Promise, last one...

Memorial Day weekend we went to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for a family wedding.    It was such fun to be with family and friends and the wedding was pretty cool.....both bride and groom are sports fans and the bride, in particular, is an Orioles fan so what better venue then Camden Yards.

 My son's stepson all dressed up.  Kids sure clean up nice.

 Not like her mother, my daughter kept popping up every time I got my camera out.

 Here we go, entering Camden Yards.  Cocktail hour to be on the 7th floor with the reception following on the 6th floor.

There she is again.....in front of the plaque that says the statue is Babe Ruth.

 The wedding was at the Orioles Walk of Fame (above the black section on mid-right).

The back of the scoreboard as we entered the complex

 Of course because of breeze and hats ..... I couldn't get any decent pix of the actual ceremony. There were a couple of times her viel was straight up in the air when it wasn't obscuring her and the groom!

 Missing my late sister-in-law this day, the day of her son's wedding.

 View from the cocktail hour.

 Pretty flowers.

The newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Steven Sharpe

 The happy couple visiting our table.

 My son managed to serve as a groomsmen on crutches 

without the boot but needed to get comfy by night's end.

 OMG!  There she is again!  I have to post these because most
pix I have of her she is pulling a face.

 And yes, there were some not so complimentary pix taken when I left my camera unattended.   Thankfully my kids only posted that knowledge to FB and didn't post the pix before I could confiscate and delete them.

 See what I mean!  And this one is mild. 

 And this one that needs an explanation!  Sister and brother comparing broken ankle surgical cars.

When we checked in, we were given awesome gift bags with bottled water, snacks, candies, 

a tin of Old Bay seasoning and goodies.    

Wedding reception over, some guests boarded a party bus that took many on a pub crawl with the bride and groom....we decided to walk the inner-harbor instead. It was a great weekend with family and will be remembered partly as the weekend of the best elevator ride ever! (you had to be there) and the weekend I lost my son's stepson (we got on the elevator and he didn't...causing me several scary minutes. This WAS NOT the best elevator ride ever.) 

And I promise, this will be the last non-stitching 

post for awhile....next up, a finish, an healthy start on a 

finish, a new project and fabulous new fabrics.  

And yet again

another non-stitching post, but I promise once I start putting needle and thread together again there will be some stitching progress to share.

Remember my 'sidewalk to no where'?  Landscaper finally was onsite to remove this hunk of junk.   For 31 years I have edged, power washed but mostly cringed over this sidewalk to no where.   It used to go to the entrance to the former owner's in-home insurance office but access has been walled over and now that doorway leads only to a 4 x 4 area where we store ladders. 

Hmmm, I can see it is time for me to powerwash the siding again.  Needs to warm up a bit first.

Here's another before and after

And now for a stress buster......a little moving of my mulch will help me get out some of that aggression I've been feeling as well as maybe help me drop a pound or two along the way.     Now that the extra work hours are dialed backa bit and I have taken a week of crashing early to recover, this is what is keeping me from my stitching.  It has always been a healthy rivalry between the yard work and stitching.    It is such a good tired when you put in a long day of yard work and sit back and survey your accomplishments........ahhhh.........ouch the aches and pains the next day.

Remembering Those Who Have Served...

Have a great and happy and safe Memorial Day and remember all those who sacrificed for our freedom.  Now go out and hug a serviceman (or woman)!

Dreadful Pitiful

I knew I needed to pull myself out of my dreadful pitiful state of exhaustion and my generally grumbly frame of mind.....so I followed the dr's advice and did something for myself.....what's a gal do when she wants to cheer herself up.....go shopping.    And shopping I did.  Here's some pix and hints at how I treated myself.


Ooooohhhh, interesting fabric pattern...

What kind of enhancement to my stash it this?

Neat stitches.....mine are never quite this precise.

Huh???????  Little to shiny for floss or fabric.....buttons maybe??

Got any guesses......?


