An RAK For Me! =)

Good Morning friends! It is rainy and cold here today. So I will show you a garden picture from two days ago.

I love this garden girl. She is living in my secret garden. It is somewhat hidden away in the corner. It is only 2 ft. x 4 ft. So far only the fritillaries, or checkered lilies are up.

 I received an RAK from Donna yesterday. Wow! What a surprise. What a great lady! Check this out.

Donna is living in Germany with her husband and Clarice for a few years. She picked up some goodies for me from quite a few different shops in Germany. The chocolates and Gummi Bears will be shared with the family believe it or not. ;) Do you see the Duck Bones for Mabel and Henry? (Not real duck bones. Duck meat.)

 They have had 4 each already so far!

There are some neat, old, little snaps that will be perfect for a sweet, little Bent Creek chart I have.

And now! Now for Snobby!

Isn't she great?! She is a Steiff. Donna found this at an Antik shop. Love it to bits! What a wonderful gift from such a kind, caring lady.She is now with my other poodles, on display in the china cabinet.

Thank you Donna for such a nice gift package. What a surprise! What treasure!

I have finished reading The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen. Yet another book from The Royal Spyness series. It was good.

Need to bake some chocolate chip cookies today. =) Yup, need to. I have had requests. ;) Not a problem!

Baking and Reading and Praying,
Vickie

Oh Henry!

Good Morning friends! I hope you are doing well. I hope you are doing better than little Henry. Do you know what this means?

Yup! Yesterday he was neutered. Not an ordinary neuter either. He had one down and one up in his abdomen. Two incisions. So he gets to wear this little lampshade on his neck. ;) He also had his teeth cleaned, they were awful. He had one back molar removed. It was loose. His teeth are beautiful and white now. He has wonderful breath now too. =) He is sleeping on my lap as usual again. Kinda hard to type over this plastic E-collar around his neck though.

I took advantage of our closing JoAnn store and bought this Waverly home dec fabric and recovered our kitchen chairs. Using the staple gun jacked up my pain, thankfully just for one day.

My in-laws gave me this sweet rabbit topiary a few days ago. Funny, because Brian had bought me a moss covered poodle topiary form. I found a cute, tiny sedum called Goldenleaf Stonecrop, to cover the afro and the tail.

If only the form were skinny, it would look just like Henry. The right color and short, sweet ears. We will see how this grows.

Sorry, I have not stitched in a week. Busy doing things around the home. Must pretty it up outside and in for Jacob's upcoming graduation party with all the relatives. Have all the annuals bought and planted now. Need to keep cleaning up garden beds. It's getting there.

Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! I do so appreciate it. I am blessed to call you my friends.Take care now. Have a fabulous day in the Lord.

Reading, Planting and Praying,
Vickie

Sewing and Gardening

Good Morning friends! Wow! We shot right up to 89º yesterday! Lovely day for gardening. I have been getting some done every day this week. Madeleine and Brian even helped a bit on Sunday. I am so glad. I just cannot garden all day long anymore at all. Take a look at my garden pals.

These two were hanging out under the trampoline for a shady rest. They continue to get along. The biggest issue is that Mabel wants Henry's food and he wants her diet food! I have to stand watch every time or they will switch!

These two sit on the back porch now. =)

I could not find the same pink pansies as last year. These are a pretty pinkish purple. I also planted the two pots in front of the garage with the Pius XI colors, since the graduation and party are not far off now for Jacob.

I am not sure if I made mention that he is officially registered at Marquette University. He will begin the nursing program in the fall. They only had room for 125 nursing students. Over 1,100 applied from around the country and world. It will be so very interesting to see how many male students there are.  It appears there will be few. Jacob received very good scholarships and grants.

Jacob just went to his Senior Prom with a friend. They had an excellent time. It is now a whirlwind of school activities. School is done before May is over. Jacob and Emerson have both begun studying for Advanced Placement course final exams. These will be difficult, but if they do well, they will receive college credits for the courses. Lots of money saved then. ;)

This is the little bed I made for Henry. Now he has two, like Mabel. He loves it. Have I mentioned I love HIM?!?

