A Day of Cleaning

We were both in a cleaning mood today......and when that happens, we have to take full advantage of it! I just need to get into this mood more often.

In some ways clearing out the Christmas decor makes the house seem bigger again. Our village took alot of time to put away as we carefully wrapped each piece.

I decided to change the furniture around too. And this, my friends, is not too good with a bad back and neck but post-Christmas clean-up just makes me giddy to put things in different places just for a change. I think.....but can't prove......... that it's estrogen related.

I decided that I would set the dining table for two. See, I'm already getting in the Valentine's mood.

I kept this chair in the family room and put it in a different corner. Excuse the vacuum cleaner cord.......:0

I polished my silver teapot, sugar and creamer and oh, it looked better! I would love to show you a picture of it closeup but I noticed a full imagine of me in my robe looking pretty strange stretched across the teapot so I deleted it.

I washed and cleaned my crystal pieces. I love the new holder for my large Ginghers.

I'm ready for a cup of tea and a selection of petite sandwiches.

You know the table went from a table for 6 in 2005, to a table of 4 in 2008, now for 2010.......a table for 2 please. ;)

Would you like cream and sugar?

I even got out a couple of our wedding reception napkins that has our names and wedding date on them. Yeppers, I still have about 50 of those left and tucked away in my buffet cabinet.

When Body Guard and I took down the village on the piano (which is an hour process now), we had an audience of one. He looked so disapointed that Christmas lights are taken down. :(

Thomas is our cat who stays mostly outdoors. He comes in the basement when the weather is extreme or very cold and lounges on an old sofa like he is king. Otherwise, he is turning into Garfield with his plumpness now. BG says that this is a sign of a hard winter when all the animals fatten up.

So for sure, we will have some more snow!

He eats multiple times during the day. BG says now we have one dog that has senile dementia, one dog that jumps like a rabbit, a cat with bulimia, and a Lab that grins and shows her teeth at us when we come home from work. Do we qualify for a zoo yet?

But, Thomas is certainly a precious cat. He has the thickest fur this year I've ever seen him have. He is peaking through the window at me and wants to know when I'm going to clean the windows next so he won't look like he has snowflakes on his pretty head!!! LOL

Other things I did today include:

Eating leftovers from New Years Day

Stitched and frogged 3 times until I figured out my count on the border of the design was wrong.

Watching way too many marathon NCIS programs because I love BG. He loves that program. It's way too stimulating and testosterone -filled for me. I like it peaceful, quiet, or the Lifetime Channel, or PBS, or anything besides gore.

Took a plunging accidental slide about 2 hours ago, like I was going into home base on a baseball field around the hall corner with Abbie in my arms. Abbie is fine. I'm lying on the sofa with a heating pad and can hardly turn my neck.

Called the warranty folks for my computer and they are sending the dreaded box to get it fixed.......they say 1.5-2 weeks time away. OMG! I have to work on this old computer...........let's put it this way. BG still uses the DOS programming? What the heck is DOS? I mean, I really never knew what those F1, F2, F3, etc. keys at the top of the keyboard were for. :0


Hope your day went well. I will post a progress pic at midnight of Northanger Abbey, which I was thinking more along the lines of Hardanger Abbey after frogging out the right corner 3 times.......LOL

Till then stay comfy! (and I will stitch to more marathon NCIS and Die Hard movies tonight with my hubbie)

Are you eating alot of peas and greens?

I'm barely connecting with an old laptop that had met it's demise a year ago. My honey rigged up this old one to do until I get mine fixed. You know that could take 8 weeks after sending it in to the warranty folks. Anyway, I'm back and around the house this morning with alot of cooking. Alot of cooking greens and black-eyed peas. This is supposed to be assuredness of good prosperity with the New Year, or so I've been told.

Missing Brandon alot right now. Hoping peace is in his heart in the middle of a country that is definitely not peaceful right now.
Here's to simple living and reminding myself that the simple life is the goal (minus the no laptop part) LOL
Speaking of peace, the two that are not at peace in our house include Abbie and Ren. She is so domineering with him and has not figured out yet that he is old and blind.

Worked a little on the Northanger Abbey piece this morning while hubbie has tried to rig up another computer to blog. I'm watching the CNN news to get updates in between cooking lunch, hugging Abbie and Ren, and stitch.

this morning about 2am I finished this stocking. Or finished stitching it. I still have to pick a fabric and believe it or not, I don't have what I was looking for, a tiny print fat quarter in black something, so I will have to finish later.
I cut the pattern template last night. I felt like I committed a felony when I cut through the Blackbird Design back page design. :0
Miss Abbie is looking cute in her dress. She is ever so playful right now.
She has not been eating well since our trip. However, today she enjoyed "stealing"food from Ren's plate. I mean.........Ren won't eat dog food well anyway, so this is her fantasy.
While we ate a great meal including lots of peas and a spiral cut ham.

and lots of greens for good luck. I also cooked fresh cornbread from Nora Mills grainary to go with it. I grated some cheese up into the batter and they turned out great!
And probably lots of gas.....LOL
My sweet Abbie is trying to get in my lap as we speak here. She got used to the carrying around mode we had on our trip. And she is so dang cute it's hard to tell her no.
Body Guard has decided to crank up something else this afternoon outside after lunch. It's a guy thing I believe.
It's bright and sunny and I'm leaning towards browsing through some thrift stores this afternoon. I'm just in that kinda mood.

Hope your New Years Day is fun-filled too.

Jennifer

Happy New Year 2010

Hubbie brought flowers home to start the evening nice and cozy by the fire.

