Happy Halloween!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween! Have a great day! (sorry about the glare - not easy to get a picture of the glass storm door!)

Memories

I have tried several times to get a good picture of this apron - this is the best I've come up with. I always get reflections no matter what angle I take them from. This was my grandmother's apron. I have it hanging in my dining room, right by the back door (which is the door we use all the time) so I see it all the time. It makes me feel good to have it there. I have many things around my house to remind me of her - not that I would need the material things to remember her. I have wonderful memories of time spent with her which is priceless and I would have those memories even without the 'things' I have, but I like having her 'things' around me. No special reason connected to today's post - just thinking about her this morning.

Extra! and bribery

Thanks so much for all the porch love! I really, really love my porch! I waited 20 years to get it. We moved into this house in 1985 and hubby has been telling me ever since we moved in he would build me one - he started it in November 2005. As for it looking so neat and clean - cropping is wonderful! If only I could do that with photos of me - trouble is when I get through cropping all the fat, there is nothing left!

Late yesterday afternoon I sat and watched Mr. Brooks. I had seen it in the theatre but I had to see it again. Last June (2006) baby boy spent a day on the set of Mr. Brooks as an extra. No lines, strictly just in the background. All we knew was that the scene he did was outside on a sidewalk and Demi Moore was in it. (Kevin Costner was not on the set that day) He said he was close enough he could have reached out and touched her and if those scenes made the movie, there was no way we could miss him. When we saw it in the theatre I managed to spot him twice but give a mom the remote to stop, rewind, play again and I counted 6 times in 67 seconds. If you blink you would miss them all! Of course if you aren't looking (really looking!) you aren't going to notice in the first place! If you just happen to be watching - at 53 minutes 19 seconds into the movie Demi's character will meet her attorney outside a coffee shop. The camera will be shooting from inside looking out - you will see a blond guy in a purple shirt & light khaki pants walk by - that would be my baby boy! He flashes by again several times over the next 60 seconds then it's over. Okay - enough of the mom stuff!
During the other 2+ hours of the movie I finished up the stitching on this ornament. I like how it came out. (it looks a little wonky because it is still in the Q - still need to put in the name and date)

If I can find the tassel I know I have around here somewhere, I plan to make it into an ornament. (if not, I'll buy another one!) It will be kind of big as the design is 4 x 4 3/4 before you add any margin to it. Okay - If you have read this far - through all the mom dribble, I'm now going to get to the bribery part. I'm going to give this ornament away on my 100th post. I am going to do my best to make that 100th post before it gets too late for Christmas but since I don't always post every day there is no guarantee about that. Here is the deal. Every comment starting with this post and going through post 99 will put your name in the drawing - you don't have to have a blog, but you must at least leave an email address so I can get in touch with you - I will draw a name and announce the winner in post # 100. Double comments on the same posts will only count once, but you can comment on each separate post. I hope I have enough to make it fun! Once I get it 'ornamentfied' I'll post another picture.

Imitation

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Tina should feel very flattered - these little pumpkin in an urn things are popping up everywhere in blog land! Aren't they just too cute? Thanks Tina! I think this is a most wonderful idea - this should last thru Thanksgiving (the flowers I put here did not)


Have a great Saturday!

yes, I do stitch!

Just to prove that I still do stitch on occasion, here is my current project. This is by Country Cottage Needleworks and it from this years JCS ornie issue. It seems to be a slow go at the moment as I seem to only get short spurts to work on it. Things just keep getting in the way! I was really hoping to have several ornaments done by now and have a finishing day soon. Oh well - I'll worry about that tomorrow. I did find a missing button pack today, so that is a good thing.

Off to do some more of those things that get in the way of stitching.

oopsie

Not enough stitching getting done around here to have any pictures to post. :(

The hubster was painting the porch railing on Saturday - well, he said he was painting the railing. I left with my sister for a few hours and this is what I came back to. Good thing he was already planning to put a fresh coat of stain on the porch!

Have a great day!

Fall!

