Stepping back, reassessing and enjoying my cat.

Stop reading now if you don't need to read the major rant of a mind numb minion ......you are more than welcomed to skip right to the photos of Buddy or click the next blog instead.

I enjoyed a relaxing weekend with only a couple of things on my to do list.  It has been a obligation filled four weeks that has really gotten me down.  EVERYDAY there has been at least one extra curricular thing I had to do, an appointment to keep, financial report to balance and distribute, mail merge to complete for invitations, a fundraiser to set up or attend, etc.   I have always been a volunteer and long have taken much heat from friends and family for it but I believe you can't always be a taker, you need to give back....so that is how I get myself wrapped around the axle.   Not to mention the pace had me freaking out about the upcoming holidays!  When will I shop and decorate!  I can easily work myself up into a frenzy.  It boiled over last weekend when I was running around trying to pull off an indoor yard sale for my non profit selling 25 years of theater props, costumes and junk as well a coordinating renting tables for others to sell.  It was a good exhausted I was felling as I was checking FB that evening until I read a post of a board member who was not available to help.....the post said that she had a boring week and nothing to do for the weekend and went to the casino for some fun.  Well I am a smacked a$$ I guess.  My immediate disbelief turned to anger then to frustration and it just got me down.  Right now my mindset is all the volunteer work is standing in the way of what I want to do.  I will fulfill my obligations but soon my obligation will start when I am on the other side of the bake sale table or standing in line when  the doors open if I participate at all!   If I do go, my hair will be in place, my make-up freshened up, I will have dressed at home and not in a Ladies restroom, I will have had a real dinner and not a candy bar or something I packed before I left the house hours earlier and I will be able to smile and have mindless chit chat with others.  I will leave the event without having to cleanup and walk out with the security guard locking the door behind me.....just been plain tired and short tempered and have not stitched more than a few stitches in what seems like forever.


To stitchers, taking away our stitching time is like taking away our sunlight!  Right?  I mean, we need to stitch on a regular basis or else we become not nice people.  One of my errands for work took me to Michael's so I took advantage of a gift card I had and bought myself two new sets of q-snaps. I didn't realize how crappy my other q-snaps were.  A boost to the sagging morale.  After spending a couple of mindless hours on the sofa yesterday morning watching Hallmark channel sappy Christmas movies and pulling out Grace Mason, who surely must believe I put her up for adoption,  I am better! Not enough stitching completed worth photographing but I am sure there will be progress to show by next weekend.

And then there is Buddy......

Buddy!  Not my Dovos.

Too bad I did not have my camera ready when he jumped up and took
them right out of my stitching basket in his mouth.

As for Buddy.  What a hoot this cat is.    He is all the finer points of every other cat I have every had rolled into one mischievous ball of fur.  It is so nice to come in the door at night and have his unconditional love.     I tell him about my day and he listens and purrs acceptance and then I am off to discover what he has done while I was out.

Hmmm,  when he is not setting off the motion sensor in my family room and causing the security company to check in with me, he is raising and lowering the blinds.

He needs help on learning how to keep them level.

This peacock feather was brought downstairs from an upstairs
bedroom WITHOUT knocking over the rest of the arrangement.

Buddy helps me put away groceries! Maybe
he wants to audition for "Chopped"

After almost shutting him in one night as I
was walking away I make sure he is not in there.

Buddy pauses from our paperwork to re-hydrate.

Oops!  No flash, but Buddy is in jail.

I was wrong, Buddy must want to get ready for the next season of
"Project Runway" since he saw fit to toppled my mini
mannequins.  I bet that crash sent him scurrying.

The 'before' arrangement in my sewing room.

Who me.....I will play aloof and catlike and ignore you

My morning ritual is to get up, get coffee, grab my laptop or iPad and watch the news.   This is now enjoyed with Buddy on my lap so replying to emails or even stitching is not happening.   I am really enjoying this additional to my life.

