Show and Tell...and Questions

Wednesday...midway through the week. I figured I would share stash I've accumulated over the last month. I took advantage of time at a stitchy get together and a fabulous blog sale. Here are a couple of those mesh bags to cart projects around. I figured this was better and more secure than the old drawstring Gap and Apple bags I've been using! I scored two of Valerie Lejeune's books, Repertoire des Frises and Repertoire des Alphabets. These are tough to come by so I am happy to add them to my library. There's also a few overdyeds and these lovely scissors! I've seen these scissors all over stitchy blogland and have been coveting them for awhile. I finally figured out how to get them. If anyone is curious, they are an eBay.fr find. They will run about $22 with the international postage. If anyone has problems locating them, let me know and I'll put you in touch with the seller.
And here are some charts I added to the evergrowing stash...Brightneedle Pretty in Pink, Drawn Thread Too Tiny Samplers, La D Da Love is Patient and The Sampler Girl My Everything. There's also a cut of Antigue Ivory belfast because almost anything looks good on it! I bought the last two charts because I decided that as so many people want to have a sampler wall...I want to have a "Love" wall...whether I'm in or out of love. I haven't got anything to put up to start one but at some point, I'll be ready to start!

With this last purchase, I have to now put myself on a stash diet for the rest of the year. The whole new tires (2) purchase last night didn't help the cause any. Time to tighten the belts especially as talks about furloughs and layoffs start to resurface at work. I have the feeling some tough decisions will be coming around in November. Time to save a little bit of money...just in case.

And here is a shot of dinner. This was the dish I wanted to make on Monday..you know...before the whole flat tire stole two of my evenings. I saw the recipe on eating/sf and it's called Corn and Sweet Pepper Hash. I couldn't find any sweet peppers to save my life so I just used red bell pepper. I alsolutely love corn...and I have a unique way of eating it...to avoid the whole corn in the teeth problem. Since I had 3 ears wasting away in the fridge, this seemed a good way to use them and have a healthy dinner. I used 3 ears and 1 red bell pepper.
This and some yellow squash was dinner and it was a nice, light, healthy meal on a nice summer night. Mmmmm.....corn! Dessert will be either yogurt, rice pudding or fresh figs...decisions, decisions!

So onto questions..

I'm leaving on vacation in 2.5 weeks...time is flying! I am struggling to get through The Queen's Fool to return it by it's due date this weekend. Time to get new books.

I am looking for a Jane Austen book recommendation. I've never read one before. Which one is your favorite? The must read?

And I'd love a ChickLit (i.e. fluffy and funny) book recommendation too!

And for those Facebook fans out there...what in the world is Mafia Wars?! It is worth looking at? I'm scared to try it out because I don't want it to suck all my free time...need time for my shows and stitching!

Hope everyone is enjoying their evening. I'm about to peel off the computer to watch some CSI:NY and read a little more of my book.

Remember to enjoy and relax.

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

This week has started on the wrong foot. As an example, yesterday started off with me forgetting to set the alarm and waking up at the same time I should be at work! Total scramble to get to work and from there it was ok until after work. I was all gung-ho about trying out a new recipe and went to the grocery store to get the ingredients. As I walked back to my car, I realize that I had a flat. So I give AAA a call and a very nice tow-truck guy came and helped me with the tire. But by the time I got home, it was late and I didn't feel like chopping or cooking anything. So I scrounged around the fridge to find something to eat.

I hate dealing with car stuff! So now I am trying to figure out where and how to get my flat fixed where it won't take a lot of time or money. If I didn't feel so "omg, I am running out of time", I don't think I would mind the inconvenience but lately, I just feel like I don't have enough time to get everything done and I feel so unaccomplished...and then I feel all frazzled and stressed out.

So even though it's Tuesday, I'll be dealing with tire repair more than stitching. This may be good seeing as stitching has been feeling a little stressful and annoying lately. First, there were the Snappers...again...and the second border mistake...which I have yet to rip out. Second, there was the whole being unsure about my Mary Wigham fabric and my "oh my gawd, the sky is falling" reaction and now...now there is Newton.

Newton is the baby announcement I am making for my friend Claire. It came as a kit on aida cloth and I switched out the fabric for a cream lugana. I started working on this Sunday night...just as a little diversion and to say I made a start. But as I was working on it, I felt as though the colors might have been mixed up because Newton is coming out lighter than how he shows up on the picture. Here's how he is turning out so far. I haven't put in too much time and he's going to be small at 8"x8".
This is how he is supposed to turn out. I didn't like the white since you are supposed to stitch the bubbles and the tub in white and what's the point if you can't even tell! Hence the creamy lugana. But I kind of feel like Newton is a little more on the yellow side than on the brown side.
So I wonder if I should continue stitching and see how he fully looks. Or if I should just go pull some DMC, make a start on the other side and see which one I like better. Scrap it and find something else. Stitch it and offer it up as a giveaway to someone else. And the last two options are only because I saw a better-suited design. But that other design also comes as a kit...from the UK...and is supplied with the same Anchor thread and can get pricey considering the conversion plus shipping and the fact I would switch out the Aida fabric anyways. It's a lot to spend for essentially just the chart and the cheap thread. I suppose I should go with my original choice and work with it considering it's pointless to have so many birth announcements especially as I would only go to the trouble for very few people and I don't forsee me having children to keep them for myself! *sigh* Anybody have any thoughts on this one?

So...you can see my stitching dilemna. Nothing seems to be going according to my stitchy plan. The only thing that is behaving is my ABC Lessons. Here is how it stands as of Sunday. Excuse the poor picture. I took it off the Q-Snaps and it was so wrinkly.
I only have two more rows to stitch! This is probably good though because even though it's behaving and coming out beautifully...I am getting a little tired and bored of stitching letters. I'm ready to see a picture transform in front of my eyes! Maybe it's time to pick up a Mirabilia.

Thanks to everyone who offered a positive comment about my Mary Wigham fabric freakout. I went to NiaH on Sunday to have a look at other fabrics and I decided that Fawn was good to go. I think I'd prefer the lighter threads to pop on the dark fabric than darker threads to pop on lighter fabric. I knew this when I originally picked it out but apparently I forgot! But now, fabric is cut, serged and ready to go!

Tonight...I think I will pick up a book instead of stitching...once the whole tire dilamna is straightened out.

Hope everyone has had a better start to the week...

Until next time...

Woo!! It's Friday!

It's about fricking time!

What a week...very busy and non-stop. But it was a good week. I worked out twice and didn't die which is always a good thing and my muscles are still talking to me two days later. Yay...working out does mean less stitching though. That's the sad part.

But I am so happy it's Friday since I have a totally relaxing and self-pampering weekend planned. Lots of tv and videos, lots of stitching, an appointment for a nice facial treatment and possibly a new hairdo; a quick jaunt over to my local street festival; as well as a trip the the LNS and a mellow dinner with a good friend planned. All the makings for a nice weekend. Woo!

