Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Poor Liesie!

My poor little furryheaded princess had a terrible night last night. We have noticed over the past couple of days that she kept licking a spot on her side. DH became concerned about it yesterday, and we had decided that if she was still focused on it today we would go to the vet. Well, she had a really bad night last night, and would wake up and just keeping nursing that one spot for 10-12 minutes straight, no matter how hard I would try to distract her. She was making little whimpering noises, which is so unlike her. I felt so helpless last night, and the worst was going through my mind. We could not see anything, so I was worried that she was having internal pain.

I called the vet first thing this morning to get us in. I worried all day until her appointment. The doctor says that she is having some allergic reactions that are causing issues with her really sensitive schnauzer skin. He put her on medication, and has her taking Omega-3 fatty with her meals. The medicine is already helping her to not itch.

Now that the worst is over, I feel exhausted. I was so worried, plus had no sleep last night. I have felt like a zombie all evening. DH made a nice dinner of leftovers and I came into the bedroom to recline and stitch at about 7:30. I am looking forward to sleeping tonight and I am so glad to know that Liesie will be okay.

I did get to finish the Vidalia Onion tonight. Tomorrow night is Watermelon. I just saw a commercial on Discovery that there is a Deadliest Catch marathon this weekend. I am stoked. Hopefully, I can get alot finished on Saturday. I would really like to have it done by the following weekend. Then I will turn it over to DH so he can work his magic on a frame.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Monday Night Stitching

"Are you ready for some stitchin' ?" Okay, I am no Hank Williams, Jr. The whole Monday Night thing made me think of that song. I have not really been a big fan of football since Dan Fouts left the San Diego Chargers (I was devastated), so I am not even sure they have that song anymore. Nascar is my game. I know, big surprise. LOL

I was a stitching machine at lunch and this evening. I got the N, and the O squares complete. Now I am working on the Vidalia Onion. After this, I will have two more squares on the bottom row to complete. Then I will have my last nine squares to finish. As I work on this section, I am thinking that the color combinations are even more brilliant than the first section. It is such a pretty piece.

I have had the loveliest evening. I could not stand to listen to one more news report or watch another rerun, or something junky on TV. So I turned the TV off and stitched in quiet. It was still light when I started so I listened to the birds and the sound of the somewhat far off ocean off in the distance, and the wind rustling the trees. It was heavenly. I really need to turn the TV off more often. The sounds that I got to listen to were blissful and peaceful instead of some of the junk that is on television. I need to remind myself to do this often.

I am already thinking about the next items to work on. I have a couple of pieces that need to be finished. I think I will pick them up. I am not sure what I will want to do after them. Perhaps I will just read my books for while. I crack myself up sometimes.

Well, it has been a long, windy evening. I am off to dreamland...

Sunday, June 28, 2009

A Great Weekend!

It started with having the kids here last night for my DS's 21st birthday party. It was such a wonderful time. We both agree that it was just a great time and we are enjoying the memories already.

Today we had church first thing. Poor Bob woke up just feeling rotten this morning. I felt bad for him. There was a party after church for our departing pastor, but he was feeling so badly that we left right away after the service. We stopped off at the grocery store to pick up sandwich fixings on our way home from church, then came right home. We were both feeling tired, so we changed into our pajamas, then parked ourselves in front of the race with our sandwiches. It was cold and gray out so we lit a fire in the fireplace, too. It felt so glorious. I had fully intended to take a nap, but that never materialized. LOL

I got to stitch all afternoon with a small, cute dog sleeping next to me. Bob relaxed and was looking for classical sheet music online for his trumpet. It was the best afternoon we have had in weeks. We just got to rest and recharge our batteries. DH was feeling well enough that he and Liesl took a walk in the late afternoon. I was already cozy so I stayed put.

This is a four day work week. We get Friday off. I have plans to putter around the house and get some things done. Bob is going to hang some new drapes that I found on clearance, and I am going to paint my wicker chairs. I am really looking forward to it. I love decorating the house, and I am excited about the new looks.

Have a super week!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Birthday Party!

