Santa Came Through!

Yes! I am now the proud owner of a Needlework System 4 floor stand!


My son had already laid claim to the only real chair in our living room, so I set up camp on our big cushy ottoman. I made myself a cozy nest with my sweater and a pillow and settled in for a few hours of stitching last night after dinner. I was so surprised at how much I got done! I can't wait to get back to it!

I hope Santa was equally as good to everyone else, and that you all had an enjoyable Christmas Day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!and may God bless us, everyone!

One More Sleep 'Til Christmas

Written by Paul Williams
(and sung by Kermit)

There's magic in the air this evening
Magic in the air
The world is at her best, you know
When people love and care
The promise of excitement
Is one the night will keep
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas

The world has got a smile today
The world has got a glow
There's no such thing as strangers when
A stranger says hello
And everyone is family
We're having so much fun
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas

'Tis the season to be jolly and joyous
With a burst of pleasure, we feel it arrive
It's the season when the saints can employ us
To spread the news about peace and to keep love alive

There's something in the wind today
That's good for everyone
Yes, faith is in our hearts today
We're shining like the sun
And everyone can feel it
The feeling's running deep
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas day

Answer Time!

Here are the answers to my little Christmas movie quiz from yesterday:

1. Home Alone
2. The Polar Express
3. Christmas Vacation
4. Elf
5. Jingle All the Way
6. The Santa Clause
7. Miracle on 34th Street
8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
9. A Christmas Story
10. Home Alone 2: Lost In New York

Doesn't that list make you want to grab a bag of Orville Redenbacher and pop a DVD in?

Is everyone staying warm? We never got out of single digits today, and the windchill was well below zero! Definitely snotsicle weather in this part of the country!

I know how busy everyone is this time of year, so thanks for stopping by!

A Little Christmas Fun

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is watch Christmas movies with my kids. The other night I noticed that some of the DVD covers had taglines on them... you know, those little phrases used in the movie trailers and advertisements. So I thought it would be fun to put together a little quiz for everyone. See if you can guess the Christmas movie but it's tagline!

1. A family comedy without the family.

2. Journey beyond your imagination.

3. Yule crack up!

4. This holiday, discover your inner elf.

5. Two dads. One toy. No prisoners.

6. This Christmas, the snow hits the fan.

7. Experience the miracle.

8. Inside a snowflake, like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe.

9. Peace, harmony, comfort and joy... maybe next year.

10. He's up past his bedtime in the city that never sleeps.

Have fun! I'll post the answers tomorrow!

Long Time No Post

It has been a while, hasn't it!? I hope everyone is well and enjoying the holiday season! And staying warm, of course! We had a wonderful time with my oldest son while he was here! Unfortunately, his leave could not be extended to allow him to be here for Christmas, but we were able to celebrate his birthday, and mine too! We also had a "Thanksgiving Rewind" because just like Hiro Nakamura on Heroes, I bend space and time! At least some VCR magic made it seem that way! I'd recorded the Macy's Parade and the dog show that comes on after it, both of which are a tradition for us to watch. Throw in Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special and no one even missed the fact that there were no football games on! I cooked a full-blown Thanksgiving meal which was a bit of a challenge in our tiny kitchen, but I guess there was enough of that magic left because everything was delicious! (I'm really quite pleased with myself in case you can't tell, haha!)

Not much news on the stitching front. I must confess, I haven't picked up a needle in three weeks! I did receive some stash for my birthday, so here's a picture of those goodies.
Their Song is all kitted up now, and I'm thinking of making that my first project for the New Year. Finishing off this year's projects might just have to wait!

Is everyone ready for Christmas? It's just a week away, you know! All of our decorations are in storage, but I did go dig out our small table top tree, and I put up a string of lights. I've had my online radio tuned in to the holiday music channel for the last few days because I felt a bit of the ole Scrooge mood coming on, LOL! It's so easy to start feeling sorry for myself this time of year, I have to do whatever I can to fight it off!! It's hard to be mopey with some perky music playing! Not to mention my sources in the North Pole report seeing a Needlework System 4 floor stand in Santa's sleigh with my name on it! Woohoo!

