No reply

Everyone?

I was able to respond to only a few before, but now no one at all!  What happened?  I know I replied to Catherine and Vera before, and just realized their no-reply status.

I didn't have to visit the ER.  My fig trees are in huge pots, saturated and heavy from rains. I lifted/slid them off their trolleys over the threshold to get them into the garage (frost warning).  I really was concerned for a few hours.  Need to get action from the snotty cardio office.  Been dealing with inept or lazy people for too long.  And when did dressing like a couch potato for the office become the norm?  A pair of black leggings and a tunic tee cost less than joggers and a hoodie.  Comb your hair! Good grief.  If you see anyone well dressed they look out of place. Bank employees at one time were some of the best dressed and decades ago were paid little.  Now, you can't tell they work there. I guess the younger employees wear the same whatever they're doing.  My teachers always looked professional, here they wear capris with tees and flip flops.  I'm done. But it irks me.  Neatly dressed, not sloppy, looking groomed, does not take that much effort.  A small local bank with four employees is the exception.

Catherine, I can't get near those cats.  Had traps out for months and they ignore them.  They are here for food, have shelter when they want it, but live with a colony, not sure which.  Missy hates them both through the door.

The watermelon drink has nothing but a dash of salt and squirt of Splenda if it lacks flavor.  I did the entire melon and stored in the fridge.  Can't wait to do a cantaloupe.

Now about that humbug.  Stacy Nash got me again. I don't have her Rose Hill Farm sampler chart since I am only doing smalls, but look what's butting in to steal the spotlight... 

On 36 count, a different closure stitch, do I need to purchase a large project to get the tiny bonus?  I moved an 80# pot and survived, so hell yeah.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Have a wonderful day.

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Bah humbug

Never again on 40 count.  Or black thread.

Stitches too tiny for the whipstitch closing, thread too dark to see those tiny suckers.   The beads were the only easy part.

Just not happy with my choices and may try another on a larger weave.  Sometime.

Watermelon is the only fruit that soothes my dry mouth.  I eat many during summer, prefer a crisp texture.  If it's not, into the Ninja smoothie maker for such a refreshing drink.  (Kerosene is the lamp base, not the real thing.) I'm going to do this with cantaloupe too.  My sister nearly choked to death on a piece of it, liquid is better.

I'm waiting for the tight chest caused by moving an 80# pot to subside.  If it doesn't, I need to make sure my underwear is clean.  Do mothers still tell their kids that when leaving the house?  It is better than it was, guess I should stick to painting.

Happy Mother's Day!!

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Hide the matches

The crabass is quite irritated.

I did a half stitch first to mark the backstitch location, easier to see and count, simple to remove.  All went well .... for a while.  Backstitch has always been a problem for me on 40 count.  Using black thread, even more so.

The height and corners were positioned properly but as I proceeded, that was no longer the case.  My only option was to hop skip the stitches making it easier to find the extra linen thread errors.  Finally.  Now to go back and complete that outline.

Sometimes incomplete or missing stitches are not caught on a visual inspection.  Such as now.  Until I checked the photo, the section missing the second half of the cross was not caught.  I looked this over several times!  Yet one look at the photo and it was obvious.  So once that's corrected and the outline filled, I can start the closure.

The ferns are covered with a blanket, the flats are in the garage, the hanging baskets are in the dining room, and the fig trees are also in the garage.  Why did I put away winter clothing?  Just like every holiday's decor is offered many months before, the spring ritual of buying flowers Memorial Day has joined in.  If you don't have them by mid May, they're picked over.  Too soon for the unpredictable weather.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Mother's Day.

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A tiny humbug

Since I have black beads to finish the edge of this humbug, I decided to stop the blue and start the black.  I think mustard is often used with black in overshot weave, ivory with blue. These hearts need to be outlined to see the shape, I thought adding the second color would be another option.

Quite tiny on 40 count darker linen, with dmc 310 and 680, and very sore arthritic fingers.  Sanding has them in terrible condition!

It did not rain today, the sun actually appeared for a short time, and these two (Ollie & Tootsie) had a ball playing with tree debris on the deck.

Did you see Stacy Nash's IG post of the retreat's designs?  Just. So. Fabulous.  Won't be offered to the rest of us for a year.

Hope your May hasn't been as cold and wet as mine has.

Stay safe folks.

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More work and time

than this job took years ago.  Arthritic hands and body sure slow you down.  

The older paint is not dark, a medium tan I'd say.  But the White Dove Aura is taking three coats.  Small kitchen but overwhelming me!  Five lower cabinets and four uppers plus the backsplash vertical shiplap, fridge cabinet, and beneath bar to do yet.  Yoi.

My nerve tests showed nothing requiring surgery yet, and they can't explain the pain that radiates from mid bicep down through fingers.  I expected it was something weird, always is.  The cardio tests are still not scheduled after seven weeks.  Now they are saying the facility won't accept my insurance.  They do.  I spoke with them, I spoke with Highmark, and the office is being very testy and telling me to choose another facility.  I'm changing to another doctor, but first opening is in August.  Matt broke up another fight at school and was hurt, he's been off seven weeks, no check from workman's comp yet, and his MRI can't be done until August.  No openings.

I dyed a piece of linen I didn't care for to a lighter shade of the Sanguine.  Pink is not a favorite, but neither are florals and fussies yet I'll be stitching them.

It has rained heavily with no mercy for days, is raining now, and will be all week with cool temps.  June 1 will probably be 90 degrees.

And I found a nutroll in the freezer!  Last one, thought they were all gone.  It will be very soon.

Be good, be safe, be well.

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And just like that ...

I'm stitching hearts that I recently claimed to avoid.

I mentioned Needle 'n Thread, Mart Corbet's site for all you need to know about needlework.  Another is Jean Farish Needleworks.  This tiny heart on 36 count (you can see my attempt to increase its size) is a free chart from her site here.  

There are others also, listed in the left hand column along with her post titles.  The Americana Sampler Flag is one of them, here.

My plan was to stitch individual hearts, stuff to finish, and then I went to her site for a look.  Change of plans.  I will do all three on 40 count for a tiny fob (a humbug), and follow her tutorial.  It is floss tube #27, here.  Check out her site if you haven't seen it, loads of good information, links to charts and floss tube.  I am anxious to do that edge finish, perfectly shown in her tutorial.

There is another shape I am not familiar with called a Pendibule, designs for this finish are from Durene Jones on Etsy, here.  In the UK, new to me, loads of smalls in various finishes.  I found quite a few I would like to order such as this scissor case.

And this one.

Have a good weekend.

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