More than any other year

 WAY more!!!

Bud is eating pate food thinned with water, almost a can of Fancy Feast a day.  The chicken and turkey baby foods are no longer acceptable to him.  His mouth/tooth issue continues and he is still losing weight but otherwise doing OK.  Petey on the other hand, is an absolute brute.

Sadly, my sister's friend passed yesterday from Covid and the other that was very sick and recovered, has relapsed.

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Santa's coming to ....

 Patty Goza.

Patty was one of the email entries so I can contact her for mailing address.  

Thanks everyone!!!

My brother's oldest cat passed away at home this weekend and he is just so sad.  She was one of the strays that was never friendly, but always stayed on his porch in her plush heated condo, pampered and well cared for.  And sent him to the hospital twice with serious infections from her bites. Last year at this time she decided to finally enter his house and was a happy and totally changed cat ever since.  

I'm making progress on Elizabeth but now have a floater, quite large, that is flitting back and forth directly in my line of vision.  Dammit.  I have been in a rotten mood with anxiety blips.  They are so brief, that when I feel like I have to get up, throw something, and run, it's over before I can find an object to toss!  And I can see my pulse in the same eye that has the fricking floater.  

But life is dandy ain't it folks?

Happy week!!

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Christmas o f f er

Hello hello.  My Christmas give away this year will be for Kogut's Santa's Hike chart.

This is mine done on Dolphin linen.

If you would like this chart, leave a comment with your initials or email on this post, or email me directly.

samplersandsantas@gmail.com

I will draw a name on Monday evening at 8pm.

I need to do some research since I found out that if I open an email on the tablet, it does not show up on the laptop and vice versa.  Been driving me nuts!  I remember reading them but couldn't find them, then I realized they were only on one device.  So I will be checking both until I can correct this.

A few days ago I received an email from a reader that has bought so many of my boxes, asking me if I have an Amazon account.  I thought maybe she needs a favor so I replied (the return email address was the same I've always used).  I think it may be a scam and I have no way of contacting her because sending to her email comes back with another link to a new one.  After my accounts were hacked and used when I was on the Cleveland Clinic wi-fi (thousands!!), I called my card companies and requested a $500 limit.  Judy, if this is actually you, let me know!!

I've  been spending so much money ordering online and that's not good.  When you're doing this from several different establishments, you lose track of what you're spending.  Yoi.  

That's all folks!!  

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The sun is out

 and we will probably take a ride this afternoon.  Mark is golfing tomorrow.  I love him, but I so love my quiet alone time which is limited since he retired.

I love my XL Panera mug, but not so much Panera.  Maybe others are better but mine usually gets an order wrong, even a bowl of soup is at times missing the pepitas or the baguette.  My sandwich ingredients barely cover the bread, and my salad had one piece of avocado and mostly romaine ends.  My sister has never had a problem with her orders.  Mark bought the cookies.  Good luck!  Better grab them while you can buddy.

I have been searching our grocery stores and Walmart for many months trying to find Lysol spray.  Eureka!!  Spotted it and the little crates that are so great for small items in the cupboards or freezer.  Guess what my family is getting for Christmas!  We don't exchange gifts, but everyone can use this spray now for delivered items, the car, anywhere, and it has not been available here.

 Carole's friends are getting better except for one still on a ventilator, two of Mark's have progressed to Covid pneumonia (still not being admitted to the hospital) and extended family members are improving.  So Santa is bringing Lysol!!

Nit was in the house because Petey was on the deck and I didn't want to referee.  After a while, I realized he wasn't in his usual spots.  So I searched.  And searched.  NITZY!!!  Little brat head was on my stitching supplies!!  I've wanted this sofa recovered for over a year and procrastinated because I didn't know what style of fabric I wanted, and our only upholsterer is now retired.  No one around to do this so I have to try to sell the sofa - Fakebook Marketplace?  Not sure what to do.

My eyes have been so terribly dry and burning that stitching was again very limited.  Almost finished with the green and then the next section is rust.  Several errors but you'd never know.

