Sweet things

Typical very busy Monday at work, came home to pick up on some stitching while I listened to Nancy Grace and the case of Vandersloot.........well, I guess I should have looked at the picture before I started the Sweet as I stitched in Wavy Navy CC and it's supposed to be DMC 221. I will leave it this way but I may change one of the other words to red.....maybe Freedom instead. This is the Sampler Girl design Sweet Land 1831 Patriotic Pocket.

Anyway, in between commercials, I went to the sewing area in the basement and got distracted with this charm pack. I have no idea what I'm doing as far as piecing this together but I've had it several months so I'm forging ahead.

This is a Moda charm pack of which name I can't remember but I think Nouvou???

Before I knew it, I had the length on one column for a possible runner......still haven't a clue, but we'll see how this turns out.

Pretty good for a couple of commercials, I thought!  LOL

And not that I'm using this trim for this at all, but I had this in my sewing area and want to show you. I got 1/2 yard of this at one of the quilt stores back a few weeks ago. It's really deceivingly heavy with all the buttons but I love it.

Probably will use on a pinkeep in some sort of way or a bag one day.

Speaking of bags, I pulled this from fabric stash as a possible liner for the little bag I'm working on with a Stacy Nash design.

Well, I think I will forge ahead with one of these projects until sleepy time.

Great news of the week is that the lightning storm did not wipe out my sewing machine!!!  WOOHOO!

We are back at walking after dinner again tonight and I think it helps with sleep but climbing those big hillsmountains in our neck of the woods at the beginning of Summer tells me I'm out of shape and need more exercise for sure.

Miss Abbie went for a stroller ride again and she barked alot. Will she ever calm down????  The question of the day. Her newest thing is to bring all 5 of her toys to my feet at the stitching chair and bite my toes and drop them one by one around my feet to get my attention to play throw and fetch with her.

She is Miss Personality indeed! She lives for the word, T-R-E-A-T just like Ren used to do before he lost his hearing.

Well, I'm rambling again.....hope you have a great evening, stay safe and till later......

Jennifer

Stitchers ADHD

Is there such a diagnosis as Stitchers ADHD?

The weekend has been productive for my right brain, that's for sure because it's bedtime and I'm thinking of other projects to start when I haven't finished the one I started yesterday.

Today, I remembered that I wanted to start Mansfield Park. It's a larger sampler and I have the recommended linen and threads. I'm resisting to start this one this week until I'm finished with the 2 others I'm working on.

Then again, I like In the Meadow with Jane Austen, as well.

 Last month I got the digital magazine  Gift of Stitching (GOS) membership and oh, how gorgeous is this sampler. Bright vivid colors and so pretty!

So, what makes our right brain work overtime sometimes?  It's working on me lately for sure!

I love color as you know by now, including fabrics too and have resisted starting a new hobby of quilting until I gain more skills on the sewing machine. Finishing the curtain panel this weekend helped and browsing through my fabric cabinet really spurred on more interest.

Just for grins and giggles, how many of you get GOS magazine?  I love it.....every single page and enjoyed the June edition over the weekend. Note to self----make sure to find a way to save to another hard copy or print my magazine as now I'm a little giddy when the thunder starts with these Summer storms. I am very lucky I didn't lose all my data I've stored, very lucky indeed.

Sometimes I have to wonder how I got into the field of medicine in reflection as it's definitely a left brain work of art and I will be  back to that tomorrow.

In doing much reading today, I have found that our stitching keeps our brains healthy, connected which is so important at our middle age years.

My mother in law used to tatt alot and also still does a cross word puzzle every single day.  She will be 92 in 3 months. I think this has helped her retain her great memory.

threads for Mansfield Park-absolutely beautiful and intriguing!

the linen

But this one would be perfect!

I do have the fabric to finish too.

but Mr. Darcy is catching my eye too.

and my 2 inch folder of freebies takes an entire drawer of itself to taunt me on occasion

which includes this freebie for Summer

And of course The Sampler Girl patterns have their own entire drawer of patterns which are so beauiful.

I could go on and on.

There are some positive things that stitching brings to my life. I get to choose, when, where, how, etc. and this is a rare thing to find in ordinary everyday doldrums of schedules.

Stitching is my outlet. My way of setting free from schedules and perfect timing and deadlines.

So what does stitching mean to you?

Do you too share some ADHD with me?

Dinner recipe~~ Dalenberg's BetterNBoston

That's what I'll call it but it was so tasty that I can share how I put it together.

