Blech! (⊙﹏⊙✿)

Hi friends! I hope you are well. I am still not. sigh. I mean, at least I am NOT laying around sloth-like still. My stomach was "feeling bad" so I started taking the over-the-counter acid reducer my doctor told me to take when it acts up. After a week, and sudden majorly increased pain, I called and he told me to double it and take extra strength Gaviscon at the maximum dose as well. After 4 days with no improvement I was seen by him. He gave me Nexium samples. I have been on those at the high dose of twice daily and the maximum dose of Gaviscon  for 4 days also now. I had an abdominal ultrasound done yesterday morning. This ruled out problems with any of my other organs. So my doctor believes I have one or two significant ulcers. These medications should heal my stomach  up, it is just taking a long time because of the severity? I am still a burnin' here folks.  Let me tell ya, a bland diet is not much fun at all. =(

Say! I have good great news!! The Neurontin I told you I was approved for, to take care of my chronic SI joint pain, is working!!!!!!! WaaaaaaaHooooooo! It is keeping my pain levels at a 2 or 3 all the time people. Isn't that great?! I think so. I could be angry that so many different insurance companies we had over the years refused to cover Neurontin for me. They insisted I use the generic, even though not one of the four generics I tried  brought the pain down.  Well, I won't lie. I was quite angry about that. But I do NOT want to be bitter. Soooo, I am grateful that I may be on brand name Neurontin NOW,again after 9 years.

On Wednesday night we went to Marquette University's New Student Convocation. What an experience. The keynote address was given by Chitra Divakaruni. She is the author of One Amazing Thing, the book I read along with Jacob and all of the incoming freshman this year. There are exactly 2013 freshmen this year, the year of 2013. Strange huh? They had 23,000 applications!! We are very proud of Jacob.Well, it is really happening folks. Our oldest has begun college now.Twenty-five additional nursing students were added because Milwaukee's VA Hospital has paid for the additional teachers and classrooms required to increase from 100 to 125 students. The VA prefers Marquette trained nursing staff. There are now 6 young men and 119 young ladies. Oh boy!! ;)

I did hear from our dear friend Carol over a week ago, that she received my gift right before she fell ill. Like a dummy, I forgot to take a picture of the beaded angel needle threader I made her. I made her in blue, Carol's favorite color. It was my first time making a needle threader. I also sent Carol this:

Yes, that is right. I actually gave her some of my Chocolate Swirl irises. These are the ones that smell of chocolate.♥ Carol commented on my blog over a year ago that she wished she had some. =) Now she does! And her DH even planted them while sweet Carol was ill .

I did NOT take a picture of the counting pins and two patterns I sent off to Vicki either. But she has received them and likes them. =) Here, I borrowed her picture of my gift.


And I also sent gifts to Angela P, which she has received and likes too! And you guessed it!!! I did not take a picture of pattern and counting pins either. But here is a picture Angela took and said I could show here.

I sent all three of these ladies gifts because they guessed the correct color of fuchsia for my purse.

Emerson and Madeleine have begun classes again as of Thursday. Jacob's first classes begin Monday. He has been to orientation things every day since Wednesday now.

I did not stitch one time while I was ill for the first week. Too weak and exhausted and nauseous.I am currently stitching up another freebie. I did get a lot of reading done. I finished The Last Runaway. That was good, but I felt very badly about the handful of swear words. I then read Evidence Unseen by Darlene Deibler Rose. THIS was an excellent, true story. She was a POW in WWII. She and her pastor husband were missionaries in New Guinea when WWII broke out.

That is it for today. I continue to take my "little purple pills" and hope to be all better very soon. Just wanted you to know I am still alive. ;)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Cross Stitcher In Residence Winner

Hi friends! The winner of the Giveaway is Mary Jane! Mary Jane will you please email me your address? Also, Carol, Vicki, and Angela P won something too. All three of these ladies guessed fuchsia and they were specifically right. ;) 

Carol, Vicki and Angela, I have mailed you out your prizes. I am a tiny bit concerned as I have not heard back from a single one of you three.Edit: I have now heard back from all three ladies. I have given everyone something different.

