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!!!

Jesus is toast

     I worked some on Jesus today, as I worked for so long on Bubbles yesterday.  I've decided he's toast.  The fabby is still irritating me, and now I have frogging problems again.  His face is just a mess.  I'll do his face first this next time, so it's not messed up.  I'm off by one row both horizontally and vertically.  (Vicki said, "Sounds slightly Picasso!!")  IDK how he got so messed up, but he's done.  Totally FUBAR.  I just ordered a new piece of fabby from Picture This Plus (Chalice, how appropriate is that, lol) and really, she's worth it, and the fabby can't possibly be any worse, right?!?  I got lugana, which I really like and it should be here in a few days.  It's a little bit bigger than the other piece, but hey, as long as it's not smaller, it doesn't matter.  I'm thinking I'll have my brother throw Jesus in the fire pit.  You're supposed to burn holy things when you replace them, so it seems appropriate.  It's not blessed or anything, but it IS Jesus.  I just can't make myself throw him in the trash.  So it's all good.  You can see a pic here of what he looks like before being burned in effigy.  Wish me luck with the replacement fabby, and here's hoping for Christmas!!!

Some stuff (long, again)

     Firefox crashed tonight.  I wrote my blog entry before I left for dinner, and lost the whole darned thing.  Grrrr...  What a pain.  I hope I remember everything I wanted to say, lol.
     Okay, I'll start with dinner.  I had dinner with my mom tonight.  We went to Red Lobster, one of my favorite places in the world to go.  She called me up, oh, maybe Thursday.  She was like, "Beth (my cousin who lives with her) is going to Jeannie's (Beth's sister's house in Tenn) for the weekend.  I have to work Friday night and Saturday night.  Would you like to go out for dinner on Sunday?"  Of course, I said yes.  That means neither of us has to cook or clean up.  Yippee!!!  So we went.  We split an appetizer.  She got maple glazed salmon and shrimp and I got the seaside shrimp trio.  It was all good.  Except the first mushroom I ate.  Their stuffed mushrooms are great, don't get me wrong.  But they must have just come out of the oven.  It burned the roof of my mouth and made my eyes water!!!  I saved the rest of them till later.  Ouch!  We had mozzarella sticks and fried calamari and veggies too.  Really good.  Mom didn't like the stuffed mushrooms, so I got to eat most of them.  I thought they were very good.  And she didn't like the calamari rings.  Too chewy.  And the waitress and I looked at each other like, "Um, they're supposed to be chewy.  That's how fried squid is!!!"  The waitress offered to replace it with something else, but mom was like no.  She barely finished her dinner, lol.  I think I ate seven biscuits.  Or maybe it was five.  IDK, but they're sooooo good.  I could live on Cheddar Bay Biscuits!  Then we went back to mom's house and talked and stitched for a bit.  She fixed a few small things, then we went into the living room and she sort of read the paper while I stitched.  It's Sunday, and SAL day, but...  The SAL I'm working on is a surprise for my mom.  She looked at the pattern and liked it, so I let her pick out the fabby.  (That's how I got horrible, scratchy, brown fabby) and I started it.  It's driven my crazy from the get go.  Anyways, I couldn't very well work on it in front of her.  I want her to think I've forgotten about it and will never finish it.  When she goes to San Francisco in ten days, I'm gonna go over and water her plants.  So I'm gonna "steal" the frame for Jesus (yes, she already picked it out too) and bring it to my house.  It's going in the back of the magic closet until Jesus is done, and then I'll get it framed for her for Christmas.  But this week is Bubbles.  I've really gotten a huge amount of stitches done, even though it doesn't look like much.
     I started putting together projects on Wednesday (I think) and got most of them out and sorted into piles.  Then Thursday I put them all into the project bags.  I was missing the floss to Astral Lion and Shore Patrol when I got finished.  It was the only thing missing in my eighteen project rotation.  I even have the first Bubbles I started (one over one on twenty eight count) which I'm eventually gonna frog and reuse that piece of fabby.  I got all the bags properly filled and they're lining my living room.  I'm not quite ready to put them away yet, as I like looking at them all for now.  I was getting ready to email Dimensions over the lost floss (I didn't know if they could do anything for me as the chart is OOP, but I thought I'd try and see what happened) when I suddenly thought, "I didn't take apart the organizer in the magic closet," lol.  So I went and looked.  Sure enough, the floss was there, under a box.  Why I put a box on top of it, I'll never know.  Because I"m crazy, lol.  I was really happy to see it though, as I'm about out of floss bags.
