A Year Younger

Hi friends! We just had the best weekend this year. :) Gorgeous weather on Saturday. Almost gorgeous (just a touch too hot and humid) weather yesterday. Saturday was my 46th birthday. I can say with all honesty I do not feel a year older. I truly feel a year younger. This physical therapy home exercise program is giving me my life back. I am able to do things, most everything less painfully. As you know from  a prior post, I am a gardener again! Yay!

On Saturday we went to my mom's for my birthday party. :) Yes, my mom still has birthday parties for me and my three younger brothers, along with parties for the rest of the gang. We open presents, sing Happy Birthday and eat birthday cake. ♥

Our friend June sent me birthday gifts.

Poodle patterns, ribbon, a bookmark, a lovely sachet, notebook, a PINK bird, and a file folder, which I use!! Thank you again my sweet, dear friend June.

Yesterday we went to Father and Matushka's. Their youngest child, Sophia just turned 14 years old and graduated from 8th grade. Their middle son, Dima, just graduated from high school. All three of their children are so nice and very close in age to our three. We both have two sons, then our daughters. :) We had a wonderful time, all five of us. Great food, conversations and fun.

Now the chocolate perennial garden does not look like much at this point. The irises are done. And the day lilies will not be blooming this year, due to being dug up and moved I believe. But I did take a picture of the new set up.

So very much work to remove every, single plant and pull out all the grass and replace everything in a new spot! Glad that is done. Glad every one of the family helped me. :)

I am reading Love Letters by Beverly Lewis. Very good. I have yet to be disappointed with a book of hers. Do not believe that will ever happen!

I am still reading the Bible daily too.

I hope and pray you have an excellent week my friends! I have thanked God for YOU today!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

I Finished Love Notes, Would You Like The Pattern?

Good Morning my friends! We  have been in the 100's for a week! Thank goodness, a cool down started last night. Today it will only get in the 90's. ;)

Jacob is at Marquette University right now. We took him Wednesday afternoon and will pick him up at lunch time today. He is participating in Project Beyond. It is a federally funded program to encourage leadership skills in the nursing field for men, first time college students and minorities. Jacob qualified for two of those.  He gets to sleep in a dorm with the only other young man who came. All meals are covered. They invited 25 and only got 7! Jacob's roommate is Matt. His parents both came from Thailand. Oh, such nice people. Brian and I really liked them. Jacob and Matt really got along too. Jacob and Matt are the only guys there. The other five are young ladies!! I asked the teacher how many of the one hundred nursing students enrolled this year are male. 5! The grin on the faces of Jacob and Matt!!! Oh boy!!

I finished stitching the French pattern of Love Notes on Thursday.(There are three patterns included.) I did the finishing on it Friday. This is a gift. As soon as I saw this pattern on Mii's blog for a giveaway, I knew I wanted to stitch that French Pincushion. Only not make it into a pincushion. And I wanted to stitch it for our Emerson. Yes, Emerson. He has taken French for three years and will begin his fourth year shortly.

We are a close, loving family. I tell the kids I love them most every day. And today is Emerson's birthday. My baby boy is 17!! He will be getting this gift tomorrow at his birthday party with family.

It says "I love you with all my heart" in French. I thought a bookmark for his Bible was a very good use for this. I chose a dark chocolate linen for the back. I used small patches of French General fabric from my stash.

 I decided to stitch this one over one, on a mystery 30ct Lakeside Linen. I used the dark red DMC called for but replaced the pink (gasp!!) with creamy white DMC 3865.I used a somewhat stiff fusible stabilizer.

This is the only pattern of the three I am stitching. Would you like the pattern? I received this pattern in a giveaway from Mii, who received this pattern in a giveaway from Sally, who received this as a gift from Barb! ;) If you would like to be the next stitcher, please be a follower of mine and leave me a comment here on this post. Please also pass this chart on to another stitcher after you are done with it. =) This giveaway will end on Friday, July 26th.

Crazy Daisy struggling in the heat wave

No, not rain, just watered.

Milk Chocolate Daylily

Well, I better shove off. I have a marble cake with chocolate buttercream frosting to make!

Baking and Praying,
Vickie

Somebody needs a haircut!!♥

 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34

Traveling Pattern Winner

Good Morning my friends! How are you today? Doing pretty well here. Paint ball happening for the boys today with friends and again tomorrow with my brother. They do this every once in a great while. Jacob is registered for his fall courses at Marquette University. He received the AP credit for Psychology. That was a course he was supposed to take this fall. So wonderful that he no longer has to take it, it is done!!