Yesterday, I was surprised by these being delivered at work!
A lovely bouquet of 3 dozen mini roses sent to me by *the boy*. How sweet! No special occasion...just because. I gather he misses me...I miss him too. They came in lovely colors of red, apricot, burnt orange and yellow.
See! Pretty! I've put them in a prime spot right next to the tv so I can enjoy them while being a lazy futon potato and watching tv.

So tonight, I plan on catching up on my tv programs...

And reading a little bit of this...
And stitching a little bit more on this...
I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and weekend planned! Enjoy and have fun!

Until next time...

Edited: Oh my...almost forgot. Go check out Patti's blog. She just became a grandma and is having a lovely giveaway to celebrate! Go over and wish her congratulations! You have until 9/4 to put your name in for the draw.

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Nights

Whew...I didn't think I was going to make it! I feel very frazzled this week so far and my previous post is just a tiny example of all the buzzing going on in my head. I don't know what it is but it might me all the work deadlines and the busier than normal week. But it's good to keep busy, right? I went to exercise class last night and didn't die so that was good and have class again tomorrow. I like this class...the teacher is fun and I feel like I actually worked out. I figure if the 2x a week class works out fine this week, I will try to incorporate a yoga class into the mix next week. I've been curious to try a local yoga studio for weeks. The yoga class I was enrolled in through the rec center just wasn't cutting it for me.

Anyways, I'm blabbering on and you folks want to see stitchy stuff. I have some recent stash acquisitions to show but didn't get my act together enough to take photos before the camera battery died.

But I do have this little bit of progress to show. Little by little, I've been working on my ABC Lessons since my whole border fiasco on the Snappers and I finished the Q,R,S row. This a fun and quick project. I only have three more rows to stitch and it'll be finished.
I am dying for a finish so I think I will continue on with this one until it's done. I'm hoping to get the next row (T, U, V) completed by the end of the weekend. The next couple of days are pretty packed for me so not much stitching will be accomplished by my weekend is fairly free. I can get a lot done if I actually concentrate...and stop surfing the net for even more stash! My hope has been to finish one of my projects before my vacation because I want to start Mary Wigham, need to start my friend's baby announcement and a small gift for my mom's birthday. I better stitch faster!

Thanks for all the positive comments on my Mary Wigham post. The lady at the shop didn't actually tell me I was nuts. It was more "You're stitching on Fawn, but it's so dark! The darkest anyone is going with is Examplar" and it stirred up a lot of doubt in my poor indecisive noggin. But it's growing on me and I realized I forgot to pull all the threads for a proper floss toss. Duh.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the week!

Until next time...

Decisions, Decisions...Help!

Anyone close to me knows that when it comes to making decisions...I am hopeless. I ask all my friends what they think on the things I am not 100% positive about. I think they are so used to it now, they don't even blink an eye. When it comes to stitching, I am very happy to have great blogging friends and a great staff at my local LNS. Last month, I went to NiaH to buy fabric for Mary Wigham.
With help, I picked Lakeside Linens Fawn. It's a nice linen but outside my comfort zone. I don't think I've stitched on anything this dark before. I had to put the linen on order since they didn't have a piece big enough. Well, the linen got delayed indefinitely, I cancelled my order, found a piece of Vintage Fawn at another shop instead and then heard from my LNS saying they will dye sooner than expected and so I got a piece anyways. Now I have a piece of 40 ct. Lakeside Linens Vintage Fawn and Regular Fawn. Apparently, I'm a nutcase. My dilemna is that I am scared it's too dark. Amazingly, when I took this picture this afternoon, I felt very "Hey, it looks pretty good" but at night, when I've been doing my toss the past couple of days, I've been very apprehensive that maybe I didn't make a good choice. (yes, Mary...I'm freaking out!!). So below is my toss. Vintage Fawn is on the top and Regular Fawn is on the bottom. There is a noticable difference between the two I think and I prefer the Vintage Fawn(top). This indecisiveness probably wasn't helped by some other shop owner telling me that I was nuts to use Fawn because that's darker than anyone else was using. Hence the current anxiety over fabric and thread. Shouldn't I be worrying about bigger things?!

So what do you all think?You can tell me...I can take it! Is it ok? Is it a go? Is it too dark? Should I go back and look for something lighter? *sigh* Having fun shouldn't be this hard! Either way, I'll probably go to NiaH to have a mini stitch-in and relax someplace that doesn't require laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, errands to be run. This girl is tired!

Ok...time to go but I'll be back with my Tuesday update.

Until next time...

Spoke Too Soon!

I just need to have a mini-vent. I thought that at this point in the morning, I would have a little happy dance to share with my November block. But as I was putting stitches in my top border, I noticed that the top border had more spaces in between the line and the leaves than in the bottom border. Weird! So I released it from it's makeshift confinement (this fabric is long!) and tried to see what was the matter. And I found it...the blasted mistake...all the way in April! OMG!!

Is it possible to strangle fabric and thread?! Maybe if I throw it on the floor and stomp on it, I might feel better? Freaking snappers!!! Ugh! I know it's my fault...I counted wrong...but I am blaming the freaking snappers. This piece is acting like a petulant teenager.

So you know what this means....two steps forward...one step back. I need to rip out the top border from April to November. I started the frogging last night and then couldn't bear it anymore. I decided to pull out my ABC Lessons because at least that project has been behaving. Maybe I'll stitch a row and then face the reverse stitching on the Snappers.

Blasted frogs!

Well, I am off to do the kabillion loads of laundry that need to be done! Enjoy the day!

Home Therapy

This week has been pretty rough and I am beat! It was hard...knowing *the boy* was leaving to go 3,000 miles away and having to be the one who in a way pushes him away. We both cried our fair share of tears. Both sad and upset at the hand we've both been dealt. The day he was leaving, he asked if he could leave the next day and I had to be the lucid one and say "no". It was already painful. What good would it be to spend one more day together to only go through the same turmoil and emotions the next day? He made it to Rhode Island ok and he's in a funk already about how hot, humid and rainy it is. Oh no, this does not bode well for my upcoming trip!! I don't handle hot, humid or rainy all that well!

We will be apart for five weeks...until I go out for my vacation.

The last couple of days, I have been feeling sad and mopey. No longer is that 6'2" figure on sticks crutching around or chirping in my ear or feeding me. It's quiet...but the quiet is also nice. I haven't felt motivated enough to start my fitness regime. Comfy pants, futon, tv remote and lounging is more my style when I feel blue. I also become restless so it's hard to focus on anything. But these are the things that help me get happy.
My tv remote, netflix, a stitchy project, my current book and a nice beverage. Oops...forgot to put netflix in the picture but you get the idea. All sorts of relaxing type stuff. As you can see...I'm very close to another mini happy dance. Only the border left to stitch on my November block and then I only have one. more. block. to. stitch. OMG...I can't believe I made it this far especially after my whole border derailment! Once this project is done, I am most likely adding the Newton's baby announcement and Mary Wigham to the rotation. Poor Fairy Moon will have to wait a little longer until I can fully concentrate on her.