Gotta say,it is not a good morning for me. I have had a terrible time with gastritis again. I haven't thrown up this time around. Only because I learned the hard way in the spring when I had this terrible two times. I had never, ever thrown up that way in my life. Ever. Didn't know you could keep throwing up for over a day from gastritis. And nothing but bile. I have had one banana and a handful of crackers in two days. I called the doctor late Wednesday. Unfortunately, I forgot my doctor is off on Wednesday. I called 3 times yesterday, but he likes to take care of calls himself sometimes which is very nice, but that means waiting til after 5:00 when he is done seeing patients. I am so weak. This is the first time I have been on the computer since Wed. early afternoon. He doubled the over-the-counter acid reducer I take when my stomach gets bad. He also added in Galvascon, a heavy duty stomach coater that I can take up to 4 times daily. I felt a very minor difference before bed last night and this morning barely. I am going back to bed. That is where I have been for 36 hours mainly. It is best to just try to sleep it off. It does not work of course, but I would rather be out than awake to this awful pain.My doctor insists that if I am not better by Monday, I need to come in for blood work.

The reason my gastritis even flared up this time is because of stress. Jacob has been putting off everything. A few things the University required were even late in being sent in. Brian insists it is time we back off and let him grow up, even if it means failure. I do know this, and I realize this sounds silly to some of you. It is just so very,very hard to train myself to let go. I like control and I like things done my way. Well, he will soon be 19 and he is in college now. I will with God's help not only back off, but try not to freak out on the inside. Only with God's help can I do this.

Also, this week I have been weaning off my prescription for my SI joint pain that I have been on for years. At the same time I have been slooowly building up the Neurontin, the one I was on 9 years ago. This kept my pain at a 2 level. I hope it works that way again of course. Can't tell yet, as I am taking it twice daily and need to take it three times daily starting tomorrow. So one more day of bad pain, I hope. But this is the medication I battled it out with insurance for. It took over a week, but they approved of it. Praise God! Our different insurances over the years all denied me. We once again provided proof that I tried 4 different generic manufacturers of Neurontin and none of them provided good pain relief. I never used to believe there was a difference in generic and brand name. Friends, pain does not lie!!

This is the freebie I was stitching over a week ago. I am pretty sure I do not like it anymore. =(

At least definitely not for what I had planned. What do you think of it? The colors seem weird together. It is the leaves mainly, I don't think fit. Why are leaves growing off a grey, swirly thing. So I have one UFO now friends. =)

I started another freebie a week ago. But have not touched a needle in days. 

This is what Mabel looked like last week, right after I clipped her face, neck, tummy and feet. Then I bathed her and blow dried. Do you see the color fade from grey to silver down her legs. =)

This is how she looks now, all clipped and beautiful.

Going back to bed now friends. I am usually very, very good at commenting on all your blogs. It won't be that way for a little bit. I am sure you understand. Thank you for coming by. I am thankful for you all, old and new friends!!

Resting and praying,

Vickie

What I Am Up To Lately

Good Morning friends! Hello to new friends! So glad you all have stopped by. We are still having beautiful, sunny days with wonderfully cool evenings. We went to our State Fair yesterday, the five of us. Had a very good day there. Madeleine and I truly enjoy petting the huge draft horses. Do you? Madeleine and I shared  Funnel Cake. The boys shared  Deep Fried Oreos. ʘ‿ʘ We brought home a six pack of Cream Puffs (our State Fair is famous for them) and we each ate one right away. Four out of five of us went to bed with weird feeling tummies!

Speaking of weird feeling tummies, Henry threw up the other day. On Mabel's bed. yeah. It had been washed one too many times. The fluff was lumpy. So I made her a new one.

I never made one this deep. She loves it! Her problem is that Henry loves it too. ;)

Did you notice Henry is getting a little bit fluffier? Yay! And Mabel is too fluffy. She definitely needs a haircut soon. She is doing very well presently. We are sure hoping it stays that way too.

I have been waiting for weeks to get a cute(if you can call it that) picture of Tilly and Todd. Our resident toads. Those two live under the patio stone in the garden. Well, we have a lot of Tilly and Todds. (◕‿-) Mabel found one the other night in the dark. I used a flash for the picture.

I finished reading The Prisoner In The Third Cell by Gene Edwards. It is an historical fiction book that takes a look at John the Baptist's life. I liked it. It was inspirational. I am now reading The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier. This is a very good book so far.

