How many Tobias are there?

One of my absolute favorite linen colors, Tobias.  Beautiful, deep, rich, warm bronze.  Notified stock was replenished, ordered, and can't believe what I saw upon opening the envelope.

This is slightly more green than my Affogato, and the farthest from Tobias.  Returning for sure.  Anyone have any thoughts?  Was the color changed but name stayed the same?

This is my 36 and also 40.  BTW, Jane Southward is spectacular on it.

I give up.

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Finish

I avoid hearts in samplers and most designs.  Love the shape in a finish, but years ago the country style of hearts everywhere wore out their welcome.  Previous Cat finishes were done with the large heart along the neck as charted. 

 I removed it and decided on a scarf.  Other possibles are a bow tie, bolo, or dress shirt collar with tie.  The girls will have jeweled chokers or a string of small pearls tacked on, no stitching.

The first piebald cardinal here had white feathers, and he visited today.  What are the odds after all these years to have TWO!!  They do not feed at the same time but wouldn't that be great to get both in the same photo?

That green santa book is by Teresa Kogut and has many other santa charts included.  Great offer.

The carpal tunnel surgery is minimally invasive with a tiny incision in palm and wrist.  And yes Edie my friend's surgeon was Dr Kann in Seven Fields!

 My least favorite "holiday" is in a few days, the weather turns very cold, and the appointments/tests begin.  But where?

Be safe.

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Wishing everyone a healthy 2025

Probability of minor surgery for me this year. 

Carpal tunnel for sure, cubital tunnel is looming.  It's that feeling of hitting your "crazy bone" that radiates to the finger tips but it takes hours to subside.  My friend had the carpal done in Pittsburgh, local numbing, no surgical ward, fifteen minutes and you go back home.  No therapy, no sling, boom.  I have no intention to proceed with knee replacement and am looking for another doctor.  With the hospital closing next week, appointments for patients transferring to other local doctors will really cause a bottleneck.

Stitching interest is slowly returning, floss tube is helping with that.  Not much work on the cat, 40 count.  A second will be done on 46 count cream linen, reversed position.  This one is 4"wide and outline is black,  not brown.

Happy mail ...  this booklet and I am sorry I didn't Jingle to get her blue santa.  Quality of chart and paper is unmatched. Next year, blue.

The only time I drink tea is when ill with a cold.  Honey and sweetener need to be loaded in.  Davidson's Chai is my favorite, this is Christmas blend.  I thought I had enough health issues to complain about, but ....

Thank goodness Christmas is over. 

Hope yours was what you hoped for.

Happy New Year folks.

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2013

 That's the year I offered my cardinal finish. 

Loved this guy and he left in a giveaway.  But the chart?  Really?  I planned to stitch this oldie but cannot find it anywhere.  Doesn't mean it's gone, but for now it is.  Enlarging my photo allows me to count the outline stitches which is fine, quite small. Online search for replacement was useless, but I can figure it out since I'll only stitch it once more.  Year in place of Merry, Carole's initials by the star.

The other project will be C is for Cat.  One of my all time favorites, another very old chart.  Trying to find a small piece of 40 is not working out (I won't cut a larger piece) so 36 will do but it won't be as small as I want (3.6" x 4").  I wonder if different sizes and colors could be a fundraiser at shelters.

Glow bird is here.

Enjoy your weekend.

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With or without a bubble

this is quite confusing.

The plan was to do a little online shopping, haven't had happy mail in many months. 

Nothing has changed regarding color confusion.

I like darker linen and Bramble looked nice, have none, thought I would try it.  I found it is a color by Seraphim, and also Picture this Plus.  Looking at the mfg website photo and shop sites, decided to not take a chance.  

Blue? Gray? Brown?  Once I get frustrated I lose interest.

  

Regardless, it snowed, I'm crabby.  Glow bird is even more stunning against the white.  I did order the new Kogut Santa book and two linen pieces.  I really wanted her blue Santa from the Jingle Ball, but couldn't find stitch count/size anywhere.  Did not purchase admission ticket since there were no other projects of interest to me.  I'll look for it when released next year.  Didn't purchase the BBD book for the drum.

Going through recipes for sweets, also meals, almost all are Carole's handwriting.  No sense sharing any with Chris and his family since they were never taught to read cursive.  Script fonts either.  She loved entertaining and cooking, planned all the holidays and menus, I feel quite lost.  Nutrolls were not on her list, I made them every Christmas along with bobalki.  I lost twenty pounds (????) after years of trying with no results.  Hoping I can be reasonable with treats, but with a very limited amount this year, it may not be that difficult.  

Looking at others' recipes, I don't understand how mom's single yeast cake with six cups of flour works.  Most all others are half+ that amount with one cake.  I changed the two tablespoons of honey in the nut filling to two tablespoons of pure maple syrup (2# nuts).

Have a good weekend.

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Reverse painting

 Is that what painting one side of glass is called?

I'm assuming these were my Polish grandmother's from the writing on the backs.  

The cloth tape holding them closed had deteriorated in a section which allowed me to open the glass. 

 But how did the florals appear through the black paint background on the reverse side?  Impossible to fill around the details, and the brush strokes don't show that.  Things that make me want to go ... hmmmmm.

Do I want them?  Not really.  The black paint is lifting from the glass in spots, could be touched up I'm sure.  Store in the attic where they were found at Carole's?

