Oy Vey! What a day!

Hoo boy, it was a busy day. I do not even feel like I have come up for air. Combine that with the fact that I had to go finish the carpet at the old house after work. I got home at around 8 and was greeted by DH with a glass of wine and frozen pizza that was super good. I have just been sitting watching television for the past hour, not feeling the stitching vibe. I am pretty tired.

Last week, when I had to stop into Michaels on my way back from a training in the Bay Area, I solved my stitching in my car problem. I like to read or stitch in my car at lunch time. I have a big DMC stitching organizer, but needed something small to put my scissors, glasses, Thread Heaven and orts into. Michaels was having a big clearance sale, so I picked up several items for making more Chrismons at 19 cents a piece. In order to get to the register with my $1 purchase, I short cutted through scrapbooking and stumbled upon this cute little bag. It is probably no bigger than 6-8 inches long, perfect for sitting on the passenger seat and keeping me organized. I listen to my Garrison Keillor podcasts on my Ipod and lean my DMC stitching organizor on the steering wheel. It is quite lovely. Ooh, I nearly forgot to mention that it was on clearance and only $7.99. Am I lucky or what!

I am afraid that I am not going to stitch tonight. While I did stitch at lunchtime, I am really pretty pathetically tired. I am thinking I will go read my book and fall asleep with it on my chest. Liesie is already tucked in and she looks so cozy that I am feeling a bit jealous. LOL

Nitey nite to all...

Cozy Evening At Home. Yahooooo!

What a nice evening! I got met with a puppy happy dance at the door when I got home, which is always great! DH had dinner underway and was grilling chicken and corn on the cob. It was delicious and we were able to sit down and chat about stuff other than moving. After dinner brought playing with Liesie. She is a bit like a toddler in that she will go, go, go until she drops from being tired. Then she will climb up on her sofa blankie and wait to be tucked in. So now she is sound asleep. Plus it is only 8:10 here and DH has fallen asleep in his chair in front of the television. I seem to be the only one just getting ramped up for a fun night of stitching. Whoohoo! I am a party animal. LOL

I am posting an updated photo of my WIP. She is really coming out quite lovely. I am already trying to figure out where I am going to hang the finished product in my house. Right now the colors I have been working with are rather muted so it is a little boring. I can not wait to start the fruit. I think the colors will really pop against the black.

I have been catching up on the message board at 123stitch (where I get my news!) and have been seeing what the poor folks are dealing with from the ice storm in the midwest. I feel so badly for the residents there when I see some of the negative temperatures. It has been about 38 degrees F in the morning here, no where near the sub zero temperatures in the midwest, and I feel so cold. (It warms up to mid 60's-low 70's though during the day here.) While I am quite fortunate now, I can totally empathize with our friends in the mid west. I grew up in New Jersey and I remember the cold being so brutal that my toes would alternate between hurting and being numb. My face would burn from the cold. This was also back in the days where girls could not wear pants to school, so we would wear dresses with cotton tights or knee highs. Brrrrr! I am sending good thoughts to those of you affected by the ice, snow and freezing temperatures. Stay safe and warm!

Well, I am off to pull out my stitching bag and get to work. I should be able to live it up stitching-wise until at least, oh, 9:30. I am quite the night owl. LOL

Pssst! Ginghers Are On Sale At 123stitch!

The only thing I like as much as stitching is looking at pictures of stitching. This is why the whole bloggy thing is so interesting to me. I get to look at lots of finished projects. Very cool. When the Nordic Needle catalog arrives, it is almost like a holiday. I feel like I have to savor it and read it really slow, several times over. I think it may be a throwback to my childhood in the 60's and 70's, when the Sears catalog would arrive and my sister and I would go through it together page by page. (It is sort of sad that this is not something that kids do anymore. My sister and I would pick out drapes and furniture for our imaginary grownup houses, and our future wedding gowns.) Anyway, this is something I still do with the Nordic Needle catalog.

I have to say that I also love receiving the online sales at 123stitch. It gives me a chance to look at designs that I may not normally be aware of. I have to say that I was surprised recently to see that Gingher Roberta 4" scissors are on sale for $25.73. It is rare to find Ginghers Designer scissors for less than $30. Roberta is certainly lovely. However, I am on the hunt for Sarah. I had heard that people were finding them at JoAnn fabrics, which sadly are not less than 100 miles away. Sniffle. I am still kicking myself that a few months ago I actually had Emma's in my hand, but put them back in a moment of financial responsibility.

I did get to stitch at lunch today. It was a nice warm day, so it was nice to sit in my car and stitch away. It made me happy. I am working on the rosebuds on the mirror frame. The colors are so pretty together. If I can get my act together I will post a photo soon!