I found this on Etsy last week.♥

Not the poodle. The antique silver thimble. Do you see the "V" that I see? It has two "V's" on it, and I love it. It is in very good condition.

I have all kinds of viola seedlings growing here and there. The seeds fall from the previous years of plantings in the hanging baskets on the trellises. I just love finding them pop up. Here is one variety. So sweet!

If you did not read my last post, maybe you should! You can receive a chart or another gift for leaving a comment and answering a question. That giveaway ends Thursday August 15th.

That is all for today friends. I am stitching a freebie right now. I hope you have a stitchtastic day!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Cross Stitcher In Residence

Hi friends! It will be another lovely, warm day here. The nights have been wonderfully cool. What is your weather like?

I received Cross Stitcher In Residence from June last year. It has been patiently waiting in my "must stitch folder". I stitched this last week, and made it into a knob hanger. It now hangs from a knob of my grandmother's china cabinet.

I stitched this one over one on 28ct lambswool, using DMC. The pattern calls for 2 over 2 on 28ct. I left 3 of the colors the same and changed 4 of the colors. This is what the actual pattern looks like.


 
 You might notice, I pinked it up!! ;)

I had every intention of stitching this as charted when I received this. When I sat down to actually stitch it this last week, I thought, "This house should be pink. If this is for me, it needs to be pink!"

I used tiny, vintage, pink ric rac trim. I backed it with a solid pink of the same color. I decided it needed just a little something up top, so I made a pale pink, crackled glass beaded pin for the center.

I love this sweet, little finish. Thank you June. This pattern was originally gifted to June by Karen (no blog). June introduced me online to Karen this year. It turns out Karen and I live 20 minutes from each other. We have not met in person yet, but I am sure we will one day. Isn't that neat? This little pattern came from the same LNS I shop at, because it is Karen's LNS too.=) But it made it's way to me through June in England!!

Would you like this pattern friend? You may have noticed, I like to give almost all of my patterns away after I stitch them up! ;) Well, I have been thinking. And I have been wanting to ask a question of you,just 'cause I am curious, and just for fun! So if you would like this pattern you must first be a follower. Second you have to leave me a comment here telling me you would like it! And thirdly, answer this question. No answer = no pattern. ;) It's easy! This is the question: What color purse(handbag) are you currently using this summer? Yup, that's what I was wondering. I will close this giveaway on Thursday, August 15th.

For more fun, you can guess what color purse(handbag) I am using this summer. ;) tee hee! You need to be rather specific, okay?. It is one color. It is unusual. And we have all heard of it and know it! BUT probably not your first guess! That is all I am saying. IF you can actually guess the color it is, I have something for you too! I do believe no one is gonna guess this!!!

There! That made this giveaway a little different and fun =) So glad you came. You brighten my day with your visits. Mabel and Henry say hi!!  Have a stitchtastic day my friends.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Summer Blog Hop (And A Winner)

Hi friends! The weather here has been beautiful, not too hot at all. I have some things to share with you, but first up is the Summer Blog Hop. Have ya heard of it? YOU can still sign up right here on Jo's blog if you like. I was sent a postcard from Clare. This is the picture and her message.

"This is a Round Robin I did when Wimble Bees forum was running - it was stitched in 2007. The stitchers were, me and my daughter Philippa who was 13 then, Ester who I think lived in Holland, Colette, Lynn, Chris, and Sarah. 

It hangs above our stairs (in what we call the hole). The frame matches a mirror I inherited from my Grandmother, I had never seen a frame like her mirror which now hangs in our hall. One Mother's Day we went to Ironbridge and in a  charity shop I found this frame - so I used designs from a magazine (Cross Stitch Crazy I think) and plotted them in a circle to fit the frame."

I think that is really neat Clare. Thank you for sharing with me. =)

Here is something to share with all of you! I saw these on Etsy for months. I knew we could talk them down in price since they were still not sold. So we got them real cheap and I am real happy.

 

They were listed as coasters, and I am sure that is what they were used for. The frames and glass aren't in pristine condition, but I think they are cute. I truly wanted them for  their originality. They are believed to be one of a kind. A poodle-crazed nut like me probably designed  and stitched them a long time ago. They certainly aren't perfect, but their quirkiness is what I was drawn to. 

Here is the finished Bent Creek Snappy Sampler of mine.