Okay, this Rudolph has to run! She still has shopping to do!

Would anyone like some whine?

Here is my latest progress picture for my November Montly Mania. I have seriously developed a bad, BAD attitude about this project! I love the fabric I'm using, I thought it was absolutely perfect for this project! But it's a 22-count and I'm using four strands of floss! If you've ever tried to get four strands of floss to lie together nicely you know what I'm going through! Nightmare!

Anyway, enough of that!

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving with plenty of family, friends, and food! We ate dinner over at my boyfriend's parents' house so sadly we have no turkey leftovers.

Darn it! I'm whining again! Somebody shush me!

Wait! One last whine! Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo and...
Thank you Comcast!
Okay, I'm done! And I promise I will have a smile on my face tomorrow because my oldest son is coming to visit us for two weeks!! Hooray!!

292!

That's the number of blog posts in my Google Reader at the moment, the result of having no internet connection for the past few days and not being able to keep up with my bloggy pals. I also missed posting on my blog for three days, so no "Yatta!" for me for this year's NaBloPoMo.

I'm a sad panda!Oh, you poor thing!
(I'd say this fella needed a hug if it wasn't for those claws!)

Oh Yeah!

The wait is over! The Sampler Girl Companion, Booklet One is now available! There's even a downloadable PDF version for those of you who need instant gratification!

All I Want For Christmas

A Needlework System 4 floor stand with Q-snap holder.

And yes, I've been good.

November Continued

I finished up the acorn's "cap" tonight. (Does that part of the acorn have an actual name?) The rest of the acorn is about a bazillion stitches done in GAST Sable. I am not looking forward to it! There are a dozen or so Rhodes stitches scattered throughout the acorn so that might break up the monotony a bit. Tomorrow night is my Stitch-a-Thon night so I imagine I'll be working on this fella some more.

We stopped at Best Buy the other day when we were out shopping, and the first thing I saw when we walked in was a mountain of Nintendo Wii's. Looks like they aren't going to be so scarce this year! We picked up the latest Animal Crossing game and have been having a lot of fun with it. I'd recommend it for anyone's Christmas list!

Thanks for stopping by!

November

I know we're officially in the middle of the month, but here in the Land of the Monthly Manias, November has just begun. I wish I could remember the name of this fabric. It has squares woven into it which turned out to be the perfect size for these charts. Anyone recognize it?

Hopefully I'll have more progress to post tomorrow! Happy stitching, everyone!

Woke up to more snow this morning. I take it this doesn't stop until March? April? (May???) I am slowly learning the in's and out's of snow removal! (While trying not to think about how it's still in the 70s back in Texas!)

We made a trip up to Kalamazoo today for some "big city" shopping. Turtlenecks, coats, and snow boots for everyone! Woohoo! I also made a stay-in-the-car-I'll-only-be-a-minute stop at Distinctive Stitches to pick up a few goodies. I got a few overdyed threads that I need for my Monthly Manias, and two of the Dickens' Mittens charts that I wanted. I'll pick up the one they were sold out of when their next order comes in. I also got Lizzie Kate's Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle and the JABC buttons to go with it. I'm hoping to use that phrase at least once this Christmas season!

Anyhoo, this girl is plum tuckered! We're having baked potatoes and leftover chili for dinner, and then it's stitchin' time!

Hope you all had a great day!

Go Ahead and Laugh!

I put the last stitch in Laugh last night. Did this one go fast or what? Only Create and Live to go now! Woohoo!

Next on my To Do list is my Monthly Manias that I have been working on forever! I have November and December left to do, plus finishing up October. I am heading up to my not-so-local LNS tomorrow to stock up on the thread I need. I ran out of WDW Sweet Potato while working on October, and haven't found a good match for it yet. The shop ordered more for me so we'll see if those are any better. Fingers crossed so I don't have to rip out an entire pumpkin!

It's been snowing all day here and there's probably a good 4-5 inches on the ground. I can see that I'm going to need a pair of snow boots before long!

Hope everyone is staying warm and dry tonight!

