I've been Tagged....

Kari from Dogwood Dreams tagged me.

Each play of this games starts with 6 weird things about themselves. I will then tag 6 people who will do the same as well as let them know they are tagged in their comments and tell them to read mine. Okay....There are so many weird things about me, it was really difficult to choose, but here goes:
1. It bugs the heck out of me to leave dirty dishes in the sink (or very few) when I leave the house or go to bed at night.

2. I can't stand to have papers, books, mail, etc...piled on tables unless they are neatly piled or better yet, not there at all. I will just make a nice pile then I feel better. Weird, eh?

3. Must go through the mail ASAP, sort, and file it. (do the same with my emails)

4. I always check the stove top and oven to be sure it's turned off before leaving the house or going to bed whether I've used it or not.

5. Must make my bed ASAP after getting up....even in a hotel room on vacation.

6. Have an uncanny knack of remembering where things have been put or filed at home or at work. (aka "finder of all lost things"). I cannot remember numbers (phone numbers, etc..) to the point of frustration sometimes.....I'm talking from one minute to the next.

The funny part about all these weird things is that I pretty much know what has caused each of them. There are some other weird things about me....but I'm only allowed six, so I'll save them for next time.

I think I'm gonna take the route of Sue at Good Yarns and tell yinz guys that if you wanna do this one, go for it! No pressure! I've seen this on alot of blogs so I'm not sure who has done it already and who hasn't....I don't think I had done it unless I did it long time ago.

Okay...next on the agenda another Project Linus blanket....


I used TLC Amore on this one. Gave it a different look on the edge but it was difficult to see the stitches as I was doing them so I sorta guessed. But it turned out okay. My coordinator for Project Linus asked me to do 12 fleece blanket edgings. She would supply the fleece and I would the yarn. I said heck yeah!!! She dropped off a huge bag for me yesterday. I haven't gone through it all yet, but I'm anxious to see what yarn I have to match it. Definately will show pics as I finish them up. These are so easy to do with the skip stitch tool for a 45mm rotary cutter. If you want one of your own, just email skipstitch@alltel.net for more info. I think they are about $10 plus shipping. (don't quote me on that).

Next, a little more progress on my Britty Dog ornament. And "NO" that isn't a little poopy coming out of his butt....it's the beginning of the Christmas Stocking that will hang on his tail...but you knew that already...right?????
I know I said it works up fast but I've been working on about three things at one time, so that's why it's not done yet. Been thinking about how I want to finish it now. I would like to try and make my own cording with floss to surround it and maybe a tassel. We'll see. I wanted to make stockings for everyone for next Christmas including the animals. I found the Britty Kitty Stocking and loved it and so I emailed Brittercup Designs to see if there was a Britty Puppy Stocking. They said as a matter of fact one will be available for sale in stores or online after February. So I ordered the Kitty one from my favorite Cross Stitch store in town (remember the one next to the bank....on pay day) and I'll wait for the Puppy after that. Those designs are so easy and so cute!!!

Okay, yinz guys...this is the last chance to comment, cause tomorrow is my BLOGIVERSARY!
I'll have the Sweetie Man draw a name tomorrow evening to give all you late readers a chance to comment on today's blog. So keep an eye out for the winner tomorrow evening! I still don't know the prize cause I want to sorta customize it to the winner!

So, till tomorrow, yinz crazy guys......stay warm!!!

HELP.....

......I'm SUDOKU-ING AND I CAN'T STOP!!!!! Okay, I've fallen victim to the latest craze....I swore I would not.....said I could not! But then Sweetie Man gets me hooked....line and sinker!!
I really didn't think I could do it but I did. I got frustrated at first, but then I googled strategies for sudoku so I had a plan rather then just willy-nilly placing numbers and getting frustrated. Once I got that down, it was all over. But ya gotta remember, my brain is getting older and I need to keep it active. I told my son that I'm going to stay alert so that when I'm 105 he cannot swindle me out of all of my millions...yeah right!
I must say tho, when I purchase this T-shirt, I may be taking things a little too far.....

