A Project a Day keeps the doctor away.........

One of my favorite spots to sit in the Summer evenings. I love to swing.

I made a pillow this morning to add for mine and Thomas's pleasure, as he sits here quite often, or should I say lounges here.

Playing with sewing machine and 2 fatquarters and some ribbon and using some little crosses  I made this:

The first time I've actually tried to machine sew ribbon on something.

Four crosses for the furbabies we have.

I had this top fat quarter since the Spring and just hadn't made it into something yet.

The back is similar. I like the beehives and the arbor in vine.

one sad

two seeking attention

in their own way.

And also this morning, finally found the wooden box filled with goodies I thought I lost somewhere in the house for Karyn. Karyn, it's coming your way!!!!!!! Thanks for your purchase at The Shoppe.

And if your name starts with a P

And you really dig tea;

And you just adopted a dog, Melody

Then this was made for you this morning!

An old linen calender to hang on your frig minus the calender and added with trim.

It has all the kinds of tea and names. Hope you enjoy.....it's heading your way soon.

Life Still Goes on....and on and on.....

Watched Titanic tonight instead of going to bed. Life could be worse.

I think I prefer this than falling off a ship anyday. Let's just put it in perspective.

 My thoughts going global right now are probably not a great thing. Trying to get back to some form of normal. I heard someone once say that "normal is just a setting on a dryer". I think about that alot.

We have one of the Labs, Ruby who used to herd Ren in when he went outside like a sheepdog because he could tell he was blind and febile. At the time it was funny. Now it's not. She sits from a distance and watches his grave constantly. Tom sits on the porch and stares at it.

The other Lab, Raven, stays under the house now.

Abbie is jumping and barking at the least little thing, at every dog that is on TV and paces around wondering where Ren went.

It's a zoo here.

Where's the dryer?

Things I know for Sure As I end this Day

• People you think are the best or closest family do not care in the least
• People who I've never met in person are the kindest.
• People don't want to talk to you when they know you have life changing issues. Pretending is not my thing.
• People in general are too busy with perfect lives to have anything but perfect enter it.
• People are having a real summer, or so it seems on blogs, and I'm not a pretender.
• No matter how much care you send to family, they will never be there. Never have, never will. They read your thoughts but never respond to emails or communication. Now, I've got to be some villian to be like this.
• Life goes on no matter what.
• Appreciation is a thing of the past.
• Dogs are more loyal than people, even your own parents.
• I'm totally exhausted trying to figure people out.
• But I know for sure the closest of friends, or what I thought, are the ones that scatter away when something bad happens, like it might touch their perfect life and taint it. I went through this with the loss of my child. Man, oh man, you know who your friends are.
• I'm ready to go back to work, this vacation is a nightmare.
• Time is going too slow, let's hurry it up somehow and get it over with.
• There is a limit to loss in one year or I hope there is.
• I'm probably judged as a complete moron for not counting my "blessings" right now. I confess, I'm stupid.
• Is it only Friday this week?
• Is it only July?
• I'm in a rut right now and nobody likes ruts. They like Prozac=filled moments full of bliss, or so they portray.
• The last time I wrote that, a stitching  "friend" said I was from Satan, so think what you will.
• It's cloudy and gloomy and I think it's time for bed. It's 7:30pm.

Recipes I love from the Peach State

Parsley at Seasons of the Mind is having a World Recipe Exchange and I just sent her my favorites from Georgia, USA.
You can click on her blog   here
Email her two recipes from your neck of the woods!

Here are 2 recipes from the Georgia state (Peach state)
The first one is simple and easy and I use it with any fruit but especially Peach Cobbler. Bluberries are good too.

Quick Peach Cobbler from a Southern Peach (me)---Click HERE for pictures from mine


1 stick of butter, melted

1 cup of self-rising flour

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of milk

4 cups of sliced sweetened peaches (best if fresh but can use canned)
a good sprinkling of cinnamon and a dab of vanilla


Melt butter in the baking pan. I use a Corning dish and melt in the microwave.

Combine the flou, sugar, and the milk into another bowl. Pour the flour mixture (may be lumpy) directed over the melted butter in the center of the Corning dish.

DO NOT STIR. Take hunks of fruit, peaches and just placed them in the dish randomly. Do not stir.

Crust will rise up through the peaches.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until brown.
This is my favorite way to make Peach Cobbler and my husband can eat it in bowls by the end of the day!

Serve with good vanilla ice cream on top or whipping cream.

Second recipe, another favorite of the Southern Girl (me)!
Super Southern Cornbread---click here for the full meal and pictures


2 cups of self-rising cornmeal (yellow)--not corn meal mix but the real stuff from the grainary

2 eggs

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 --15 oz can of sweet creamed corn

1 cup of sour cream.


Mix by stirring, no mixer. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Pour in a well-greased (shortening coated not butter or it will burn) black cast iron pan, already hot in a 425 oven. I use my cast iron frying pan.

Bake for about 20 minutes. I like to serve this with a good, long all-day cooking of dried beans, chili, or with any Southern vegetable.

