November 1-2, 2008

This is all the much farther I got on Amethyst Snowflake today, and that was before I went to sleep! The eyelets are finished and it's waiting to be washed.

It was probably 5am before I turned off my light this morning. I slept til almost 3pm, so I guess I was coming down with a little something when I felt bad yesterday. I don't usually sleep that long unless I'm ill. I felt fine when I woke and about an hour later, just as I was getting ready to go run my errands, Mom called. She said she was home alone tonight because Dad had to play music and she just needed some company. She said she was feeling off, too, but not sick and wanted me to come up and play cards and talk. So I did, of course!

I didn't arrive at Mom & Dad's til almost 8pm. Mom and I sat in the livingroom and talked for a while and then we started playing Skip-Bo. Dad got home around 12:30 in the morning and we were still playing cards. And, Boy! Did Mom have a potty mouth since no one was home except us! And she tried to tell Dad that *I* had the potty mouth! But it was all in good fun and I just laughed at her! She corrupted me, and I started talking bad to the cards, too! They weren't being nice to either of us! We ended our last game around 2am (and that was AFTER Dad moved the clock back one hour).

I was planning on waking up around noon, but I woke up at 10:30am instead. That was after tossing and turning half the night, too. I just couldn't get comfortable! Needless to say, I was tired all day, but I had alot of stuff to do.

I went downstairs and took my bag of scroll frames out onto the deck. I brought the palm sander and a box of 150 grit sandpaper with me to get the tape residue off my scroll frames. I quickly discovered that the 150 Uncle Wes gave me wasn't going to do the job. I got out of my pj's (Yep, I was out on the deck, using a power tool, in my pajamas! I am WOMAN, hear me ROAR! Hehe!) and dressed so that I could go to the hardware store in Elkton for lower grit sandpaper.

On the way, I saw gas was only $2.04, so I filled up! Halelujah! I filled up my truck (the gas light was on) for under $30!! That hasn't happened in over a year!

After picking up a multi-pack and a pack of 100 grit sandpaper I went back to Mom's and continued working on the scroll frames. The 100 grit was perfect and even took the dingy look off the frames and scroll rods. They look brand new!

After Mom cooked breakfast (well, it was lunch, okay?) we went to the JoAnn's Superstore and the Christiana Mall over in Delaware. Tax free shopping! Can't beat that with a stick! I finished purchasing the items I needed for an Advent exchange I'm doing in one of my Yahoo groups. Now all I have to do is get everything wrapped up and shipped on Wednesday. I know I'm cutting it close, but I couldn't do anything the first month after I received my partner's info because that was when I was in the hospital and my hands were flaring up. Then, of course, I had to wait to get paid again...but I think my partner is really going to like her Advent gifts! I had to do a little more research into her likes and dislikes because she doesn't post to the group much, and her questionnaire didn't really tell me alot about her interests. Luckily she had a good Blogger profile!

Anyway, Mom and I didn't get back to the house until after 5pm. She kept asking if I could stay the night and I continued to remind her I had a 10am EGA meeting. I didn't leave Mom's til after 6pm, and I was closing my eyes and shaking myself awake within 15 miles of the house. I didn't have any gumballs in the truck so I pulled over and got the Reece's Pieces out of my backpack so I could chew on them. Why does chewing on something wake you up? Anyone know? Well, it works so that's all that matters! After I started eating them I was okay and no more head-nodding.

I got home around 8pm and went straight to bed. When I woke up two hours later I began getting my trade stash ready for the EGA meeing tomorrow. I thought I was going to need to type out a price list of all the items in my trade blog but the garage sale price stickers I picked up at the dollar store worked wonderfully instead.

October 31, 2008

I seem to be getting into the bad habit of waking up IN THE MORNING! You would think that by going to sleep after 5am I would be able to stay that way until around 1pm. That just isn't happening! I don't know why, but I keep waking up at 9:30. I did it again today so I went and ran errands. I had a massive post office run and mailed trades off to Cynthia, Marcy, Linda, Christine, Cherie, Debi, Glenda, and Carla.

