A Morning Post

Well, it started raining again last night and should rain the rest of the week. This means that a short walk this morning with Liesl instead of the usual of the usual 30-40 minute morning walk. Liesl and I are made of sugar and we will melt. LOL

I got home pretty late yesterday, but had a few minutes of daylight left to get my herb garden started. I figured with all of the rain this week, it might be a good time to throw the seeds into the ground. I put in the usual cast of characters, dill, basil (two kinds), oregano, thyme, etc. I hope they take okay. I need to pick up some sage and marjoram. I would love to have a really good variety this year. Maybe I will even be able to dry some of them.

I still need to start my tomatoes and peppers. I have been so busy the past couple of weeks that I have not been able to get them into the starter. I am a bit frustrated about this. But generally, tomatoes are not really ready until August, so I guess I have plenty of time.

The hard part about seeds is that they are so inexpensive and the racks of pretty, colorful pictures pull me to them like metal to a magnet. I am finding (making) reasons to cruise past the seed display whenever I go into a store. Yesterday, I had to run into Target for something, and just happened to walk past the display. I found myself pulling the most beautiful colored morning glory seeds off the rack and putting them into my basket. 'Tis a sickness, I tell you...

Well, guess I had better go grab the leash and put on my raincoat. It looks like it is time for Liesl and me to greet the day!

Life Is Good!

I had a really great weekend. It was hopping busy, but really a good weekend. Last night, got to attend the Monterey Symphony's concert, which was absolutely amazing. They always present amazing concerts, but this one was really memorable.

Today I had choir practice for Easter and Good Friday services before church, then church, then practice of a duet that we are doing for Good Friday service. Came home and finished a homework assignment, then ran outside to work in the yard. The weather was so beautiful and we are in for a week of rain storms, so I had to get a bunch of yard work done in preparation.

I truly believe that good neighbors are worth their weight in gold. I have had really great neighbors and really terrible neighbors. A bad neighbor can really ruin your peace in your own house. Therefore, I happy dance because I have hit the jackpot when it comes to my neighbors. Today, when I was working on my yard, the young couple next door were out working on their yard. These are the most considerate young neighbors and are always checking to see if their music is too loud for me, or if the smoke from their barbecue is bothering me. The young lady said that she had way too many lemons on her tree and asked me if she could share some with me. Now the only thing I love as much as chocolate, is anything lemon flavored. Next thing I knew she was handing me a branch of meyer lemons. She said they are really sweet, too. They are so beautiful and I really have to decide what to do with them. Yummy.

I got a bunch of work done on the yard today. I trimmed my trees and weeded several of the beds. I have several large geraniums. They were getting a little leggy so I just broke off the leggy parts and stuck 'em in the ground to start new geraniums in some of the yard's bare spots. Liesl had to help me by guarding me and barking at anyone who was out in their own yards. LOL After putting her in time out a couple of times (yes, she understands and does time outs!) I realized that she had a cranky on from being overly tired so we came in so she could take a nap. I got to catch up on the phone for awhile with two really good friends while I sat on the sofa with her.

I am really tired in a good way. It was busy, but I got alot accomplished and just had a wonderful weekend. I just feel amazingly blessed with my life. I have so much beauty around me, a wonderful family, friends, and a beautiful little dog with a big spirit. I am so fortunate in so many ways. Life truly is good.

Thursday Night

My appointment for tonight got cancelled after I got there. This was okay, and I was so happy to get home at a reasonable time for the evening. It was cold and cloudy today (we are amping up for a week of storms) so I was wanting comfort food when I got home. One of my guilty pleasures is fish sticks and instant mash potatoes. I do not know why. So I had dinner ready in about 20 minutes. I changed into my sweats while it cooked and planted myself on the sofa with my yummy dinner. Glorious!

I have had insomnia all of this week. It is driving me crazy. I usually get up at 5:30 and feel pretty well rested. All of this week, I have been waking up between 4-4:30 am. Last night, however, I woke up at 3 am and never got back to sleep. I am dragging. I am hoping to get a good night of sleep tonight. I am trying not to worry about it so I do not wig myself out.

Anyway, got to stitch this evening. I put Discovery on and watched a show on the Bermuda Triangle. It was quite interesting. It was a good show to stitch to. My little puppy girl was tired, too, and stretched out on the blanket throw and nodded off. It was very peaceful and I am so grateful for the special blessing of the free evening. Hopefully, this will help me sleep tonight.