I found two boots online at Kohl's for cheap and I got a 30% discount also.  My great nephew is terribly hard on shoes, it's a waste to buy expensive.  Akademics Rugg and Xray Heady are two that did not show up when I searched last week for men's boots and with so many others having limited stock, I was happy to find these.

Hope your week is going well and everyone is safe.  

Thanks for visiting.

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Last minute

 On the final day of open enrollment to change Medicare plans, it wasn't until 8pm that my decision was made.  I am not satisfied, not happy, not sure if it was the right one but I have to live with it for a year.  And I'm palping away.  I have been paying for a Medigap plan and separate drug plan since my diagnosis and wanted to move to an Advantage plan saving me several thousand a year.  The generous dental plan would have been a big help along with not paying a $445 drug deductible.  But my agent and husband felt I should stay on the best plan a while longer.  I would not be able to get back on a Medigap (pre-existing condition denial is allowed for Medicare members) so this decision was very taxing on my menobrain.  And of course, the expense is bothering me especially with the sewer project's massive cost this spring.  I have to let it go, but that doesn't come easily.  Such a putz.  I would put on my big girl pants but they no longer fit.

I'm posting the larger Santas that I will keep out for Christmas to Instagram.  The majority of the PS guys will go back into the tote, limited decorating this year.

The BOAF boys will be out and the tiny guys in the front row will join them.  I so love those littles.

Carole's doc did not hear any fluid in her lungs, just the swoosh of her bad valves.  Back to the full Lasix dose, and told her that her condition will continue to cause breathlessness.  That's a long word.

Thanks for the comments about the beige thread.  I plan to stitch the next group with 712 and if that doesn't offer more contrast I will try the backstitch.

Hope your week goes well.

Stay safe!

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Battle of the beiges

 Hi folks.  First off, the little tree.  I purchased it a few years ago at JoAnn's 75% off sale, no previous photo.  I didn't remove any branches, just cut them because they were all very long.  The top were extended as far as the bottom branches, so I used the snips to shorten and shape. 

 

This very small tree was full with single branches coming from the main trunk and I cut/removed more than half, used floral tape (or brown electrical tape) to then wrap the trunk.  If there are smaller branches coming off each limb, it takes a while to shorten them all.  But I've done that too on a six footer.

I am creating unnecessary work on Elizabeth as more Ecru is used.  It does show if the work is in my lap or close, but I taped it to the wall and can barely see that beige on this Winter Brew.  Sort of looked like a vine without a bud.  So I used 3865 to stitch ELIZ and it shows better but is stark.  I moved on to 712, warm like Ecru but a little lighter and more noticeable.  A few areas would need to be changed if I choose this option.  But....

Another option is outlining the large buds with the gold thread.  I used the Paint program on the left border and I like it. But the gold buds not being outlined would bother me.

Bud is eating very little, sleeping, enjoying a soft brushing.  Petey has gained a lot of weight and is trying his best to sneak into the house.  Nit and even failing Bud attacked him, Missy runs and hides.  She used to swat him but since he "caught up" with her this summer, she won't get near him.  I can't have cat fights in the house.  I'm careful when petting him, can sense when he will strike and haven't been scratched in a while.

Carole is feeling and breathing better.  You asked why she didn't question the change.  Not something she does, ever.  It's like she is afraid of insulting doctors, and especially Cleveland Clinic, they can do no wrong.  I wasn't there because the Clinic did not allow family during Covid.  She was taken from our hospital by ambulance, and we picked her up at the door after discharge.  She told me they added a baby aspirin back to her list, but nothing else.  I need to see her paperwork on release because she has hearing loss, and at 82, does get things confused.  Her PCP (I can't go in with her) will check those records when he hears of this I'm sure.

Hope your weekend was pleasant.  My snow melted and I moved the lighted wire tree to the front in place of the grapevine.  Love it.  

Be careful.  Carole's friends are all still sick along with several of our friends.  Some very sick, others not as much, all testing positive.  We've been wearing masks for almost nine months, staying home, and distancing.  And the world having been shut down for months only delayed the spread.  There will be a lot of people with immunity in 2021, and I wonder if we will be required to test for those antibodies before receiving the vaccine.  

Stay safe friends!!

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