Happy Thanksgiving to all

The turkey is stuffed and in the oven. My Mom is resting and I can relax. I have a bit of time before the potatoes, turnip and sweet potatoes need to be done.

I hope everyone has a delicious and happy Thanksgiving with good food and those they love.

This year has been one filled with sorrow and joy. But I am especially thankful that my Mom has pulled through some difficult health problems. The time I have with her is a blessing each day.

I am thankful for being blessed with wonderful online friends who have added their prayers and support to mine for my Mom. My online friends have helped pull me through some hard emotional times this year. Thank you my friends and Bless you all.

Love and stitches
Kathy

Post 12

It's a blah, damp and dreary Tuesday. And very hard to get motivated. I had hoped to have some stitching to show off but, alas, the only thing I got done all weekend was for an exchange. I'll show it after it arrives at its destination.

My Saturday was my usual round of laundry and shopping for the week. So I have all the ingredients for Thursday. Thanksgiving will be a quiet one with just my Mom and I. Oh, and Rosie the cat too. And that's okay. More leftovers for me. LOL

Sunday I had hoped to get the stitching done for another gift but the frogs were out in force. I probably spent as much time ripping out stitches as putting them in. :( Another piece that I started I just don't like the way it looks. Even with a floss toss prior to stitching I don't care for the way the white is looking so it's back to the drawing board. I hate when that happens. Sigh.

That pretty much sums up the weekend.

It's Tuesday and only one more day to go. I love short work weeks. :) I only hope we get out early tomorrow so I can get a start on the turkey dressing.

A tradition in my family is my Mom's recipe for sausage and chestnut dressing which we only make once a year. It is extremely labor intensive but oh so delicious. Yummmmmmmmm. Now that Mom can't make it she supervises while I do all the work. I complain but love to eat it just the same. :)

I am so looking forward to the four day weekend. I only hope that those pesky frogs stay away so I can get some quality stitching done. I have six ornaments I'd like to stitch up and finish. :)

Until next time. I'll leave you with a photo after all. My Mom's pride and joy, Rosie. (oh excuse me, Stormwatch Sunset Kiley Rose is her official name. She gets very proper when she's first introduced. )
Love and stitches

Kathy

Post 11 or perfect timing

To those who read my last post. Thank you, yes, we did get a decent nights sleep last night. :)

And for the stitching news. I won a contest!!! Whoooooooo Hooooooooooo. This just tickles me to no end. :)

Donna at Princess Pattern Collector held a contest to guess the pattern she had started stitching. My guess won!!! How cool is that? The pattern? Lizzie Kate's Big Girl Panties. What did I win? Donna is sending me some GA Sampler threads as my prize.

How is this perfect timing? Well, I had splurged and ordered a couple of patterns last week. One was Blackbird Designs Beyond My Heart. I just fell in love with the saying. I received the pattern yesterday and saw that it used 7 GASTs. I figured I wait and order them after Christmas. Now I don't have to wait since Donna asked to choose the one I wanted. Guess which ones I chose? :)

Thank you Donna for the fun contest and for my prize. :)

Love and stitches
Kathy

Post 10 or Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

A little background.......... my Mom has been in ill health for a while now. Each hospital stay, each illness leaves her physically weaker. I am her primary care giver and much of my free time is devoted to taking care of her. (When I'm not stitching that is.)

The last few months she hasn't been sleeping all that well and awakens often during the night. And of course that means I am awake too. Some nights there are real reasons for her not sleeping. Such as her stomach acting up or breathing difficulties. But most nights she just can't sleep. I often tell her that's because she sleeps too much during the day! Ya think?? :)

Anyway, this brings us to last night. (Forgive me if I fall asleep as I type. LOL)

I get my Mom to bed, washed, meds, pj's and tucked in by 9:30 PM. Most nights I go to bed around 10. But last night I wanted to stay up and see the new Law and Order:SVU. (I just LOVE that show. Elliott can put his shoes under my bed anytime!) So now I am a little later than usual. 11:15 PM Mom is moaning and making humming noises. I go see if something is wrong. She says nothing, she just can't sleep. So I give her a tylenol in the hopes that it will help her relax and go to sleep. It works. Off to bed.

