A big thank you to Thea!!

     And a big, fat hiss from Yes Dear, lol.  She was not a happy camper with me today.  I got her cat charm in the mail, and it's adorable!!!!!  I love it Thea, thanks so much.  I bought it for three pounds twenty five pence, which is less than five bucks, if my calculations are correct.  I did have to pay extra for shipping, but that's because I'm in the US and Thea is in the UK.  I sent her a message on her blog, where she showed a cat charm, and asked her if she would be willing to ship to the US if I paid her extra for it.  Turned out, she would be interested.  I asked for shades of purple and this is what she worked up for me. 
Here is a pic of YD modeling her new cat charm.  I held it up so she could sniff it first.  (I think Thea must have a cat or two, cause she was using her Jorgenson's Organ to smell it.)  Then I hooked it on her collar.  It was hard to do cause the clasp was almost too small.  I pulled my hand back and YD started looking all around for it.  Then she shook her head, and realized it was on her collar.  Freak out city!!!  She kept trying to pull it off.  It is very sturdy though, and withstood about ten minutes of her pulling and tugging on it.  Finally, she gave in and decided to wear it.  It was too cute.  She gave me this exasperated look, like, "Why do you do this to me?"  Please note, this is the only thing I've EVER hung on her collar.  She doesn't like wearing the collar, and she hates the harness even worse.  Poor thing, lol.  Anyways, she looks beautiful in it!
     I have a nice talk with Jules and with Rosa tonight.  Not together, none of us have three way calling.  Julie and I somehow (Don't ask me how, I do NOT know) got onto the topic of terrible porn movie names.  She used to work in a video shop with a back room for adults only.  She was telling me some of her faves, and we were both laughing about it.  The funniest was Shaving the One Eyed Snake.  I thought that was hilarious!!!  While I was talking, I got some done on my Midnight Hunting.  And then I realized...  I don't have a couple of the colors in it.  For tonight, I'm gonna skip that blend, but tomorrow, it's off to Hobby Lobby to pick it up.  And a couple of other skeins I need, if I have the moola.  We'll see what I have when I look in my wallet tomorrow.  I can't remember if I spent all my dollars or not.  I know I have some change though, enough to get the one skein I need if I don't have enough for the rest.  I HATE the end of the month.  I'm always so broke!!  Hope you're all doing well, and sleeping like babes!!

A giveaway!!

     I finally did it.  I reached a hundred followers, yay me!!  (I didn't think I was ever gonna get there, lol.  I was at ninety nine for days and days.)  Anyways, now that I am, I am having a giveaway!!!  It's gonna be winner's choice.  You can have any HAED chart you want (two if they're cheap) or a $20 gc to 123stitch.com.  I'm opening this giveaway to everyone here and on my Multiply site (I have to give them a chance too!!) and I will pick a winner next Sunday (I don't know what the date will be, as I don't have my calendar right here.  But eight days from now, ladies and gents) or actually, I'll write down all the entries and have YD pick the winner as she loves to play with the little slips of paper!!  I wish you all good luck!!

     Also, I got some stitching time tonight on Midnight Hunting.  For some reason, it's not going as quickly as Astral Lion and Bubbles did.   I got in about twenty five hundred stitches on Bubbles, and about two thousand on Astral Lion in each of their respective two week periods.  I think I've got about two hundred and fifty stitches in on MH.  So I really need to get some more stitching time in.  Thanks to Julie and Aly and Bob, Peggy, Val, and Anita tonight.  I was in chat at 2muchXS (one of my Yahoo groups) and talking to Julie and Aly while I was stitching.  (And I talked to my mom on the phone for about fifteen minutes too.)  I seem to get lots done when I multitask, and the same ran true tonight!!!  Anyways, I'll make an effort to get more stitching time tomorrow!!!  Hope you're all having a good night!!!!!