Tho you must admit, wearing it could be interesting (okay...get your minds out of the gutter!)

I started another cross stitch.....sorry! It's just a little one and it goes with the forum I'm in also....so it's okay! I have been wanting to try a Brittercup Design ever since I saw them. I love working this....


I would like to make three Brittercup ornaments for my dogs and one for my cat. Something about the simple design I just love. I just started this one and it's working up so fast.

Last, I think I'll leave you with a little quiz I found on Anne's blog. (if this didn't link for you before...try it again...I fixed it...sorry!)

You Should Paint Your Room Blue

Peaceful and soothing, blue rooms have been known to reduce blood pressure. Your blue room will encourage deep rest and great sleep. A blue room is the perfect oasis for a stressful life.

What Color Should You Paint Your Room?

So, till next time, yinz guys.....(keep those comments coming...5 days to go!)

Lots to show yinz guys!

Okay, we all can agree that pay day is a good thing.....but you want to know what is even better? When the bank you take your check to is two doors down from the cross stitch shop. (if there was a yarn shop across the street also, I'd be in BIG trouble) Anyway, the magnetic forces that control the universe, pulled me into the shop after I cashed my check....I tried to stop them but it was useless. So reluctantly I entered.....Donna, the shop owner, knows me by name (of course) so I looked for something to buy....just felt like buying something. So I came up with this....

The two magazines were only $ .25 each and there was at least one pattern in each I liked.
The reason for the fireman's prayer was that I would like to do two cross stitches for some wonderful people (whose name I shall not mention in case they read this). One would be this prayer and the other would be this truck.......

A lady at work gave me a copy of this one. Now I'm not needing to finish either till like next Christmas, but it never hurts to be prepared, right?
Today, I went to JoAnn Fabrics and got this nice stash. (thought I didn't crochet or knit anymore didn't ya....WRONG!!)

Sweetie Man's daughter will be leaving for Afghanastan next week and when asked what she would like us to send her homemade, she said slippers and blankets. I got one slipper done.

I plan on making about three pairs in different shades she requested. This pattern is so easy....it's Bev's Quick and Easy Slippers. I love them and have made a few pairs already for myself and others. She requested certain colors as you can see. The fleece will be made into a blanket somewhat like I did when I crocheted this one for Project Linus....
Going back to cross stitch, did you ever look for anything in your house and became obsessed with finding it just cause you know it's somewhere in the house whether you need it or not right now? I did with this pattern book...

I knew I had it and I truly could not find it on the internet except for one lady on ebay. It has these cute little egg ornaments that are cross stitched. The book is dated from 1990 and I think there was another one also, but I never saw it.
In the process of looking for the egg book I came across this cross stitch I started 14 or 15 years ago.

Isn't precious.....especially now since my son is 19 years old. I will finish it someday just cause it's so sweet.
Oh, and I also got the backing for the Kitty List flat fold finishing.

Thank you so much to all of you who hooked me up with a site on the "how to's"! Can't wait to do it. I'll post the pics of the finished product.

This next cross stitch wasn't on my to do list, but I got it last year and I've always wanted to finish it. I don't know about you but I usually like to have a few projects going at one time that way I don't get bored. I felt like working on something small last night so I picked this up and stitched a bit.

And look what I got in the mail from Paperback Swap. (see sidebar) I forgot I had this on my wish list over there and it came up. Just a bunch of feel-good stories.

Oh, and not to completely freak you out...BUT we caught another mouse. This one wasn't so full of blood and guts.....I think the trap broke his butt!

Well, I think I've bored you enough so I'm going go do something crafty and wait for the chili and corn bread to be done that the Sweetie Man is cooking up now (the house smells delish!) Hoped you enjoyed all my stuff......so till next time, yinz guys.....(don't forget those comments....not too much time left for the Blogiversary Contest!)

EEEEEK....A MOUSE!!!!!!

Ok, I know all you CYBER-ADDICTS are thinking this....

