the one that's kicking my rear

Adam and Eve samplers are really my thing. I like them a LOT. And when I saw this one from Scarlett Letter and fell in love with it, my friend Sharon got it for me as part of a Christmas present. That was in 2006 and during 2007 I worked on outlining...as all of the creatures along with A & E are outlined in black cross stitch, and then filling in. I was "oh so happy" to be nearing the end of it and told my friend Siobhan (who had already completed hers), "oh I'm so happy! I only have the verse left to do and then it's DONE"!



Well, she already knew what I didn't....that the verse is a MAJOR pain....

and as I was happily outlining (with backstitch) the verse, happy thoughts and songs filled my head....

and then. and then....work began on filling in the verse with satin stitches...

and curse words soon filled the air...

just as Siobhan was writing back to say "good luck with that verse, it's a real doozy"....



The above is as far as I made it before throwing it down in disgust. I felt so betrayed. To be honest, I was thinking...wow, this piece looks just fine without the verse, maybe I can just rip it out....but dang, the verse makes it...

so anyway, that's where I left off and I haven't touched it in about two weeks...



but it is calling my name





I'm trying to forgive it and move on, but it's hard....

sweet gift

Finally found the battery charger for the camera AND we finally have some sun today after several days of severe weather...so I want to share what Nancy surprised me with this Easter.



Isn't it lovely? Just like Nancy, so sweet and dear...



Every stitch perfection, each pin so perfectly placed...

Thank you again dearest Nancy! I will always think of you and our friendship when I look at my lovely pinkeep!

still kickin'!

So many people have emailed or made comments that they are missing my posts, I am so touched that anyone cares! Thank you!
I have just been in a funk, even though things are OK here, we just had a rough start to 2008, the first three months were pretty trying to be honest, but I have been stitching! My therapy, remember? Working on a big Adam & Eve sampler that I was so thrilled about being almost finished with, until coming to the last part of it, and it's kickin' my butt!! I had to put it down for a while and work on something else. Pictures coming soon...
Also, received a lovely and wonderful Easter surprise from Nancy and I'm sure she's wondering why I haven't posted a picture yet. Well, I would if I could just find the battery charger for the camera! It's around here somewhere...has to be!
So anyhoo....still alive, still here....I'll be back after the house is put in order and I find that charger! Don't give up on me just yet!
Oh, and this song is stuck in my head, BIG TIME. I sing it over and over and over, what is wrong with me?!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks,
May your heart be as light as a song,
May each day bring you bright, happy hours,
That stay with you all the year long.

(the stitching was completed back in 2000, it's an old Twisted Threads kit. Stitched over one with Anchor threads, if I recall correctly).

curly q ewe, framed

Picked this one up last week too. It had been a shop model for a couple of months.



Such a fun stitch. And I really loved the frame, which is from the Crescent Colors company.



Brr! It's cold here today, snowing even! Pretty rare in North Texas. Gives me a chance to fire up the oven and make some banana bread and then some pizza for dinner, yippee!!

Thanks for your opinions on the June Morning framing. I do think I'll take it back in next time I'm going. This will be the second thing I've had to have her remount...but my framing options are pretty limited around here as far as I know.
Anyway, thanks again for the feedback!

Have a great weekend!

on the brighter side

Last week actually got worse, if you can believe it! But I just refuse to write about it here because despite what happened, we're just counting our blessings and taking it all in stride. My headache and dizziness turned out to be an inner ear infection and after a few days on some medication, I'm much better now. We made it through the funeral alright, a lot of driving but it was a nice day, weather wise, so it was alright. My DH saw a lot of family members he hadn't seen in over 20 years, so that was a good thing for him.

And last week I picked up my June Morning from the framer. I love the frame but am kinda put off by how much "whiteness" you can see under the black linen.



So I'm considering taking it back in to be remounted and asking that some dark fabric be placed under it before it's pinned onto the board.







What do you think?

taking control

OK, I'm still shaking like a leaf, with a splitting headache and dizziness today so I called the doctor and they are going to squeeze me in Tuesday morning before we have to head out of town for the funeral. I am not one to ask for, or depend on medication I don't absolutely have to have, but it seems like maybe I should ask for something. It pains me to do that, "strong Southern woman" that I am and all, but geesh, otherwise it may be the mental ward for me soon. Plus, my blood pressure medicine may need to be adjusted...just not sure what's going on. DH is making me take one of his low dose aspirins, just in case....

Well, I finally got some pictures off of my cell phone, we had to buy special software just to do that, but now I can make my own ring tones, which is cool. (Really I should say DH can make the ring tones for me, I don't know how).
So anyhoo, here's one that I'd taken last fall when we went to Cheesecake Factory for DH's birthday.

These were some kind of Buffalo chicken things we shared, that they served with succotash (and we couldn't stop saying "sufferin' succotash" ala Daffy Duck style while we were eating it...



they were delish. Not a big fan of the succotash part, but the chicken was great!

and my beloved Peach Bellini, which I know Jackie can appreciate, lol



Sandra asked if I was keeping the buttons on the Valentine Message piece and the answer is yes! I appreciated every one's thoughts on that, thanks!

where my heart blooms

Very stressful two weeks = no blogging. My hubby's mother was very ill and in the hospital for several weeks and passed away Saturday. So we're preparing for her funeral, etc. which will be in East Texas on Tuesday....my hubby has been so stressed out, which, considering his heart condition, is not a good thing.