A bit of this and that

     I'm so upset today.  I went out to get food, and I heard it on the radio.  I am soooooooooo not a happy camper.  The local radio had a major breaking news update in Bengaldom.  They traded Chad!!!  OMG, I'm so upset.  He has his faults, but he's my fave Bengal (or was, he's already in Foxboro, and REALLY, did they have to trade him to those who shall not be named?!?  I HATE them, so now I can't even wish him well, because I HATE them) and we really need that threat.  I mean, seriously, the almost always double team him.  Sometimes a linebacker and a corner, sometimes a corner and a safety.  He's dangerous as heck.  I just don't understand their thinking.  I know he makes a lot of money, but he puts a lot of butts in the seats.  And at some point, they got rid of Terrell Owens.  OMG, what do they expect us to do this year, throw to the offensive line?!?!?!  It's gonna be sooooooooooooooo f-ing ugly this year.  (Sorry for the language, but I feel very strongly about this.  Notice the angry red color, lol.)
     And Rosa started a website where she's selling things.  Some of them are wonderful.  She has things for women and men, so if you have the time, take a peek.  It's some really cool stuff.  Her site is www.rosasretail.com.  She'll eventually have some crafty things on there too, I think.  We'll have to see how it goes. 
     I worked on Midnight Hunting last night at mom's house.  It took me a while to get a stitch in, as I was too busy watching the beginning of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Mom had questions.  She hasn't read any of the books, and she's only seen a couple of the movies.  LOL, she kept calling Dumbledore Dumbledorf.  I kept saying, "No, no, NO, it's Dumbledore, O-R-E!!"  It was too funny.  And she kept asking, "Who's the redheaded kid?" meaning Ron.  But we enjoyed ourselves.  We had dinner and did some cleaning first, and of course we argued.  We always do, lol.  She wants me to be perfect, and I just have too much clutter.
     I'm waiting anxiously for Yes Dear's charm to arrive.  I can't wait to put it on her.  I'm not sure how well she'll tolerate it, but we'll see.  It's too cute, and it was only three pounds twenty five pence.  So we'll see if I can get a good pic of her in it.  She may not want me to take her pic (although usually as soon as I get it out, she's right in front of it).  Hopefully by the weekend, I'll have it.
     Sarah Beth has offered me her wolves chart when she's done with it.  I was happy about that as I don't have a wolves chart.  I can't remember the name of it, but it's beautiful.  I'll maybe have to find a space in my rotation for it.  Maybe.  IDK.  I've decided on what I'm gonna do with the seven deadly sins though.  I think.  I'm gonna start Envy, Vanity, and Lust (green, purple, and pinkish red) at the end of my rotation.  I decided on those three because I have currently got seventeen projects in my rotation, and that would even me out at twenty.  I thought I had eighteen, but I forgot that Jesus isn't in my rotation.  He's just my SAL on Sunday project.  So that way I'll have an even twenty.  Then, the first four projects I finish that are NOT in a series (i. e. Frederick the Literate is in the series of Charles Wysoki charts, or Midnight Hunting in the Days of Dragons series) I will add one of the sins in it's place.  Once I have all seven in play, then the next thing I finish, I'll just eliminate that space so there are nineteen items in my rotation.  And so on and so on...
     And I can't remember if I already said this, but Ylva has offered me her Siamese Cats chart, now that she's finished with it.  She'll send it sometime after she's moved, I'm sure.  I know she won't wanna worry about it before then.  So I have that coming in too.
     Also, a friend of mine is selling off all her stash.  I feel so bad for her.  Her grandma was an enabler, and bought her a lot of her stashy stuff.  When she died, all the stash got packed away for a year.  But it still makes her feel bad, so she gave her mom a bunch of it, and the rest is getting sold.  If you want to have a look, you can see it all here.  It's all going at bargain basement prices!!
     Last, but not least...  I had to frog.  It really wasn't my fault.  My mom has really weak lights in her living room, and I wasn't paying attention.  I pulled out the floss for the h symbol, and didn't realize it was a blend.  So I used two strands of the dark blue, and when I got in it today to get out a little bit more (I needed to do like four more stitches) I realized it was a blend of two colors that are very close together.  Navy blue and dark Navy blue.  So I had to frog lots of stitches (about sixty or so) and quite a few places I had to frog fractional stitches, which is always a pain.  I've put a pic of my progress here.  I did get it all restitched today, while the computer was updating itself.  (PITA)  Thanks for looking, and thanks for everyone who leaves a comment.  I love to know what y'all are thinking, about anything! 