BUT IT WASN'T!!!!! IT WAS THIS.............................

A true honest to goodness bonafide HOUSE MOUSE.....IN MY HOUSE!!!!!! But thanks to the bravery of my older dog Katey (who everyone in my house makes fun of cause she licks walls) this mouse is now in MOUSY HEAVEN!! You Go Katey....that's my Girl (gave her 2 pieces of jumbo aka bologna for finding it)!!!
It seems that my son claimed he saw a mouse one night in the kitchen of which I've never seen one in the kitchen. Many years ago before animals roamed my yard, there were a few in the cellar (aka basement). We have a very old house and there are little crevises and such were one such rodent might enter. Anyway, this one was in the kitchen. Needless to say, I was not going to be a part of any rodent scaring the beegeebers out of me when I least expected it. I love animals of all kinds......but mice running rampant in my house are not part of "kinds"! I promptly went to Walmart and purchased as many of these as I could....

Okay...I'm kidding, I actually purchase 6 of this little ditties that I've use with much success in the past.
Sweetie Man wanted to buy the poisoning stuff....I thought to myself, "this isn't a mouse picnic....I don't want to feed them.....I WANT THEM DEAD AND I WANT TO SEE THEM DEAD, not find them dead somewhere three years down the road." But I kindly said, "No, Sweetie, this will work much better and it is reusable provided there isn't much blood and guts on it!"

So I positioned six of these in my kitchen. The next day....nothing.....I did find mouse poop of which I promptly took out my strongest kitchen cleaning agent and scrubbed my kitchen down cause that really freaked me out...ugh!!! I repositioned the traps and also put a couple in the basement. Nothing! Then yesterday while washing clothes I heard a tiny, "squeek....squeek." I started to sing thinking it would scare it into hiding till I managed to run to the upstairs. I asked my son and his gal pal to assist me in checking out the basement for the squeek and they agreed...actually my son was excited cause it gave him the opportunity to scare us girls of which he did on the way to the cellar and we screamed (to make him feel good). Anyway, to make an even longer story short, I thought I would bring down my elder dog, Katey, just for the heck of it.....Well, sure enough she found the trap within seconds, which the mouse dragged about a yard away from where it was set and pulled it out for us!!! At that point I was standing on top of something to be sure my feet did not touch the floor. (actually I put snow boots on when I went down the cellar) Anyway, the bottom line is, we caught the mouse (my son said that it wasn't the one he saw ...I think he was just trying to freak me out again)...but the traps will remain in place either way for awhile. The trap unfortunately will not be reused as there was too much blood and guts on it (see previous paragraph)....I think he struggled for awhile on it....YUCKY!!!!! So, with that little story under my belt, I'll let you get on with your day.....till next time, yinz guys........

First 2007 Cross Stitch finish...

Well, I finished a cross stitch which is my first for 2007....

I used three strands on this and I wish I hadn't cause I really hate working with three strands of thread...I much prefer two strands. Anyway I had sent away for the threads on the cat.....Needle Necessities #147 terracotta. I think it gave kitty a nice little coat. I don't know how I'm going to finish it yet....I'm gonna investigate that. I did see where some people finished little pictures like this in a sorta tent form. I don't know the name of it or how they did it...but it wasn't in a frame and was free standing. If anyone knows, I'll listen. Last time a cross stitched I wasn't blogging or in any forums, so I'm learning all sorts of things.

I'm still working on my mastif and with the suggestions from other cross stitchers, I'm not continuing in the manner I was where I was doing ALL of one color then going to the next. I think that is what was messing me up. I'm going to work on one section at a time starting with the ear and working down.....I lose stitches the other way. Here's a pic of my progress.....

Obviously Christmas has passed so my neighbor won't get it then....but I'm sure I'll come up with some other date to give it to them.

And my JoAnn Fabrics gift card that was given to me by Santa Sweetie Man was burning a hole in my pocket so I splurged on some cross stitch stuff since that is what I've been doing more of with my crochet and knitting thrown inbetween. First I got some floss to fill in the spaces of my five boxes of floss I have now...

