Apr 26, 2011

HAMTERVENTION?

Whew! What a whirlwind these last few days have been! Did ya miss me? Huh? Huh? Did ya?

Aunt Chrissy turned 40 and I turned 45 without so much as a bang or a whimper. Despite this being a "big" birthday for her, she spoiled me completely rotten with lovely gifts, a great meal, and complete indulgence of all of my crazy shenanigans without one complaint.

My little puppy tot nephew Bosco is known for giving me gifts that send me straight to the ugly cry, and this year was no exception. See that mug? On the inside it says "Tomorrow I start with a clean blanket." The little figurine is representative of he and I and our propensity for hanging out together just like the best buds that we are. How could you not love a nephew that "gets" you like that?
On the stitchy front, Aunt Chrissy took me on a little shopping spree and I got a basket full of charts and linen and threads that I've been wanting for quite some time. This piece, called Trip Around The World Quilt is from Rosewood Manor, and I can't put the darn thing down. It seems to be fulfilling my need for detailed and layered stitching:
I wish I were a better picture taker, since this sucker is positively gorgeous in real life. The linen is a 32ct. Liberty Gathering Grey, and the threads are all DMC beauties in olive-y greens and smoky lavender purples. What's not to love about THAT?

The Easter ham situation is as dire as it is every year. We have a lovely meal and then ten minutes after the kitchen is cleaned up, I've got my face stuck in the fridge looking for the makings of a ham sandwich. This goes on repeatedly until Aunt Chrissy calls and says "You know? I think left overs sound really good. Can I stop by to pick some up for dinner tonight?" and then I have to sheepishly explain that I have, once again, polished off a nineteen pound ham all by myself, thank you very much, and although I am ashamed and completely bloated to admit it, I simply cannot help myself when it comes to ham.

And potato salad.

What can I say? One of my very most favorite memories is of coming home from college and hearing Mom say "There's ham and potato salad in the fridge for you, honey" before I even made it through the front door. And then I would eat said ham and potato salad until it was time to go back to college and return to the land of "You're a big fat stupid loser who just should have stayed in Lima and gotten married and raised chickens and kids and been happy about it".

So that's my life these days. Stitching and ham. Or ham and stitching. Depends on the time of day it is. 2am doesn't lend itself to ham very well, particularly since Stewey has implemented a new rule of not being allowed in the kitchen after 7pm.

Trust me when I tell you that there's a whole lot of face stuffing going on at 6:45.

I hope you're off to a good week and that you stay warm and safe and dry. We're in for some nastiness later today, so I'm off to the store for provisions and candles!

19 comments:

  1. So glad you are back! Ham and potato salad sounds good. Hmmm...maybe I should make a trip to the Honey Ham store for provisions! You and Stewie (and Aunt Chrissy and Bosco) stay safe from all the weather nastiness. Deb

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  2. Hope you and Stewie had a wonderful Easter.

    I love left over ham myself.

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  3. Happy Birthday! Beautiful new stash. I love the gift from Bosco... nice sentiment too; I'd love to start every day with a clean blanket.

    Ham!

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  4. I love ham but am picky about my potato salad. I like the vinegary ones and not the mustardy ones. I wanted to comment about your Peanuts mug. I have the same one and I love it! Doesn't make me feel bad when I postpone the cleaning by another day!

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  5. hammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm................yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Nuf sed....

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  6. Glad you are back. I know this is off the track, but aren't you excited about the royal wedding????? I see a Friday full of stitching and ooohhhing and awwwwing. :)

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  7. Happy Birthdays to you & Aunt Chrissy !!! Boy, what a got start on the stitching ! I may join in the Ham & potato Salad Club !!! I just went by my mom's yesterday and got the Ham that was left.. Yesterday was just 1 day after Easter wasn't it?... see...

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  8. oooo sounds like you had a fab time for your birthdays :) ham an potato salad an in :) oooo stash looks good ... what else did you get ??? hope weather behaves itself for you .. take care to you both love mouse xxx

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  9. I only like ham salad. I spent my youth eating the pineapples out of the ham sauce (brown sugar and pineapple gravy). This easter, I didn't even take the sauce. Just had all the carbs. Loaded. Happy belated Birthday!

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  10. mmmmmmm ham and stitching...doesn't sound so bad to me. they are both on my list of favorite things :)

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  11. Happy, happy, happy birthday!! Though I don't comment often, I read you all the time and wish your part of the US was not so far from my part of the US because I would seriously LOVE to hang out with you. And Stewey. And Aunt Chrissy (happy birthday to her, too!). And Bosco. You guys rock. :D

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  12. Oh yea we missed you. Love the new piece.

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  13. Welcome back. Your and Stewie were missed a lot.
    Love your new piece. Looks fantastic. Ohh...did you try to bribe Stewie when wanting to enter the kitchen? I could bribe my little Jack Russel girl with ham at any given time.

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  14. Happy Birthday Coni, hope you had a fabulous day. I had ham and potato salad too! Mom and I wanted to use up the last of the Easter eggs and came up with potato salad. Yum! I was looking forward to seeing your work on the Spring Quaker project???? When I saw the fantastic colors, I had to order the pattern right away. So I have been following your progress.

    Don't stay away so long, look forward to your postings! I love the new project, so tempting...hum...better not.

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  15. Yes, you were missed and yes, my mouth is absolutely watering (ham & potato salad). :D Cathryn

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  16. Glad to have you back! I have been checking your blog every day hoping for a new post! Happy birthday to both you and Aunt Chrissy! What wonderful gifts from Bosco! Yes, everyone should say to themselves, tomorrow I start fresh. LOVE that mug. And your new start, just fabulous. Love and kisses to Stewey.

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  17. I always suffer withdrawel when you are away so long! Happy Happy Birthday (one for you, and one for Chrissie).

    You always get me into trouble, now I HAVE to have Karen's newest piece! OOOOHHHHH.

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  18. mmmm, ham and potato salad! I understand the face stuffing on those fronts and see nothing wrong with it. Love your new stitchy goodness. Very pretty! Glad you had such a great birthday!

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