Tomorrow is December!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Did anyone brave the crowds of shoppers on Thanksgiving weekend? Not me! I have not participated in Black Friday in years and really don't miss it at all! lol. To those of you brave souls who ventured out, I hope you found some wonderful buys! I just can't get over how fast the year has passed by and that tomorrow marks the beginning of the final month of this year!

Our weather was chilly before Thanksgiving then it warmed back up for holiday. The temps have dropped back down again so it was time to turn the heat back on. No Heat! We have no idea what happened within several days time but until the fix it man comes out, we are relying on the fireplace!

Since my last post, I began a new start. Like I said before, I am sticking with the Winter theme for awhile so I pulled Parson Brown by NFF from my stash. I have changed a couple of colors around to show up better on the fabric I'm using. I also put a few more stitches into The Mother's Tree. The letters are beautiful but tedious to stitch. I want to keep at it though so it doesn't become a UFO. I am taking my time with these for the remainder of the year.

I joined a few challenges for the upcoming year as well. TUSAL just for fun. WIPocalypse because it may be the incentive I need to get several of these WIPs finally finished off and The Oldest UFO seemed to be a fitting challenge to help me finally get And A Forest Grew by Rosewood Manor finished or close to it. That piece has been in my basket for close to six years now! I totally bombed out on last year's challenge but life happens. My intentions are good though! Fingers crossed for 2012! All links can be found in my side bar to the right.

While cleaning out a forgotten drawer, I found some hidden away freebie ornament patterns! It was like bringing home a load of new stash! I would love a basket filled with these smalls. Like I really need another project or theme going on but I do have the charts. Who knows how well this will pan out but I went ahead and put it on the list! Wow. That list is getting loooong! Nothing definite. Just the wheels of my mind kicking into gear again! lol.

With everything that seems to have been going on around here, I just haven't felt like pulling out my camera. Hopefully next time I will have some pictures to share! Thank you for dropping by! Your visits and comments always brighten my day!

Get Ready to Get Stuffed!

What a week it was since I last posted! The kind of "thank goodness that's over" type of week. It all began with our phone and internet service. Losing connection in the middle of a telephone call, soooooo sloooooow internet and just a major annoyance. They came out in a jiffy and it took a little while longer than I had anticipated but both are working 110% now. That should have been enough. Right? Nope. We were without any water for more than 30 hours. That was a real annoyance with dishes piling up in the sink, the dirty clothes hamper seemed to fill up faster than usual, no showers to be had and something as simple as washing your hands was unavailable!

DH is home on vacation again for the Turkey holiday. I do like having him around. During the evening we sit in the living area while he reads his astronomy magazines or works on his hobby and I stitch. It just reminds me of our earlier pre-kids days and has a cozy feel to it.

Did I mention that Poor Maidens was a gift from a lovely someone? I was so thrilled and couldn't stop dancing around the room. DH thought I was totally crazy! lol. I finished off AWWR - sort of. DH likes it better without the border. Yes, I usually show him my stitching and get his input. I still haven't decided whether to add the border or not so for now it remains a sort of finish.

While going through my stash I saw all those wonderful bird designs that are waiting to be done and remembered I also want a bird wall! Do I have enough walls? For now I am loving stitching on these pieces for my Winter wall and will probably concentrate on them for awhile. Now to go through my stash and find my next new start!

I have been keeping some candy on hand lately and I am beginning to gain some weight back. All my tests came back normal so I have another appointment with the doctor to discuss other possibilities. He thinks it could be something as simple as nerves. He said that's pretty common when you get older. Gee, thanks doc! Maybe I should tell him that he's no spring chicken either! lol.

Mr. Turkey is in the fridge getting thawed out for the big day. I always make my standard dressing that everyone loves for Thanksgiving dinner but I like play around with an extra dressing recipe looking for that perfect one with that special umph. This year I have come up with, what I think, will be THE one! Actually I am basing it on a salad that I love from a local restaurant (minus the lettuce)! Just sort of making it up as I go type thing. I'll let you know if turns out as good as I am hoping. What all do you fix for Thanksgiving? Any traditional dishes? Any new experimental ones?

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for dropping by! I wish you all a wonderful holiday!

Happy Dance!

