STITCHING WITH IRIS

This is a picture of the snowman we have on our front porch. He is covered in real snow. The white spots are snow hitting the lens of the camera.

It is a winter wonderland outside. I am so happy I have no need to go out for the next couple of days. I'll try to take more pictures tomorrow.

My friend Sue came from Virginia a week ago and stayed until yesterday. I miss her. She drove me crazy while she was here with her mess but now that she is gone I miss her. We had dinner out last Saturday night and then came back home and Bob built a fire and we exchanged Christmas presents. Since I had Friday and Monday off work we got to spend time together. Friday we went to Lancaster for the day and then Monday we met Joanne and Grace for lunch and then spent a couple of hours at the new Wegmans. They were both fun days.

I have tomorrow and Monday off again this week. Tomorrow Bob and I are suppose go go get our tree. I went past several places on my way to work this morning and it looks like the pickings are very slim. I will be so mad if we can't get anything. I have to get blood work done at 7:30 and I sure hope my blood glouse level has come down. I am tired of this 1200 calorie a day diet. Then at 10:30 I have an appointment for an eye exam. Can't order my glasses until after the 21st but at least the exam will be done.

We may be having our 1st major snow storm on Saturday. It just depends on the track of the storm. Just hope it doesn't come until later in the day.

It is unbelievable there are only 7, yes count them, 7 days until Christmas. I have to spend a part of my day on Monday wrapping presents.

I am going to go stitch and watch This Old House. I am working on Merry Christmas by the Letters by Lizzie Kate. I am just on the 1st block so I have a long way to go. I love stitching these Lizzie Kate designs. I need to take some time this weekend and zigzag around my fabric so it doesn't fray.

Later

This is a tree ornament that I stitched this summer and just finished this morning.

Here is Waxing Moon Hitchin' a ride back from the framer. Love it. lol

I have been busy gtting ready for Christmas. The inside of my house is all decorated except for the Christmas Tree. We won't put that up until December 18th. I think it looks nice.

I have been stitching just haven't finished anything. I have the stitching all done on The Button Tree by Drawn Thread but am waiting on some buttons from some of the people on KYKS. I have Mill Hill Jingle almost finished. Just a few more stitches and then I have to ask Bob to cut it out for me so I can sew the bell on it. I am also working on a San Man Original from the borad. It is called Itty Bitty Star. It is cute but there are lots of 1/4 stitches and since I am stitching it on Aida it makes it a little harder for me to stitch but I am almost finished with that. I guess you could say I have several almost finishes. lol

Sue arrived today and will be here until next Wednesday. A bone of contention with Bob. He will just have to get over it. We are going to Cab Fry's on Saturday night for dinner and then when we get home Bob will build a fire and we will exchange Christmas gifts. I have Friday off so Sue and I are going to Lancaster. She saw an outfit there in October that she really liked so she wants to see if they still have it.

I finished this last night. It is stitched on 14 Count Ivory Aida. If I ever stitch another one of these I will either use 3 strands of floss or stitch on 16 or 18 ct Aida. I wasn't completed satisfied with the floss coverage on this. I haven't even pressed it yet. I am thinking of making it into a no sew cube and then giving it to Kathy. She brought me a Penn State sweatshirt on Thanksgiving that I asked her to get for me and then wouldn't let me pay for it.

I can't believe it is less then a month until Christmas. I still have to get a gift card for Rich and a few odds and ends for Sue's stocking and some things for Bob. I did pick up a stamped cross stitch kit at AC Moore's for Sue this morning. She said at the shore this summer she would like to try to get back into stitching again. We shall see.

Thanksgiving turned out well although CJ didn't show up and didn't let us know she wasn't coming. Bob was a little upset that she didn't take the time to let us know she wasn't coming. I wasn't happy but there would have been plenty of food so what difference did it make as it would have been only 2 more people. It just hurts sometimes that she doesn't care on bit about her family. I guess I just need to keep telling myself "Don't sweat the small stuff".

Hugs and stay well.

WWI P38 Lightning This looks so much better in person. I was going to keep it and give it to Bob for Christmas but I couldn't wait so I gave it to him this afternoon as a Thanksgiving gift.

Why don't I have any energy at all? It is the beginning of November and with the holidays coming I just can't feel like this. All I want to do is sit and vegetate. I don't seem to have any interest in anything. I wonder if part of the problem is this 1200 calorie a day diet I am on. I can't believe that I have lost 4 pounds in the 1st week although losing weight isn't the goal. The goal is to get my blood glucose level down in the next 2 months. How long will it take for me to adjust to eating less? Wish I had the answers to these questions. I am trying hard, keeping a food diary but it is so hard. I want a candy bar or something chocolate. Someone told me to buy the mini candy bars and treat myself once a week. The problem with that is I would sit and eat the whole bag in a couple of days. Why is life so hard?