Then I bought some scrolls and a stand to hold my projects....I like this alot better than hoops.

With using coupons, I still have a wonderful $22.00 left over!! I think I done good!

So on this rainy rainy rainy (did I say it was raining!!!) weekend, I mostly cross stitched, played games with my son, the new gal pal, and Sweetie Man, cleaned up my cellar (aka basement to you non-Pittsburgh folks) and tonight I plan on finishing up my first crochet project for 2007....tho it isn't really that big of a project. Oh, and watching a new Wife Swap.....and tomorrow.....AMERICAN IDOL!!! WOO-HOO! The puppies are driving me a little bonkers being holed up in the house so much with all the rain....they are definately stir crazy! Hopefully things will get a little dryer in the next couple of days!

So, ladies (and gents) that's about it from Rainy Craft Central......till next time, yinz crazy guys...... (don't forget those comments for the Blogiversary surprise drawing!)

New year...new look!

As you can see I'm currently "under construction"! I wasn't really happy with my last look so I opted to change. It took alot of playing around but I came up with this RED HAT theme (ya know, wild and crazy gals 50 and over?) I'm also going to throw a little Maxine in the mix....she's hilarious! I was messing with my template and then decided to give the New Blogger stuff a try. I had switched to the New Blogger but never used their new Layout. I do have to tell you that once you get the idea as to what is going on, it's a heck of alot easier to make changes and add things. No more searching on your HTML template for the exact location of where to put things. And you can upload pics right to the sidebar rather than finding the url from Photobucket or whatever. Pretty slick! But whatever you do, "select, copy, and paste" your old blog to a disk or your documents in case things don't work out for you. I actually just took one of the already made templates from blogger and put in the colors I wanted and came up with this look. I'm pretty pleased with the results. You first need to go to your template and I think it's "customize design" or something like that. Then change your template (blogger said they will save your old one, but I still did a back up)....pick anyone really because you can change colors and fonts after you do. A screen will come up letting you do this. Then once all that is done your template will look like squares that you can drop and drag and edit individually. You will have to put back in things from your sidebar that's extra....blogs you read, pictures, etc.... JUST SAVE THAT OLD TEMPLATE SOMEWHERE IN CASE YOU MESS UP SOMETHING OR NEED TO FIND A URL FOR AN AVATAR OR WHATEVER. And preview before you save. So be patient as I add things and figure out where things go for now. And try it yourself....figuring out things like that is good for the brain cells...helps ya live longer! So, till next time, yinz crazy guys!

Have an obsession?

Anyone watch Good Morning America? Anyway, they posed this question which I thought was pretty good. Seems this lady had an obsession with makeup and was trying to go a week without using it...she did it but had alot of trouble. The question they posed was, "What could you NOT go without for one week?" Now I don't think they meant people or food items, tho they did mention coffee, but I'm gonna narrow it down and say NOT including food items or cigarettes. (cause no coffee with probably send me to the looney bin!) In my case I would have to say, CHAPSTICK....or lip balm or anything to make your lips moist. I happen to have it on me all the time plus in practically every room of the house. I do not leave the house without it in my pocket or purse. Have a couple sticks at work. Goes on first thing in the morning and last thing at night...sometimes even in the middle of the night if I get up for whatever reason. Even vaseline will do. I cannot stand to have dry feeling lips that you have to constantly lick. I probably swipe them every hour or so! With that said, tell me what you cannot go without for a week, be it a watch, earrings, makeup, brush, whatever.....this should be interesting. So, till next time, yinz crazy guys! (excuse me while I go moisten my lips)

A New Fangled Thingy Majig....

You're gonna love this. It's called Skip Stitch! It's a new little devise that puts holes where you want them, slick as a whistle! Bridgette, my coordinator from Project Linus sent it to me awhile back and I never really got the chance to mess with it till now. I love it.