Then we went out to eat a nice meal at a Bed and Breakfast local that we kept driving past after all these years and finally made a reservation to try it out. And it was DE-licious!

There were pretty New Year's table decor in a lovely old house, reminded me of my old house before we moved here. Body Guard had a seafood bisque with the year 2010 written in cream on top. A sneak taste was utterly divine.
The food was awesome. I had Chicken Oscar which was a very delicate flattened chicken breast with crab sauce topping, stir-fried baby beans and carrots, and the best mashed potatoes I've ever eaten in my life.

Then we came back home, got the fire place going again and relaxed on the sofa to watch the countdown in New York plaza.
All I can say is-----WOW at the number of people there tonight!

I know we have a new camera but we still are quite amateur at some of the functions and this pic is very dark.....however, this is me and Miss Abbie wishing you the best of 2010!

Here's to thanking all my blogger friends for their prayers and support and kindness that goes beyond what I ever dreamed possible. The week off from work has definitely helped recoup from a rough spot in the year here.
In looking back through 2009, I can certainly say that it's been a stressful year but through it all, I've grown more and learned lessons from life.
It's tested my inner strength and faith.

A new beginning. A new year. A fresh new start with some improved perspectives on coping.

A year, I hope, to be filled with more adventures, good health, and companionship with my better half.

New Year's resolutions are just goals we try to achieve. Sometimes it's very hard to keep them and I've decided this year to make one resolution. To simplify life as much as possible and redirect my energies into those that love to share the journey with me.

I hope you and your families have healthy, happy, and prosperous years ahead and know that you have become part of my heart this year and hopefully through the year ahead as well.

Goodbye 2009.



Hello 2010.

Color therapy

I'm loving this cleaning up the Christmas decorations for two reasons. I can pack the remainder of gifts for those loved ones who chose not to contact at Christmas and release them to the Postmaster today, with all the negative energy just dissipating and also regain some order to the house. I used to blame it on the kids. Now, it's not, it's just plain me and my hubbie that caused the messiness!

I plan to spend New Year's Eve with my favorite companion and kiss at midnight. How about you? How are spending your New Year's Eve?


In a snowy bliss? All comfy and cozy?

I'm cleaning and looking throught the stack of colors on my kitchen island that collected during the holidays. Some obtained this past week and planning for Spring stitches.

BG took the tree down and now we have room. I'm going to reaarange the Dining area in a fashion that permits this chair I brought up from the basement. I got this at an auction this year and I fell in love with it right here in the family room.

I've got a glass of wine and relaxing to an oldies on a CD called "Embraceable You" and sipping on my wine in front of this is my kind of therapy besides color.

I left Thomas ornament on the snow hanger for just another month or so. He insisted this morning as he was drinking his milk and heading out the door.

Up in the stairwell is plenty of color therapy.

And soft, warm flannel cloth.

And these cats waiting for a blanket to be made for the front porch swing, Thomas's sunspot from 12noon till......5ish.

And more material to look at.

I'm dreaming of all the stitching projects with these this year, 2010.

Can you believe this came from Walmart of all places, in the town of Pigeon Forge, Tenn. where stitching departments still exist.

I can visualize spring lavender sprigs with this. Oh, I'm longing for Spring already.

I better snap out of this trance of wine and color therapy, and fireplace warmth to get ready for a date with my hubbie tonight. He is the one I will kiss at midnight and if he has his way, will shoot his gun as the usual tradition at midnight.

Anybody do that at New Year's Eve midnight?

As I write, I have my Love to Keep me Warm, song is playing on the CD in old-time radio style.......funny indeed~what will I wear tonight? Oh, this is certainly a girlie thing.

Have a great Evening with your sweetie.

Jennifer

Good morning, New Year's Eve.

Lighting my fave candle of the holidays from Bath and Body Works, Frosted Cranberry. I promise you it's a great fragrance for cabin fever. It calms the mind. It calms the spirit and believe me, working with my computer right now with an ailing cord, I need calming. Good thing we found the warranty. Oh, but the withdrawals from it........


I stayed up too late. I only slept 5 hours and now it's showing. Where's the coffee?


Peaking out the window to see that the snow is turning to slushy snow and we are praying it dissipates before tonight because we have New Year's Eve reservations at a restaurant and if this refreezes, the ride will be treacherous. I know you all from the North parts of the US are laughing. Yes, only 1 inch of snow will shut the whole area down! ;)

Raven and Ruby had fun crunching in the show on the side porch last night.

Labs love cold weather! Labs love wet weather! And just put the two together and they are grinning in glee.

Hurry, hurry if you want to sled because it's melting. I put this out every winter. A friend at work gave me this years ago when Brandon and Meghan were still in the nest. I loved it! It reminds me of them when they were about this age. In South Ga. we had very few snows but in some ways it reminds me of them, close in age.

Ok, I think my oatmeal is ready. The butter is melting and it's Strawberry Cream oatmeal time with some news and coffee, my basic daily staples.

Well, I just have to put the little heel on the Blackbird Design stocking and then pick a backing fabric. Their finishing instructions use fusing material and I think I'm going to leave them open in case I want to tuck a sprig of lavender or such in them. We'll see how my creative spirit takes me today.

Stay safe and warm.

Jennifer

New Year's Eve stitching

The snow came down and coated a good inch of the pretty stuff.

While inside I worked on this...............

Blackbird Design--January stockings

30 Ct R & R Old Town Blend linen

Gentle Art threads, Old Black Crow and Cherry Bark