Finally a stitchy update!

I was able to pick up my stitching again a week and a half ago. The first 2 finishes I did I was able to get each one done in a day because they were so simple. The first one is an Easter ornie by Lizzie Kate, and then the May design from Curtis Boehringer from the 3 for 2 club, I love how this turned out the daisies are such a nice touch I think! Then my last finish was the May barefoot angel from Curtis Boehringer as well. I took a stab at tea staining the fabric for the May angel I have stained more fabric since that looks wonderful I look forward to stitching with that fabric soon.I am feeling much better. I still have the odd moments where I am stiff and wake up pretty darn stiff as well but it works itself out as the day wears on. In between all of my down time of not being able to stitch I have been doing a lot of reading. I finished the book for the book club I am in for April and read 3 other books as well. So far this year with some of my resolutions I am doing good at staying on task! Reading was one of my goals and I have been able to at least read one book a month if nothing else. I have been sticking to my stitching goals also, yea! I have been keeping a few other resolutions as well but still need to improve on others. Now that is is May it is starting to look and feel like it. A lot of warm days here anymore. I think all the changes in the temps though are messing with my youngest cat Bela she has got a nasty cold. I feel like a mom chasing after a toddler with a tissue in my hand so I can wipe her face for her. The antibiotics the vet gave are working good. She still tends to whistle while breathing and sneezes a lot. Poor thing. She wins the sympathy vote with me when she looks at me because of how she sounds. School will be coming to a close soon. June 1 is the last day of school. I found out this week that James is advancing onto the 8th grade. 1 more school year to go before it is those dreaded high school years! As always I want to thank everyone for stopping by and for taking the time to read and leave a comment.

Stopping by

Hi all,

I hope everyone is having a good week. I am popping in for a bit. I am feeling more better this week, still a little stiff and have to watch what I do but my arm is more better this week. Hopefully it goes away soon and stays away! My dad arrived in town the other day he will be here until Sunday so I have been busy. I won't see him now until Thursday these next few days he has some other relatives that he wants to see while he is here in town, that will give me time to catch up on some things here. I have been not in the mood for a while to do a lot here. On Sunday morning my cat Tom passed away. He had been sick for over a month and during that time had a few strokes but recovered from them not completely but he did. For a brief moment I was hopeful because 2 weeks ago we took Tommy to the vet and at that time he was almost on death's door. I had called and told them that I think he is dying I was wondering if maybe the vet could look at him to see if there is anything he can do for Tom or what he thinks we should do. I honestly thought that day he was going to tell me it is for the best to put Tommy to sleep. But he gave him a shot of cortisone so he can get around easily and a shot of Vitamin B to help stimulate his appetite and it did work for a short while but he still was slow to get around and tired out easily. I knew on Saturday night though that he was dying I looked at him and noticed he was starting to walk like he was drunk and had no balance which meant he had another stroke. His breathing was more rapid and was out of breath easily. So at bedtime I made a bed for him on our bed because he liked to sleep between us in bed every night. He slept through the night but when I got up in the morning to take the dog out he woke up a few moments later and was able to get off of the bed but then he dropped to the ground. He got up a moment later to get to the bathroom and he dropped to the ground there and was gone within minutes. I knew at that point he was going quick so I woke up Mike so he could say goodbye to him and we pet him and talked to him and told him we loved him until he was gone. After my Annie girl passed away in October Tommy kinda seemed to be depressed because I think he missed his pal. He stopped playing and running around like he used to do and just kept to himself. I use to call them the Grandma and Grandpa of the house because they were so close in age. Annie was 16 and Tom 17. They use to do everything together. I am so happy that I had 11 wonderful years with my Tommy. I used to always call him my rag doll because he reminded me of one so much. When we got him he was an abused cat. He was blind in the one eye, had little pieces of his ear missing and his tail had been broken at one point but never healed the right way so it was always crooked. It always use to feel so funny to accidentally touch his tail. Tommy knew we loved him and that he was in a house full of love. I am happy that I was able to give him a loving home all these years after having such a rough start. Having to say goodbye is always hard to do. I have been around animals all my life and have been able to witness the miracle of birth to watching them die and care for them in their final hours. Watching them go is always the hardest part and I wish I did not have to do so. I like to think old man Tom is with his pal Annie now and they are happy and paling around like they use to do all the time.

