Oct 30, 2015

REMEMBER THIS?

It started early this year....

Mo-ther: Stewey, have you decided what you would like to be for Halloween?

Stewey: Yes, I want to be Super Girl.

Mo-ther: Super Girl? Why not something fun like a zombie or a ghost or a vampire? (She frantically tries to remember what other costumes are stashed away in the carefully labeled bin in the guest room closet). Oh! I know! How about a lady bug! You always wanted to be a lady bug!

Stewey: Lady bugs are sooooo 2012, Mo-ther. I want to be Super Girl.

Mo-ther carefully ponders just what will be involved in assembling a Super Girl outfit, and whether or not her limited skills will result in a successful outcome, or an unfortunate mess that will cause yet another epic tantrum.

Mo-ther: OK. Super Girl it is, but on one condition. Under no circumstances are you to wear your wiglet.

Stewey: The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize, Mo-ther. Now pass me my tights and cape.

Oct 29, 2015

SOUP WEATHER

It's 48 degrees outside and not much warmer inside. I play this game every year...how long can I go before firing up the furnace? I love it cold...makes the blanket and fireplace seem all the more cozier!

Today's agenda is to finish Cotton Candy! I haven't stitched in a day or two because I'm closing in on coloring the final page of my first Angie Grace coloring book!

Oct 24, 2015

ONE RED LEAF - A PROFOUND THOUGHT FROM MASTER STEWEY ANGUS WILLOWSWAMP, HIS VERY DEEP LITTLE SELF

My mom can't come to the blog right now....she's on the back patio, gawping like a cod fish at something or other. Moments ago, when I went outside for my morning constitutional and general inspection of each and every blade of grass, I heard the old lady bellowing.

"Stewey!", she hollered. "Look at this bright yellow tree with one red leaf!"

It's not unusual for Mo-ther to holler about complete nonsense, but this time the portly old dear just might be on to something...

If you look closely, you might see a small black dot in the relative center of the picture above. Let's see if I can get a little better view for you...

See it now? One red leaf in the midst of all of that glorious yellow.

I'm not normally one to wax poetic, but even I can see the significance of this lovely moment....perhaps we should all strive to be that one red leaf on the yellow tree of life.

(Oh, that was just ghastly. I feel the need to retch delicately into my handkerchief now.)

Here's hoping that your weekend is filled with lovely moments.

With love from your pal,

Stewey

Oct 22, 2015

RUN FOR THE BORDER!

OK, maybe I really have lost my mind. The background of this piece is supposed to be filled in with the stitch in my inner border. But if I do that, I am going to lose the separation between two of the blocks in the center design that are too close in color to the border.

So the original plan was to just do two rows of that border stitch with some space in between, but then I decided to fill the center of those two border rows with a scotch stitch.

I also found the perfect beads after fishing around the studio for a short bit. I'm gonna tart this baby up like a Vegas show girl!

Woo Hoo!

Oct 19, 2015

MONDAY...AGAIN!

We had a lovely weekend here at Chez Spinster. Quiet, but lovely. I've completed the center and am now working on the background of Cotton Candy. As soon as I finish what's in that mug and get the dishwasher unloaded, I'm going to get right back to it!

Oct 16, 2015

HAIL TO THE V!

When I was in college, I made a weekly trip to Macri's Deli for a veggie pita. (OK, maybe it was more than weekly, but it was cheap and I was in college, so who's counting). Anywhoose, for some strange reason I awoke at the crack of dawn a few days ago craving a veggie pita.

I am happy to report that I think, for the very first time in my pitiful little life, I have nailed it! I came home from the grocery with the necessary provisions, sliced and diced and microwaved, and voila! It was 1987 all over again.

Simple enough, really...flatbread, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and shredded cheese. After a quick zap, a bit of cucumber ranch dressing and nom nom nom! I have to ask...who's happier than me?

* Stewey tells me that the V in Hail to the V has absolutely nothing remotely to do with vegetables, but I'm too busy preparing tomorrow's culinary adventure to argue with him.

