Bed Skirt

Is anybody there?  Yes?  Great!  I'm relieved.

I know it's been nearly three weeks since I last posted anything.  I had a nasty cold, and although most of the symptoms went away after about a week, I was very tired (and had trouble sleeping) for some time.  Just before I came down with the cold, my doctor told me that what I had thought was fibromyalgia pain was most likely tendinitis.  Since it's in my right shoulder (and I'm right handed), my crafting has been slowed down.

One project that I have been wanted to do since I purchased a new comforter set over two years ago was to take apart my old homemade bed skirt and use the fabric to lengthen the one that came with the comforter.  It took me quite a while to take that old bed skirt apart, carefully hem it, then attach it to the new one.  Here's the result.

It turns out my measurements weren't exactly right, so it's a bit too long, so I simply tucked it under the mattress for now.  Not the best solution, but with the weight of the mattress, it's easier to do that than to take it off the bed and make it shorter.  Besides, it hides all the things we store UNDER the bed all that much better!

I'm continuing to work on the gift I've mentioned, and it's going well, despite the pain in my shoulder.  I hope I'll have it done in the next couple of weeks - and I hope that's a generous estimate!  Once I finish it, I need to stitch a small gift for my mother-in-law's birthday.  She is turning 90 at the end of April, and there will be a party in mid-May.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend because I'll be recovering from one of my knee injections. 

We have had lovely summer-like weather this week.  It has been wonderful to have the windows open!  My hyacinths have spread and are nearly in full bloom, and the tulips are budding.  Earlier tonight, my husband and I cut back the Rose of Sharon and Russian Sage, but I'm afraid I didn't do my shoulder any favors.  Back to resting it for sure.

Christmas Tree Farm Visit

Last Saturday we took our annual trek to the Christmas Tree Farm.  It was a cold day - under 30 degrees - and we finally had just a bit of snow on the ground.

The reindeer had already returned to the North Pole, or maybe they were resting back at the farm, which was too bad because Kelly was looking forward to seeing them.  Instead, we made the manger scene our first stop.

Oh, wait!  There's a reindeer!

Sorry, I guess I was mistaken.  That's just Kelly, the reindeer dog.

We took some time to walk, and were surprised at how empty the tree fields were.  I read in the newspaper that several tree farms had to close early because they ran out of trees to cut; the warm weather we've had this December took people into the fields more than in previous years.  I don't know if this was the case here at Stokoe Farms or not.

The last picture is the wonderful straw fort they always have.  When our girls were little, they crawled through the fort.

Inside the barn there were a few small critters.

Our next stop was for some free hot chocolate and sugar cookies.  This was set up in one area of the expanded concession area, where they had a long table made of old lumber and the coolest stools made of various tractor parts, milk cans, and wood chunks.

At one end of the barn, they had a scene set up in the loft area.

Our last stop was the gift shop.  I purchased a few items, but didn't photograph them.  I will try to remember to do that and share the pictures later.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures of our visit to the tree farm. 

Snowy Morning

One morning last week, we awoke to an unfamiliar sight. 

We've only seen this ground cover one other time this season, so it was quite a sight to see!  I took these pictures through the windows, which included the screens, so you see a bit of that in the photos.  Oh, and the snow melted.  We haven't had any more.

Computers, Snow, and Health

Still having computer problems.  We've tried everything, and are now researching new laptops.  Problem is my husband also needs a new computer - and he wants a laptop this time - so all prices double.  We were hoping to go looking on Wednesday evening, but . . .

We are expecting our biggest snow storm of the season (so far).  Depending on who you ask, we could get anywhere from 12" - 22"!  I am watching the weather right now, and the meteorologist I trust is saying a foot, starting Tuesday evening, and ending Thursday morning.  It will be cold, too, with temps in the low teens, and not getting out of the single digits on Thursday!  Some wind, too . . .

Which means, we may not even get to my husband's first physical therapy appointment at 4:30 on Wednesday (even though it's a four minute drive from our home).  In addition to his cancer, Phil has been dealing with what I would label chronic sciatica since this past summer.  Some days he is in horrible pain, so we have to do something, but are limited because of his cancer (medications he can take) and what we can afford.  We were blessed with the gift of a TENS unit, so we'll be discussing how to use it on Wednesday - if we get to the appointment.

I've been dealing with a sinus infection.  I'm on antibiotics, but my teeth and sinuses still hurt, although the pain isn't as bad as it was last week.

To bring us full circle, I have pictures on my camera, but don't want to download them to my computer for fear of losing them.  You'll just have to imagine a cross stitch finish, some cards, and adorable Cassie.

Hopefully, we'll be back to your regularly scheduled blog posts soon!

Winter Days

Snow, snow, snow.  After breaking the record for the snowiest December on record, we got a brief reprieve, but are now in another snowy period.  When we headed to an oncology appointment (for my husband) last Wednesday, we weren't sure if we would make it since we were in the middle of a snowstorm.  We left 50 minutes early, but due to the extremely light traffic, arrived at our destination only five minutes later than we would have if the roads had been clear, even though I drove slowly.  Tonight it's very windy and snowing a bit.  Sunday's forecast is for blustery and cold weather, with a low of 4 degrees F.  As goes our weather, on Tuesday it will warm up to above freezing and we're expecting snow, sleet, freezing rain, and possibly rain.  Of course, we have to head to another doctor's appointment!  Unfortunately, things go downhill from there, with daytime highs by Saturday a mere 11 degrees.  You don't want to know what the low will be!  Good thing we're getting more kerosene for our heater 'cause we'll need it or else the furnace will run almost continually.