The weather in east Texas has finally caught up with the calendar! We love soup when the weather turns cool and last night we had our first pot 'o soup. The best part is how easy it is! Doesn't have a name - we just call it soup!

Brown 1 Lb ground beef with 1/2 onion (chopped)
1 large can Veg-all
2 cans Spanish rice
1 can Ranch Style beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
dump it all in a crock pot (liquid and all - do not drain veggies)
I put mine in at lunch and cooked on low - my crock pot cooks a bit on the hot side - you can see it was bubbling when I got home.



add a pan of cornbread and dinner is ready!



yumm.

smile

A few days ago Michelle graced me with the You Make Me Smile Award, which made me smile - a lot!
I'm 'supposed' to pass it along to 10 people who make me smile, but I've decided it is just too hard to narrow it down to just 10! Blog land is just filled with people who make me smile! There are many blogs I read that I've never commented on, but they make me smile nevertheless. So, Michelle, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to everyone who passes by my little space in blog land whether you comment or not. I hope in some way I make you smile.
Have a wonderful day! :)

Just for pretty

From the living room you can see into my kitchen. What you see is the side of the cabinets. On the upper cabinet I have this cross stitch piece hanging.

The lower cabinet was just this blank space (oh the horror!) I had been trying to figure out what to do there then I saw this on Tina's blog and I knew exactly what this space needed - a glass towel bar! So, I set out to find one, keeping in mind Tina's warning that they aren't easy to find. Imagine my shock when I came across not one, not two, but three when I was at the antique mall on Friday! I took out my trusty little tape measure and measured them all (I'm remembering I've measured the space and I have 18" to work with) they are all TOO LONG. I'm crushed. So, I pay for my two finds (pictured in my last post) and come home. I can't get those towel bars out of my head. While I'm writing my post I just can't stand it so before I hit publish I go measure one more time just to satisfy my curiosity and I WAS WRONG! I have 23 inches! I grab my purse, give a shout upstairs to the dh to tell him I'm heading back to the antique mall - he says 'haven't you already been there today', I say 'yep - but I'm going back'. Now I expect to hear 'why are you going again' but all I get is 'okay' - I think I'll keep him! Now I just know they will be gone already but they are all three still there - I measured the longest one again - too long. The other two were pretty close to the same size so I got this one.


The lady at the checkout said she had taken one home too so there had been at least 4 of them - can you believe that. I'm still trying to figure out where I could put another one! Anyway - here is what is hanging there at the moment

The two monogrammed towels were gifts several years ago. The coffee pot and cup I stitched a few weeks back out of this book.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!
(hope I did those link thingies right!)


edited to add - Celeste, you didn't leave any way for me to contact you. I don't have any Blue Willow patterns. I found a Blue Delft tablecloth and a 'Delicate Blue' table topper and table runner at www.herrschners.com. You might try looking around there - you might find more if you took some time with it, I just did a quick search. Hope that helps. Thanks for stopping by.

Chocolate!

I had lunch with Margo yesterday - we ate light so we could have dessert! She brought her camera so if you want to see what we had, toddle over to her blog and take a look-see. I almost never leave dessert on my plate but this one was too much for even me and I did leave a bit. If I had been coming straight home I would have had a to-go box!
Made a trip through the antique mall this morning and came home with these two lovelies.



Don't you just love that little cut glass mint dish!

Buttons

A long time ago, I asked my grandmother if she had any of my great-grandmother's buttons. She sent me a little baggie with some in it along with a couple of crochet hooks (my great-grandmother did a LOT of crochet!). When my grandmother passed away I got a small box of buttons from her house. I mixed them together in this little jar along with the crochet hooks and a pair of folding scissors that was in the box from grandma's. Not many buttons - they both sewed a lot and I have no idea what happened to the rest of the buttons, but I'm glad to have this small collection. I keep them on a shelf here in the office where I see them often.

Melissa - thanks for the b'day wishes - it was in July, I just didn't post the pic of the window until now! LOL

Teejay - thanks for the instructions! I've printed them out and will try it this weekend when I have more time.