Oh No! Snow!

My daughter's commentary on this morning's weather:

A Progress Pic and a Quote

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's SAT Night!

I'm going to continue working on my Lizzie Kate piece during tonight's Stitch-a-Thon. Next up is "Laugh" and it looks like it'll stitch up pretty quick. (I hope!)

Here's a (wrinkly) photo of how it looks so far: I had to stand on a chair to fit it all in! It's sooo looong!

Easy as Pie!

I was going to show you the apple crisp I made for tonight's dessert but every picture I took had that 70s "Harvest Gold" kind of tint to it. It was quite delicious, however, so I will share the link to the recipe I used. It's an Everyday Food recipe from Martha Stewart, and you can check it out here.

My other source of inspiration was this video from StartCooking.com:

Such an easy dessert to throw together, and it really was yummy. Using the MS recipe with the oatmeal in the topping made me feel like I was eating something good for me, too! Not to mention the house smelled DEVINE!

Time for a Happy Dance!

Woohoo! Here's Encourage, hot off the Q-Snaps! It didn't take too long to finish it up. Next on the list is Laugh.

Now I hear that Lizzie Kate will be doing a Halloween Double Flip series next year! I can't wait to see them!

Thank you for your good wishes for Spitz! He continues to improve and is acting more and more like his old self! He sends kitty kisses to everyone!

Miracle of Miracles

Look who's home!

My baby Spitz!

He went from kidney failure to having difficulty breathing, but I told the vet we weren't going to give up on him. We visited him at the animal hospital like you would any family member, and held him and loved on him and talked to him and told him we wanted him home. And here he is! Very thin and still weak, but he's eating and drinking again and hopefully he'll be back to his old self soon.

What's on your Google Reader?

One of my favorite non-stitchy blogs is Cake Wrecks.

You'll see a lot of this:

But there's also some pretty amazing ones, like this: It's a Corpse Bride wedding cake! How cool is that?

Weekend Stitching

Yep, that's it. The only stitching I did this weekend was N-C-O-U-R-A and part of G. A little disappointing, but then this was one of those weekends I felt like I was being pulled in a hundred different directions. When I did have some time to myself, I just wanted to VEG! I'm sure you all know how that is!

Our snow flurries continue, and it's even sticking here and there! I got my daughter an ice scraper for her car when I ventured out for 'provisions' today. I know she'll be thrilled, haha!

We've had one of our kitties (Spitz) at the vet over the weekend, being treated for kidney failure. Poor little guy is so sick but we are still hoping and praying for the best. Any happy thoughts/prayers you could send his way would be much appreciated!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thank you so much for the comments on my "view"! I really can't wait to have our house done so I can sit and stare out the window at the water!

Baby It's Cold Outside

We had our first snow today. Nothing major, and it didn't stick, but it was still exciting for us southerners to see some "white stuff" falling from the sky. Now, was I inside all warm and cozy, tucked into my chair with a hot cup of coffee and my cross stitch? Of course not! I was outside lugging these things around:
(This picture was taken back when it was a steamy 71 degrees outside!)

Those are our floor trusses, and we have about forty some odd of these to nail in place. Let me tell you, they are HEAVY! Fortunately, we had some help moving them. Unfortunately, the gorgeous weather we had earlier this week didn't hold out until the weekend.

Here's a list of what I was wearing but any northerners have to promise not to laugh! From bottom to top: two pairs of socks, tennis shoes, jeans, long sleeved t-shirt, sweat shirt, fleece jacket, coat, gloves, work gloves, two scarves, and a hat. I think that's all. I told everyone I'd almost be comfortable if I had a pair of long johns on under my jeans.

Okay, fine! You can laugh now!

Stitch-a-Thon Tonight!

Woohoo! Tonight is the weekly Stitch-a-Thon for the Let's Stitch blog. I so look forward to Friday nights! I will be working on Encourage from the Lizzie Kate Double Flip series.
(I made a tiny start on it just so there'd be something to take a picture of!)
I'm still hoping to get all twelve of these done by the end of the year. Only four more to go!