1 AM I hear AAAAAAAAAAA, (breath) AAAAAAAAAAAA. It's Mom. I go and see what's wrong. I ask her "Mom, what's the matter?" AAAAAAAAAAAAAA is Mom's reply. Again I ask "Mom, what's the matter? " Again the answer is AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA After a few more repeats she finally says, "I already told you. AAAAAAAAAAA"

?????????? Huh?? Now I can often figure out what might be wrong but this one stumped me. So I asked to please go to sleep since I have to go to work which means getting up at 4AM! 15 minutes later she does and so do I until 3 AM and I hear "dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, ....." (kind of sounds like the theme from Batman. LOL)

I go in and ask what's wrong now. "I just wanted to see you." Sigh. How can you get upset with that?

Back to bed and a very short time later the alarm goes off. Of course Mom is now sleeping very peacefully. LOL

Oh well, I had to laugh at the "I already told you" line. But I still have to figure out what AAAAAAAAAA means. :)

Oh, the best part of today so far? I commute by train to the City (that's New York City) and I catch a little sleep on the morning train. Well, my train was 2 hours late this morning so I had a really good nap. :)

Love and stitches
Kathy

Post 9-- photos galore

While Monday started off slow. It ended on a pleasant note.

I got home last evening to a package on my front steps. The final package in the latest round of Secret Stitcher/Sister exchange in one of my yahoo groups. This package had taken it's own sweet time to arrive. Apparantly it landed in the postal system in Jersey City, NJ, on November 4th!!! Numerous phone calls Friday to try and track it down proved fruitless. But I must have stirred something up because here it was on my steps on Monday. :)

And what a wonderful package it was! I was spoiled rotten by my SS. The photo is just the third and last package that she sent. The photo below is the sweet piece that she stitched for me. I am bringing it to my office. This way I'll see it at least 5 days a week. LOL

And who is this She, my wonderful SS? Why it's Debbie Jo! Thank you so very, very much.

I can also show off another finish today. The track and confirm from the post office says that the ornament I made for another exchange has arrived at its new home. I love the one my partner, Elaine, sent to me. I hope she likes hers.

Here is the ornament she stitched and sent to me. Isn't it sweet. Little did she know that I already have a number of cardinal ornaments for my tree. This one is perfect!

Have a great day!

Love and stitches

Kathy

Number 8 -- Is it Friday yet?

Snip for Queen by Raise the Roof

used 18 count white aida

and DMC floss called for

The above photos are of an earlier finish of mine. I was hoping to finish finish it into a fob this weekend but................. :) Is it Friday yet??

(deep breath) Yes, I know it's only Monday but I'm tired. :)

The weekend was mixed. Friday night I had very little sleep. My Mom had a bad night and was up until after midnight and then again at 4 AM. I gave up trying to sleep at 5:30.

Got up made my coffee and checked on Mom. She had finally fallen asleep. Figures. :)

Well, I read a little, stitched a little and tried to doze. Got Mom up at 8 and my day was really off and running. Typical Saturday of laundry, grocery shopping, errands and taking care of Mom. I was finished with everything by 8 PM. I was so beat that I didn't get much stitching done and went to bed early. So that my Mom would sleep (and therefore I would) I gave her a tylenol PM to see if that would help.

6:30 am Sunday. Yippee! Sleep. A whole 7 straight hours! I feel like a new person. The tylenol did the trick for Mom.

I love the morning when all is quiet and I can sit and enjoy my coffee and a book. maybe a little computer time or stitching. I did a little of the above.

