Simple

 

Took the baskets off the doors and hung fresh branches tied with upholstery jute webbing, as I've done before. 

 

 I was looking through prior year photos and saw that last year, Bud decided to participate in the display as Nitzy did this year.  

  Repairman was here for hours trying to determine the cause of the weird actions of the range, nothing was making sense and diagnostics showed nothing.  As he was leaving, he wanted to check the back of the stove just for the heck of it.  There it was, black charred wires and melted plastic at the connection.  Could have started a fire and we can't figure out why the breaker wasn't blown since this was happening at least 20 times a day on a 220 line.  So, it will be repaired with new parts for a few hundred.

 

Did a little decorating, simple simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Stopped at Walmart for a few things and got my favorite spread for toast.

 

And for the brats, this little guy.  You pull out a little tab to activate and this thing squeaks like a mouse.  Missy is going nuts.  They don't have to squeeze it, it makes the sound with almost every swat.  But I feel bad when I hear it.  The other day, I had to distract two brats from a little mole that they cornered.  It was cold, but I ran outside and coaxed the little guy all the way across the yard into the woods.  Moles are blind and the poor thing was squeaking and running all over.  But he made it!

 

Have a great day.

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Have a heart

Hello people!  How's everyone?  Hopefully well and safe.

 

While browsing Pinterest, I saw a few heart finishes for Christmas and thought .... as Arsenio does .... hmmmmm.  Not a lot of stitching involved and easy to choose the heart size with linen counts, small for ornaments and large ones for knob hangers.  For me, that's a good thing since my stitching desire does not seem to be returning.  I started this blog for encouragement to return to the needle, and if I close it, I will stop stitching.  At this point, it's keeping me going, not ready to throw in the towel yet!

 

You've probably already seen this one online but in case not, you can follow this link and scroll down

http://www.bhg.com/christmas/ornaments/joy-cross-stitch-heart-ornament/

register with Better Homes and Gardens, and have access to the chart and other projects.

 

These others may also have been seen before, but as always, new to me!  I don't care for printed linen but these dots make an adorable heart, so I'll be ordering some along with the checked.  Just throw it on the pile of counts and colors that are sitting, waiting, hoping to be made into something glorious (or grungy).  You can adapt or use any design for a heart as shown in these great pieces.  So if you're tired of the Prairie Schooler tree, how about a heart tree?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So many more on Pinterest but I should finish the Santa first.  Not an easy stitch since I am winging it.  I played with the photos but never created a chart to follow so ..... he will be a combination of all three choices in the end.  Just working on the outline in half cross so I can easily remove or change as needed. 

 

 

Have a heart!

 

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Old stuff

Hi folks.  December.  I hope January and February go by as quickly as October and November have.  Are you ready for Christmas? 

 

   I peeked outside to see if the grapevine tree was lit and caught a glimpse of something that wasn't there before.  So I backed up and took a closer look.  Could it be that little devil that always gives me a hard time?  Yep.  That's my Nitzy.

 

 

 

 

My brother was going through some old items in his basement and found this American Needlework slipcase of patterns.  It has enormous foldouts of various types of needlework.  I found one for cross stitch and it has a few repro samplers, but the companion book is not included. 

 

I like them but they are too detailed for my waning desire to stitch, and without the book for instructions and details there isn't much I can do anyway. 

 Embroidery, quilting, hooking, lots of really nice super large patterns.  The book can be found somewhere online I'm sure, but I don't want to be bothered, will send it to Goodwill.  A little mildew odor from being stored in the basement too, so they may not take it.
 He also found Kennington embroidered and quilted western shirts with pearl snaps from the 70's!  I think we'll try Ebay for those.

 

 

My procrastination has cost me the sale price on a range I wanted.  Couldn't make up my mind, and I see these "sale" prices all the time and really thought it wouldn't change.  It did.  By a lot.  The burners still work once in a while, but the oven keeps shutting off so we'll manage until we decide on repair cost or replacement.

 

If it wasn't so cold out we could finish the leaves and pick up the branches in the yard from the high winds the other day.  I don't see any warmer temps coming in the forecast.  Being a crabass will never change, but I can be a happy crabass, or a crabby crabass.  Five months to happy.

 

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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At this rate,

Santa won't be stitched until January.  Just leave it alone and follow the design!  At least I have the linen chosen, but must make a decision on this guy today.  The way I feel right now, it's Santa #1 with head #2.  Or Santa #3.  Santa #2.

