Millions? WHAT?

Greetings folks.  I decided to check blog viewing numbers which I haven't done in a while, to see if they are declining.  Yes they are.  But I also happened to spot a number I never paid attention to.  Total pageviews.  Holy crap it's over 2 million. 2,008,983 to be exact.  I figure about 8,983 are my own views, looking up something I forgot, which I happened to do again today.  I should have kept a journal of giveaways because even though I definitely have a problem with memory and "placements", some of those items I'm searching for aren't even here.  And I don't remember giving them away.  Geez I had a lot of giveaways.  But I also saw posts that featured my purchases of new charts and wowewow I'm excited.  I saw several I didn't remember having and I like them.  See?  Still getting double bang for my buck.

 

So here's the deal.  Giveaway. HA!  Who knew? 

While checking my box inventory I came across one that either never sold, or I didn't offer because of a flaw.  Right now, I don't see anything wrong.  It's a small 5" square paper mache box with Mary Antrim's sampler.  Distressed and aged.  I lost almost all labels with the computer failure but would like to offer more boxes for the holidays.

 

Interested?   Leave your initials in the comments on this post, name to be drawn Sunday November 1 at 8 pm. It really really hurt my crooked fingers to type November.   Whoops.  Did it again.

 

And just in case you smell something while reading this, it's been a crockpot kielbasa kraut day and there is no candle that can rid the house of that.  It's like an entity. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it seeps through your keyboards. 

I'm having a little party tomorrow at 11pm for my final Golden Girls and Frazier until next year.  I wish Hallmark would keep the midnight shift out of the Christmas Countdown.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

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Give me an A!

Give me a B!  So much easier to alphabetize than motificate.  But I will start the other bottom side this evening anyway.

 

Your recent comments have been so uplifting and so sweet and I thank you for that.   I replied to Kimi that if crabs had lips, they would certainly be smiling.  And I am!  So maybe the claws are loosening a bit.  Here's something else that made me smile.

I found more elderberries in the freezer and couldn't resist.  Such a unique flavor and brings back memories of the "old days".  It's hard to even find elderberry jelly anymore.  I guess because of the tedious cleaning process of those tiny little balls. 

 

To us, well worth the effort.  I have enough for one more pie and hopefully we will find some bushes along the roads next summer.  This is not the hard blue berry that is found on some brush.  They are very dark and shiny clusters.  Used for centuries as a folk remedy (respiratory illness and wounds), the juice was used to treat a flu epidemic (Panama) in 1995.

When making the pie, I took out my Tupperware bins that hold sugar and flour and once again they are tacky.  Seems this happens after decades of use but they are still the best for storage.  Since they are old enough to not have a recycle code, I do not want them in the trash.  So I found a method that works for me to remove that stickiness on the exterior.  Last time I did this was almost 10 years ago so the remedy lasts for some time.  Baking soda loaded onto a rag for a good scrub.  Dawn will clean it before or after the soda scrub but never removes the tacky feel for any length of time.  I have used this simple and inexpensive powder to remove the brown buildup on glass casserole dishes and also shine the crap out of chrome appliances.  My friend was downsizing and throwing away all her Pyrex because of that baked on brown, and I used a toothbrush, scrubby, and knife tip for seams, today they are like brand new.  Thank you Arm&Hammer.  Then I got the bug to clean the stainless pot/pan bottoms with Bar Keeper's Friend, and on to the flatware I went.  My arthritis needed Advil but everything shines.

 

I think I'll be able to handle a needle tonight while watching Jurassic World.  And finishing off the pie.  Usually I'm not careful and munch while stitching, but I won't take a chance with those dark berries.  Maybe I should kill off the pie now, just to get it out of the way.  Ya think?

 

Have a good one!

Thanks for visiting.

 

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The vine the stem the pen the putz

How was your weekend?  Gone in a flash?  It will be Christmas before we know it. 

I stitched the vine's flowers around the house and used eyelet in the center instead of Rococo which I think is the same as Queen.  The vine is stem stitch which is very easy to do, even though I forgot and had to look up the video again. 