Extra cornbread can be saved for doggie treats the next day. They love it!

You can't go wrong with Southern Peach Cobbler and Cornbread added to your meal. (Well, I guess you could if you are having a lipid profile done the next morning at the doctor's office but........who's counting today, right?)

Enjoy!

Sew Easy and Inspirational

Color and rearranging are uplifters for me. So, this morning I took the old Dutch tea towel which is quite larger than normal and mended the ends to make a fresh change on the kitchen island.

I got this a couple of years ago out of an estate find and it has the consistency of flour sack cloth.

A different view today to freshen the kitchen. Easy trim and seam and remove the previous one to clean.

Being married to a Dutchman, I love this design.

Light and airy, fresh and clean, a bit Dutchy vintage. I've got to fix that empty cake plate. I'm thinking maybe a Sour Cream pound cake later this weekend.

There are friendships.

This design is by The Sampler Girl, The Sunday Peacock sampler and I love it in the kitchen. It's been there since I stitched it about a year ago. In the view below, the Dutch couple is upside down.....LOL

The little churches are cute. This pattern would make a great Dutch sampler if I knew how to design.

This is quite a large old wood bowl I got several years ago at Nora Mills grainary which is local to our area and they have the BEST grits and flour. It's housing all the little hearts right now.

All the hearts remind me of all the sweet stitchy friends I've met through blogland all over the world.

Do you like old fabric finds?  What kinds?

Do you ever just want to start stitching or putting ideas on graph paper?

Let me see what's next to busy myself with.~~~~~~~~~~

A Great Freebie I found today

I'm a follower of this blog and click there and you will see what I've picked out to stitch in honor of Ren.
It's a big star with keys and the date. I love it. Just printed it and picked 2 colors.
Of course, I have about 10 projects started now, but I wanted to share with you about the freebie.

By the Bay Needleart blog

The Day After at the Homestead---a sampler that lit up my day

Well, it's a quiet, almost uncomfortable quiet day, here at the Dalenberg homestead. Tired from lack of sleep and watching Abbie walk over all of Ren's usual pathways, she looks puzzled. As much as we tell her he is not here, I'm not sure she understands at all.

She's gotten extra attention today.

Body Guard said it was too quiet and he is cleaning, behind the refrigerator and has his work tools going to fix whatever needs fixing. I guess that is one way of getting through grief.

Which makes Abbie walk around every time he turns on the vaccuum and twist her head like this:

She may need doggie chiropractory if he doesn't stop with the motor tool sounds and the vacuum.

And then she is standing by his empty kennel we still have to move and looks at me with a stare.

She constantly walks his usual paths and goes back to the blanket and once tried to put her paw in the blanket to see why he is not there.

She is grieving in her own way.

And me? Well, I'm reading and the mail lady made me smile when this came in today for the Giveaway. Perfect timing. I needed something positive.

Here's the Kelmscott scissors.

And when I flipped the chart over I read this on the back. You will have to click on the picture to read it. I was stunned as this was not on the ordering information and how coincidental is this to receive the morning after Ren passed?

I couldn't believe it. The story behind Sallie's Feather Tree by Carriage House Samplings.

And if you have read my blog for a while you probably remember I put up a small tree just for Ren and it's called Ren's Tree on the corner of the kitchen. Very ironic.

This sampler does have options to use silk or DMC. The recommended fabric is 32 ct Meadow Rue from Lakeside Linens.

Silks either au Ver a Soie's Sorie D' Alger

or DMC

The model was stitched in the silks.

Thank you for all the comments of encouragement and support. We both appreciate so much each and every one of you. You have shown more kindness than any in the world.

Ren's kennel will be donated to the local animal shelter. I have ideas to plant flowers around his grave but right now don't have the energy right now but later.

As I woke this morning and pulled back the curtains, I can see his spot with the butterfly on it. He is facing the mountains, very close to the house and has the morning sunshine.

I will miss this fellow. But I did smile knowing he is in a better place and can see now.

I'm so glad I picked this one as a give-a-way now. Perfect timing.

Till later,

Jennifer

The Velveteen Rabbit

so many lessons from this, my favorite childbook story. I still have the book. I always thought of it through the years when Ren was losing his physical abilities. It always made sense to me but now it really makes sense to me. I hope you take the time to hear it. Even for adults, the underlying lessons are so Real.

Ren crossed Rainbow Bridge at 8:15pm

 

On this day, July 7, 2010 at 8: 15pm, Ren passed this life over to Rainbow Bridge.

Sad, oh so sad, we are what happened in 3 hours flat.

I've had many email inquires on Ren and I was about to post that he was doing ok when he had an aweful stroke and pulled to the left paralyzed and we all went into panic mode.

We had to call emergency vet and went to them and Ren passed at 8: 15pm tonight.

I'm sorry to post this but I should have known this was coming.

He was my heart for almost 17 years.

When we arrived at the vet, unfortunately they had to give him a shot that helped him cross over to the bridge.

He was tired. He was loved. He was like a person in the family and I loved him very much.

I had just laid down to rest and he had a full blown stroke and couldn't get out of torsion to the left. I threw on clothes and forgot I had shingles. BG and I were all upset.

