A few hours to myself 9/26/18

Since my husband is retired we are together in our small house almost 24/7.  I will probably keep my part time job for a long time for my own sanity.  This morning he started a part time job.  So now I have a couple hours to myself on Wednesday and Friday mornings. So thrilled.  Today of course I spent my precious hours running all over town doing errands.  But my car tire is fixed, dinner ingredients are purchased and the air conditioner and furnace have been serviced. Whew!

This tiny late summer sunflower is growing out of one of my patio pots.  LOVE sunflowers.

Reading:
I finished reading - J.A. Jance's Hour of the Hunter.  Pretty good. 

My husband brought a book home from the library he thought I would like, Nora Roberts' Shelter in Place.   It was a fast read.  It kept me interested so I read it in a weekend.

I am now reading Tami Hoag's Night Sins.

Stitching:

I forgot about this little finish I had in March.  It is for my cousin's child's child.  Maybe that makes her my 3rd cousin?  Anyway her name is Isla pronounced like an Island so you don't say the "S" .  I figure she will not ever be able to buy something personalized in a store and also people are always going to mispronounce it.  I know the colors are odd but her nursery is not decorated in traditional baby colors.

The aida it is stitched on is more of a sage green that the photo shows.  And the orange is a deep coral.

As for the sunflowers and fiesta ware picture I have been working on for the last 6 months, I spent Monday evening frogging out the entire upper part of the checkerboard cloth.  It was awful, I made a mistake somewhere and tried to mask it and it just was ugly.  Going to start that part over.  I enlarged that portion of the pattern so I could try again.

I did win a chart from Shirl of Tranquil Stitches.  She has a floss tube channel.  She is from West Virginia and seems like a really sweet woman.

I also went to Goodwill and picked up some serving trays to try to use as frames for my kitchen wall.  Whenever I complete a stitching project for that wall!!!   Going to try to use inspiration from Pricilla of The Real Housewives of Cross Stitch.  I also follow them on floss tube.  


That's all for today,

Peace and Love,
Dianne

9/19/18 Sunflower update

Last Saturday we went to Northfield MN for the Defeat of Jesse James Days.  We walked around and stayed for the re-enactment of the bank robbery that the James/Younger gang couldn't complete.  Boy am I out of shape.  I sit for my job, I sit to stitch, I sit to read and I sit because there is less pain.  I need to get up and move.  I am going to attempt a 21 day challenge that starts Monday.  I am horrible at follow through so I hope I can do better this time.

Update - The Challenge program isn't hard but it really isn't my thing.  You need to listen to a recording by the instructor each day and do the challenge. I am rarely alone (husband is retired) and finding time to listen to the recordings doesn't always work.  I also feel pressured.  I would prefer that one challenge lasted more than a day.  There are 21 of them too much to do...  I am sticking with the listen to your cravings one for now.  Am I really hungry or is a feeling of boredom, fear, pain, depression, etc?

Reading:
Just finished The Late Show by Michael Connelly.  It is the first in his new series of Police Crime Solving.  It was interesting.  Kept me interested.  I do love a series.

I finished reading a Spenser For Hire novel called Old Black Magic. Robert B. Parker wrote them before he died and Ace Atkins is keeping them going.  I enjoy Spenser's smart aleck personality.

I finished J.A. Jance's Hand of Evil.  It is a series about a woman (Ali) who is starting over in life and of course there is a crime to solve in each one.

I am now reading J.A. Jance's Hour of the Hunter.  It is a suspense book about a serial killer.  Disturbing to think on the fact taht there are monsters out there preying on people.

Stitching:
I participated in Bendy Stitchy's Alzheimers sale on Instagram and won the bid for a project bag by Diddley Daddle Designs.  Very nice. My first "official" project bag.  She then had a floss tube live sale and I got a few things.  I am looking forward to them coming in the mail.  Who doesn't love fun mail?

Here is my last Sunday night progress on my Fiestaware and Sunflowers.  It looks almost done but there is really a lot of work left on it.

A cross stitch surprise came via Facebook.  I woman I went to school with but really don't know that well are Facebook friends.  We have my high school BFF in common.  She posted a stack of cross stitch books she picked up somewhere (for free).  Her post said she hoped I wanted them.  How special I felt!!! that she would think of me.  They are mostly Christmas cross stitch which I don't care to stitch.  I am hoping to barter them on the Barter Facebook group.  Don't know when I will get them as she lives about an hour an a half away from me.