Comment I heard from the official taster at the Dalenberg Homestead, Bodyguard, was "the best!... better than what we ate in Boston". He's always sweet with whatever I cook (thank goodness)  ;0

Here's my fixin's:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare 4 fish fillets (thawed)

add no salt or seasoning at this point

THEN

dollop Ranch Dressing/Dip, big dollops about 3, on top of raw fish

then a big sprinkle of Old Bay Seasoning

Put in oven for approximately 20 minutes (I never time it, just peak in oven)

Most of this dressing mix will melt around the fish and season it nicely

Then, I opened this little box of 4 packets of seasoning which would make a hot broth of steamed clams (without the clams) or a good part of a Lobster Bisque

 (I got this at the Union Oyster House in Boston)

you can probably order this on their website.

 I just packed mine in with the other 300 items of fabrics, shoes and implant training material/ scalpel, etc in my luggage.....ok, we won't go there, but all I can say is we had a mighty fine time at Logan International Airport with the two of our suitcases which contained gun, bullets, sterile trocar, needles, syringes, scalpel, and loose tea in bags (like pot) from Teavana. Yep, it's folks like us that hold up the line at the airport!  :O

Then on top of the stove I added this slowly to a small pot (for 2):

1 can of cream of celery soup

Heat it slowly with 3/4 can of evaporated milk (NOT condensed sweet milk)

a good sprinkling of black pepper

another good sprinkling of Old Bay Seasoning

about 4 big squirts of ketchup (can't you tell I never measure)

a small sprinkling of Red Crushed Peppers

and when this mixture is quite warm add 1 packet of the Boston Oyster House seasoning

and heat this slowly for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently

Cook slowly. Taste frequently and adjust to taste.

Awesome just by itself

OR

make this a complete dish to serve with hot buttered toast!

After you have cooked plain white rice during this process and drained, rinsed,etc.

THEN

take 2 large dishes

make a bed of white rice with both

Scrape the juice and 1 or 2 fish fillets and place on top of the rice.

Pour the bisque sauce on top of the fish and rice in 3 layers.

And then a final sprinkling of Old Bay Seasoning!

There you have Dinner for 2

Serve it with a spoon because you'll want to have all of that tasty sauce that's poured on top.

I would have preferred to serve with Garlic toast or cheese bread but instead I just served with buttered wheat toast tonight

A salad would make a nice side.

Ren was happy too. He put his legs in all kinds of contorsions until he licked every bit of his dish and then moved his bowl holder out of the way to see if he left some behind.....LOL

I'm trying very hard not to start Abbie with table food but boy, did she look at me with sad eyes when we were all eating. Her dog food just wasn't the same to her.  I almost caved but resisted......

Added many items in the Shoppe

Take a browse on this Sunday afternoon and see if anything peaks your Summer stitching interests.
I have added ribbons, new scissors,  patterns, both new and used, a beautiful wooden box filled with sterling silver charms, linen and floss. Also I desiged a ceramic bracelet that I love so much for the summer!
Email me at jennifer.dalenberg@yahoo.com if you would like to order.

Thank you again for your comments and kind thoughts. I hope you are having a great weekend filled with Summer blessings!

Hubbie has been weed-eating for 2 days in our neck of the woods and I have been busy reading and rambling through my stash with new finds. Miss Abbie is begging me now for a play with her toys. Her fave nowadays is the one Parsley sent her. She loves it! I think she buried her other toys all about the house. LOL

If you haven't added yourself to The Nest Feathers Shop as a follower, I would encourage you to if you would like to see in Google Reader what I add intermittently throughout the year.

The Nest Feathers Shoppe housekeeping notes

Thank you for your participation in the Memorial Day sale at the Nest Feathers Shoppe. This week has been quite crazy with the lightening striking our house and so one batch of orders went out early in the week and the other batch will go tomorrow, priority mail.  I so appreciate your kindness and hope to add a few more things here today including more fabric choices, and a simple bracelet I designed. My mind is never at rest much anymore, always thinking of something to keep busy.

Just a reminder that two very pretty patriotic samplers are in a give-a-way on this blog. See the side bar for details. I can't wait to see who will get these and what a better time than now to stitch them up?
Just click  HERE

Enjoy your Sunday!!

Jennifer

Started a Stacy Nash design and calling it a day

It's on a medium sized tote, in natural uneven weave linen

started a Stacy Nash design from my stash tonight~~Love Letters Pattern Book, Forget-me-not

Color inspired by Summer

Using Belle Soie Crescent colors silk in Icing, DMC 930, Gentle Art Cornflower, and Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Grape Leaf

The bag had been in my stash for 3 years, so making it useful now.