Tonight we had my DS's 21st birthday party. It was one of our best family parties. We had had plans of barbecuing at the beach, but it was cold here so we went with plan B. We figured that no one would have a good time if they were cold, so we decided to have fried chicken and stuff at my house. It was a terrific party. My DD and DSIL were here and it was just such a great time. We laugh alot and talk about a lot of great stuff so it is so much fun to have them here. I am so lucky that we can all be together. It was a special time. I just can't believe that DS is 21 and DD is going to be 26 next month. Which reminds me that I now have to plan her birthday next. Perhaps we will go on another road trip to go yarn buying.

Miss Liesl is pretty exhausted from having everyone coming to visit her. She had played really hard at the beach today so she was already tired, but then all of that activity made her really sleepy. She is so funny and reminds us of having a toddler, because she will get her cranky on when she is tired and will walk around complaining until she finally sits still and then the long blinks come. She is now zonked out on her blankie, breathing deeply and dreaming of chasing squirrels.

One of my favorite things in the world is a squeaky clean house. DH and I scrubbed the house down today in preparation for the family party. I was able to stay ahead of the dishes so we had the dishwasher reloaded and the counters cleaned up within an half of an hour of everyone leaving. So now the house is super clean. It just looks wonderful. We even bought fresh flowers for the house today. Since all of our chores are done, the only thing left for us to do is relax after church. I plan on stitching all afternoon and watching Tony win the race. We have lots of leftover fried chicken so we dinner is already prepared. I am stoked. Stitchy day!

Well, I am off to cuddle a small, sleepy doggie...

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Got To Stitch Tonight

Tuesday is my busiest day of the week at work. It makes for an exciting day, as I would much rather be busy than not. However, I was tired when I came home. Liesie came to work with me, and she was even tired as we were driving home. She got to play with her puppy friends today, so she put in a full day.

After we had a nice dinner tonight, (of which Liesl had most of my potato), I got to sit and stitch. It is coming along, but not at the pace that I had once had. I will have to work a little harder on it. The ladies at the get together in Modesto also loved the colors. They are not the colors you use very often, but they just go so well together.

I did not get to post last night. I took an evening off from stitching. My guilty pleasure, The Real Housewives of NJ, had back to back finale episodes and, oy, the drama. There was table throwing and everything. I have watched the other housewives of the other cities on occassion when I have been dial twisting, but this one really was the best. Drama! It was one of the few times that I have just watched a show without multi-tasking and stitching or crafting.

I will try to post a photo in the next few days. I bought some really fabulous stitchy toys in Modesto and I have not had a chance to show them off. I bought some cute scissors and a mother of pearl three inch ruler. They are really pretty. I want to make sure I can show off my loot. I bought three really beautiful Shepherd's Bush kits and a Drawn Thread sampler pattern that is incredible.

Hope you have a great middle of the week!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Puppy Daddy Day

They have Father's Day cards from the dog and/or cat at Target. Seriously. DH got one from Liesl today. She also gave him a little case for his Ipod that has speakers on it that I got at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I had gotten a pink one a month ago. I got Bob a blue one from Liesl. He is a pretty good puppy daddy. She gets a long walk every morning, rain or shine, which makes her happy and healthy.

I had planned on taking DH out for lunch, but we had an event at church and got home around two. We were pretty tired. We watched the race instead and it looks like DH and I have a dinner date sometime this week. Actually, this is cool because I have something to look forward to.

Next week is our pastor's last service with us. He is going on to further his studies. We are happy for him, but truly sad for the church's loss. Since he is packing now, DH and I gave him his gift this weekend, so that he would not have to pack it next week. I had originally stitched the Aaronic Benediction for him for Christmas. I did not want to announce here on my blog that it was a gift for someone because both he and members of my church visit here and I did not want to spoil the surprise. Right after I had finished the piece, he announced that he was leaving. I thought it was even more appropriate to give, since it is the blessing that we receive right before we leave church. DH and I presented it to him and he seemed genuinely touched. He said he could not believe the detail in it.

The Aaronic Blessing is my favorite part of the church service. I will probably stitch it again for my own home.