Your Holiday Name

I know....this is crazy....I am the first one to HATE HATE HATE rushing holidays.  At the Acme last week BEFORE Halloween, the Christmas display was up!   I mean really!    But I just have to share this for some giggles......the girls were circulating this through the office email yesterday and we all had fun with it.

What would happen if Foxy Glitter Bottom and Cosmo Curly-Toes got together?   Oh My!

A Post Halloween Update

Things got a little overwhelming last week - 40 hours logged at work before noon on Thursday/may need to reassess that retirement timeline of 67 months to something less! - so I didn't get to post these finishes.    At this rate, I may never get back to Grace Mason!

This actually turned out as I envisioned.   Most often the end result is not what I have conjured up in my brain at the beginning but not this time.   Rather than make a mistake, I portioned out the steps to little accomplishments over several nights knowing full well if I pushed myself to get it all the machine work in one evening would have resulted in frogging for sure.

Using curtain clips, I hung this on one of the bars to my scroll frame.
Better get a dowel before next Halloween season!

Doing my own finishing makes me marvel at the beautiful finishes I see others post.   Theirs look flawless; maybe they see their own boo-boos like I see mine.    I am forever in awe of the fabrics, fibers, workmanship and techniques some of you use.    So keep up the good, inspiring work my blogging buddies.

My duct tape pumpkins.   It was hard to decide which duct tape to use.  There are SO may varieties!

Again something I need to go back and finish before next October.
Only had time to zig-zag one leaf to black felt.  

This is just a little quickie I stitched up with linen and floss from my stash.  The Black Cat from Bent Creek.  No cost even for the frame.  I pulled it from my stash o' frames picked up as a $0.50 consignment shop purchase.

I'm seeing a pattern!  Something else I need to complete before
next October.   I literally just pushed this into the frame and
have to go back and lace it properly.

Can you imagine what I would do if I liked purple!

Software conversion at work completed + one boss's office packed and archived after his retirement + another boss back from a conference in Florida  =  hopefully a calmer/normal hour work week.  Happy stitching all.

Crossing Things Off My List

I have a couple of finishes to share.   First up, this is from Pine Mountain.   I purchased this on my retreat in early October.   Don't look for the spider on their pattern.   My centering was a bit off so I decided to drop a spider down the side to balance things.  Very good marketing to have this on display near the check out where the colors just grabbed me!  It has been the perfect stitching project to have as a carry-a-long to stitch at lunch or in a waiting room.  It is call Spooky Typography and there are more in the series.   Now that I have the pillow form, I am sure other versions will find their way to my stitching stash.

Recently I have been trying to figure a different method of attack on all the projects (craft and otherwise) going on.   I seem to be able to make only little progress on each.   Spreading myself too thin!  There goes that side-track Robin again.   And I know I side-track myself jumping projects or tasks to avoid those that may not appeal to me that day.   OMG - I am worse that a kid in grammar school who doesn't want to do that book report!

Not everything crossed off but I did make a
good dent in my to-do list. Choice - clean inside or work outside?
The sweeper never was run so you can guess my decision.

I have always been a list maker.   For everything from Thanksgiving dinner to shopping.  I am so much more productive at work if I use my day planner to list, prioritize and cross off items.   So with that in mind, this weekend I made my list and had only two only craft related goals to complete. 

Remember this one?   I finished this earlier in the summer without the wording.   I decided to add the words and finish as a wall hanging.   I removed the buttons while I press the interfacing and assemble it and then will sew them back on.  I had hoped to spend some time at the machine tonight to stitch this up but I have been hopping around all day inside and out and I am fading fast.....everything is cut and ready to stitch so I will make a best judgement call and sit at the machine tomorrow night. Something to look forward to...let's hope tomorrow is not a crazy day at work.

Always scary cutting the linen!

 Measured and cut out all the piece to make my quilting sandwich.

