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.

August 3, 2009 - A trip to the bookstore

I worked on Hin-zeit's Amer-ica after mid-night and contin-ued until I went to sleep.

I'm still running around like a chicken with its head cut off! I have a doc's appointment tomorrow to check the MRSA rash on my abdomen and still have to make an appt to have the suture, from last week's procedure, removed.

I received an email from the school's financial aid office telling me that they have completed the processing of my information and I will be receiving my financial aid package in the mail. They also emailed to let me know I had a Bookstore Advance of $400 to purchase my books and supplies, so Kasey and I headed over first thing this morning.

I wound up having to buy more new books that I'd planned, but it worked out because the digital copies I was going to buy separately were included with the new books. I also purchased a canvas tote with purple accents, including a very pretty machine-embroidered motif on the front pocket.

One of the bookstore employees carried the books out to the truck for me because they were so heavy. There was no way I could navigate with Kasey and two bags of books in my left hand. She won't walk on my right side (she's trained too well) and the suture pulls if I lift anything heavier than a couple pounds. The math text- and workbooks together weigh about 10 lbs (and I am not exaggerating!).

I went back inside and pur-chased some sup-plies, includ-ing a clear, PUR-PLE!, clip-board. Since I'm left-handed, it's hard for me to write in spiral notebooks or a 3-ring binder. I bought an expandable file with 5 removable plastic folders so that I can place my week's work in there for easier transportation (I have a feeling I'll be doing alot of homework during dialysis treatments). I rounded out my purchases with some filler paper, a pocket dictionary, Webster's College Dictionary (being an English major, they'll come in handy!), a mouse pad that I can write on (it's sheets of graph paper) and a white-out pen. I had previously bought an organizer, which I showed you a few Saturdays ago.

Oh! Did you notice the purple gingham ribbons in the books? Those are my new bookmarks. I took the remainder of the spool of ribbon from Kasey's birthday bow and cut it into appropriate lengths for my textbooks. I was getting frustrated trying to find the Mary Shelley section of the Companion, so I had to do something! And you know when I do "something" it's usually purple!

Back to that math book...it came with SEVEN CD-ROM's! There are four lecture CD's, one for test preparation; one for the graphing calculator; and another for the computer interface, MyMathLab, that the math professors use. I have alot of preparation to do before classes start!

My English course, Composition & Literature, concentrates on Gothic novels. I don't read things like that because I do not find enjoyment in being scared or grossed out. I don't even watch shows that scare me. When my Pop-pop would watch The Incredible Hulk, I would hide behind his recliner, sit on the floor, and plug my ears so that I couldn't hear the Hulk roaring; that's how wimpy I am about scary shows. I watched The Mummy from behind a pillow behind my b/f's shoulder the first time I saw it. It's a favorite now but the first time through I screamed a few times (those bugs!). I am not looking forward to the course, unless the instructor is really good (but that's gonna be alot to ask because the course is 100% online). I am determined to get through it, however.

I went back to bed after eating something for lunch because I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I had about two-and-a-half hours before my treatment time and they passed in theblink of an eye.

I took the Three Gothic Novels and the Companion volumes to dialysis so that I could begin reading. I started with the Companion book, reading the introduction and then moving on to the section pertaining to Mary Shelley. One of the three novels in the compilation book is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, so I thought I'd read what the Companion had to say about her. Which put me right to sleep!

I need to read these before the class begins, though, because I know it will make it easier when I re-read them for the class itself. Having never read anything of the genre, I know it is going to take more than one time for things to sink in and realize the nuances of the writing. I'm just not looking forward to it. Did I already mention that?

I had a nice nap during the last half of my treatment. I definitely needed it because I only slept for five hours before the girls woke me up this morning to go outside. It's sorta funny because Kasey comes in to wake me up when Daisy starts pacing around the livingroom. I've noticed this is her signal to go outside, but apparently Kasey knows it as well.

Daisy sleeps on my bed with me while Kasey sleeps on the bath- or bedroom floor. Even though there's another dog in the house, it's too warm for her to sleep in bed; she much prefers the cool tile or wood flooring. She gets up when I first get in bed because she knows that's our cuddle time, but as soon as I stop petting her she moves to the foot of the bed for about ten minutes and then ultimately gets down to sleep on the floor. Daisy, on the other hand, sleeps right beside my knees.

Daisy is winning the war with the squeakers in Kasey's old toys. I rescued another one tonight from the clutches of her jaws. I wasn't going to give her a chance to remove the little whistle from the plastic bubble. I found three of them separated from their bubbles last week. They could do some damage if she were to swallow one. She was not pleased with me, but I'd rather that than a visit to the emergency vet! So the score is now Daisy: 4; Squeakers: 0, with me intervening on behalf of the last one. He went into the trash with his whistle (and dignity? Do inanimate objects have "dignity?") still intact.