The workday is almost over. Can I make this for another 14 months. I just pray the next 14 months goes fast, fast, fast.

I am almost finished the cross stitching on the Mill Hill Christmas ornament I am stitching in the morning before I leave the house for work. Then I will have the beading to do. I am going to make Mill Hill ornaments for the greats for Christmas 2010. I have one stitched and Jingle should be finished by the end of November. Then only 4 more to go. Nothing like planning ahead. I still have to finish the ornaments for this year. I need to put the hangers on them. I bought some buttons a couple of weeks ago and now I can't find them.

The end for now.

I got the results of my blood work last week and the doctor suggested I go on a 1200 calorie a day diet. My blood glucose level is high. I have been doing it for a couple of days but today was the 1st day I honestly counted the calories. I ate 1177 calories today and I am hungry. I may have to eat a couple of carrots later tonight. I wonder how long I can sustain this. One good thing if I can stick to it I should lose some weight. I have to get blood work done again in 2 months. What a lousy time to have to do this with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. Oh well once I get use to it I should do OK.

Hot off the needle. I just finished this. I think it is adorable, if I must say so myself.

Now on to the next project.

Good Night

Here is my progress as of last night on Hitchin A Ride. I have about 8 more snow flakes some back stitching, beads and light buttons and it will be finished. I changed the color on the reindeer, I just didn't like the color called for in the chart. It was the same color as Santa's bag in the sleigh. I think the color I used is much better.

Sue left for home this morning after I left for work. She called me about 4:00 to tell me she was almost home but was stuck in traffic.

On my way to work this morning I had a little accident. I hit a trash can and broke the mirror on the passenger side of the car. I was trying to avoid a truck and hit a trash can and somehow a handle to a broom or garden tool swung around and broke the mirror. I thought it was just the glass in the mirror but it was the entire mirror. Took it for an estimate after work today and it will cost about $140.00 to get fixed. If he gets the part in by Saturday he will replace the mirror on Saturday for me.

I went to the dentist yesterday to have a crown replaced. Once the dentist removed the old crown and started cleaning the tooth out he found it was a lot worse than he expected. I have to either have a root canal and part of my gum removed or I have to have the tooth extracted. Last night I was leaning towards the root canal. Today I am leaning towards the extraction. He said there was no guarantee that if I had the root canal and the gum surgery that the tooth wouldn't further decay and I would have to have it removed. My insurance won't cover the root canal and gum removal and it will be very expensive. I don't want to spend all that money just to have the tooth extracted in the future. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

The Phillies beat the Rockies yesterday. Go Phillies. Now they play the Dogers starting on Thursday.

I have been stitching every night on Hitchin A Ride. Last night I finished the 1st reindeer. I changed the floss color of the reindeer as I didn't like the floss the chart called for. It was a gray/green. Not the color I picture reindeer as being.

Well back to work.

Have a wonderful day and May God Bless

Here is an up-to-date picture of Hitchin A Ride. I am very happy with my progress. Tonight I will start one of the reindeer. This is going to look so cute when it is finished.

Today B and I went to Best Buy and ordered a 50" plasma flat screen TV. It will be delivered on October 24th. I can't wait to watch a football game in high def. We just have to find a stand to put it on.

We bought some mums and pumpkins to decorate the outside of the garage. They look pretty sitting there on either side of the door. I will try to take some pictures tomorrow.

Sue is coming up from Virginia on Thursday. On Saturday Barb, Shirley, Sue and I are going to Lancaster for our annual Christmas shopping trip. I don't think we really do much Christmas shopping anymore. I am hoping to get something for Barbara as I have no ideas for her at all. We are going to the Dutch Apple Theater for dinner and a show. We went there several years ago and really enjoyed it. The show we are seeing is "Smoke on the Mountain". Hope it is good.

Can you believe the Phillie's playoff game tonight, which is in Colorado, has been postponed due to snow. Yes Denver is having snow tonight. Doesn't make sense to me, the 2 games in Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday were in the afternoon and it was beautiful here and the weather at night would have been good for baseball. They go to Colorado and schedule 2 night games when it is only common sense to think the weather could be bad at this time of year. The forecast for the beginning of the game had been 29 degrees and snow showers. I saw earlier they are now expecting a lot more than snow showers. Oh well they didn't ask me. lol

Penn State won handily today over East Illinois. Go Penn State.

I finished reading "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown this afternoon. It was really good.

This WIP is Hitchin A Ride by Waxing Moon. I love, love, love it. I am stitching it on Dyeing4U 14 Count Aida Winter Blues Opalescent. You can't really see the sparkle in this picture but it sure looks good in person. I so wish I had gotten other fabric from them before they went out of business. I really like stitching on this fabric and it is so heavy. It is great.