The race was pretty interesting and exciting today. It was held about 4 hours from here in Sonoma, California and looked more like a Formula One track. Tony came in second but it was a hard fought race. He and Kasey Kahne were so classy in their interviews. I am impressed in Nascar that you have these really competitive teams and at the end they are true gentlemen with each other. Jimmie Johnson had done something that really caused Kurt Busch to wipe out. At the end of the race, Jimmie wasted no time seeking Kurt out to apologize to him. I am really impressed when I see how respectfully all of the drivers treat each other for the most part. Sometimes, everyone, especially Tony can have a hot head, but at the end the day it is good to see kindness and respect between teams.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Road Trip

Today a few of the cross stitchers from Northern California that frequent the 123stitch board, had a get together at the Elegant Stitch in Modesto. I saddled up the PT Cruiser and picked up DD at 8 am. DH made us yummy blueberry muffins for the trip. We got to Modesto a little after 10:30 and got to meet up at the Elegant Stitch to shop for stash. The Elegant Stitch is a wonderful store and is so well stocked. I was able to pick up some things that I just can't get anywhere else. Plus, they have beautiful things to inspire us on the walls. There was one sampler that I would have passed up if I would have just seen the photo on the package, but the piece was breathtaking in person.

We got to go to lunch with the ladies. They are so nice and we got to have a nice chat. It was really fun. We left earlier than the group because DD and I had planned to go to a few yarn shops in the area, since she is a knitter. We found one store that was nice. We wanted to go up the road about 30 minutes to Stockton to a yarn shop there. Luckily, DD checked their hours before we left. It was about 2:15 and it turns out that the store closes at 3 on Saturdays. I do not understand this. Admittedly, I do not know anything about running yarn stores or LNS, but seriously, a running complaint that I hear alot is how few of these stores have decent, if any hours that they are open on a Saturday. This would seem like a peak retail day to me, but again, I am making an assumption. It is just really frustrating that when you would like to spend money in someone's store and their hours are a bit inconvenient.

I digress though. I did engage in some retail therapy today. I did my part. LOL DD and I stopped at Sonic on the way home and had yummy and bad things for us delivered to us by a young man on roller skates.

It was an awesome day, but I was really glad to get back home to DH and Liesie. DH had cleaned the house and had a Diet Dr. Pepper waiting for me.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Let me tell you, that soup was delicious. I made the baked potato soup from the crockpot blog on my blogroll. It was really good. Particularly topped with bacon. But then anything would be good topped with bacon... It was very thick and delicious and we have a lot for lunches. I am really thrilled with it and will make it again. I will probably cut the recipe in half in future since there are only two of us and the recipe calls for a five pound bag of potatoes. It was so nice to be able to sit and talk with DH without us having to rush around and cook.

I got to stitch tonight. I got the letter D and M stitched. It is exciting to see it moving into the next stage. I keep thinking about how wonderful this will look in the kitchen. It is so happy looking. I will get to stitch tomorrow at lunchtime, after I finish my bowl of potato soup. Yum!

It was such a nice evening at home. We watched our favorite TV shows and cuddles Liesl a little. I think I have shared before that she has a self imposed bedtime between 7 - 7:30, when she settles into her blankie on the sofa and goes to sleep. She is such a happy little dog. We did have enough time to put kisses on her sweet little head.

I added a new blog to my blogroll yesterday. It is called Needleprint and is just so fascinating. I have been so busy this week, so I have not had the opportunity to sit down and read it in depth. It has so much information that I just really want to sit down and read it with a cup of tea in hand. There is really good information in there.

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Paid A Visit To The Eye Doctor

This blog post will be a little short tonight. I got my eyes dialated late this afternoon and my vision is still a bit funky. I am really grateful for my sight today. All in all, my appointment went well. Basically, I am getting mid-view lenses that are readers for two distances, one of reading books and one for looking at my computer. Basically, since I am an accountant, I look down to read paperwork and look up at a computer screen. Having a regular pair of readers helps with the paper reading but then my eyes were freaking out when I would have to adjust them to the computer. Unfortunately, my eyes were way too blurry from dialation for me to pick out glasses so I have to go back. But I am so glad the problem is solved, and I really liked the doctor. He was very thorough and asked really great questions to diagnose the problem. I was a bit scared about what was going on.