I am having computer problems - not sure what is going on.  We've been running every diagnostic program we can think of, as well as cleaning up the machine, but no real improvement yet.  The other possibility is that the laptop is dying; we have had it for quite a while and I know they don't last forever. 

Hence, I have no pictures for you, but I have been working on the wedding sampler.  I finished the inside (for reference, you can see a picture of the completed sampler here) and have begun stitching the words that go around the outside.  Unfortunately, I had to frog the right side of the top ("I Am My Beloved's") because I was one stitch off.  So I'll try to put that in again on Sunday night.  Then I will chart Grace and Anthony's names and stitch them at the bottom before taking the entire piece out of the scroll frame so I can stitch the sides with the letters facing the correct way.  It's too difficult to stitch them sideways. 

I would like to try to complete the sampler by the end of the month, but this coming week will be busy (my definition of busy, not necessarily anyone elses!) with that appointment on Tuesday, then Grace is having knee surgery on Thursday and I'll be helping care for her. I'll try sneaking in some stitching time if I can.

Keep warm,

First Snowfall

For some reason, I was the only one in our household who was not taken by surprise by today's rain-freezing rain-snow event.  Even the driveway plowing company was caught unprepared!  Despite the treacherous roads - which I didn't have to drive on - it was beautiful outside, and I managed to snap these pictures about an hour before sunset.

The weatherman said that we can expect the cold temperatures and snow to stay with us for the next two or three weeks, so it looks like we have a good chance of having our annual Stokoe Farm visit authenticated by snow.  Yippee!

Of Sickness and Snow

There are pictures on my camera, waiting to be downloaded to my computer, edited, then uploaded to the Internet and shared with you.  Sadly, that will have to wait, as I am fighting a stomach virus.  I have no desire to get out of bed and be even colder than I am already.  The pictures will have to wait.

We are expecting a major snowfall, dubbed a "snow hurricane" by the local newspaper, although I see now that they've changed the headline.  Depending on who you listen to, or choose to believe, we can expect anywhere from 6" - 15" of heavy wet snow between early Thursday and Friday afternoon, with a couple more inches through Saturday.  This is the biggest storm of the season for us; the snow we've received so far has come in small amounts for the most part.  I am praying that Grace's class for tomorrow night is canceled so I don't have to drive her to school and deal with the snow.  Winter driving is not one of my favorite activities, especially in rush hour traffic.

Keep warm, and happy stitching!
 

Taste of Spring

When I got up on Sunday, this is what I saw out the front door:
And out the back door:
We haven't seen the grass since before Christmas (I think), so this is wonderful! Wednesday, it's supposed to be near 60 degrees!! I know it won't last, but I am enjoying this reprieve from winter.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

These two little guys seem to be oblivious to the cold. I wish I shared that with them! It's something like 9 degrees F (-13 C), a mere two degrees warmer than it will be come daylight. However, Wednesday night, it will be -7 F (-22 C), so this is almost a heat wave!

I've started a mystery cross stitch project, about which I cannot even give any hints or show any pictures. I'll be alternating with other projects, I'm sure, so I'll try to keep things as interesting as possible here!

Today I worked on a crocheted scarf that didn't get finished in time to give Grace as a Christmas gift. I based it on a scarf she already has, but which is falling apart. It's finally long enough, so I'm working on weaving in all the loose ends, which are in abundant supply. I am toying with the idea of doing some sort of edging along the long sides; I will also make loads of fringe. When it's completed, I'll get Grace to model it for the camera.

I hope you're keeping warm, wherever you are!

Christmas 2008 Memories, Part Two

Remember the storm I posted about here? Several days later, we had another one! The cold and snow we had was so unusual for December. This storm was followed by high winds, which caused drifting across our driveway. Between this storm and the last one, we were plowed out four times, plus we had to shovel.
This is the house across the street.
Our driveway. Again.
After all this, it rained on Christmas Eve, and most of the snow melted, although we had enough left to qualify us for a white Christmas. On the 27th, the temperature soared to over 60 degrees, melting what remained of the snow, and resulting in a terribly soggy lawn. We were actually able to finish some outdoor shores that didn't get done in the fall! Within 24 hours, however, temps will fall some 30 degrees. Such crazy weather.

Our Tree & The Weather Outside Is Frightful

We finally decorated our tree tonight! It seems that every year it gets set up and decorated later and later. Having adult children (is that an oxymoron?) with busy lives makes finding times when all four of us can be together very difficult.

It took some searching, but we finally located the pearls for the tree. We haven't used them in many years, mostly because one of our cats, who will remain nameless, likes to bite them! They didn't quite reach to the bottom of the tree, so we'll see what happens this year. The cat in question was given a stern talking to tonight and told to stay away from the tree, and her white cohort too. We'll see if it did any good.
Here are some pictures of what it's doing outside now:
We're expecting 2" - 5" overnight, with the storm ending around 9:00 am. Then Friday we're slated to get snow and ice, with possible "significant accumulations"; Saturday we get a bit more snow and the temps will be around 27. Finally on Sunday and Monday, there will be even more snow, again with possible "significant accumulation." It's also supposed to be very cold Monday - around 19. I know some of my readers in other parts of the U.S. are experiencing even colder temperatures, so I suppose we don't have anything to complain about.

Ah, the joys of winter.