Methinks I will call it a day at 1am.

Mother's Prayers Sampler Finished

Mother's Prayers

designer The Sampler Girl

32 count Antique Ivory linen

DMC colors

Buttons from Boston

fabric from The Sampler Girl Webshop

started out with a finish and a happy dance at the ironing board

Stuffed and then hand-sewed the bottom

Thought about using these mother of pearl old, old buttons.

I didn't order the star ones in the model and I really wanted to finish it today.

Then remembered I had these from Boston and I liked the gold.

Decided the gold instead of the mother of pearl

attached the little cross with some thread

Then birthed a pillowkeep hanging.

My first curtain panel--a simple sewing project

For Summer,and to basically play with my new sewing machine, last week made my first pillow case. Easy, no pattern, no measuring....just used 3/4 yard of remnant from the quilt shop that blended soooooo well with my quilt in the bedroom. I loved it!

Being an amateur machine seamstress is  at the very least the ability to finish the backs of pillows after stitching samplers or simple, simple stuff.

I found this vintagey-looking piece of remnant for .75 cents about 3 months ago at a thrift shop and decided this morning to make a curtain panel for the kitchen. As the colors of red, white and blue with the daises are so Summery, I became giddy even though it's so basic  project.

The fabric, of course was not big enough for 2 panels but that was ok by me because I like to see out of my kitchen window and not cover it up, so here's a pic of my panel. I used some red rick-rack to tie back. It perked up the kitchen for the summer. I didn't line this on purpose for more sunlight to peek through.
I added my flag in the kitchen flowers, the one I waved to Brandon as he was coming home at 4am in the morning in March. It's a special little flag.

I love old-looking rick-rack.

 

And Sweet Annie

Here is a Dutch sampler I stitched in 2007. I really like it. It's graced our kitchen since then. The year 2001 for when we moved into the house. The fiber was Weeks Charcoal, coffee stained linen by me and framed by me and thee.

I'm trying to rejuvenate my African violets right now. They are definitely wimpy but a little African violet food and maybe a birth control pill in the soil and they usually come back good.

Yep, you read that right birth control pills make flowers thrive alot.

A secret among the GYN providers over the years.  LOL

My simple homey kitchen, definitely not modern but we like it this way.

Hope your Saturday is full of sunshine too!!!

Today

Today I~~~~

• saw another thunderstorm, fiercely hanging over the mountains in the distance, late evening tonight
• saw many black and white cows in a pasture huddling together by the trees--smart cows, lightning near
• tried to solve many problems that were .......sometimes solvable, and sometimes not.... by me
• answered a letter to another army mom
• worked through lunch, ate a candy bar and a vitamin instead
• drove the short way home and got "take-out" for supper
• thanked God it was Friday
• sat on our back porch and thought about many things after the day
• watched BG cut flowers outside, and put them in a vase to cheer me up--prettier than any florist could do
• wondered what color blue in Crescent Colors would my flowers be named?
• completely frustrated because the electrician did not "show up"
• realized not everybody will like me in my lifetime (a revelation I've wrestled with for awhile) There...I said it.......it felt good!  I'm just me.
• realized I may not like everybody either but I will try to love them
• realized too many rainy days leads to too much introspection for me.......way too much
• on a spontaneous decision, Body Guard and I went to an empty 200 year tiny church in the country and the door was unlocked, open for free walk-in. We walked in it for the first time and felt the presence of many emotions all at once and had a very peaceful feeling in the quiet.
• took the long way home
• ate an Oreo blizzard for dessert
• had to stop on a main highway near our house to wait for an entire family of geese to cross it. Mama, Papa, and 3 babies.....very cute......wished I had my camera!
• realized I haven't cleaned up one poop accident on the floor today!!! YIPPEE!
• saw someone with striped color Bell Soie Raspberry silk color...........hair.
• Drove by a Strawberry sign by the side of the road and remembered that exactly 22 years ago this month I was quite bloated, pregnant, bare-foot, bed-ridden, and ate every strawberry in sight!
• Followed by a giddy laugh, that she has a "strawberry spot" on her neck in the hairline.......probably caused by too many strawberries......NOT!  but funny anyway......
• Decided I ramble too much and probably just lost a hundred readers through this post but decided life is not a marathon of one thing, but a complex bundle of sometimes just......stuff

Got a busy Saturday planned. Hope you have a great evening!