Anyway, it all just seems like too much around here. Neighbor problems, sickness (I had a severe headache for days and then extreme dizziness...now it's just a cold or whatever), the list goes on.

My therapy is my stitching. Thank God for that. This piece by Blackbird Designs was such a pleasure to work on, I didn't want it to end. My friend Sheri said just rip it all out and do it again then. Funny girl.



It does have a mistake on it. That I left. Can you see it?


One of these flower stems is not like the other.



and here's the "action shot" for Siobhan ;) (by the way, thank you all for your sweet comments you leave for me, I appreciate and love you guys!!)



Well, I just love what this sampler says...home is where my heart blooms. So true for me. Too bad that now our home is also a cause of stress.

Sorry for venting about stuff here...usually like to keep things pretty light and fun but just feel like my life is spinning (like my head) right now. Hope to be back to normal soon...

Valentine Message

Finished this up last week, just in time for Valentine's Day!



The design is from Blackbird Designs (I just propped the buttons on for now, trying to see if I like them on there or not)....



and is called A Valentine Message. I stitched it on the recommended fabric with Gentle Art threads (there were only three). I like how it was finished on the cover of the chart, but have a "stitcher's tray" in mind for mine :)

Our 26th anniversary is on Valentine's Day. It was my hubby's idea to get married on that day! Aww...isn't that romantic? You'd think! BUT. He told me years later that he wanted to pick that day so he'd never forget our anniversary! Smart fella.




And here's a little something else I made this past weekend and I think we're as in love with it as we are in each other. And that's a LOT.

It's Pan Fried Onion Dip




And you can find the recipe for it here: Onion Dip!
(It's from the Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa cookbook and on page 53, but the link is quicker ;) )





After following the recipe exactly, here are my tips:
*Make it the day ahead. It's WAY too sweet if you eat it the same day. Once it sits overnight it takes on a whole 'nuther taste sensation, (one that will make your eyes roll back in your head).
*The sliced onions are good, but next time I make it, I'll chop them coarsely instead.
*I only used 1/4 tsp. black pepper, same amount as the cayenne pepper and thought that was enough.
*It's pretty thick when chilled, so we had it on Wheat Thins.

You must go make it. You won't regret it. You may even love me for sharing it with you ;)

last week....

the one in which Astro almost dies. AGAIN.

Some of my readers may remember last summer, when he went to a new and different vet to get "fixed", he had a bad reaction to the pre-op meds and almost didn't make it. Later that fall, he went back to our "old" vet who didn't use the same meds as the new and, was successfully neutered. He had all of his puppy shots with this vet and never had a problem. Until last Thursday.

He went in for yearly vaccinations. The other Pug, Scooby, went in with us (my two daughters go with me to help) for a dental vaccine booster shot. Astro was so calm and Scooby screamed like a lunatic, his usual routine.
We left the office.
We drove a few miles one way to pick something up. Astro is in front passenger seat with younger daughter, Scooby in back with oldest.
We head back home but then on a whim, stop by the bread store to get rolls and bread.
Girls and pugs wait in running car.
I came out and Astro is splayed out on K's lap, he's vomited and lost control of his bowels and is going into shock. K just thought he was overheated and was trying to clean up the mess, but I knew he'd never done that before, gotten carsick or overheated, so I call the vets office, they say bring him back. Thankfully the bread store is only about 4 minutes from the vet's office.
We race back.
They give him "life saving shot" through an IV.
We go home, we have dinner, including the pugs.
Astro begs, so things are looking pretty normal.....




You'd think.

After he eats, he usually cleans his face on the floor, nothing weird there. Until his head pops up and I'm noticing that his face is swelling up. Hmm...

It's closing time at the vets. Call them anyway.
"bring him back, we'll wait".

Stop in middle of dinner.

Rush back to the vet... (and why is it when you're in a hurry to get somewhere, and time is of the essence, that is when the train runs or you get behind a Sunday driver? Every. Single. Time?)

So, the other medicine they'd given him to prevent the hives wasn't working. Give more medicine. Vet says after initial assumption that he'd just had an unusual adverse reaction, she thinks it may have been a bad batch of vaccine, and as we're leaving, we notice other dog waiting with his owner, another bad reaction to vaccinations, so that makes sense.

Come home again. That's when Astro really loses it this time because although the swelling in his face has gone down, it's starting to spread out over his body...

After he raced around the house for about 20 minutes with me trying to calm him down, the medicine finally started kicking in and he started to calm down. He was so tired and stressed out....



this picture of his face is after most of the swelling had gone down, he had huge blisters on his eyelids at the vets office...



it was now moving through his body, he was swelling up in his private area as well as everywhere else and itching like crazy...


he was red all over and this is after he'd started to get better!


And to top it all off, most of us around here are sick with flu or viral infections, my mother in law is in hospital in E. Texas, and another stitcher's life was cut short too soon, so very sad about that...

Needless to say...no stitching to report. Astro is better...just too stressed out about the whole ordeal to blog about it himself. I could use a little peace around here myself...