SQUEE!!

I finished the book A Skeleton In God's Closet by Paul Maier. A very good fiction book. It is twenty years old. I read it because our Pastor mentioned it. I just began The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen last night. This is one of the Royal Spyness series I very much enjoy.

No cross stitch to show at all. I must get this latest book read and back to the library so I can begin another waiting for me. =) I just love books. I love to stitch too, but sometimes new books just need to be read. ;)

Today promises to be another hot one. I may garden again, don't want to push the pain too far. I have prayed for all of you today my friends! I hope you have a glorious day!

Reading and planting,
Vickie

SURPRISE! Meet Henry!

Good Morning friends! Monday night we added another poodle to the household! Meet Henry.

He is a 3 year old apricot tiny toy poodle. I found him online on ebay classifeds. We took him to the vet for a check up before his neuter surgery, which will happen very soon. He had two ear infections and his teeth need cleaning also. Not real impressed with their care of him. They have a yellow lab and a golden retriever. These dogs like to rough house and don't care if Henry was in the way. He is very timid. He is used to being knocked around from them I guess. That is what we were told. He lays flat down each time you go to pick him up. He does not piddle, thank goodness! It is so different getting an adult dog. We have only ever bought puppies.

Henry is 4.4 lbs!! The poor little guy should gain 1 lb the vet says. The vet is impressed with his temperament. He is just so sweet and mild. Mabel is not thrilled. She just watches him. If he comes to her she leaves. It will take time and  adjustment. We hope they become buddies. =)

The first picture may show it best. He is all legs! He definitely has a different build to him than our Mabel. She is barrel chested. When we bought her she was a 7 week old ball of black fluff. As she grew, we asked the vet why is her chest getting so big? He explained that some poodles and schnauzers have what is called a barrel chest. Oh well. It sure is way more noticeable with Henry around!! And her weight gain from the steroids!  We've got pudgy and skinny! @_@

He is nothing but a little cuddle buddy.♥ The moment anyone sits on the floor he leaps into your lap and promptly falls asleep. This little guy has really, really bonded with me. Guess who sits on my lap every time I get on the computer now? That little bed I made in the first picture is where he lays, next to my chair when I stitch. =)

So I am still stitching my small, secret project. Just not as much, as you can imagine. He may be three, but he acts like he is one. Loves squeaky toys, just like Mabel. It is quite the challenge to squeak and throw two at a time in different directions.

Take care and have a wonderful day friends. I'm going to! I look forward to your comments.

Playing, Stitching and Praying,
Vickie

I Now Have Zero UFOs

Good Morning my friends! Spring is here at last. Yes, we may get snow in a few days, but maybe not. =)

On Friday I decided to finally get two ornaments completed. This first one I am showing you was stitched by Miss Madeleine two years ago. Our beloved Mac was still with us then.

The only thing I helped with on this were the two french knots.  She chose the poinsettia fabric for me to back it with. She wanted him done up in an oval form. I used gold trim to finish it off with.

This next ornament was stitched by me back in 1993!!! I was going to toss it. I don't really care for Santa things anymore. Brian and Madeleine protested LOUDLY.

The backing fabric you see has been sitting with him for the whole twenty years as well. So I stuck with it. He is aptly named "Roly Poly Santa". ;) I used some red satin cording I already owned. It feels so good to have these done. I now do not possess a single UFO! HOORAY for me!

That is it for today. I am stitching another small, secret stitch I designed. I am VERY happy with the results thus far. No poodles, no.

Have a most excellent day friends. Thank you so very much for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. =)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Rabbit Stitcher

Good Morning my friends! How are you? It continues to rain and be cold here. Going on a few weeks straight of this. How dreary and depressing. It doesn't help my hurting body at all!