Ok...going to go finish that border tonight! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Until next time...

Moving Right Along

I don't have a lot to say but do have progress to share. I completed the October block of my Bent Creek Snappers. Only two more blocks to go and I'll be all done! Woo!
The weekend has been pretty uneventful. Lots of errands trying to get *the boy* ready for his trip on Tuesday. We did go try a new place in the city yesterday. *The boy* was craving pizza and so we went to try Tony's Pizza Napoletana in North Beach. I wasn't really in the mood for pizza but went along for the ride and we had the calamari which was some of the freshest calamari I've had in a long, long while. Tony is famous for his margherita pizza so we went for that and *the boy* was a total piggie and had four slices! For him to eat that much, it has to be good! We also ordered a stromboli to go which ended up being dinner tonight. That was also pretty tasty so this will be a spot to come to later on.

Today was a lazy day. I could barely muster up the energy to go to the grocery store and around 4pm, I got a teaspoon worth of energy to get out of the house and run a couple of errands. I'm hoping I'll be a little more energetic tomorrow otherwise, it will be a long and trying day.

Well, better go...want to put more stitches into my November block! :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Thanks the wonderful and supportive comments on my last post. *The boy* and I are handling the news well and getting things into gear. I have my moments of feeling blue and that usually makes stitching hard. I can't really stitch if I'm all bummed out. I sleep more and try to wacth tv or read.

Sooo...with that being said, I've only made a little bit of progress on my BC Snappers shown below. I was happy to work with a color other than green for a bit but am back to the green since I had to use it for the stem and am just getting the border out of the way for now. It is also time for the Totally Useless SAL reporting. Seriously...where does the time go?! Here's my progress so far. It always seems like I haven't been doing any stitching when I see a picture of my jar! But you can see the green with a little orange sprinkled on top. Those have been the main colors lately.
And a picture *the boy* took. I told him to play photographer while I was at work so he provided the photos for this post. He liked seeing the fog rolling in. Means no whining on his part about how the apartment is so hot but I love me some fog and will always welcomingly accept it.
*The boy* booked his ticket and leaves next Tuesday night...so it will not be a stitchy night and I will be taking a break from "regular programming". I'm a bit sad, a bit happy, a bit tired and a bit apprehensive about the whole thing but I know that I will be keeping myself busy between work, housesitting and finding the motivation to get back into a healthy portion/good exercise regime while he is gone (and not trying to plump me up like a thanksgiving turkey!). I'll be heading out for a visit at the end of August. Even scored a $99 (each way) fare to Boston. Cheap!! So I am excited about visiting a bit of the world I haven't seen and discovering what stitchy goodness I can discover there. I already know and have been warned I will be eating my way through the tri-state area. May as well lose those 10 pounds now so I can gain them back later! Haha!

Again, thanks for the support and giving me a virtual shoulder to cry on and vent my frustrations. I greatly appreciate it and promise more stitchy progress soon!

Until next time...

News...Not So Good

The title says it all. The news from the doctor was not so good.

The bone stimulation machine is working but very, very slowly.

The verdict: eight more weeks on crutches and to continue using the bone stimulation machine.

*The boy* will be buying his plane ticket to spend 6 weeks of that time back home in Rhode Island.

It was not the news we wanted to hear but we are trying to look at the upside. He gets to spend time with family and be coddled by the mom. I get some time to myself and a little space back from the constant togetherness I was so not ready for. Plus, I have a reason to see what Rhode Island is all about. I've never been to the East Coast before so this will be my first taste of it. If anyone has some cool needlework shop recommendations around Rhode Island, Massachusetts or New York, let me know! I'll be going to visit sometime next month.

If things have not healed at the end of these eight weeks...surgery...and it all starts over again. Yea...not so good.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and sending your good thoughts my way. We both appreciate whatever good mojo people have to offer. Lots of hugs to everybody!

I'll probably be offline for the next few days...to you know...let it all sink in. Despite resigning myself to this before the appointment, it's all just a little sad.

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Usually...

Except for tonight...

Because we're having a heatwave...again.

I received emails from *the boy* all day about how hot it was in the apartment and how he was "melting into a puddle" and just basically hot, tired, grumpy and dying to be anywhere else than home because it was just too hot. I felt for him. It gets really hot in my apartment during heatwaves and I don't have any air conditioning. I'm lucky to work in aircon all day!

So after work, I picked him up and took him to the mall. He needed some basic boy necessities and I needed girlie moisturizing stuff. So we went to do the necessary errands and relish in air conditioning. *The boy* was so happy to be out of the house and go to the mall...he was actually waiting for me all ready at the curb. He *hates* shopping but I guess he hates the heat even more! So he bought boy stuff and I bought my girl stuff plus...a pair of very nice heels. I didn't have any interview, nice night out, potential funeral basic black heels and so I invested in some really nice ones. And after the shopping *the boy* treated me to CPK and frozen yogurt.

So we were successful in our attempt to shop and cool off but I couldn't keep to my Tuesday stitchy agenda. Oh well...I only managed to stitch some plain border. Not exciting enough to warrant a picture. Perhaps later this week.

*The boy's* follow up appointment is Thursday. He is dreading it...a tad scared to hear any more potential bad news. Please think happy thoughts for him. We'd both appreciate it.

Hope you're all staying cool and relishing in air-con...that's if you're in heatwave mode like us.

Until next time...

Weekend Happenings

What a weekend! Lots and lots of happenings to talk about so hopefully I don't bore anyone. The most fun item on the agenda for the weekend was going to NiaH for a Stitchers by the Bay yahoo get together. I joined the group about two or three months ago but this was the first time that I went to a get together or met anyone from the group. I was a total newbie and the funny thing is that I am the third *Valerie* in the group! It's been a long time since I've been in the same room with another Valerie...let alone two others! I think a fun time was had by all and I got to meet Lisa and Natasha there too! I was on hyper overload. It had been over two months since my last visit to the shop and I was a shopping fiend, not to mention meeting lots of new people, hearing funny stories and seeing loads of beautiful work and finishing! It was just such an amazing day! I had such fun and despite my crazy shopping, I didn't buy out the store. Maybe next time though! I had to put my Mary Wigham fabric on order so I will be making another trip shortly. Oh, can't wait!