Becky has had such an overwhelming response to the Let's Stitch blog that she has started a second one called Let's Stitch TOO! Head on over if you're interested in joining the fun!

A Room With A View

Here is what I will see when I look out the window of my future stitching room. It's a little barren this time of year, but I know I'll enjoy watching the seasons change. Now, if only we could get the darn house built!

Too tired...

...to post, so here's a pretty picture instead.
My son took a bunch of pictures out at the lake yesterday and this one was my favorite.

It's been absolutely gorgeous here the last few days, but I think I'm suffering from too much fresh air! Early bedtime tonight, for certain!

Who Will Win?

Polls are closing and the votes are being counted! Who will be our next president?

We were lucky here and only had to wait a minute or two to vote this morning. And I have to admit, I got a bit misty watching my son and daughter vote for the very first time. Not quite like the first day of school, but still a milestone for them. Daughter got a hug and son got a pat on the back. Mom got two pairs of eyes rolled at her!

Off to watch CNN!

Some Enabling

What would a stitchy blog be without a little enabling now and then? This is courtesy of my House of Stitches newsletter so maybe I'm just enabling by proxy?

A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite books. I read it every year at Christmas time, aloud to anyone who cares to listen. (I also make sure we watch The Muppets Christmas Carol every year, because Kermit as Bob Cratchit is just too perfect!) So today I learned The Cricket Collection has designed a set of mitten ornaments, one for each of the main characters! Dickens' Mittens, Chapter OneDickens' Mittens, Chapter TwoDickens' Mittens, The Last Word
We have Scrooge, Marley, and Kermit... I mean Bob... and all three of the Christmas ghosts! Last but not least is Tiny Tim's mitten! God bless me! I need these charts!

November Goals

November Goals:

1. Start & finish Encourage (LK Double Flip)
2. Start & finish Laugh (LK Double Flip)
3. Start & finish November Monthly Mania (Heart in Hand)
4. Finish October Monthly Mania (waiting for thread)
5. Finish Into the Night (Shepherd's Bush kit)
6. Continue to work on VoHRH on Tuesdays

I got behind with my Lizzie Kate Double Flips so I'll be trying to catch up. I'm still aiming to finish all 12 by the end of the year. The Montly Manias are a project I started back in 2000. It was my first "one-a-month" type project, but I lost interest in it (surprise!) and never finished. With only 2.25 months left to stitch, this is the year I get 'er done! (Really!) Into the Night has been such a fun stitch, I can't imagine not finishing it soon. And VoHRH... oy! That one will be listed in my goals for the rest of my stitching life!

Now can someone please tell me why, with an extra hour in the day due to "falling back", I still feel like I'm running behind??

It's that time of year again!

Time for National Blog Posting Month! Yep! Once again I will be attempting to post every single day for the month of November! This will be quite a challenge for someone who has become a once-a-weeker at best! So every day I will be stretching my wee brain, trying to come up with something blogworthy. My goal is to come out the other side a better blogger, and be able to yell YATTA! I DID IT!

A gypsy fire is on the hearth!

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Check out Tales of the Burbs for what has to be the funniest Halloween project I've ever seen!

Progress Pics

First we have my Village of Hawk Run Hollow. This has become my regular Tuesday project. I would like to at least get this one block done before having to resort to teaching my daughter to stitch in the hopes that this project is completed before I expire. Then we have Into the Night. My little sheep is no longer invisible but you may still have to squint to see him. He's a bit of a camo-sheep, blending in with the fabric. He'll need some reflective tape stuck to his little mutton butt if he's planning on going out trick or treating.

And in other news: This goober......is back from his tour in Korea! I wish I could have been in El Paso to welcome him home. He's going to try to take some leave at Christmas so hopefully we'll get to see him in a couple of months. I talked to him on the phone earrrrrrrrly Tuesday morning and he told me the first thing he was going to do was get something to eat at Sonic!

That's my boy!

Oh Happy Day!

Sonic drive-in restaurant to open in Portage by Christmas

My prayers have been answered!