     So, I showed my teeny tiny stitches to mom, and she made the funniest face.  Sort of a serious look and a frown combined.  It was hilarious.  I put in about three hundred stitches at her house tonight.  I showed her what I have so far (twelve hundred stitches) and her jaw just dropped.  It's not a very big area, but as I'm working on 28 count, the stitches are really tiny.  I feel like my skill has impressed her (and I don't feel as though I impress her very much) so I was happy about that.  I'm trying to decide if I want to switch this upcoming Sunday and have Bubbles be short several days or wait until next Sunday and have Bubbles be over by a few days.  I'm leaning towards over, but we'll see.
     I have an engagement tomorrow.  An old school friend of mine called today.  (They're rare.  I only had two friends, and I've lost touch with them after school.  To say I was shocked to hear from her is an understatement of gigantic proportions.)  She invited me over for a bit in the afternoon.  It was nice to catch up with her.  She has two kids, a nice guy, and a mortgage so she's got her fair share of stress.  It helps that she's a stay at home mom, so she doesn't have job stress.  I'll be taking Bubbles with me to impress her too, lol.  She has cross stitched, although she isn't nearly as rabid about it as I am.  (Yes, folks, I AM rabid.)  I'm hoping it turns out okay and we still have a lot to talk about.
     While I was on the phone with Barb today, I was also taking pics.  I talked to my insurance agent the other day.  I found out my friend Dawn has fine arts riders on her finished pieces, and wondered if that was something my agent would recommend.  He did not, simply because of the nature of the beast.  My cross stitch is all about the journey, not so much about the finished product.  It's not like I can go out and buy another one.  I'd have to MAKE another one.  He said as long as my stitching pieces are covered (materials wise) in my policy, I'm good.  After talking to him, I decided to update my stash folder.  I kept the pics on Multiply as a way to prove what I had.  So I looked, and half of my stash was listed, and half was not.  There are things listed that I don't have anymore, and there are things listed that are in progress.  So I decided to start over.  I deleted the whole album and have started refilling it.  I pulled out all my kits and charts today and took a pic of each one while I was on the phone.  It's been a pain uploading them though.  It takes about forty minutes for twenty photos to upload, which to my mind is really sloooooooooowwwww...  So I may be doing them in smaller batches tomorrow to see if that is faster.
     I'm really happy to have my rotation up and running.  It's very exciting for me.  Unfortunately, I've been spending more time stitching, and less time computering.  I'm behind on blogs and on emails.  This is not a good thing.  My email program is messing with me.  IDK what it's problem is, but it refuses to delete anything or move anything out of my inbox.  I've tried clicking delete, I've tried right clicking and choosing delete, and I've tried right clicking and choosing move to folder ~ deleted items.  Nothing works.  So I emailed Incredimail and we'll see if they can fix it.  Hopefully, they can.  And fast.  I'll be doing emails via webmail, which I really don't like.
     Lastly, I'll have a pic of Bubbles uploaded soon.  I got about three hundred stitches into it today, and about the same yesterday.  The day before, I got in two hundred stitches and an hour and a half of gridding.  It's coming along really quickly, and I just love it.  I'm working in tent stitch (when I remember, which is rare) and half stitch (when I don't remember).  This makes it work up even faster.  I'm sure I'll finish page one if I keep up the pace and go until next Sunday.  I promise I'll take a pic soon, even though there's not much to see yet.  Lots of purple and blue background!!
     I can't sleep, so I decided to rewrite my blog entry while I wait for my sleeping pill to kick in.  Hope y'all are sleeping like babies tonight!