If you ever have a couple minutes, check out the crockpot 365 blog link that I have on my blog roll. She has the most amazing recipes and is always honest about how they turn out. I love my crockpot. I love the fact that dinner is waiting for us when we get home and it smells so good as I am coming up the front steps. Anyway, we have made several of the recipes and they are really good. She had a Thai Coconut Beef recipe that I have made several times. It makes my mouth water to think about it. We also made the Vegetable Lasagne and it was fabulous. Tonight I put the fixings for Baked Potato soup together. I have it in the crock in the fridge. I just take it out an half an hour before I start it so that it does not shock the heat unit with the cold. Tomorrow night, all we have to do is top with bacon and green onions and serve with a salad. I am happy. Plus the leftovers will make great lunches.

Well, I think I am going to go rest my eyes. Have a great evening.




Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Gingher "Elena"

Gingher is releasing a new designer scissor in September. They are AWESOME. They are named Elena and they will be mine. They are meant to look like an impressionist painting. If you have not had the opportunity to feast your eyes upon them, you may see them here: http://www.brewersewing.com/BQSS_Consumer/productdetail.asp?item=GG-5214 They are stunning.

I will admit that I do have a thing for certain Ginghers. I just think they are lovely. My favorites, of course are my pewter and my stork scissors. The stork pair were a gift from DH and my first ones ever. Then I love my Sarah's. I have Freedom and Roberta, which are pretty but not my very favorites. My DH bought me the Chloe rotary cutter and I bought myself a pair of the large sewing scissors. I think they are really terrific scissors, well made and very sharp.

When you find love in these beautiful scissors, you can not help but to also think of the ones that got away. I kick myself for not getting Glory. While I like Freedom, Glory just seems a bit more dramatic, and the colors more vibrant. I would have made that pretty star fob from Sweetheart Tree to go on them. But alas, it was not to be. For you can not get them for less than $90 on ebay. Definitely, not to be. LOL The other ones that came out before I knew about them in the series, but that make me smile when I look at them are Julia and Sophia. So very lovely.

I remember the first time that I was online reading a cross stitch board about how amazing the designer scissors were and how people collect them, I thought to myself, "But I already have a pair of scissors. Why would anyone need more than one pair?" I was so silly back then. I have now seen the light.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Monday

I am sick and tired of fighting this cold thing. My throat is still hurting, my head hurts and I just don't feel good. I am so over this. I was supposed to go to DH's band picnic tonight but just felt too yucky. I came home, changed into my jammies, nuked a hot dog for dinner and climbed into bed. DH came home at 7:30 to find Liesie and I tucked in and watching television in bed. Pathetic, I tell you.

I had to make my eye appointment today. I shared the other day that my eyesight is getting really blurry. This is not good for stitching, but even less so for accounting. When I was making the appointment, the receptionist asked me if I wear contacts. I told her no but that I wear cheaters/readers to stitch. She said that I really should not be using the readers without a prescription. I am not looking forward to this.

I stitched for about an half and hour tonight and for an hour at lunch. It is coming together little by little. I am thinking that I might start filling in the boxes before I finish all nine. I am getting a little bored so I think I will probably change it up a little and stitch fruits and veggies. Speaking of which, DH was being a smart-aleck the other night and brought up the fact that a kidney bean is neither a fruit or a veggie. It is a legume. Oh, well, such is life.

I am already thinking about what I should stitch next when this project is done. There are so many possible projects calling my name. Hopefully, with the help of new glasses I will be able to stitch them all.

Have a great evening!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Where Did The Weekend Go?

Today was pretty busy. We had plans to take a friend from church out for lunch for her 87th birthday after the service. She is a neat lady, and is one of the busiest people I know. Oy vey! She volunteers for a couple of charities, does work for our church, knits and crochets baby blankets for a charity and has a very busy social life. She also travels around the world and even recently snorkeled in the tropics. She is an inspiration to me for what the 80's and 90's could look like when I get there. It actually makes me look forward to them.

