What's up?

Greetings folks.  Not having computer access whenever you want it has created more free time.  Amazing how much time we spend on devices, and I'm still in the dark ages without a cell phone. 

 

Anyway, while I was watching Raymond reruns, I worked up a design for Fall, don't want to stitch it, but thought you might.  I enjoy charting something different but if it's not a sampler or santa I just don't want it.  That's why I gave away all my pears.  I pictured a bright moon and leaves on a very dark linen.  It needs a little tweaking and when I pulled colors, I chose bright autumn.

Too much?  Bright leaves, bright moon, bright pumpkins, all else black.  There won't be a model to view and if you like it and want to stitch it, your fabric could be a blank canvas for your favorite fall shades.  I'll have it for you over the weekend.  I have no idea why I enjoy charting but not the result.  Odd duck ain't I?  It's like inventing a recipe without cooking it - could be good, could be yucko. 

So what else have I been up to? 

 

Stuffing hot peppers with cooked sausage and rice for the freezer.  The peppers come out better if I leave them raw, and I add the spaghetti sauce when I bake them.

 

A little bird watching.

And some landscaper watching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For two days.

 

 

No car decision.  No computer repair.  Hope to resolve those issues soon.  Sure I will.

 

Missing a lot of posts and updates, but not the crap on Facebook.  Ever since Harry Reid admitted to CNN that he lied on the Senate floor about Romney and Koch, I have Snopes.com'd and Politifact.com'd everything I've seen.  Was surprised that more than half of the posts are fabricated or distorted.  More surprised at the number of people that pass it on and never check the facts.  That, I do not miss. 

 

If you'd like to take a shot at the untested chart, check back this weekend.
 

Hope you're having a nice week!

 

 

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Oh that vase

Hello people  The old computer is fired up and running right now so I thought I would bitch a little.  More.  But I also want to thank you for your help in my color decision.  Valid points! 

The color matches 783 and yes I use that thread!  Yes I have doubts about the longevity of its appeal.  Yes I want to find it in the parking lot.  Yes I am tired of the drab colors filling the roadways.  Yes the hesitation means I have doubts.  Yes I do love that spark.  So today, this day, for these hours, I'm getting a white Subaru.  My salesman asked if there is a menopause manual for men. 

 

How many times can I screw up a vase?  Anyone?  The only thing correct is the spaces between it and the tree.  The handles were low.  The vase height was wrong.  The handles didn't match.  Now the vase is too high.  I've decided to remove the top row of blue and leave it as one line instead of two.  The rust color needs to go across the top and once again, the handle is off.  They should be one row above the vase rim and right now they are even.  Well one is.  The other is on hiatus again.  It's not coming back until the vase is filled and I know exactly where it goes.  I doubt the linen can take any more stitch removal.

Today was Antiques in the Woods at the Shaker Woods grounds.  It was so freaking cold I had two jackets on and was still freezing. 

 Not sure if the weather or the Porta Potty from hell was worse.  I have claustrophobia.  When I shut door, the tiny mirror at head height startled me.  Wasn't expecting to see a face.  If I was 20# heavier I doubt I would have fit and my knees on these long legs were an inch from the door.  The slide bolt to keep the door shut and let others know it's occupied was really tight.  What if I can't get it back open?  I will panic in an instant.  Plastic everything and I had to wonder if it would hold my weight while I pulled myself up, or would I pull that door off its plastic hinges.  But wait, where do I grab?  Good grief how will I get off this thing?  Could I push down on the paper holder without breaking it off?  Which would be worse?  Breaking a plastic crapper or screaming for someone to lift an old lady off the pot? Thankfully it didn't break.  The show was not as good as prior years and I found a small wall box for $21 that I just paid $35 for at James Creek.  Same maker.  I purchased an old piece of wood to make into a sign and a short garland of some sort of hard hickeythings.  Stopped at Jimmy's (Italian store) on the way home. 