** Stewey also tells me that Macri's Deli is still in business (but in a different location) and that they still have the Veggie Pita on their menu and that I could have driven there in three and a half minutes to get one, but it's the Friday night of the Notre Dame/ USC weekend and I'm not going anywhere other than my Happy Chair and a few hot soapy tubs!

Oct 15, 2015

THE THURSDAY NIGHT VIEW FROM THE HAPPY CHAIR

Progress continues, but I did add some additional floss colors. There just wasn't enough contrast between the existing colors, so I pulled 919 and 920 and gave it a whirl.

It's probably too warm outside for a fire, but I decided to dial up the cozy and give my Stewey Little some bun toasting time. He's so happy he might actually forego watering the drapes tonight!

Woo Hoo!

Oct 13, 2015

TUESDAY TUESDAY

From Angie Grace "Wow"...I'm using Bic Mark-It permanent markers with ultra fine points:

"Cotton Candy" from Stickideen Von Der Wiehenburg Designs in the March/April issue of Needlepoint Now... the variegated thread is Wildflowers Sheherezade, DMC floss in 434, 436, 3834, and 3835:

I asked the ladies at guild last night if there is a correlation between color choices and food cravings. Do you suppose they're correct that all of this dark brown means I need to eat more chocolate?

Oct 12, 2015

MONDAY MONDAY

Updates abound!

I made some pretty good progress on Cotton Candy. After months of not stitching my fingers feel rather clumsy and I almost impaled myself with my laying tool a few times, but so far so good!

Master Stewey is loving the sunshine today:

My view from the dining room table. Erin is updated with all of my appointments and to dos. I swear, it's a lot more fun to write "take the trash out" when you have a cute little sticker as an accessory!

Here's the latest coloring page and the next one ready to go!

And finally, a few that I completed yesterday in between laundry loads and swishing the dishes around:

That's about it for now...I hope your week is off to a fabulous start!

Oct 10, 2015

SATURDAY SPINSTER BLISS

The afternoon light is just so gorgeous this time of year....I almost hold my breath for the color change!

Stewey has decided that 4pm is "spaceship" time, and I'm happy to oblige him by filling said spaceship with a few scoops of Purina Little Bites, because it's the only time I can be assured that he's getting adequate nutrition. Damn dog and his dainty eating habits.

I went to guild today and have started the project: Cotton Candy by Stickideen Von Der Wiehenburg Designs. It's on page 31 of the March/April 2015 issue of Needlepoint Now. It sure feels good to have a needle in my hands again!

My second Angie Grace coloring book is on its way to me now, along with some new markers. I am experimenting, and have discovered that I really love Bic Mark-Its in ultra fine in addition to the Sharpie ultra fines. I did have a little revelation yesterday as I was grabbing threads for today's project....I think all of the coloring is really going to help me with color selection in stitching! So here I was, worried that my new obsession with coloring would ruin my obsession with stitching, and I think it's actually going to ENHANCE it!

Who's happier than me?

Oct 6, 2015

COLORING MY WORLD...

I'm more than a little obsessed with Angie Grace coloring books and ultra fine Sharpie markers. Methinks I have found the paper and ink equivalent of Laura J. Perin and Vineyard Silks!

Oct 2, 2015

THE FRIDAY REPORT

I love the way Stewey collects his cookies and pumpkins from around the house and stores them in his apartment:

Only a page or so to go:

I think this one is my favorite thus far:

Goal this weekend....finish this!

So now I'm off to the dining room table to tackle some paperwork, do a little menu planning, and write a grocery list. I'm thinking chili in the crock pot and some corn muffins just might do the trick.

I hope that your weekend is filled with nothing but bliss.....

Woo Hoo!

Coni

Sep 28, 2015

WHY I AM NO LONGER ALLOWED ON THE INTERNETS BY THE SPINSTER STITCHER HER VERY FREAKED OUT SELF

Have you ever Googled yourself?

