Tiny but mighty

 Good mail day, more to come.  I'm glad I ordered Fraktur Friends, even if I never stitch it.  What is it about having a loved design in hand to read, study, and then store?  The need to add some projects to our stash with no intention of ever stitching is not much different than collecting recipes we know we'll never prepare.  But after seeing this chart in person, I would love to attempt it.  The BBD book was much smaller than expected, four of the six berries will be stitched.

This Winter Brew has more color that previous pieces, very nice.  This is the first time the variations were diagonal which will add interest to the entire width, not just limited areas.  I like it.  But the odor was never experienced before.  Wow.  I usually choke when any type of air freshener is sprayed, maybe my dryness promotes irritation from such items.  

Carole asked me for a room spray and she loves lavender so I purchased plain and Mediterranean, both wonderful and light.  Wood is not Patchouli but similar.  I of course tried them here first and ... no choking!  So I've been happily spraying the kitchen after cooking and also spritzed over the linen.  A light mist settled from above so as not to wet the fabric, but enough to rid the odd scent.  

And about the tiny.  We took turns sealing the deck in this heat (yay!) and on my break, I sipped iced coffee while enjoying a swing. The lid is quite tight and holds the straw perfectly upright.  The third time I indulged, I thought a piece of glass was in my purchased drink.  What pain!  I removed the source from my mouth and realized my ever burning and fissured tongue was stung.  Holy bee butt.  Not on my arm or leg like most, but my most vulnerable and painful area! Tiny little thing, now deceased, not sure what it was but it got me as soon as it entered my mouth on my tongue's edge, the most painful part.  Who would think a little bastard would enter your drink through a straw?  Damn skippy.  

Nursing home tomorrow afternoon.  We took her friend over the weekend who visits others in three local facilities and she was floored.  She said this is a fancy hotel!  Could not believe the ingenious floor plans, decor, cleanliness, amount of outdoor areas. the semi private rooms separated by interior wall so you never see your roommate, windows in your room that open for air, and each resident has their own room temperature controls.  She is telling her friends to ask for transfers there.

Stopped at the cardio office with letters and test info this morning, have not heard anything, hopefully tomorrow.

I just found a boatload of comment emails that blogger sent to my spam folder.  I think it may be all of them for the last few months, don't know why, never ended up there before.

Have a terrific Tuesday.

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On edge

 Selvage edge that is.  I am too tired, too lazy, and too ornery to dance with Google so I come to you with a query.  I knew the answer at some point but it escaped to make room for usable excuses that I can blame on aging.

This PTP piece sized at 17 x 28 has the selvage on the side (28") not the 17" top.  I'm having a hard time visualizing how that cut is made.  Usually not something I pay attention to, but I thought that edge is on top of most projects.  Why am I questioning?  My stitches are fat.  They just seem wider than they are taller (I'm both).  Is this my imagination or does it make a difference?  36 threads to the inch should be either direction, no?  If it was, I doubt I would notice stitches appearing to be wider.  So tell me please, does it matter?  

Today, on this black chair, a fat hairy black spider camouflaged himself.  So difficult to find once I jumped up so this chair will never be sat on again.

Lots of phone calls and errands tomorrow.  None of my orders shipped since it was the weekend but I am really anxious to get them.  Am I going to attempt Fraktur Friends?  Maybe one day.  I still remember Carol's finish on Camofudge.  

Hope Monday is good - one week closer to Fall.

AUGH!!!!!!!!

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FOUND!!

 Strange strange strange.  Rachel Hyde is from 1995 and although my memory function is far from good, I thought there was a reprint offered by the designer.  It was at one time, in the folder with the original, and then disappeared over the years like my hair and tight jawline.  Did I imagine it?  Was it for a different design?  For two days I tore apart everything related to samplers leaving no folder, pouch, box, envelope unexamined.  So it must not have been Rachel or I certainly would have it.  This morning, I picked up the stack of chart papers to continue coloring, and it felt thick.  OMG.  Loose pages at the back of the stack were the reprint.  How?  I have been flipping those pages, coloring, reading, bitching, THEY WERE NOT THERE.  And especially being loose, not even stapled, they would have been seen.  Stunned me like the yellow jacket that sent husband to hospital years ago, as I mistakenly told the nurse he was in prophylactic shock.  She fell off her chair.  No dipstick.  Prophylactic is a condom.  The allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis.  Anyway .... this reprint is much much easier to see and I will continue on 36 count.  Why cause myself more aggravation dealing with wonky stitches on 28?  I ordered Seraphim Antique Lace and Fabric by Stephanie's Toasted Almond.  I was going to add Old Stationary but found one site comparing it to 840/842 which are too pink for me.  Fingers crossed.