I did work on the vines on the Serenity Prayer. They are so pretty. I wish photos could capture how lovely stitching really is. This is really pretty. I forgot to mention that I am really proud because no additional materials were purchased for this. It is stitched with good ol' DMC floss and the fabric was a large piece that I bought on clearance for next to nothing years ago. I have been really good about stitching from what I have in my collection since last September and not purchasing anything new. It feels really good.

Have a good night.

Walking in Gratitude...

This has been quite a day. I have spoken today with four friends who are dealing with true life or death issues, either in themselves or someone that they dearly love. My prayers will be full tonight for comfort and healing for each of them. I am truly grateful for each person and their friendship in my life. This has been such a hard year for so many people. I am humbled today, because I realize how comparatively minimal my problems are.

It has been a busy day. I did not get to stitch today but that is okay. I had a wonderful choir rehearsel tonight, which was fine tuning the music for our upcoming concert. Tonight was the fine tuning of the piece we are working on, and it is amazing how different a piece of music can sound just by making really small adjustments.

Kim asked me for the details of the Serenity Prayer. It is by Homespun Elegance and was relatively inexpensive. I got it at 123stitch. I love this prayer and pray it every day. It brings me a lot of peace.

I am up past my bedtime, so I will say goodnight. Hope you have a pleasant day tomorrow!

Weekend Progress

It has been a pretty busy weekend, however, I was able to get some stitching in. The bottom panel is coming along nicely. I still have some backstitching to do on the animals. I am really excited about how the vines are going to look. It has a really serene look to it. I think it is really pretty.

As I wrote earlier, it has been a really busy weekend, and I am a little frustrated that I was not able to start my seeds. I am hoping I can get to it tomorrow after work. I feel inspired that the sun is out until about 8pm, so I can still get some gardening in. I have been hopping around so much that I sort of crashed when I got home today after church, etc. I just laid down on the sofa for a few minutes with Liesl, and woke up over an hour later. Yikes!

Today was Liesl's first day of her diet, and it went surprisingly well. I had gotten some lowfat cans of doggie food at the vet's office to add to her kibble to keep it interesting. She filled up on the healthy stuff, and only had a couple of little treats. We also took an extra walk at the end of the day. She is such a happy little dog that she just makes my heart smile to be around her.

I am really inspired by Liesl to work harder and get back on track with my own weight loss. I have lost 25lbs in the past few months, but have plateaued. I was concerned about getting really frustrated, so I sort of let it go for a while. Now I see that I need to get back on track. The way that I lost most of the weight was to not have any junk in the house. I also try to make sure that I get 7-10 servings of fruits and veggies in a day. That is actually a lot of food and so I stay pretty full. I had a lot of veggies today, so I feel like I am off to a good re-start. There is a certain dress that I want to wear for Easter, so wish me luck!

I'm Baaack!

First of all, a big shout out to my friend, L, who was concerned that I had not been blogging for a few days. It was good to hear your voice today, my friend! Thank you for being such a caring and wonderful friend!

I have fully recovered from my sinus infection. Whoohoo! I feel human again and have actually been able to go out and do a little gardening. It has been really hot here this week, so I have been aching to get out in the yard. Tomorrow I have to try to make time to start my seeds.

Little Fraulein Liesl had to have her annual physical today. Liesl has the most wonderful vet. She got a clean bill of health, but we were told that she is about 3 pounds overweight, which does not sound like much, but when she is supposed to be about 16-17 lbs, 3 lbs is quite a bit. We actually get a lot of exercise, it is just that she is getting a few too many treats. So I am supposed to take her for her weigh in in two months. I have to be strong on this, because I want to keep her around as many years as I possibly can, so anything that I can do to prolong her life and keep her healthy, I will do it. (To add insult to injury, she had to have a bath before she went to the doctor. I just gave her a kiss on her sweet little head, and she smells so good.)

As a side note, the doctor said that he never would have guessed that Liesl is a spoiled dog. LOL I do not know if it was my asking if she could still have her heart shaped, night-night cookies that I put on her bed or the questions about dog massage. LOL

I got to stitch for a while today. I am almost done with the bottom panel of the Serenity Prayer. I am thinking that I may do some blackwork after this piece. I would also like to become better with my hardanger skills. I love hardanger, but I tend to get intimidated between pieces so I do need to keep up my skills.