(You do realize that not very long ago that would have been a most inappropriate question to ask polite society, no? I mean, come on. Who would have imagined that one day I would be sitting in the Happy Chair asking the stitchy world if it had ever Googled itself.)

(A filthy mind is a terrible thing to waste.)

So there I was, minding my own business, when I got the bright idea to see what would happen if I entered my name into this silly contraption.

Most of the images were benign. A few of them were even vaguely related to me.

But then, right there in the middle of all of the stitchy things and Stewey things and general crazy spinster related things was this:

For the record, that is not me. While the upper half of this lovely lady does indeed resemble Yours Truly, my lower half has NEVER been that thin. And while I totally applaud her choice of the pink tee, I don't actually own a pair of proper going out in public trousers, which these seem to be. Add several dozen pounds to her heiney and slap a pair of eighteen year old sweatpants on her, and then I can understand the confusion.

Oh, and I think that might be a Walmart deli counter, and I have never been to a Walmart deli counter thankyouverymuch. I buy Stewey's Virginia ham from the qualified slicing professionals at Martins Supermarkets and Martins Supermarkets only or he spits out his morning pill in the most inconvenient places (like the bath mat or in the nether regions of the dining room).

If you are, however, still interested in seeing what I really do look like from the behind, allow me to present the Official Spinster Stitcher Portrait Of Immense Accuracy and Discernment:

Stewey informs me that this will conclude my little excursion onto the information superhighway, so I will say good night and get back to my coloring book.

I hope you had a wonderful Monday and that your Tuesday is fabulous!

Sep 27, 2015

PLAY DAY

I sat at the dining room table and colored from 1:00 yesterday afternoon until 2:00 this morning. I'd love to tell you that I managed to do the laundry, wash the dog, clean the house, and solve world peace during that time, but the truth is...I just colored and let my feeble little brain wander about.

Stewey watched the football game and put himself to bed at a reasonable hour, but awoke determined to get me into a more productive mode today. He piled all of the laundry (perfectly sorted and prepped, thankyouverymuch) right in front of the bedroom door, so if I want to escape the confines of the sleigh bed and head for the living room, I need to either climb over it or grab a load and get it sploshing. He also ran the dishwasher and affixed a note that says "Empty me immediately, or shame on you and your slovenly ways" , so I suppose I had better take the hint.

He's napping in the sunshine at the moment, so I could steal a few minutes to color just one more.....

Nope. Better not. The snit that is sure to be thrown will not be worth the ten minutes of fun. Time to get moving!

I hope that your Sunday is as easy and fun as you want it to be!

Ciao, mee a-more-rays!

Sep 22, 2015

FINALLY! A TO DO LIST I CAN LIVE WITH!

I decided to re-write my to do list for the week in light of yesterday's field trip to the oral surgeon.

Normally, I sit down on Sunday evening with Erin (that would be my Erin Condren Life Planner thankyouverymuch), and I write a list of crap that needs to get done like laundry, grocery, water the plants, fret over the bills, tidy the kitchen, etc etc etc. It's pretty much the exact same list every single week, but every now and then I add something like "take a long snoozy nap" to it so that I can have at least one small victory as I cross something off.

But inspiration struck a few moments ago as I was heading into the kitchen for some scrambled Egg Beaters. (I am determined to use this little tooth adventure and its resulting soft foods only diet as the jump start I need to lose 174 pounds in a week and a half, so wish me luck).

I'm using my dining room table as a kind of staging area for all things fuzty since it's been too hot to spend any meaningful time up in the studio.

Oh, who am I kidding. I'm using the dining room table because I'm just too darn lazy (and rotund, I might add) to schlep up and down the stairs eleventy seven times a day to fetch water, pills, snacks, and for those ridiculously frequent potty breaks. (Who knew that Lasix could make a person feel like the human equivalent of a water wiggle?)

So, if you'll indulge me, may I present the official Spinster Stitcher Table Of Happiness And Joy While We Await The Tooth Pain Apocalypse:

Yes, this is indeed Little Lord Fauntleroy's shampoo, towel, and bathrobe. I figured I should probably have at least one "cleaning" chore on the list.

