August 4, 2009 - A day with Anna

I spent my time this morning working on getting my stitcher's book, A Stitcher's Companion by Enchanting Lair, ready for display at the county fair. I finally put the amethyst in the cover motif. It took a while to find an appropriate stone/charm, but I think this one is perfect.

I'm not sure what the rules are regarding having your name visible in the competition, but I have decided to cover mine. I used contrasting fabric and floss so that it's obviously not part of the actual design.

I even stitched the needles and the floss to the fabric so that they cannot be removed. I thought about taking everything out, but then the book is not doing its job.

The scissors were a bit of a challenge to get the stitches even and to tightly secure them into the pocket. I certainly don't want these falling out and stabbing someone in the foot! They have very sharp points!

I completely forgot to show you the frogging I did on Sunday. After completing Ocean Star, I frogged these UFO's. The first is Deftly Wrought by Midsummer Night Designs. I hate the colors. Just looking at the piece drains my will to stitch. What I decided to do with it was to frog everything but the four mini samplers. I guess it's another finish now, yes?

The second piece is Stitches Stars & Stripes by Blue Ribbon Designs. The more I looked at this piece, the more it grew out of favor. I should have taken a harder look at the chart because there are alot of solid-stitched boxes. I thought about stitching it and replacing some of the solid boxes with charms, but how many different ones could I possibly find? Add to that the fact I'm allergic to nickel, which means I'd have to buy gold-plated charms, and the price would be through the roof! No thanks! I didn't enjoy stitching this at all so it's no loss. The chart has already been RAK'd to Lisa in CA because she admired it.

I went to see my primary doc's nurse practitioner this afternoon for a checkup on the abdominal rash I have. The infected spot is healed and scarred, so I don't have to use the antibacterial ointment anymore, but Gail wants me to keep it handy-just in case! As far as the rash, my antibiotics have been extended to three weeks and I'm to call her if it gets worse. Hopefully the MRSA is gone, but she has instructed me to use the antimicrobial/antibacterial wash every three days for a while longer.

After my appointment I went back to the house to get Anna's car seat so that I could pick her up for our library date. We didn't get to go last week, so I wanted to make sure we went this week.

Anna prefers going to the Eastport branch of the library because they have a table of puzzles for her to play with. Her favorites are the two with different latches and locks. She always heads right for them after choosing her books. Today she picked out three books for herself and one board-book for Caleb. He has to have the board pages because he still rips regular ones.

While Anna played with the puzzles, Aunt Beth stitched on Hinzeit's America. Luckily I left this thread dangling because I forgot the bag with the chart and threads.

After leaving the library, we made stops at the pharmacy and the post office. On the way to the post office, I automatically turned into my sister's apartment complex. Anna yelled from the back seat, "Where are you going, Aunt Bep?" It wasn't until she said something that I realized what I'd done. I told her I just turned too early (the PO was two streets up) and got back on course. It's pretty bad when your 4-year-old niece is telling you where you want to go next! I swear I've completely lost my mind with all the running around I've had to do and lack of sleep from having Daisy here.

Anna wanted to go with me to get Kasey groomed and we were chatting almost all the way there. I pulled in to my parking space in front of Bark'n Bean (Muddy Paw Wash's new name), turned around to tell Belle (I was told Anna wasn't there today, she was Belle) that we'd arrived, and found a sleeping little girl in her car seat. She'd been quiet for the last mile of the trip, so she must have gone out like a light. Sarah warned me Anna hadn't had a nap, and they'd been to the pool this morning, so she must have been very tired to zonk out like that.

I dropped Kasey off at the BnB and took Anna home. It was way too hot to leave her in the truck and not practical to leave it running for an hour with the A/C on. I carried her in to Sarah's apartment and she woke up, but she did go down for a nap in her room.
Meanwhile, Kasey was being beautified. Here she is after her bath. Once again, Mike did a wonderful job! She's so pretty! I think she knows it, too! And, yes! Her leash says "One of us misbehaves." She picked it out herself.

For those who have been wondering, this is Daisy's war zone. The orange and turquoise fuzzy things are the fur-covered balls with tails and/or just the tails that Daisy has de-squeakified. You can also see Kasey's birthday bone (what remains), the tennis ball she killed, stuffing from several toys, and the rope/fabric toy I got from the clearance bin at BnB for her. She's already chewed through the rope. There are orange and turquoise bits all around Kasey's couch and Daisy's war zone.

