Dropping In

It's another Monday. Nothing exciting happened over the weekend. As a matter of fact, the weekend was full of headaches. Our main computer got zapped by a nasty, nasty bug and we spent the majority of our time trying to find and retrieve files. Not fun! Things have turned upside down around our place for awhile but I am hoping all will be back to usual within several weeks so for now, I don't have a lot of stitching to report on or show off.

Over the weekend, I decided to take a trip through my past blog posts. I saw a lot of birds, nature photos, scrapbooking endeavors, trips we took and stitching. I couldn't help but notice that although many of the projects had either been finished off or still in WIP mode, there were a few that I had not picked up in a long time. They were just sitting around, waiting for some attention. What a waste of my time and their potential finished beauty! So I dug them out, kitted them back up and have them in my basket of growing WIPs. I may need to find another basket to house them all until they each begin to finish off! I don't even want to list the total number as it makes me mad at myself for letting this happen! When I first began stitching I would never, never, never let this happen. I would start one and work on it until it was finished. Of course, back then I didn't have all these wonderful designs to choose from either so I'm not complaining!

How many WIPs and UFOs do you have? *wink*

With everyone posting pictures of their new or familiar established pets, I was feeling out of the loop. Should I post a picture of some of the regular visitors to my backyard kingdom? Then I saw Edna sitting all by herself on the chair. She is such a good ol' gal and never complains. A quality worth appreciating. She doesn't look especially happy about anything but she always catches my eye as I walk by and gives me reason to smile. I fluffed up her dress and spread out the skirt all nice and pretty for a picture. Who is to say that she didn't enjoy the much over due attention?

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your visits and comments always brighten my day. Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

A Short Post

I am almost finished with the second line from the bottom. My mother. It is definitely going to be the longest line of the group from what I have figured out so far. I am just hoping it is not too much wider thus throwing off the balance of the rest. Sometimes, my numbers come out different in my head than they do on the cloth! That always presents one of those "duh" moments for me. Some of these women have some long names!

Now for the winner of my silly song giveaway and the chart, Be You To Others by Hillside Sampling. The name of the song was "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose it's Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?". It's one of those songs that can get stuck in your head for days at a time but it's a fun song with a catchy tune!

I drew a name from a bowl out of all the correct answers. The winner is -- drumroll, please -- Linda! Congratulations!

Thanks for stopping by and playing along with me! I always enjoy your visits and comments.

Two. Count 'em. Two!

Two posts in one day! Oh my!

I was asked to explain more about the Mother's Tree. This a family history tree of women on your maternal side. No siblings, aunts or cousins. You, your mother, her mother and so on. And only the women. No sons, brothers, ect. You could alter it if you wanted to though. Instead of trying to make a long, involved and confusing explanation, I have posted a picture of the chart by Lavender and Lace. I hope this helps to clear up any questions about it.



I just noticed that the picture (previous post) of the Mother's Tree gives away my age! Oh me, oh my, oh you, whatever shall I do? lol. Anyone out there remember that song? Leave me a comment with the name of the song and I will draw from all the correct answers for a chance at winning Be You To Others Sampler by Hillside Sampling (shown below). It has never been used. The contest closes at 6pm EDT September 21 and the winner will be announced on my blog on September 23rd. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you should you win.



Thanks for stopping by!

I See Fall

Glimpses of red and yellow are showing up in trees. The mornings and evenings are sweater weather cool. The sun is setting earlier and in the mornings I see a new shadow cast by our Japanese Red Maple indicating shifts in the sun by a different season. Fall is on it's way! Time to pull out my cozy flannel lounging PJs.

My dr. seems to agree with my conclusion about the weight loss. Nothing major or life threatening. My orders are to keep eating until I begin to put on the pounds then back to my regular daily diet as I get to my normal weight! So for now, bring on the cakes, the pies, fried foods and all the other yummies!

I finally got the camera back from DH so I could post a picture of my current progress on Marianne. I did make several mistakes on her already but by the time I noticed them, the damage was done. I could frog them out and possibly lose my enthusiasm for stitching on her, chalk them up to uniqueness or even the Amish practice of intentionally inserting a mistake in their work to remind themselves that no one is perfect (a practice I admire). I chose the last option.

I also goofed on several color changes and am just not very pleased with their look but now that I have a "feel" for her, I don't think that will happen again. I hope. I am still debating on whether to frog those out and change the colors. I am hoping once I get more done on her, those colors will not stand out like a sore thumb (to my eyes, anyway).



There isn't a lot of progress to show on the Mother's Tree just yet. Those Old Script letters are taking some time and may not be as quick of a stitch as I had first thought. Especially since I am already longing to get back to Marianne!

For now my plan is to do two lines on the Mother's Tree, go back to Marianne for a while, do two more lines on the Mother's Tree and so on. Eventually they will get finished!

As I show my progress on this piece, I will block out some of the last names for security reasons. I am working from the bottom up which is something I usually don't do or like to do but I am frantically doing some extra last minute family history research for one last name to add at the top. I have 8 names which was my original goal but I just want more! Greedy me!



Since I'm not totally sure of the finished size yet, I am using a really big piece of fabric to play it safe. I have already gone past my anticipated width. Ugh.

I received a suggestion to stitch the names the person went by in a solid color. I liked that idea, so be it. Also, I am stitching the full given names of the ones I know. The rest of the names are stitched as the chart calls for. First letters of each name in a darker green with the remainder in a lighter green. I decided to only switch out two colors. Brown for the tree and my much needed red fix for the dates.

What are you working on or just dying to start on?

Thanks so much for stopping by to say! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Updated!