He was almost gone by the time we reached the emergency vet. His heart was slow, but I cried all the way to the vet office holding his little cold hand. When he died I bawled at the desk as BG was paying the bill.

I held him and he went to sleep, painlessly.

We went by and asked our neighbors to please help us find a spot in these rock mountains to bury his limp body. They had lost several pets and know how hard it is.

BG and friend buried him and at 10pm, Ren was laid to rest in a special spot, in a special box in a special blanket, with his favorite tshirt on and his name on his box.

I can't tell you how much I miss him.

He went though so much with me. Even at the end he snuggled in my arms and slept.

Vet said he had a massive stroke. It was his time but I wasn't really prepared for the shot they put in his heart. He was close to death he didn't even move when they put the shot in his heart.

There were no veins left in his legs. I had just bathed him and put a fresh t-shirt on. He was resting quietly until he had the stroke.

We ran around madly trying to find the vet's cell phone number but finally we found one who we drove to help us through what was going on.

I will never forget him. My only wish was that Brandon and Meghan could have seen him one more time but they don't even care one bit.

He was buried in a special spot in our yard and a butterfly plaque placed over his spot in the dark by BG and our neighbors who love animals and know what this means.

this day in 2010, I lost a true friend.

God Bless Ren.

He knew his time and only God knew his destiny.

He's waiting now for me at Rainbow Bridge.

On the way home, holding his lifeless body in a blanket, the most beautiful sunset was in the front of us all the way home.

Our trip is canceled. Between Shingles and this I give up, just to rest for the following days.

I think I've cried enough I have no fluid left in my body. Oh, how pets can hold our hearts.

Tomorrow I'm planting something near his grave. I miss him so.

When learning to quilt with a new rotary......

~~~Don't pick when your on loopy meds for Shingles or you might do like me and after cutting the wrong square size twice and had an itch, as I was reading I just took the hand WITH THE ROTARY and ALMOST itched my head......that would have been an instant haircut.....I laughed and Bodyguard and I were in the basement cleaning and we couldn't stop laughing at that. I said "I almost scratched my head with this rotary!"  Body Guard went OMG!

He said maybe it might not be a good time to use the new 60mm rotary.

Here are the fabbies though in lovely pinks and a free pattern for it to make a blanket way too big for Abbie but I'm practicing and hope to make her a little quilt. She will be forgiving of errors.........

found this in the basement in a box tucked away......I gave this to Meghan one year and she was working real hard on a pattern. She cross stitched pretty doggone good too.

this is where she got. We both love music and she picked this one out to stitch.

This is a keeper.

and the DMC is going to be sorted in my box!!  A great find!

You just never know what you might unpack in the basement. We've just about got it though and it's looking like a house now......instead of a clutter mess.

BG hopped on the exercise machine after he moved it for the first time in 7 years. I was shocked!

back to this pattern......says it is for beginners......probably healthy beginners, not itching beginners.

here's my first square. Yep, measured wrong. Should have been 2 and 3/4 in and I read 2 and 1/4........oh well, I am practicing.

I know how to half a recipe for less folks to eat but I don't exactly know if I could half a pattern if you want it smaller. ??????

Well, best to get back to the needle and thread.

At least if I want to scratch it won't be like the rotary blade...LOL (I still am laughing at that myself)

So far on staycation.......

Well, didn't think I would be posting again this soon. But, life has a way of changing plans. Felt pretty cranky and tired for 2 days at least and then this morning woke with a stinging, itchy rash on my back. Took a mirror and looked and said. ____!  Went to the doc today and have the Shingles. Lovely. We had some plans for a short road trip and I'm still determined to take it, even so with pills this big to stop the rash from worsening.

Antivirals to stop the Shingles at the starting point. Can you believe the size of these pills. Had to cut those in half.

Between that and cream I'm determined to go on this road trip soon.

I lazed around today and Miss Abbie could tell I didn't feel so good.

We rented this movie to watch tonight.

This is a long movie......so if you rent it, pop 3 bowls of popcorn.

But, it was definitely high action and you will sit on the edge of your seat...or the couch....LOL

Sometimes, Abbie peaked out of my arms when the parts were not as scarey, like when the world wasn't falling apart in the movie.

Then, when the real action started and the world was falling apart, the end, she did open her eyes.

Let's hope dogs can't get chicken pox virus.

Because she has been velcroed to me all day and night.

I did throw a few stitches in a freebie by The Sampler Girl, I Love Watermelon.

While I snacked on this Praline Ice Cream tonight. A great Summertime comfort food.

Back to sleepy time. I can't believe tomorrow is already mid-week. Where does the time go?

Taking a Break

Taking a break this week. Postings will be moderated beginning again on Saturday. Unfortunately, I will not be able to moderate them this week. I still love your comments and you can post, but it will be Saturday before they show on the blog though.

Time for some reflection.....not sure on the relaxation part, but deep reflection.

Thank you again and I'll see you Saturday.

Happy Fourth!

Land of the free because of the brave.

Happy Birthday, America!