Since I don't want to keep checking placement on the graph, I outlined it with Frixion.  The pen doesn't take to coarse linen very well but I have a light outline to follow and also marked the flowers' stems which I know I would forget to do.  This will go really fast and then after pressing, Frixion will disappear.  Even if it didn't, I would outline anyway and have the stitches cover it.  Do you?  Or is this another no-no to add to my long list of stitching indiscretions?

Originally I was planning to leave the vine out completely, just because

1. I'm so anxious to get this over with

2.  I'm lazy

3.  I do what I want, even on reproductions

4.  I'm a putz.

Faye is the Carolina Stitcher, I am the Pennsylvania Putz.

At this point, do whatever the hell I have to in order to finish this wonderful sampler.  On all points, I'm approaching 65, stuck in two decades of menopause, crabby, a reckless stitcher, and do whatever the hell I want anyway. 

I guess that crustacean still has its claws in me.  And I'm allergic to shellfish.

 

Hope your week, this final week of October, starts well and ends even better.

 

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A new word .. motificating

Hi hi hi.  Crabass here. If all the things going wrong would have happened in the summer, would I be as crabby?  We'll never know, because it's Fall, going into November, starting Hallmark's 24/7 movies over and over and over (no GG and Frazier!), I need to force myself to stitch, do not want to be online, and everything seems to be changing.  Except the crabass part.  I don't know if too many nuisances at this time of the year are the culprit or if my menomoods are marching to a different tune.  Whatever.

 

 I completed the motifs on one side except for the vine encircling the house and will move to the other side.  I greatly enlarged the motifs on the copier and colored the symbols which helped a lot.  Really.  I think struggling to discern the - v / ø was making it frustrating and the chart was small enough that coloring did not make a difference.  The blown up motif, first at 150% and then that copy at another 150%, was so much better and without doing that I doubt I would have continued working on it.  The house is still in tent stitch and needs to be crossed.  Damn.

 The good news - I have this handsome fellow on my mind for a sack (Kathy Barrick).   That gives me hope.  I see him with the birds and a few motifs, not all.  Maybe I really do have a problem with motifs.  Or maybe just a thing for sacks. 

 

I also want to do Plum Street's Merry One.  Haven't ordered anything yet because I went to one online shop to order them along with a few pieces of linen, and they didn't have Kathy's.  In true crabass style, I slammed the laptop shut and walked away.  I'll try again in a few days.

 

Pat received the October ornament and sent photos of it hanging on her door along with her outside decorations.  Look at her fabulous old cart.

 

Well that did it.  I tagged the photo "pat" and when I searched to import it, the photos of my friend Patti came with it.  It will be a weepy Saturday.  I think those days are good for the soul though. 

 

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. 

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

 

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Getting closer!!

Hey!  I can type in the post box on the new/repaired laptop!  Hootyhoot baby.  Never mind that it took all afternoon with many upgrades, downgrades, removals, and installations.  I have no idea how it ended up where it is but it's better.  I'm wondering how many of you are also having trouble posting a comment because I received over twenty email entries this time.  It took a while to draw a name because I did it all with handwritten slips, not wanting to enter all into Random and then lose them for some reason.  Not sure if this is an email or comment entry but the winner of October is quin10va Pat.  I'll look it up on the old laptop which holds the entries - sounds like an email address but if not, please contact me Pat with your address.

 

Thanks for entering and making me feel once again that so many stitchers would want a piece of me!!!  Makes an old crab smile.

 

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It's a bird. It's a plane!

It's my fricking laptop flying through the air.  Now the orange in Google's logo and all orange everywhere is gone.  I tried to reply to blog comments and they won't send.  Looked it up, all settings are correct.  Still can't type in some comment boxes.  Still can't type a post on it, must use the old one.  So disgusted.  May be time for this baby to fly.

Got a little stitching done on wrinkled and folded Sally but anything is better than nothing.  Still not feeling it.