After the post office I stopped at the credit union and the gas station. I know gas is less expensive across town, but $2.34 wasn't too bad. Since prices keep dropping I didn't fill up but put just enough in for the next week or so.

I really wanted to go back to bed when I returned home but I had to stay awake so that I could get to my dialysis treatment on time. I didn't do any stitching there because I was so tired. I was afraid I would make a mistake so my stitching remained in its bag. I did get alot of reading done before I dozed off, though. Once I got home, I was out like a light! I didn't wake up until almost 8pm.

Happy Halloween, everyone!! (No, this is not Kasey, but a picture that's been floating around the internet)

Uncle Wes said we didn't have any trick or treaters here this year, but I was ready with Kit Kat's and mini Reece's cups! Once we turned the outside lights off I stuck them all back in the freezer so I can enjoy them at my leisure. Now I have some sweet snacks for when my almost-always-absent sweet tooth makes an appearance.

After I woke up from my nap, I went back to work on Amethyst Snowflake by Just Nan. The outline is finally complete!! I finished it at 11:54pm, six minutes before midnight. I started the diamond eyelet stitches because they're also in white, although it's #12 perle instead of #8. I figure I might as well get all the white stitches in and wash it once, rather than washing it and then finding out the eyelets need to be washed as well.

My first errand tomorrow is going to be getting a few gallons of water from the store in which to hand wash Amethyst Snowflake. Unfortunately we're on well water here and there is alot of iron in it. I use a water filter, but I don't trust it to remove all the iron and not stain my stitching.

Another trade arrived today! I received four skeins of Soie d'Alger silk floss from Marcy in WI in exchange for a kit I sent to her. Thank you Marcy! ...and thank you for the extra skein; three would have been plenty!

I'm not sure if I'm going to get alot of stitching done this weekend. The local chapter of the Embroiderer's Guild of America is having a stash sale/swap at their monthly meeting on Monday morning so I have to get ready for that. Everything that I am not going to stitch or use is going with me. I have to print out my price list for all my charts and get everything into rolling totes that I can lift in and out of my truck by myself. I also have to remove the tape residue from my scroll frames so I can possibly get rid of them, too. I'm thinking the only thing that's going to work is sandpaper, so I may be going to Home Depot tomorrow while I'm out getting that water. The fun never ends, I tell ya!!

So here's your last chance: If there is anything in my For Sale or Trade blog that you would like, speak now! I am hoping that the turnout at the EGA meeting is good, and that everyone comes with stash to trade and money to buy things. The Saturday Interest Group affiliated with the EGA chapter is also having a stash sale/swap on the 15th and I have RSVP'd for that as well. My goal is to empty at least two of the four drawers of trade stash that I have. It would be great if I could trade or sell all the scroll frames because they take up so much room. Wish me luck!

October 30, 2008

Today was one of my usual relaxing days, except I woke up too early. I finally fell asleep around 5am, but I was wide awake at 9:30. That sorta threw everything off. I worked on Amethyst Snowflake until I couldn't keep my eyes open. Around noon I went back to sleep and didn't wake up until almost 5pm.

Kasey wanted to go outside, so I opened the door and let her run loose. After a few minutes I heard alot of barking, so I called her and she came running. Right on her heels was a white blur, my neighbor's English Setter puppy, Daisy. Daisy and Kasey were running around the house and Daisy was a little scared. I got Kasey back out the door and Daisy followed her. Then Casey, my neighbor's youngest daughter, came over with Daisy's father on a leash. Casey apologized for Daisy getting away from her. She usually stays right with Rory. I told her it was no problem at all because Kasey Kay needs to run around some and she and Daisy seem to have hit it off. They were wrestling and running around the yard, falling into piles of leaves, and having a great time together.

