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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