So the dinner went well.  Mostaccioli instead of risotto which we devoured until we were puffy.  My husband makes an excellent spaghetti sauce, my Dad's recipe.  There were only 5 of us and as we finished our meal, I turned to see this.  Hard to tell with a cheap camera but it was S.N.O.W.  Seriously.  See my her yellow car?

The chiffon cake was fabulous, infused with unsweetened shaved chocolate and that unmistakable texture.  We all prefer "from scratch" cakes that are a little different.  The Sicilian Cream Cake with its layers and such is the one I do not enjoy making.  German chocolate from scratch cannot be beat!  

This was her 77th.  She loved her new haircut.  I used to cut everyone's hair in my family including cousins, uncles, parents until my wrist was shattered.  That gave me a good excuse to not continue, even after the healing, because it was just too much.  But every once in a while I will do hers to save her a few bucks and she has always liked my cuts best.   No I was never trained or worked as a stylist.

Ta-da - kitchen cabinets that were to be made, never happened, we adapted, done!  The top are standard 30" high cabinets with the added 12" open shelf, the one on the left is a 42" tall unit. Haven't decided on the type of trim/crown moulding for the top yet.

  

The seams took a lot of work and I really liked working with the tube of Bondo.  It's red which was a problem but the smooth finish and application was like silk.  

Can't tell that the bottom area was added to the existing top pieces.  And the microwave is flush with the cabinet after boxing in the wall behind it.

One more area to finish and we are still looking for someone to install ductwork for the exhaust.

So that was my Saturday.  Hope yours went well.  

I am surprised at the number of entries and will be back tonight.

Later..........

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October knocking at my door

GO AWAY!!!  Who will take it off my hands?  It's not my best work because of all the changes as I was working on the design so there may be mistakes I missed.  But if you would like it, please leave your initials since almost everyone is now no-reply, or name, in the comments on this post.  You can also email me, just click the top right column.  If more than one would like it, I will draw a name this Sunday the 18th at 8pm.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, one that we didn't think she would reach.  Last year at this time it was horrible.  She had a very terrifying and upsetting year, and without Cleveland Clinic, would not have made it through.  Still slight improvement every month, and a very special birthday.  I will have to take a photo of her alongside her "new" car that she named Little Miss Sunshine.  She may be getting my new Escape and Miss Sunshine can return home to me.  Tomorrow I will have her for my Nona's risotto and make the chocolate chip chiffon that is our traditional family birthday cake.

 

Again, it's not the greatest little piece but if you would like it, leave your initials please.  The back is black with orange polka dots and it's a flat finish, not much padding.

 

 

 

Enjoy your weekend.

And vote for Lori!

 

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That memory thing

Greetings!  How is everyone?  Enjoying what's left of Fall before the white crap starts flying?  We will have a very cold weekend and I'm already bitching before it's even here.

 

I remember telling you a few years ago how I received a package and was excited to view the contents even before I got back into the house.  Distraction (probably something inane as usual) caused me to set it down and move on.  A few weeks later, I found the completely forgotten package in the garage and was able to get excited all over again.  Certainly got my money's worth with that one.  Now I'm doing it with stitchery.  I decided to do a little more thorough cleaning and happened to notice two items that made me go "wow!  I like that!".  One of them was very recent and I am thrilled with it.  Again.  Am I the only one doing this?  This is scary!  Maybe because of my display methods I don't notice them and they just sort of blend into the background.  Not a good thing.  In case you forgot, here they are.  Robina and the double pouch of Harriet Hazlin. 

I just love that Robina and she reminds me of R&R's Dorothy Allen that is very similar in colors.  I would show you, but I have no idea where she is. 

 

Carol (StitchingDream) asked readers to help out a friend who lost all her supplies which gave me a perfect opportunity to thin out the linen.  I really prefer the dark, stiff, and coarse, have plenty, and hope she can find use for these colors and textures.  If you would like to help Carol's friend, visit her blog for more information.