I will tell you this shopping started about 9 months ago and was derailed when a salesman suggested I might want to come back the next day with my husband!  (Oh yes he did!)  I didn't get mad, a switch flipped inside and I decided to 'mess' with him for another hour and half the next day with emails and phone calls back and forth.   Rat Bastard!  Bet he goes home to the little woman every night who is waiting with his pipe and slippers.    But I digress.....

This time, different salesman, different object of interest, and the shock I gave him when he approached  me....."Just looking or may I help you with a particular model" he asks, "yes, I'd want to drive a new car home tonight and you need make that happen"!  Bam!  I hit him straight between the eyes with my everything on my mental list:   Purchase, not lease; Nav System, a must have; price comparison of gas vs. hybrid; 0% financing; sunroof a plus but not a deal breaker; and has to be Barcelona Red.  Poor guy

 Here's me new baby!  2013 Camry XLE

It is not Barcelona Red but I love the color.   It is cosmic gray but looks black with sparkles.  It reminds me so much of a Mazda I had in the 90's. (loved! that car) This car just fit me immediately.

How cool to drive something with only 6 miles on it!

It's another hybrid! And for Mr. W, this car was made in Kentucky while his Chevy was made in Mexico!

The Tuesday morning I was up at 4:30 sitting in my jammies in my new car smelling that new car smell with the owner's manual going through the bells and whistles.   So what do I say to the jealous whispering nasty people at work that were questioning why I would trade in my 5 year old car or speculating that I got a bonus.....I very plainly said......"I'm worth it and I deserve to be surrounded by nice things!"   turned and walked away....normally not outspoken me shocked them and left them speechless!  Why must people be mean and not happy for someone else?

Road Trip time....I am so excited to have a four day weekend and trip to Baltimore this weekend.  Still working to conquer all the electronics....promise, there will be stitching updates to come soon.  Hmmmm, maybe I could go park at the river, open the sunroof and stitch......the possibilities.

Bloglovin'

I don't usually use Google Reader and must admit I have not really read all the info on the upcoming changes with Google Reader but I bit the bullet and went ahead and signed up for Bloglovin'.   Like a I said, I haven't done the research on this changes but thought.....hmmm, maybe I need to be a member for those who follow me more than I need to be a member for me to follow others.   So I opened the address book that is kept specifically for log ins and ID's, write down the details and I am signed up to be followed on Bloglovin'.

Learning Lessons

Right up front, sorry for the non stitching rant

Well folks I sure have been an absentee blogger on both the posting and following sides.  Ever get caught spiraling out of control and find yourself running amuck?   Well that is where I have been.  My eagerness not to disappoint,  the love of job and my boss and covering multiple positions have  made for an extremely overworked and tired little lady here.   I don't mind the workload or the hours until I start to resent all I can't get done at home because I am too tired from the extra hours seem to move through my days zombie like.  I can be my own worst enemy getting worked up because the yard, or the house, or my crafting is not getting my attention. I get a bit irritated that I rise each morning with Mr. W.  only to come home and he is already in bed!   And then I got myself into a little health scare albeit self-imposed.  Eight weeks of pulling into the driveway over 12 hours after I have left and then with logging in from home over the weekend has caused me to snap at people,  have headaches and an overwhelming feeling for dread for my job which just exacerbates the whole situation.  Top that with being a stress eater and no time or energy to work out.   Co-workers, you know the type, we all have one in the workplace that is condescending and seemingly passes judgement like it is my fault someone had a heart attack and someone else was transferred and yet someone else is a new position and I have to help pull it all together and make it work.

I kind of was short with one such person which she began sharing with the entire floor after  barking at me....."you'd better watch your blood pressure" and har-humpft away telling anyone who would listen....she didn't know what wrong with me.  To some co-workers it is unfathomable what my workload or current pressure is like which is also irritating to me.  You know that saying about let the sleeping dog lie.....that is how we handle this type of person....better to have the pooch taking a nap than annoy him and have him snarl at you.   This type of fellow employee reminds me of how Fred Sanford used to grab his chest and yell..."it's the big one", some will throw  a fit with real tears...."I don't know why the other girls don't include me" type of drama.