I am going to stop here and post this.

Love and Peace - Dianne

Labor Day 9/3/18

I am so tired of coughing!  I hate being sick.  I am such a whiner!!!  It was hot and humid most of this weekend.  So the little bit I was outside really caused my lungs some grief and I coughed way too much.  It is cooler today.  We cleaned house this morning.  Jeez, I don't like doing housework but it sure is nice when it is all done.  I vacuum weekly and I really wonder how the cats are not bald with all the fur I get each week. 

READING: 
I finished Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton.  It is her last book since she has passed away.  I didn't like it as much as her other ones.  But I did enjoy this series. 

STITCHING:
I am one project at a time girl.  If I could leave my stitching out I could probably rotate but since I have to pick everything up and put it away each night it is just easier to stick with one project. Everything has to be put back in this basket.  My husband is such a neat freak. 

I am still working on Sunflowers and Fiesta Ware.  I am not doing the border around the design like the pattern shows.  I don't care for it and it doesn't really go with the theme I have for my Sunflower Kitchen.  Here is my Sunday night progress.  The colors don't pop on my cell phone like they do in person.  After this I want to work on the Queen Bee Flower Farm sign to go on the wall with this. ( I am thinking about jumping into the fancy floss for that pattern) I have numerous other patterns to join them on the wall but this is the start.

I am waiting on a response to my eagle pattern give away on the Midwest Cross Stitch Facebook page.  I will mail that out and then post my next give away.  I am really happy with the decision to give away items I know I will not stitch.

HOPING TO HEAL:

Today's Scripture: Matt. 5:24 First make your peace with your brother. Make peace with those around you to open the way to make your peace with God.

OA For Today: Indecision stems from fear of doing wrong...To keep indecision from throwing me into a panic, I keep repeating, Thy will be done, not mine....For Today...Beginning this very moment, I turn my life and my will over to my Higher Power.

OA Voices of Recovery: I do not need to fear failure. I need, rather, the peace of mind that comes with taking the action I have been putting off.  

OA Food For Thought: When confronted with food we know is harmful to us, the simplest response is "No Thank you".   When we ourselves are determined to maintain abstinence, no one else, whether friend or enemy, can prevent us from following our plan. "Protect me Lord, from my friends and enemies."

Peace, Hope and Love,

Dianne

8/30/18 Gift a ways under way.

Since, I got that large sack of kits from my Aunt and I know I will not stitch them all, I am in the process of gifting some of them away.  I am also gifting away some of my own stash too.  It is a good feeling to lighten the load and give stuff away.  Who doesn't like getting fun stuff in the mail?  So far I am sending a package to, New York, Illinois and Minnesota.  Right now on The Midwest Cross Stitchers Facebook page I have my eagle pattern up for a give away.

I still have this horrible cold.  My eyes are so watery it makes it hard to read or stitch. 

I am still reading Sue Grafton's last book "Y".

I am still stitching on my Sunflowers and Fiestaware.  It is practically a full coverage piece with a ton of back stitch.  I am sure it will take up September.

 I love my job and I only work part time, but there are days I wish I could just stay home and stitch. Of course, if I didn't have my job I couldn't afford to stitch. 


That's all I have for an update today.

Peace and Love,

Dianne

8/28/18 Stitching with a cold

Friday I went to my cousin's house and played with her and her 2 nephews (who I think would be my 2nd cousins).  They are 6 and 4 years old. We had fun.  It was a rainy day.  On the drive home my lungs started to feel weird.  That kind of burning sensation with bronchitis or pneumonia.  It got worse and worse and today (Tuesday) I have a full blown head and chest cold.  I have no idea where I picked this up.  Having a cold is miserable and I am all whiny and having a pity party.  My eyes are all watery too.  So I am not stitching tonight.  Here is my update from the weekend.  I think the picture is a bit blurry.

These colors are much brighter and happier than this picture shows.

When I was at my cousin's I picked up the bag of items my Aunt left for me.  She only quilts now so she gave a huge bag of cross stitch kits. Many of them I will never do so I am going to give them away on the Midwest Cross Stitchers Facebook group.  Here is the first one I am giving away.