A finish

     I finished up my Cattitude last night, but couldn't take a picture because my camera batteries died.  So I took one last night, and uploaded it today.  It's so cute!!  I had a little problem with the one corner, and had to frog (about five times) but I finally got it worked out.  You can see the pic here.
     I got all my projects bagged up as I got my project bags a couple of days ago.  I'm missing the floss for Dimensions's Astral Lion and for Shore Patrol.  Shore Patrol will be no problem to replace as they give DMC numbers.  AL will be a problem.  Dimensions uses their own floss, so I'll need to find a conversion, and hope they match well enough.  Wish me luck!
     I hope you're all having a good day!!

IHSW

     It's a bit late, but it was International Hermit and Stitch Weekend this past weekend.  I got a lot done on Cattitude.  It's almost finished.  I'll have a pic probably tomorrow.  There's really not much left.  I didn't stitch much Sunday (slept most of the day and cried the rest of it) as it was the first Father's Day without dad.  It was not pretty, but I made it through and another first is behind me.
     Yesterday, I got quite a bit done on Cattitude too.  I spend an hour or two sitting at the hospital.  Mom called me about one fifteen to tell me she was ambulanced to the hospital from work as she had a very scary dizzy spell.  The docs ran some basic tests, and couldn't find anything.  They said it was just an episode of vertigo and she would be okay.  (No cause was determined.)  They did give her a prescription for an anti vertigo med, but she hasn't filled it yet.  I made her promise that when she goes in to Sam's to work tomorrow, she'll get it filled.  I don't think she'll break her promise.  She doesn't think she needs it.  I keep pointing out that if she has another attack, she needs to have them on hand so she can take one.  She can't very well drive to the pharmacy with an attack of vertigo. 
     Then, today, she and I went out to get her hair cut.  She was afraid to go alone (and hasn't filled the prescription yet) so she asked me to go with her.  Ugh!!  All the way out (her appt was at eleven fifteen, way too early for me) I was sooooooo tired.  While she went in, I took a nap in the car (bad for me to sleep without my machine, but I had to do it as I couldn't stay awake) until she was done.  She HAD to get her hair done as she is going to San Fransisco in a couple of weeks (a gift from some family members as she's always wanted to go).  They're going for four days, and she has a list of sites to see, lol.  She has several guides to San Fran (given to her for her birthday) and so has decided based on them what to see.
     I got my project bags yesterday, got everything sorted out and piled up and realized...  I can't find Queen of Peace.  I think it may be hidden in the magic closet somewhere, but there's so much stuff in it, it will be a real job to search through all of it and find it!!  (At first, I couldn't find Bubbles either, but then I thought to look in the drawers in the bedroom and viola!  There it was.)  I need to find the floss for Shore Patrol and Astral Lion (AL could be a real PITA if I don't find it as it's a Dimensions kit and they use their own floss.)  My living room is a disaster though.  I'm getting ready to redo my stash album here.  I have about half of my stash in it.  For insurance purposes, I need to go through and get pics of what I have,  just in case.  So, to that end, I unpacked all my kits and they're on the floor.  It's a real mess!!
     That's about all that's going on here.  I've been stitching a lot (getting close to a finish fever) so I'm behind on blogs and emails.  Off to try and catch up now.  Later, y'all!!

A giveaway

And a really good one at that.  Bev has started a new blog and is giving away an HAED chart, fifteen dollar gift card to so and sew, or a donation to your fave charity.  Please stop by her blog and enter!!  It's here. 