Here are the remains of Kasey's birthday bone. Daisy pulled the squeaker out of him after chewing several holes in the canvas and nylon. Then she proceeded to remove the whistle from the squeaker. Thankfully she does not eat the plastic. The score in the War on Squeakers is now Daisy: 5; Squeakers: 0.

Stinky Ol' Raccoon is in hiding because Daisy discovered he had a hole in him and started pulling out his innards. Somehow Kasey has kept that thing limping along with three holes and carries him at least once a day. That's all she does, is carry him around and lay down with him. I'm not letting Daisy kill him for good!

I was really tired when I finally returned home at 5:30, so I took it easy this evening and was in bed just after midnight.

February 17, 2009

I was stuck at home today because the truck is in the shop getting new front brakes. You'd think I got alot of stitching done, right?

*Snort of disgust* NO!

I read email until Uncle Wes picked me up at 3:00 to go get the truck. Then I read email for another hour and a half until I had to get Kasey and I ready to go to Heirloom Stitchers.

Carol and Kathy were there and Sharon was able to stop by on her way home to show us her beautiful finishes. She even gave Kathy and I each a piece of hand-dyed Jobelan, complete with Thunder (her black Lab) hair! The bit in the middle is where she frogged some black floss, so I'll get that out with a piece of tape. I love how wispy the blue and white is. I'm sure I'll find something to stitch on this!

Kathy showed off a new finish last week and I was drooling over the chart. Imagine my surprise when she gifted the chart and floss to me! She said she bought the chart as my birthday present, but when she saw how cute it was she had to stitch it herself! This is 'Patriotic Hearts & Sampler Stitches' by Sekas & Co. It is definitely going in the "Favorites" drawer of my stash cabinet!

We were also joined by Carol's husband, George and her son, Raymond. Kasey was in Heaven with two admirers! George sat down and she was more than willing to rest her chin on his leg so that he could give her the admiration she thinks she so richly deserves. She was also quite smitten with Raymond, but I had to remind her that she was working and couldn't rough-house.

Carol brought Kasey a box of doggie-goodies as a goodwill gesture. At last week's Border's meeting, I found a tick on Kasey's neck. I couldn't get the whole thing so Carol used my needle-nosed tweezers and dug it out. I think Carol was more traumatized by the incident than Kasey Kay was.

When I reached in my stitching bag to get out Lasseter's Reef I discovered that I left it sitting on my Ergo stand at home! The BRD gameboard was in my bag so I thought "might as well." And then...

It almost became a QSnap Frisbee! But I was in a library and didn't want to scare Kasey with the loud bang and scream of frustration that would have accompanied it. Somehow, in my geniousness (that's sarcasm, btw), I made the flag one stitch too short! Therefore, the right side of the box, that faint line you see going down the length of the picture, was two threads too far to the left! How I managed this feat, I cannot begin to tell you! I frogged the offending line and then put the almost-Frisbee into my stitching bag, out of sight. I spent the last half hour of our stitch-in eating my shredded chicken mini sammies and chatting with Carol and Kathy instead.

So my stitching progress today is...

NEGATIVE 80 +/- stitches.

My truck's brakes are replaced, though! The only good news of the day was that the rotors didn't have to be resurfaced! That saved me 25 bucks!

February 5, 2009

Wow did Kasey and I have a busy day! We headed out this morning to stop by the bank and the post office. I had to mail trades to Maggie, Peg, and Lynn. I also mailed a loaner chart to Wawanna. While there, I was able to pick up my trade from Judith. I received 'Dogs Collection 4' by Pegasus Originals and 'Raspberry Homecoming' by Told in a Garden.

Kathy Y said I need to switch out the Scottish Terriers in the sampler on the cover of the Dog leaflet with "Kaseys." She told me it's too cute a sentiment not to stitch it with little Kaseys on it. It says "A dog is the only true love money can buy." How right is that?!

I also adore the mini quilts in RH, which is why I asked for it in the first place. I'm adding it to my "quilt" pile. I'm pretty sure I have enough now to stitch for an entire year without finishing all the quilt charts I own.

The mailman has been very nice to me this week and has brought me Silkweaver fabbies from Patti G. She sent me Turquoise and Karma Sparkle opalescents from Silkweaver in exchange for a piece of dirty linen she needed. Now I have to find designs to stitch on all these opalescents I've collected! I don't think that'll be a problem, however!