Now that we also own a boy poodle, I realized there aren't as many small "boy" poodle motifs to be had out there. My bottle cap magnet collection has almost all girly looking poodles. I decided to try and create my own Henry. Amazing how much effort it took me to just come up with this little guy.

I used three different shades of Anchor and DMC for his coat color. I think I am happy enough with the choices. He is stitched two over one on 25ct Antique White linen. The trim is fun. I found it at Michael's a year ago.

My daylilies finally opened up this week.

Chocolate Splash

Chocolate Ripples

The next stitcher of the Traveling Pattern is Shirlee! I have your address my friend. I will send this on it's way to you shortly. Those of you who also wanted to stitch this up, but did not get a chance, will have to watch Shirlee's blog now. =)

I did the finishing work on my two finishes of  Friends Are Like Angels. I am wondering about a bit of adornment on the flatfold. I will think on it today. I will take pictures and share next time friends.

Stitching and Praying,
Vickie

Watchful, Faithful Friends♥

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

We Have A Winner!

Good morning everybody! Another beautiful summer day here today. :) I drew the winner's name this morning. Can you see who it is?

That's right! Hooray it is our friend Margaret. Margaret, I have emailed you. Please send me your postal address. :) The favorite Garden Party attendee by far was the center peacock!

This was my last daylily, Chocolate Splash.

I am still putting stitches in Praise God, just not very quickly. ;)

Have a great day in the Lord everyone.♥

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

 

The Traveling Pattern Is Moving On To California!

Hey everybody! How the heck are ya? I drew the winning name this morning. The traveling pattern is moving on. Annette! The bunny is coming your way. Please email me your address.

I used my cool, little sequined and beaded poodle coin purse to hold the names of the ladies wishing to stitch the bunny. It is the only thing I ever used it for! HA! Brian bought it for me a few years ago.

This chocolate daylily is called Chocolate Splash.♥

These two pictures above of the different violas, are what I call little survivors. They both grew from seed spread by the wind and birds from last year. They popped up this spring in the cracks of the driveway. I give them a little water almost daily, but they are tough little ladies. :) There are probably a dozen and a half of them scattered around.

I am stitching a Christmas piece right now.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

The 45 count Poodle Magnet

Hey everybody! I finished stitching this little poodle up two days ago. I finished her off into a magnet this morning. :)

one over one, 45 ct white Italian linen

This one is by far my favorite of my poodle freebie magnets. She is so pretty.♥ Not sure what the reddish color is on the inside rim of bottle cap, it is not really there. I will say, I stitched the black first, and that was NOT a problem. I actually got quite a bit stitched without magnification. ONE OVER ONE ON 45CT LINEN!! It was the pink stitching that didn't go smoothly at all. Thanks again to Mouse for suggesting the tent, or half cross stitch. That helped me even get pink stitching into this little piece. Is she perfect? No way. Would I do this again? No. I would do just the black again, but not fill her in on 45ct. Well, she is done and I do not have to worry about it any longer now do I?

She was a freebie I found here.

All of these hollyhocks and sweet peas I grew from seeds. The last one is in the chocolate heart garden. It is actually called black hollyhock, but as you can see it is a dark reddish brown. So I prefer the name I gave it, Dark Chocolate hollyhock. ;) See Shirlee, you can go right ahead and name your plants!!

No stitching for me today. But I am crafting with fabric. More to come!

If you want a chance to win the Traveling Pattern "Bunny", take a look at my last post and leave a comment there. :)

Have a super weekend. I have new followers, hello ladies!! So glad when everyone stops by and leaves me a comment. It sure brightens my day.

Crafting and praying,
Vickie

Baseball and sunburn

Hey everybody! How are you today? We all have varying degrees of sunburn around here. Mostly a bit on the back of the necks as we put sunblock on our faces. We went to a Milwaukee Brewers game with my youngest brother Jonathan, his treat. I am not a sports kind of girl. I don't mind attending a game once in a while. The three teens loved it. They enjoy whatever adventures Uncle Jon dishes up, since he is the one with the money! The seats we had yesterday cost  $110 a piece! Can you believe it?!? I still can't! Sorry, we just don't live that way. Now of course Uncle Jon had to give them the tailgate experience as well. Well not the "full" experience, as Brian and I do not drink and my kids certainly don't! But he did grill up some brats. We enjoyed a full lunch with all the goodies that I brought along as well. And we did win, 6-5 over the San Diego Padres.