Last Astral Lion update for the year

     I updated Astral Lion again.  It will be the last update for this year, if my calculations are correct.  I really am impressed with how much I got done on it.  More than half the current page, whoo hoo.  Progress is here, for those who want to see.  It was really fun working on this, even with all the yellow and brown.  (Usually, I HATE yellow and brown, but I just recently decided to do Avarice with the other deadly sins, as she is too pretty to skip.  And she's almost all yellow and brown.  Huh...)
     Anyways, today is Sunday, and as such, I worked on Jesus.  When I talked to mom, I told her I was working on Midnight Hunting (my next rotation piece, for tomorrow) because so far, I've kept the fact that I've been working on Jesus from her.  And speaking of Jesus, usually I call him cursed Jesus, as the project is cursed.  Today, I changed it though.  Today, he was creepy Jesus.  I put the eyes in, and boy did they look weird!!!  I'll take a pic at the end of the day, and hopefully, they'll look fairly normal by then.  I was quite peeved that there is a color in this chart which has one and a quarter stitches.  In the whole chart, people!!  I really could do without that color, ya know?  I bought a whole skein for one and a quarter stitches.  Geez, REALLY?!?  Crazy.  Anyways, when I finish up the last of Jesus, I'll upload a pic.  Probably tomorrow or Tuesday.
     I'm a little worried about Midnight Hunting frustrating the crap out of me.  It has a lot of fractional stitches, which make it really challenging.  I'm hoping it will be challenging in a good way, as I need to get some good progress in on it.  I've barely done anything but border!  So I need to get cranking on it.  Hopefully, it will go well for the next two weeks, and I'll have lots of progress to look back over.  It has a small spot, about half an inch from the border, where the needle I was using must have gotten wet.  It left a rust stain on it.  I'll try and get it out when I wash it at the end, but I think I'm just gonna have to mat close to the border on this one.
     I've spent some time talking to Rosa today.  She is doing all right.  She has to go to a funeral tomorrow, for a friend of hers.  I'm hoping it doesn't upset her, as she's still a bit fragile.  If you're so inclined, a few prayers would help.  TIA!
     And lastly, I got my exchange from Dawn Monday, and opened it Saturday.  It makes me glad I haven't sent mine yet, as she over bought, and I feel the need to compensate!!  Pics are uploaded here, if you want to see what she sent.  So now I have lots of crafty things to put away.  I love everything, and I"m so excited (especially about the floss).
    I've also got a heads up for some of you.  She's not for everybody, and there is a lot of bad language, but for those that don't mind, Jenny Lawson's blog is hilarious.  She just has a unique way of looking at the world.  You can see her blog at www.theblogess.com.  I find it sooooooooo funny.
     That's it for today.  Hope y'all had a good weekend!!

A short rant

     Where are our priorities these days?  I don't understand it.  I went to RR to see what's going on.  The top story there was Katy Perry and her awards nominations.  The second story was the terror attacks in Norway.  WTF people?!?!?  What is wrong with our society that this is acceptable???

I forgot to tell y'all...

     I knew there was something I forgot to tell y'all yesterday.  Well, technically, today.  I shot off an email to Michele Sayetta yesterday.  I had problems saving a copy of Wrath,  and so I had to email her when I purchased it.  I didn't stop to think to say it was large print.  So she sent me small.  So I requested the large print format this time.  And I wondered if I could pay the extra to update my copy of Avarice to large format.  (I don't have bad eyes, but I try not to strain them whenever I can, so I get large print charts when available.  And I get large print books when the library has them available too.  I need to baby them as much as possible so that I don't lose my eyesight as I age.  My readers multiply everything by four, and I wear them no matter what count I'm stitching on.  Fourteen or thirty two, it doesn't matter!!!)  Anyways, she sent back an email with BOTH charts attached, and basically said enjoy.  I have been so impressed with her.  She is always super fast, and she's soooooooooo nice!!  I've had to email her about six or seven times as my Vista and Adobe reader don't always play nice.  And she's always right on top of her email, and she's always as sweet as can be.  She's a wonderful lady!
     Also, I got a big box for my exchange this week.  On Monday, actually.  I haven't opened it up yet.  I want to add something else to my partner's box, but I don't know what to add!!!  There are all kinds of things in there already...  It's for the Spring into Summer exchange.  I was thinking maybe a fabby, but I don't know what colors she likes...

