The best part of my day.....my week!!!

Well, the best part of my day is winning this Brighton bracelet on Ebay! WooHOO!
It's called the Country Sampler bracelet. It has a stitched designed heart in the center and has the detachable screwlike device on the end to open the back if you want to insert a picture of another stitching design (small) with pretty little pearls to grace it!

For a couple weeks I have been cleaning out closets of clothes and stuff, old stuff to sell on Ebay and I had raised a balance on it so that I could get a few things. This is one of them.
This is the Valentine Day gift to myself. It will remind me of what my true first love is......and that's stitching. I love Brighton jewelry and though it is pricey, I incidentally found this one with cross stitched heart and locket key. There is also a necklace and earrings.....but let's not get crazy, right?

Jennifer

Good news and Bad news

Well, yesterday went about as great as any other time I try to stick my neck out to help someone in the family or close to me. Bad news is he did go to the appt and general surgeon says he has 2 hernias instead of one that need repair. Good news is that it's not an emergency that had to be today.

So, he scheduled it for Wednesday. For me that meant rescheduling 66 patients and taking my vacation. But seems that when I try to do something for someone thinking I'm helping, it really don't and makes a big mess instead. So lesson learned that I will keep my neck out of everything even if severe circumstances result. I can definitely go without being labeled, called names, and all the other wretched things that happen. I should have learned this lesson by now but for some reason my trying help turns into a disaster and I've been told many times that I am at the root of all disasters. So there you go. I keep remembering that phrase that I never understood, Life is what you make it, and I really made a big mess and usually do.

Everyday we learned lessons and yesterday I learned that my trying to help, never helps anything. That's about the best I can explain on a public domain.

This morning I woke at 3am again, my mind clicking through the laundry list of worries that I have on my plate right now. As I figure that most of them are totally out of my control, then I try to forget them but it's like a movie with no commercials that keeps playing over and over.

It's gray and gloomy here again to fit the atmostphere. I know of only one person I can travel to and talk to and I'm thinking of doing that today. They are never judgemental, always listens, and just helps me get my old self back again. They remind me that I don't make everything a disaster.

So here's hoping you aren't in shoes like mine today and that you are surrounding by people who love you just like you are.

Jennifer

TGIF....maybe

Well, a short note here to say BG is still sick but a bit better. He says he is better as long as he is vertical, lying down. Standing causes pain.
I packed an overnight case and my fave slippers and yoga pants with me to work in case they decide to do surgery and I have to stay overnight tonight. So we'll see. Has appt this afternoon for a surgical evaluation.


The gray misty weather outside is not helping anything. But, I guess we all appreciate the sun more when it comes out and oh, if it's going to be misty, cold and gray, please snow! ;)
When the weather is like this, I crave pancakes and coffee from IHOP. I know that sounds silly but that is my comfort food.

Not much time for a lunch break here but just wanted to drop by and hope everyone is having a sunny weekend where you are.
Thanks for all the comments on stitching projects. They keep my mind busy. I added the one last night to a stack now, I have accumulated on my working table to be finished in whatever mood strikes me one day.....LOL

If I'm home this weekend, I hope to get this done.

I'm sitting in silence here, if only for 10 minutes until the rush starts again. Oh, how I savor quiet.


Yep, last night Miss Abbie sensed that BG was sick. She would just sit at the bottom of the stairs and look up then look over at me. She has not figured out yet (and I hope she doesn't) how to climb those stairs. I took her up there and told her to give him some "kissie, kissies" and she did. I think it was therapeutic for both. She definitely knows what kissie, kissies means. She also knows the word Treat and will head in the direction that treats are kept. She has a routine in the morning and at night where we have to play with Chicken 1 or 2, throwing and retrieving, hiding and she loves it. After all that she scans the floor for any crumbs or anything edible and cleans it like one of those little vacuum cleaners. Then, she will play with her toys and throw them herself with her mouth and then act like she is going to retrieve afterward. That is funny to watch.
Because her favorite toys, Chicken 1 or 2 have flossy tails, she occasionally will sneak up on the ottoman and pick out a floss thread. I try to keep them out of her reach but occasionally a DMC floss label will fall off around the stitching chair and she did crunch one up before I knew it like it was a treat. I guess I will see the number when she poops it out later! LOL

For Ren, I don't think he knew. He's just like, "Give me my arthritis medicine and food 3 times at night and I will be fine.....oh, and a freshly, Downy-laundered blanket to turban in!"

Well, my quiet minutes are over. Back to the race.

Till later,
Jennifer

Midnight finish

Know Your Own Happiness

from The Valentine Booklet, the Sampler Girl

cream linen 2 over 2

DMC floss

Grey's Anatomy was not as good as I thought, but the program afterward, Private Practice was really good. It's the stuff that happens in real life practices. Ethical delimmas galore.

The patient is resting. He is ok for right now but I'm thinking that he may need surgery for an umbilical hernia and hope to get a consult tomorrow with someone to check it out.
When he's sick, which is very rare, he wants to be left alone and you know me........wanting to fix it like he is a patient at work. But I have to separate profession from personal. It's totally hard to do.

