Little Lilies

Hi friends! Here is the latest finish I have to share with you. It is an old freebie by Luli you can find right HERE.

Precious, isn't it? I used Olde Willow Stitchery Hand-Dyed Thread, 033, Floral Fantasy. This was recently gifted to me by our friend Anne.

Stitching this was a HUGE challenge, with me currently being on these heavy medications and having horrid headaches. So it took a long time. I also used a new method. I pulled my lap frame very close to me, pulled myself in close, so as not to hunch over, and took my glasses off. Yes, working one over one on this 36 ct this way, was the ONLY way. I had to use this small of a count to make this finish fit the spot I had in my cubby shelf. I am so happy with how it looks on the white linen.

I especially like these small lilies charted on the right end. I have checkered lilies(or fritillaria) now in bloom in the secret garden in our back yard. See the same shape?

Our friend Angela did the nicest thing. She sent me a surprise package to brighten my day. It brought a smile to my face Angela. That is not the easiest thing to do these days either.

Not one but TWO cards to cheer me up! Sweet, pink ribbons and small cuts of delicious colored linen she picked up at a recent retreat. Oh how thoughtful. Thank you my friend.♥

THE NEUROLOGIST I SAW ON TUESDAY HAS BRAINS IN HIS HEAD. Ha! Get my joke?
He was so thorough and smart and NICE. He said that in all honesty these headaches can start for no reason or possibly the kind of steroid she used in my neck injection(7 weeks ago) could have caused it. He gave me an oral steroid pack to take. You take, I forgot how many, starting the first day. Maybe 6.Then keep tapering down. It lasts 6 days. I will get off the Fioricet, the stuff making me the substance of mashed potatoes. I am going to increase the Topamax, the pill I am on, two nightly, to prevent headaches. I will, after the steroids are done next week, begin taking that in the morning as well. I may suffer these headaches again in my life. I may not. He did not think it was a good risk to have another facet injection for neck arthritis. If this is not working by next week I am to call and go see him again. He says there are other things I can do. This steroid is the drug the other two doctors of mine said I should go on AFTER I saw a surgeon to have my temple arteries biopsied!!! He asked if I had some kind of blood test first. I said I never heard of that blood test. He said, I don't see it listed on your blood work here. You have to have that blood test done first before you can have artery biopsies. He was not impressed with their order of doing things for me.

I am on day three of using the oral steroids and I am trying very, very, very hard to keep my hope up. The pain has NOT lessened for me. He said this could be possible if I had a bad reaction to the steroid injected in my neck. This means I would have to wait probably 4 months for the headaches to wear off. OH GOD PLEASE NO. He said there are other things available for me if this is the case.

Thank you for coming by today. I appreciate your friendship. I hope you have a good weekend. Today is our Orthodox Christian Great(Good) Friday. Sunday, our Pascha/Easter!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

My Favorite Snowflower Diaries SAL Month Thus Far

Hi friends! So many of you just KNEW it!! What can I say? Several of you asked me if I would replace the kitties with poodles, and, well, I just could NOT get THAT out of my head! So yes, I designed them BEFORE the severe headaches came. Then it took me forever to stitch them up because of the heavy medication. But I think it was sooooooooooooooo worth it. tee hee! :)

 I DO love the kitties that Maija charted for May. I did struggle with switching out poodles instead, believe that or not. I am serious. I made them chocolate because that is the next color poodle I want. tee hee! Brian says we are done having dogs. I say, yes, but not done having poodles! ;) Oh and I also want a white poodle. And they both need to be tea cup poodles. Just in case you were all wondering this. HA!

This was stitched one over one one 25ct cream linen using DMC and VMSS. I did use two over one for all the B5200 to make the white show up well.

I am now working on a bit of Easter stitching, which you may think I am terribly late with, but no! Remember Brian and I are Orthodox Christian. Yesterday was Palm Sunday for us. I will have it finished and on display in my cubby shelf.

