Rory needs your help

I entered Rory in a Winter photo contest on a local pet website. The main prize is a custom painting which I would LOVE to win. There is also a basket of toys and treats for Rory. But we need your help. The photo with the most votes wins. Rory needs your vote!

All you need to do is click HERE. That will take you to his photo page. Enter your email, click on the five stars, enter the "captcha" code and send. They will send you a confirmation email that you need to click to confirm your vote.

That's it. Easy Peasy.

We know that stitchers are fantastic people so Rory and I hope you can help.

Thank you all so much.

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

Love and stitches
Kathy
and cold snowy licks from Rory too

A brrrrrrrrrrr Monday

Snow, bone numbing cold and more snow. (Only two things warms me up. Rory in my lap and all of your sweet and wonderful comments!) That seems to sum up the past week and a half. I know it is winter but, geez, do we really need this much snow? And the record cold? It was 5 degrees (Fahrenheit) this morning! I didn't even want to know what it was with the wind chill I was cold enough! The only good thing about this morning was that the car started. Unlike Saturday. But that's for later.

Rory continues to enjoy the snow. I tell you he must be wishing for all this white stuff so I can stay home and he can run and run and run in it. Last week I ended up home on Thursday due to a migraine. (I'm fine but the medication side effects are nasty and I would rather be home when one hits.) So Rory got to run and play in the snow for three hours straight! He just loves it. And I could not get him to come in! It also made for a nice quiet afternoon since he exhausted himself in the morning. And they are calling for MORE SNOW this week! Sigh. I don't mind staying home but then I also have to shovel the stuff. And it is only January.

The one thing about snow days is that I do get a bit more stitching done. I have the stitching all finished for my February exchanges. I just need to finish finish them and then mail them off. I hope to get to that this weekend. I have worked a little more on my first Flip'n challenge wip. Here is CCN's Christmas Carols as of January 22.

I started working on another wip for the challenge. This one I originally started about 4 years ago on aida. (My pre-linen days.) Since I had barely started it I decided to change it to linen. I'm not sure if this one would be counted as a start or an old wip but I'm calling it an old wip since it has been sitting in my wip basket for way too long. So here are photos of where it was and where it is now.

Other stitchy goodness: I had two very pleasant surprises in the mail last week. On Friday I received a package from Veronica. I had won her Birthday giveaway earlier this month. What a delightful package. Filled with all kinds of stitching things. Fabric, ribbons, laces galore, a few Crescent Colors, and variegated DMCs (I am already stitching with one of them.), a tatted bookmark that is just gorgeous and a little burlap bag that she stitched on. Thank you so very, very much for everything Veronica!

The second parcel came all the way from Australia. I was next in line for the BBD pattern, Their Song. (I can't wait to start this but need to get the WDW first.) So Gabi sent it on to me. But she also included one of her foot warmers! It looks so warm and comfy. I just need to get some rice to fill it. She included the muslin bag that you fill with rice (or wheat) and heat up in the microwave. Then put that inside the cozy fleecy warmer and insert your cold tootsies. I am picking up the rice tonight! I wonder how long it will stay warm? It would be ideal for the icy morning train ride.

Rory and I had our first show of the new year on Saturday. It was a local match show, a practice show with no points for the winners. Rory is entered in four shows in February but we both need to get our show feet back under us since we haven't been since Thanksgiving. The match show was set to start at 10 am. I got up very early, gave Rory a quick bath and blow dry and by 8:30 am we are ready to go. I go out to start the car and nothing. Nada. Dead as a doornail! ARGHHHHHHHHH!! So I go back in and call AAA (Thank you brother Bill for convincing me to sign up!) I tell them that I really need to be somewhere by 10 at the latest. (That is when the show is supposed to start.) They tell me, no problem someone will be there shortly. 9:40 the truck arrives. Jumps my car battery and gets it running. Thank you. The guy leaves. I called and found that there will be a delay in the show so I am still on time. We get set, in the car and I stop for gas. Only to find that one of my tires is almost flat!! NO! Oh, yes. So I back track to the used tire place. I have to get a new tire! Get that done and we are finally on our way. Thank goodness the show site isn't far. We arrived with about 20 minutes to spare. Rory was a real trooper and performed beautifully! He won the breed and was such a good boy. Me? I was stressed beyond stressed. Maybe that was why Rory behaved so well? No photos because I forgot my camera.

That leaves yesterday. Both Rory and I decided it was a day to rest, relax, me to stitch and him to nap. But before I got too busy with all that it was the perfect day to take some new photos. After all Valentine's Day is coming up and the blog needed a new header photo. So which one is your favorite?

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

Love and stitches

Kathy

and licks from Rory too.

The New Year So Far

Here it is almost mid January. So far the New Year hasn't been the best. I ended the old year and started the New Year sick, sick, sick. I was hit by the nasty cold/flu bug that is making the rounds. Just before New Years Day my throat was so swollen that it felt like I had a bowling ball in my throat! Fever, chills, ear ache, swollen glands the whole nine yards. Of course being the holiday the doctor wasn't in so I waited it out until Monday and than went and got an antibiotic. Two days of the med and I was feeling so much better. I could swallow and eat! That is until later Tuesday morning. (see previous post.) I spent the next two days cleaning and crying and napping and trying to stitch. I finally went back to work on Thursday.

Friday the forecast called for more snow. The weather people are beginning to drive me bonkers! They keep calling for the "significant" snows. Two inches?? I think significant snow would be a foot or more. Not TWO inches! Hey, I live in New York. Not Alabama or Mississippi or Florida where they so rarely get snow that two inches IS significant for them. Oh well with all the panicky forecasts and the railroad (my means of transportation) threatening to stop service I headed home early. Of course the snow didn't start falling until about 7 PM. Big fat flakes. Oh my but it looked so pretty. And even prettier the next morning with every branch outlined in white.We will come back to more snowy news in a bit. But first I want to play catch up on my stitching.

