o_0

Good Morning friends! So, I got this silly idea in my head a few days ago while stitching. I was watching Emerson paint at the table. Yes, he has art homework during the summer. He is taking AP art. So I thought, why not paint a teeny, tiny Mabel and a teeny, tiny Henry on tiny rocks, to put in front of this little house of mine you see above.

So I put down my needle, and found a few tiny rocks outside our back door. I used a little of Emerson's paints and a pin as a paintbrush.

Let me tell you, it is not easy to paint them with a pin.

That house is maybe two inches high, to give you perspective. It rained about 15 minutes later. I went out to look and sure enough, my two little dogs took a tumble. ;) What can I say? I am a weirdo.

I did not stitch at all yesterday either. Madeleine asked me to make her a swim skirt. She lost hers last week at the pool. Those things aren't cheap. I made one for less than $10. It was NOT easy for me though. Not sure why, but it was a true struggle. It literally took me all day yesterday. *~* Last evening I was telling myself "I will not be conquered by this!!!" I finished it just before bed.

AND IT FITS!! ;)

Aren't these pink roses pretty? They were a surprise from Brian when he ran to the grocery store the other day.

The last hymn we sang at church last night was America, The Beautiful. Don't you just love it?! It gives me goosebumps and such pride every time. ♥

Back to stitching and praying,
Vickie

Pink Gardening

Good Morning my friends! How are you? Enjoying summer? I hope so. I saw the PA on Tuesday for a recheck. She said it takes a full 6 to 8 weeks for the  final results of the nerve ablation. It is very inflamed in there I am told. She was encouraged that my pain level has been a 1 for several hours at a time for about 4 times so far.

I have been out in the garden. That would explain the smaller amount of stitching getting done. I am close to a finish on the 50ct Friends Are Like Angels. I will show you a picture of the two (28ct and 50ct) together when I am finished.

Did you expect pink garden gloves and a pink trowel? ;) The oxalis plant in the upper left and lower right has beautiful pink and blackish leaves. I cannot remember the name of it. I have kept it alive indoors over winter. The flowers in the lower left are Bittersweet William from the chocolate garden.

These are three different shades of pink yarrow I have. ♥

The poodle topiary is doing well. =) I think the begonia is called Dragon Wing, not positive, I have had it for years. Can you spot the grey poodle in my dish garden in the lower right picture?

My friend Chris is having a 200 Followers Giveaway. Go check it out. It is pink wonderfulness. ;)

I plan on stitching some more today. I have been able to use the treadmill in 15 minute increments again. Hooray for me! I had forgotten how very nice it feels to have low pain.

May every single minute of this day be blessed by the Lord for YOU! Thank you friends for stopping by to say hi! Hello new friends.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Henry is a bit confused from pictures during nap time. Mabel sleeps on!

SANQ Winner

Good Morning friends! How are ya? I know how some of you are, and I am praying for you. ♥

I did finish the first Friends Are Like Angels the other day. I have started the next one.......ON 50 COUNT!! That should be interesting when I get to the over one stitching! Actually, I have found it much easier to just use my magnifier. ;) I wanted this one small so I could make a cute door knob hanger. Still not sure what I will make out of the first one stitched.

Here's the not-so-great photo of Mabel and Henry picking the winner of the SANQ vol.9. Mabel chose our friend Anne! Good for you Anne. =) I have your postal address, and will be getting this into the mail shortly.

The pain appears to be slowly decreasing. I have had two more experiences of the pain level being a 1 for a few hours each of those times. I am so grateful to God for that. We went hiking in the Schlitz Audubon Nature Preserve on Thursday. What a wonderful  outing that was for our family. I did not take chances. I took 2 percocet at the start and did great the whole time. I did pay for it the rest of the day and night, but it was worth it. I had never seen paved trails in a nature preserve before. They had a few main ones, and those were just so appreciated. I never gave thought to such things before I was injured many years ago. It is nice to see handicapped accessibility. We did climb the observation tower, that is where Madeleine took the above picture of Brian and I. This park is right on the coast of Lake Michigan. We took a trail to the beach also. We had simple, family fun in skipping rocks and looking through the rocks and pebbles.

I have been busy in the garden. All the rain we have been receiving has helped me get the weeds out easier. ;)  I just adore the last picture with Henry in the pink rose petals. Doesn't make him look the most masculine, but oh well!

I hope and pray you have an excellent Sunday my friends.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

A Surprise In The Mail

Hi Friends!  So glad you stopped by.  A surprise came in the mail for me yesterday. Hooray! Hooray for me! That is the best,isn't it?! Guess who it was from?

Our sweet friend Annette, that's who! ;) She made me this beautiful card.♥ And take a look at what else she created for me.

A fabulous floss fob! Beautiful DMC flosses too. I love it! I now own my very first floss fob. Here is a better picture of the lovely stitching.