A Visit From the Flu...Ugh!

Well, last night after I posted, I went right to bed. I do not remember if I actually fell asleep or not. All I knew was that around 10:45 the first wave of what quickly became apparent was the stomach flu started. Ugh! I hate the stomach flu. It was a long night and much to my distress, I did not go to work today. I love my job, but figured that it would be totally unfair to expose anyone else to this, particularly since we have a huge project starting later this week.

The only thing that made me feel better was laying absolutely still today. I was blessed because, Liesl decided that she was sick too, LOL, and slept all day next to me in bed. She layed really super still, too. It was nice to have her company and her warmth. Since she is a busy little dog normally, I was impressed that she instinctively knew that I just needed to lay still, and went with the plan. She really is a cool little doggie.

I finally was able to eat a little white rice for dinner. Liesie, going with the theme of doing what momma does, had white rice with chicken broth. This is the meal that she gets when she is sick or hurt, so I think she liked the spoiling. I was able to finally take a shower, too.

Needless to say, I was not in shape to stitch. Since I needed to sit perfectly still, stitching was far from my mind. But tomorrow is a new day, and I hope to be with needle and thread then.

Stay healthy everyone!

Stormy Weather!

The whole weekend here was so stormy. Today was a bit of a surprise because the weatherman had said that there was only a chance of showers today. It poured all day long. DH let me sleep in a bit this morning and took Liesie for a walk on his own. So the pictures above are actually from yesterday's batch.

Unfortunately, we had to spend the day up at the old house trying to get it cleaned. Today was the kitchen, and was a major undertaking. Now I just have about an hour's worth of carpet cleaning to do and I am done. Both of us are so ready to hand over the keys to the landlord. Then we get to focus on finishing up the new house move-in.

So DH and I came home and had a salame sandwich and a salad for dinner. We were just too tired to cook. After our fancy dinner, I was able to take my stitching out and actually got quite a bit done. I had been looking forward to it all day. It was just so peaceful to turn on the Food Network and stitch away. I think I will be done with the mirror tomorrow and able to start putting the greenery around it. Then I get to start working on her dress.

I hope everyone has a terrific start to the work week!

It was a really stormy day here today. Nevertheless, we started our day with our usual walk. Before we received our little Liesie into our home, we did some research and found that the mini schnauzer is a breed where it is absolutely necessary that the dog gets at least 30-40 minutes of walking a day. We knew this and knew it was part of the commitment of taking her into our family. So rain or shine, we go for a walk. Today was raining for much of the walk, but moreover the surf was really rough. Since the undertow here is really dangerous, we decided to forego going onto the beach itself, because we have not broken it to Liesl yet that she is not a Labrador. Since she imagines that she is a big, water loving dog, she feels the need to go trotting off into the surf. I did not want to lose her to the sea, so we stayed on the beach path instead.

I am getting ready to sit down and stitch finally. We spent the day cleaning the old house, and I have to say that I am totally bushed. It is almost finished and I just have a few things to do tomorrow. Yay! Unfortunately, this did not leave me with a lot of stitching time. I will be so glad when we are officially out of the old house next week. It will be nice to focus on one place.

The new house is actually coming along quite nicely, too. The one room that really needs a lot of work is the craft room/office. But then again, it is the room that has the most stuff. It is a bit smaller than my old craft room, but is quite cozy. I will be glad to get in there and do some quilting.

Well, my Lady of the Thread is calling to me. I hope to post a new updated pic in the next few days!

Making Progress!

'Twas a long day! I had to go to a training session up in the Bay Area today so I was out of the house while it was still dark to make the trek up there! It is about a two hour drive. Luckily, I got to drive up with my co-worker, who is such a sweet and fun person. We made it through the seminar, then drove home for another two hours in the rain.

Needless to say, I was quite tired and cold by the time I got home. I was able to catch up on reading some of my favorite blogs, then settled in for a peaceful night of stitching. The rain outside made it really cozy. I got quite a bit done on my stitching. I am proud to say that the lady now has hair. I was also able to stitch a lot more of the mirror. I am sort of over the white and several shades of off white that make up the mirror and am looking forward to stitching with some color.

It was really nice to sit here and stitch, with my sweet little dog tucked in next to me in her red blankie. She looked so comfy and content. It really was such a nice ending to such a hectic day.

The Rain Is Here!

Wow! It is really raining out there! We have been somewhat concerned around these parts as we did not really receive much rain here so far. Usually it rains non-stop through January, but this past month has been sunny and in the 80s and 90s. No bueno. However, today the rain arrived big time and according to the forecast, it will rain for the next 7 days.