A great weekend!

I had a great weekend! Lots of visiting, lots of eating! I'm way behind on things at home, but that is okay. I also haven't put in a single stitch in 5 days, but that is okay too - but I really need some stitch therapy tonight!

I was so surprised to log on and find that Michelle at http://imalittletpott.blogspot.com/ had included me in the 'You make me smile award'! Thank you so much, Michelle! Sorry - I'm not techy enough to know how to put the cute little image on here and I'm too tired to try to figure it now. I'm also supposed to pass it along to 10 people who make me smile - well that will take some thinking too because all the blogs in my reader make me smile - or they wouldn't be there! I'll have to post those later in the week.

I had an email from Linda at http://web.mac.com/lindasbluegate/iWeb/LInda's%20Blue%20Gate/home.html (I've really got to learn how to put those 'word' link things in) anyway - she said she would be starting on my yard conservatory today! I'm so excited!

Way too many things to do tonight so I better get busy. Since I've not stitched a stitch in 5 days, I've posted a picture of the piece of stained glass I bought myself when I went shopping on my birthday.

Until next time!

oldie

This needlepoint is the first one I ever did. I must have been around 10-12? I was at my grandmother's and my Aunt Jean was doing needlepoint. Of course I wanted to try it too, so she took me to town and bought this kit and taught me how to do it. I have had it all this time stuffed in the bottom of my sewing box. I pulled it out a couple of months ago and finished it into this little pillow/pincushion. My aunt is coming in today (she lives in Washington) for a visit so we will see if she remembers this little needlepoint or teaching me how to do it.

I've already made a cake and banana pudding to take for lunch. My mother's other two siblings will also be there today so it is kind of a mini family reunion.

Thanks for the good thoughts on the headache. It is a long story but I'll try to condense it as much as possible. I was diagnosed with migraines in Feb. 06 (in retrospect I had been having them for a long time, just didn't know that was what they were) Anyway - I had the worst one I had ever had, wouldn't go away so I finally went to the dr about it. After a trip in the 'tunnel of terror' (MRI to those people who aren't claustrophobic) and unsuccessful treatment by my regular dr (not his fault, just the way it is), he sent me to a neuro who I have been seeing ever since. I have had a headache since Feb. 6, 2006. Yes, you read that right 20 months. It varies in degree from barely there to 'if you won't take me out back and shoot me then I'm going to bed, don't talk to me'. Thankfully the 'please shoot me days' are not as frequent as they were in the beginning. Most days are somewhere in the middle and I just have to go on about my business - can't just sit in a chair and wait for it to go away.

Anyway - we are trying yet another daily med. I think this is the 4th different one. The 'normal' ones haven't worked so now we are into the 'I don't use this one very often' ones. The bad part about this one is that it takes several months to see results (that is if you get up to the right dose w/o side effects) So, enough about that. Trust me, that is a long story made short!

I can't take credit for the idea of putting the needle threader on the fob - I saw some made like that online somewhere and just made my own. (I love fob making!)

My aunt will be here (she is staying at my mother's - just across town) until Tuesday so I may or may not post again for a few days. My script should be ready at the pharmacy by now, so I'm going to load up my goodies and go visit! If I don't post again for a few days have a great weekend!

Busy, busy!

It's been a busy week. I think I need help in learning how use my time better. I run out of day long before I run out of things to do - and I run out of energy long before I run out of day! I haven't been feeling all that great - the headaches aren't any better (dr took me off my daily med, hopefully we will be trying another one after todays appt) and I just seem to ache all over. (part of that could be the extra 50lbs I'm forcing my body to carry around) Anyway - we will see what the neuro has to say today.

Sorry - I really didn't mean to complain, but well, that is just where I am this morning.