I found a small treasure at Good Will last week. Paid a whole dollar for it. ;) This sweet, little wooden chest had two strips of gold foil on the top and down the front. I peeled that off. I have had the sweet, little pattern "Rabbit Stitcher" by Little Treasures Designs in my stash since last year. Got that pattern at my LNS for a dime! ♥

I used fabrics from my stash to create the little topper for this small treasure chest.

I stitched this as directed, one over one on 28ct evenweave. It is 1.25"square! Love it! Do you see the little rabbit's needle?♥ I used some silver DMC floss for that. Actually, not one color is the called for color. I changed it all. None of it seemed quite right.

Did you notice I referred to this as a treasure chest? What's the treasure you say? Well, take a look!

I figure this will be a nice home for my poodle thimbles. Not the fancy, schmancy one Brian just got me. She is on display in the china cabinet. ;) But this pretty, brass poodle will live here. I hope to add other poodle thimbles. Ah,yes, this would be a new obsession with me. tee hee! Hey, obviously Brian is more than willing to help with this! ;)

I am reading A Skeleton In God's Closet by Paul Maier. Pretty good so far. I am also working on making up an ornament for Madeleine. She stitched Mac, our beloved Kerry Blue Terrier almost 3 years ago. It is on aida. And yes, it has mistakes. Madeleine would have been 12 then, so it is what it is. Not perfect, no. But she made it because she loves Mac and she wanted to do what mom does, stitch. So it is time for it to come out of that drawer and become an ornament.

My pain has really been elevated. Would you mind praying for me friend? I would truly appreciate that. And God always loves to hear from you. =)

Take care and have a blessed day in the Lord!

Finishing and praying,
Vickie

Whatsoever Your Hands Findeth To Do

Good Morning friends! How are you? I have been having a rough week pain wise. Are you familiar with the song "Abide With Me" ? I have sung this many times in church, and here at home. It is a comfort to me when quite frankly things are uncomfortable.

1. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
   The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
   When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
   Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
2. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
   Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
   Change and decay in all around I see—
   O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
3. I need Thy presence every passing hour;
   What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
   Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
   Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
4. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
   Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
   Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
   I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
5. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
   Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
   Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
   In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Well,I just had that on my heart to share with you all. Hope you don't mind.

So , onto what I have been stitching. This precious little sampler pattern given to me by Maggee.

 Now I showed you the picture here on the pattern itself. They used a mink colored linen and dark threads. I knew what I wanted this finished as, and I knew I wanted to use this lovely Wild Raspberry linen.  I wanted to use variegated threads as the pattern calls for. So I went over to JoAnn to get myself some. I had seen this ad in the quilting magazine from the library quite a while back. I thought that might be a great idea.

Have you seen this? Have you tried it? Well, let me tell you, I was on percocet while shopping. INTERESTlNG! I bought RAYON thread, not COTTON. Kind of a difference. I came home and excitedly started to stitch. Well, I got to thinking this seems very different. (Thinking gets a little clouded while on narcotics friends. ;) When it finally dawned on me what the problem was, I said forget it. I am just going for it. Well, I will use the threads again..... FOR SEWING, NOT STITCHING!

I like the way it turned out, yes. But the process wasn't all that fun. The linen is dark to stitch on. I really couldn't at night. The linen is loosely woven, another trouble for me at night time. The holes looked wonky to me in the evening. And rayon thread is not fun to use with rougher linen. I got a lot of reading done during the last week in the evenings. =)

The fabric in front is what I lined the sampler with. The little basket is a gift from Peggy. Nothing is in it YET!

Did you notice I changed the cat to a POODLE?! ;) This is stitched two over one on 28ct Wild Raspberry linen.

This chart will be making it's way to Cucki. ♥

I just received a gift in the mail today from Nicola. She recently had a giveaway and I was the winner!

Thank you so much Nicola. This is a beautiful chart. A few sweet extras for me too. You are so kind.♥

That is all for today friends. I am stitching another small from my stash. We are waiting for warm weather like quite a few of you have already.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Mabel waiting for the kids to come home from school.