I was hoping to have a couple of no sew cubes finished to post but I haven't finished them yet. I did start putting the finishing touches on some Christmas ornaments yesterday but they aren't ready to be posted yet either. I just can't seem to completely finish anything this weekend.

I am currently reading Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. It isn't as good as The Divinci Code or Angels & Demons but it is sure suspenseful. I really only read at lunch time here at work so it takes me a long time to read a book. Reading is one of the things I hope to do a lot more of when I retire.

I had my annual physical this morning and my doctor is going to enter me in the Penn Relay's 100 yard dash in the year 2047. I will be 100 years old and he expects me to live that long. He wishes all his patients were as healthy as I am. I asked about a flu shot but they don't have much serum yet. I will call the middle to late next week and see if they have gotten more. He also highly suggested I get a Swine Flu shot at the same time. I now have to go for blood work and a mammogram. I should call and schedule the mammo but I have time since I can't get one until the middle of November.

Bob's meeting with his supervisor was a bust yesterday. She really doesn't know if the other NH supervisor is really leaving. She overheard something and is reading tea leaves. Bob said she was kind of surprised that he would be interested. She said if the other sup does retire it probably won't be until the end of this year or spring of 2010. I hope she does retire because I would like Bob to get this promotion for the last 4+ years he has until he retires. It would really help the amount of both his pension and SS checks.

I finished the sleigh and the blanket or lining of the sleigh on Hitchin A Ride last night. I think it is going to be so cute. I have so many other things to stitch I wish I could figure out why I picked this up at this time. Oh well it was calling to me. I actually have a sweatshirt I would like to be stitching. Maybe after I get Hitching A Ride finished. The sweatshirt is a Christmas design that says HO HO HO. I started that several years ago and but it aside. It is also calling to me. Maybe these two are calling me because it is getting closer and closer to Christmas.

I am rambling again. I read on a cross stitch board the other day that blogs are boring. Who whats to read about other peoples mundane life. I don't write this blog for other people, I write it for me and if other people are interested in my mundane life that is just wondeerful.

Well actually it is a UFO that I had started several years ago. I put about 10 stitches in it and then stopped. It is Hitchin A Ride by Waxing Moon. When I started it before I just couldn't figure out where to start. I pulled it out of my work basket on Sunday night, frogged out the stitches I had done and started over. It is coming along rather well now. The only thing is it uses 3 strands of floss and I am just not use to stitching with 3 strands. I also started a Mill Hill Christmas ornament "Jingle" which I stitch in the mornings before I leave for work. I am going to do the greats Mill Hill ornaments for Christmas 2010. I will try and post a picture of my progress on Hitchin A Ride this weekend.

Saturday Shirl and I went up to Barbs for the weekend. We went and saw the house we grew up in. It was recently bought by a Colonel and completely remodeled. It is probably 3 times the size it was when we lived there. I don't know why anyone would buy a home out in the middle of nowhere like that is. After that we went to the cemetery to visit Mom & Dad's graves. Did a little weeding there. Then we stopped for pork barbecue sandwiches for lunch and went to Dundee Gardens as Shirley was looking for something for her yard for Halloween. She didn't find what she wanted but I bought a new Vera Bradley purse. Yea I know I need another purse like I need a hole in my head. She did find a Halloween ornament at a little garden center on our way back to Barb's. We picked up Hannah who was staying at Barb's since her parents were at the Penn State game. What a horrible game. Can you guess they lost and it poured the entire game. Shirley and I left Barbs on Sunday morning for home. Nice weekend.

Bob got an e-mail from his supervisor yesterday saying that the other NH supervisor was going to be leaving and would he please consider applying for the position. He is having a meeting with his supervisor as I write this so I am just waiting to hear from him. I guess he is going to apply for the position as it will give him more money in his retirement check. He is only planning on staying there for a under 5 years so that should be doable.

I am hoping to get some time to start assembling the Christmas ornaments for the Greats this weekend. I also want to put my Halloween no sew cube together. I also want to stitch it again and give one to Sue. I am going to stitch Sue's using DMC floss like I did Barb's. BTW Shirley and Barb both loved the no sew cubes I did for them. I used the over dyed floss for my Halloween Flip It and I don't like it as well as I liked the one I did for Shirley.

OK enough of this rambling. I need to get back to work.

Sue left for home this morning. We both cried when we hugged goodbye as I left for work. I miss her not being around all the time. I am back to work. Yesterday one of my bosses told me they haven't forgotten my 10 year anniversary, they have just been to busy to make any arrangements to take me out. When I told Bob that last night he yelled at me that I should tell them to forget taking me out just give me a raise. I can't do that. It just isn't in my nature. I figure if they want to give me a raise they will.

