LET THE SUMMER SHENANAGINS BEGIN!

I feel like the last few days have been a whirlwind of activity, but the truth is that I only left the house on Saturday for Mass and dinner! (At least I think so. Things are all mooshed up in my brain.)

I know there has been lots and lots of the watching of the sports, including a National Championship win for my Irish Mens Lacrosse team!

I've watched two or three lacrosse matches in my life, so had absolutely not one clue what was going on, but the sight of Coach Kevin Corrigan, who used to be a cliet of mine when I sold imprinted things to Notre Dame, was tear-worthy.

 I continued to make a bit of progress on Good in Everything, and was just elated to have figured out a stitch path for the next tree. I was fretting and fretting over it, when out of the blue an easy way came to me. It involved stitching one color at a time and zig-zagging across rows of diamonds, but if you asked me to replicate it now I might need a nap to do so.

And in a similar fashion, the next stitch for the Kirk & Bradley canvas came to me. I wanted something that would move in the opposite diagonal as the white, and I think I found it!

I'm happy to report that all is well here in Hoosierville! We are expecting a week of 90-degree temps, so after morning fun or chores, I expect there will be some heavily applied sunscreen and lots of pool sploshing! 

Happy Summer, Dearies! If you are here in the US, I hope you had a nice long holiday weekend! If you're just kicking things off elsewhere, what are your plans for the season? Come tell me all about it!

 

MAKING A LITTLE PROGRESS

I'm off like a herd of turtles this Memorial Day weekend. Tonight we're headed to a South Bend Cubs game on the rooftop patio, and tomorrow will hopefully be a pool day! In addition to fun and frolic is a list of things that I need to tackle here at CS2... like purging and organizing every square inch of the inside, outside, and garage.

Anybody have a dumpster, some gasoline, and a match?

TUESDAY SPINSTER BLISS ** EDITED

** Sorry to alarm. By "new belly and new scar" I meant since transplant. I have not swung a golf club since then, and everything seems to be in different places.

I golfed, I stitched, and I ate well. 

Bliss on any day.

Don't get too excited, Dearies. I only made it through four holes before I had to take a two hole break. My poor body didn't know what to do with itself between the new belly, the new scar, the new everything. I was super careful, though, so hopefully my flexibility and stamina will increase as the season progresses.

(And, no...that's not me in the photo. That's JB getting ready to tee off.)

We made it home in time for a lovely cool shower, a really great cashew chicken salad from Culvers, and a bit of stitching while watching the Phillies lose.

Today is a true Futzingday for Yours Truly. I am in desperate need of a big tidy-up of my stitchy things, and I wouldn't mind getting a few loads of laundry sploshed before dinner. Tonight will be grilled salmon and asparagus with a bit of rice, accompanied by lots and lots of lemon water.

Nothing wrong with that plan.

A very Happy Futzingday to one and all! I hope you have as much time as you need to futz to your heart's content! 

 

A LITTLE FUTZINGDAY PROGRESS

I'm still enjoying this needlepoint canvas (*) quite a bit, but I do want to give some attention to Good In Everything tomorrow. If weather permits, we're going to play a little golf and have dinner afterwards, but we're not venturing until 3:30, so that gives me plenty of time to stitch and splosh some laundry in the morning. (If I can get myself out of the big girl sleigh bed at a decent hour).

(*) The designer of this canvas is Kirk & Bradley and it was kitted in Pepper Pot and Vineyard silks for me by the lovely ladies at Wool & Willow Needlepoint in the Cleveland area. I think it might actually be a purse insert, but to be honest, I'm not really sure what form it will take if/when finished!

I hope you had a happy day today, Dearies! Come tell me all about your corner of the world. Are you well and safe and happy and creating?

FINALLY...SHE TALKS ABOUT STITCHING!

You might remember this piece from my post-transplant time.

I had originally thought to do this piece entirely in tent stitch, but the more I looked at it, the more I realized that it needed/deserved a little oomph. So I spent all day Saturday frogging the five or so sections I had completed, and selected this for the first color:

According to my little stitch book, this is the vertical brick stitch, and I opted to stitch it over four threads instead of over two.

Here's the little book I'm using to select the stitches:

I confess, selecting stitches has always been the very hardest part of painted canvas needlepoint for me. I do very well with stitch guides, but when presented with a canvas that needs something different that tent/continental/basketweave I am inept.

But like anything, I know it will come with practice, so I might play with painted canvas more often to see what I can come up with.

Good In Everything continues with the second row of trees:

I think the little guys there are supposed to be turkeys. As you can see, I started the next tree's stump, and with any luck, it will grow into a fully grown beautiful leafy one by the end of the day.

My Jersey Boy returns this afternoon and we'll be back to our routine in no time. I'm hoping to get out and play a little golf this week, and hopefully the rain will stay away so we can enjoy the fresh air through the open windows. I've been sitting here listening to the birds and enjoying my damn good, but I better get myself organized before time gets away from me.

What's new with you, Dearies? What are you currently playing with that makes your heart sing? Come tell me all about it!
 