Casey took Rory home and came back for Daisy. I loaned her a leash and off they went. A few minutes later, Casey brought the leash back and told me that Daisy pushed her over and got back out the door, so I said "Kasey will get her for you." I let Kasey back outside and said "Go get her!" She ran over to my other neighbor's yard and Daisy followed her back into our yard. Daisy then ran into the carport where Casey and I could catch her. I told Casey to bring her over any time to play with Kasey Kay. Since Kasey won't go far, we can let them play without leashes and they'll stay close to home. Dogs being the pack animals they are, Daisy won't stray far from Kasey Kay. Now the neighbors know that if they need to catch Daisy, all they have to do is use Kasey!

Two trades arrived today! First was Told in a Garden's Ribbons & Roses from Christine. Next was a package of homemade goodies from Carla. I received Sage, Amber, Narcissus, Heliotrope, and Light Lavender essential oils, Lavender hand lotion, and two containers of lip balm. I'm already in love with the lip balm and lotion! They feel wonderful! I've also put some of the sage oil into the terracotta diffuser in my bedroom.

I forgot to tell you all about another goody that arrived yesterday! It's Chapter Two of My Stitching Album from Jeannette Douglas Designs. Chapter Two is titled Milanese Moment. I like the colors in this part even more than in Part 1. I'm going to have to make sure this gets to Mom's as soon as possible so that I'm not tempted to start it. I promised myself I wouldn't start any of it until after New Year's Eve. Once finished, there will be a pocket on the back of the page to hold the mother of pearl thread winder that I purchased with this chapter. I opted not to purchase the wooden thread pallette for Part I, but I might change my mind and get it later.

I decided to do my grocery shopping tonight and went to check out the new Target in Parole. The grocery section wasn't much, but I was able to use my $5 coupon that came in the mail. I also picked up a few other things I needed, such as my naproxen. That's the only thing I can take for headaches because Excedrin causes bad side-effects.

I was hoping to complete the outline of Amethyst Snowflake today but I still have two motifs to stitch. There is also another motif that is quite dirty, so I've decided to wash this after all the outlining is done rather than frog and re-stitch the dirty motif. I thought I got through all the dirty floss on the outside of the spool but I was obviously mistaken. I don't think you need me to tell you which motif it is, it's that obvious.

October 28-29, 2008

I didn't do any stitching Tuesday but when I looked over and saw this, I had to take a picture. This is "Kasey's couch" but Chet usually sleeps on the back. This is only the second time I've ever seen him sleep on the cushions, and with Kasey at the other end it was just too cute a picture to pass up!

By the way, I was in my stitching chair when I took this, so you can tell they aren't far from my side even when they're fast asleep. I honestly think they do this because they're afraid I'm going to sneak out on them or something. At night, Kasey sleeps in one of two places: under the side of my bed (so I step on her when I get up), or on the bathroom tile with her head in the hallway. Either way, I can't get out of my bedroom without her knowing it. I am guarded 24/7! ...and I love it!

On the stitching front Wednesday, I worked on Amethyst Snowflake by Just Nan during my dialysis treatment. I re-stitched the center motif that I had to frog on Tuesday. I'm much happier with the way this looks. It's not dirty like before. I know you can't really see much. It's almost like stitching white-on-white, but I'm using Lavender Bliss. The fabric looks much more lavender when it's not on the QSnaps!

October 27, 2008

I left Mom's around noon so that I could get back to Annapolis in time to go to dialysis today. I had enough extra time to go home and unpack my Ott Lite and a few other things, take Kasey for a short walk down the driveway, and sit and relax for a few minutes before I had to go to the center for my treatment. Kasey was extremely excited to have me back home and Chet let me know how ticked off he was that I dared to leave him for more than a day. He was right in my chair with me, meowing and sitting on my lap. I also got "the look" for a long time. That's where he just sits on my footrest and stares at me accusingly.

I know cats are supposed to be independent, but Chet isn't. He follows me everywhere and is even worse when I've been gone for a couple days. I often get comments from people who don't like cats telling me how they like Chet. He also seems to be non-allergenic because I'm not the only person who is allergic to cats that hasn't had a reaction to him. I am NOT telling people allergic to cats to go get a Himalayan, though!! I'm just relating personal experience!!

