January Ornie Finish & Captions from Wordless Wednesday

The heavens have opened up and poured out their rain on us all day long. It was dark all day. Very strange for us. Thankfully, we've not experienced any really severe weather, but we've had some heavy downpours. Of course, my rain gauge isn't collecting rain for some reason. Now, we're expecting freezing temps and everyone's freaking out that we're going to ice up. Lovely!!

Last night while listening to the State of the Union address, I finished up my January ornie! My first finish of the year, too. Yippee for me! Presenting...."Joy" by Lilybet Designs stitched on a scrap of 28 ct. Vintage Autumn Fields linen using DMC, GAST, and CCs.



From yesterday...and yes, these pics are "real time" as I took all of them except the last one yesterday before posting.

Poppies!! Can't wait to see them in bloom.

My lettuce bed. We'll probably harvest all of this when we start expanding the garden. Then, we'll plant more lettuce for the spring.

Daylily sprouts. More excitement and a definite harbinger of spring and warmer weather.

This is what happens when the dear husband called 811 to come find the buried natural gas lines in our yard. Not only did they send out someone to find the gas lines and mark them with paint and flags, they send out the phone co and the cable co. We were looking for lines in our backyard where the garden is going to be dug, but thankfully, there's nothing back there. They did, however, do a lovely job painting the grass. Our neighbors probably think we're moving out! LOL

They had no mercy on my plants! Grrrrrrrrrr! I'm hoping all this rain will wash off the paint from my Veronica plant.

This is my precious Callie, the kitty of my heart. I had put this toilet seat cover on the stool just for kicks and she jumped up and fell asleep on the stool! She's such a sweetie.

Wordless Wednesday 01.27.10

It's the Start of a New Week!

And I'm feeling immensely better! It's amazing what cough syrup with codeine can do for a good night's sleep! LOL I'm sure the antibiotic my doctor prescribed for my sinus infection is helping some, too. Now, if the mountain cedar would just go away, I'd be able to truly get well. I hate that stuff!

So, the Saints are going to the Super Bowl! Woohoo! So proud to see a team that's never been in the Super Bowl advance to that all important game. I hope the beat the tar out of the Colts! Honestly, the Colts have a GREAT team and Peyton Manning will no doubt be in the Hall of Fame someday, but really, it's time for some new faces in the Super Bowl. Geaux Saints!!!!

This past week was a stressful one, plus I didn't feel well, so my stitching time was minimal. I started my January ornie, "Joy", a complimentary design from Lilybet Designs. I've been working on this during my lunch/dinner time at work.


I'm stitching this on a scrap of 28 ct. Vintage Autumn Fields linen, using DMC, CCs, and GAST.

On Saturday, I worked on my SNS project, LHN's Seasonal Saltbox series. Got the main body of my house "painted" and started on the flowers in the border.


Yesterday, during the Saints v. Vikings game, I stitched on my incentive piece, "Give". My plan is to work on this at home during the evenings. I'm so close to a finish, that I've got to get it done!


In other news, my potatoes have been taken out of the box and are getting ready to plant. I've only got about 2 more weeks!! They're starting to grow eyes. The Kennebecs seem to be growing the slowest, but they're also the biggest potatoes, so maybe that's why. We have also added onion sets. I absolutely LOVE onions! We have 3 sets of 1015Y ("THE" Texas sweet yellow onion) and 2 sets of Red Burgundy, a red onion. I'm thinking of going back and getting a bunch of the white onions they had.

These are the Kennebecs. Come on babies, you can sprout!

The Reds and Purple Vikings are doing great!

The Banana Fingerlings are going like gangbusters. I even have one that reminds me of a walrus! LOL

The onions awaiting their permanent home in the garden. I've put them in a pan of dirt and then I water them about every other day.

Wordless Wednesday 1.20.10

Sunday Updates & So Long Cowboys

This past week has been an interesting one. I've managed to come down with either a cold or a sinus infection that's really worn me out. I've been trying some herbal remedies, which are helping, but I have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday with my doctor for the high powered drug if I'm not feeling 100% better. My boss is leaving on Tuesday for a 2 week vacation with his family at Disney, so I can't afford to be sick and miss work.

This past week, I've been spending my limited stitching time on my January 1st piece, Have a Heart by Val's Stuff. I'm really loving the way this is coming together. I won't finish him this month most likely, but I will finish him next month.