SHE'S BAAAA-AAAACK. (YES. JUST LIKE A BAD RASH.)

Guess who has decided to crawl out from under her moss-covered rock and slitherwampus back into Guilds?

Yup. I actually did it, Dearies. Put my shoes, socks, underpants, mascara, and lipstick on and took myself to ANG Hoosier Heartland on Saturday and South Bend EGA this morning.

(ANG = American Needlepoint Guild ; EGA = Embroidery Guild of America)

As much as I'd love to tell you that I was quiet, and normal, and did NOT suck the oxygen out of the room with my constant pathological need to chatter away like a nervous circus monkey...you've watched this movie before, and certainly know better.

The only thing I didn't do (for a change) was break into the full-on-wet-hair-looking-like-I-just-got-out-of-the-shower flop sweat. How this happened, I will never know, but I'm chalking it up to a miracle and lighting a few at the Grotto in thanks.

(Lighting candles, Dearies. Candles. Not ciggie butts, not bottle rockets, not Christmas trees. Candles.)

Stay tuned for more happy adventures! Tomorrow night will be the evening meeting of SB EGA, and if JB's plane is on time, I'll pick him up at the airport and deposit him home in time to attend. And then in June it will be back to the Church Guild in Elkhart!

(Remember that? I used to call my guilds by the locations of their meetings. So I guess, in that spirit, I now belong to: Bank Guild I, Bank Guild II, Library Guild, and Church Guild.)

Now that you know my latest plots and plans you can warn all of Hoosierville to immediately cancel their memberships (or move the meetings to a secret location that requires disguises and a blood sample as well as a code word sophisticated enough to stump Yours Truly.)

(Alternatively, you might contact Tylenol and have them send over a vat or two of the extra strength variety.)

Goodness knows those girls are gonna' need it!

Seriously, though...thank you to both old friends and new for welcoming me back. I promise (she says while clutching both her pearls AND her Ginghers) to try to behave and comport myself to the very best of my limited but well-intentioned ability.

 

I LIKE BIG MUGS AND I CANNOT LIE...

Who knew a plain white damn good mug would cause so much fuss, Dearies?  My 40 ounce monstrosity came from the amazons, as almost all things do. It was a belated birthday present to myself and a way to use up a credit I had been saving for just such an occasion.

I have been running hither and yon this morning, including meeting my new primary care physician, whom I just love already. Then it was off to the Starbucks, the library, and then to the tire place to try to figure out why the low tire pressure light kept coming on. Turns out, there was an itty bitty teenie weenie tiny little screw causing a slow leak. 

I am now home and ready for an afternoon of stitching and TeeVee bingeing. I am considering re-watching The Crown. Or Outlander. Or Yellowstone. Or The Sopranos. Or Game of Thrones. Or The Newsroom. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit, and besides, I need something I've already seen so I can take my glasses off to stitch and listen.

The sun is shining, the birds are sweetly tweeting, life is beautiful here in Hoosierville, and your Spinster flies on grateful wings! What's new with you?  Come tell me all about it!

TUESDAY SPINSTER SHENANAGINS

Bottom row of Good In All Things complete:

And finally! A damn good cup that is exactly the right size! It holds 40 ounces, but I'm not sure I'll be able to lift it once full. Perhaps I'll use it for decoration?

 

 

FRIDAY BLISS

 

It is the most beautiful day out there in Hoosierville, so I went to get labwork done, had breakfast at Starbucks, and now I'm playing at the library. I've stitched, I've read, I've walked the stacks, and I've checked out another pile of books to enjoy.

Life is, indeed, very wonderful.

Will you be watching the Coronation of King Charles tomorrow? I have an entire day planned of tea, scones, and lovely little sandwices when it's all over. I feel so lucky to be able to see it!

FUTZINGDAY BRIGHT IDEAS -- WITH A NOTE TO BARBARA

First, a little progress update on Rosewood Manor's "Good In Everything":

I finished the tree on the far right last night while watching a wonderful seven part documentary on the Netflix about Fran Lebowitz that was directed by Martin Scorcese...it was fantastic!

Today, I received a little shipment from the etsy that I ordered in a flash of inspiration. There are a total of 38 tiny little bees on this piece, and rather than stitch them all, I decided to do itty bitty little bee charms instead:

These are just placed here temporarily for sizing, but I think they could be really cute once the entire thing is completed.

So today is all about stitching and doing laundry. I've finished watching bedding and now it's on to towels. Tomorrow I'll tackle my closet and switch clothes from cold to warm, even though the weather herein Hoosierville is still a bit nuts.

Salad with grilled chicken tonight, and if the temps stay in the 50's, I might venture to campus for a stroll about. I had hoped to get back on the treadmill this morning, but just couldn't get myself moving out of the big girl sleigh bed and opted for a little lazy time instead.

Happy Futzingday, Dearies! I hope you're enjoying your day and that your needles are flying! What on your hoop? Come tell me all about it!

Dear Barbara: The little bees came from a shop called LorettasBeads on etsy.

CHEERS, DEARIES!