 

 

Nothing happened at the meeting yesterday, because there was none.  It is now 12/7 but she did let him know that she is doing everything she can to get the sensor to him.  It has been on backorder for almost a month.  A life saving medical device item is backordered?  I'm taking to their Facebook page today since they haven't answered through messenger.  Very good company and has been great for 30 years.

 

Started decorating and then stopped.  Really not into it anymore.  Maybe because these procrastinated projects have kept the house on hold, a mess, in limbo, and I'm stuck in my own mud.  Eight trees from medium to very small, lights on a few, and sprigs of greenery around.  Outside, I have large baskets on the doors (thank you magnets!) with fresh greens.  We did move that very large cupboard we built into another room which created a rearranging nightmare.  Once I removed the contents for moving, I then started changing everything.  One thing I did do that will help the kitchen, was to buy those small square bins for the top shelf.  I loaded them with boxed and bagged items and now I can just slip a finger into the bottom of the bin to pull it down.  No more searching and stretching for the back of the shelf.  Fit perfectly.

 

 

One of Carole's Christmas parties is today and the Guardian Bells came in yesterday.  She's excited to give them to her friends that need nothing.  Hard to buy for those that have it all isn't it?  I bought a few more also.

 

I hope to have the Christmas giveaway soon but honestly, haven't come up with anything just yet. 

 

My warm days are now gone and baby it's cold outside.

 

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Is it possible?

After I posted the bells mystery, Carole and I were talking on the phone when we both went silent at the same time.  Oh my God, she said, you gave us Guardian Bells at Thanksgiving.  I responded that the same thought crossed my mind at the same time.  We aren't believers in charms and such, but what a coincidence.  I sent Carole home with a praying angel bell, and Chris with the fireman bell for his car. I found them on Pinterest, they are pewter, made in the USA, and come in a little sack.  So nice hanging on a doorknob, keychain, car mirror, mine is on a long neck chain.  They are supposed to be a gift in order to "work",  but can't we count gifts to ourselves?
Google Guardian Bells and you will find the original site and others that carry various designs.  They are also called ride bells and are hung on motorcycles. Rude Dog Leather (a biker shop) has them grouped by theme and offers a nice selection in each group with free shipping on the $10.95 bells.
http://www.rudedogleather.com/guardian_bells/guardian_bells.html

They've been around for a long time but are new to me, thought you may be interested if you've not seen them either. Only 1 1/2", great for that hard to find exchange gift with the few dollar limit, and so many design options. 

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Every time a bell rings....

Last night, after responding with the other volunteer firemen to a fatal accident, Chris was exhausted and upset.  His glucose was 390 at 9:30, and he decided to not add any insulin through his pump since he was going to sleep and that's when his glucose level drops drastically.  He told his girlfriend on a phone call that his number had risen to 580 by 10:30.  He goes to sleep, thinking with that high of a number, he will certainly be safe until morning.

At 3:00 AM, my sister is awakened by bells ringing.  Soft ringing bells. So she checks her alarm and it is not going off, nor is it set.  They continue.  She gets out of bed and walks into the kitchen, no clue where the soft bells are.  Checks the television, the cell phone, the answering machine, and then decides to wake Chris (upstairs) to see if he is maybe playing a game on the phone or watching a movie.  So she calls.  And calls.  And calls.  At 3 AM she hesitated to call Mark and tried to climb the stairs herself, all the while, terrified of what she would find.

Many diabetics get pretty nasty and almost violent when they are in this semi conscious state, their brain and body is not working properly without the glucose.  When Mark went again two days ago, it was the second time he was catatonic, this time his muscles were rigid, fingers curled, mouth clenched.  Mark had to lift him and get him upright to administer the gel and it took quite a while for him to awaken.  He was headed for that state again, the third time in 8 days, when Carole reached him.  He is very strong and she was concerned for her safety but finally got him to slowly drink a quart of orange juice.  If she had not awakened him, he would never have survived several hours till morning.  The pump is obviously infusing too much.

I am going with him Thursday to meet with the pump people, the girl that makes adjustments to his insulin pump, and the (hopefully) doctor.  This is so ridiculous.  It is either malfunctioning or they have an inept aide making decisions she should not be in charge of.  I will be nice.  I will be open to explanations.  And if they aren't accommodating, I will be like a Full Metal Meno in their gut.

My question is....... where are those bells and who was ringing them?

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