Maggie D purchased some stash from my trade blog and graciously included a paperback copy of Sandra Brown's novel, 'The Switch.' She's also the lady who suggested I read SB's 'Envy,' so I'm anxious to finish my current book in order to start one of them. SB is so great at keeping you guessing! I've thoroughly enjoyed her books that I've listened to on CD, but this will be the first time I'll have actually read one.


Here are two different deliveries. On the left is the DMC from Lisa S. This was the last part of our trade for my old digital camera. Sweetheart that she is, she included an Amazon gift certificate to reimburse me for postage. Lisa, thank you for all three of the gift certificates! I can't wait to go shopping on Amazon next month! On the right is the remainder of the floss I ordered from Wasatch. The bright aqua is the Perle for Blue Bayou, the next chart I'm going to do in the Ebb Tide series by Northern Pine Designs. The rest of the WDW is for a Britty Kitty chart I'd like to stitch for Grandma. It has a cat and a bluebird in it, very appropriate for her!

I took Kasey to Muddy Paw Wash for her monthly bath this morning. As soon as we got through the door she started dancing around. Se was so excited to be there. The employees fawned all over her, as usual. Mike took her right back and bathed her. We stayed for a little while after she was done because we had some time to kill before the Barnes and Noble stitching group at 1pm. Kasey loved all the attention from her admirers. Today's new toy was a stuffed hippo with a squeaker in it. She was so intent on getting human attention that she ignored it until we returned home this evening.

Since she was so excited at MPW, I put Peace & Calming oil on her front feet before we left for my stitching group. By the time we arrived there, Kasey was her usual mellow, working persona. Kathy Y was able to join us this week and it was nice having another stitcher in the group. The cafe staff kindly prepared a cup of ice water for Kasey so that she could have a drink while we were there. I think she really enjoyed the cold water because the store was quite warm. I ordered a Chai as a treat for myself.

Everyone left by 3pm and it was only Kathy and I. I started counting down the stitches! Six...four...three...two...one and a half...one...half a stitch...DONE!

NOT!!

I still had to backstitch the oval! UGH! I thought I had completed that darn cover at last! Kathy had to get home so I packed up my things to leave as well.

My "Maintenance Reqd" light was lit on the dashboard, so I took the truck to the station where I always get my oil changed. You could have knocked me over with a feather when the mechanic came back in and told me my brakes were down to 10% and it was going to be more than $300 to put new ones on and resurface the rotors. My truck only has 35,000 miles on it!

There goes my birthday S.E.X. at Salty Yarns! BTW: S.E.X. is NOT the same as sex! It means Stash Enhancement eXperience, in case you thought I was getting into the TMI range. I've been planning a trip to Ocean City with Carol and Kathy Y to check out the LNS on the Boardwalk. Now I can't do it! WAAAAHH!! I have to get the truck fixed first!

Kasey and I finally got home around 4pm and Uncle Wes pulled up the drive shortly afterwards. I'd already called Mom and told her about the truck and that I wouldn't be able to stay with her from Sunday to Thursday next week. I'm going to have to limit how much driving I do.

Then I told Wessy what I was told and he immediately thought something was fishy. First, my brakes don't squeak, so it's hard to believe they're at 10%. Second, if my rotors don't need to be replaced, he doubts the $300 price tag. So I have to get a second opinion. I'm going to call the shop tomorrow, if I get up in time, to see if they can do a brake inspection. Several people, including the guy who runs the small service station close to home, have recommended this other shop to Uncle Wes for vehicle repairs. I'll let you know the final verdict as soon as I find out.

Oh! Stitching! Yep, did that today!! Here is 'Stitches Stars & Stripes' by Blue Ribbon Designs. I worked on it for a little while as I was waiting for the truck's oil change to be completed. I'm doing this both as part of The Year of the Sampler and to join in on the Blue Ribbon Designs SAL in Stitch_it_Quick. I didn't get much done, but each stitch is one closer to a finish, right? I've been concentrating on getting the borders done because they're straight lines and that's hard to mess up.

At home tonight I back-stitched the oval and put the charm on. My Stitching Album's cover is FINALLY done!! And I was good! I never found out if it would make a good Frisbee, although Chris W assures me that QSnaps *do* fly! This is my 4th finish in the YotS! I put the last stitch in at 11:45pm.