A long overdue update (long, lol)

     I had a really good week with Rosa and I was sad to see her go.  We had some trouble though, and that made it easier to say goodbye...  I guess I should start at the beginning, lol.  I haven't posted for a while as I wanted to spend all the time with her that I could.  I told her at the beginning of the week that she was here to relax, and not lift a finger.  So she didn't.  I cooked and cleaned up and helped her out as much as I could.  She's taken some real blows lately, and lost people she loves.  She's had a lot of days lately where she just doesn't wanna get out of bed.  So I told her to come up for a week and see if that made her feel better.  I was hoping she would stay longer, but she thinks her mom needs her, so she left this morning.  We had a lot of fun and quite a few tears as well.  There's nothing like talking to a good friend about what's going on inside you.
     I'm really hoping it helped her to get away for a while and be with someone who really loves her.  She lives with her parents and brother, but she really needed to get away for a bit.  She got here last week on Saturday night, and stayed with me for the week.  I was hoping she could at least stay till Monday as Sunday is Father's Day and it's my first one without my dad.  I already know it's gonna be ugly here.  Shoot, I'm already emotional about it!!
     As for trouble, it was all Yes Dear's fault.  She figured out on Monday night that Rosa's dog was a sentient being in her territory.  And the hissing and spitting started.  The slapping was close behind.  She must have tried to slap him ten times.  And of course, since he's two pounds and she's six, he was scared of her.  He ran every time she hissed at him, which probably saved his butt from getting scratched!!  So then, when I was sleeping or bathing, I had to lock her in with me.  And she cried and complained and whined...  Ugh!!
     A lot of stitching got done while she was here though.  We went to Hobby Lobby and she bought floss and I bought a whole honking bag of floss (I needed it to kit up Impossible Love, Country Bloomers, and Cattitude (most of Cattitude's flosses are GAST, but it calls for a few skeins of DMC) and I also got a few just cause they were pretty!!).  I also got two more Q snaps.  I got one more six by six and an eleven by eleven.  Then she sat and went through all my charts (hers are packed away in storage cause I guess she doesn't have room for them at her mom's.  Which is okay cause they never let her sit and stitch.  It's always do this, do that, etc.)  She found an angel book that she really liked, so I told her to take it home with her.  She's also taking home a Christmas Ornie book.  She finished up one ornie while we were watching The Book of Eli (which I didn't like, I wanted something really bad to happen to one of the chars, and it didn't).  It was a little stocking that said Joy.  And she also finished a bookmark while she was here.  She did it all in variegated flosses, and it turned out great!!  I told her she needed to take a pic and put it on her blog!  I worked on Rosa and Cattitude (I promised her I'd do Rosa for her, and that I'd start it while she was here.  BTW, Rosa will now be referred to as Bad Rosa or BR) and didn't get a lot of progress on either.  I had to keep frogging Rosa.  Mostly because I can't count!!!!!!!!!!  My frustration was at an all time high with this piece.  Pic can be found here.  I did the same thing twice (and OMG, I REALLY can't count!!!!) and frogged it twice.  I finally decided to do it a different way.  This is what had to be frogged twice.  Cattitude played nice, for the most part.  I do have one small problem with it though.  I picked up all the GAST needed for it at one ninety a skein.  There is a color in this chart that I picked up a full skein and used enough floss for eleven stitches.  That's it.  I was a bit peeved when I figured that out.  Hopefully, I will find something to use the rest of it on!!
     Julie came down for a day on Monday.  She got here shortly after one and sat directly in my chair.  She only did it cause I told her NOT to sit in my chair.  She's ornery that way, lol.  We had a good day.  We ordered in pizza (yum!!) and sat and stitched and chatted up a storm.  It was sooooooo much fun.  Rosa said something Julie and I both thought was blogworthy, but now none of us can remember it, lol.  (I guess it wasn't as blogworthy as we thought, lol.)  It's always good to see Julie, and I'm glad she came down. 
     At the end of the day Monday, David said he'd come over and fix the sofa bed so Rosa could sleep on it.  It was fastened to the bottom of the couch by straps that looked a lot like seatbelts.  They were stapled to the sides.  He ripped them off, stood up and turned around and saw Rosa's dog.  (She has the smallest dog I've ever seen.  His name is Chewey and he weighs two pounds.)  He said, "What the f is that?!?"  It was hilarious!!!  Rosa, of course, said, "That's my dog."  He petted Chewey and then headed out with his sixty some pound Boxer, lol.  It was great!
     A couple of other things.  I have some progress on Jesus, but I may be frogging again on  him soon.  I can't figure out where I went wrong, but his face is all screwy.  I can't figure out which color is which, so I can't figure out what's done and what's not!!  Anyways, he's here.  And I have an update on Cattitude.  I finally got her face done, so she's starting to look like what she is.  You can see her here.
     And finally, I have an announcement to make.  I said something a few weeks ago (either on my blog or in an email, I can't remember) that I would have a major announcement soon.  Now is the time!!!  Recently, my friend Vicki was contacted by Nordic Needle, one of the premier outlets for hardanger.  They are now carrying six of her designs.  Grats Vicki!!!  You can see them here.  (You'll have to go halfway down the page to see them as they were just added and don't have a page for IGD yet.)  I really hope they sell beautifully!  Vicki has such a flair for designing!!  (I have three of the six.  Rosa, Marguerite, and Aurora.  Guess I have good taste!!!)
     And that is it for me.  I'm off to bed.  Nighty Night!!!!