A middle of the night update

     Of course, do I post any other kind, lol.  It's now four forty five AM here, and I'm almost ready for bed.  I just had to show off my stitching from the last two days.  I got sooooooo much done yesterday, it was ridiculous!  You can see my update shot here. I did a super amount of stitches yesterday.  I have three shades of purple in the sky, and I had done the light purple and the dark purple.  So I'd check ahead the next twenty or so rows, to make sure there were no surprises, and then I didn't have to check the chart again for a long, long time.  It made the stitching go super fast!  I know I'm not gonna make a page finish by Saturday, but I've gotten a lot done, so I'm happy with it.
     The hospital Rosa was at is staffed by idiots.  When they got the cards, she was no longer there, so they just sent them all back.  If anyone sent a card, and doesn't mind slapping another stamp on it, just email me, and I'll give you the correct address.  My email is jnemitz@cinci.rr.com.  Thanks to all of you who tried, as I really appreciate the good wishes for her.  She was so depressed at having to be in the hospital.  I can understand this.  You don't feel well, you're in pain, docs and nurses are always wanting to take your vitals or ask you questions or something...  It's not a restful place at all.  So I'm happy she's home, but I wanted her to know that y'all cared enough to send a card.  I appreciate it, and she does too!!!
     I went over to mom's yesterday, which necessitated a trip to Radio Shack today.  We decided (I suggested, and she agreed) that we would start doing movie night on Wednesdays.  She rarely works them, and my cousin Beth isn't at home, so it's perfect.  I told her I would bring over the HP movies, and we'd watch them all in order.  She's only seen Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets!  So I went over, and her TV is only hooked up to the cable, not the VCR.  But I'm not a mild tech geek for nothing.  I thought I'd get a splitter and hook them both up.  At RS, they guys said an AV switch would be better.  (I didn't even know they still made them!!)  So I picked up a small bit of coaxial cable and an AV switch.  (It was fun to spend someone else's money for a change!  I'll hook it up next week and then we'll have Harry Potter night, lol.
     I feel like I"m leaving something out, but I can't figure out what.  I guess that's what happens when I'm tired.  Oh, I should say something about the Columbia House thing.  I ordered some movies the other day(maybe two and a half weeks ago).  I had some trouble with the website though.  I wanted to order White Noise, Let Me In, and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  It kept only putting two movies in my cart.  Finally, I got them all in there and checked out.  When I did my emails, they sent me two in process emails, with different movies listed.  They ended up charging me over by thirty eight dollars.  I was ticked.  So I emailed them to try and stop them from shipping both.  Of course, they couldn't.  So I got them both, and I opened one, and it had all three.  So I sent back the package with two.  But they only refunded me for thirty dollars and change.  I figure the difference is in the postage.  I went to their website, and contacted them.  I left them a strongly worded message that I expect my shipping costs to be refunded because I didn't place two orders, their website did.  They're lucky I didn't just notify PP that they didn't have my permission to debit my account.  So we'll see what happens.  I'll let you know if they credit me the rest, or if I have to take stronger measures.

A giveaway from Gabi

     And an awesome one.  Gabi is having a giveaway at Anita's Little Stitches ONS.  You may recognize the shop name as that's where I got my needles and scissors from.  She has a great shop, and Gabi and she are working together to give away a hundred dollar gift card.  Whoo hoo!  (Of course, I get another chance for posting this here!)  Wish me luck, and don't think you have to put your name in :p  JK, good luck ladies, in this awesome giveaway!!!  Oh, you can find Gabi's blog here!

I'm not that crazy

     Since I apparently worded it wrong, I'm gonna post this:  I'm not THAT crazy.  If I add in the seven deadly sins to my rotation, I'll have a rotation of twenty five projects, of which ten are HAEDs.  No way would I start twenty five HAEDs.  Well, I would, but I haven't.  I haven't reached crazy town yet, I'm just on my way there, lol.  Sorry for the error!