A Really Good Day

Well, it seems like the antibiotics are finally taking effect. I was feeling a bit better today and feel like I am finally turning the corner on this yucky stuff. I truly appreciate all of your kind comments and good wishes over the past couple of weeks. Your kindness really means alot to me.

I left work a little early tonight after a busy, but really awesome day. On the way home, I got to stop at Home Depot. The weather has been so sunny and warm (70's!) that I am really inspired to start my garden. So I picked up a seed starter tray, some new gardening gloves, some herb seeds, a hummingbird feeder and some stuff to clean and sharpen my garden tools. I wish I was feeling better so I could get right to work. But when I am feeling better (hopefully by this weekend!), it feels good to know I can get right to work.

I came home and got into my jammies by 6 pm. It was nice to sit quietly and stitch for a while. I worked a bit on the vine. I can't wait to start adding the leaves and flowers. I do love this piece. A couple of days ago though I saw the longer version of the Serenity Prayer by My Big Toe. It is a truly stunning piece. I love the additional lines, as well. I am just not sure I am inspired to stitch it, but it really is beautiful.

Stay well, everyone!

Sunday Progress

I finally got some stitching in this weekend. I love the cute little primitive style woodland creatures. I have to finish that bottom panel. Then I can move on to the cute vines that travel up the two sides of the piece. It is very pretty and as always, the photograph does not do the colors justice.

I am gradually feeling a bit better everyday, with the exception of a headache that will not go away. Other than that, I am hoping to get back to exercising this week. The weather has become really beautiful, too, for the past couple of days. With the time change, it looks like little Miss Liesl and I can add a walk at the end of the day, perhaps by the water, which would really make her happy. She loves the salt air and just has a happier trot when she walks by the sea.

I am going to order my seeds this week from Park's. If you ever want to become overwhelmed by a seed catalog, check out their site. They are awesome! They have an incredible selection, which is why I have had such a hard time choosing. http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/GP/homepage/page1 I have a tiny little bitty sun room where my washer and dryer are (actually more of a mud room.) I am thinking that room is going to be a good place to start seeds since it is so warm and sunny in there. I started some herbs the other day, and I can not believe how fast they sprouted. It is still miraculous to me that you put a seed in some dirt, with a little water and that God shines the sun on it and up comes a beautiful plant. It is that same feeling that I had in first grade when you plant the bean plant in a dixie cup.

Wishing you many miracles this week.

A Visit To The Doctor

Well, after a week, I guess it was inevitable. Luckily, my doctor (who is the best doctor in the whole world) was able to fit me in this morning. I have not slept in two nights, and my eyes were all puffy and purple underneath. He diagnosed it as a sinus infection. I have never had one in my life. I have antibiotics, another medication, and orders to drink hot liquids. I am hoping I kick this thing over the weekend. I have to return my library books and I am hoping to feel well enough to pick out a whole new batch.

I was really not feeling up to stitching tonight. Which is a shame, because I am really missing it. Instead, I looked at other stitchers' works. There are some really outstanding blogs out there. If you really want to see amazing quilts, click on the Little Quilts link on my blog roll. I get so inspired looking at other stitchers' stitching.

The tough side of looking at blogs is that I get to see other stitchers' tools. I covet a pair of those gothic looking scissors that I see on some of the European blogs. I wish that I knew who made them and where to purchase them. If anyone knows, I would so appreciate it if you could post it in the comments section.

Well, I am off to sleep. Nurse Liesl says I need to go to bed.

A Good Day

It was a really good day. I really got a lot accomplished at work today. I love that feeling when you leave work for the day, feeling good and like you made a difference. I got to go to a really good meeting and learned a lot. I got quite a bit of paperwork done. It was just an awesome feeling. I also sat in my car again at lunchtime after I took a walk with Liesl. I shared my lunch with her. When I bring a chicken sandwich we have an agreement that she gets the pieces of chicken that hang over the sides of the bread. She also got a few bites of my string cheese. I drew the line at my windmill cookies. LOL I think it makes me more productive when I take that quiet time to eat, read my book, and scratch Liesl behind the ears. I end up feeling centered and really clearheaded.

It has been a week now with this cold. Tomorrow it looks like I will have to pay a little visit to my doctor. It looks like antibiotics are in my near future. I am hoping to be better by the weekend because I have several plans.