A finish and progres on a new piece

     I finished the Meerkat ~ Mere Cat piece earlier today.  And I got a lot done on Cattitude.  I'm hoping all my supplies get here before I finish Cattitude, lol.  Anyways, photos of meerkat here, and photo of Cattitude here.  If you want to see what Cattitude will look like, you can go here.  I'm so pleased with how the meerkat came out.  It was a difficult stitch what with all the brown (UGH!!!) and fractionals.  I really enjoyed the kitten part.  LOL, the meerkat took me weeks to complete, and the kitten took three days!!!  I'm really enjoying Cattitude too.  It's been a quick stitch so far.  I put in about fifty or so stitches on the border of the meerkat to finish it up, and lo and behold, I'm already at least a hundred stitches into Cattitude today.  Probably cause I have company.
     A friend of mine has come to stay for a week.  She brought with her the teeniest dog I've ever seen.  He's two pounds, and smaller than YD is, lol.  She hasn't decided what to do with him yet.  At first, she stalked him, but now she just looks at him with her head cocked to the side, lol.  It's so funny.  I'll try to get a pic of them together, but I don't know if I can.  He's scared of her, she's scared of him...  It's gonna be an interesting week.
     Tomorrow we're gonna go to Hobby Lobby and pick out the frame for Meerkat ~ Mere Cat and get floss.  I'm glad she's gonna be with me as I can have her read color numbers and I'll get them and put them in the basket.  Yay, less work for me.  Or maybe just easier work for me, lol.  Then maybe a trip to the grocery store.  After that, who knows.  I think we're just gonna hang and talk and stitch and laugh at the dog and cat!!!  Boring, but she's a bit fragile and I'm having a rough time now too.  Football season will be here soon, and so I'm really missing my dad.  He was the only local friend I had who likes football.  He and I talked after every game.  We talked draft picks, and signings and training camp.  So I've been missing that outlet quite a bit.
     We'll see if I get behind on my emails and blogs while she's here, lol.  I'll probably spend a lot of time stitching and chatting (and very little time reading) so I'll have a struggle to keep up.  But if I get a little behind, I guess it's no big deal.  It's only a week after all!!!  I hope you're all having a good night!!  Hopefully, I'll blog again soon with lots more progress!!