On Sunday, I heard from Anna who was my exchange partner for the HoE Christmas in July exchange that I was so tardy on. I cannot believe it arrived in Norway in only one week! One week...can you believe it?! Norway is really far! I received a sweet email from Anna saying she loved everything I sent her. I was so happy! I stitched her up a cute Santa ornie and a floss tag. Below is the front side:

Prairie Schooler Santa Ornament
Gift of Stitching e-Magazine
32 count Antique Ivory Belfast w/Recommended DMC
Finish: pillow ornament w/green Mill Hill glass beads

Floss Tag
Motif taken from Peppermint Twist - Blue Ribbon Designs
32 count Antique Ivory Belfast w/Recommended WDW

And here is the back of the ornie and floss tag:
And here is everything I included in the package. I was happy to find some California natural lemon drops at my local neighborhood candy shop for Anna as she said lemon is her favorite flavor! I also included ribbon, needles, backing fabric, threads and a couple of small charts. So happy she liked everything. As a funny sidenote to my exchange, my friend Claire and *the boy* both saw me working on the floss tag. They would look at the tag, look at me and be all skeptical. I had to explain that I wasn't rudely calling dear Anna a ho(e) but that the abbreviation for Hooked on Exchanging was HoE and we all referred to it as that. They didn't really buy the explanation and I was hoping Anna wouldn't get offended but she seemed to like both pieces.

Other cool weekend stuff.

I reached my goal on Sunday of having the border up to September all done. I am all caught up! Yay! Here's how it looks so far. It's hard getting a decent picture of it since it's so long!

Here's my attempt at an artistic shot. I really love those July birdies! This was taken before I finished off the border...as you can tell. I think I will keep on keeping on with the Snappers for the week. I really like the October block and seem to be on a roll. It will be nice to work with other autumnal colors...you know...other than the blasted green!

And the perfect ending to a great weekend? On Sundays, we, me and *the boy*, like having a low-key dinner at home. He cooks and I get to stitch. I had asked him last week if he could make bread salad. He says bread stuffing...I say bread salad. We go back and forth. He doesn't get it so I say, "bread salad like they make with the roast chicken at Zuni!" And then he understood. Zuni makes awesome bread salad and roasted chicken...it is very, very good as well as very expensive. I had the wonderful chance at trying it with AM last year and she blogged about it here. Now that I am dating this total foodie, "I went to culinary school" boyfriend, I like challenging him once in a while. He tells me I have to eat better and stop laying off the popcorn. So this was my attempt at eating healthier.
And here is it. Bread salad and roasted chicken a la Zuni. It was pretty yum...crispy skin, tender meat, soaked bread with crispy outsides, toasted pinenuts, sweet currants and the bitter kick from the arugala. It was pretty spot on and I'm not just saying that. Mr. I Went to Culinary School sometimes has disasters and I end up eating popcorn. I wish there was more bread salad!! Wow, it was really good.

And that was the end to a great weekend! I hope everyone had a great weekend too.

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

No pictures and no real progress to share since my last post. I've continued the border up to the March block but have until September to do and am trying to intermix threads from different skeins of Dried Thyme to make the new border section blend more with the old border section. To be honest...it's kind of a pain in the a**, but that's ok. The border actually goes pretty fast.

Last night was fairly disappointing. *The boy* lost his contracting gig and he is back to square one...again. It's really frustrating to me because all I've known is this really nice guy who tells me he can take care of himself but it's something I haven't really seen in the 10 months I've been seeing him. So I'm cranky and frustrated and annoyed and pretty much running on fumes in the patience department. He's frustrated because his bad luck is running amock for some reason and he is still stuck on crutches. So again...we had the conversation about the *what if's* surrounding his upcoming doctor's appointment.

What if the doctor says the healing is coming along and he's off the crutches? He stays and goes to every interview he can to find another job and move out of my place to get his own place. I am craving space and frankly, to go from crazy serial dater who is strongly independent to immediate live-in, practically marriage with no chance at having an entire day to myself in my own apartment is killing me. Like seriously. It's too much at one time. I'm surprised I haven't gone running to the hills screaming.

What if the doctor says the leg is not healing? *The boy* is getting on a plane back to the east coast to spend time with family and have a stronger support system. As much as I have done, *I* am the only one who has done anything. His friends deserted him when he needed the most help and I'm pretty much at the end of my rope and super pissed at his friends that I can spit nails! So, he would leave until it either healed or after any surgery he might need and he says he'll come back to SF. Frankly, after this whole scenario, I'm too wiped out to even think about jumping on the dating bandwagon for a really long time. If anything, I'll have plenty of time to stitch!

I'm hoping to distract myself enough to not think about the *what if's* until next Thursday so maybe I'll actually get some good progress done on this border before the start of the weekend.

On a happier note, Violarium and Patti are both having giveaways next week. Hurry and take a look on my sidebar before time runs out! Good luck...

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week!

Until next time...

Vacation: Days Four and Five

Days Four and Five of my vacation were pretty uneventful so I won't bother drawing out the details. The majority of it was spent being lazy, napping, watching bad tv and doing some errands. But the rest was much needed and welcome. I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! *The boy* and I climbed up to the roof of my building for a private showing of the fireworks three towns over. From the roof, we could just see them. There is this monster tree that blocked a lot of it but we enjoyed seeing them shoot into the sky. I couldn't get a picture to save my life! They came out all blurred so I have nothing to show. *The boy* took a lot with his super fancy schmancy camera but I don't know if any of his came out either. He is as slow as molasses when I ask him to do things like that so maybe I'll surprise you guys later.

The little bit of stitching post-exchange and rr wrap-up was devoted to this blast from the past. Since it seems like I am on a bit of a green trend, I figured I would continue and re-stitch my border. Here is what I have done so far.
Not a lot but a little bit is better than nothing. I think I will devote the week to doing as much as I can with the border. The goal is to make it to the end of September and as you can see, I've made it only to February. Once I hit NiaH on Saturday, I will be way too distracted with a new start or many to focus on boring borders!

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend...

Until next time...

Vacation - Day Three

The plan for Day three was to eat everything that was bad for you but tasted oh so good. There were a few places in the city that I've been dying to try for some time now. So the eating smorgasbord menu was pizza, ice cream and donuts.

A little after noon, we headed into the city for pizza at Pizzeria Delfina. I dropped *the boy* off and headed to park. At my first turn around the block, *the boy* flags me down to tell me that there are 10 people ahead of us on the list and he wanted to leave. He is the most impatient person ever! Doesn't he know that you have to wait for the good things? I sent him back to the line and found parking. No matter what time of day you get to this little spot, there is always a huge crowd of people waiting for a tabe. The place is tiny!!...and totally worth the wait. We were seated at a wonderful sidewalk table and we people watched and chitchatted until out sand dabs came out. They were yum! Then we had our sausage pizza which was super yum! I found I didn't like the pieces that were a little burnt on the bottom (not all were) and so *the boy* ae those. It was a yummy pizza and we ate every bite! We also ordered the stuffed shells with ricotta, anchovy and broccoli rabe to save for dinner. We were so stuffed with the pizza that we didn't eat those shells until very late! We both enjoyed them except for the broccoli rabe. Definitely have to go back to try more things on their menu. We were both bummed that they day we went, they didn't have squash blossoms so perheps on another day!