Anyway, I digress (What else is new, right?). I had my treatment and was working on Amethyst Snowflake when I realized that the first motif I stitched looked dingy in comparison to the other motifs that were much whiter (yesterday's photo) . The whole outline of the snowflake is stitched in White #8 Perle Cotton. I think my spool had gotten a little dirty on the outside. I didn't think anyone would notice once the entire design was stitched, but it just bothered me so much I had to frog it. I only stitched a few stitches to get it back in, but this is what everything looks like so far.

Late tonight, I was walking through the kitchen and noticed a brown envelope sticking out from under a pan. Linda in TX's trade arrived! I now have two more issues of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts magazine to fill out my collection! Thank you, Linda!!

October 25-26, 2008

As most of you know, I spent the majority of today updating this blog. It's been a month since my fingers starting splitting and causing me too much pain to be able to type.

Since a certain little girl named Kasey Kay decided that I only needed to sleep for 4 1/2 hours, I was up at 8: 30 this morning, after working on my blog until 4am. I finished all my updates around 2pm and then started a new project, Amethyst Snowflake by Just Nan. I only did a little bit of stitching before I had to take a nap this afternoon. I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

When I woke up at 7:15 tonight, I found a message from my mom's neighbor. I gave him and his wife my Saluki girl, Shandi, two years ago and they call me whenever they need someone to watch Shandi and their other Saluki, Nemo, for them. The only problem is that they live almost two hours away. I returned Joe's call and found out that he had to make an emergency trip to Belmont Park (the race track) tomorrow morning becuase a horse needed his attention up there. Since he's already going to be in New York, he's going to pick up Susan and bring her home. They need me to walk and feed the Gruesome Twosome for the day. Of course I said yes, so I quickly packed a couple changes of clothes, my laptop, and my stitching and headed up to Elkton around 8pm.

The bonus was that it gave Mom and I some time together. I just had to go over to Joe & Susan's every few hours to walk Shandi & Nemo and feed them around 7:00.

Dad had to fill in for someone in a band Sunday morning at a tailgate party near Raven's Stadium, so he and Mom left while I was at Joe & Susan's this morning. I had the house all to myself since Ian moved to his apartment in Pennsylvania last weekend. I spent my time reading email, chatting with Debi and Cherie online, stitching Amethyst Snowflake and sleeping.

I woke up from my nap around 4pm to find Mom and Dad home. Sarah was over with Anna and Caleb, so we all watched the kids run around and play and ask to be picked up upon occasion. Sarah was having dinner with a friend so she and the kids went there around 5:30.

Mom, Dad, and I played Uno for about an hour after dinner. Then Mom and I played Skip-O when Dad went to watch tv. We had hot chocolate together and ate some baby asparagus spears wrapped with proscuitto. It's one of our favorite snacks! Later, just before I went to bed, Mom made some chocolate chip cookies. I didn't eat mine, but I have them for tomorrow!

August 30, 2008

S.E.X., R.A.K., trade...three different ways to enhance your stash and all three happened to me today!

Uncle Wes drove me to the Macaroni Grill in Annapolis this afternoon to meet the two Carols from the Heirloom Stitchers group. We had lunch together, along with Carol Bo's son Raymond, and spent the meal chatting together. Carol's husband and F-I-L arrived for their own lunch and Ray decided he wanted to stay with his dad while us three ladies went to Catonsville to raid the LNS.

Now comes the S.E.X. (that's Stash Enhancement eXperience for those of you with a dirty mind!)...Carol Ba couldn't believe that I planned on going to the LNS with only five dollars but that's exactly what I intended to do. She told me to buy whatever I wanted and she would spot me until I get paid on Wednesday, so I purchased enough Soie d'Alger to get started on both Common Ground and Queen of the Needle by Just Nan. I also picked up 2 small "Doodles for leftovers" kits by Hob-Nobb Designs, a container of Thread Heaven (mine disappeared), a new Needle Nest, Lizzie Kate's "Housework Never Killed Anyone (but why take a chance)" Snippet, an acrylic 12" ruler that holds a stitched band in the middle, and a purple needle minder. Carol Ba and I are both purple fanatics, so we split a two-pack of needleminders between us. Of course, there were other things I ogled and fondled, but I contained myself and spent just under $60 for all of the above.