We had company

     We had company tonight.  David and Vin came over.  He was gonna leave the poor dog in the truck for a few minutes so I put YD in the bedroom and had him bring Vin in.  He sniffed everything, and slobbered everywhere.  Typical Vin, lol.  Of course, YD freaked out when she got back out here and smelled him.  He wanted to give me some advice on where to hang stuff, and how to hang it.  I have to go up to the hardware store and get a masonry bit for my drill.  (If the extension cord is long enough, that is.)  No big deal.
     I got out and deadheaded the Petunias (a big job) and cut my finger.  I had to keep digging in deep to get the stems to break, and I literally cut a quarter inch deep cut on my finger.  DUH!!!  It didn't seem to hurt that bad though...  Anyways, mom's gonna make me a thimble out of denim to put over it.  Cause I use that finger for stitching!!!
     I took piccys of my house tonight.  It's messy of course (when is my house not messy and cluttered, lol), but you'll get the idea.  My living room is crammed.  It has three bookcases (two small and a large), my couch, coffee table, overstuffed chair, table lamp, cat tree, TV on stand, and two "side tables" made out of tray tables.  Dad bought them for me, so I won't get rid of them.  Oh, and my desk, can't forget that!!  Anyways, you can see the pics here.  I'm not done with the bedroom yet, so I haven't taken pics in there yet.  Will do so when it's finished!!  And now I'm off to get my bath and go to bed.  Y'all hagn!!

Good progress, with many things

     Yesterday was the first SAL day for the Chocoholic Cross Stitchers Holy SAL, and the first time I participated in the 2muchXS UFO SAL.  I'm doing the same piece for both (luckily, as they're on the same day).  It's a Sandy Orton chart called Portrait of Christ.  I hate all the brown in it (I'm making it for my mom) and the fabby is horrible.  It's DMC, and I trusted them because of their floss, so I didn't feel the linen.  It's horribly scratchy.  And it seems like the holes are huge!!  I haven't worked on it in a long while because of this.  BUT...  I got it out yesterday for the SALs as I really need to get it finished before my mom dies!  Low and behold (and I don't know WHY I didn't think of it before this) it was great.  I enjoyed it <gasp> and I attribute it all to Chris.  This is the first time I've worked on Jesus with a Q snap huggie, and it made it so much easier to work on without the scratchiness!!  I was soooooo happy!  Pics are here (before yesterday) and here (at the end of the day).
     And speaking of Chris, she's super fast.  I ordered some more Q snap huggies from her last week, and I already have them.  She made them up the same day (I think it was Wed) and then I had to find the invoice to pay her.  Finally found it Thursday night, and paid her through Paypal.  I got them today.  They're wonderful.  I uploaded photos of everything that came in the package except the business cards, lol.  The back had a cute sticker on it, and I uploaded a pic of that too.  And (bad Chris, BAD) she sent me another chart.  It's a cat, of course (thank God she seems to be done sending me underwear things, lol) and it's a Dimensions kit.  Blends, multicolored chart, the whole nine yards.  It's darling, and of course I want to start it.  But I'm not gonna!!!  Not until a spot opens up in my rotation, which shouldn't take too long.  It's a bunch of cats out fishing (one is even smoking  a cig, lol) and it's called Catch of the Day.  It's been on my Dimensions wishlist for a while.  Thanks Chris, both for the little extra and for being so fast and keeping me informed.  Sorry about the numbers problem!!  (I told her upfront I needed ten Q snap huggies, then ordered eleven.  Then I had to explain to her that I don't count well.  I even said I frog a lot.  I was afraid she would find some froggy fabby and make me a huggy out of that, lol.  I'm sure that would just draw them in!!!!)  Anyways, if you want to see them, pics are here.
     In other news, I've kitted up a new design, and purchased another one.  I think I'm Vicki's best customer, lol.  I was talking to her and she mentioned having to pay shipping to So and Sew for one pack of beads.  So I subsidized her shipping (LOL, sounds official, doesn't it) by purchasing Aurora.  I've loved this ever since I saw it and have been wanting it for a long time.  It will go in Marguerite's space when I finish it.  Or Rosa, whichever comes first.  I'm so excited to pick floss for it.  I have fabby already picked out.  I have (again, from my friend Dawn, who loves her hand dyed fabbies) a fat quarter of 28 count Lugana in Seamist from Heaven Lee Creations (The Blended Needle).  It's gorgeous, and next I need to find floss for it.  I just can't wait.  I love to kit up Vicki's charts as I pick different colors of fabby and floss.  I absolutely love variegated floss, but I can't use it in most of my cross stitch.  So, I use it in Hardanger.  Which just gives Vicki fits as I use six stranded floss instead of Perles, and she says I should use Perles for hardanger.  But Vicki, I LOVE my six stranded flossies!!!!!!  Anyways, if you want to see Aurora, you can go to Vicki's site, here.  And the one I kitted up is called Cattitude.  I saw it on someone's blog and just loved it.  So I'm gonna work on that after I finish the meerkat piece.  I will probably get to it before the rotation starts though, and it will fill the meerkat spot in my rotation as that piece is going fast.  I have gotten a good start on the kitten, and all the bsing is done on the words and the meerkat.  So I'm happy with it.  If you want to see Cattitude, you can go here.
     I've been so busy reading emails and blogs and stitching and reading lately, it's amazing I have time to eat!!!  Unfortunately, I got my webcam working yesterday and now my auto play window doesn't come up for my other camera.  I'm deciding if I want to do a System Restore or just snag pics the old fashioned way!  Drag and drop works, but it's a pain, so we shall see... 
     I think that's about it for me these last few days.  Oh, one more thing, and it's quite funny.  I was speaking to my mom the other day about a hooked rug, and referred to, "my hooker friend Alice..."  My mom was like, "YOU KNOW A PROSTITUTE???????"  I had to laugh at that.  I just assumed she would know when I'm talking about hooking a rug that I mean a rug hooker.  It was cute.  Of course, she knows I'm extremely open minded, and I'm sure she would disapprove of a real hooker friendship, lol.  Hope you're all having a good day today!!!