While online, I found 5 more charts I want! I could justify one and possibly even two but there is no way I can allow myself to add five new designs without first doing some serious stash-busting. Will I ever work on it? Was it an impulse buy and I have no idea why I got it or does it really really say something to me? I emptied all the charts out of their boxes and began to sort. Keep. I might do it later but not now. Why did I buy this? I doubt seriously I do this one so let someone else enjoy it. Four piles.

I have updated my Trade and Wishlist blog so pop on over and take a look! If you see something you like and want to trade for, let me know!

I also found a few new yummy blogs to add to my sidebar.

Where is That Camera?

Right now, the news is pretty slim around here. More storms, more heavy winds, more power outages, more trees down, blah, blah, blah! Seems like the same ol' stuff since earlier this Spring! Other than that, we have been having some nice Fall weather - for a few days anyway. I have even found myself pulling out a sweater or sweatshirt in the early mornings and evenings after the sun goes down.

Life is pretty much the same around here. No recent trips to share. No winning lottery ticket to get excited about. Nothing out of the ordinary. Our anniversary came and went with no big celebrations. Just the acknowledgement that we are getting older! DH had his birthday and luckily the cakes were a success. Thank goodness. I always hold my breath when I make that icing. So does he since he loves it so much and I only make it once a year.

After a quick "look see" of my stash, I put together an order (that are still on hold). Several charts I have wanted (but don't know when I will get around to them) and fabrics. I usually keep a good supply of fabrics so I don't have to worry about having the right color, size or running low. I have been lax on doing that lately and my fabric supply is beginning to dwindle. I just can't have that.

Isn't it funny how a lot of the stitching designs you like developed by watching the progress of other stitcher's work? I was never a big A&E fan. I liked looking at the finished designs but never had the urge to make them a regular part of my routine. We all know of several big A&E fans in our blog community and after seeing so much of their beautiful work on the famous couple, I finally did a piece of my own last year. I liked it. After going through my stash, I was surprised to see that I have at least 5 other A&E designs waiting for their turn at the needle! Plus there are several more on my wish list. How did that happen? They just snuck up on me!

I am drastically losing weight! And I'm not trying to. No exercise programs to shed the pounds. I still eat just as always. I still stuff down those donuts, calorie rich cakes and other sweet treats along with my meals but the weight just keeps falling off. I told DH that I don't like being over weight but I don't like being this thin either. I can see my rib cage. I know my standard weight that I am comfortable at. Last time I lost this much weight, I had new babies and I could see the logic. We lived in a house with a lot of steps and I was doing twice the work running around to take care of them and using those steps a lot more than I had. This time I am totally baffled. Last year at this time, my goal was to lose 20 pounds. Now my goal is to gain 20 pounds! LOL.

I hope to get the camera back from DH soon so I can post some pictures. I keep asking for it and he keeps forgetting to get it out for me.

Thanks for stopping by. I always enjoy your visits and comments.

Long Busy Weekend

I can't believe that it is September! Once this month arrives, the remainder of the year seems to fly by before you know it! This month I will start stocking up on my holiday baking supplies. A few items each trip makes it lot less hectic and doesn't pinch the ol' wallet quite as much.

I hope that everyone on the east coast is safe and sound today after Hurricane Irene. We are far enough inland that we were not touched by her. The winds did kick up a few times during the day. Otherwise it was mild weather in our part of the state. We had our share of damaging storms earlier in the Spring so everyone around here breathed a big sigh of relief. My heart does goes out to the people on the coastline and those close enough to the coast to feel her effects and have to deal with her damaging wrath.

I had every intention of making a post earlier in the week but troubles with our internet connection kept me from doing very much online. Luckily it was just due for an update and not because of Irene. After that was fixed and running good, we had a whopper thunderstorm that knocked our power out for the better part of blogging time.

DH is taking several extra days off making it a nice long weekend. It's nice to have him around for more than just a couple of days. In the evenings, he works on his telescopes while I stitch.

Over the long holiday weekend we will celebrate our 35th anniversary! Wow, does time fly! It doesn't seem like yesterday but certainly not that long! I still remember...

For dinner one night last week I made Brenda's mac and cheese! Scroll down to post on 8/16/2011 on her blog for recipe. Yum! It did not sit around very long as everyone was going back for more! It was a big hit of the meal and I'm sure I will be asked to make it again very soon! I borrowed the picture from her blog but mine looked just as good!

I finished up page 3 on Marianne and was doing some major happy dancing. I still have about 9 pages left to go but the good news is that the last 4 pages are not full pages so that may help. I decided to treat myself to a new start and began my Mother's Tree. It looks really simple but once I realized how long some of our family names are compared to the picture on the chart, uhh, this may be a little more detailed than I had first thought! To quote Ricky Ricardo (remember "I Love Lucy"?) Ei, Yi, Yi. Oh well, it will still be a special piece! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to just start on everything in my stash! Now that would really be a MIP (mess in progress)! LOL.

DH has a birthday coming up! He loves German Chocolate Cake and his mother used to make it for him every year on his special day. After we married, I begged her for the recipe for years to no avail. She would not share it with me (or anyone else). I was sure I could find a recipe else where but this was the one DH loved so I wanted to stick with it. When she got older and tired of the yearly ritual, she gave in and passed the recipe on to me. Now I make two each year for the birthday boy! One for home and one for him to share with guys at work. After my MIL passed away, I got her cookbook that she had put together over the years. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that many of her prized and secret dishes were in there as clippings cut out from the local newspaper!

I am low on pictures this time around because DH borrowed my camera and didn't put it back in it's proper spot so I have to interrogate him later to find out it's current location! I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by!