Next...ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery just down the block. This place has gotten so many write-ups that I had to go try. *The boy* had cookies and cream with hot fudge. OMG...their fudge is *so* good and for not being the biggest cookies and cream fan, I secretly wish I had ordered that too! I had the salted caramel and toasted coconut. Both really good. Next time...oh yes, there will be a next time...I am getting the almond joy sundae. Toasted coconut ice cream with hot fudge, toasted almonds and whipped cream. Is your mouth watering too?!

And finally...donuts. We were going to buy a couple to save for breakfast the following day since we were pretty stuffed and sleepy at that point. Dynamo Donuts has been talked about all over foodie blogland! We obviously waited too late in the day to score any donuts. The staff wasn't very polite when I walked up and I asked where the donuts were to only be told they had sold out. *sigh*

Probably just as well considering the fried sand dabs, pizza and ice cream. OMG...I can feel the pounds creeping up! haha

*The boy* and I were content and headed home....he took a nap and I intently and determinedly sat down and finished my exchange like a good girl...finally. That's ready to be mailed out now! Whew...so relieved. I just hope my partner likes what I made for her.

And that made for a very full day.

Agenda for Day Four....laundry and fireworks. Yep..I'm loaded with excitement! :)

Until next time...

Vacation - Day Two

Day two of vacation was the type of day where at 8pm, you wonder what the heck happened to the day. Have you ever felt that way? It was fairly uneventful yet busy. The car got a wonderful spa treatment...tune-up, oil change and car wash. For being a 12 year old car, it's looking pretty nice at the moment!

Since I was carless for the better part of the day, I was left with walking everywhere. I walked home from the mechanic which is about a 3/4 mile, then my friend Claire came by and we went on a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood and then 3/4 miles back to the mechanic. Once reunited with the car, I ran some errands and went back home and it was 6pm! Any free time I had was spent on the computer. Amazing how time flies when attached to the internet machine so needless to say, my goal of finishing my exchange has been postponed to Day #3. Boo! So disappointed with myself!

The highlight of my day was receiving my HoE Christmas In July exchange from Jayne. Here's what she sent me.

I received a beautifully stitched christmas tree ornament from Jayne! Stitched over 1 and with beautiful gold beads attached. I love it! It took *the boy* a few minutes to realize that the hidden message of "joy" was imbedded in the stitching. :)
And here is the entire package from Jayne. She included lots of useful things like needles, floss rings, floss bobbins, some metallic threads, a cut of fabric and a cute little kit. Everything will come in quite handy!Jayne, thanks for the wonderful exchange!!

Goal for Day Three of vacation: finish my own exchange which is now late!

Until next time...

Vacation - Day One

So I am officially on vacation but is it really a vacation if you aren't going anywhere or really doing anything? Since I am *so* close to paying off my credit card debt, I didn't want to book a vacation and well...I have a broken down boyfriend at the moment so that pretty much cancels out any vacation I want to take! Touristy siteseeing...hard on crutches! Beach vacation...can you even crutch on sand?! I can't imagine. So I brought a bit of the tropics to me and made some sangria. I *love* sangria but don't usually make it for myself since it's pretty much a "mmmm, tastes like punch and smacks you in the head after a glass" kind of stuff. I don't have any pretty pitchers so I'm stuck ladling it out of a plastic bowl. Note to self: buy a pretty pitcher!
See! Sangria in a bowl. =) Loaded with lemon, oranges, apple and some grapes. And I eat every bit of the booze-soaked fruit...except for the lemon of course! Love, love sangria!
Besides making sangria...and drinking it too. I spent the morning at a doctor's appointment and doing housesitting chores. Bor-ing! Once I settled in after lunch, I devoted my time to this. I finished my section on CarolR's QFRR. Yay! I completed the bottom left section. This is ready to be mailed to the last and final stitcher on this piece.

Carol R's QFRR
35ct Lambswool
HDF Imperialosity and AVAS 1743

The plan for Day Two: Get car repaired and finish christmas exchange. Let's see if I can get those two accomplished without any drama. :)

Until next time...

Fifty Four Years Ago Today

Fifty-four years ago today, my parents got married and have been together ever since!

July 2, 1955

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Nights

I am procrastinating big time! I always do when I have finishing deadlines. Love stitching...mental block with finishing. I'll get over it. I should be working on my exchange but figured I would be better off working on that during the light of day. I'll be a day or two late getting it in the mail but I think my partner will forgive me! =)

I've been using my procrastinating time working on Carol's QFRR but am too lazy to take it off the qsnaps for a picture. I only have 1.25 motifs to do and will bust through that tomorrow. Woo! Will show it off once it's done and ready to be mailed to Wendy.

I promised to show off my stash. I put in an order with Sew and So in the UK because I decided to do Newton's Little Uns Sampler as the birth announcement for my friend Claire. Newton is a UK-based product and I figured Claire would love the little bear in the tub with the ducky and bath bubbles stuck on his nose. It seemed very "Claire". I will most likely switch out the aida for some linen at my upcoming LNS-shopping spree. Since I had to order from the UK already, I decided to splurge and buy that Elbesee embroidery hoop/seat frame that I mentioned after my RSN Intro to Embroidery Class. I *have* to finish the class project and it would be much easier to complete that and other future projects with this handy little device. Service from Sew and So was amazing! I ordered on a Friday evening and received the package by the following Wednesday! Fast! In the picture below is the Heart in Hand Little Angel in the Clouds chart. This was the chart I won from KarenV's recent chart giveaway. I was so excited to win it as I've seen it stitched up but haven't come across it in shops or online. It is *so* cute! Thanks Karen!
Oh yes, and there is even more stash. I put in an order with Drema because I saw that she had a chart that I was coveting and that led to more buying, or course. I have seen everyone stitching up BBD Beneath the Sunlit Sky and the more I saw it, the more I had to have it! Drema had it so that's what started this order. I also bought BBD Autumn Song, Cricket Collection Rest and Be Thankful and all the overdyed threads for Mary Wigham per The Daily Mel. I'm not sure I will completely stick to the conversion but it's a good start. Fabric for Mary wont be purchased til the aforementioned LNS-shopping spree.Well, I am off to finish that QFRR...that way I have no other excuse to keep procrastinating on my exchange finishing!! Vacation has officially started...loads and loads of stitching on the agenda. I am so excited. Hopefully I do a little road trip too but we'll see.

Until next time...

Nothing Exciting to Report

I wish I had exciting stuff to report. I had grand aspirations for the weekend. I would stitch my heart out and get my exchange done and start on the round robin. I would go check out cars in San Jose. I would drag *the boy* to the eye doctor and find him some new eyeglasses that didn't make him look like an old man (like his old glasses) and had some style.