Now to decide what to stitch next...stay tuned!

January 29, 2008

Here is my un-progress of My Stiching Album. "Un-progress"? Yes, you read that correctly. I completed the entire lower motif around 3am.

Then I saw a mistake and frogged, then re-stitched it.

Then I saw a mistake in what I'd just re-stitched so I frogged that.

As I was frogging, I looked from one side to the other (because they're supposed to be mirror images) and found a mistake all the way over in that gold curlieque on the left.

There was another in the curlieque at the bottom (the unfinished one). Rip-it! Rip-it! Rip-it!

Four mistakes! Did you hear the curses flying out of my mouth? If you woke up around 3:30am because of a loud voice, that was me. I was ready to spit nails! I finished frogging and put the blasted thing aside before it got thrown across the room. Do QSnaps with fabric in them make good Frisbees? Hmmm, I wonder.

I went to bed at 4am, completely disgusted, and read my book for a few minutes to calm myself down. I turned off the light and fell asleep shortly after.

I'm keeping my ears open to discover where these frogs came from. Someone is missing their amphibious friends!

Kasey decided that I needed a wake-up call at 9:30 this morning! I was ready to wring her neck! Uncle Wes stopped by on his route to make himself his "lunch" and Kasey felt it was her duty to inform me that he was home. Or else she was complaining because her Unkie didn't take her for a walk. She wakes me up for that, too. GRR!

I worked a little bit on the cover of MSA, read emails, and checked out some blogs until I had to get ready to go to the Barnes & Noble stitching group at 1pm. Again, I was the only stitcher, but I had a nice time. And after my scare last week, I decided Kasey was going with me. I printed out the ADA summary that states that Kasey CAN be in the cafe with me, just in case someone said something to me.

I have to say, I was very pleased with the gentleman from B&N. He walked by the table, asked if Kasey was "a guide dog" to which I replied "She's a service dog." He gave me a thumbs-up and kept right on walking. That was it! Thank you, Barnes & Noble, for having staff knowledgeable of the ADA and its service dog provisions!

As for Kasey, this Mom is bursting with pride! This was only her second outing and she was marvelous! She acted like an old pro! I can't tell you how many people stopped by asking if they could pet her. She didn't get up once. My social butterfly had a total "I'm working" persona. She would wag her tail, thumping it against the floor, but she never moved from her sprawled position beside my chair. She didn't even get up to say "Hi" to the kids who wanted to pet her. I was amazed and so very proud of my girl!

This is a picture of Kasey "on duty" at Barnes & Noble today. I had to praise her mightily when one of the barristas started up the blender to crush some ice. It made a horrendous noise, the kind that she usually startles at and runs from. Rather than jumping up and worridly looking around, Kasey just popped her head up, noted that the noise wasn't coming at her, and laid her head right back down. Just like a seasoned veteran!

I think she's going to start going more places with me. She's progressing so much quicker in her training than I ever thought possible! The thing is, I really haven't "trained" her that much. She just does it! She knows when she has her training collar on that she's expected to act differently. Once I take it off, though, she's ready for human attention, and not just from me! All those around better start paying homage to the Kasey Kay!

After this morning's debacle with MSA, I chose to stitch on my gameboard during the B&N stitching group. If I couldn't get those curlieques right while listening to Classical Masterpieces, there was no way in the world I'd get them done while chatting with the other ladies! Straight lines and squares were perfect for today.

December 26-28, 2008

I woke up on Friday just in time to get to dialysis. I talked to the clinic a few times that morning, making sure they had all the lab- and paperwork they needed. The last call I received was to let me know they would have room for me at 2:00pm rather than the 3:30 slot I'd been given previously. Thank goodness, because I didn't want to be ending my treatment at 6:45! I wanted to get back home.

Dad had to play music with Detour at the Cancun Cantina all the way down by BWI Airport. Mom and I stayed home and enjoyed a quiet night...or so we thought! We were downstairs watching Mom's new DVD of "It's a Wonderful Life" when Sarah called. Caleb fell going up the stairs at their house and put his tooth through the skin under his lip. She called the help line at AAMC and asked one of the nurses what she should do. She was instructed to try to stop the bleeding, but if it didn't stop in five minutes, to take him to the ER. So about 15 minutes later the phone rang again and she told Mom she was on her way to drop Anna off to us.