We went to her favorite restaurant where we usually meet her. This is also one of our favorite restaurants. It is the one that serves good German and Swiss food. I got to have schnitzel. Yum!!!! I forgot to ask for spaetzel, but DH shared his with me. He had the bratwurst. It was delicious. We got home in time to see the last 17 laps of the race, which was amazing. I have never seen so many top cars run out of gas on the final lap before. It was unbelievable.

I had a few chores to do, while DH took Liesie for a long walk. Next thing I knew, it was evening. The day just flew by.

I did get to stitch a bit. I am still working on the boxes. I hope to finish tomorrow night so that I can fill in the letters. It is nice to look over to the left and see those nine boxes all done. I am so excited about these and getting to start the fun part.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Saturday Night

We were very surprised to wake up to rain this morning. This is a bit out of the ordinary for our region. As a result, we got a late start to the running of errands and such. We had to make a Costco run, and a Target run, usually something we try to avoid on a Saturday at all costs. We ended up getting everything done in short order and were back home in time to watch the race. We have been relaxing for the evening. DH has not been feeling well and I am fighting my cold and sore throat.

I have been stitching this evening. I have three new boxes stitched and have started a fourth. I can not wait to get the whole nine of them done so I can start filling them in. I am kind of fighting all of the extra fabric on each side of the q-snaps. I understand that there is someone who makes q-snap covers with a pocket to hold the extra fabric. What a great idea.

Last night I was watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. They went to a small cafe up the coast about an hour from here that serves olallieberry pie. This is a local favorite here. The olallieberry is a cross between a blackberry and a huckleberry, I believe. It has a very unique taste and is legendary here. I think that it originated in either Washington or Portland. The closest place to get them is in Watsonville, about an hour from us. I have been thinking about olallieberry pie ever since last night. We may have to make the drive to go get berries so I can make my cobbler out of them. They are just incredible.

If we go up there, we will also have to stop in Corralitos at the market, which is the most amazing sausages. I really love the Cheesy Bavarians and would really rather not know just how bad they are for me. We are going to have to eat some food out of the freezer before we make the little excursion. If you ever are in the area, you must go to this place so that you can experience the most fabulous sausages.

Great, now I am really hungry...

Friday, June 12, 2009

It Helps To Actually Read The Pattern...

So today, I am sitting in my car, waiting for an appointment. I say to myself, "Self, this is a perfectly righteous time to clean out my stitchy bag." Okay, maybe I do not speak that cool to my own self. As I am organizing my stuff I pick up the pattern for Farmer's Alphabet, which is face down. I am not used to seeing it from that perspective. Something catches my eye. It says, "Fruits and Vegetables represented in pattern." It goes on to say that K is kidney bean. Go figure. The U is ugli fruit. Patti (mom2ask) had researched it herself and found it on wikipedia and posted the link in yesterday's post comment. I feel rather sheepish now. Baaaaaaa!

I did not really get to stitch today. I was really tired and not feeling well. Plus Liesie and I just walked at lunchtime today. We ran into a couple of her puppy friends on the walk so she was very happy.

I think I have mentioned that I am an accountant for a large non-profit. This is truly my dream job. Anyway, I was reading one of the publications today that is from an organization that supports non-profits. It was talking about ways to raise employee morale in a bad economy. One of the things that it talked about is the trend for companies to allow employees to bring their pets to work, provided that the pet means health and behavior requirements. They talked about the medical research that has been done on employees who bring their dogs to work. They found the instance of stress was much lower in people that bring their dogs to work. I think this is absolutely true. I take several walks a day, in the fresh air. If I am having a really stressful day, it is an amazing thing to give my dog a hug and get a kiss in return. I feel my stress level just drop giving and receiving love like that in the middle of my day. Plus, I do not stress about her being home alone. I am so grateful for the privilege to bring her with me. It makes a total difference in my productivity and happiness.''

Well, I am going to go do battle against the cold I am catching. Yuck.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Stitchy Progress

I am moving on to my next nine squares. I am not sure what the orange fruit is that starts with U, but it was more complex than it looks to stitch. I totally love the strawberries and the beet. I am still puzzled about the K. What the heck is that?

I was talking about my pewter scissors in yesterday's post. I thought that I would show them here tonight. I love these scissors. They are so lovely and the satin finished pewter just looks so warm. I really need to make a scissor case worthy of their loveliness.