I also won the auction bid for a project bag from Bendy Stitchy Instagram.  She is selling items for Alzheimer's.  I was quite surprised that the bidding stopped.  I kept upping everyone's bid and I think they just got tired of me.

That's all I can muster up today,

Peace & Love

Dianne

Aug 22, 2018 Sunflower wip and shopping

Reading:

I finally finished Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi.  What a hard read for me.  First off it takes place in Germany right after WWI and goes through WWII and all the horribleness the Jewish people suffered.  But there was also bad things happening to everyone.  Maybe I live in a make believe world but that much hurt was just painful for me to read.  Also, the main character was a little person and so you go through the discrimination with her.  But what I really disliked was the personality the author gave her.  She was a gossiper and passed around secrets and rumors.  That was just distasteful for me.  I sound like such a judgmental person myself right now but the whole story just made me uncomfortable.  Which is possibly what the author was going for.

Starting something lighter now.  Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton.  Her last book before she passed away.  😥

Stitching:  

This is progress on my wip from last Saturday evening when I snapped this picture.  I worked on back stitching. There is so much back stitching on this project.  I got the sunflowers, vase, radishes and the peppers done.  Now I am working on completing page 2. 

I rarely buy anything, I have been trying to stitch from stash and work on UFO's since 2016.  But I saw this Cathy Habermann Hands On Design pattern.  Since I want to fill up my kitchen with sunflowers, and living simply is a good thing, this spoke to me on so many levels.  I am going to modify it a bit and also leave off the woman.

Then I got this inspiration on how to do the kitchen wall. I want to do the upper sign part of the Hands On Design, Pricilla's, Chalk on the Farm, Queen Bee Flower Farm. I plan to modify the flowers a little bit in different colors and maybe leave off the bee hives.  I think I will also stitch it on a blue marbled aida that I have in my stash.   Then I have all these UFO's to finish up that are flowers (see wip above) and birds.  These will be all around the Queen Bee sign.  (I am the Queen Bee, of course!!  😉)

Then I saw this Sunflower Farm and bought it for the all the sunflower borders on it that may come in handy.

So stitching from stash was going good but this isn't too bad of a shopping spree.


Hoping to Heal:

OA For Today: I turn over to God the concerns of the moment, knowing that the answers will come and, with them, a new awareness and depth of understanding.

One Day at a Time (Al-Anon): To be with out hope is to deny the wonderful possibilities of the future. 

Peace and Love,  Dianne

August 10th, 2018 Happy World Cross Stitching Day

I am finally getting a day off.  I am usually a part time employee but when my supervisor goes on vacation I work full time to cover for her.  It is only me and her that do the payroll, accounts payable and receivable, etc.  She is back now.  I actually want to cut down my hours but not sure she will like that.  We shall see.

Reading:  I have been reading Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi.  It is different and not an easy read.  Not sure where it is going yet. Will keep you posted.

Stitching:   I am working on Sunflowers and Fiesta Ware.  There is a boat load of back stitching to do.  But it is for my large empty kitchen wall.  I also had a brain storm about my kitchen wall that this will hang on.  I want to do the sign part of Hands on Designs, Queen Bee Flower Farm for the middle of this wall.  My plan for this wall has lots of sunflower stitching so I think this sign will be perfect. And I consider my self the Queen here at home. ;-)

Here is my progress:

Hoping to Heal: 
Those that have been on my blog before know that I am an alcoholic that doesn't drink, my drug of choice is food.  So that is what I use to heal my broken brain, body, spirit, self esteem, etc.
I am always working to get better.  Although, I do get sidtracked very easily.  Mostly I type out these inspirational tidbits to help me but if they help someone else all the better.

Today's Scripture: 2 Peter 3:17  Be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by te error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness.  Put up a strong fight to stay on your path.

OA For Today: Change is not compatible with stubborn pride. Growth does not happen in a climate of arrogance and know-it-all superiority.  To change, I must understand that giving up is not giving in, nor is it failing.  It is no longer needing to be right.

OA Voices of Recovery: We now say yes to this power, deciding here on to follow spiritual guidance in making every decision.

OA Food for Thought: By Your grace may I maintain my integrity in all situations.

Peace and Love - Dianne -