And in another unexpected turn in the Saga of Carole, we were notified her pacemaker model (100% dependent because of an unnecessary AV node ablation) can quickly deplete battery even with up to three years remaining.  She has less than two.  So she needs to have the entire pacemaker replaced ASAP and we were told it would be a month before an appt in office and then they will schedule.  Hey.  Dickweed.  Listen up.  That fricking device is the only thing causing her heart to beat.  It doesn't matter what the hell you see in office after another stretcher transport in an ambulance, it MUST be changed according to the manufacturer.  Now.  No need to see her, schedule it, admit to hospital, do it.

Have a good weekend.

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Rachel

Hello hello hello!  Going to be warm the next few days, finally summer weather in it's last month.

I switched to 28 count and can't figure out why it's not comfortable.  That was the only count I worked on for many many years before moving to 30.  Not sure, but from my searching I don't believe R&R or PTP (my preferred linens) offer a 30 and since I seem to be spinning my wheels, giving up.  Will continue more this evening, but my tension issue is quite apparent and wonky uneven threads are slowing me down.  I'm using the secure needle method even though I prefer the loop, you would think the threads would lie even.  They certainly appear to be with the needle perfectly centered but once through the fabric destroys that illusion.  If it continues this evening, I have my PTP 36 waiting.  But only if I can work out a way to more easily read this chart.  We're not off to a good start folks!!

Trying to read this entire chart, even though very large and detailed, is proving to be a looming reason to stop.  Some symbols are easy, others seem faint and not centered, with the right side of them into the line of the graph.  This one took a long time for me to realize it must be the 502 symbol which is slanted with a curled leg in the code, but not in the chart.  You can see the graph is not a single line, but patterned.  This may not affect most, but certainly is me.  The alphabet is easy, all the same for each letter.

 

Coloring often helps a great deal but since there are too many shades of browns and greens to distinguish with a pencil, not this time.  So I should scan the page and stitch from a screen?  One that goes black every 15 minutes to save energy?  Should I keep the window open so it doesn't break when I launch it out?

Ordered a few more charts and a piece of Winter Brew.  Fraktur Friends from Shakespeares Peddler and BBD's The Rarest Flower.  So many BBD charts, old and new, are being shown that I have not seen, and although samplers and santas are my usual projects, doesn't hurt to try a few that pique my interest.  I adore this little design.  

All the fabrics shown on floss tube look perfect but I know it's not true and any time I can get Winter Brew, I do.  Seraphim and others are quite expensive for me to mess with and I really hate to take a chance.  Antique Lace looked gorgeous in a video and the thumbnail online looks grayish white.  Drives you nuts doesn't it?  I think showing several colors together would help those of us shopless, yellows greens and pinks would be noticeable compared to each other or even white.  When looking for paint samples, I always take a white sheet of paper, really helps show the cast.

The facility advised me to not hire an attorney since all the necessary documents were already turned in with the application and she has no financials except for one checking account.  They said not to be concerned, this is commonplace for PA to question deposits of some applicants for $45 and $52.85 even with limited income.  

Ferns are as always, gorgeous.  The others are even larger so I had to separate since their size did not allow room for all.

That's Nitzy, reminding me of Bud and how much I miss him on my swing.  I never sat alone, the minute he heard my large behind rattle those chains, he was there.

Chocolate zucchini bundt in oven along with the ???? zucchini with egg and Bisquick and onion and Parmesan and stuff.  Both baking at the same time and when I turned to clean the dishes, saw 3 cups of shredded zucchini and wondered why.  I quickly removed the dish from the oven and added the main ingredient.  How could I forget the zucchini?

Enjoy your day!