Now it's almost 8 AM, the usual time when I get Mom up on a weekend. Since it is Sunday I am hoping to get her hair washed. 7:50 am and my head feel odd. My eyes feel like there is something in them. Within 10 minutes my suspicion is confirmed. A migraine! Geeze but I hate those. I get the "aura" that signals the migraine. It's like a jagged bolt of lightening that blurs and clouds your vision. When I get it I quick go take my med, Imitrex. It works-- no light or noise sensitivity, no awful headache pain. BUT there is a side effect. At least for me. Within an hour or so my joints start aching from the tips of my toes to the tips of my fingers. I still have to give Mom her shower.

By 8:30 the "aura" is gone so I get Mom up. This week her shower and hair washing were a little harder but she is getting a little stronger. I'm sure next week will be even easier.

Once breakfast was over I could do a little housework. (And I mean a little! LOL) I was so grateful that I had finished the errands on Sunday because I had a hard time moving at all yesterday.

I had a couple of finishes with all that extra stitching time. One is for an exchange so I can't show it. The second was a really quick stitch from the Christmas SAL book that was RAK'd to me. A quickie design by Helga Mandl. Maybe next weekend I'll have the energy to turn this into an ornament.

I Believe by Helga Mandl

stitched on 18 count aida. hand-dyed by me

using DMC

I changed the green called for in the pattern to a darker one so it would show better on my fabric.

Last night was another fairly early night. And here we are Monday.

Whew but I'm tired. :)

Oh, that's right, that's why I came to work today. Just to get some rest. :)

Until next time..............................

Love and stitches

Kathy

Lucky number Seven

And I do mean lucky or maybe it is just a lucky day for me. At least a brighter day. And here is why.

I belong to a number of Yahoo stitching groups. I seem to lurk on many but I try to keep up with the postings. Reading the blogs of others. Checking their webshots albums of finishes. Being inspired by the wonderful stitching of others. Well, one of the groups is getting ready for a stitch-a-long. The catch? The wonderful, whimsical and adorable patterns being used for the SAL are up for sale. Payment by Paypal only.

(To make what could be a rather long story I'll just state that I will not use paypal. Because of them my checking account was a mess for quite a while and I was robbed of over $300 in fraudulent charges. And, yes, I am absolutely certain it was because of Paypal. )

When I saw that the patterns were only available through Paypal I was so disappointed. I emailed the designers to ask if there were another way to pay and if not I would have to pass on the SAL.

10 minutes ago I look at my inbox and see an address I don't recognize. Hmmmmmm the title says Christmas SAL Book. ?????? Oh maybe it's an answer to my query about alternate payment.

Nope. It IS the book of patterns!!!!! Along with the note that read:

Dear Stitcher, A friend want to make you a gift (see file attached), enjoy! :0)
Happy stitching! Barbara

Whoever you are Thank you from the bottom of my heart. God Bless you. You have really made my day, my week, my month. You are an angel in disguise. A heartfelt thank you will be stitched in each design I do.

Now to decide which to stitch first. :)

Oh, yeah, the SAL is a new set of Christmas designs by Helga Mandl designs and Barbara Ana designs. I'll post a photo of the designs as soon as I hear from the designers that it's okay.

See Below:

** I just heard from one the designers and she said I could post the cover photo. Aren't these designs just adorable!! The Yahoo group for Helga and Barbara's deigns is Wonderful XS World .

Until then............. love and stitches
Kathy

Number Six-- I've been tagged!

My very first tagging! And thanks to Carolyn and Mare I have been tagged not once but twice!

Does that mean I have to double the answers? :)

1. Link to the person who tagged you

.2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post.

5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

So here goes.