I finished stitching the Lizzie Kate Halloween Flip It on Sunday. I am going to make it into a no-sew cube. I think I am going to stitch it again and finish it into another no-sew cube and send it to Sue. She appreciates my stitching as she knows how much work goes into needlework. Can you believe I don't have anything else kitted up to stitch at this time. I will have to work on that tonight. Should I stitch the Halloween Flip It right away or do something else. I need to stitch another Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle as both Shirley and Barbara want a no-sew cube of that.

Last night Barb called me to tell me that her SIL Lois has cancer. Can you believe the Doctor told her this over the phone. Why didn't he call her into his office to give her such horrible news. I just don't get it.

I am currently reading a really good book. It is Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. So far I am really enjoying it.

This is Midnight Stitching Snowman's Quaker Christmas. This is a freebie that I got off the Web. I finished the stitching this past week while Sue and I were at rainy Cape May, NJ for a vacation and just finished making it into an ornament. I am going to give it to Sue as she just loves snowmen. As for our vacation, we never got to touch the beach as the weather was just miserable. I think the only sun we had was Friday morning and then for only an hour or 2. We actually had a tornado warning one evening. Luckily it was only a warning. We spent lots of time reading and stitching for me and Sue did lots of SUDOKU. We did visit the Cape May County Zoo which is a nice little zoo and we also took several tours of Cape May. One being a Ghost Tour and we did a Mansion Tour. We also took a horse and carriage ride on Friday night. We also had some good meals and to me that is a very important part of any vacation. Sue will be here until Tuesday morning when she heads back home. I have been feeling really miserable today. My stomach is really upset and I just feel kind of blah. It was relaxing but now tomorrow it is back to reality and work. Oh well every day I work is a day closer to retirement.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you like my ornament.

I took the P38 to get framed on Saturday. Going into the shop I had intended to pick out a navy blue frame. I ended up picking a gray frame. When Carolyn put the gray on the corner the whole picture just popped.

I finished the cross stitching on the Boo Club on Friday. Started sewing the buttons on and lost one of the black buttons for Treat. I can't find it anywhere. I think maybe I threw it in the kitchen trash can. So this morning I emailed Lizzie Kate to ask where I could get another one. I will post a picture one night this week even if I don't get all the buttons sewed on by then. I stated Lizzie Kate's Halloween Flip It and a Quaker Snowman Ornament. I will probably take both of these projects to Cape May with me next Monday.

Susan will arrive on Thursday sometime. I can't wait for the week to be over so I can spend next week relaxing on the beach. Saturday night I invited Joann and Grace to come for dinner. Poor Bob is going to be outnumbered - 4 women and him.

Well I think that is all for now.

The stitching is finished on the Classic WWII P38 Lightning. It just took me about 30 minutes to finish this. I have been putting it off because I thought it was going to be really difficult and it was simple to finish it up. Hopefully next Saturday I can take it to Just Cross Stitch and pick out a frame for it. I am hoping she has something in a dark blue as the walls in the airplane are a sky blue. When I showed it to Bob a few minutes ago he said the fabric was pretty enough without all the stitching I have done. This is stitched on 14 count Blue Dynasty Aida from Silkweaver's. It is beautiful fabric and so easy to stitch on. Thank goodness it was so soft otherwise the quarter and half stitches would have been impossible. i am going to have to get some more for me to stitch something other than an airplane.

I am so tired of this hot and humid weather we have been having. I really shouldn't complain this is the 1st heat wave we have had all summer. My right foot and ankle hurt so bad because of the humidity and I try not to complain about it to Bob. It is so frustrating. I wish I could get use to the pain and you would think I would be use to it since 1984 but I'm not. Every time I have sneakers on my foot feels like it is swelling in them an it drives me crazy. Summer in southeast PA is not always pleasant.

Bob is so frustrated at work that he is miserable at home. Last night my friend called from Virginia and I was talking to her in the family room. I had asked him when she first called if he would like me to go out of the room so he could watch TV. "No it won't disturb me" About 20 minutes later he screamed at me to get out of the room as I was disturbing him. Well excuse me but don't I live there too. I finished the conversation in my office, put the phone back in the family room and went upstairs. Watched the last couple of innings of the Phillies and then I went to bed. Didn't even say good night to Mr. Miserable.

Just think in a few weeks Sue and I will be going to Cape May. We leave on Labor Day and will be there until Saturday. I can't wait. I need to get away from work, although it hasn't been that bad lately, and I need to get away from DH for a few days.

I am going to call Joann and Grace tonight and see if they would like to come for a cookout the Saturday before Labor Day. That way they will get to see Susan and me.

I guess I better get back to work. I just needed someone to complain to and unfortunately this is the only place I have to go to that won't upset anyone.

Lizzie Kate Boo Club. I only have 2 more charts and the bottom border to stitch. While I do like stitching on this one I would like to get it finished by Labor Day but I don't know if I will or not.

This is a picture of Catia Dias Patchwork sampler hanging in my office above the sewing machine cabinet. This is its new permanent home.