Anna sat quietly for a few minutes, but then she wanted Mom to read her a book. Mom told her that we've watched lots of movies with her and it was Anna's turn to watch a movie with us. Luckily we were about 20 minutes from the end, so she didn't get too demanding. After the movie we went upstairs for drinks and snacks. I grabbed the veggie platter and dip and we all sat down to munch. Anna was more interested in feeding Kasey the cherry tomatoes than eating them herself after I made the mistake of telling her Kasey liked veggies too. We put the tray away after Anna dropped a carrot on the floor deliberately. I'd just told her that Kasey had had enough veggies, so Mom scolded her for dropping it.

Sarah called to let us know that Caleb was getting one stitch. She picked Anna back up a little after midnight. I couldn't believe Anna was still going strong! We could tell she was tired, but there was no way she was going to sleep! Sarah said that Caleb fell asleep in the car less than a block from the hospital.

I actually stitched while watching the movie! Hard to believe, huh?! I decided to work on Love Laugh Survive & Thrive, the Cat's Whiskers kit Amy sent me in the Chatty Stitching Exchangers' Advent Exchange. Yes, I know: It's PINK! But as I told Debi, it's for breast cancer awareness, so I can deal with it. Otherwise, I'd have changed the color, for sure!
Ta Da!!! Finish #48!! Love Laugh Survive & Thrive by The Cat's Whiskers Design Studio. I put the last stitch in at 3:19am Saturday morning, just as Dad was getting home. Mom went to bed shortly after Anna and Sarah left, but I wasn't about to waste Stitching Mojo! This kit includes the ribbon and bead to finish it into a scissors slide, so I'm going to attempt to follow the directions.

I slept until after noon on Saturday, finally! I wanted to go to the JoAnn's Superstore in Christiana, DE, to buy some finishing supplies for My Stitching Album by Jeannette Douglas as well as LLS&T. Mom asked me to take Kasey with me so that she could vacuum the main floor while we were gone. Kasey is afraid of the noise vacuums make so no one did it earlier for fear of upsetting her.

I hit the jackpot, almost, at JoAnn's! I even found the buckram that the MSA finishing instructions call for! Another lady in the MSA group bought hers off eBay, so I thought I was going to have to jump through hoops myself to find it. What a relief! I was also able to find the fabric for the backs of the pages and the pockets, a 2-pack of Fray Check, Stitch Witchery, a Styrofoam block for Autumn Whispers, and fusible backing for the LLS&T scissors slide. All for under $26! Ian gave me $50 to buy stash! He's such a good brother! lol

Mom and Dad left for anther gig at the Cancun Cantina Saturday evening, so I had the house to myself with the two dogs. I went down to the basement and watched the first four Love Comes Softly movies while stitching! I decided to start 'Stitches Stars and Stripes, A Sampler for Vicki' by Blue Ribbon Designs. It's their patriotic game board. This is my progress as of Midnight Saturday.

Mom and Dad arrived home a little after 4am and we talked for a few minutes before I went to bed. I had just finished one of my movies and didn't want to stitch any more for fear of making a mistake, especially since I was yawning so much.

I had dialysis again on Sunday but didn't do any stitching. Everyone was watching football games and I'm a Cowboys fan, so had to watch the game since I was in a room of Eagles fans. I only saw the first hour of the game, but it was pitiful. Now I guess I'll be rooting for the Manning brothers. It would be awesome to see them head-to-head in the Super Bowl!

When I got home from dialysis Mom told me that her neighbors were going to be coming over shortly. Ms. Sheila helped Mom with the quilt for Ben. Sheila and her husband Ed came over and we all sat in the living room to chat. Mom gave them their gifts and then we went downstairs because they wanted to see the pellet stove. Kasey was in heaven because Ed and Sheila are dog people and spent the entire time petting her.

I have no idea why, but I was yawning the whole time they were over! I was so ready for bed! I had to stay up for a little while; Mom made me eat something, but I just wanted to go up to my room! I tried to finish off LLS&T into the scissors slide but gave up after I stuck the third pin into one of my fingers; I'd had enough! I also discovered that I bought the wrong stuff, darnit! Skirtex is a board-like backing and I bought thick fusible backing. It won't hurt anything, but I think I need the Skirtex because pinning the stuff I have is hazardous to my fingers!

I did more stitching today, while I was watching movies last night and a little after putting away LLS&T. I'm very happy with my progress and am hoping this heralds an end to the slump. That remains to be seen, however!