Here is a close-up of the Hob-Nobb embellishments. I couldn't resist these two charts. I enjoy doing these "Doodles for leftovers" charts because they don't tell you specific colors to use. Rather, the idea is to use whatever is in your stash, hence "for leftovers."

When we got back out to Carol Bo's truck following a jaunt into the adjacent yarn shop, she said "You've been RAK'd!" and placed Just Nan's "When Barnabee Met Bella" biscornu chart and the WDW fabrics for it on the seat between us. This was one of the charts I had ogled and put back. The fabrics are 30ct Morris Blue and 30ct Lilac. This is going to be gorgeous when completed, so now I have to get the silks for it!

Speaking of silks and Just Nan, I know I said I was going to stitch Common Ground in DMC but I have since changed my mind. Or had my mind changed for me, whichever you prefer. Kathy Y brought her Common Ground to the last Heirloom Stitchers meeting. She is stitching it with the silks Nan calls for. We were both astonished to see the difference between the silk and the DMC conversion I used to start mine. It was so drastic that I have decided to frog the small amount of border I have stitched and re-start using the recommended silks. I was able to purchase one of each green needed, so I will probably begin on that early next year. I still have 72 finishes to do to meet my goal for this year so I won't be starting any more large projects until 2009.

Carol Ba had a birthday party to go to so Carol Bo and I headed back to my house where we picked up a very excited Kasey Kay and took her downtown. Kasey and I gave Carol a walking tour of part of Downtown Annapolis and City Dock. We checked out William Paca's house, the Paws Pet Boutique on State Circle, and then headed over to the Starbucks in the basement of the Maryland Inn. Carol is very interested in architecture, so I knew she'd enjoy being in the basement of such an old building. Kasey accompanied us in her "assistance dog in training" capacity. She was so well-behaved that none of the employees even realized she was inside the building. We were on the other side of the fireplace so they couldn't see her once we sat down. Kasey did very well on her extended "stay" and didn't try to get up to greet newcomers, just rolled onto her side to accept their adjulation and petting.

Carol had to get back home before Ray started driving George crazy asking where she was, so she dropped Kasey and me off at home and headed back to her house. I have to thank both Carols for their wonderful company and gifts today. I appreciate it so much and it was nice to get out of the house.

Kasey and I walked down to the mailbox around 8:00pm to see what goodies the mailman left us. My trade from Nancy K arrived! I am sending Nancy 24" of Aida band and a chart and she sent me the American Sampler by Leisure Arts and The Quiltmaker by Told in a Garden. I saw this TIAG chart and fell in love! Each side is twenty miniature quilt squares and there is a pen-and-ink print by Greg Kempf to frame between the two sides. Kempf is an Amish artist who uses his talent to show his people to others who would otherwise never get to see them. The American Sampler is another wonderful addition to my collection of patriotic charts and kits.

So there you have it: S.E.X., a RAK, and a trade; the different ways my stash was increased today. It was alot of fun. It wore me out. I wouldn't change a thing about today! Thank you Carol, Carol, and Raymond for getting me out of the house today. Now I'm probably going to have to sleep all day Sunday to recover!

July 4-6, 2008

I went to dialysis at 10:30 Friday morning, as instructed, but my treatment didn't start until 11am. Yes, we have dialysis on Independence Day! The only two days the clinic is closed are Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Unfortunately, there are many dialysis patients who can't go more than two days without a treatment so the clinic is open 363 days a year.

My tech put the lower needle near the bottom of my graft so I couldn't bend my arm during my treatment. Therefore, I didn't get any stitching done. Instead, I read one of my library books to keep myself busy. With only about 20 minutes of my treatment left, my arm started to ache terribly. We tried ice, but the pain kept increasing. Ultimately, I had Greg and Gloria take me off the machine early. I've never had pain like that, but we suspect it was because the needle was almost on the incision from last month's second surgery.