 

Today is rather wambsgansed (if you know, you know), since I took Rich to the airport at some ridiculously obscene hour before dawn, so I am just now really getting my wits about me with a cold brew and a fresh vat of water.

My Spinstercation has begun, and so far I've managed to watch a documentary about Diana Vreeland and check out all of the looks from the Met Gala last night, as well as catch up on the papers, do the puzzles therein, and accept delivery of and neatly put away groceries and supplies.

It's approaching 5:00, and I know I should consider dinner, but I'm just not hungry. I made my usual egg/avocado/naan bread thing for a late breakfast, and it's holding me over quite nicely. You know me...I seem to go in spurts of eating the same thing everyday and then suddenly change my mind, but this egg/avocado/naan thing has lasted longer of all of the other spurts.

(Mini original naan breadlette, a small 2oz container of Wholly Guacamole spicy spread (which is basically just mashed avocado, lemon juice, and spicy peppers), a poached egg, a scant teaspoon of Hidden Valley Ranch spicy secret sauce, and a hearty sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning).

(Oh. And blueberries. I try to have a cup of fresh blueberries every day.)

(Supposed to ward off depression and the winter blues.)

My list is growing of all of the things I want to accomplish while Rich is away, but so is my desire to sit on my fanny and stitch "Good In Everything" all day. It seems to be very slow going with all of the color changes, but I'm also enjoying the pace of that immensely. 

Happy Tuesday to you, dear Dearies! What has you happy dancing these days? Come tell me all about it!

AMEN

 

THURSDAY SPINSTER BLISS

The newest Vonna video, stitching, my new sippy cup full of iced lemon water, and a delicious homemade Cold Brew (Kirkland cold brew can, a pump of sugar free syrup, a splash of cream, and cold foam).

 

NEXT UP!

 

FEE NEE!

2023 Collector's Heart

Heart In Hand

32ct Heartland linen

Cottage Garden Threads in JK02 Leather Bound

MONDAY. ON WHICH WE EMBRACE BEING...QUIRKY.

 

Rich called me quirky the other day.

At first, I was a bit offended, and I wanted to interrogate him as to which of my many charming behaviors he would consider...quirky, but instead I silently reviewed the list in my head of charming behaviors that I consider quirky, and I zipped it.

I get nervous if there are less than forty or fifty rolls of toilet tissue in the house.

I am known to twitch if there is the slightest possibility that I won't be able to have the perfect cup of damn good within ten minutes of waking up. (Starbucks French Roast with a slight bit of Truvia and just the exact right amount of half and half in a big cup that has been warmed under hot water.)

I have a sippy cup addiction problem.

I have been known to break out in a cold sweat if we run out of "the good" ice.

I pat Stewey's box every night before bed and say the same thing to him that I did when he was alive: "Night night, my little Prince. Mommie loves you. You have good sweet puppy dreams and I'll see you in the morning."

I don't like air hitting the insides of my elbows.

I used to love public speaking and won a few speech contests in my time, but the thought of leaving the apartment now sends me straight into a full-blown panic attack that can last three days.

I will reveal the most intimate/horrifying details of my weird little personality to you all on this here blog, but if a person asks me how my day is going on the rare occasions I'm out in public I completely freeze.

How's THAT for evidence? I could go on until the cows come home, but the truth of the matter is that I happen to think that one spinster's quirk is just another's way of coping with a world that sometimes scare the beejeebers out of her, or that can be a rough and tumble or mean-spirited place to survive sometimes, and we all just have to do what we all just have to do.

OK.

Change of subject.

I wanted to say a bit more about our libraries here. We have two different systems available...the St Joe County system and the Mishawaka Penn/Harris/Madison system.  I can say from first-hand experience that both are quite excellent, but I am particularly fond of the St Joe system and its branches. The newly re-modeled and expanded Main Branch in downtown South Bend takes up an entire city block, and I am dying to go explore it fully. The branches...of which I have frequented two...are gorgeously appointed, and full of amenities like fireplaces and living room settings, fantastic architecture, great selections of all kinds of materials (I'm partial to adult fiction and new releases), fantastic programming, and some of the nicest staff you'll ever meet.

The woman that is responsible for all of this amazingness is Debra Futa. She was the head of the entire library system for many years prior to her retirement, and I have the honor of considering her a friend. She reached out to me when Stewey got sick, and we exchanged emails back and forth over the years...much to my delight.

Deb is a stitcher, which makes her even more perfect in my opinion!

But yes...to answer your comments here and on the social medias...our libraries here are like cathedrals, and if you asked me why I never want to think about leaving here, they are #2 on the list right behind Notre Dame and right in front of because this is where all my stuff lives.

Finally...how about a stitchy update? I am closing in on a finish, and were it not for the fact that I had to glue my eyeballs to Rabbit Hole, The Diplomat, and Succession on the TeeVee last night, I might actually be reporting a finish today.

I'll thread up as soon as I'm finished writing to you, so stay tuned for a FeeNee from Yours Truly!

I hope you've had or are having a very Happy Monday, Dearies, and that your weekend was full of fun. What's blowing your skirt up these days? Come tell me all about it!