That was actually my first tailgate "party", which cracked my brother up. We lead quite different lives. ;) Have you guys tailgated? Do you do that in your town? Do you guys eat brats? Do you know what a brat is? ;)

Sedum 'Chocolate Drop'

Hot Cocoa Rose

You need to head over to Parsley's blog for her giveaway here. Very cute.♥

Hope you guys are getting a little fun in the sun in. I haven't stitched all weekend. I will today. Thanks for your sweet comments, I love them! You are wonderful friends, thanks.♥

Looking forward to your answers to my questions from up above,
Vickie

Chocolately goodness

Hey everybody!  So glad you are here. :) Welcome to new followers!

I finished Maggie's bath and haircut. I should have known better than to let her wander while I was watering the garden beds. She of course ruined her whole white and fluffy look. :(  Actually a quick blow dry seems to have fixed her up. She is not a girly dog. The camera battery died before I got a good picture of her for you.  I did get this one of the latest iris to open up around here.

Huckleberry Fudge Tall Bearded Iris

Pretty huh? How about this one too.

Pink Mocha Begonia

You can see how dark brownish the leaves are. These small dark red flowers are called Bittersweet William, because of the chocolate type leaves. Instead of Sweet Williams, get it? :) Yes, sometimes it is a stretch to place the flowers in the chocolate category. But if I like it, it's in. My favorites always remain the chocolate scented ones. ♥

Bittersweet Williams

 I am still reading The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis. It is a good book.

reading and stitching,
Vickie

The smell of chocolate!

Hey everybody!

I do not know how, but I forgot to tell you that those chocolate swirl irises I showed you last time, smell of milk chocolate.  They are just wonderful as you can imagine. :)  I took another photo for you of a second one that opened up today.

Chocolate Swirl

Here is yet another of the concrete poodles I made.  Her name is Cocoa and she lives in the chocolate heart garden. :)

One last picture I took for you tonight.  This is of a pink and yellow columbine that was planted by the original owners of this house.  The wife was a lover of pink like me.  I transplanted a few of these to the small garden we created on the side of the garage.  I have planted almost all pink and purple flowers there.

I did finish reading Threadbare by Monica Ferris on Monday.  It was a good book.  It is the latest from her in her Needlecraft Mystery series.  I have read every one of them.  I may guess part of the mystery, but not all.  The main character owns a needlecraft shop and has a gift for sleuthing.  I was disappointed though.  I am ashamed to admit that I did read the whole book, even though she did add probably 8 swear words in it.  I find it sad when an author feels they need to do this.  They don't.  I do not like to read books containing foul language.  I do not use it myself and find it offensive and just plain unintelligent.

The next book I am reading is also a fairly new one from the library.  I love that place!!  It is The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis.  I already know that this will not disappoint me.  It is number one in a new series by her.  This time involving an "English" lady and an Amish man.

Stitching, reading and planting seeds,
Vickie

Flowers, some chocolate and some not :)

Hey everybody!
How are you this evening?  I am feeling fine, only because I am ON PERCOCET!!  Yes, again.  Whatever!
See this pretty yellow rose?

My husband surprised me with it this morning just because.♥  He is very good that way.  I get flowers very often actually.  Roses seem to be the favorite.  Yellow always reminds us of the first flowers he gave me.  I was sixteen, he was seventeen.  I had my tonsils taken out and he came to visit me in the hospital.  This was when you still stayed over night for this.  We were only friends at this point still. :)  Anyways he brought me a small arrangement of yellow roses.♥

Look what I found in the chocolate garden this evening.  The first iris.  This one is a standard dwarf bearded iris.  It is called Chocolate Swirl.  I love it.

Chocolate Swirl

So, I have been planting a bit more, but mainly reading Threadbare.  It is a good book thus far.

Went to my mother's yesterday for our Mother's Day celebration.  She loved the heart I stitched up for her. :)

Jacob and his date had a very nice prom.  They enjoyed themselves.  He is not asking her to be his girlfriend, and he is my son who does not expand upon explanations. :)

Hello new followers.  I am glad you are here.  I am glad for all of you.  Thanks for your caring comments.♥

Planting, reading and stitching,
Vickie