Stitchy Progress Report

I've been working on Into the Night from Shepherd's Bush. I still don't think I have my green and orange threads sorted right, but I'll just make adjustments as I go along. My moon was waaay orange, so I ripped it out and used another color and I think it's much better now. I'm almost done with the sheep's cape, which is more like a 'cloak of invisibility' at the moment!
Sheep?? What sheep??
I hope everyone had a splendid weekend! The weather here in SW Michigan has been phenomenal, with sunny skies and temps in the low 80s. We're back to Fall tomorrow!

Thank you for the comments on Hocus Pocus! That green linen is such a kick!

Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus by Lizzie Kate
stitched with Weeks Dye Works on 30-count Guacamole linen
I love the fun colors used for this design! I'll have to look for another project I can use my leftover linen for. I can't let that fabulous green go to waste!

Tonight is my Stitch-a-Thon night but we're going out to dinner with friends so I won't get as much stitching time in. I wasn't thinking when I said Friday night was fine with me, LOL! I have Into the Night from Shepherd's Bush all ready to go so maybe I can get it started before we go out. (I'll be the one with orts clinging to her clothes!)

Chick Flicks & Bricks

Been meaning to post a picture of how VoHRH is coming along. This is my progress after last Friday's Stitch-a-Thon. You can see how it looked a couple of weeks ago in my last post. It's really starting to look more like a house with all those bricks done. Maybe the roof won't come crashing down now!

I really enjoy the Friday night SAT's. At 6:00 the stitching comes out and everything else goes on hold. I change into some comfy clothes, pour myself a Pepsi, pop a movie like Legally Blonde into the DVD player, and spend several guilt-free hours doing what I love!

Let's Stitch!

Sweet Becky has started a blog called Let's Stitch for those of us who are looking for some extra support and encouragement in our stitching endeavors. Right away, I knew I had to join! It's not often that I get in a stitching slump but I have been ignoring certain WIPs and UFOs. You know, the ones we call BAPs? (Heck, these days anything bigger than 3"x3" is a BAP for me!!)

So, tomorrow a group of us Let's Stitchers are having a Stitch-A-Thon. I will be working on my VoHRH, which I haven't touched since our move. Isn't that sad? Here is my "before" picture:

By tomorrow night I'm hoping to have made some noticible progress! Be sure to check out the Let's Stitch blog! If you're interested in joining us, there's still room for more!

It's Fall!

Long time, no blog! But I have been doing a little stitching and I have a fall finish to share!
Fall Squared
by Lizzie Kate
stitched with WDW on 28-ct. gingham linen in straw/natural

This little cutie stitched up so fast, even for me! I did substitute a different color thread for the lines in the pumpkins. They aren't showing up as well as I had hoped so as soon as I find my WDW Brick (I know you're out there somewhere!) I'll be doing a little re-stitching.

I'm off to get my hair cut! Cross your fingers I don't end up with something three inches shorter than I'd planned!

Sharing Some Bloggy Love

Lelia at Stitches of Life has passed the "I Love Your Blog" award on to me. Thank you, Lelia! You made my day extra special!

The rules of the award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

I enjoy reading each and every blog on my list, so it's hard to choose only seven to pass the award on to! I figured I'd try to spread the love to a few folks who may not have received this award yet...

Be Happy
Blacksheep's Bit of the Web
Crafter's Creations
Daisy Girl Stitching
Pumpkin Patch & Co.
Stitchful Thinking
The Musing Badger

Thank you all for taking the time to share your lives and lovely stitching with us!

Little By Little

I've made a bit more progress on my Happy Home Sampler. I finally finished the alphabet! That in itself was almost worthy of a happy dance, LOL! I wasn't too keen on backstitching the verse just yet, so I worked my way down to the little house. After that alphabet, I was ready for some big blocks of stitching without all the color changes!

My darling daughter will be house-sitting for friends of ours over the next week. The lucky duck will have access to a washer and dryer you don't have to plunk a dozen quarters into before it will turn on. Think it will be too obvious if I go to check up on her and I just happen to have a basket of dirty laundry with me?