Random Facts -

1. I was a music major in college and have a bachelor of mucis degree. (Otherwise known as a BM. LOL) I taught classroom music for a while. I loved it. Unfortunately there weren't many jobs then so I ended up changing careers and am now in publishing.
2. I still live in the town I grew up in on the south shore of Long Island, NY. I live about 5 miles from the Atlantic ocean but have always wanted to live in the mountains.
3. I work in New York City and have been commuting on the Long Island Railroad for over 26 years.
4. I love old classic movies, especially the musicals from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.
5. I have been working on my family history since the late 1970s. I love sitting in libraies and going through old records and newspapers.
6. I enjoy walking around old cemeteries. And have been known to take a picnic lunch to one as I hunted for my ancestors graves.

Now to tag six others.
1. Deborah
2. Rene
3. Vonna
4. Nancy M
5. Elaine
6. Kelly

You've been tagged!

Until next time. Keep those needles flying.

Kathy

Post Five

First the non-stitchy comments.

I brought my Mom home from the hospital late Friday afternoon. That’s the good news. The bad? She is a lot weaker and standing is now difficult. Which means it is much harder to get her from bed to wheelchair to chair, etc. She sleeps a lot more and doesn’t always respond when you ask her a question. I continue to hope and pray she improves each day.

I did see a little improvement yesterday, her first full day home. Getting her up, washed and dressed was hard but we managed. Come tomorrow her hospice aide should be back to help.

I want to keep her home as long as possible but deep down I know I won’t be able to if she has another episode of CHF. Each one has taken more and more. And the next ............ Well, it is breaking my heart. You see, my Mom is not only my mother but my best friend. We have always had a great relationship. Rarely fought and have many of the same tastes. We have read the same books, liked the same TV shows and music and like the same foods. Differences of opinion are rare.

If you can please keep my Mom in your prayers.

Now for stitching.
I didn’t get a lot done this week. Some but not much. No photo because what I did get done is for an exchange.

A few weeks back I managed to grab a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon to try something I have wanted to do for ages. I hand-dyed some fabric. A couple of years ago I was able to get a fabulous bargain on a few yards of aida and have been saving it just for this purpose. It was lots of fun and I really liked the coloring on a few of the pieces. If time permits I want to try it again. Maybe this afternoon.
The photos here show a few of the pieces from my first "dye job".

Well, off to do the laundry and house cleaning. Yuck. :)

Until next time. Keep on stitching.

Kathy

Number Four

I started this post on Sunday evening but as you can see I didn't get to finish and post it. At 9 PM Sunday evening I had to call the ambulance for my Mom. She was in severe respiratory distress and the meds we have home hadn't helped. By 4 AM the meds at the hospital had her breathing much better and she was moved to ICU.
Today she is doing even better and out of heart failure. Her breathing and oxygen saturation levels have also improved. They moved her out of ICU this evening. With luck she will have a good night and I can bring her home tomorrow. I hope so because this running back and forth is exhausting.
Oh wait, that might be from lack of sleep. :)
Below are two photos that I had downloaded Sunday.

This is the ornament I stitched for an exchange on the Lizzie Kate yahoo group. Christmas is Love is the ornament I received from Louise D. And Merry Chrismouse is the one I stitched for Louise.

Thanks for listening. Have a good night.

Post number three

Or my latest weekend update.

Remember what I said about last weekend? While this one wasn't quite as crazy and hectic, not as many errands to run, my Mom had me up very early both Saturday and Sunday (this) morning. This time she was having trouble breathing and that can get scary for both of us. :(

One good thing about not getting a lot of sleep. I actually downloaded the photos off my camera! :) AND got more stitching done that usual. Also got the laundry finished early and spent a lot of time just watching Mom for any breathing difficulties.

The photos above are the front and back of a fob I stitched for a dear, dear friend. The pattern for the front is Boo House by Helga Mandl. Stitched on 18 ct aida with DMC.

Next is another fob I stitched for another dear friend. She needed a little cheering up and I am so glad she liked it. I used an 18 ct aida and parts of a freebie pattern.

I just noticed that the photos are at the top of the post AND in reverse order. :) Okay, I wonder how long it will take for me to figure this out. LOL

I have a few more to upload but will save them for tomorrow.

Until then............. keep those needles humming