Our precious daughter went to her senior prom on Saturday and had a wonderful time! :) She looked so gorgeous. Yes, I am her mom, but hey, I just speak the truth. THIS IS NOT HER, OKAY? IT IS THE VINTAGE DRESS SHE WORE. NOT HER IN THE DRESS, BUT THE LADY WHO SOLD THE DRESS TO HER.THIS IS THE LISTING PICTURE FROM THE SALE. NOT OUR MADELEINE!!

I still don't show pictures of our kids here, so that is the picture you are getting. ;) But she had a fabulous time with one of her best friends, her date, Richard, a Burmese foreign exchange student she has known these four years.

Good news! I got my neurologist appointment moved up to Tuesday. I see him tomorrow and sure hope for help with this loooooooooooooong headache.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Tottering Around

Hi friends! Before the headaches became severe again one week ago, I was able to find my most favorite flowers in my most favorite color at two different garden centers. :) And they waited patiently for me to plant them in pots. I am not done. It is still slow going. However, if I park my derriere on an upturned 10 gallon bucket I am able to do this without falling over from the heavy medication!

THIS! THIS is my most favorite of them all. A ruffled, pink pansy. L♥VE

Good news. Out of desperation, I called the neurologist's office yesterday to ask if it is possible that they have anything sooner than next Thursday. Yes, I now go next Tuesday afternoon. Two days earlier is better!

I finished The Atonement by Beverly Lewis. If you like Beverly's books, you will like this. I read her books because they are pleasurable reads. They have a little love, a little drama and are filled with the simple life.

I was able to finish my May Snowflower Diaries SAL after dinner last night. No pictures yet. Too sleepy after that. I will share pictures next time. I went outside with the poodles and sat on my kneeling pad and cleaned out one garden bed afterwards. That woke me up! :)

I am hopeful this neurologist will have some kind of answers for me. There must be something. How can a person suddenly have excruciating headaches after facet injections in their neck(which got rid of the neck arthritis) and then just be told to take heavy medications to "treat" it?! And what, I totter around like an 82 year old?! Because that is what I am doing!!

I hope you have a lovely weekend! Thank you for stopping in. ♥

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

A Little Guessing Game

Hi friends! Last week a few of you friends had questioned whether I would be stitching the adorable kitties as they are charted in the Snowflower Diaries May SAL or stitching up poodles instead. hmm. Decisions, decisions. I am taking heavy doses of headache medications currently and I am NO designer.Which do you think I chose my friends?

Ha. I am so very naughty. I am not done with  this pattern yet. I am stitching slowly due to the medications. So.... this is the picture I am sharing with you thus far. I want you to guess and I will share with you next time upon completion.

I want to share with you the gifts I was given by our friend Anne.

She crocheted two pink coasters.♥ Isn't the variegated floss lovely. The peachy silk floss is lovely also.  I will gladly stitch up these two sweet Shepherd's Bush patterns and use this pink finishing fabric. Thank you Anne!

I suffered a setback in pain this weekend. Starting Friday the headaches got severe again. I had to take the full dose of medication again all weekend. I had a very bad day on Sunday. I had a break down of sorts. Just cried and cried in pain. Brian took me, no, he insisted on the emergency room. They did the ct scan, which my family doctor had said we would do as the next step. I have no problems there. I am glad to have gotten another doctor's opinion. He wrote out a referral to a neurologist for me. He wrote a prescription for yet another, different pain pill. He feels the neurologist would be the next step if the headaches don't start receding in one week. The neurologist can decide what tests need to be done. He doesn't feel I need to get that temporal artery biopsy that both my pain management doctor and family doctor suggested, just yet. That is something the neurologist can decide. Fine by me. I would be sedated for that. They slice open your temples and take samples of your arteries to see if they are inflamed. o_O

This is how I felt this weekend.
 
Friends, I know you come here for stitching. I hope you come here for friendship too. Can I just ask, no, beg you to please once again, please? pray for me? Thank you. I appreciate you.♥

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Artie

Hi friends! I am still plugging along on my prescription headache medications, waiting for these headaches to be GONE!

I did get the April Sampler done from Kooler Design. This pattern is found in the book I checked out from our library, called 365 Tiny Cross Stitch Designs.

This was stitched one over one using DMC(some of my own choosing) on 25ct white evenweave. And here is the whole set I have made for the month of April.

