A new visitor who took in resting on the porch today

Where is the cat?
Where are the Labs?
They must sleeping really hard right now or off on their Summer meanderings.

Well, anyway, this visitor was found hanging out on the back porch and making himself at home. Please excuse the paint job on the porch. Hopefully we will get this fixed soon. It's been on the Honey-to-do list for about two years now.

I guess the forest was boring to him today and instead of nuts, he has dog food to munch on.
I watched him for 20 minutes eat and then literally, lounge out after his feast on the deck.

 

yep, it's one of those days. I needed something to laugh about today because the rest of it is not so laughable!

New Jane Austen Booklet arrived

I was so giddy at receiving the Jane Austen Booklet from the Sampler Girl's webshop in the mail yesterday that I decided to stitch Darcy and Me tonight. I used a cornflower blue color, DMC that I had leftover from another project. The linen is 32 ct R & R remnant in a color I can't remember at the moment.  I love Williamsburg blue colors anyways so I trimmed a little tiny piece of old fabric from my stash just on the edges to bring out the colors of rust and blue. I have to admit it would look more Regal in a better frame and this one was just convenient and from.....the dollar store......:::::embarrassed::::::
But anyway it satisfied my Darcy and Me evening with my Mr. Darcy as we took a long stroll after work, without any of the dogs, just us. The weather was perfect.

With the booklet I ordered some Jane Austen remnants from Tanya's shop as well as I plan to finish with a couple of other smalls in the booklet.

These will be fun Summer projects to work on in between other ones.

Netherfield Park looks like a good one to start on next!

Another busy day today and I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already. I'm looking forward to a vacation in July, a big long road trip.

My Stitching Partner tonight

She's my lump of sugar, Miss Abigail

who likes to watch me stitch.

And watch TV with me too.

She is usually patient for a break so that we can play

 But tonight she's really into Nancy Grace and the current case which makes me stitch with great tension in my linen. :O

She is a whole bunch of love all wrapped in little, sweet, soft, long white hair......

who likes the big chair.

She gets kissed alot!  Wanna send her a kissie???

Have you ever gotten into~~~~

Have you ever had a really serious situation that has been long-term, wear-you-down, how-did-I get-here-again, kind of situations and wondered HUH?

Well, I've been through quite a few, some serious, some not-so serious but unhealthy, and some just plain toxic throughout my whole life and find strength in books and words of wisdom, encouragement from friends and God.

First, I know this has nothing to do with stitching, it's just something that I would like to share because we all are human and also stitchers so if it helps one person, it's purpose was served.

I pull this out on a piece of paper frequently. It was given to me as I was recovering from my first marriage which was, well let's say toxic, and I was still walking in circles.

Thank God above, I got out of it.

But it doesn't have to be something to that extreme. It can be just a simple habit. I have several habits I would love " to kick" but it's sooooo hard.

Anyway, you may have heard of this before. A year after I had this and tucked it away for safe keeping for many recollections, someone gave me the name of a book from whence it came.

It's an older book but has some great information in it if you are feeling in a slump, like some days I do and wonder why this or why that when you find something is not working out well.

I think there are a few of us out there in the world. I have read through this at different points here and there. I hope you find it helpful.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson

found in book entitled Healing the Child Within by Charles Whitfield, MD 

1) I walk, down the street.

        There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

        I fall in.

        I am lost......I am hopeless.

            It isn't my fault.

       It takes forever to find a way out.

2)  I walk down the same street.

          There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

          I pretend I don't see it.

          I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place.

         But, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

3)  I walk down the same street.

           There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

           I see it is there.

           I still fall in......it's a habit.

                   My eyes are open

                   I know where I am.

      It is my fault.

      I get out immediately.

4) I walk down the same street.

            There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

            I walk around it.

5) I walk down another street.

Just some thought for your Tuesday............

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.