My eye bubble is not really an issue now that it is smaller, just a nuisance and should be gone in a few more weeks.  When I explained to a friend how they inject this gas bubble into your eyeball, she got quite weak in the knees.  I may be able to stitch depending on where I hold the work.  I saw a drum finish on a floss tube from BBD's book And Blossom as the Rose and plan to order.  Nothing else in the book I want.  

Today I mailed a small photo we had printed of Carole last Christmas to a few of her very close friends.  I hope that isn't inappropriate, but with phones, having such mementos are not common as years ago.  It seems as if she has been gone for a long time, yet thinking I will see her in a few days.

Roads are high traffic, stores are chaotic, and unlike many years ago, I want to get away from it all.  I much prefer home and watching the video of Lauren's home and unmatched Christmas collections over and over.  

Click here to watch

And of course, floss tube.

Have a peaceful day.

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That settles it

 Thank you all very much.  The sides win, and also will mimic the top swoop as recommended.

Easy peasy.

Except.

I want it changed from this ....

to this.

Much better (as shown in my Paint program).  As I mentioned, this pine top with backsplash was not the plan.  The tiny top was to be a scrap piece of stone from a kitchen sink cut out.  No one available to cut the holes for sink and faucet, they only do large jobs.

Taking that shiplap piece off the wall will not only be difficult, but destructive.  That's what drywall compound is for I told him nicely.  By him .... I mean my hubs.  The pine is not glued, easy removal, and we can replace with a higher board.

My eye bubble is still bouncing.  I am scheduled for multiple tests in the coming weeks, hoping for a good outcome.  A pacemaker was mentioned, my rate is extremely low and highly erratic.  The hospital I go to is closing in two weeks.  Now what?

Hope all is well.

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Opinion please

 Should this tiny vanity have side trim ...

or nothing?

 This was not the original plan, and I'm sorry that high shiplap is behind the vanity.  Once I decided on pine and its backsplash, the glue had dried.  Removing that board would require major drywall repair.

What are your thoughts on the sides?

???????????

The Glow Bird

Every day, this color is unmistakable.

We haven't seen the first one with the white back feathers again.  Trying to show the comparison with other cardinals, finally caught them in the same photo.  

Hope you're all doing well.

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Son? Cousin? Uncle?

 No solid white feathers as the first we'd seen.

But definitely lighter, gorgeous reddish orange, white tips, and lacking the typical dark markings.

His color in the sun is stunning and unmistakable.

Too bad I can't get a clear photo at this distance.

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A rare sight

It will be weeks before the bubble in my eye will disappear, but even with distorted vision, I saw something unusual.   

Every day there are multiple cardinals at the feeder, waiting their turn on the branches, never alone.  This guy was alone.  No others even close.  But he was sort of ... glowing.  An orangey pinky lighter shade of cardinal red.  

Through binoculars, I could see pale pink and a few white feathers on his back, the red was much brighter.  My phone and tablet were unable to get a clear photo at that distance, and he flew into a bush.  

Is he an outcast? Have you ever seen an anomaly like this?

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Really?

 Most all items from Carole's room have been removed.  I saw this tiny tree in a pile.  This tree that I set on her room's large window at the facility for Christmas.  She fell in love with it, aides and nurses did also, so much so that she kept it on display the entire year.  The following Christmas she came back home and once again, the tree was displayed year round on her desk.

When I inquired about it on the pile, Tracy said I was welcome to take it.  She said she never watered it, wondered why it hadn't died yet, but it's sort of stiff, so maybe it did.  But she doesn't want to be bothered with houseplants so I could take it.

What?

 One example of why my mind spins in circles.

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Reminder

It's that time again to review your health care plans.

Whether you have Medicare and a prescription plan or an all inclusive Advantage plan, check your selections.  Changing plans ends this week.

The difference for 2025 is mainly drugs, but it's a big one.  Previously, tier 3 drugs averaged a co-pay about $49, but now, co-pays have changed to 25% of the drug's cost.  Example - Eliquis in tier 3 had a co-pay of $49 for me.  2025 my cost would be 25% of the drug's $600 a month cost, or $125, quite a difference.  The ten drugs that will have a lower cost are not in effect in 2025, that starts in 2026.  

The first amount is the new price in 2026, the second is the current price.  

Even then, the 25% in tier 3 and up is higher than a co-pay, but hundreds of other widely used drugs are not lowered yet that many people need.  The majority of plans are as such, very few still offer a co-pay for tier 3, and most all now have a +-$590  deductible.  

The other big change which will help those with high drug costs is the death of the donut hole.  Now, once you pay $2000 out of pocket, all is free.  It's about time that Medicare seniors are given the same benefits of drug plans as those on commercial drug plans. 

Single Care and GoodRx are great options and we pay less than with our drug plan.  BUT.  Generics only.

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  We are all struggling, can't seem to go anywhere without seeing items we routinely picked up for her, or make meals and recipes we shared.  I think my brain is allowing reality to slowly enter because the dry cry is more frequent.  Either way, you've all been through this, so I apologize for mentioning grief again.

I thought a little about stitching, but the eye bubble doesn't seem any smaller so it will be a while before I could anyway.  Picking up my order at Kohls today brought an unexpected situation.  My knee.  Almost as bad as when using the chair, good thing hubs was there to help me.  It has felt different since my fall, and I believe the damage from it has reared its head.

Can't see, can't walk, can't cry with no tears!  Even bitching isn't as fun anymore.  But I'll keep trying.

Be well, be safe.  Getting closer each day to summer.

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