In reflection and the day after

Today after the lightening hit we did get back online. We have contacted the insurance and there is quite a bit of electronic damage. I can't online go into detail all the damage but we do have online and one laptop....mine ....YEAH!!! working. Two other computers fried, one completely fried (of course the newest one), and the other one is snowey but working well enough to see. The first electrical check was done but someone is coming tomorrow to do a thorough check as it charged with such force through the basement level and kitchen.

These are a few pics of the power that blew off and melted wires and plastic, peeled back the surrounding wallpaper........very scarey thing to happen. Let's put it this way, I was standing in a bedroom with the phone in my hand almost to dial like I said before. I literally thought a plane struck our house and that is possible as there are small planes that fly over here alot. The force knocked over bronze book ends on a table and I hit the floor faster than fast and laid there with a ton of thoughts running through my head, wondering if it was an airplane on the roof burning, or someone was shooting through the window.......etc. I then panicked when the phone was dead. Then got up and went to the security panel for emergency button....all blown up...... with cell phone in the car, way down the drive, I finally braved the storms running to call on my On-star car phone system through the rain and more lightning. I literally ran around looking for fire for an hour or more until help arrived. I didn't touch anything else.


They think it hit a tree, hit ground, into the house through the phone, cable line and then surged through all the electrical. Even things that we though had grounding did not protect it. I did learn a lesson. I didn't realize lightening can hit things and fry them even if they are not turned on.

We have one snowey functioning TV for right now until the cable guy comes back in 7 days to bury another line......
Fried two of BG's computers and other stuff.......I didn't really appreciate all these gadgets we have until that happened! ;) Now, I'm soooo thankful for my laptop and TV.

But, insurance is taking this seriously and having  a detailed interwall and attic inspection of all wires tomorrow as the power was with such force and melting electrics. The funny thing was that the overhead kitchen lights were the only thing that stayed on, with the stove that I had on cooking some beans on low. Everything else went out.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!
Thank goodness I have internet and all my computer was saved....data, pics, etc.
Thank goodness for alot!!!!
Thank goodness you have stuck with me through this non-stitchy post and also thank you for the support.

As far as stitching, I haven't been able to stay still enough to stitch anything.
 But I have just sat down and watching Nancy Grace and will pick up my stitching as I watch and hope we get back to normal.

And ironically, the piece I'm working on........

The rest of the quote says....."they have clung to me all my life"

I definitely need to finish this one up!!!

And when I finish this pattern, I know exactly where I'm hanging it now......

Right where I was standing.......

Here's hoping that your week is going well and may God shelter you from these Summer storms!!

Till later,

Jennifer

Lightening struck our house last evening

No pictures to share but just to let you all know I'm ok but still a little shook up today. Went back to work.
Long story and will post pic tonight.
Short form of story, about 3pm yesterday I was about to use the phone when lightening bolted through our house, knocked me on the floor and the phone out of my hand, and blew the kitchen sockets off the wall and burned and melted wires.
I stayed on the floor in shock about 15 minutes before I got myself together and had to go to my car to call for help. The dogs were petrified. I kept smelling burning wires and ran up and down our 3 story house watching for fire for 30 minutes. I'm sore today from all that running but was scared our house was going to burn down. We have had 2 houses in our little community of 20 there that have burned down due to lightening in the past 5 years.
So, it was definitely a scarey afternoon and night. Will share more later. I have no fax, computer, TV, phone, etc at home as of right now. When I get home, I'll see what's been fixed and if I can get back online, I'll send a note.
So stay safe in all these thunderstorms. I was in milliseconds of dialing a number on the phone. The electrician told me I would have been electricuted if I had just dialed within seconds. So, there must be a reason I'm still on this Earth, indeed.

Till later,
Jennifer

Midnight Progress

Although it's small, I'm on the homestretch with this one.

I can look at the pictures of progress and it helps me see I'm getting somewhere.

from this

All in a day's work. Hopefully will have finished tomorrow and made into a pillowkeep.

It's been on of those days of deep introspection.

Sometimes I'm slow. I'm not as of massive production as others but I have to remind myself this is a hobby not a marathon.

There will be some changes to this blog soon so that more interested stitchers may find it helpful.

I realized I have too much personal information on this blog and it's not my best friend.

So keeping it simply and stitchy is my goal.

Hang in there with me. I enjoy comments immensely. Otherwise I feel like I'm shouting in the moutains.

Any suggestions to help make it more pleasurable reading is greatly accepted.

Nite nite

Jennifer