I am really thinking about the frame for this. The photo on the pattern has a weathered sage green frame and I am thinking that may be the safest course of action. I think it will match the greens in this really well as well as matching the colors I like to use in my kitchen.

I can not believe that it is Friday already. This week as been busy and really just flew by. I am still thinking about what I want to do for the weekend. I am sure the race and stitching will be a part of it!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Making Progress

I finally got to move the Q-snaps over tonight. I am still finishing up the U but need the edge to line up the new boxes. It is nice to have a new view. For once when I put the fabric on the rods there, it did not make the fabric all wonky.

It is becoming abundantly clear that my eyesight is slipping. I do look at a computer screen all day then I stitch and play on the computer at night. Plus, grumble, grumble, I am over 40. I am starting to get really blurry vision and headaches. I am bummed. I need to get over to the optometrist over at Costco. I really, really hate to get my eyes dialated, plus I need to arrange a ride. Then there is the drama of picking out just the right glasses. I think I need some with a lot of bling!

Liesie got to come to work with me today. She had several playdates with other employees dogs, plus I ran and replenished the Pupparoni supply at the grocery store at lunchtime. It was a good day for Liesl. She has so much fun going to work. She came home pretty tired from her workday. LOL

I am thinking that sometime soon I would really like to make a scissor case and fob for myself. I bought that nice pattern on clearance. I would really like to have a nice ensemble for my scissor, with a matching fob. I do have several Gingher scissors. My very favorite are my pewter Ginghers. They just look so elegant. I want to make sure they are protected.

Well, we have made it over halfway through the week. Hope you have a terrific Thursday.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Brrrrr

It is cold here this week. I keep reading about it being summer everywhere else, but man alive, it is cold. I had to wear wool pants and a sweater to work today. I also had to eat soup for lunch, trying to warm up. I have cute dresses and skirts in my closet that have not had the chance to see the light of day.

I did get to stitch today and it was lovely. I had a whole hour at lunchtime and was able to finish S and T. I still have to do U and I am yet again puzzled by what fruit it is. I am so confused. I am going to move the Q-snaps tonight since I have to use that last column as my guide for the next rows. It is kind of exciting to move to the next section.

One of the nice people that I work with is going on vacation to Southern California next week. He was telling me that he is going to stop in Solvang so he can show his grand-daughter around. It is such a nice little town. I felt a little pang because I miss going to Solvang. It is a little Danish-American town in California that is built to look like a town in Denmark. I just love it there. The pastries at Mortensen's are to die for. They make these amazing eclairs that they add raspberry preserves to. They are so delicious, but I can not eat a whole one by myself. After getting fortified on pastries, the next thing on the list is strolling about and looking in the shops. My all time favorite shop is Thumbelina for cross stitch. I love this little store. I have a weakness for all patterns that are Danish. It is so well stocked that anything you see on the walls is available in the drawers below them. The gentleman that works there is so cool and makes it fun to shop there. I would love to be able to go visit again soon. I could totally go for some wienerschnitzel and perhaps some spaetzel.

Hope it is comfy warm wherever you are...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Monday Progress

Although I had to work late today, I did come home and get to stitch. I just have to finish up the S-T-U and then I get to move the Q-snaps over to start the next nine letters. The colors are just spectacular. I am totally baffled by what the item for K is. It looks like a pea or a bean or something. What the heck is it and does it really start with K? Wouldn't kumquat have been a better choice? Or kiwi fruit? Or even kale. I am stumped by what it is.

I had to delete my "Tony wins" post from yesterday. He did an awesome job and I was totally thrilled for him. For such a fast driver though, the Nascar widget was totally slowing down my blog loading. What can I say, I can be a wee bit impatient. I figured that if I was having no fun waiting for the blog to load, then I certainly did not want to pass that on to you. We can celebrate without the live points feed from Nascar. Now we look forward to next week and his next win. Whoohoo.

I am watching the Food Network and they are showing how Hostess Snoballs are made. Snoballs are disappointing to me. They look so much better than they taste. They just seem like the flavors are out of balance or something. Maybe I need to do a taste test again...