It attaches to your rotary cutter and using your rotary mat, of course, it cuts these little slits in anything....in my case its fleece blankets so I can easily crochet around them for my Project Linus blankets.


I used a G hook and some worsted weight yarn and just did some single crochets around it. I love this thing.....heck of alot easier than hole punching like I used to. Now, I don't know who has them now but if you just google skip stitch I'm sure you'll find one if you are interested.

Next on my agenda, Tina from Timeless Creations saw that I was doing some cross stitching lately and was so nice to send me these books she didn't want anymore....thank you, TINA!
They are right up my alley. She also sent me a couple of skeins of floss and a nice piece of 16 ct. brown aida. I didn't show that cause I already started using it for this....


It's supposed to be a scissor fob but I'm going to use it as an ornament for Christmas. It's from the JCS 2006 Ornament book. I'm sorta liking the Quaker ornaments alot and this was one of them....tho it doesn't look exactly like the picture in the mag, I sorta gave my own twist to it. I need to know how to make my own cording with floss cause I really like the look of that around the ornaments too.
So, in addition to taking down outside decorations and watching football with the Sweetie Man this weekend, I was a busy crafty beaver. We were supposed to have a game night with my son's new gal pal, but that sorta fell through and we're gonna reschedule. But that's cool.
So, till next time, yinz crazy guys.....(leave those comments!)

Before you say anything....

...keep in mind I didn't say I would post EVERYDAY. I said that WHEN I post, and you leave a comment for THAT day....you will get your name put in the Blogiversary Drawing. If I post only 15 times till January 27 and you comment 30 times, that means you are getting only 15 chances to win! Does everyone understand that! Good, cause now I don't feel so bad about not posting yesterday!!! (tee-hee!) You thought I was angry, didn't you? NAW!!!

Okay.....I just have to show yinz guys this....remember this little guy?.....

Who then became this little bigger guy?.........


Well, now our 5 month old (yep- 5 month old) has turned into a full-fledged "lap dog"!



That's really not a good picture of him....his face is so adorable..especially when he looks at you with those big black eyes of his....he is sooooo sweet! And he is so in love with our little Chloe (the terrier) She will be munching away on something and he will lay next to her and put his huge head on her back...and she doesn't even budge. Luckily, she is "fixed"!!! Whadda crew we have!!

I also wanted to show these little ornaments I finished up. Actually I stitched them a long time ago and ran across them as I was going through my cross stitch stash.
I believe that people who now live in heaven sometimes send us little messages just to let us know they are there and thinking about us as we do them. The one little ornament has the name "Joe" on it. I had planned one year to stitch little stockings for everyone in the family but only made one for my brother Joe. Well, he lives in Heaven now with his wife, and my parents, and I think finding this was his way of telling me Merry Christmas and, being as he was a tremendous animal lover and owned quite a few in his day, he was telling me, "hey man, nice dogs!"
So, with that, (don't forget those comments!)....till tomorrow, yinz crazy guys!

The NAME GAME!!!!

L	Loud
U	Unforgettable
C	Charming
Y	Young

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

I don't know about this little quiz. Found it over at Donna's blog! I can agree with the U, C, Y,....but I think I'll change the L to Loveable!!

Anyway, my New Year's started off rather nicely if I do say so myself. A relaxing New Year's Eve with the Sweetie Man and on New Year's Day after relaxing at home a bit we enjoyed a nice dinner with family at my brother's house. Now it's back to the normalcy! I'm debating on whether to take down the Christmas decorations during the week or wait till the weekend and enjoy them for a couple of more days. Sometimes I just do it little by little then by the weekend the tree, with help from the Sweetie Man goes.

As for my resolutions, I'm up to 17! One of them, as you may have already noticed, is of course getting back on the weight loss train! I had to move the tracker back a couple of notches thanks to someone's delicious cooking (you know who you are, Sweetie Man!) But I will be serious about this one cause there's a big family wedding coming up (unfortunately not mine, yet!) and I want to look presentable! I did make my goal a little more realistic than last time also...30 lbs. vs. 40 lbs. According to my doctor, it's where I probably should be with my height. Hey, it's not my fault I was born short!