I'm undecided about how to finish this one out and who to give it to. I keep too many of my projects and need to start giving them away. Maybe that should be a New's Years resolution.
I think I'll sleep on that one.

nite,
Jennifer

In Sickness and in health

Valentine Booklet stitching still.

Right through the day tending the sick, I've gotten this far. BodyGuard is sick and he is finally sleeping after a couple of doses of medicine. His tummy is not well. On standby stitching away, in case we need to go to the ER. My overnight case is ready, my next stitching project is ready in bag to accompany.

I just may be able to finish tonight if I stay home!

Grey's Anatomy fans hear this:

a new episode is on tonight.......can't wait! I love the show. In fact I'm usually not a TV watcher much at all. No reality TV for me please. But I love Grey's Anatomy...........so stay tuned. I hope I'm spending the night in Grey's ER instead of our local one. :0

Well, going to get back to my "happiness"........LOL

Jennifer

The winner of the Cabin Fever Giveaway is~~~~~

ARLETTE from Costa Rica!

Enjoy!
I will be emailing you for mail address. Thanks again for all who entered and there will be a Valentine's one soon......stay tuned!

Jennifer

A Small new start and a new project for Sunday

Started a little on a new small project in the Valentine Booklet I got from The Sampler Girl. It's called Know Your Own Happiness. I thought it very appropriate for this week. I love the colors. Using DMC floss and a remnant of fabric I had left over from the Northanger Abbey project.
Keeps my little mind busy until the Emma Project. I'm thoroughly enjoying the needle sent by Sandy J. in New Jersey!


Got the pattern for the Jane Austen and Me, the Emma Project and threads ready and organized on a floss card. The program Emma will be on PBS on Sunday night.

Besides trying to clean the house which is a disaster almost as big as Haiti right now, I will try to get some time in to work on this one.

I also have several unfinished projects to sew and finish on my working table, one as old as Christmas, so I am going to try today and tonight finish those. I really like to complete it as soon as possible instead of having finished pieces lying around waiting for a frame of pillow making.

The Valentine Booklet is full of small projects for any time of year and I know I will enjoy every piece in it because really, every day should be Valentines Day and shared with the one we love.

This is my off day today and like I said, many things to catch up on. I also will be drawing a name for the Cabin Fever Give-A-Way. Last night I crashed early to bed and woke at 3am with the barking Labs outside and didn't go back to sleep. Now, I'm feeling a little nap coming on...........maybe.

Abbie, of course, is nice and rested and ready to run the Indiana 500 about the house, searching for socks, shoes, or anything that she can play with. We play a game of hide and seek that she loves and she thinks this morning I need to run and hide for her. I'm pooped out. But I ran around the house and played with her a little and now she is napping.

Ren missed it all. He is turbaned in his blanket oblivious to his environment right now.

Till later,

Jennifer

Northanger Abbey Finished!

Northanger Abbey---Jane Austen design

Designer: Tanya M. Anderson, The Sampler Girl

2 over 2

28 count Cream linen

Fibers: DMC and Crescent Colors

Backing fabric: from The Sampler Girl's Webshop

I absolutely loved stitching this sampler, it's variety of colors, vitality, and the verse! Onward now to getting a head start on the Emma project, which just came in the mail to acccompany this Jane Austen design by The Sampler Girl.

So many patterns.....too little time!

Hope you are having a great evening.

Abbie's shot day

Snoozing along after a day of shots. She's pretty tired.

While she is sleeping after supper, on her treat, I will show you her spots that came up this past

month. I found this "kitten cot" at Target today at lunch. It's tiny and perfect for her to sleep

on. She likes it. She has all her toys around her and now stretching out for an after-dinner nap.

She has a little pink lipstick on her forehead where I kissed her when I came home....LOL

I know Abbie is extra tired when she is sleeping on a treat. Vet says now is the time to get her "fixed". I'm so unsure about that. Don't you think Abbie would make pretty puppies one day? I can't convince Body guard of that at all!

Those spots are just in the funniest place to me. She's getting a third one right by her tail now.

Oops, she's waking now and ready for play time! I spoke too soon. Now it's "See Spot Run time"

On Ren's record, by the way, they have him upcoming for a Chlamydia vaccine next time. Somebody please let me know how dogs get Chlamydia! OMG! I had to read that twice. I had to laugh. I think Ren is pretty much not going to get Chlamydia. LOL

Jennifer

Seeing the world in DMC on Monday morning

Just a quick note. I briefly looked over the pic of Northanger Abbey I took at, oh my, whatever time I stayed up last night, and promise to get a better one tonight. Where did the shadow come from in my pics? I have no clue.

Anyways, the drive in was ok. No speeding tickets thus far! LOL Miss Abbie is going in to the vet for her routine shots and I just dread it. Body Guard is taking her. She was all Miss Angel this morning........as long as Ren is quiet and asleep she doesn't tear paper or run like a mad woman around the house. If he wakes, she turns into a different personality....very aggressive.
She was so sweet this morning I wanted to put her in my Lab coat and take her to work. But that would be a little silly!