Stashy Goodness

What a fabbity fab day it was yesterday! House of Stitches was having it's 2nd Annual Stash Exchange, so I bribed my kids with a side trip to South Bend for some much missed Sonic Burgers, and off we went to La Porte, IN. Hey, it's only 80 miles! That's nothing when stash is involved!

We ended up arriving an hour early due to this little thing called time zones. D'oh! I scratched my head and did the whole "I thought there'd be more people..." thing before I realized what had happened! So we puttered up and down the streets a bit, checking out greater metropolitan La Porte, before heading back to the shop. (P.S. La Porte does not have a Starbucks... pout!)

Woohoo! Stash time! Coni, the Spinster Stitcher and her sister, Chrissy, were there at the admission table. It's such a treat to meet fellow stitchy bloggers in person! Coni was working on her Joyful Summer sampler... sooooo pretty! I wish I'd brought my camera!

Here's a quick pic of the goodies I picked up at the stash exchange. Amazing deals on everything! Most of the little charts were between 25-50 cents each! If you ever have the chance to go to an event like this... DO IT!

I couldn't leave without popping into the shop... right? Of course right! After seeing Coni's Joyful Summer, I knew I had to get it, plus a few other little things I've had on my wish list for a while.
I totally splurged and got all six of the LHN Sweet Treats charts, plus some new Lizzie Kate's. I'm regretting not picking up the guacamole linen for the LK Hocus Pocus chart. It's such a wonderful Halloweeny-green! Reminds me of Frankenstein!

No other stitchy news. We've spent the last week cleaning up out at our little demolition project. I've picked up more wood, glass, plaster, shingles, bricks, and chunks of concrete! And let me tell you, it gets HOT down in a basement when there's no house over it! We're hoping to get our floor trusses ordered on Monday, and start some actual building soon!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I'd love to say I'm off to stitch but I think we're working on sill plates today.... sob!

Now you see it...

Now you don't...


R.I.P. 10410 Harwood Lake!

Happy Home Progress

I didn't end up having as much time to stitch as I would have liked on Thursday. Isn't that always how it goes? I did make a little progress on my Happy Home Sampler, working on the alphabet some more and starting the green vine below it.

It's prettier in real life! I swear!

My week has gotten off to a slow start due to a headache and overall cruddy feeling. I think I just wore myself out over the weekend. I need to not do that, LOL!

We are planning on going to the local county fair sometime this week, probably tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to seeing what's been entered in the cross stitch category of the home arts competition! Then there's a flea market I want to visit on Sunday. Should be fun!

We've been meeting with builders and contractors concerning our next steps with the house at the lake. Our plan was to leave the existing house standing (making it a huge remodeling project) and build an addition onto it. Turns out the structure isn't as sound as we thought it was and it's been recommended by several people that we just tear it down and start fresh. We got some quotes, mulled over our options, and made the decision to go ahead with the demolition. The crew we hired said they could probably get to it next week, so sometime soon we need to get over there and rescue anything we want to keep!

I'm going to have some amazing before and after pictures next week, haha!

This & That

I've been working on the Fixer-Upper almost every day, but I did find a little time to stitch and made some progress on Spring Has Come by Prairie Schooler.I'm really feeling the need for a stitchy break! We're planning to grill hamburgers out at the lake for dinner tomorrow night so maybe I'll just take the whole day off!

Because I've been working so hard at the house, I treated myself to a Vera Bradley laptop case. This color (Mesa Red) is being retired so the case was 25% off. Gotta love a sale!
You wouldn't believe the HUGE box this was shipped in! I was hoping I'd won some secret Vera Bradley lottery, but nope, just the one bag. Drats!

We've been finding odd things in the house as we're tearing it apart. This envelope fell out of the bathroom cabinet when we tore it down...It says it's made of real human hair. Now isn't that just creepy? And no, I haven't opened the envelope to take a look!
We found this in the kitchen...Quite dirty, but way less creepy than the hair net, IMO! It reads: These coupons can be exchanged for handsome imported China premiums like samples on exhibition. Think it's still valid? Should I go get my china?

Hope everyone is having a great week and finding plenty of time to stitch!