Almost

     I'm almost done with the cross stitching on the meerkat.  I have about ten crosses to go (or less, I didn't exactly count) and then I'll start the bsing.  Of course, when I finish the crosses, I'll have a piccy!!  He's just as cute as can be.  I have to put his eye and nose in still though.  And a few brown stitches, and a few grey, and I'm all finished.  Then, I should finish the bsing sometime today or tomorrow, and I'll start on the kitten.  I'm thinking he'll be easier cause there aren't so many color changes in him.  Less confetti too.  And less fractionals, which will make him a little bit easier.  I'm not thinking I'll have him till I get to my rotation, but that's all right as I forgot two projects.  One of them is coming in the mail from Ylva.  When she finished up her Siamese Cats, she offered me the chart.  So I have that coming.  And I'll have to buy a piece of fabby for it, so I'm gonna put it in the last spot in my rotation.  Then, when Rosa comes up this summer (IDK when it will be, as we haven't finalized plans yet) I told her I would start Rosa for her.  I'm actually doing two Rosas, one for me and one for her.  I'll keep the first one (practicing the new stitches) for me, and give the second one (perfected new stitches) to her.  So they'll go in my rotation in place of the meerkat.  IDK if I'll only work on them two weeks.  If I finish up the bullion knots on mine, but not on hers, I'm not gonna put it aside until I come back to it in the rotation.  I'll finish up the bullion knots on hers, and take some extra time out of the next item's spot.  After that is Impossible Love, which I'll be doing two over one in tent stitch.  It will go really fast, so it won't matter so much if I take a few minutes out of time for it.
     I lost a tooth today, yay!!  I was eating a wrap last night (from Arby's) and it has fresh apples in it.  I must have hit it just wrong, cause I knocked a fragment of tooth that was left from my root canal loose.  I was afraid to just pull it, but when I ate today, I made sure to chew on that side of my mouth.  When I finished eating, it was gone.  I was happy cause I can't afford to go in to the dentist.  Medicare doesn't cover dental, so I would have to pay it out of my monthly disability, and I can't possibly afford that.  It hardly hurt at all, which I'm happy about.
     I belong to Doubleday's book club.  You get six books for ten bucks or sixteen or something like that, then have to buy three more at regular price.  But they often have buy one get one free sales.  So, I took advantage.  And then they sent me a similar thing from Colombia House.  I LOVE movies, even though I haven't been watching them much lately.  I blame that on the Gamecube.  I've only got one AV input on the VCR, and none on the TV.  So when I use the DVD player or Gamecube, I have to hook it up through the VCR and put the channel selector on axillary.  So if I'm playing a lot, I don't generally watch movies cause I have to pull the TV out and change around the wires.  It's a pain.  I don't think I've got much left of the game though.  So it shouldn't be long before I watch my new movies.  I picked up Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, The Book of Eli, Salt, and Inception.  I'll be watching them in the next few weeks.  I should have gotten The Deathly Hallows part one, but I didn't think of it.  Grrrrr...  I'll look it up next time, cause I really want to see it.  Okay, looked it up.  And picked up The Rite at sixty percent off.  Have no idea what it's about, but it looks scary, so I'm hoping it's good.
     I found a new type of word puzzle the other day.  Someone in one of my groups has the link in her siggie, and they're awesome.  They're called Cricklers, and you can find them here.   It's sort of like a crossword puzzle, but not.  You fill in words based on the clues given.  As you fill in letters, it fills in those letters in other words.  So you have hints.  They're great!  I love them.  Watch out though, they're addictive!!
     I chatted for a few minutes between starting this blog entry and finishing this blog entry, and I finished up the stitching on the meerkat.  Piccys here.  He's turning out so cute!  Now on to the backstitching.  Then I'll start working on the kitten.  Hope you're all having a good day!!