ISHW (late)

     I should have posted this on Monday, but I kept forgetting it.  This past weekend was International Stitch and Hermit Weekend, and I did.  I got lots done on both pieces this weekend.  Friday night and Saturday were Astral Lion.  I got into some greens this weekend.  I've been working on purples so far this week, and now greens.  My two fave colors!!!  It can be seen here.  And Sunday was for cursed Jesus, as always.  Only a little frogging this time.  About ten stitches, so that's pretty good.  Pics of him can be seen here.  And since I only had a little frogging to do, I really got a lot done on him!!
     Tonight is supposed to be movie night for mom and I.  I told her a few weeks ago I was gonna start bringing over the Harry Potter movies so she can see them all in order.  She's only seen The Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.  So, since I have them all but Deathly Hallows two, I'll bring one over per week, and we'll watch them all.  I thought it would be fun for both of us.  I like them all except Half Blood Prince, because they changed it up so much.  I hate when they do that!!!
     I also hate getting up this early.  I woke before six am!  It's because my schedule is all turned around.  I was sick yesterday (sweats, dizzy, a little nauseated), so I went to bed around three.  And I slept through being sick!!!  So that's a good thing.  I feel better today, but cranky cause I am NOT a morning person.  So I'll go catch up on what everyone did last night and yesterday, and then I'll stitch for a bit.  Hope everyone has a good day!!

OMG, I'm giddy

     I just got the coolest email.  I'm so excited.  I'm giddy, lol.  I got an email from HAED and Chele sent me my missing chart, Avarice!!!  I'm soooooo happy.  I can hardly stand myself.  Chele, thanks sooooo much, from the bottom of my heart.  You just made my day (today and yesterday, as it's a few minutes after midnight.  Now I have the whole collection.  I wonder if maybe my rotation should have twenty five pieces in it?!?  Then I could start them all, cause right now it's at eighteen.  Twenty five is a nice round number, right?  OMG, I couldn't be more thrilled.  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!

It's scary

     I spent a large portion of the day today (and some time last night) babysitting my printer.  If you didn't know I was crazy before, let me tell you  now:  I am crazy.  Certifiable.  I decided (don't ask me why as I don't know) that I should print up all my HAED charts last night.  I fought with the printer for several hours, as it didn't want to behave.  (I think it just knew what I was gonna ask it to do, lol.)  Finally, I got it working.  I printed out over eight hundred and fifty pages and went through three and a half printer cartridges.  (Guess it's a good thing I always get the one color, two black ink packages, right?!?)  I printed up:  Luna, Fire Moon, Frost Moon, Envy, Catch Me, Shimmer, Shades, Ishtar, Lust, Dragon Riders, A Chance Encounter, Alternative Reality, and Rocky Adventure.  I still have Sloth, Vanity, Gluttony, and Wrath to print up.  But, I ran out of paper.  I have a two hundred piece pack of paper (the cheap stuff) and a seven hundred and fifty piece pack (the good stuff, nice and strong).  Well, I had.  It's almost all used now.  So the other four will have to wait.  The other problem is that now I want to go kit them all, and I really can't afford it.  Ah, such is life.  Of course, as soon as I kit them, I'll want to start them.
     It all started with me deciding that since twenty is a nice, round number and eighteen is not, I was gonna add two more projects to my rotation.  (I KNOW, like I need a hole in my head, right?!?!?!?)  Finally, I decided on Lust and Envy (because I know someone doing both of them, and I keep seeing progress piccys).  And I went to print them and just impulsively decided to do all of them.  Well, until I almost ran out of paper.  I thought I should keep some back, just in case I should need to print something (like a receipt or something).  So I have a big stack of charts on the coffee table.  And they're all luscious and calling my  name.  LOUDLY!!!!  I know, crazy.  Certifiable, lol.
     In other news, I did pick up two more HAEDs at the Bob and Michele's birthday sale.  I now have Wrath and Gluttony (yes, I listed them before, but they're new).  Click their names to go to the pics if you want to see.  I love how in Wrath, her hair is on fire.  I think it just looks awesome!!  Now I need one more sale to pick up Avarice and I'm gonna try really hard to be on the wagon.  (I haven't been on the wagon since my dad died, and all the spending (read retail therapy) has used up all my savings.  So I really need to get my impulses under control.  Hopefully soon.) 
     And speaking of dad's death, I've been missing him a lot lately.  It looks like we're gonna have a season this year (talks are making good progress, so even though I'm not celebrating yet, I'm hopeful) and I miss talking to him about what's going on.  I haven't really replaced that outlet yet.  I told Julie I was gonna call her boyfriend this season to talk football on Sundays, and Ansel likes me, so maybe that will take away some of the missing my dad feeling.  I'm hoping anyways.  Praying now that we have a season.  I do love me some football!!
     And, good news, FINALLY I'm all caught up on emails and blogs ~ at the same time!!!!  I've been behind on emails since mid June.  First Rosa came up and I simply ignored them all week while she was here.  Then my email program decided it wasn't gonna delete or move anything out of my inbox.  THEN it decided it was gonna give me multiples of everything.  I must have slogged thorough four or five thousand emails in a week that week.  Finally, my email is working again and I'm all caught up.  Plus I got a couple of really good hours of stitching time today.  It's been a good day.  Now, I'm gonna go stitch for another hour or so before bed.  It's still Astral Lion (I don't consider it to be Sunday, even though it's after midnight) and I've been making really good progress the last couple of days.  It's IHSW, too, so that makes me stitch a little bit more.  Hope you're all having a great night and sweet dreams!!!
     Oh, and one more thing.  Thanks to all my followers and those who comment.  I love to see people commenting on my blog and I usually answer comments.  So thanks to all of you who comment and follow.  I'm planning a giveaway for a hundred followers, so watch this space!!!