Last night during my SNS time, I tried to work on LHN's Seasonal Saltbox series piece. I just could NOT keep my eyes open, so I ended up throwing in the towel after 35 minutes and heading to bed. Here's my itty bit of progress.



Football season is officially over for me. Don't get me wrong, I'll be watching the Super Bowl, but my Boys fell out of the running today in a shameful loss to the Minnesota Vikings. I will be rooting for the Saints next weekend against the Vikings. It was a great season for the Cowboys, though. Winning in December, winning their division, and winning a post-season playoff game is nothing to be ashamed of. They are a great group of young players, so be looking for us to tear up the league next year!

Thursday Captions

This is Callie checking out the dripping water in the bathtub. She discovered the water dripping when we had to leave the taps dripping during the great freeze a couple of weeks ago. The only problem with this is that she LOVES running water. Now she thinks we should leave the water dripping just for her pleasure and enjoyment. She's not normally a very vocal kitty, but when she wants water and it's not dripping she's VERY mouthy! LOL I love this kitty!

Here's Hannah defending (& enjoying) her favorite new sunspot. She's very proud of herself for finding it and for fighting off the evil Callie who tried to usurp her coveted position in the sun.

This is the inside of one of the pumpkins I grew this fall. I was pulling out the guts in order to bake the fruit to eventually puree it. It kind of looks like some kind of thing you'd see in a cave.

These...these are my seed potatoes! Woot! We'll be potato farmers this year. There are 4 varieties in this box, 1/2 pound each of Kennebec (white), Red Norland (new potato/red potato), Purple Viking (purple skin, white inside), and Banana fingerlings (a gourmet white potato). We'll plant them on Valentine's Day. Should be an interesting experiment.

Wordless Wednesday 01.13.10

"Give" Progress

Ended up not having much time to stitch Sunday on "Give" because I made these:


(You want one, I know. Would it help if I told you how yummy they are???)

I also had to break up this fight over the sunspot:


Since we've had such cold temps and had to fill the sunroom with plants, the kitties haven't been able to go out in the sunroom to bask in the sun. Comfortable, warm places to catch a few rays are in short supply, so Hannah improvised and created this spot. Callie decided she wanted to be in the spot, so a fight ensued. LOL

Then, I could sit down and stitch! Here's my progress:

How 'bout them Cowboys?!? (& some Progress Pics)

Woohoo!! I am one happy Cowboys fan today! In a game full of penalties, The Boys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14 last night (for the 3rd time this season) to win the NFC East wild card playoff game!! It's been 13 long, dry years since we've had a playoff win. This Dallas team is a special group of men and are playing excellent ball. If they can keep it together, stay healthy, stay mentally focused, and stay a cohesive unit, then I can see them going all the way to the Super Bowl.

On one of the message boards to which I belong, every Saturday we have Saturday Stitch Night (SNS). We post our before and after pics, so everyone who participates can see our progress. Last night while watching the Cowboys whoop the snot out of the Eagles, I stitched on the LHN Seasonal Saltbox design, "Blessed are the Pure in Heart". It's kinda hard to watch the game, cheer for your team and stitch at the same time, but I managed a great amount of progress.

Here's where I started:


And here's where I stopped after 3 hours and 5 mins of stitching (& cheering) time:


This past Friday, I got about an hour in on my Jan. 1st piece, "Have a Heart" by Val's Stitching. Of course, I started by frogging, but I didn't have as much to frog as I had anticipated. I've decided this is going to be my project for this coming week.


Today, I'll be stitching on my incentive piece, "Give" by Plum Street Samplers, so be looking for an update in the coming days. Until then, stay warm!

:o)

Wordless Wednesday Follow-Up

Salsa anyone? Homemade from the remainder of our slicing tomatoes harvested before our first freeze in December. This was pretty much all I got of the batch. DH ate most of the rest of it while I was napping. I think I'm going to get a lock for the fridge and hide the key on my body! Wait! Might not be such a good hiding place! LOL

This is my Callie-love in the husband's lap. Ten years ago, you'd never have seen this. DH wasn't a cat person and Callie wasn't much of a human cat, especially humans of the male persuasion. Over the years, the two have come to a mutual understanding and Callie frequently jumps in his lap for a little love.

Part of my stash that I've weeded out. One of these days, this stuff will be for sale.

More stash that wouldn't fit in the bin. Need to organize, scan, price, and get everything uploaded to sell.

My progress on "Give" this week. I've pretty much reached the bottom on both sides. Inching ever closer to a finish!

First Wordless Wednesday of 2010