My rotation

     Okay, I'm doing pretty well on my rotation.  I've got the big bags coming via Peggy in NY (thanks again, Peggy, you're a lifesaver) and I've decided exactly what's gonna be in my rotation.  Of course, I forgot two things when I ordered Qs, so now I need two more.  Typical.  Hobby Lobby, here I come!  I need floss too, so nbd, right?  Anyways, I've decided to work on one project for two weeks and then switch to a different one.  I still have to find a randomizer that will list them in a random order, but I'm sure I can do that easily enough.  Anyways, the projects in my rotation are:

1. Bubbles (HAED, Selina Fenech)
2. Astral Lion (Dimensions)
3. Country Bloomers (Jeremiah Junction)
4. Story Keeper (HAED, Selina Fenech)
5. Calendar Partwork (India Grace Designs, hardanger)
6. Achoo (Dimensions)
7. In Her Garden (Dimensions)
8. Memorial for my dad (Rosa Winter)
9. Marguerite (India Grace Designs, hardanger)
10. Meerkat ~ Mere Cat (Heritage Stitchcraft, Peter Underhill)
11. Impossible Love (HAED, Selina Fenech)
12. Queen of Peace (Miribilia)
13. Shore Patrol (JCA)
14. Fredrick the Literate (Dimensions, Charles Wysoki)
15. Desert Garden Mandala (Chatelaine, Martina Rosenberg)
16. Midnight Hunting (Dracolair Creations)
17. Monopoly (Hasbro) 
    

     Yes, I have a thing for Dimensions pieces (even though I hate the multicolored charts) and Selena Fenech.  As pieces get finished, I'll be adding new things into the rotation in their spot.  I know, there's a lot to do, but I do like to stitch, so it'll be fine.  As long as I live to 532 years old, I'll be good, lol.  Each chart name is a link to the chart except for the one my friend Rosa Designed for me.  I don't have a way to show that one as it's a Pattern Maker chart.  Or do I?  Hmmmm...   BRB.  Okay, I figured it out.  There isn't a pic of Monopoly, so I can't link that, but I do have a pic of the memorial.  I just did a screenshot of the pattern showing stitches instead of symbols.  Then saved to paint, and viola!!  I'm so smart sometimes, lol.  Anyways, those are my rotation pieces. I'll also be working on Portrait of Christ on Sundays as part of two SALs, until I finish it up.  Then I'll be working on that week's focus piece instead.  Now I'm off to find a randomizer.  Ta ta, ladies and gents!!