A picture heavy update

      Mom got me some T-shirts from San Fran and they're lovely.  One purple, one green, and one kitty in black, orange, and white.  I'm trying to figure out what it says, as I have a friend who can speak some Japanese.  I'll let you know if she knows what it says.  With my mom's luck, it says F you!  I like them all.  She picked them for color and size, and she knows what colors I like, lol.  My purple and green choices have been noted!!!  (Also, the kitty is Bengal colors, even though it's not a Bengal kitty.  Whoo hoo!!!)
     I've taken quite a few pics in the last few days.  First up are some snaps of my garden.  They're almost all petunia, but you can see some Celosia and Morning Glory.  The Petunias think they are weeds the way they are growing!!  The Morning Glories have finally started blooming.  I really didn't know if they were ever gonna!!!  Anyways, you can look at all the lovely flowers as you read about what we're up to.
     I'm working on Astral Lion this week, and boy am I loving it.  First, let me say that I loved working on Bubbles.  Don't get me wrong.  I didn't dislike Bubbles at all.  BUT...  Having said that, let me now say this.  It is sooooooooooo nice to not have so many darned confetti stitches and to work on eighteen count cloth.  Bubbles was stitched over one on 28 count.  AL is stitched over one on 18 count.  Huge difference!!!!!  I love the big blocks of color too.  It's sooooooo easy to stitch like this.  But Bubbles looks better for all the confetti, so I'm not complaining.  It just sounds like I am :D 
     I went over to mom's today.  She gave me my shirts and some treats she got me.  I asked what she got me from the Ghirardelli store when she called me from San Fran, and so when she went back to get herself some, she got me some too.  I was like, Oh, just what I need.  More chocolate!!!  But I did say it, and so I took the squares home.  They are chocolate with caramel filling.  Yummy!!!  (I haven't eaten one yet.  I'm saving them for a day when I haven't had any sweets and I ate the last of the coffee cake for breakfast today.)
     I was so happy to not have to water for mom the last couple of days.  She went out to water while I was there, and it was fairly nice out (breezy down on the yard, but not up on the deck), so I went out and stitched on the deck and we talked while she watered.  She pulled off another twenty or thirty beans today.  And she's got zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant growing.  A couple of tomatoes are almost ready, and so are some of the red peppers.  What a great salad!!!
     Yes Dear wanted to sleep with me last night, so she got herself up on my shoulder and settled down with her one paw hanging down to touch my face.  It was cute till she started kneading.  Then, not so much.  I still love her though, so it's all good.
     This weekend is IHSW, and I'm excited about it.  I have nothing to do this weekend but stitch, so hermit and stitch, I will.  Friday and Saturday will be Astral Lion, and Sunday will be Jesus.  And, speaking of Jesus the cursed, I have an update pic of him uploaded.  It's here for those who want to see.  You can see where I had to frog some of the stitches.  The other frogged area was restitched, so you can't see it.  And grrrrrrr...  Cause he really IS cursed.  I can't get anything in the right place!  Ack!!!  But I WILL finish him for my mom, BEFORE she dies.  I WILL!!!!  And I also picked up some new stash in my stash album.  My stash album is here, and I recently acquired Flower Box Cats by Vemillion Stitchery, Lavender Moon by HAED (Jessica Galbrath, I think), Tatiana by Miribilia, and Celtic Spring by L & L.  They are at the bottom of the list.  I think that's all for me tonight.  I hope y'all enjoyed the piccys!!! 
     Oh, and a quick update on Rosa.  She's now out of the hospital and back home.  She is feeling quite a bit better, and as long as her family doesn't drive her crazy, I think she'll heal well.  Thanks so much to everyone who sent a card or said a prayer.  I really appreciate it!!!