So more to the point.....I guess I should thank this person.......they got me thinking in my weakened, overtired mind that OMGosh, maybe I have developed high blood pressure and my brain went off in all directions.  A quick Internet search of high blood pressure provided no reassurance just left the words bouncing off  brain else..... the silent killer.......so off to the doctors I went remembering I waited too long back in April when I had a sinus infection and bronchitus.   I am happy to report a BP of 110/70 .....can't get much better than that.  I  felt a bit foolish for wasting the Drs. time and gushed about my current woes of life to my doctor of 30 years.   He was ever so  patient with the DX that it is stress and I need to try meditation, exercise more and walk away from work at a decent hour.  So DX noted, RX noted and a weekend at my daughter's is just what the doctor ordered.  Funny thing when I could sleep in here with no alarm to go off,  no laptop to log into work, no household chores to get into,  the damned birds start their chirping  at 4:30 in the morning in the city just like they do at home!  But I am enjoying the quiet time to myself and catching up on what everyone has been up to.  I plan to turn on the lights shortly and get out the stitching I brought with me and stitch until my #1D and S-in-L  wake up.

I hope to be home by early afternoon and get in some yard time, I hope to be able to convince Mr. W. to grill something for us for dinner, and I hope to do a bit of  stitching on my front porch after an early evening shower and I vow NOT to VPN into work at all tonight.

Sorry for my ranting and raving but I think it is all part of my much needed de-stressing.   A dear friend told me once that when you have trouble to take pen to paper and start writing it all down....the troubles will flow down your arm and out of your body and onto the paper.  Sounds weird but it does work....when you write the problem down it does seem to flow out of your body and not seem so horrible...so glad that tapping away at an iPad seems to work the same way.

Here's to a great week for all and to me staying on the straight and narrow and working human hours and maybe I will even have some stitching progress to report next week.

Happy Mother's Day

May your stitches be many and your worries be few.   Happy Mother's Day fellow stitchers!

This, that and the other

just random catching up......

Still haven't put the last few stitches I need to complete the Christmas Tree Farm but it is on the to-do list for this week.  I have been really taken away with my new stitch, Witchy Washy.  It is a quick stitch.....may not seem as so since little progress can be seen...blame it on continued extra hours at work and being totally brain dead and in a daze when I get home at night.  I do get my stitching out at night but soon find myself sitting up straight, needle in hand but fast asleep.

Witchy Washy
from Raise the Roof

My gardens have suffered as well.  I really thought I had a good handle on the weeding then two weeks with sinus infection and bronchitis messed that up.  Hopefully I will get in a few hours each night this week (if it is still daylight) after work.  Work has taken a toll on my housework as well but given the choice.....let me be outside!  Until I get them in shape, I can enjoy this gift from my daughter.   She stitched up Drawn Threads Perennial Garden finishing it into a little pillow using some antique silk to make piping for the edge. Next best thing to stitching is getting a stitched gift!  I love it!

Yesterday I continued a tradition that started with my mom over 30 years ago.  My daughter and I and her friend attended the Wilmington House and Garden Tour.  It takes you to beautiful estates and gardens in the Brandywine Valley (south eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware) and you are never far from a duPont estate.   I am inspired to get outside and dig and weed and plant all day!

Look here!  We treated Heather's friend Sarah to a day out.   She brought her latest addition - Tessa.

This is how Tessa enjoy many of the gardens.

What a dream she was.  She was good as gold and was a hit a each site.

Enjoy the photos.  All photos are clickable for larger views.  Unfortunately they don't do near justice to how pretty everything was.   And after several hours of photo taken, my camera battery died before we were halfway through!  Drat!

 This reflection pond was totally awesome.

 DuPont Home, "Fair Hill' built in 1930

 Formerly the Carriage House to Fair Hill, above.   It was awesome the way they kept the original carriage door architectural in the renovations.

 This former carriage house turned into a 3,300 square foot home boasted a green house larger than my entire first floor of my house.

I love the plank of wood with random candles.    I want to try this!