Winter at Beacon House…

is finished. I started on Sept. 6, 2011 and finished on July 18, 2013.

Behold:

Happy Birthday!

Someone turned 21 today:

She wants her own phone for a present

Giveaway Alert!

Barbara, of To Stitch or Not to Stitch, is having a great giveaway- the newest Kathy Barrick design (I'm so glad she's designing again!) and a piece of linen to stitch it on, plus the black silk floss required. Here's the link: click here

Beacon House Update!

Into the home stretch:

Still lots of snow to do, but at the moment, I’m tired of snow. We got about 16” yesterday. Today it’s close to 50 degrees, so it’s melting.

I also found my cribbage board from the old days, before Blogger:

This was handmade by an old friend almost 20 years ago who has since moved to Maine.

Sweet!

Blizzard 0f 2013…

 

Driveway:

18 inches on the picnic table:

A wider shot of the ruler in the snow:

Side view of car. I only had energy to dig a narrow walkway to driveway:

My arborvitae next to my patio  does not look happy at all. Normally you wouldn’t see the yellow corner of my house:

Opposite view of arborvitae and front corner snow bank:

Corner snow bank looking up the street":

Looking down the street:

Are you craving French Toast?

I should do this for a living!

From my day job. This is the metal skin going up. Then the windows will be going in. The site is right next to the Expressway going into Boston.

Update...

Axe's nose is looking much better-the swelling is almost gone. She's eating without pain. Her temp is normal. Thank god for small favors!

Water, water everywhere....

I finished the water portion of Beacon House:

Then the snow....I have to remember I want to add a lost mitten in the snow somewhere. It's not on the chart but I think I can wing it.

In other news, the Axe pony was the source of angst and lessening of the bank account today. The barn called to say she wasn't "acting right" and didn't finish breakfast. Not good- and made for upsetting flashbacks to the weekend Axe coliced over the summer and Bob died. Emily got there first & called to say "get the vet- her head is swollen". Which is kind of bizarre, but sure enough, when I get there, her muzzle is grossly swollen- close to twice its normal petite size. And very sore to the touch. The farrier came by too- he was supposed to do her shoes, but wanted to see what was up  with her face, and he said it felt very warm- like an infection. Long story short, after a sedation, a shot of pain killer, and a very painful oral exam, the vet thinks it's an allergic reaction to something she's ingested. She administered a steroid shot and gave me an Rx for steroid tablets. And a follow up visit mid-week.

Our guess was an infected tooth, but the vet said her mouth looked "awesome" - no cuts or foreign objects or broken teeth.

That's me: Mary "The strange, the bizarre, and the unexpected, day late and a dollar short, queen of procrastinators" Murphy. Also, very cold. Brrrrrr

BAD pony!!!

(Not my barn- just a random video I saw today)

>

I.O.U….

A progress picture of Beacon House:

Almost to the right side. But there’s still a ton of snow and water to infill, the numbers, 4 more pine trees, another dog and a person or two.

I also owe you a Christmas update: I’ve been reading a lot- Emily gave me a Kindle for Christmas:

(that’s the screen saver)

I bought a pretty pink cover for it:

She also gave me these 2 cross stitch books:

which contain some very cute projects. Dirty words, but cute!

She also gave me 2 pretty cardigans, plus some new horse ornaments for the tree, and LOTS of chocolate!

Sad Day in Boston….

Rex Trailer  passed away today at his home in Florida.

Here’s a story (one of many locally) from the Cape Cod Times

Rex and his sidekick, Sgt. Billy:

My best friend’s brother, a year older than us, was on Boom Town once. I think they made him the “Wanted Poster” boy that day. It was a fun (corny as all heck) show.

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!

I have someone for you to meet…

Meet my new best friend:

She’s trying to convince me to go away for a few days- she’s an evil bitch she is.

Presents!

We had our yearly stitching group Christmas party last week. We went to Longhorn Steakhouse first, then back to Jeanne’s house for dessert. I forgot my camera – for shame!- but dinner was excellent (steak tips & mashed potatoes for me- YUM!) and Jeanne really outdid herself- gingerbread cake,  and 4 kinds of cookies- a peppermint topped shortbread, nutmeg logs, cranberry orange cookies & these thin crispy lacy sugar cookies, and Joanne brought the most colorful fruit salad I have EVER seen! Everything was delicious- thank you both for such a wonderful evening!

Deborah, from Cranberry Samplings, was my  secret Santa. She gave me a beautiful needle book:

Inside:

Outside:

I love me a pretty paisley and this one is gorgeous!

She also got me a bag of assorted trims from Victoria Motto Sampler:

which is totally sweet because I won one of Nancy’s drawings over the weekend for a chart of Christmas ornaments! I know what I’ll be stitching on next year, and I have all the trims for finish- finishing them!

Thank you Deborah!

I found several photos on my camera- enough for a few more posts so hopefully, I’ll get off my keister and do something about it!

Off to do dishes- it’s late for me!

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!

You say Repurpose, I say Recycle…

Not your typical ribbon wreath:

But I like it!

Food, Glorious food...

SOOOO good:

Short Rib Lasagna- the most non-turkey thing I could think of.
I made the full recipe, so look for that link- my version was a half-size.
This blogging thing could become a habit....

Fee-Nee!

As our fearless Spinster Stitcher  her very self would say.

Behold “Joy Sampler” by Lizzie Kate:

I just have to attached the charms and it’s “finished” finished.

And today, thank the sweet baby Jesus, is the last day of NaBloPoMo. I’m sure you’re all sick & tired of me by now. I only missed one night where I totally forgot to write, so in my new version of normal, I think that’s pretty good.

Here’s a funny video I was telling the ladies about at stitching last night (I hope this works!): Cat-Friend vs. Dog-Friend

TTFN