Came home to the turkey clan, growing, but still very small for this season.  Blustery winds, more like late October, and the furnace is on in my house. This was the first year for it to run in late June and now early September.

 

If I have the gumption, I will go to Staples tomorrow and see what can be done to save the computer files.  I have the first two disks of backup but since it wouldn't complete the task, there may not be anything usable.  I would consider a Mac if I was willing to spend that much but just can't right now.

 

This laptop is starting to get hot so I better stop.  Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Before the old one croaks...

no, not me.  The other old computer that is hanging on by a thread.  Haven't worked on replacement yet because I have too many things that require decisions and I can only do one at a time.  The biggest?  The vehicle.  I need your opinion, yes or no, would you drive this car?  It glows in the dark.  It looks like an 18K gold bar dipped in orange juice.  I like it some days, others not so much.  Since I can't return it, my mood at the moment will make a decision that I may regret.  Not one salesman at five dealers had anything nice to say about the color other than "unique".  What say you?

Another one bites the dust

Laptops.  Damn.  I can't believe another hard drive died.  All I do is browse, shop, blog, and email.  This Dell refused to complete backup/restore the last several months so I've lost my patterns, contacts, and photos.  Between that and summer's end, I'm as crabby as can be.  I indulged in one of my favorite comfort snacks, cinnamon/sugar toast.  Lightly toasted, smeared with butter, loaded with cinnamon sugar.  I don't know when to stop so comfort became uncomfortable according to my waistband.

Let's see.... then there's the rash/poison ivy that is driving me nuts along with flea bites.  I have a tremendous reaction to them and Mark has not one bite.  But of course, no doctor can see me for a few months.  By then my hands, feet, and ankles should be healed from the bites and scratches left by three ungrateful cats.  Another round of hit and miss flea meds.  When I snipped the top off the vial, it squirted onto my shirt and a drop flew into my eye.  No ill effects.  Let's continue....my brother found another indoor kitten that someone threw away (or out) with a damaged hip/back leg.  Of course, no agency would take it, most wouldn't call back, the shelter as usual refused another cat, and his three are chasing it.  All of his were strays with problems, just like mine.  He finally found a woman that deals with Erie PA shelters (about 2 hours from here) that will help in a few weeks. The fourth kitten she was taking in after rescuing them from the hot pavement at a mall, died, so she has an opening for this little guy.  So friendly, so playful, uses the litter box, about 6 months old.  I am so tired of having local agencies that never ever help with strays.  We don't have one vet office that helps them with reduced costs either.   And finally...."did you get a car yet?" is asked every day by both siblings.  NO!!!  Dammit.  It's hard to spend that kind of money or make a decision on something you really don't want or like.  I think the only solution is getting her a lease, but she doesn't want a small car.  Her back problems, you know.  Can you tell I'm not in a good mood?   My emails on the tablet are labeled in categories and GMail needs it's own app - won't come through my other account like on the computer.  I have no idea what I'm missing currently, anything prior to today is lost forever, so if I was to reply, it ain't coming.  Sorry. 

 

It's time for a trip to the basement where the Dove is stored.  AND.....speaking of the basement.  Our electric bill has risen dramatically in recent months.  Bumping our heads trying to figure out why and finally remembered that we changed the pressure switch on our water tank from the well.  That wouldn't do it but the dates were lining up.  For some reason, the ballast in the tank deflated and the well pump was running for every drop of water.  He put the tire gauge on the valve - nothing.  So we pumped the air in and inflated the ballast to the proper pressure and now it's back to normal.  Who would have thought?  So glad we found the problem.

 

Sorry for the crappy post.  I won't be back for a while and don't know if I will replace the hard drive or get a new Windows 10 machine.  Until then, stay safe and enjoy your stitching.  Make some cinnamon sugar toast and a cup of tea.  Fall is coming.  Dammit.

 

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It's over!