I am now working on the May Snowflower Diaries SAL. So sweet! It is slow going due to this medicine.

This last Tuesday evening was Fine Arts Night at Madeleine's high school. The art students are all dressed up and are there presenting their art pieces they have worked on all year. They are for sale to the public. Madeleine sold 4 of her paintings and made $715 dollars! We are just so very proud of her.

When we arrived and viewed her display, I noticed she had Not For Sale on my favorite painting of hers. I asked her, "What?!" My dear girl said, "That is because I am giving it to you Mom." I can't quite express the feelings I had just then. ♥ 

You may recall me showing you  this painting before, months ago, when I, ahem, complained that she was so very close to finishing it and she just would not!!! Well she finished it. Here it is.

 I call it "Artie". As in Artie Garfunkel, because this is him in his earlier years.

I do not tire of looking at this. I find it amazing that someone, MOST ESPECIALLY MY DAUGHTER, can create this! Just look at all those colors used to make this. It is so, I don't know. I guess I call it wonderful.

I have not told you yet. Madeleine did not desire to go away to college. She is going to Mount Mary University, in Milwaukee. It is about a 20 minute drive from our home. They have a fine art program there. She is still unsure of her career choice, but she was told by an artist that night that she could just sell her paintings now. And one of the purchasers of her paintings was an artist himself. However, Madeleine does not want to commit to a career in art quite yet. So she chose not to go to an exclusively art college. Isn't this a gorgeous campus?


That is it for me today friends. I hope you have a stitchtastic weekend! I'm gonna. I plan on ditching this headache for good. Well, a girl can hope right?

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Mr. Henry and the non-stop wagging tail

April Stitching

Hi friends! I thought for sure I would have two April finishes to share with you today.That was before I went on Fioricet(a barbituate used for tension headaches). This post is taking longer to type, as I keep messing up. Everything is going slower, even walking, as I am dizzy. It will all be worth it if the headaches continue to decrease. Oh how I hope and pray they disappear! So far, I would say the headaches are almost 80% decreased.

I stitched up our friend Palko's free monthly pattern you can find HERE.

I stitched this on 25ct white evenweave with DMC 4025.

I am almost, almost done with the sweet, tiny April sampler by Kooler Design found in 365 Tiny Cross Stitch Designs. I will show you that next time. Sorry, a LOT of concentration is required just to get this blog post written. Whew! This is strong stuff. Pray with me that the headaches just go away. Otherwise I will have to have a ct scan to rule out bleeding and tumors.

I finished Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron.EXCELLENT book.  FABULOUS  book! Go read it!! Now! I will be getting the second book in this series, you betcha!!

If Jane Austen had turned her formidable wit and powers of observation to sleuthing before establishing herself as the major literary figure we know and love, then surely she would have been every inch the detective that Stephanie Barron has created in this delectable debut.

"I would rather spend an hour among the notorious than two minutes with the dull." To Jane Austen’s surprise, her visit to the snowy Hertfordshire estate of young and beautiful Isobel Payne, Countess of Scargrave, will be far from dull. She has scarcely arrived when the Earl – a gentleman of mature years – is felled by a mysterious ailment too agonizing and violet to credit to a fondness for claret and pudding. Scargrave’s death seems a cruel blow of fate for Isobel, married but three months. Yet the bereaved widow soon finds that it’s only the beginning of her misfortune… as she receives a sinister missive accusing her and the Earl’s nephew of adultery – and murder.

Desperately afraid that the letter will expose her and Viscount Fitzroy Payne, for whom she bears a secret tendresse, to the worst sort of scandal, Isobel begs her friend Jane for help. Which is how Jane finds herself embroiled in an investigation that hinges on the motives of Scargrave Manor’s guests.

Isn't the Snowflower Diaries May SAL pattern precious? The only thing that could make it more precious is.....can you guess what I would say? Of course you can!! POODLES! tee hee! I will begin that shortly. Meanwhile my own three poodles are definitely keeping me company and providing comfort. They make great nap buddies. ;)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie
 

Friends

Hi friends!

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!  