It is really cold here tonight. All of the news stations are saying we will get close to freezing tonight. I am so glad I have not had a chance to plant anything yet. I still have to order my seeds from Park Seed. The selection of tomato seeds is so overwhelming that I need to emotionally prepare. LOL I really want to have a nice selection of heirloom tomatoes. I love tomatoes and can eat them like apples. I also love tomato sandwiches on white bread with mayonaise, salt and pepper. I get just enough sun here, too, that I think the plants will produce well. I am excited.

Stay warm!

Tuesday

Okay, I will try to keep my whining to minimum about the worst cold I have ever had in my life. It is receding somewhat, but I still feel like I have been run over by a truck.

It was a good day, I got a lot accomplished at work today. It was a very cold and windy day so Liesl and I went and sat in the car for a while at lunchtime. I read my book, then somehow nodded off. I only awoke because I was hearing a noise in my sleep, and thought to myself, "What is that horrendous sound?" Only then did I realize it was me snoring. I really hope none of my co-workers heard me.

I took some of those darling windmill cookies with me in my lunch. They are even better than the ones we had as children. There is something truly nostalgic about them. I highly recommend them. They are my guilty pleasure in this season of Lent. Chocolate had truly become a vice for me, so I put it to the side for Lent. I really do not miss it. Although, believe me there have been temptations put before me, like my Girl Scout cookie order coming in. Um, hello, Samoas! And my daughter brought me my very favorite Lula's Rocky Road candy from a local candy maker here in the Monterey area.

Tonight I send a special shout out to my dear friend, Laura. You are in my prayers, my friend! Get well very soon! Liesl sends you puppy kisses!

Lookie!

In a move that I can only call insanity brought on by cold and fever, I decided to stop by the local Trader Joe's on my way home from work. I am still feeling cruddy and was out of lemon and honey for my tea. Plus, I was thinking that I really did not have it in me to cook, so figured I would find something in their frozen or prepared food section. Now mind you, I love, love, love Trader Joe's ordinarily. However, heed my warning, lest you meet the same fate as me, do not attempt a visit to Trader Joe's after work. It was crazy and I found myself thinking some majorly cranky thoughts.

But I totally digressed here. Look at what I found. Trader Joe's carries windmill cookies! And they are delicious. Windmill cookies are very special to me. When I was a little girl and would go over to visit my grandmother and great grandmother, they would serve me windmill cookies. Our family is of Dutch ancestry, so these cookies hold special memories for me. I also remember little blue and white Delfft knick knacks in the kitchen.

I am on Day Four of the Cold from Heck. It is also very cold and rainy outside. In fact, the weather forecast calls for record low temperatures tonight and tomorrow. Okay, record low for California, but still...After dinner, I was not feeling up to doing much so I watched a little televison. I ended up watching Alton Brown, who is one of my kitchen heroes. I think he is majorly cool. As a side note, my daughter worked an event where he appeared at the Monterey Aquarium. She brought me one of his salt pigs and his autograph. Is that too cool or what?!

Anyway, he was making salty/sweet confections. They included caramels with sea salt. Oh, my goodness, they looked so good! Then, he made Pralined Bacon, which called for baking the bacon in the oven for about an half an hour. Then pouring a brown sugar/pecan mixture over it and baking it some more so that the bacon was enscounced in a praline. I need to do this.

Stay well!

On The Mend!

I am feeling human again. Whoohoo. The symptoms remain somewhat, but I could function. It was lovely. I got a good night of sleep and woke up feeling refreshed.

It was a really good day. I still stayed in, trying to get better, so that I am better for work tomorrow. I watched the race and stitched. I am getting alot done on the Serenity Prayer and will post a photo of it when I finish the bottom panel this week. I like stitching all of the little creatures on the bottom. It is a lot of fun to stitch.

I finished my book last night, and started another one. Have I mentioned how much I love the library?! I started Amy Tan's "The Bonesetter's Daughter." What a fantastic book.

I felt like I should accomplish something useful today, so this evening I set about making lentil soup for lunches this week. (I had to use up some sausage and potatoes.) As I was cooking my soup I made myself a cup of tea. I took my tea and stood on the back steps in the early evening. The evening was actually a bit warm, and I felt so much joy as I watched Liesl playing in the backyard. All of the sudden it struck me that the moment was absolutely perfect and that I am so blessed.