I joined a couple of stitching blogs for 2011. One is the Totally Useless Stitch-a-long. I have been collecting my orts for a number of years. Don't ask me why. They just look so neat in the jar or, as I displayed some of my orts from 2010, in a glass ornament. So since I collect my orts anyway i figured why not join in the fun officially. Then I go and miss the first official day. I did take a photo on the correct day so here is my TUSAL for January. A little late.

To the left is my ort jar empty on January 1st.

When I emptied the jar I put my 2010 orts in this clear glass ornament.

My TUSAL for January 4th.

I also joined in the Flip 'n Crazy January Challenge. The one where you choose 15 older wips or ufos to work on. I have posted a list of the ones I hope to finish this year on my side bar. I am currently working on CCN's Christmas Carols. This is my newest wip. I started it in early December but didn't get very far by the new year. So I have made a bit of progress on it since.

Basket containing my 15 wips/ufos












CCn's Christmas Carols as of Jan 1st.



As of January 8th.

I have also been working on a gift and my upcoming exchanges so no photos of those yet.

I do have two giveaways to show you. One I am late in posting photos (sorry DSL Santa.). I won the Down Sunshine Lane blog Christmas giveaway. And the DSL Santa sent me some fabulous gifts. All wrapped up for Christmas morning. I just love everything! But especially the scissors and fob. I also won a lovely piece of linen from Sheri. I know just the piece I am going to use this for. Another gift for a dear friend.

Another giveaway was won but not by me. By Rory! Some of you may remember the silly photos I took of Rory for Thanksgiving.

Well, he won a photo contest with this photo! His prize arrived just after New Years. He adores the toys and especially one. The box also contained a book for me but Rory decided he would read it first. (I haven't read it yet but will soon.)

Now if you have stuck around and read everything so far I would like to leave you with something that should make you smile if not laugh out loud. While 2011 hasn't been all that great it is impossible to stay down for long. Especially when you have the silliest dog ever! I mentioned the little bit of snow we had this past weekend. Well, Friday evening the snow drifted gently with these huge snowflakes. Rory being Rory just had to stay out and play even though it was 7 pm, cold and pitch dark. After a little bit I looked out the window to check on him and saw the funniest thing. There is Rory on the deck jumping straight up and twisting and trying his darnedest to catch snowflakes! Yup snowflakes! I got my camera and spent the next half hour or so trying to get a good photo of his antics. These are a little dark but I hope you get the idea. I have seen children do this. Heck I have done it. But I have never seen a dog try it. Just too too funny.

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

Love and stitches

Kathy

and licks from Rory too.

PS. I can never thank you all enough for the warm and caring comments. For the cyber hugs and sympathy. For your friendship and love. Know that each and every comment help ease my heartache and sorrow. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Stormwatch Sunset Kiley Rose

Stormwatch Sunset Kiley Rose

Jan. 2001 - Jan. 2011

My Mom had just turned 71 when she asked me, "Can I get a cat?" I told her that of course she could get a cat. What a silly question. We looked at different kinds of cats. We looked at different cat rescues. We talked to cat breeders. And I even took her to a cat show to talk to different cat people. My Mom had her heart set on a long hair and fell in love with the Maine Coon cat breed. Well none of the rescues worked out but we met a wonderful woman who bred, showed and sold Maine Coons. She took a liking to my Mom (and who wouldn't!) and bumped her up the waiting list. Fast forward two months and the first meeting of my Mom and this tiny kitten with the half black and half red face. While looking at the available kittens this little bit if a thing came and started climbing up my Mom's leg. A few weeks later Stormwatch Sunset Kiley Rose (Her official name), better known as Rosie, came to live with Mom and me.

Rosie was the light of my Mom's life and spoiled rotten. Whatever Rosie wanted Rosie got! When my Mom became ill Rosie would lay on Mom's lap for most of the day. Rosie even went to the rehab/nursing facilities the three times my Mom stayed at them. And somewhere in my photo files there is a picture of Rosie in Mom's lap the day my Mom died.

After Mom passed Rosie became my cat. She would greet me when I came home from work and sit on the back on my chair while I stitched. Her purr would get so loud I would have to turn up the volume on the tv! Of course that meant she had to purr louder!

Rosie got along with my dogs. Well, most of the time she ignored them. When she came to us I had my 7 year old Irish setter, Maggie. Rosie would tease Maggie and use those extra long whiskers on Maggie's nose or feet to wake Maggie up and move from whichever comfortable pillow Maggie was sleeping on. Eighteen months after Maggie passed I brought Rory home. Now it was poor Rosie. He would chase her around the house and chase her and chase her. She never put out a claw but always jumped on a table to get way and swat at his nose when he came near.

Rosie left us sometime during the night on January 3-4. Around 6 pm on the 3rd I had heard her doing her hairball hack and had to yell at Rory since he always thought that was the time to bother her. I didn't see her before bed but that wasn't unusual. Hairball days (as I called them) were always times she would hide. Yesterday morning I went to get my clothes and found her at the foot of the bed she had shared with my Mom. To say I was devastated is an understatement. I am heartbroken. It feels like I have lost my Mom all over again. Mom and Rosie were always together. I spent quite a few hours yesterday crying. After a few phone calls with my sister (Thank you Sharon) I calmed enough to realize that Rosie is now where she belongs.

With my Mom. Her Mom. I miss you both.

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

Love and stitches and tears

Kathy

and licks from Rory too