I did stitch a little Tuesday night and last night was stitch night. We did get a little distracted with wedding invitations (one of my stitch buddies has a daughter getting married in November and invitations came in yesterday) I guess I probably got about an hour of actual stitching time in. It's as much about spending time with friends as it is stitching anyway so in that respect it was a good night. I don't really have any progress pictures to show so I'm showing a picture of the last two pairs of scissors I got (if you are new here - I have a scissor thing) and the fobs I made for them. It may be awhile before I have any progress pictures so I may be digging back in time for more pictures!

Well - things to do, places to go, people to see!

Have a good day!

Silly Scarecrow!

He was hiding in a box with Christmas decor! Of course it was a box that was on the bottom of a stack. I have no idea why he wasn't in the box with the rest of the flags but anyway. Now you are asking, why am I posting pictures of the silly scarecrow? That would be because I haven't done any stitching! (and I'm starting to get cranky) I haven't picked up a needle since the ride to Nac Friday afternoon (and those roads don't make for good stitching so not much progress)

Linda - yes Jason is an 'aspiring actor'. Though if you ask him, he will tell you (and I quote) " Acting is not something that I do, it is who I am". That is what he told us when he was in the 10th grade. We knew then he was serious about it. He is a theatre major (so is his wife, but she is studying stage management while he is studying performance). I have no choice but to assume he will make it - he has no back-up plan! I'm glad he is finally getting some time on the mainstage - I think he was starting to think he was wasting his time at college when he could be in LA or New York. I so want both of them to finish school and right now they seem to be pretty focused. They are halfway there!

Missing

My scarecrow flag is missing. Even though the weather more suits this cute flower flag, I wanted to put out the fall scarecrow but he isn't in the box where he should be. What to do?

Candle?

No, pumpkin! This hurricane candle holder was looking kind of boring so I thought I would 'fall it up' a bit by putting a little pumpkin in it. (I'm considering painting the base either black or white - what do you think? Hummm - after seeing it in the picture I might leave it as is - until I decide to move it elsewhere!)

Went to a play at SFA in Nac. Friday night - Lend Me A Tenor. If you are close enough, they have some great shows there. (Saturday was the last performance of Tenor - it was great!) The next show is As You Like It, November 13-17. I'm sure you will read more about that one here since baby boy has a part in that one.

No stitching to report from yesterday. Hopefully there will be some stitching going on later today!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

sewing machine drawer

I bought this old sewing machine drawer several weeks ago - wasn't really sure what I was going to do with it at the time, but this is what I came up with. (it came out darker than I really wanted it so I dry-brushed some silver over it, but it doesn't show up in the picture - may try to add some more later) I think I will use it to display my needlework smalls - of course I'll have to increase my collection to do it justice. I've used most of the small things I've done for gifts.

And - Becky, this week we didn't put in a stitch! We had a lot of catching up to do. LOL

Stitch night resumes!

I have two friends I stitch with every week (I may have told you that already) We haven't been stitching because Sandra had bypass surgery 6 weeks ago. We did go over last week and have dinner with her but she still wasn't feeling up to stitching so Sarah and I only stayed a little while. This week Sandra is getting back to her old self again! We were beginning to get worried about her last week, but yesterday she met us for lunch and was out shopping with her daughter yesterday afternoon (wedding coming up next month) I think she has finally turned the corner and perking back up - yeah!

The scarecrow pillow was my stitch night project for a long time. I finally finished it back in the summer and have just been waiting for fall to get it out for display. The weather here still gives no hint that the calendar says fall, but I have this pillow out to remind me!

Have a wonderful day!

Ladybugs and Bumblebees

Well here it is. I finished the stitching, but it will probably be a couple of weeks before I get it framed. Terrible picture, I know. I promise it is straight on the fabric - just the nim-wit (me) who was taking the picture apparently didn't have the camera straight. I'll try to do better when I take a picture of it after I actually get it framed.

Can you believe it is already October? The weatherman says it should cool down a bit by the end of the week, but I generally don't pay a lot of attention to that kind of talk since the forecast has probably already changed from the one they gave at 10:00 last night. Much better to just open the back door and see what is going on for yourself.