My arm stopped hurting about thirty minutes after the needles came out and Kasey and I headed to Baltimore to spend the day at my friend Tom's parents' house. His mom, Miss Debbie, has been asking when I was bringing Kasey back up since we were there for the fireworks last Independence Day.

This year's show at Fullerton was very weird. Three different times we thought it was the grand finale. The lights even came on at one point and I went back inside, only to hear them start back up a minute later. We had a good vantage point from the back deck and Tom and his friends were shooting fireworks, as were many of the neighbors, even after the official show was over. Kasey and the other dogs stayed inside because the noise was just too much for their sensitive ears. And when she finally got over the fear that I was going to leave her there, she sprawled out flat on her side under the dining room table where she was out of the way.

For once, I was asleep before 1am and I slept until 1 the following afternoon. I couldn't believe I was tired so early, but I guess I needed the rest after staying up for over 24 hours Wednesday/Thursday. It was a relief to see that my attempt at resetting my internal clock worked, though. Miss Debbie and I had a late breakfast and chatted awhile before Kasey and I headed home.

I tore the living room, my truck, my stitching bag, and my dialysis bag apart when I got home. The night before when I was showing Miss Debbie my Dinky Dyes charts, I went to get the bag of silks so she could see what colors I was using. They weren't there! There are only three places any of my stitching/stash should be: in my stitching bag that goes everywhere with me, in my stash cabinets, or beside my stitching chair.

My Saltbush and Yallingup silk skeins were all in a Bent Creek Zipper bag and the bag was nowhere to be found. I was so upset it felt like I was going to be sick. There was no way I could afford to buy them at full price! I even went out a second time to look in the truck and unfolded the blankets in my dialysis bag to double-check that it hadn't gotten caught in the folds. Just before midnight, I was in the dining room to get my Dinky Dyes Christmas ornament UFO to work on. Lo and behold! My silks sitting on the corner of the table!

It was at that moment I remembered taking pictures of my finishes in there on Wednesday and needing the floss to sign them before photographing them. I felt like such a moron (no comments necessary, already kicked myself in the posterior several dozen times) because I even called my dialysis clinic Saturday evening so my tech could check in the sides of the chairs of my section. When he told me he didn't find them, all I could think was that they'd fallen off the tray on the side of my chair into the trash can.

I called Debi at midnight (only 9pm her time) screaming and saying "Ohmigosh!" over and over. Uncle Wes came out of his room all bleary-eyed (he'd been asleep since 9) because he thought Chet and Kasey were chasing another mouse.

So a happy ending and crisis averted!

I also spent part of Saturday doing some reading on the Civil War (The War of Northern Aggression) to satisfy my curiosity. Someone sent me a link for a CW re-enactment of the Battle of Brimfield. Brimfield is in Massachussetts. There were no CW battles in Massachussetts. I know this because the northern-most battle was Gettysburg, where Southern troops retreated back across the Potomac. It just didn't make sense to me, this Battle of Brimfield.

So I spent a few hours looking at CW timelines and reading about the town of Brimfield to figure out what was going on. Ultimately I realized it was just a gimmick to attract people to a big town festival they're having in October.

I've been wanting to start Common Ground by Just Nan since the day I bought it. I kept telling myself "after so-and-so is completed." Well, I decided to make it one of my July Goals in SNS2 in order to force myself to start it. So I did on Sunday! I only got one part of one section of the "backbone" of the border stitched before I was fed up with the DMC knotting (and I use Thread Heaven!) before I packed it back into its ziplock bag. I've been very excited to get this project started, but I know it'll be a long time coming before it's complete. I plan on stitching it between finishing smaller projects, probably only a week or two at a time.

Now that I see the DMC and had the frustration of it knotting up on me, I'm almost positive I'm going to buy the silks two to four skeins at a time and re-start it after taking out what I've done. I'll begin with the silks for the border and buy a couple at a time until I have all I need. I guess it's true what they say: Once you stitch with silks, you don't want to stitch with anything else. So I'll be trolling ONS's for sales on Soie de'Alger silks whenever I have some extra money.