And speaking of presentable...I unveiled my tattoo to my relatives on New Year's Day.....let's just say, if they had any thoughts of me being crazy, I've just managed to confirm them! I don't think I'm crazy....I love the tattoo.....I plan on adding to it! I'm just being ME!!!!

And in case you didn't notice, I have a blogiversary tracker going on up top also! Woo-hoo! That's right, January 27 will be my one year blogiversary! And as a little thank you for being such awesome readers, I'm going to have a little contest and drawing that I saw on some other blogs that I thought was really nice! Begining today, January 2, 2007 and through January 26, 2007, everytime you visit my blog and leave a comment, I will put your name in my little box for a drawing to be held on my blogiversary, January 27, 2007. Keep in mind, that if you leave ten comments in one day on one post, you will only get your name in one time for that day. The prize....mmmmm....a box of goodies....that's all I will say....a little bit of everything that I'm just going to put together through the month! So, have fun with it and start commenting!

Oh...and one more thing! There may be a special new young lady in my son's life! I'm so excited.....she's very nice and very pretty! Keep your fingers crossed!

Well, that's about it for today! I'm going to get back to keeping my resolutions! I already managed to keep one...I got to work on time!! (But as I always say....It sure makes for a long day when you get to work on time!) So, till tomorrow, yinz crazy guys....

From ME to YOU.....

Last Post...

Don't panic....just the last post for 2006! Had to get one more in before the New Year begins in three hours! Yinz, guys be safe tonight.....re-read that resolution list......and kiss someone you love (okay, like) at midnight!!! (unless you did already!) See yinz, guys, next year!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! (WOO-HOOOOO!)

Today is the day!!!!!

Oh, yeah...Today is the day Chloe gets her stitches out!!!! WOOOO-HOOOOO! Her lump has gone down alot and she is ready to rock!!!! No more hoods...no more pills....no more anything!!! I love when a plan comes together!!!!!
Okay...now that I got that out of the way, I hope your holidays are as great as mine. I consider it "holiday time" until January 5 when the tree comes down! I got some cool gifts from Santa too! Like this really really nice Starbuck Barista Coffeemaker (I'm still learning how to use it tho)

And the coffee (Starbucks brand of course) is ahhhhhhhh MAGNIFICO!!!!!
As well as all this neat stuff...(note the nice JoAnn Gift Card....oh, yeah!)

That little knobby thing at the bottom left is a piece of Polish pottery made into a wine cork. This type of clay is only found in Poland and handmade. I own a couple of other pieces also....wonderful to have being as I'm from 100% Polish ancestry.

This next gift is from my son(can't wait to wear this to my brother's house who is a die-hard University of Pittsburgh fan...hee-hee...probably won't let me in his house!)

And this nice stash.....
I musta been a goooooood girl!!!!
Christmas Eve we went to church then enjoyed some tasty hor'd oeuvres made by the Sweetie Man. Christmas Day we just chilled and the Sweetie Man made a delicious Cornish Hen dinner for all of us(which I forgot to take pics of). Then throughout the week we are just enjoying the tree, playing with new stuff and just relaxing. Work has even been pretty slow and quiet as well.

I did manage to finish this up for my neighbor's new baby....
Just a little ornament. I haven't heard from her yet about it, so I hope they liked it. (she's into frogs!)

I'm still working on the cross stitch mastif...
Don't know when that will be done though. I wanted to give it to my neighbor before the holidays were over but it may be a little late. It's very addicting to work on....when I get in the mood to do something, I can't stop.
I got a cool bag from Santa too that holds yarn with holes in the top to bring the yarn through which I've already loaded with a project, a beautiful butterfly ring, a tea cup in the shape of a heart, some CD's, and a bunch of other really great things. Much more than I ever expected!!!
Other than going to work, I pretty much hibernate inside and do crafts. Tho, Sue at Good Yarns is giving me the itch to work on some jigsaw puzzles too!!!! My mind just doesn't want to stop lately!!! I almost hate to go to bed at night cause I'm having so much fun doing stuff!
Oh, well, that's it for now and the summary of our Christmas activities...gonna go do something fun besides blogging and enjoy the evening with the Sweetie Man! So, go find someone to slow dance with and enjoy the rest of my man, Rod! Till tomorrow, yinz guys!!!