A short update

     I know, I know, my updates are never short.  But this one will be.  Mom is home, but I watered for her anyways.  I figured I may as well do it so she doesn't have to come home and water, so I did.  Rosa is starting (finally) to feel better.  I talked to her for almost an hour today, and I am soooooo thankful for everyone who has said a prayer or sent a card.  And lastly, I updated the Bubbles album with a photo before I put her away.  As you can see, I have gridded the fabby, but I am working cross country.  The gridding keeps me on track, which I'm really grateful for!!  You can see the piccy here.  That's all for me today, folks!  Short and sweet!

Hot, hot, hot

     It was soooooo hot today.  I had to go over to mom's house today to water all her plants.  (She's out of town for a few days.  San Fransisco, the lucky lady!!!)  I also picked beans and squash.  It was sooooooo hot.  OMG, it was horrible.  I sweated and sweated in the heat.  I picked one squash and about twenty beans.  I didn't wash them, cause I was hot and cranky, so I just put them in a bag and put them in the fridge.  Ahhhhhh, cool air!  (No, I didn't stand in front of the fridge with the door open.  But I wanted to!!) 
     I think I forgot to say in my last post that I bought two more HAEDs when they were on sale last week.  Click their names to see Lust and Vanity.  Now I only need Avarice (yellow), Wrath (maroon), and Gluttony (pink).  I love all of the seven deadly sins.  They are gorgeous!!  (Even the yellow one, folks!!)  I need to get the rest of them.  I love Dahlig's work.  She has another one called The Oracle that's beautiful.  I've decided to not get any more charts after I have the seven deadly sins.  We'll see how long that lasts, lol.  (I have trouble resisting an HAED sale!)
     I talked to Rosa both today and yesterday.  She is considering a change in her living arrangements when she gets out of the hospital.  I'm all for it, and I hope she does it!!  I'm hoping a change of scenery will help her heal faster.  If you said a prayer or sent a card, I thank you soooooo much!!!
     Julie is doing a show tomorrow night.  At a bar, lol.  It's more of an art show than a craft show.  And her jewelry is more art than craft.  I'm hoping she sells a lot, because she could really use the extra money for one thing.  Also, because she needs the encouragement.  She hasn't had a sale in a while.  It's been a couple of weeks.  Maybe over a month...  I'm hoping the alcohol will loosen up some inhibitions so they buy her stuff.  It's a late show, and she doesn't anticipate being home till after three.  If you're so inclined, say a prayer that she does well.  I'd hate to see her not want to design jewelry anymore.
     Mom went to Alcatraz today.  I thought it would be creepy, but she said it wasn't.  Cathy and Beth went over to the sea side of the island, and said it was freezing.  Like a blizzard with no snow.  The highest high they've had is seventy one degrees there.  But they're having a good time, so that's all that matters.  Mom took lots of cold weather clothes, so that's all to the good.  They've been wearing sweaters and jackets in the mornings and evenings.  I really wish I had someone to watch YD so I could go with them!!!!!
     Not much else going on here today.  I changed up my blogspot blog with some pics of all my rotation pieces.  I also discovered that I'm following (literally, I'm reading almost every post) over 215 blogs.  Wow!!!  I need to catch up on my email, and I'll be in good shape.  Hope everyone is sleeping like a baby at this hour!!