That was my day, with some writing of email and blog posts thrown in. Have a great week!

November 22, 2008

I continued working on Hinzeit's Fancy Mini Block USA after midnight. I tried going to sleep around 1:30am but finally gave up when I was still awake at 3:00. Since I was wide awake I went back to stitching on USA. After sleeping from 9am til 4:30 this afternoon, I started on USA once again. At 8:07pm I put the last stitch in and I was done putting the charms on by 8:30. USA is my 45th stitching finish of 2008! My total stitching/sewing finishes for this year is up to 55 now. I'm still not sure how I will finish-finish it, but I'm happy to have another project completed from my stash.


This is the beginning of The Sweetheart Tree's Friendship. I've had this kit in my stash for quite some time and decided to stitch on it because Friendship is one of the things this time of year is all about. I think I'm going to frame this so that when I finally move into my apartment, I can put it in the foyer. The verse that is stitched over-one in the middle is "Friendship is the thread that binds two hearts together" I love it, and it's so appropriate for me. I'm very excited to see this stitched up. I may even try to find another finishing technique to make it even more special. Suggestions, anyone??

November 21, 2008

When I got up at 1pm I saw that it was gray outside. I said to myself "it's either going to rain or snow." Less than ten minutes later I looked up and saw white outside the window. I quickly put on my winter coat and said "let's go" to Kasey. We walked down the driveway so she could play in the snow.
The wind was blowing the snow so that it was almost falling horizontal-ly. I was freezing cold, but Kasey had a blast.
I *really* tried to get a picture of Kasey rolling in the leaves for you but my camera wasn't ready until she was up and shaking them off. Darn camera! I couldn't get her to roll in another patch, either, so I will continue to try to get a picture of her being her silly self.

After midnight I decided to stitch Hinzeit's Fancy Mini Block USA. This is a chart I purchased last Saturday at the EGA stash swap. I thought it would be a quick stitch and I haven't done anything patriotic for a while. I love the charms, too. I hope to have it done this weekend.

I didn't even look at the colors the chart called for. I didn't like the red and blue so I knew I was going to choose my own colors. I'm using Presidential Blue from GAST and Lancaster Red by Weeks Dye Works. The fabric is the same sponged fabric I used for Charmed Dreams. I thought this would be nicer than just plain white. I wanted to give the finished design a more vintage look. I think the combination of these colors with the fabric with achieve that goal.

For the first time this week dialysis was uneventful. I spent most of my time looking at the JCS ornament issue. I've decided on one I definitely want to do and have supplies for. There is another that I've been drooling over but I don't have the Caron Watercolours to do it. I've also been admiring a third one but it requires a bunch of Dinky Dyes silks that I don't have.

March 8, 2008

I was going through some stash today and found my JoAnn's flier. It had twelve 40% off coupons that expired TODAY, so I headed out the door with my last five stitched finishes. I got fabric, cording, batting, and buttons to "finish-finish" all five pieces.

When I got home Uncle Wes carried Grandma's sewing machine into the dining room for me and I set up a workstation at the end of the table. Chet slept on the floor near the table the whole time I was in there. I'd thought my cat had finally stopped hovering, but I was wrong! He's never very far away! Kasey actually gives me more space (figure THAT out!) than Chet does.

Anyway, I was able to make a pillow out of Hinzeit's Mini Block Stitch and an ornament out of Hob-Nobb's Cabin in the Snow before the clock struck midnight. I'm so proud of myself for getting these done! It's been forever since I've made a pillow or anything else, so I'm glad they turned out as well as they did.

Catching Up to February 22, 2008

It's been a long time since I've been able to update this, so I'm going to have to make one entry to bring y'all current. The days seem to blend together into one long day when you're in the hospital so the only way I could tell them apart was to take a picture of my progress, at midnight, whenever I stitched.

So here's how my stitching went while I was in the hospital and Heritage Harbour Rehabilitation Center:

January 30: No Matter WhatJanuary 31 February 1February 2: A Finish & Work on Hinzeit's Mini Block Stitch February 3: Mini Block Stitch by Hinzeit Designs (FINISH!), Cabin in the Snow by Hob-Nobb Designs









February 4

February 5 February 6 February 7 (FINISH!) February 12: In the Land of the Free by The Sweetheart Tree February 15: In the Land of the Free & My Very Bestest Friend by 4 My Boys

February 16 & 17