Merry Christmas, All Yinz Guys!!!

FROM MY HOME TO YOURS.......

A BLESSED AND WARM HOLIDAY!

Just call me "Frosty"!

You Are a Snowman

Friendly and fun, you enjoy bringing holiday cheer to everyone you know!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

And I was tagged for a Meme...so you asked for it:

FOUR JOBS I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE:
1 Ward Clerk in a hospital
2. Restaurant Hostess/Cashier
3. Front Desk Clerk
4. Secretary (now and probably forever!)

4 MOVIES I HAVE WATCHED AND WOULD WATCH OVER AGAIN:
1. White Christmas
2. Easter Parade
3. Any OLD comedy series (Ma & Pa Kettle, Blondie..etc)
4. Just about any OLD musical

4 PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. 4 small towns in Pennsylvania near where I live now.

4 TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH
1. Wife Swap
2. Cops
3. Nancy Grace
4. American Idol

4 PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION
1. Barbados
2. Florida
3. Michigan/Ohio
4. Maryland

4 OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
1. Pizza
2. Crab Legs
3. Sweetie Man's Spaghetti (actually anything he cooks)
4. Eating Breakfast Out Anywhere

4 OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS
1. anything by Jodi Picoult
2 Elm Creek Quilts Novels byJennifer Chiaverini
3. Monica Ferris mysteries
4. Debbie Macomber books

4 FRIENDS I WANT TO DO THIS MEME
1. You
2. and You
3. mmmm....how about You
4. and last but not least...YOU!

It was all a little too perfect....

Yessiree....all just a little too perfect. The stockings were hung by the chimmney with care.....with a gate 'round the tree, the dogs didn't care! Life was good....presents were bought.....nothing left to do but enjoy the holidays........
That is until........"dun, dun, dun, duuuuuuuuun.......
....this seemingly harmless piece of plastic entered our lives.......

This piece of plastic that is reeking havoc in my once beautiful Christmas home!!!!!!
Looks harmless, doesn't it???? Oh, but it is until it turns into this.................

It seems that our sweet little Chloe, who last week endured the pain of having her womanly parts removed (a.k.a. spayed) is now having to put up with an E-collar and antibiotics. Poor little thing....BUT, because my furry little babies do not understand English (yet) they do not understand the reason for the E-collar. Katie the older dog could really care less (she's more interested in licking my tattoo which I avoid at all costs and Chloe's incision) but Eros, the mastador, thinks his best buddy has a fun toy around her neck...not good!!! Chloe's activity level (ultra-high) has caused her to have swelling in the stitched up area of her belly and when I wasn't looking, she's been picking at it despite my t-shirt contraption I rigged up on her (unbeknownst to my son whose undershirt she was wearing!). Anyway, till December 28, Chloe must wear this horrible collar. Not only does she constantly run into things, she cannot navigate up or down the stairs nor can she fit into her crate which causes another dilemma....where does she sleep? Eros will cry if her crate is not within viewing distance of his so I constructed a gated area between my diningroom table and my bookshelves next to his crate and covered like a tent. This is just nuts! When I brought her home from the doc yesterday, I started crying on the phone to Sweetie Man cause all the dogs where confused and crazed over this collar.....my son was laughing cause he said it made her look like a space alien! Plus, at the end of the evening, I have to somehow manage to put a warm compress on her incision to help with the swelling....yeah, right! I did manage to do it for a whole 3 minutes yesterday...woo-hoo!
I guess things could be worse....I can make light of it now cause I'm getting things a little organized with who goes outside when and such and if it makes Chloe better than I'll do it, cause they are my babies and I love 'em! And hey...if worse comes to worse, I can always put Chloe on the roof and see if I can get free satellite TV! Till tomorrow, yinz guys!