All in all, it was a perfect weekend. It was very different than I had originally planned. But I am grateful that I was able to stay home and get well. Generally, on weekends I take Liesl for some sort of long walk, so I feel really badly that I was not able to do that. However, we did play together and snuggle. This weekend was peaceful and reminded me how really fortunate I really am.

Oy! My Aching Head...

I feel a bit better today. After two nights of sleep interrupted by coughing fits, I decided I needed meds. This is totally out of character for me. Usually, I just try to drink more liquids and let a cold run its course. I was miserable this morning, so I was at Target as they opened at 8 am. In one stop, I had Tylenol Cold (both day and night time), orange juice, and Vitamin C. All seem to be doing the trick because I am feeling a bit better.

Other than my trip to Target to gather supplies, I parked on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, reading my book. My head was still a bit too achey to stitch most of the day. Liesl napped most of the day next to me. She is a good nurse.

I was able to stitch finally this evening for about an hour. While it was enjoyable, it really took more concentration and logic than I am capable of. I keep thinking that tomorrow will be better. I guess the Serenity Prayer is a poignant piece to stitch right now.

I Habb A Coltt...

Oh, man, I feel terrible. Several people at work have this terrible cold and I am one of them. I woke up in the middle of the night just feeling rotten. I got up kind of slowly this morning and made my way to work. I felt terrible all day and went through a box of Kleenex. I came home and put my jammies on right away and cancelled my plans for the evening. I feel like crud.

Mostly tonight, I have vegged with my feet up and watching television. I did watch a really good show called, "Who do you think you are?" about geneaology done on stars. I have dabbled in genealogy so this was really cool to watch. I also got to stitch while I watched it. I worked a bit on my Serenity Prayer, but was not totally feeling it because my head hurt so badly. I wanted to take a photo for you, but that involved me moving off the sofa and making my head slosh around.

I have a feeling that I will be staying home this weekend. I had several things to do and was hoping to see Alice in Wonderland. I think I will be home in jammies, drinking tea, and catching up on some television viewing. It is supposed to rain, so it is best that I lay low anyway.

Stay well!

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

...which totally explains my stick straight hair laying against my head all limp and lifeless. It rained so much today. Plus it was loud. Suddenly we would hear what sounded like a low roar and then realize it was the rain. Every time it seemed like it was going to slow down a bit, the skies would open up and just dump water on us.

I am hoping to stitch this weekend between all of my activities. I really would like to finish the Serenity Prayer and get it framed for my bedroom. I have to think about what I want to stitch after that. I also have to read a book for the book club. Actually, I have read it before, but I really want to reread it to capture some of the detail. We are reading the Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, which I really enjoyed. This is my first time in a book club and I am so excited about it.

I may be taking a little outing to the local Michaels store this weekend. I get their online coupons, which are really good deals. My curtains in my bedroom are white and I have been envisioning inexpensive floral garlands swagging along the top part of the curtains to dress them up. I think it would be really nice and girlie. I love going to Michaels. While their selection of cross stitch is nearly non-existent, they do carry other interesting products. I love the way it smells in there and I always get really inspired. Plus our Michaels here is really new and is laid out really well.

Whoohoo, A Busy Week!

It is so good to be back at work. I really missed everyone. I have been pretty busy playing catch up and can not believe tomorrow is Wednesday already! Wow!

With all of the catching up that I have been doing, I have not been able to get back to my stitching. sniffle. My Serenity Prayer is calling to me and I just have not been able to pick it up. Tomorrow night I have church and a homework assignment, so I probably will not be able to stitch then either. Although, maybe I will toss it into my bag and stitch at lunch. It has been pouring like crazy here so there were not any long walks today. The forecast calls for rain most of the week, so it appears that there will be really short dog walks, and I will have flat hair. Traumatic...

I am really starting to get into the idea of planning my garden now. It is going to be a lot of hard work, but as the weather warms up it will be nice to be outside. I am constantly looking at sources of seeds, particularly heirloom tomato seeds. I really want to try something exotic. Other than that I started some herbs the other day, but really want to get a nice little herb garden growing. I will need to fence this off so that Miss Liesl does not get into it. I remember when she was a wee girl, she used to nibble the cherry tomatoes off the plants. She is such a character.

Off to dreamland...