THIS ALMOST MAKES UP FOR OUR STUPID OUTFITS

In case you're not a watcher of Olympic ceremonies, that is a planet made entirely of drones hanging over Olympic stadium in Tokyo. It appeared during the singing of John Lennon's Imagine, and I confess that I was a weepy mess while it hovered there...like magic.

As usual, I am dismayed that the US contingent looks like a bunch of United Airlines flight attendants on a layover in Tampa, but I guess when you're Ralph Lauren you can slap a logo on a blue blazer and call it "uniquely styled for the American experience" and get away with it.

But it could be worse.

I do like the handy little white purses, though. So good for toting things about...especially one's medals.

I think this might be more my style:

Is it just me, or does the lovely lady on the right look a bit like Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot?

We're heading to Ft Wayne tomorrow to meet up with my Lima friends, Denise and Jeff and my goddaughter Jacqueline and her husband Blake for a baseball game and some visiting. I'm looking forward to some time to be elsewhere for a minute, since my grumps seem to be following me here in Hoosierville. 

(I was particularly "pointed" with my nephrologist today because she wanted to blather on about the cost of one of my meds and I wanted to discuss my labwork. I probably overreacted, but I spent two months trying to take a drug that did NOT agree with me, and I was sickety sick sick because of a financial decision made in a cubicle someplace, and her telling me how expensive it is didn't help me any better. At. All.)

Moving on.

I'm going to leave the iPad alone for a few days and re-charge my batteries, Dearies, so carry on for a bit without me mucking about. I hope that your weekend is full of fun and frolic and that you'll come tell me all about it!

MAKING SOME PROGRESS

I've been playing with Baked Alaska for a few days now. I'm making my way through the upper right quadrant, and loving the feeling of silk through Picture This Plus fabric!

 

JIMMINY CRICKETS

I honestly don't know what my dealieeo is, Dearies. I ended up finishing the living room, took a long hot scrubby shower, had a bite to eat, and then stitched while watching the Phillies. At 10 o'clock on the dot I put myself to bed and then proceeded to be COMPLETELY WIDE AWAKE until 4:30 this morning....at which time I fell into a deep sleep for about ten minutes.

Phooey.

Thank you for the nice comments about the living room. It still doesn't make any sense whatsoever from a design standpoint, but for now it works and it's going to stay put for a bit.

I've decided to go with the flow of this mood and just be still for a minute and let it run its course. I suspect that there are any number of reasons for its cause, but there's no point in trying to figure it out, because I know it will pass and I'll be back to my happy carefree self eventually. (She says optimistically).

Today is my dear dad's birthday. He would have been 89 today. I gave Stewey's box an extra little pat and told him to give some extra kisses today, and I had the happy thought that Mom and Dad might do something fun together and enjoy themselves with everybody up there.

Time to settle in with my blanket and pillow, I think. Happy Futzingday to one and all! I hope life in your corner of the world is happy and healthy and fun and wonderful! Come tell me all about it!

SO THEN THAT HAPPENED...

I just re-arranged the living room furniture.  

We're going to stick this in the "They really should make pills for this" category and go take a shower now.

To answer you question...nope...still surly.

TUESDAY

 

Well, Dearies, your hapless portly spinster is just plain old out of sorts. I don't know if it's new meds, or our hot and humid weather, or the general July ughs, or the unbearable stress of waiting for this kidney, or the general horror show that is dialysis, but the truth of the matter is that I am feeling very much like Hugh Grant in Four Weddings And A Funeral...I think I need to be where other people are not.

Our pool is closed because of a broken pump issue, so I will need to just make do with some time in my Happy Chair with some stitching, I think, since floating it all away won't be possible for a few days.

(Either that, or I think a nice long nap in the big girl sleigh bed might be in order.)

So bear with me and stay tuned, please. I'll snap out of it eventually and will climb back up on my glitter-covered unicorn and hop the daisy field full of rainbows once again.

Talk amongst yourselves and come tell me all about your corner of the world!

MONDAY

 

 

LOW AND SLOW...LIKE A BRISKET.

It occurs to me that dialysis is a lot like crock pot cooking. Best when done low and slow and with the lid firmly in place for the duration.

I've been a hot mess this week mentally and physically, Dearies, and decidedly not myself. Nothing has snapped me out of my funkety funk funk, and I'm heading into the weekend a bit muddled and surly.

Phooey.

I'm certain that our lousy weather has an awful lot to do with it, so maybe if the wind shifts and a cooler and drier breeze blows in I'll snap out if it.

In the meantime, there's lots to do and lists to be made and chores to complete and stitchy things to stitch.The cube room studio is an absolute disaster and I'm piling stuff on the kitchen table again, so maybe a good clear out will help this mood to pass quicker.

I hope that life in your corner of the world is considerably brighter! Come tell me all about what's blowing your pant legs up!