But there were a couple of hang-ups with my plan.

#1. It was 95 degrees...where I live...which is unimaginable when you live in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment without air conditioning. Yep...95 degrees without air conditioning is not a cool thing. I barely had the energy to hold my q-snap to stitch. Not to mention the mind-splitting migraine I had most of Saturday. Saturday basically took a crapper. We managed to go to the eye doctor and have lunch before the jackhammering started in my head. We headed home and I laid on the futon for the rest of the day with ice on my neck and all the windows open and the fans going just trying to catch the breeze and cool off a little.

#2. Blasted frogs! The little bit I did stitch on the round robin and 2nd half of my exchange needed to be frogged from miscounting. I had really wanted to finish my exchange and make a decent start on the round robin but it was frustrating to get to a certain point and be all excited and then realize I had to frog the whole bit! Stitching was definitely not in my favor this weekend. I will be stitching and finishing a ton this week to catch up.

The only successful thing this weekend was finding *the boy* some cool glasses. And trust me...that took some doing!

So no pictures since there was no stitching and I felt like my head was going to fall off my body with all the jackhammering. I could insert a picture of the Centurion event in my neighborhood....had I taken my camera along with me yesterday. This event happens every year and my neighborhood becomes overrun with bicycling enthusiants. Here are a couple of pictures from last year. *The boy* managed to snag a curb-side table where we could sit and have breakfast and be entertained.

Nothing else new...will have a stash picture to show soon. Because apparently, the only thing that I'm managing to do all that well is shop for new stash!

I have the feeling Stitchy Tuesday will be all about finishing the stitching on my exchange and finishing it. But :::drumroll:::, I'm on vacation starting Wednesday and the plan is to stitch, stitch and stitch some more! Well...that's if all goes according to plan! Now I just need to queue up those chick flicks and my vacation will be just perfect!!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

So Tuesday came and went and I did manage to get a little bit of stitching done but I can't show you what I've been stitching since it's for an exchange. No sneak peeks...sorry! I still have one more week to get this exchange in the mail and there is still so much I want to add. I have the front done. Still need to stitch a back and I wanted to stitch another little something before sending it far, far away. I really want to get the exchange done by this weekend so I can work on the QFRR before my so-called vacation next week.

Even though there are no stitchy pictures, I have other pictures to share. Over the weekend, *the boy* and I went to Costco. He has an unhealthy addiction to blueberries. Yes, I know blueberries are healthy but with as many as he eats, he should be a Boy Smurf by now! Jeezus! Costco is cheap...2 pounds of blueberries for $6. So we walked out with 8 pounds worth. Why? Because we are crazy!! To be honest, we froze about 5 pounds for baking throughout the year and the rest...*the boy* will probably eat without a problem. At Costco, I saw a bunch of bright pink peonies. I love peonies and have been inspired by bloggers who actually have real peonies growing in their garden. Living in a 3rd floor apartment, there is no such thing as "garden"! I bought a bunch and they opened up so fast! They are a bright splash of color in my living room. The next day, *the boy* crutched over to the farmers' market and bought be lilys. He came home with three abundant stems sticking out of his backpack. I decided to just arrange them with the peonies and ta-da! It's a lot of pink but it's a fun arrangement...If I only had some baby's breath or greens, it's be just perfect!
*The boy* had his birthday a few weeks ago and this tee shirt was part of his birthday present (along with a very nice leather wallet and dinner at his favorite restaurant). I bought the tee shirt as a joke because I call him "dorkasaurus" all the time! *The boy* is truly a dork and he sometimes frustrates me which leads me to exclaim "gawd, you are such a dorkasaurus. Shut up!" Well, lo and behold, they actually sell this tee shirt. *The boy* loves it and will sometimes wear it out in public! OMG, how embarrassing! I truly meant it as a jokey house shirt. I thought I'd show you guys the dorkasaurus.
And here is *the boy's* travel around accessories. Lovely crutches aren't they?! He's going on 5 months on crutches. We are hoping that he won't have to hit the 6-month mark on them. It makes doing fun summer stuff like concerts and festivals really, really difficult. And before I forget, the new moon was on Monday so I am reporting my TUSAL a couple of days late. The snips are still pretty low in my jar even though I feel like I was stitching up a storm (per my standards anyways)!Mostly what shows up on top are the red, white and green bits from the Christmas in July exchange I am working on. Below that are the browns from my ABC Lessons.
I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was mainly errands, resting, baking (unsuccessful recipe at that) and car shopping. I have my top 2 cars from a car make I wasn't even considering. Go figure! Still more looking around to though.

Have a wonderful week!

Until next time...

Curious

So in my blog surfing today, I noticed this type of stand on this blog. I've never seen this stand before but for some reason, it looks like a good solution for my "owww, my wrist is hurting from holding this q-snap so long and gee, I wonder if that's why my shoulder hurts" dilemma.
I can't really get a floor stand since I have the weird propensity to sit sideways on the couch instead of forwards like any normal person and that habit probably won't get fixed until I get a stitching chair which sadly, isn't anytime soon. I wonder if this will work. Problem is that I am used to stitching one handed so that I can hold the q-snap as close to my face as possible since I have these lovely coke-bottle nerdy glasses that grace my face. I don't really know if this type of a "clip frame" as it is called would work for me. As far as I can tell, they don't sell these clip frames in the US. Why do I love all things British?! They are so hard to get!

So my question to the readership is...have you seen these? What do you think? If you have one, do you like it? And general stuff like that.

Perhaps, I should take out my Z Frame again and give that another whirl now that I'm not trying to put 20" q-snaps in it like a dummie.

And better yet, I am curious what stitchy folk use for their stitching in terms of frames, stands and lamps/magnifiers...if any.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. The gloom and doom weather has lifted to give way to warm and sunny weather here in my area. Definitely an outdoor-type of weekend.

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Just a quick "hit and run" post today and I am itching to head off and stitch! I haven't put needle to fabric in a week and needless to say, I am jonesing for a fix! Definitely need to get cracking on some obligation stitching. Since I haven't stitched, I have no pictures other than the sad display below. Can you see what's wrong?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Did you see it? The "after" picture is after I frogged the entire bottom border I had stitched minus one lonely leaf. The only leaf I managed to stitch correctly. I know you folks all think I'm nuts! I'm well aware and ok with it!! This project is being shelved until after I finish my obligation stitching for the month and maybe even beyond. I have a birth sampler I need to fit into the rotation (what rotation but anyways!) to get done by October. I still haven't decided what sampler to stitch up though. I am having a major mental block making a decision for this project but I have it narrowed down to three choices...erm...maybe four. Ack!