Hello people.  Labor Day.  The holiday that I associate with summer's end.  I will be sticking around the house whining.  Hoping you will be participating in whatever you choose for the day. 

 

I am drug sensitive.  Doctors don't believe me and think it's a fallacy.  I knew the loss of balance with dizziness was coming on so I took less than one half of a 25 mg. Meclizine (Antivert).  I can not function, wake up, concentrate and this is day two.  Normally I am groggy for a day and get over it but the last two times have had prolonged effects.  When I had a biopsy that took 20 minutes, I was out for hours after the "conscious sedation".  One OTC Benadryl tablet knocks me out too.  Two days of antibiotics and I am doing the seated cha-cha (yeast infection). I think they better start believing me!

 

 

Progress is still slow on Sally's house and honestly, I have not been in the mood to stitch for some time now.  I am moving forward, but I am losing interest.  So why the hell am I still seeing charts and wanting to purchase them?  I made an error on the lower windows and front door because I was not paying attention to the chart.  Once I get the pattern in my head, I assume the rest is the same but this is so not true in reproductions.  The windows flanking the front door are to be one stitch narrower than the rest and I failed to check that, so instead, mine are the full width of the others.  Instead of removing those stitches, I took two stitches from the door's width to keep the design around it the same as the chart.  This messed up the over 4 rice stitch at the entrance (green) so I only did rice at the edges.  I also thought the X's (to signify rice) meant to use the color assigned to that symbol (DMC 3371) and had to remove it all. 

 

I have another kitcheny thing to show you.  When we had the standard sink base we had the tip-out trays behind the false fronts at the top.  Since we no longer have that style, we installed the thin, removable and washable trays inside the doors.  Very handy and thin enough to not interfere with the doors.  They are low cut and don't hold a lot, but having the brushes and scrubbies handy is nice.

 

And in all the years of gardens, we have never had the fawns eat the large zucchini leaves and also the zucchini themselves.  So surprised to find them inside the fence since the rest of the garden was terminated by them months ago.  The plants covered this area and we had three zukes left before this.

 

 

That's it folks.  Hope you're enjoying the long weekend. 

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

 

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The sink base

Hello people.   It's been a while since I bored you with kitchen stuff so I thought it was about time to do it again. 

 

Not sure if I showed you the finished sink base.  It was a standard base until we easily modified it to accept the soapstone farm sink. 

 

 

This color is SW's Curio Gray, an old historic color that they still have in their fan deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The other cabinets are a little lighter and very neutral.  Behr's Riviera Beach.  I did a dark Minwax walnut stain on the edges, then a coat of dark cranberry.  You can see the red through the chips and the stain on the edges.  The same stain that covered me and half the kitchen a few days ago.

 

We went to Volant for Amish farm goods and stopped at the antique shop and James Creek.  I found this 8" wide x 34" old wooden oven peel.  The tapered end is delicate and so very thin from use.  I needed something long and narrow for the side of the fridge and this is perfect. 

James Creek looked very nice, better than a month ago, and the shop was filled with Fall colors.  Since Homespun Weavers have changed to a more limited and modern line of wovens, I grabbed several small pieces at 40% off.  When she told me a month ago that the colonial lines were discontinued, I should have grabbed the larger cloths then.   

We stopped in River's Edge to see Wendy (Judy), who worked at JC for many years and was a joy to visit with.  I have always called her Judy since that's exactly what she looks like to me.  A Judy. 

 

And speaking of discontinued, I'm sure you've all heard by now that Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly is finished.  The fall issue was its last.  I just renewed for two years.

 

That's it.  Still car shopping, narrowed down to another Escape or Subaru Forester.  The Escape comes in a wild gold called Electric Spice.  That may be the deciding factor since I am used to, and want, a car easily seen in the parking lots.  I've helped many elderly folks that I found roaming the lots find their vehicles and am not ready to become one of them.

Have a good week.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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