Final sanding will be done today on the cupboard seams and I have a little trick that I do when sanding in the house.  Old washcloths are folded and sewn into a small pouch leaving an opening just large enough to fit on the dust collector tube, held on with a tight twist tie.  I never seem to have luck with those collector bags so I decided to try this heavy terry cloth - the trick is to wet the pouch.  Seems to work much better.  I turn it inside out and get rid of the dust, rinse it and store it for next time.  I also use a spray bottle to wet towels or cloths that protect items so they hold the fine dust.

Worked on Sally last night.  I think one of the reasons I fell into this slump is constantly having to check the chart.  Stems and flowers and vines don't allow the mindless alphabet work that I am used to.  But I am determined to finish her before I move on.  Poor girl has been stuck in this bag for too long.

Time to get back to cleaning.  Still haven't found a solution to the computer issues and can't click on text boxes to type, whether commenting on your blogs or to post on mine.  If a new window pops up I can most times, but if the comments are embedded I can't. This old laptop's touchpad doesn't work and the mouse is past its prime too.  Hit and miss.  It's not the computer itself but the operating system and browser settings that aren't cooperating.

 

Hope your week finishes with smiles and sweets.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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What I've been up to

Hello people.  Last night was the first time in weeks that I picked up the needle.  If I start a little Christmas project I will never finish Sally so I will try my best to continue.  Then have a little party when it's done.

 

I've had quite a few appointments lately and we've been working on the kitchen cupboards that Dominic will never get to.

 

This is the time of year that Mark ventures into the woods to pick mushrooms, as his grandfather and father taught him.  His grandfather was from Czechoslovakia and his grandmother would string the mushrooms to dry for soups and dishes throughout winter.  He has his favorite types but enjoys the tradition of that walk in the woods to find the reward.  Coming across a hunter is always a concern.  He went on Sunday to avoid that encounter and brought back some bags for me.  Black walnuts for making another batch of dye.  I have since moved them to a large box since they are starting to rot, ready for the pot.

 

I've had this chair in my garage for a few years and love the colors of paint showing.  It makes a mess with flaking off, even after wire brushing, so I sprayed with a matte acrylic sealer.  Never did this before and I'd like to bring it in the house so I'm hoping the sealer stops the flaking.

 

My sister is finally getting rid of some things and she came across a set of pillowcases that she received as a wedding gift 45 years ago.  Beautifully hand embroidered, still in the original box with label from Madeira.  I need to check EBay and see if anything like this is being purchased. 

 

As for the cupboards, I painted and we used the originals, adding the bottom area for microwave and open storage.  This is similar to what we drew for Dominic and it would have been one large unit instead of pieces.  A strip of moulding was to cover the seam between the top cabinets and the bottom area we added but I didn't like it so I'm using one-part Bondo (for cars) to fill and level the joints.  Hopefully, you won't be able to tell at all that they were joined.  If not, the moulding will go back on.  You notice the right side is not the same backing as the left.  That's because we cut into the wall and boxed it to add a few inches of depth for the microwave.  This allows it to be flush with the top cabinets.

 

Mammogram at 7:30 am tomorrow so I'll miss the Golden Girl reruns tonight and am already dreading Hallmark's program change to 24/7 movies for two months.  Still having major problems with the computer(s) browser and now Firefox won't open items when I click them either.  Disgusted enough to be missing a lot of posts and updates.  That's not helping my disconnect to stitching at all.

 

It's late and I have to color my very noticeable 2" gray at the roots.  I hope all is well with everyone.  I feel like I'm slipping further away since the tech troubles, kind of like a kid who is changing schools.  I'll do my best to get back to stitching and call the computer guru back to help me again.

 

Take care!  Thanks for visiting.

 

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What's this here chop?

Worcestershire pork chops

My husband's favorite.
 

Dip chops in beaten egg.

Coat with Gia Russo Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

I always use waxed paper to bread meats.  Spread the crumbs, add the meat, top with crumbs, folding the paper over and pressing the crumbs in, turn over and do again.

Saute in a little oil over medium high until browned.

(Love electric fry pans)

Put 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (Lea&Perrins!) in a measuring cup. Then add water and fill to 3/4 cup.