THINGS I'M OBSESSING ABOUT ON A THURSDAY. AND A FINISH.

Pip and Chip bobbins for DMC floss. (Approx $225USD, so I've started saving pin money):

Floss ring bling and paisley needleminders from my sister's etsy shop, Siggy's Closet:

Finishing projects and loving how much bling can change a canvas:

 

NOTHING LEFT BUT THE BLING

Well, my flower doesn't exactly look like the one on the front of the stitch guide, but I was having so much fun with making loopy loops with silk ribbon, I guess I got carried away:

Here's what it's supposed to look like:

Stay tuned for the beads, buttons, and sequins! WooHoo!

 

WHERE HAS FLOCHE BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!

DMC floche comes in huge fat skeins, is not divisible into strands, and two strands equals one strand of the DMC floss. This is my first time working with it, and I am loving it!

Like butt-a.

WELL..GOODNESS, ME!

Happy Saturday, Dearies!

I got up at the heiney crack of dawn to get showered, dressed, and down to the South Bend Clinic for fasting lab work with about three hundred other poor sleepy souls, came home for a little breakfast and some damn good, and then some golfing with my JB.

Nope.

"I just need to close my eyes for a minute", I said.

Four hours later, and I'm in the Happy Chair with  HUGE vat of iced damn good, wondering where the day has gotten itself off to.

(The sippy cup is from my favorite puppy tot nephew, Little Mr Bosco Oliver Willowswamp, His Very Perfect Little Puppy Self).

I must have really needed the rest, because I was out hard for the full four hours, and I can't remember dreaming. I usually wake up about every hour or so, and remember almost every detail of what I've dreamt as if it were a movie (which most of my dreams feel like).

The Phillies are doing their thing in Boston, and I am all set to begin a new project:

This is a series of classes taught at Family Needlearts in Phoenix. I ghosted the class (meaning, I participated from afar instead of in person), and I decided to pull them out for a nice little change of pace.

Grilled burgers on pretzel rolls for dinner tonight! The Martins has 95% lean patties that I throw into my cast iron grill pan, and I swear they almost taste like they're right off the Webber! I don't think I've ever had a pretzel roll before, so I'm curious to see if I will like it better than an English muffin!

On the weight front (speaking of hamburgers), I actually managed to lose a little this week, and I came off the scale after treatment Friday at 109kg. I have been at 110 for a few months now, so a little loss was a nice treat! It gives me motivation to hit it hard and see if I can get to 100kg this year.

Well, Dearies. This canvas isn't going to stitch itself, so I suppose I better close for now. I do hope this finds you all happy and healthy and safe and well. Come tell me all about it!

I DIDN'T MISS IT...I JUST OBSERVED IT QUIETLY...AND WITH FEELING

SteweyMommieVersary was Tuesday, July 6. Sixteen years ago that day, I drive through the cornfields of Logonier, Indiana to WillowSwamp Farm to collect my baby, my little furry love bunny, my greatest and deepest love.

I had eleven years, four months, and ten days with him, and I wouldn't trade one second of it away. Thank you, Little, for showing me a side of myself I never knew existed.

WHY I AM A TOTAL BOOB, BY THE SPINSTER STITCHER HER VERY SELF

About a month ago, my JB announced that he had purchased special rooftop tickets to the South Bend Cubs. I said "Oh, that sounds nice" and promptly forgot about it until yesterday morning, when I realized the day had dawned.

And then I started to fret.

And fret.

And fret.

In my defense, it was about 145 degrees outside yesterday with 452% humidity, and I already wasn't feeling that great to begin with.

But I got myself ready to go and made JB promise that if we got there and it was too hot we could come home and he wouldn't be too terribly disappointed, and off we went.

It was sooooooo wonderful! The rooftop is actually a huge area with seating, a patio under shade, a bar, restrooms, and the best view. We had a buffet of burgers and hot dogs, got free hats, and had the entire place practically to ourselves. 

Oh....and there was a beautiful breeze up there that made it feel about fifteen degrees cooler.

I guess it just goes to show me that the Summer of Yes is turning out to be an enormous success, and I need to stop anticipating disaster.

No stitching to report, Dearies, but I'll remedy that tonight and tomorrow.

What's new with you?

MAY SHE REST IN PEACE, AND MAY HER MEMORY BE A BLESSING

Dearies, our family is smaller by one today, and although very sad to hear the news, I am so very thankful to have enjoyed such beautiful creations from such a beautiful woman. Dear Miss Barb, one of the designers behind Blackbird Designs, passed away over the weekend. 

I shamelessly copy the following from her friend and partner, Miss Alma:

 From Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs:

My dear friend, Barb Adams passed away on the morning of July 4th. It’s so hard to imagine what life will be like without her. I will miss our daily talks, extensive travels and the excitement we felt as we developed new ideas for projects. Barb always said she didn’t want to quit working and leave so many unfinished ideas on the table. She called me two weeks ago and asked me if I could come back to Kansas City and go to the doctor with her. I will be forever grateful she called me. She gave me the gift of her presence these final two weeks.