I do so love the rain, as long as I am home. It is so cozy. Tonight was a perfect night to pull out the cross stitch and stitch away. I am working on the mirrored section behind the lady's head. I am afraid of all of the confetti stitches in all of the greenery surrounding it. That is going to take some incredible patience. Luckily, right now the mirror has large stretches of the same colors so I can mentally prepare myself.

It was really a nice, peaceful evening and the rain on the roof is a very comforting sound. I think I will sleep well tonight...

Stitching again!

We are still amidst the move, but I have been able to steal a few moments here and there to stitch. Hubby was gone for two weeks back to the midwest to be with family. Since I just started a new job and we were two days into the move, I remained home. My goal during that time was to make sure that DH returned to a home that was cozy and not full of boxes and more stress for him to deal with. So I worked to unpack and rearrange furniture so that it would look like home when he arrived finally on Monday night. Liesie and I were so glad to see him!

I have been able to find a few minutes here and there to stitch. I have been working on MLI's "Lady of the Thread." I forgot how much fun it is to stitch her pieces. She does use large blocks of colors so it does go quickly.

This weekend we will be moving the last of our possessions from the old house. I am looking forward to being done over there. It's funny how once you move on in your mind, that it is hard to work on the old place. I feel badly for DH that he has to spend his first weekend back working on the house, but I think he is also eager to finish as well. There really is not that much left, so hopefully we can get it done quickly.

I am also hoping to get some stitching time in this weekend, too! I am thinking good thoughts!

Bummer, dude...

I am bummed. I took a really nice photo last evening of the beach at sunset to post. I have spent the last hour looking, and for the life of me, I can not find my fire wire. I have the sinking feeling it is at the other address. I will not make it over there until later on in the week. Now I am sad...This week has been a treasure hunt for all kinds of small treasures. Most of them power cords or the cord to my Ipod. I have come seriously close to no bars on my cell phone and had to conserve my phone calls until I finally found it. Have I mentioned that I hate moving?

Anyhoosky, the photo was quite nice. Now that we have moved closer to town, Liesl and I have been taking hour long walks to the beach, whereupon I let her off lead so she can run like the wind and clear the beach of all of those pesky birds. When we first got our little furbaby, we did a lot of research. The research said that miniature schnauzers need at least a 30-45 minute walk a day. So since we got her, one of us takes her for at least 30 minutes in the morning. She loves her walk and she goes rain or shine.

The beach has always been her happiest place on earth. She has always had a standing date with her daddy on Saturday mornings to go to the beach as soon as her little puppy feet hit the floor. It was always a half hour drive to the beach, but now it is within a half hour walk. I think it makes her crazy just knowing it is so close. Several times this week, I have found her in the morning just sitting in front of the door, waiting for her walk. She bounds down the stairs just so happy.

All of this long walking has done two things: 1) I am finding that my pants are fitting a little more loosely. Um, yay! 2) Liesie has been taking some really good naps. I am finding that I do not groan when I stand up, and the hills are becoming easier. Plus I really like the time shared with Liesie, with her happily trotting down the street. It is cool to see her so happy.

I am sure that I will have plenty more opportunities to take photos. Hopefully, I will be able to find my fire wire by then. LOL

Boxes, boxes, everywhere!

First, may I say that I am doing my happy dance today, for the nice Comcast folks set up my internet and cable today. So, I am not restricted to the few minutes that I can grab here and there on public Wi-Fi. It has been kind of interesting for the past week with no access to television and internet. Hubby and I joked that we were forced to have conversations with each other. I even read my book in the late evenings before retiring instead of watching reruns of Seinfeld, which I happen to love, and do not seem to tire of.

The book that I am reading is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." I have to say that it is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. I have loved reading all of my life, and I am quite partial to the classics. Since I was without the usual electronic forms of entertainment, I opened this book up and I was so delightfully surpised by it. It is so tragic, but so beautiful.

When I am not goofing off, there are so many boxes to address. We are actually downsizing into the new place, which is fine with me, as it will be easier to clean. We still have the other house until the end of January so I am going through stuff there and throwing out, donating, or moving it to the new house. It is a bit stressful, particularly since I can only work on it on days off or after work. I will be so glad when it is done. When we moved last Saturday, we took most of the furniture, boxes that we packed and the stuff we need day to day. Everyday, I do as much as I can to unpack and I am proud to report that I was able to sit at the table to eat tonight. I got it totally cleared. Please do not ask to see my kitchen counters though. I will be glad when the move is over and we have everything in one place.

I have picked out my stitchy spot in the living room. It is in a nice corner, which gets a lot of natural light. I will be so glad when I can stitch again. I am hoping that life gets boring soon. LOL