My mind is still on stitching though. As I drove behind a car, I could have sworn the vehicle read DMC on the back......as I got closer it read GMC. Well, close-enough! :0

Life in the world of color. The sun is out today and oh, so glad to see it. Temps are milder, birds were chirping as I walked in the building and it's time to start a new week.

Here's hoping you see the world in beautiful DMC colors on this Monday morning!

Jennifer

Slowly but surely...midnight progress

Northanger Abbey by The Sampler girl, not where I wanted to be right now. Wanted to be further along but I'm getting there.
For some reason there is a pinkish shadow over the bottom right hand corner. Please ignore it.......getting sleepy and better pics tomorrow night as I hope to finish the water and grass and the tree.
Good night,
Jennifer

The Sunday afternoon drive

Yesterday, I didn't have my finished Blackbird Design January stocking with me, but I thought I did pretty doggone good matching a backing fabric fat quarter. I like it. Now, I'm intimidated by actually cutting the stocking out and fusing the fabric to it. I've never made a stocking so this will be challenging. I did see the finished one at the cross stitch store at Pigeon Forge a couple of weeks ago and they are pretty, pretty. I got some seed beads to make a little hanger for it.

I decided to get out and about again this afternoon, but this time with my honey. Both of us had the itching on this cloudy day to dig through some old relics and stuff somewhere. So, we headed out to the Martin House in Nacoochee Valley/Helen, Ga. not far at all and I picked up a few things.

I can't pass up old 50cent buttons.

yep, I like the clear ones. They are old and look like a good find for a pillow keep for the guest room.

I couldn't resist this 6 inch dish.........for 2.00 on sale. The Dutch colors, the heart, the bird at the top just had to come home with me. The back says it's hand-painted.

It's small and perfect for all kinds of things from being a great soap dish to button dish, to sitting on a shelf. I love it! They only had one.

And this is my most favorite find. A heavy, glass paperweight. I had just looked on Ebay for one of these to put some stitching behind and it's hard to find a good glass one, most are plastic.

This one was 7.00 and the glass ones I've seen in stitching shops are 3 or 4 times as much so this was a great find! I want to stitch something for Body Guard's office at work to put on his desk.

Perfect size for a one over one project. Again, a new project for me, putting stitching in a paperweight. I wonder who in the world this is? Wonder who the proud dad or mom who had this on their desk of the boy scout here?

The back looks pretty bad but I'm just going to take the rest of this old felt off and then take the pic out. Poor little boy, now a grown man I'm sure but something stitchy will be going in this one.

Before we went through the old house, which has 3 floors by the way, we went by Wendy's and I tried a Oreo Frosty and that was GOOD! Gave me energy to roam again.

I can't believe the weekend is almost over. I'm washing doggie blankets on hot water now and catching up on things, getting ready for another work week. Abbie's favorite game is "Catch me if you can" and I have got my daily exercise for sure.

I have intermittently stitched on Northanger Abbey late last night and this morning and hope to finish soon. I will post a midnight progress pic tonight.......stay-tuned.

And also, I just want to let you know to get ready for a little give-away for Valentine's. I found it at the Martin House, and it's a one of a kind. That's all the hints I can give! ;)

Till later,

Jennifer

Longing for Spring already

Today is quite gloomy outside again. No rain like yesterday but the sky is gray and just plain gloomy. Inside it's cozy and I actually slept until 10am this morning which is rare for me. Just plain "tard" as the mountain folk say. ;)

I'm playing with our new computer and some of my old pics were transferred over to this computer and when I saw this picture of my begonias last Spring, I remembered how I miss the blooms and warm sunshine of Spring and summer. So a splash of color again to share.
I have so many things to do today, I was just listing them all to BG and he just stared at me. I'm like the energizer bunny, either wide open or out like a light.

Some I will get done and some not, but onward to another day.......as Scarlet O'Hara said. Fiddle D D

Do you ever find yourself longing for the next season? I stopped to think about it and actually when Spring gets here, then I long for summer. When summer arrives all hot and sticky, then I find myself saying I wish Fall would get here. And Fall being the most favorite time of year, and yet I still find myself wishing for December for the holidays. I think in retrospect of the year, the months of January through March are difficult for many people, including myself and most likely due to the short days and long nights. My philosophy is that if it's going to be cloudy and cold, please snow. For stitchers, we take advantage of the cozy nights and do what we do best, stitching. But still, long for Spring in our hearts.

I long for Spring this year for many other reasons. Brandon will be coming back from Afghanistan by March 26th or so, and this is another reason for Spring to hurry it's way here! My mind will be able to rest a little more at night, and during the day as far as that goes, just to know he is out of such a danger zone. Last year in February I blogged about the meaning of Daffodils and wrote about the hope for Spring, a new beginning and how Brandon brought me some several years ago now from atop the mountain nearby on one of his running adventures and these daffodils come back each year. I hope they always come back each year because I think of him that day he brought them.

Well, onward to an adventure Sunday afternoon cruise with my hubbie.

Till later,
Jennifer