What have I been doing since my last post?

I re-arranged some things on the bookshelf, including my shelf of sewing goodies and a few things that are dear to my heart. Scissors I have accumulated displayed in the frog that Edgar sent to me. The glass cookie jar holding my collection of tomato pincushions complete with pins (sorry for the glare on the glass), a jar of buttons and of course my beloved corn shuck dolls that had once belonged to my Aunt. You can't see it but I even have a couple of Gee Haw Whimmy Diddles that my Grandpa made for me many years ago.



I finally have my first finish of the year! Here it is, all stitched up in practically no time and ready to get finished off for display. Poor Maidens by Paulette of Plum Street Samplers! I fell in love with the design immediately when I saw it and knew it would be a must. It was such a fun stitch and I enjoyed working on it so much! I could hardly put it down to do any housework. It was just what I need to renew my motivation.



It is worked on 18 count Fiddlers Cloth with the recommended DMC colors except for the middle maiden's dress which I changed to red (for my added red fix). I don't know why my green looks different from the picture but I still love it! The Fiddlers Cloth was the perfect choice because it gives the piece a rustic look. This is my first PSS finish and the first piece for my Winter wall. I. Am. Thrilled!

There are a few other Christmas/winter designs I want to get or are already in my stash that I want to do now. After I finished off Poor Maidens, I picked up my WIP of AWWR by Shakespeare Peddler and am almost finished with it! Then I made a "Christmas hint" list for dh which includes Favorite Spot Sampler by PSS. It looks like another really fun stitch and perfect for my winter wall!

In my last post I mentioned that I had made my list of pieces to stitch on the remainder of this year and into 2012. I divided this list into categories or walls I want to have. Adam and Eve/nature wall, In Memory Of/samplers wall, Winter wall and my yearly reminder wall. The last one is for those quotes I like to do each year that remind me how I want to live or things I just tend to forget and need a gentle reminder of i.e. Treat Yourself Well (Lauren's Voice) by La D Da.

Thanks for stopping by to join in my Happy Dance! I always enjoy your visits and comments. Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

Hello. Hello.

It's already November! Oh, how the last part of the year just flies by once Labor Day comes and goes. Where did the past several weeks go? It seemed like I was really busy but I can't remember accomplishing that much! Stitching or otherwise. I did manage to get a little done but not even close to what I had intended.

After I began to feel better I decided to continue on my goal to downsize by cleaning out more closets and drawers. Just stuff we never use or wear anymore. For now, these spaces are looking are little neater and less intimidating. Of course I couldn't toss out any stitching stash, scrapbooking supplies or fabrics!

I worked on the Mother's Tree for a bit after the meds took effect and I stopped all that horrible coughing. Once I got my mother's line finished up (the longest line of the group), I was able to cut off that excess that was making it so difficult to hold. I am hoping it will move along quicker and smoother now it won't feel so terribly heavy as I stitch!

I was asked what I put on my list for the remainder of 2011 and 2012. I have four WIPs I want to finish up. I think I will keep the rest of the list a surprise. A surprise to my readers and probably to me as well. I usually just grab what speaks to me at the moment but I still like making the list! I would be thrilled to get half of these stitched and completed since this year was not productive at all with no finishes to date. Do you make a list for the upcoming New Year or just grab whatever calls to you at the moment?

DH took some vacation time last week. It was nice to have him home. We were able to mark a few things off our "to do" list around the house. I didn't get much stitching done while he was home and I am already looking forward to his next vacation over Thanksgiving week.

Our weekends of errands never take a vacation though. We spent our usual weekends taking care of these and hitting the grocery store (which we both hate doing more and more each time it rolls around). I have been stocking up on Thanksgiving stuff the past few trips and this time I was able get more of the big meal including the guest of honor - Mr. Turkey!

Sorry I have no pictures this time. I promise to pull out my camera soon and take a few snaps of things I keep saying "I should post that on my blog"! I am still waiting for those lab results from the doctor and while I wait my weight is continuing to dip lower and lower. It is getting to the point I feel very uncomfortable with it or maybe it's just the nervousness accompanied by it. Actually, it would be a pleasant weight if I was about 7 inches shorter in height!

Anywho, thanks for stopping by. I always enjoy your visits so much!