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Deck the Halls

 It's coming so fast.  Once again, we have to wait four weeks for an answer on the right leg, that will be September.  Holy moly.  That is just so mind blowing to me.  When someone mentions 2020, it seems like that year was more a of a dream (nightmare), and now 2021 will be also with a stress fog thrown in.  In the few minutes I had last night before conking out, I saw a post featuring Deck the Halls berries from BBD.  I don't remember ever seeing them, ordered right away.  Normally do not purchase books but all six designs will probably be stitched.  

This latest doctor in Pittsburgh was another kind and wonderful professional.  My sister said it's remarkable that someone so intelligent can be that good looking.   On the way past hundreds of various stores and businesses (we have nothing here), we stopped at Whole Foods.  Obviously not a store for those without healthy incomes, but we stocked up on the brioche cream cheese braid.  Carole's friend is taking it up today, along with the twin comforter and blanket that I needed to shorten yesterday between multiple phone calls with long hold times, bank visits, and hoping everything requested will be sent to the appropriate destination.

Then I worked on the deck, getting ready to seal, and found that the burgundy scrubbing pad was phenomenal in removing a great deal of dirt and old products even after a stiff brush scrubbing with TSP and a little bleach.  Because of removing the boards for the sewer project, there were some spots that were lighter from sanding splinters and thinking this rough pad would blend them, found out it's fantastic for cleaning. 

Holy moly part 2.  Ended up doing the entire deck again by wetting, allowing the water to sit a little, and then using my foot to scrub with this pad.  Amazing how filthy the water was, also removed most of the old stain/sealer, but didn't sand.  All of these boards are wet, you can see the huge difference in what he scrubbed with cleaners a week ago and just using the pad.

Two days of flare ups with my eyes, last night was the first chance to stitch.  Still trying linens, thirty count does not have as many options, so this double thread on 32 may be the choice.  But it's almost like .... pulling the linen or puckering slightly.  It's more difficult for me to stitch without entering the wrong hole than other counts.  I like the thickness and raised thread texture for this sampler, but 28 doesn't offer enough, haven't found a pleasing color in stock for 30, probably end up with 36 if the puckering continues.  I may try 40 for a tighter stitch, but here's the thing.  If I'm putting all this work into a project, I want it big and the higher the count the smaller the finish.  We'll see.  I do know that this light yellow will be changed, and I want a coral or apricot somewhere in this.  

Have a good day folks.  I've been four evenings and mornings with sweat pants and jacket, finally warming up now that summer is closing soon.  Dammit.

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Never before

 Sweet potato vines and their wandering lime green leaves are always chosen to mix with flowers each summer.  This is the first year they are not a few sparse and very long individual vines, instead, a very thick and vigorous plant with half the length.  As I watered yesterday, look what I found!  The first ever flower and it's beautiful.  Only one, but what a surprise.  

And this is the Vista Paradise petunia that I slaughtered and left with only thick center branches and less that ten leaves.  Confession time ... my claim was that I cut it back.  In fact, I had a hissy fit and attacked it.  The greenhouse had not properly trimmed to become a full plant and the center branches were so heavy and brittle that they snapped whenever I gently moved to check for slugs.  That did it.  So I grabbed those aggravating stems and continued tearing them off.  It was that, or throw the laptop out the window.  Some days, my patience and temper get the better of me, and the worse of whatever is causing the break.  And this plant showed me it is more resilient than I am.  The absolute thickest ever, with hundreds of pliable stems sprouting from those stiff buggers left behind.

(Ignore the mud, landscaper can't get enough people to work so it will be awhile.)

Taking Carole some fresh blueberries and a few rolls from spitini, a family favorite from my Aunt Kay.  I am hoping the attorney can expedite this hearing before the facility takes action for payment, already over $25,000.

Installing a motion light on the ceiling of her porch and motion LED spots on the garage corner this afternoon.  Direct wire ceiling mount are not common at all, and this is what we found.  The spot type we mounted there can't detect coming and going from the entry, only one direction, and this one from Lowe's will.  Or should.  I don't like four 25 watt chandelier bulbs but not much choice.  Preparing for caregivers coming and going in case we can get in home care after this nightmare is over.

I have a dilemma with Rachel.  Do I want to use single thread on 36 or double on 30?  I have no 30 large enough so would need to order.  Double thread would be more texture in the flowers and trees (to me anyway) so I should test a motif on a piece of 30 first, because I could be wrong.  Shhh.

Have a good day.

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