The weekend was great and busy! I eliminated my front running car because the rear window was too small and the side windows may as well have not been there. Cute design and sporty looking car but not very functional where you need it...you know...like windows and a good seat. Lots more looking around for me to do.

For those of you who stopped by yesterday, my blog was f'd! It had weird techie problems I couldn't even begin to understand but it all came down to how my blog designer had a credit card snafu with her photo-supporting account or whatever. I don't understand this stuff. All I know was that I was relieved to see my browns, blues and foggy Transamerica shot this morning. Whew! It seemingly resolved itself and I didn't have to do anything! Wow, I love that!

Thanks to everyone...new and otherwise who have been visiting and commenting. I love meeting new people and appreciate you taking the time to say hi. Hi!

That's it for me...time to work on my exchange.

Until next time...

Goldilocks and the Threaded Needles

I'm not Goldilocks nor do I have golden hair but I did feel like Goldilocks the other night. I finally sat down to start my exchange piece and grabbed a needle off my little magnet...stitched a few stitches and deemed the needle too thick. "This needle is too thick!" Then I grabbed another needle and threaded it and realized it was more like a sewing needle and too bendy with too small an eye. "This needle is too bendy!" That just wouldn't do! So off goes Goldilocks...errrr...I mean off I go to the big ol' craft cabinet to grab a size 28 Bohin needle and then everything was just right! "This needle is just right!" *sigh*

Except it was late by that point and I didn't continue stitching!

I have been incredibly scattered this week and haven't stitched much of anything. I have frogged a lot though. I will have to show you that sad, sad picture comparison soon.

I feel exhausted! I try to go to sleep early but my brain is always a buzzing to begin with but now it's buzzing with interest rates and financing options and the internal debate as to why all the colors I like for a car come with cream interior and I **don't** want cream interior!! Argh! I'm pretty confident with my financing now since I've pre-qualified for two loans at very good rates. But since I have very good credit (woo!! that was a fab realization yesterday), I can probably score better financing through the dealership through one of those purchasing incentive deals provided they have those sales going on. I feel pretty confident that financially...I can do it! Woohoo! I'm still scared to deal with the salepeople so I told *the boy*, it's his job to be the bulldog.

So this weekend, I think I will start hitting the car lots just to sit and see if I like the dash and take a test drive or two. That will be in-between the housesitting, hitting my neighborhood's "Art in the Park" Festival which is one of my favorites and the usual errands, tv, stitching and baking juggle.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Today was just that type of day...the one where you get up, think it will be great and it ends up being crappy. It started with me forgetting my cell phone at home and ended with me forgetting my purse at work. Apparently, I wasn't all together!?! I guess not...Plus, I felt like people beat me up all day. It was a whirlwind and by the time I got home, I needed a glass of wine and a cuddle but had to go back to work due to forgotten purse! *The boy* was very nice and had my glass of wine, cuddle and snack waiting for me when I got back and dutifully listened to me vent about the bad day and all the *stupid people*!

Since I was obviously out of sorts, I didn't get much stitching done. I tidied a bit and got my stitching stuff together but really...no stitching. But I did finish Wishful Sheep by Shepherd's Bush! Woo! Happy Dance! It came as a kit so I used the materials provided in the kit but stitched it 2 over 2 as I didn't like the coverage of 1 over 2. That meant that I ran out of two colors doing it this way and had to order more silk in order to finish off the birthday cake. I left off the pink backstitch *frosting* as I liked it better without. Sorry for the poor picture but it has been rather dreary here the last couple of days...gloom, fog and mist. Should I be surprised...these are the type of summer days that Mark Twain wrote about.
*The boy* kept complaining that the sheepie didn't have any eyes. I had to keep reminding him that people close their eyes when they wish upon a birthday cake! How could he forget...his birthday was barely two weeks ago!

I have plenty to be stitching on. Since I was out of sorts, I pulled out my Bent Creek Snappers and frogged another 3 months length of bottom border *sob*! Well, it has to be done if I want to finish it the way I want. The rest of the week will be QFRR and exchange stitching. I am hoping to make decent progress!

Oh yea, my dear friend Claire is pregnant. I mentioned it before I think and she is due in October. I am having a really hard time finding a birth announcement I would like to stitch that would suit her. She isn't traditional and neither am I really...but I also don't want over the top cutsie. I have some old Dimension kits in my stash from way back when but I think they are rather large. I'm just in flux about this. Maybe someone has a suggestion...something not mainstream that isn't all over the standard cross stitch sites. I definitely should make a decision in the next couple of weeks.

Hope everyone is having a happy week!

Until next time...

Great Weekend!

Yay! I had a great weekend! It was busy and I had to drag myself out of bed with a crane to get to work this morning but it was a fun and productive weekend. A lot of the events revolved around food.

Friday night, *the boy* took me out for pizza nearby and then I spent the rest of the evening in this ADD circle of stitching, watching tv, looking on the computer for god knows what and trying not to succumb to a food coma since I ate one breadstick too many at dinner. Don't you hate when you do that?!

Saturday, I did a ton of errands and then dragged *the boy* to the farmers' market one town over from me. Let me tell you, it's amazing the number of people who have complete lack of consideration for a person on crutches. They don't move out of the way, people push, they are too busy yapping on their cell phones and don't pay attention where they are going and then there are the kids going in all different directions including crashing straight into his leg. We saw that one coming through and the kid was like a little runaway toddler. Luckily his mom caught him/her right at impact so it softened the blow. At the market, we bought a truckload of stuff...apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, tomatoes, shallots and green onions. We were crushed to see the *sold out* sign at the blueberries stand! We absolutely love farmers' market!! After that, I took a nap from all the running around and being in the sun and *the boy* went on a neighborhood adventure. After my *you need to exercise and get out!* and *no, I'm not driving you the two blocks to Safeway* rants of the past couple of weeks, the boy is much more adventurous. It's good...he has to get his heart pumping to improve circulation so that hopefully that bone of his heals. After our respective jaunts to dreamland and the hardware store, we got ready to head out for dinner. I had told *the boy* on Friday, I wanted to have a nice dinner out and then I remembered this Cuban restaurant that I have been wanting to try for at least the last three years! So we headed to La Bodeguita del Medio. Let me tell you, it was fantastic! We decided to hit the appetizers and just share everything. We had croquettas, empanadas, mussells, greycliff conch/shrimp chowder and the cuban sandwich. How we finished everything is beyond me. We were stuffed to the gills. I probably should have run a few laps just to work all that food off! Everything was amazing! My only complaint was that the drinks were done with a light pour instead of an average or heavy pour. I'll probably just get wine next time. And there will definitely be a next time. YUM! OMG, drooling just thinking about it...