A new artist

     Thanks to whoever it was who wrote in about the new artist she found on eBay.  I love his stuff!!  He's got some great charts, but most of them have an undertone of violence.  You can see his charts here.  I love Hawiian Mermaid, Warrior Princess, Angel at Peace, and Twilight Wolf.  There are a couple of others I really like, but those are the four I want to get.  I also emailed Michele Sayetta and sent her a link to his site.  I can see him fitting right in over at HAED.
     My friend Rosa is in trouble.  I don't want to say what's all wrong with her, but she's in the hospital and really depressed about it.  If y'all could say a prayer for her, I would really appreciate it.  Or send a card.  The address is:
Rosa Winter
c/o Wilkes Regional Medical Center
1370 West D street
North Wilkesboro, NC,28659
     TIA to anyone who sends her a card to lighten the depression.  She's really not happy about being in the hospital, and I can't talk to her, which really sucks.  She's still in the ER, but is waiting for a room to become available.  I've been really worried about her, so this is no surprise to me.  I'm hoping she comes out of it okay, but we will see.  Please, say a prayer, send a card, anything to cheer her up!!!
     I didn't get to talk to her last night.  I was at mom's house.  We did some work on her computer.  It was quite funny.  I updated her firefox and her Incredimail.  Then she kept telling me that her IM didn't have that bar (the icons running across the top of the screen) before.  I kept telling her it did, but it just looked different.  Finally, I pointed out that she used to delete things and she just shut up and gave me a look, lol.  We had a nice time.  We grilled (a lot).  We had chicken breasts, metts, bratts, and hamburgers on the grill.  We had pasta salad, potato salad, and deviled eggs too.  Oh, and fresh corn on the cob.  I ate like a pig.  Hamburger, chicken breast, mett and a half, bratt, and some of each side dish.  I was stuffed!!!  I probably will gain ten pounds, lol. 
     While mom did her email, I worked on Bubbles.  I finally remembered to take a piccy.  Here she is in all her glory.  This is twenty four hundred stitches in, and yes, that is a quarter to show you how big it is so far.  (It's really small considering how many stitches are in it.)  I was hoping for a page finish by the end of this week, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen.  Oh well, I'll be ready for a page finish next time it comes up in my rotation.  Next up is Astral Lion, starting on Monday.  (I am switching projects on Sunday, but Sunday is for Jesus, so I won't start him till Monday.)  Anyways, progress piccy is in my Bubbles album, here.  I hope you all had a good fourth of July weekend.  I'll post another pic when I finish Bubbles up for this rotation!

An Update

     Not much going on around here lately.  I worked on Jesus today.  (I was absolutely amazed to receive the fabby I ordered early Tuesday morning by Friday.  I was so impressed with Picture This Plus.  I highly recommend them to anyone buying hand dyed fabby.  They were great.  I didn't get the emails on time, but they sent one when I ordered, one when my order billed, and one when it shipped.  Great service!!)  I made it a whole five stitches in before I started frogging.  I was like, "REALLY???"  Five stitches in, y'all.  I hope that's NOT a harbinger of things to come.  It wasn't cause I put something in the wrong place though.  It was cause I had a knot on the backside of my work.  But still.  OMG, five stitches in...
     Mom and I went out to dinner on Friday  night.  We made a trip up to Sam's for ink for my printer (and I got a two color, one black cartridge pack, which is great as I now have six black and two color cartridges) and some toilet paper and wipes (cause they were on sale) and some pills.  I needed Diphenhydramine and Melatonin.  I was out of Melatonin, and have been for about three weeks.  So I needed some.  Got a hundred and fifty doses, which I was happy about.   So I'm all set for quite some time.
     After we went to Sam's, we dropped off her stuff at her house, then went to Frische's for dinner.  We both got the same thing:  fish sandwich and soup, salad, and fruit bar.  I had soup and salad and a fish sandwich, and she had soup, salad, and fruit with hers.  We had a chocolate peanut butter brownie for dessert at her house later.  We picked it up at Sam's.  It was really quite good.  She got herself a pound cake layered with strawberry glaze too.  I'm not impressed with strawberry glaze unless there are strawberries in it, so I didn't have any of that.
     I decided to work on Bubbles for this week too.  I couldn't decide if I should short Bubbles or run her over.  It would have been ten days one way, two weeks and three days the other way.  I decided on two weeks and three days.  Of course, today was for Jesus, and I got quite a bit in on him.  Progress piccy is here.
     Say a prayer for my friend Sally.  She's having a really rough time right now, dealing with some very deep seated issues.  I'm worried about her, so I hope y'all will say a quick prayer that things start going better for her soon.  Really soon.  Like tomorrow!!!
     And I wanted to say a very happy Fourth of July to all my USA friends, a happy belated Canada Day to all my Canadian friends, and I hope you had a nice weekend to all my other friends.  I hope you all had a good holiday/weekend and are enjoying lovely summer weather!!!