Pour over chops, reduce heat to low (250-275 on my pan), cover and barely simmer about 40 minutes for thick chops, turning once.

If making four chops, use 3 Tbsp and water to make 1 cup.

 

 

 

My repaired computer is fine EXCEPT I cannot post!  The cursor will not show up in the post box to type and I haven't found a cure yet.

 Wrangler Kate you are no-reply. The heart pouch in previous post is Lori Brechlin's free chart. 

 

Chop chop.

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Who do we

 

 

 

 Miss Lori of course.

 

vote

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Stinky

Greetings folks.  A little excitement yesterday created a real stink in the house.  Our new smooth top stove has burner knobs in the front which can be easily moved by Keebler hips.  The first time, it was Mark, while he was installing the backsplash in the corner near the range.  We caught it early enough to not set the pot holder on fire, only take the color off and make it very flat. 

The second time was when I was priming the backsplash after moving items from that area onto the stovetop.  If I hadn't smelled the stench, I may not have turned around and things would have been worse.  The apples' plastic bag with the cardboard inside melted to the smooth surface and ignited the cardboard.  The apples cooked on one side too.  We immediately starting scraping the melted plastic with a razor blade before it could harden.  Many applications and scrubs with Affresh finally removed it all but the top isn't as black as before.  Usually, a melt such as this permanently damages the top.  We have now taken the knobs off and will only use them when we are cooking.  I also need to have someone come out and check the temps because I can't even saute onions on Low without burning.

 

Now, the new dishwasher is a different odor, more like Rodent Rendezvous.  Bosch, smelled terrible when we received it with inside paperwork damp (they physically test each one which is why it was wet).  After using it the odor disappeared but with only two of us, it's not run every day and that stench is back.  I have to air it by keeping a paint stick in the door so it won't close.  What I'm trying to tell you is - my house reeks right now.  Good thing I have Misi Axel's scents in my linen drawers.

 

And here's a tip for you.  So you're not happy with your new car's center console.  You want to see the interior of a different car that's parked in the same lot.   You can't see inside very well so you need to lean in with your hands shading your eyes and resting on the window.  Don't do it.  Just sayin'.

 

 

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Crabass

Hey.  What's happening?  Nothing interesting happening here which I guess is good.  Interesting can sometimes require deep thought and crabs just wanna crab, not contemplate.

 

 I installed the hard drive and downloaded all the drivers to get the Dell up and running but now I have to get all the programs and set up mail and such.  What a pain in my Pecan Sandies butt.  This old laptop's touchpad button needs to be pounded in order to work and I haven't been reading and visiting much at all.  Seems the stitching slump is leaching into blogging and computer time.  Big confession is, I have not picked up a needle since.... I don't know.  But with my memory problems, who knows?  Maybe it's only been a couple of days, maybe a week.  For the first time since I quit stitching all those years ago, I am not purchasing any new charts.  I have enough samplers to last quite a while but that never stopped me before.  I love what I see but don't feel that I will be stitching much longer.  That's scary.

 

 

We're getting the brats set up in the garage for cold weather and Yellow Cat is still terrorizing.  Bud has been oozing from a huge bite infection and has wounds all over.  He's on an antibiotic but the buildup continues faster than the draining.  I've used all the good flea products faithfully and have food grade diatomaceous earth on their carpets and bedding, but they still have fleas.  All it takes is one bite and I break out with 50.  I don't know how that's possible but I attract those little bastards and must have an allergic reaction to their bites. Comparing their itch to a mosquito bite is like Moby Dick to a minnow.  Mark has NONE and Bud lays on him every day.  I walked through the garage and came in with one in my sock.  My mom loved polka dots and that's what I look like from the knees to toes.

 

We're finishing the stove area and microwave cabinet after giving up on Dominic, should be done in a few days.  The duct work and vent for the fan is the final problem and because I chose a model from a manufacturer that no one local deals with, no one will do the installation.  Bite me. 

 

Maybe we will have sunshine and warmer temps this week. 

Hope your week will have some bright spots too.

 

Later pals.

 

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