Before I close I wanted to mention, that from now on I will be moderating my blog. A few of my friends have been having issues with someone leaving nasty comments on their blog but whoever is doing it is anonymous so no one knows who is doing it. Since then I decided to moderate so that way if it happens I can filter what comes through. I hate to do this but think it is for the best. I hope I saved the setting right on my blog I will find out soon enough.

Forced to take a break

Hi all,

I am updating my blog this month to let everyone know that follows it may be a little while before I can get back on here. I have been having issues with my arm off and on since the winter but in the winter when it first started after the holidays I did not think anything of it too much because it was not such a bother to me and when it flared up it went away quickly as well so I left it at that. The last few weeks though my arm has been very bothersome and is only getting worse where I can't even get to sleep comfortably because the pain is a little much. Doing darn near anything from stitching to holding a cup or book or even opening a bottle of soda for James is becoming a little difficult. Well since the pain is getting more intense everyday I decided to get to the doctor and it turns out I have tendinitis. It started back in the winter from what the doctor had said but he told me I should have not ignored it either because that is why I have it so bad now because I have been stubborn and did not do anything til it got bad. He told me I have to stop doing a lot of the things I do like my stitching or typing on the computer and other things that will put strain on my arm and aggravate it. Seeing as I have had an issue with this for a while I was told I need to take care of myself now or else I will cause long term damage and it will not heal properly or I could put myself at risk of getting chronic tendinitis. So sadly for a bit I will not get to do what I want if I want my arm to get better quickly so I am hoping to be back sometime in May! Now lets see how good I am at listening! Doing not much for a while is going to drive me batty! Thanks for all the comments on my last post it is always nice when I have so many that pop in. See you in May! Happy stitching!

Some finishes finally!

It has been a few weeks since I have been here but I have been keeping busy as well. First off the last time I blogged I mentioned we were going away for a few days. That was a wonderful time and everything went great. We did not do as we planned to but it still was a fun time just the 2 of us and nothing else! Ohio has been having a heck of a spring here lately. Since March the weather here has been decent. It has been in the 70's a lot of days and the last few weeks a lot of days in the 80's. Of course this would be the year that we have a big warm up in spring like that when I still do not have a working air conditioner for the living room. We will by June though. I just have to finish saving up for it. We ended up having a spot of good luck this week which put some extra money in the bank and left us with some money to get some things here that were broken and needed to be repaired like a new Lawnmower since we did not have one, a flat screen tv for the living room since the other one died last week and some money to work on the car. We could have gotten the ac this week as well but I wanted to use some of the extra money for bills and not all on shopping. Mike has been pulling in some crazy hours here as well. This time of year business is booming where he is at so he has been offered a lot of overtime and he has been taking it. There have been days where he pulled a 14 hour day in or like on Sunday he leaves at 1pm and I will not see him until 6am Monday morning. The extra money will be great but I will be glad when all of this is done too because he has been home very little and he already has a lot on his plate now as it is.

I have 2 finishes to share. Both are from Curtis Boehringer. The first is from the 3 for 2 club and it is the April design this is so simple to stitch in a matter of hours this is done. I also finished up my April angel from the barefoot angels of the month club. I like the way the stitching turned out but I always have an issue with deciding on what to do with them when it comes time to finishing them off and then at times I am not happy with my finishing either. Thanks for stopping by and of course all of your comments. They are always appreciated!

Some Easter stitching!

I have a few Easter stitching updates to share. I was hoping to have more to share but like many fellow stitchers I fell into a rut and just was not motivated to want to do any stitching. After I got off of that then I picked up my needle and started some holiday stitching. The First one is a pattern that I got from one of my Cross Country Stitching magazines. The other one is from Waxing Moon it is called Spring bunny. Last week I got a very nice surprise in the mail from my friend Mylene she sent me a postcard and this adorable scissor fob that she made for me. I love it a lot! It is rare for me to get any stitchy mail from my friends so this was a very nice surprise to get! Thanks so much Mylene! Not much going on here except the same ole same ole of being busy most days. On Tuesday me and Mike are going away until Friday on a small getaway. Mike came into some extra money at work so we decided it would be perfect to do something nice just the 2 of us. I have not been away since my honeymoon nearly 13 years ago so I do think it is time to do so! The timing is perfect here. James' last day of school is tomorrow and then he starts spring break right after school he is going to a party/sleepover at his friends house and after that we will be spending the rest of his time at his grandparents house til we get back. My FIL has a lot planned for James like taking him to the Museum and the zoo so I think he will enjoy that. The bed n breakfast we plan on staying at is called Fitzgerald's Irish Bed & Breakfast. This is about 15 minutes away from where we live so I will be able to pop in at home and check on things if needs be. We plan on doing a few days trips as well. I have a few stitching projects to bring with me to pass some time. Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by!