Barb was always kind and compassionate. Her sense of humor was quick and came at unexpected times. The surprise of it could bring uncontrolled laughter and tears to my eyes. Her sense of personal style was classy! Some of my favorite times with Barb were spent in the shoe department of Nordstrom’s. As we both wore size 11s, we could both try on shoes the other had chosen. With all of the booths we set up at wholesale markets and all the heavy boxes of books we had to haul, we said we had to have Excedrine to spend time together. I told her all of my worst times were spent with her. But really just being with her made those times better. She never ceased to amaze me with her mastery of color combinations and design ideas. Many of her quilts and cross stitch projects were based on patriotic themes. As the fireworks light up the sky on the 4th of July every year it will always have a special meaning for me. Leave it to Barb to make sure she exited with fireworks! Blackbird Designs will never be the same without her.

MONDAY

 

HAPPY 4TH, DEARIES!

 

OFF TO A GOOD START!

Happy Saturday morning, Dearies!

Yesterday turned out to be one of the better days I've had in a long time. 

I did get pretty sick at treatment, but as soon as Miss Dana took me off of the machine (early, unfortunately) I started to perk up a bit. By the time I made it home, I actually felt wonderful.

First, I sat outside in the cool breeze and enjoyed my ColdBrew and the paper, and then when Rich came in from running errands, we walked over to a lovely restaurant here in the apartment compex and had a delicious lunch of salads:

More balcony sitting for me, and then I came inside and futzed a bit before starting a new piece...the wolfratsen embroidery kit:

 As I texted my sisiter...I highly recommend this! Why I didn't start it sooner, I'll never know, but I'm so glad I did.

The kit comes with everything you need to stitch AND finish the piece (except scissors), and it is stitched in satin stitches with floss on pre-printed fabric. There are several other purchase options, like pdf patterns, etc., but I opted for the fill kit.

The website is: wolfratsen.com.

Today I am watching Wimbledon and thinking of Miss Myrtis from Guild. She is an avid tennis fan, and I miss seeing her so much and just marveling at her latest finish or project.

If I can rally, I really hope we can play golf later, but I seem to be a bit worse for wear this morning in terms of hangover. Oh well.

I hope this finds you resting and well and enjoying your weekend! Come tell me all about it!

TGIF

I'm not going to lie to you, Dearies. I'm quite happy to have this week in my rear view. Between rough dialysis treatments and having my barnacles removed and the resulting sores...I'm finished, thankyouverymuch.

Rich made it back to Hoosierville at about 7:00 last night, and I made us a lovely dinner of grilled chicken on top of salad and then we starting catching up on our re-watch of Sopranos and the Talking Sopranos podcast after. Hopefully, he will be able to rest a bit today and then we can get back into our happy little routine.

Tomorrow promises to be beautiful, so we are going to get some golfing in, and then I hope a nice long dip in the pool after. On Sunday, we're going to a party at Fish Lake, but I fear the forecast of 90 and humid. I might have to wear a hat and take some stitching and find a nice shady spot to just chill.

No other news to report. I finished that tree on Good in Everything, so I might pick up something different this afternoon after my nap. We'll see.

I hope this finds you all well and safe and happy and healthy. If your're celebrating anything this weekend, have fun doing so! Otherwise, come tell me all about what's new in your corner of the world!

THURSDAY

Well, here we are on a Thursday morning in Hoosierville. I'm a bit bleary-eyed today and am already contemplating a nice long nap in the big girl sleigh bed later this afternoon.

(I used to look forward to what I was going to have for dinner. Now it's looking forward to nap time. Sheesh.)

I caught a second wind after dinner (grilled chicken breast on salad, thankyouverymuch), so I stitched a bit more on Good In Everything. I'm not crazy about my linen selection for this one, and I even contemplated starting it over on something different, but my better angels prevailed and I decided to stick it out and just get this one finished once and for all. I would estimate that I am about a third of the way done thus far, so maybe I can continue along and make a nice dent in it.

A little futzing about in the cube room studio resulted in three new "focus" projects for July and August. Let's face it, I go into a complete schlumpadink every time this year in anticipation of Fall stitching, so I decided to just go with it and play with these:

I also have Star Spangled Banner somewhere in the mix, but at the moment I have no idea where I tucked it away for safekeeping. (Don't you hate it when that happens?)

OK. Time to get on with it. Yes, I have a newspaper to read today, but only because I gave up completely on my old subscription and ordered a new one under Rich's name. If you work for the South Bend Tribune and are reading this...you win. 

Happy Thusday to one and all! Do something fun today, blow your skirt up, engage in some bally-whoooo and come tell me all about it!