 

ooOoo! I just love those initials she stitched for me! They are fabulous. And the crown! I asked her if this means that I must surely be the queen of this household? And do you know what dear Annette told me? No, you don't, so I am going to tell you. She told me that when she sees a crown, she thinks of Jesus. "So it is like a subtle blessing from Him representing the crown to watch over you ( your initials)." I could just cry. That is so beautiful Annette. What a special, wonderful gift. Thank you! Oh yes, and Annette did say that me being the Queen of the household works too. ;)

 See the beautifully matched fabric on the back. As you can see my pink peonies finally opened up. =)

We took a trip this morning, Brian, Jacob and I. We took the Freeway Flyer from our home to Marquette University. What a great, convenient benefit for Jacob this bus will be. He will save money on gas and parking. Yay! We walked around the large campus in downtown Milwaukee. We found the buildings that are used for nursing. We also bought some t-shirts and a sweatshirt. ;)

Friends! I MAY have some exciting news for you all! I did not experience the severe sunburn pain sensation after my radiofrequency nerve ablation on Tuesday. The pain was very increased, but has slowly subsided. The bus trip today was a test of sorts for me, because.... I woke up this morning with very low pain. As in a "one or two" on the ten scale. Friends, this has not happened in many, many months!! It appears to be working.

Now for the dumb, dumb, dummy move. Yup! Do ya know what this is? I had one of these as a girl. Oh what fun! It is a Skip It. Madeleine has one like it in the garage, without the lemon, it's a pink thing on the end instead. Anyways, it was calling me. Mocking me. I had to give it a try. Ya know, just a few times right?

Dumb! Dumb! Dummy! Now both hips hurt and my left leg. =( I honestly just wanted to have fun. Really. Then I remembered the doctor saying not to do things that I know will cause the pain though. =( Man! So I took the percocet. =( Time will tell. For crying out loud!

You can still enter my giveaway here.

I will leave you with a few happy pictures of the pups taken just yesterday.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

SANQ Vol. 9 Giveaway

Good Morning my friends! So glad you all stopped by for a visit. Your wonderful comments brighten my day. Thank you! I am still thinking about my finishing for the two Friends Are Angels. You gave me good ideas. Thanks. =)

Our lovely friend June has gifted me yet again! That had Brian puzzled. ;) She tells me THIS is my birthday gift. ♥

Well, I think June has me figured out. What do you think? ;) Pink and poodles! Does it get more wonderful? Why yes. Yes, it does. I did not take the best photo, but just click to take a look at the wonderful pansy pin she made me. Love it. Pansies are my favorite flower. The tiny pink bag contains wonderful dog themed pink ribbon. With a poodle,of course. June, I thank you so much. You are so very kind to me. Your gift is just so very perfect for me my friend. ♥

I was digging through my stash the other day and came across this.

Would any of you, my dear friends like it?

I found it while thrifting about half a year ago. I had plans to stitch up one of the charts. I just do not think it is going to happen.

Rather than leave it languishing in my stash, I would very much like to offer it to you. I know how quite a few of you love to stitch reproduction samplers.

The last time I offered an early SANQ many of you wanted it. So I am glad to offer you a chance at another.

I think there are great samplers in this addition. If you would like a chance to win this, please leave a comment on THIS post only.

You need to be one of my followers. I will draw one of your names on Sunday, June 23rd.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

In Need Of a Fun Finish. Got One?

Good Morning my friends!  I am so very glad you are here. I need an idea. I need YOUR help. Would you PLEASE share with me a finishing idea for Friends Are Like Angels? This is the most important part. It is why I need help. IT IS FOR A NON-STITCHING FRIEND. This is for my very long time friend Heather.

I actually plan on stitching this up twice. This time is how the pattern recommends stitching it, two over two on 28ct. I usually stitch smaller. Next time will probably be one over one on 28ct.This first piece may be made into a pinpillow or ..... ideas! ideas! The next one I stitch, the small one, is the one I was thinking of making up for Heather into a door knob hanger. Do non-stitchy people find these weird? Do you have a better idea for my gift for her?

I won this sweet, little LizzieKate pattern from Sally.  If you also would like to stitch it, keep watching this space. I will be having a giveaway for this pattern when I am done with it, just as Sally requested.

So, how am I doing you may wonder? Well, I can tell you right now that I could feel all of your positive thoughts and prayers Tuesday morning. The procedure went extremely smooth. I almost fell asleep during it. No pain! The doctor did not mention that the pain would be very increased for several days. He likes to hold back information on what to expect with pain. He is all about psychology. He doesn't want me to think it could be bad, because then I will expect bad things. Well after the procedure the nurse told me that my nerves will be "all crazy" for several days and to expect heightened pain. Also that my pain would be at it's usual level for 4 to 6 weeks before the pain dies down or disappears completely. My jaw almost hit the floor!! SAY WHAT NOW?!?

Um, yes, I would say for the first 24 hrs. the pain was severely increased. It has been decreasing ever since. I have been relying on narcotics and ice packs. I am hoping my "usual" pain subsides quicker than 4 weeks. I am also hoping this is all worth it. Thank you for your well wishes, thoughts and your prayers.

This is only a small portion of the sea of purple-blue columbine blooming.

The white peonies bloom first. I am still waiting for the pink to bloom. The pink roses smell just heavenly. Both of these were here at this home when we moved in. We relocated them in the yard however.