Finally, the latest novel that has captured my fancy.

So there you have it. My week is now all planned out, and after I hit the tub for a scrubby bubble bath and some fresh jams, I'm going to start tackling it! Woo Hoo!

Sep 21, 2015

PEESE A CATE

I just had oral surgery, so I thought I would post before the Novocaine wears off and I am praying for an anvil to fall on my head. I thought I was just going in to have a molar removed, but apparently my jaw bone decided to make it a more interesting endeavor. One extraction and a bone graft later, and I am none the worse for wear, but very very curious about the origin of my new parts. I know that it came from a cadaver, so all I can hope is that the donor was very smart, very good looking, and very happy and healthy.

So it looks like I will be propped up in the Happy Chair today with a book and stitching in hand.

And lots and lots of Tylenol.

Sep 20, 2015

SNOOZY LIKE A SUNDAY MORNING...

You might notice that a pumpkin is never very far away from You Know Who. Damn Dog.

We're having a very lazy Sunday morning here at Chez Spinster. Laundry is sploshing happily about in the washing contraption, meatballs are simmering away on the stove (*) and I am just about ready to start stitching for the day. I've been playing with Shepherd's Bush "Harvest of Plenty"' and depending on how closely I need to pay attention to today's TeeVee programming, I might just have a Happy Dance by sundown! I think it's been months and months since I've done cross stitch, so the silk through linen thing is quite lovely, if I may say so.

(*) As for the meatballs....I made a big batch of Salisbury Steak meatballs that I saw on The Pinterest. I haven't had Salisbury steak since elementary school, and I'm not exactly sure what compelled me to try these, but I am certain that this is quite possibly the best meal I have ever made in my whole entire life. I will be eating these atop mashed potatoes and egg noodles, and will have to apologize to my dad in heaven for eating starch on starch. (We always ate our egg noodles on top of our mashed potatoes, and every time we did, Dad would say "Starch on top of starch?" before digging in. He always did so with a twinkle in his eye, so methinks he wouldn't be too terribly disappointed in me after all).

Here's the recipe: It's from jocooks.com (complete link below):

SALISBURY STEAK MEATBALLS WITH GRAVY AND MASHED POTATOES

June 21, 2015 58 Comments

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These Salisbury Steak Meatballs with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes are a classic and a true comfort food. An incredibly delicious and easy dinner recipe!

Nothing screams comfort food to me more than meatballs and I would go as far as considering myself a meatball expert. I really am a sucker for a good meatball and I’ve never met a meatball I didn’t like. But these salisbury steak meatballs rank up there with my favorite meatballs of all time, which of course have to be my Romanian meatballs, but I may be biased here. However these meatballs have to be the most flavorful meatballs I’ve ever had, and that gravy is to kill for!

It’s amazing what you get when you mix some ground beef with some delicious condiments. I remember when I was in college and didn’t cook much, frozen dinners were my meal of choice often. Among them was salisbury steak with mac and cheese. Yep, I used to love it. So if you’ve never had salisbury steak before, it’s just ground beef with condiments but it’s shaped to resemble a steak and it’s usually served with gravy along with mashed potatoes or noodles.

But nothing beats homemade, right? The house smelled ridiculous as I was making these. I probably drove some neighbours nuts too! I got about 40 meatballs out of this recipe, which at first I thought was a lot, but then I wish I’d have doubled the recipe because they’re just too good. Oh well, I’ll just have to make them again and again.

I couldn’t resist popping a couple in my mouth after they were fried. If you want to go the healthier route with this recipe, you could bake the meatballs, I bake meatballs all the time and they turn out great, but there’s something to be said about making the gravy in those brown bits left in the skillet. That’s where all the flavor is my friends.

I chose to serve these meatballs with mashed potatoes because I haven’t had mashed potatoes in a while and to me nothing goes better with meatballs than mashed potatoes to soak up that incredible gravy.