Sunday, I treated myself to a lovely massage and then dragged *the boy* to the farmer's market on my street. Yes, we are crazy farmers' market people! We got fresh prawns for dinner and a blueberry muffin for *the boy* and I got a much needed coffee. Again, they were out of blueberries! *The boy* and I had made a barter. He would make me lobster ravioli with prawns if I made blueberry muffins. Since the farmers' markets' were out of blueberries, I had to head to the much dreaded Costco. So more errands, blueberry shopping and quick housesitting stop before dashing back home so I could get *the boy* and we could go see UP. It was a great movie and we saw it in 3-D. I like 3-D but I didn't notice very many 3-D scenes in the movie. Maybe it's just me. I'd recommend it. It had some really funny parts, and sad parts and scary parts and parts that were heartwarming. Go see it! But if you have kids that are scared of dogs, they might get scared in the movie. After that, he made me dinner and I made him muffins...both which turned out great! And that was the end of the weekend!

Wow, I've rambled...hope I didn't bore you to tears! As for stitching, this is all I can show for it. I finished the ABC row!

Five rows down...four more to go!I finished that first row on my Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons and that's about it! I always have such grand stitching goals! But I only have about 20 stitches left in my sheepie and the button to sew on! I'll have abother HD before you know it. Now to decide what to do with it. After that, the week and weekend will be devoted to RR and exchange stitching.

Time to bring my rambling post to an end. Hope you all had a grand weekend too. :D

Until next time...

Weekend Events

So what's on your agenda for the weekend? Mine? Stitching, stitching and more stitching. It has not been a very good week so I definitely need some stitch therapy and hopefully all the frogs will stay in the pond.

Yesterday, I called out sick (of working) and slept almost the entire day. I woke up about 4pm (yup) and watched some tv, read a bit and indulged myself in some ABC Lessons stitching. No picture though since I barely made it through the saying for *A*. In the mail, I received Carol's QFRR awaiting me to stitch a section. This is the last one I will stitch on and the rotation is over! I think I will claim that bottom left corner.
Also, I received the necessary silk from Drema to finish my Wishful Sheep. Wow, talk about fast. I just put in the order on Tuesday night and received the silk plus Mirabilia Lilac with embellishments that I treated myself to last night! From order to in hand in two days! Awesome. I have no idea whan I will get to Lilac but I could not resist her...she is too beautiful to not stitch in my lifetime!

So I think there will be ABC stitching and QFRR stitching and Sheepie stitching and there should be some exchange stitching. My tushie is so being planted on the futon most of the weekend. There is responsibility stuff I should do too like housesitting stuff and errands and looking at new cars. I am very, very nervous about car shopping. I just want to look around and not be pressured and car salesmen have this reputation of being sharks. I don't want to be bullied into something I don't want. We'll see how things go. Plus, I think I need to squeeze in some fun outside stuff too. It will be one busy weekend but after such a crappy week, I am determined to have a great weekend.

I hope you all have a great weekend too!

Until next time...

When You Have Carrots...

You grab bags, throw in some potatoes and pears and hand them off to your co-workers!

Yup, I took the easy way out, asked my co-workers if they wanted carrots and they all said YES! After cleaning out my parents cupboards and fridge, I found potatoes and pears and my co-workers reaped the benefits of my dad being crazy and shopping at Costco for a 2-person household! He is *so* getting his Costco card revoked!

I did keep enough carrots to make a yummy carrot cake by the end of the week.

I have no stitching to show and frankly, it's been a rather difficult start to the week. It's not pleasant being in the role of caretaker girlfriend on what seems an indefinite basis and I'm quite fed up and ready to walk.

But enough unpleasantness...onto something exciting! All of stitchy blogland is talking about the Mary Wigham SAL.
I think this is a great idea and for this being an incredibly traditional sampler, which I'm usually not into, this calls to me for some reason. My plate is quite full at the moment so I think I'll sit back and see how everyone comes along and what ends up looking pretty neat. You can read more about Mary Wigham and the plight that these old samplers are going through on Needleprint. For the USA, Shari is the ringleader and she's created a Mary Wigham USA blog...go sign up if you want to participate in the SAL. All Needleprint asks for is a small donation for the free downloads. It goes towards a good cause...housing for the 219 year old Mary Wigham sampler and many others like hers that need special conditions to be displayed and cared for properly after so many years of age.

And I have a calling to techie bloggers out in blogland. How in the world do you get your blog list to come up with people's updated posts and the little pictures?! That looks cool and I searched and couldn't find out how you do it. Help! My blogroll needs a makeover and some major editing too! :)

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Well, it was a very busy weekend with lots of activity! The birthdaying and bon-voyaging all went well but it didn't leave very much time to stitch.

*The boy* turned the big 3-8 on Sunday. To celebrate, we headed to his beloved Franchino in North Beach for an awesome Italian dinner. Since he's a regular at this little family owned establishment, he was treated to a yummy dessert by the owner after the *entire* restaurant sang Happy Birthday to him! It was hysterical! *The boy* was very happy and as a bonus, he enjoyed the birthday presents I gifted to him. It seemed like everywhere we went, people were throwing free desserts at him. While incredibly yummy...I think I need to fast for the next week! I was supposed to take a picture of his birthday cake slice with candle but won't you know, I got all frazzled and forgot after said slice fell over onto the table twice! Ugh! Finally just had to lay the slice down on a bigger plate and slam the candle in it. At least it didn't fall on the table with a lit candle on it. There is always something to be thankful for! =)

The parentals made it to their destination with no problems other than forgetting their spending money! A daughter's job is never done! They had just gone through security when this discovery came to light so my stitchy Tuesday will be busy with taking care of that, laundry, cleaning out their fridge and taking out the garbage. I thought I could enjoy the week before the true housesitting duties kicked in but forgetful 80 year olds will always create more work for you, won't you know it!

With all the activity...very little stitching got done but I have finished as much of my Wishful Sheep as I could. I ran out of two colors so I cannot finish the cake. So there are missing stitches of Old Lace and Soft Black on the cake with a little rose backstitching and the birthday hat button still needs to be sewn on. So close!
I'm carting around the supplies to start my Christmas in July exchange. I am hoping to get to it sooner than later since it has a far distance to travel. Hopefully by the weekend, I can get a good amount of it done but you know what that means...Yup! No stitchy pictures for a bit unless I sneak some time on my ABCs. We'll see.

This week proves to be a busy one between work, housesitting and car research. I hope to stitch...my list of to-stitch's keeps getting longer and longer but not as long as my list of to-dos. I hope everyone had a happy weekend and you all have a nice week!

Until next time...

Edited: I started the refrigerator cleanout at my parent's on Saturday where I took home about 8lbs of carrots. How many carrots do two 80-year olds eat?! Jeezus! I am taking my dad's Costco card away!! Even after giving 10 carrots to my apartment manager...I still have a ton. If anyone can lead me to some good carrot recipes...help! I'm looking for a lowfat(ish) carrot cake recipe. I keep coming across many that call for over a cup of oil! Ick...Anybody want some carrots?! ;-)