A few small St. Patricks Day finishes to share

Well with next week being St. Patrick's day already I stitched up a few small designs. I am going to work on some Easter stuff starting today! My 2 finishes are both Lizzie Kate's of course. I started stitching on Wednesday and by Sunday night I was done with the both of them! I really do love the designs that are so quick and easy to stitch! You may think I am nuts but I do have my tree up still and fully intend on keeping it up. I usually decorate according to holidays and seasons. Since moving into our home a few years ago we gave up space and I have next to none closet space so I have no where to stick my tree. Since moving here I have had to get rid of a lot of stuff in all honesty because I had no where to put everything. I am hoping in a couple of years we can move into a bigger place and I will have space again! But anymore I tend to live by the saying do what makes you happy. Me and Mike have spent many years being unhappy with everything that was thrown our way and in the past I had many dark days because of it but now the last few years have been slowly coming together and we are having happier times all around so I could not ask for anything more!

The last week here has been good but busy. Been spending a lot of time at my inlaws. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday my FIL goes to his dialysis treatments so we end up visiting those days days as well. It still is an adjustment period for him he is very tired after wards but doing good. He has had to change his diet drastically which he is not happy about. He is starting to get use to the fact that at times others have to work their schedule around him. That was hard for him to accept because he is always an active person but with his health issues sidelining him anymore there is not so much he can do so that gets the best of him. Learned many interesting facts last week concerning the dialysis and what to expect as well. All in all though he is doing good and that is what counts!

Thanks for stopping by and for your comments in my last post and this post! Have a great week!

Happy March!

Well a new month is upon us and I have some more updates to share! I have been busy lately with my stitching but that is not new for me. My stitching is my stress reliever so I am always turning to it. The new year has been stressful at times but I have not said much to anyone. I have been extremely stressed and worried for many reasons. My brother is driving me nuts. He will be 38 in June and he still cannot get it together no matter what. He has been homeless many times and is barely sober and always getting into trouble with the law. Me and Mike have opened our home to him many times over the years and have helped in any way we could but it just is frustrating that he won't help himself, I know you can't make anyone get help unless they are ready for it. The reason I am so everything concerning him is because yet again he managed to get into trouble with the law and this one will land him in jail for a while. I feel so angry and sad for him because I wish he would just grow up.

Me and Mike have also been very worried because for some time Mike's father has been very ill and after Christmas we knew things were going to change but it is so hard to see the wheels in motion. Tomorrow he begins dialysis because his kidneys are shot. He will be going 3 days a week every week. Since the dialysis will be starting he is also going to be put on a kidney donor list. My FIL has had no choice but to be forced into early retirement for the time being, doctor's orders. So since Christmas my MIL has been working 2 jobs to help make up for the lost income. I am hoping that things will come together for my inlaws because I love my FIL like my own father so it is very upsetting to see things like this now. The one bright spot is the place that my FIL will be getting his dialysis at is less than 10 minutes from where we live. He has mentioned on some of the days he would love someone to keep him company so I think this will be doable for us at times.

I have been so stressed that my mood anymore is not so good poor Mike I just don't have it in me for the most part to be chipper when I have to deal with the day to day stuff and all the family issues going on. This month sometime me and Mike are planning to get away just the 2 of us for a few days. I am so looking forward to this we really do need it!

Ok, enough rambling and on to my stitching! I have 2 finishes to share they are both from Curtis Boehringer. The first one is from the 3 for 2 club it is called March and the last one is my March angel from the barefoot angel of the month club. In my last post I had someone ask me about my finishing what it looks like so I am showing my backside this time so you can see what it looks like. I did not have any green fabric to use for the backsides so I used some black fabric I have had in storage for some time. I know the picture for the angel once again is not so great I need a new camera so bear with me with the pics. I also am showing my little bit of progress with my stocking that I am working on in my SAL. I am going to move at a turtles pace on this one because it is so simple to do I would be done with it in less than 2 weeks if this was all I was working on and since I have til Christmas I can move as slow as I like! So now I am going to get started on my swap gift real quick so I can get it sent out in the next few weeks and try to get a few small St. Patrick's Day things stitched before the day gets here. Thanks for stopping by and your comments and have a great week.