Second craft adventure was to make the 'designer' pumpkin.  I painted a "T" using craft paint for this one.   I also want to get some jazzy duct tape to dress up some of the other foam pumpkins.      Hopefully this progress will give me that satisfaction of crossing some things off my WIP list.  

Next up, a cup of homemade chicken and corn chowder, a nice hot shower, my feet up and back to work on Grace Mason.

Kitty Cat Antics

Buddy offers an expert opinion

Just what most people are doing at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday.......delving into TV issues.

It all started last night.    I got in from a fundraiser event about 9:30.   Putzed around the kitchen, looked at the mail, poured a glass of wine and thought I'd sit down and watch a DVR's show and unwind.   What! no video, no audio, no DVR available, no TV!!  So, defeated, I read a little and was off to bed.   I reported all this to Mr. W. this morning who in fact said there was nothing wrong with the TV for him last night and of course, what did I do to it.   E-Gads Man!  But I digress.........

Buddy helps Mr. W. with the delicate job of reconnecting wires.

I believe this is the culprit returning to the scene of the crime.   A couple of loose wires and one disconnected wire we attributed to Mr. Buddy I-Like-To-Jump-and-Climb-and-Explore Cat.

Mr. W.  I'll just hold this one for you until you are ready. 

All this technical work, I'm ready for a nap.

You think I jest about my techno cat.   He likes to compute too!  As long as he doesn't take up stitching or knitting I will be fine!

Weekend Get-a-way

Me and my Matey (my BBF) had a get-a-way weekend in Lancaster County PA.   Such pretty countryside to visit.

First, let me give you the the Reader's Digest version of the term "Matey".   Several years ago, I helped Deb and her husband move into their new home.   Deb and I was were alone at the new house when the cable crew arrived.   We walked around the house with one cable guy as he was reviewing where the TV's would be located.   Deb whispered to me to go back upstairs where our pocketbooks were while she stayed in the basement with the cable guy.   I went back upstairs and continued to unpack while cable decisions were made.  When Debbie came back upstairs minutes she looked like she was going to burst from laughter.  Seems the cable guy was trying to help Debbie save some money and suggested she run the cable inside the house herself.   Deb - although quite capable - told the 'gentleman' that she wasn't able to run cable and without missing a beat, he turned and said perhaps your mate (meaning me) would be able to.   Well we have laughed at this for years and often refer to each other as the other's 'mate'.  I wonder what our IT department at work must think if there ever monitor our emails which often are started with " Hey Mate".

Our weekend was a girls get-a-way.  We road around the backroads of beautiful Amish farm country.   We spent Saturday in historic Strasburg, PA going in and out of specialty shops, antiques shops, etc.   We happened upon a local church bazaar which we visited at well.   We stopped for coffee at the Springerle House.  It was a nice respite to our morning of shopping.   I had the Rosemary-Apricot-Blue Cheese scone with a cappachino.   Yum-mo

Look at this craziness!   People are so clever.   Here's the  result of gluing together a variety of different glass pieces and creating an angel.   The results were as varied as the imagination and consignment store glassware would allow.  


Beautiful homes line Main Street.

 Need to tell my brother those boxes of insulators he 

has may be worth more than a couple of dollars each.  

This cosignment store had shelf after shelf of the old Corelle we all had years ago.  Memories!

More beautiful old homes along Main Street.

 This hydrangea had blooms the size of a soccer ball!

Don't you just want to walk down this lane and see who lives here?

I really wanted to knock on the door here and ask to visit the 3rd floor.   

 Lucky me!  I even managed to find a cross stitch store to shop in.

Before heading home, we had tea at SugarPlums and Tea.  Such a relaxing way to spent the afternoon Sunday afternoon.

 A pretty setting to enjoy a relaxing lunch.

Our view from the Tea Room - too bad the leaves are turning yet.

Have a great week all.  Next up, hopefully some stitching progress to share.