodus. (I won't go into detail as key words in the story might tickle some search engines- causing people of ill-repute to make off-color, flaming comments or start trolling). This former boarder, whom we'll call...hmmm.... Rene- that's it...well, Rene bought the stallion of the disgraced former horse trainer, and being a great friend of the barn owner's golddigger girlfriend, needed a new barn to be at (ours is apparently the 4th or 5th in the past year- any red flags going up???) and barn owner said "Yes! By all means if it gets me into my girlfriend's pants again." I'll give you all one guess as to which paddock they put the stallion in (on the barn owner's say-so).
Um- yes- the paddocks with 4-1/2 foot tall fences made out of 1 x 6 boards, that fall off the posts if you so much as look at them the wrong way. This stallion being the one who can jump over 5 feet.
There are 5 mares and 10 geldings in our end of the barn, plus the stallion. 3 of the mares are stalled directly across the aisle from the stallion.
At least I finally convinced Emily to consider leaving.

Even More Critters!

Here's a picture Emily took of Ms.Axeu:

She loves her peppermints and mugging for the camera.

Emily got a job driving horse-drawn tourist carriages around Fanueil Hall in Boston. This is Big Charlie:

Emily probably comes up to the bottom of the yoke- she's not even 5 feet tall!

More Critters....

I've started adding wee beasties to my Creepy Kids (then it won't be "creepy Kids" anymore):

A squirrel on the right & left; the one on the left being chased by a dog. In the middle are 2 robins. I'm thinking a couple of cats and bunnies, maybe more birds.

 

Here's some more Snowflakes:

Stitch & Bitch was good tonight, although my dirty little secret - that I have a blog- got out. I didn't give the URL, but did say they could find it if they searched.

I gave Axe a walk around the ring on a lead rope tonight. Emily rode her last night & thought she felt great. Having her get outside every day really does seem to make the difference.

Let it SNow...

OR NOT!!!

Here's Snowflakes progress:

Deb said that she didn't use more than one skein of any color, but I'm chewing thru this white floss. I bet i have less than half the skein left, with more than half the white still to stitch. It was a full skein, too, that I bought for this project. The chart doesn't call for more than one skein. HHMMFFF!

Axe was good tonight. I had the whole place to myself and was able to spend a lot of time cantering her to loosen her up. Her trot to the right was much less gimpy.

Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod...

   These girls were in front of my office yesterday, lunching on azealea buds

Picture This...

Here is progress on FOS (aka Creepy Kids):

I finished all of the top portion; I started sketching new critters to put in the lawns below the houses.

 

 

 

Here's Snowflakes:

It's coming along nicely. It stitches pretty quickly, I've just not devoted enough time to it.

Yummy snack:

There's a Sunday Flea Market in Raynham, and a vendor makes this stuff.

BACK AWAY FROM THE POPCORN!!! BACK VERY FAR AWAY!!!

Well...

I do have progress on both Snowflakes and Creepy Kids, but I got home from the barn at 9:30 last night, and 9:45 tonight. No supper, no fire in the fireplace, no scratchy bellies for Chickie and a big pile of dishes to wash in the kitchen sink. No time for photo snapping.
Seeya.

This & That...

Finally some progress on Snowflakes:

I got this recipe in my inbox from a Martha Stewart newsletter for Carrot Cupcakes.

They are very tasty, although mine came out more like muffins, rather than cupcakes. Which is not such a bad thing because I'll probably have my fair share for breakfast. Her directions didn't specify using a mixer, so I did it all by hand, which may have a lot to do with the texture. The orange juice/allspice flavor combination is unexpected but inspired. I also added 2 TBSP butter to the frosting. Note I didn't show the entire pan so you can't see how many I've eaten. Here's what they look like inside:

Basically, carrot cupcakes exist for the sole purpose of being a handy, but tasty implement for getting the cream cheese frosting into my mouth.

Gratuitous animal shots:

Chickle pickles:

Delilah Fuzzy:

PS:

I'm liking this Windows Live Writer- I can cut & paste, it has a REAL spell checker (now let's see if I use it), I have more control over picture & text placement. Let's see how badly it screws things up with Blogger......OK....already I don't see how to label... maybe back to Blogger for that.

testing 2,3,4

another test

Testing

Testing Windows Live Writer.

Oh I can write to the sideblah blah blahblah

 

 

 

 

 

khgjhglukshgsu;ytseosyhbkjth;u;outhym;sbtuo8 n;sdfhguh g; huth;aoru z;hgzdkuthoty

Cool

That's not the Axe- that's Waterwheel & foal.