I finished reading Joni & Ken: An Untold Love Story. This is a book about Joni and Ken Earekson Tada. Are you familiar with Joni? She is a Christian quadriplegic. This book was a gift from Shirlee. I really, really liked this book. The book discusses her pain and suffering. I found it helpful and encouraging.

Please remember to leave me a comment with your ideas! Have a great day in the Lord my friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Birthday Gifts For Me

Good Morning friends! It is finally warming up here. I turned 44 this last week. I do not ever remember wearing a long sleeved shirt for my birthday! These flowers from Brian helped warm up the day though.

My mom still has birthday parties for all of us at her house. It was warm and sunny.I received quite a few garden center gift cards, chococlate =), money, and a gift certificate to my LNS. I made a quick trip to the LNS for needles and more Wisper in new shades. I have also visited the garden center and bought a few plants, and planted them up too. I may head back there today.

This arrived right on my actual birthday from dear Shirlee.

 What a sweet card and chart. I do not own many summer charts, so this is perfect. Thank you again sweet Shirlee.

I also received this adorable surprise from dear June! Oh how I laughed. I wondered what she was up to. She told me a while back she had found something perfect for me. ;)

Isn't she fabulous?! She hasn't moved from her perch on my pink bench in the front room. She looks smashing there I think. And she came smelling lovely due to the beautiful sachet June included. We tried and tried to pose the two dogs with the toy. Mabel wasn't the problem obviously!

I chose this picture because it cracks me up. I know it is blurry due to Henry, but just look at sweet Mabel's expression. I can almost hear her sigh.

Speaking of Mabel, we went to the vet on Friday. He said he usually holds back on comments, he does not want to encourage owners too much in situations like Mabel's. But he felt he had to say that her improvement in one week was "tremendous"! We will continue her on the medications just as they are now for a while. She no longer pants in pain in the evenings. She has not shown pain in days now. She and I are alike. Our pain is there to be sure, it is just masked with the medications. But she is walking again friends!! I just cannot explain it well to you, the extreme stress these last few weeks have been with the whole Mabel situation. She is now like an old lady poodle. She is only 4 years old. It is sad, yes. But we do not kill someone just because they are old right? I feel an immense understanding and connection in this whole pain mess with Mabel as I am sure you understand. I certainly wouldn't want to be "gotten rid of" because of the pain and restrictions I have caused!! And yes, I am not crackers! I know I am a person and she is a dog! I guess the point is that her pain is now managed. She walks, although it is slow. She will not be running. She must not use stairs ever.

This is another chocolate iris I own, Huckleberry Fudge. This one does not smell of chocolate, just looks like it. I will have to take a picture of my lavender irises that smell of grape.

I have hardly been stitching. What little I have, I could not show. It is a secret stitch that I did finish. Now I am going to make it into a pinkeep. I have so many projects calling me, sometimes yelling at me! But I really, really feel the need to stitch another poodle. ;) We will see.

Thank you for visiting me my friends. I appreciate every single one of those comments you leave me. They brighten my day and encourage me. Especially as of late with my injections. The time has almost arrived now. I do not know that I will be posting before Tuesday, so I will mention it now. I get the Radiofrequency Nerve Ablation done on Tuesday morning. To say I am nervous is an understatement. The nurse on the phone the other day told me to tell the doctor to numb it very well. Okay, I can do that. Makes me a tad more nervous I must say. I asked about pain afterwards. She said I will feel like I have a very bad sunburn on my lower back for several days. There are no pills to eliminate that she says! Just keep ice on it she says. FOR SEVERAL DAYS CONSTANTLY???!!! Well, it is my hope and prayer this is all worth it. As I mentioned before, he has had patients remain pain free for 2 years! Now that is the greatest result he has had from patients, but I am aiming high friends. If you are willing, would you pray for me and the doctor? I would so GREATLY appreciate it.♥

Finishing and praying,
Vickie

A Thank You Gift For Me

Good Morning Friends! I hope it is a beautiful day by you. =) I received something beautiful in the mail yesterday all the way from South Africa. Yup that's right. It is from our dear Cucki. I had gifted Cucki with the pattern Whatsoever Your Hands Findeth To Do. Here is the beautiful card that she made me.

I told you it was beautiful! The time it must have taken to make that. I just love it. I do! And look at this wonderful, little doily she made me. I have never received a gift like this. I do not know how to crochet. I really cherish this gift Cucki. Thank you for your gifts. You are so kind. You are a very good friend.

Jacob's party was a success. We did have cool weather though. Or perfect Shirlee weather! Our family is not made of wimps thank goodness! We had a tent set up with the drinks and overflow of food.

 I did finish the book The Story Tellers' Collection by Melody Carlson. What a great book! It is a collection of short stories by Christian authors. What a wide variety offered. I found so many new authors now.

Our Mabel continues to hold on. Not very well though friends. I left a message for the vet yesterday asking what meds can we increase or change? He sent the message back on two to increase. We are to give this new regiment a few days to see if it will improve life for her. If not, well, then it will be the end of our time with our dear, sweet Mabel. We continue our prayers in this. We love her so much, but if this does not work, she will not continue on in suffering.

Hoping and Praying,
Vickie