Psalm 146:1

The medicine to STOP the headaches came through late Friday. I can take it every 4 hours. It sure does knock me out, but it is slowly reducing this BIG, MEAN headache of mine. I would say I have 30% relief thus far. I continue to also take the Topimax, the medicine that prevents the headaches.  

I am still trying to  stitch and will be back to share with you real soon. I just wanted to update you, because you are caring. Can I just say that I appreciate you my friends? Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ♥

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Hands On Design

Hi friends! I wanted to share the Hands On Design May finish with you days ago, but the headaches have been extreme, and I found myself often unable to stitch. I have it done now though. Here it is.

This pattern is found in the May 2014 issue of Cross Stitch & Needlework.I stitched this one over one on 25ct New Khaki linen using DMC and VMSS.

Take a look HERE to see what the pattern is supposed to look like. Mine looks a lot different. Madeleine pointed out to me how nice the colored chart looks. And yes, in the colored, symboled chart, the colors are more pink. I don't know why, but they are, instead of the purplish colors of pictured finished piece. So I matched flosses to the colored chart. Never did that before. I changed every, single color except  420, the light color in the basket.  I also completed the basket handle. I could not leave it that way. I don't understand it that way!

I have been reading the first book in the series by Stephanie Barron, Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrove Manor. This book begins with a most interesting, true discovery. If you are a Jane Austen fan, I KNOW you will love this book and the series! I was searching for a way to explain this new information about Jane. The easiest and best way, is for you to read this short page HERE.
Then tell me, did you know this?! I surely did not. How fascinating!

I did go to the pain management doctor on Wednesday. She told me three times (because I asked three different times) that the facet injections in my neck did not cause the headaches.  She said since my headache location is across my entire forehead and both temples, this is not from the injections. She says the injections "may have" triggered the headache, but not caused them. WHAT?!?! I have temporal arteritis she believes. Again, WHAT?!?! This is an inflammation of the arteries in your temples. What next?! She put me on a medication for headaches(which will take a week to work) and advised me to make an appointment with my family doctor. I saw my family doctor yesterday. She ordered bloodwork to see if I have inflammation going on.I am awaiting those results.

I will have two more April finishes for the cubby shelf to share with you next time. Thank you for stopping in with me today. I appreciate your friendship. Have an excellent weekend my friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Hands On Design

Hi friends! I once again checked out a Cross Stitch & Needlework magazine from our library. This time I have the May 2014 issue. I stitched up April and am now working on May.

This is stitched one over one on 25ct New Khaki linen using DMC and VMSS 1840 variegated purple and 1795 sky blue.

I finished reading Jane and the Waterloo Map by Stephanie Barron. What an excellent book! I found it in the new book section in our library. I have NEVER read a series of books out of order. Until now. I read this one and now have checked out the first in the series, Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrove Manor. Have you read these books?! Tell me! Here is a bit about the one I just read.

Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful Regency-era mystery

November, 1815. The Battle of Waterloo has come and gone, leaving the British economy in shreds; Henry Austen, high-flying banker, is about to declare bankruptcy—dragging several of his brothers down with him. The crisis destroys Henry’s health, and Jane flies to his London bedside, believing him to be dying. While she’s there, the chaplain to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent invites Jane to tour Carlton House, the Prince’s fabulous London home. The chaplain is a fan of Jane’s books, and during the tour he suggests she dedicate her next novel—Emma—to HRH, whom she despises.

However, before she can speak to HRH, Jane stumbles upon a body—sprawled on the carpet in the Regent’s library. The dying man, Colonel MacFarland, was a cavalry hero and a friend of Wellington’s. He utters a single failing phrase: “Waterloo map” . . . and Jane is on the hunt for a treasure of incalculable value and a killer of considerable cunning.

I have a recheck appointment with my pain management doctor on Wednesday, even though I think she can do nothing for me with these excrutiating headaches. She obviously hit spinal fluid when she gave me the steroid facet injections in my neck over three weeks ago. Yes, I thought they were going to get better a while ago. NOPE. BAD. REAL BAD. I am living on Excedrin Migraine and Tylenol. And prayers. Lots of prayers. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you." Isaiah 43:2

Stitching and praying,
Vickie