Finally finished....

Finally finished my flat bottom purse from the Happy Hooker book! Woo-hoo! It's going to be a present for a young lady in Maryland....the daughter of a friend of ours.

I must say that it is alot nicer than I had anticipated! It did use a little more yarn than the pattern called for but luckily my JoAnn's had it so I made a last minute run for it. I didn't have the yarn with me when I picked out the lining either but it matched up perfectly tho the picture didn't do it justice. Oh, and if you wonder what the little tag is in the purse, the Sweetie Man bought me a bunch of them and insisted I put them in things I make. He says I don't give myself enough credit for what I do. So, hence, the tag. (Lucy's Luxuries)

And being as I'm on a X-stitch kick, I thought I would show you a piece I did a long time ago. I sorta made up the frame and glued the X-stitch on a piece of round cardboard then surrounded the X-stitch with tiny pinecones, rafia, and those cinnamon gingerbread men that I molded myself. It has really held up over the years and I always thought it was so pretty.

This other thing I did was one of those glass block lights except this isn't glass it's plastic. Last year a craft store called "Pat Catan's" (great cheap place) had these blocks in plastic with the holes for the lights already in the bottom. All I did was find a pic I liked on the web, printed it on transparent sticky paper in my computer's printer and with a little glitter paint and some ribbon and of course a small string of light inside I have this cute decoration for my table. It really turned out nice.
You, can use the glass block from a Home Depot or whatever, but then again you have to drill the hole (big enough also to get the lights in) and that's a pain...trust me, I've tried it. I'm sure if you google plastic glass blocks or something like that, you can get them via internet.
Anyway, that's about it for here. Just doing decorating and crafting and a little baking and enjoying the holiday season....hope you are too, so, till tomorrow, yinz guys......

No puppies here....

And what I mean by that is that my little Terrier mix, Chloe, was spayed today. I felt so bad for her when I brought her home this evening. She is normally so incredibly active, running and jumping, but this evening she couldn't even make it up the steps. She was pretty drugged but all went well so they say. She has a two inch incision on her belly and I put her in a t-shirt to keep her from messing with it. When I brought her home she just went into her crate and laid there. Poor little thing. Eros, the mastador, was missing her today so much. She is the one who keeps him active and happy and she just wasn't around. He was sorta lost and kept wanting to go outside, probably thinking she was there. When she finally came home, he was so excited and wanted to play with her, but she of course wanted left alone...hence, I crated her. I'm sure she'll be a little more normal tomorrow. It's so funny how they become so attached to each other. My older dog, Katie, enjoyed the peace and quiet of not having Chloe jump around I think.
Anyway, with that said, I wanted to post the pics of the graduation of the two pups that we went to a few weeks back. First up is Chloe. As you can see in the second pic, she is smiling.....no more school....no more throwing up in the car on the way home...she was happy!

Eros was in his usual school position...laying down. The second pic is of the Sweetie Man with him playing one of the games we got to do that night. That one was carry the water and holding the leash at the same time.....Chloe and I flunked at this one!

So, that's about it for tonight.....just a little doggy talk. And just so you can't say this isn't a craft blog...I'm posting a pic of the Cal Pal crochet ornaments I made....penguins....aren't they cute! I received some awesome ones from the girls over there...almost all the ornaments on my tree are homemade, so it was a perfect match for me.


Oh, and one more thing....I switched to the Beta Blogger thing. I noticed that I couldn't leave comments on some people's blogs unless I signed up for a google account. No biggy actually, so if you can't do it on mine, sign up for one and you'll have the name and password for a comment.
Well, that's it for tonight...I'm pooped and I may be getting up in the middle of the night for a puppy who's not feeling so well (tho, I hope not) so I'm gonna hit the hay.....till tomorrow, yinz guys!