Well, it had been another busy Monday, so I am going to hit the hay. Please let me know if you have any ideas on that K thing.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Lazy Day!

It has been the week from heck for many reasons. I had several things to do today, but stayed down a lot today. I got to stitch while indulging in one of my guilty pleasures (other than frosted cherry Poptarts.) I got to watch several episodes of "Real Housewives of New Jersey." My favorite is Caroline, although I think that Theresa is such a character. Caroline reminds me of alot of the women that we knew as I was growing up in New Jersey. Whenever I watch this show, I feel my accent coming back. LOL

Anyway, I did get to stitch and it was lovely. I am cruising along at a pretty good clip now. I am hoping to move the Q-snaps over to start the next nine squares tomorrow.

I am not much of a shopper. I do not enjoy it very much. I am also not a person that changes out purses with each outfit. That is way too much work. I was sad when I noticed the other day that the pleather was disentegrating on my purse. I have loved this purse. It is red and shiny, with several compartments. So it was hard to make a change to a new one. I had to run to Target quickly tonight because the battery on my car key was close to being dead, to the point that I have been worried that I was not going to be able to open the door of my car. While I was at Target, I decided to run into Marshall's, where I have usually found good purses for less money. I found a lovely purse, around $20. I am happy. I also got a new tote bag for toting my toys to work with me (a book, stitching, a stitching catalog, and my Ipod, loaded with Audiobooks and Podcasts.) Heaven forbid I should get bored on my lunch hour. LOL

I did get to rest today and it was much needed. I know that I will have a few hours tomorrow to rest and watch the race after church. Go Tony!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

"Tis A Wild Week

After all that concert business this weekend, I have been a bit tired. Then today I had to get up early and drive to San Jose for training, which is about 2 hours each way, due to traffic. I got home around 5:30 pm and immediately laid down to take a nap. I was really pretty tired from the day. I am not sure how long I slept. I awoke to Liesl barking her head off at a cat right outside the bedroom window. She was up-set!

I did get to stitch tonight for a while. I have completed a couple of the squares on Farmer's Alphabet. Have I mentioned how much I love the colors?!

It is hard that my books have to compete for my time with stitching. When I laid down when I got home, I knew that I was too overly tired and keyed up from the drive to go right to sleep. I decided to read my book for a few minutes so I could go to sleep. I am reading a fascinating book on the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago. I was talking with a friend the other day, who did the Camino and walked 350 miles from France across Spain, in three weeks. When we spoke about it, she was so excited and said that it was the best thing she has ever done. I was so inspired hearing her story. I had to read more about about the Camino. I envy those who have made the pilgimage and followed their hearts.

I am hoping to get a little stitching in this weekend and to cheer for Tony, racing at Pocono. He is #1 in the points. Pretty awesome. Go Smoke!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

I'm Back...

Wow! What a whirlwind. The concerts this weekend were amazing. We received standing ovations, which is so cool. The energy that you receive from a theater full of people who appreciated your performance is amazing and is not something you can describe with words. We performed Holst's "The Planets." The women were involved in the choral performance of Neptune. Here is the funny part; when I was rehearsing this, it was my least favorite piece. In fact, I dreaded it. It has five beats to a measure, is really hard to count, has no words, has six voices all singing different parts and different notes all at once. It was hard. When it was time to perform it, it was my very favorite and I looked forward to it every night. Following the movements of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, which were breathtakingly performed by the symphony and then being able to join my voice in Neptune was a fabulous experience, almost humbling. I feel so honored and privileged to have been a part of this. The women all agreed that it was a very special experience and really bonded us as a group.

I got to stitch again at lunchtime today for the first time in a week. It was so nice and so peaceful. I missed stitching. I realized just how much when I picked up my needle. I worked on the Farmer's Alphabet. I just love that piece!

We have been in the middle of a cold spell. Today was 73 degrees and it was so nice to see the sunshine again. It did rain a bit tonight, but it was short lived. I am hoping it will stay warm for a bit longer.

Well, I am off to get some shut-eye. It is my first non-late night for a while. I need to catch up on some much needed sleep.