Isn't it sweet? The pattern calls for it to be stitched two over two on 32ct. I stitched it one over one on 28ct lambswool. The finished size is 2"x2". There are only two colors called for with this pattern. I already had the Weeks Dye Works Onyx. I did not have the GA Maple Syrup. The DMC alternate was just plain gross. So I used one of my Victorian Motto threads, 1795 Faded Sampler Red Light. I am so glad I did. I really like the look of it.

I had a solid red fabric from French General for the backing that was the perfect match. I did not want to add trim. I like it this way. =)

The winner of the Snappy Sampler pattern is Lelia ! I have emailed you Lelia, just waiting for your postal address now. =)

Finally, here is a picture of Henry after his shampoo and blow dry.

Here he is after I gave him a haircut yesterday.

 Quite the difference huh?! His eyes look so much bigger! Pretty sure I will not be redoing this style of haircut again. I think I prefer the cuddly puppy look.♥ Oh well, poodle hair grows.

I am so glad you all came to visit me today. Your lovely comments brighten my day. And I need a little brightening lately. The ablation actually caused my pain to increase if you can believe it friends. My left leg now has pain up and down and all around it. I never had a problem with my leg. No improvement in the hip pain either. Still waiting for insurance to approve a very much needed and wanted prescription.

I hope your day is special! Bye now.

Stitching and Praying,
Vickie

I Got A Poodle!

Hi friends! I got another poodle! Only this one came in the mail. ;) And it is not living. ;) It is a gift from Cindy. tee hee! It reminded her of me and Mabel. I have placed it outside with the Henry statue we have.

Isn't it great? Mabel and Henry together. ♥ How sweet. Thank you Cindy!

I had a gift prepared for Cindy too. I am happy she received it one day after I received mine. She likes LHN, so I sent her the pattern Psalm 145:20. I also made her a bottle cap pincushion and counting pins. Take a look.

Pink foxgloves, pink daisies and pink roses.♥ This was a hard one for me to give away, I admit. I still have not made myself a bottle cap pincushion. Too busy making them as gifts. I enjoy that. =)

Here are pics of the Henry cake I made for Madeleine's 15th birthday party last weekend.

I wanted to show you a picture from 4 years ago too. It is of the Mabel cake I made Madeleine when she turned 11. Unfortunately I cannot find any of our digital pictures. I had to take a picture of this picture.

You cannot tell, but Mabel is laying down and facing us. Too bad this is the only picture we seem to have anymore.

I read the book One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni. This book was given to Jacob by Marquette University. It is required reading for all incoming freshmen. The freshmen and staff read a fiction book together each year. Then there is a discussion period at the University with the author. So I thought I would read it too. It was okay,not great. Something I never would have read. It opened my eyes to other cultures though.

I do not have finishing to show you. The pain has been nasty for a few days now. I will do the finishing on Snappy Sampler, I just gotta feel a little better first. You can still enter to win the pattern here.

I will be back next time with the winner of the pattern and my little finish of it.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Love Notes Winner

Good Morning my friends! It has cooled off here wonderfully. =)  I did finish stitching the little Snappy Sampler a few days ago. I even pulled a perfectly matching backing fabric. Just need to make myself finish it off!! No pictures yet. Although I am going to show you an image of the Snappy Sampler here.
 
Would you like to stitch this cute little thing yourself? The little black snaps are still included, I used the black snaps Donna sent me from a German antique store. =) I also changed up one of the colors. I will show you when I complete the finishing. I received this as a gift from my friend Laurie in Texas.

I did not forget about my Love Notes Giveaway drawing yesterday. I just didn't get on to post until now. The winner is Julie! I have emailed you Julie and I am waiting for your address. If you are one of the ladies who wanted to win it, but did not this time, please keep an eye on Julie's blog for a chance in the near future. =)

I never showed you Emerson's birthday cake I made last Saturday. I have to get busy and make another birthday cake this morning for Miss Madeleine. Her party is tomorrow. Emerson's birthday is the 20th and Madeleine's is the 31st. Wish me luck! She wants a "Henry Cake". (｡◕‿◕｡)

This is a beautiful pinkish purple dahlia I have had for a few years. My first dahlia to bloom this year.

Do you remember this little tree we planted last year? Yes, this is what our Espaliered McIntosh Apple tree looks like nowadays. No fruit. That may be next year.

This is little Mabel waiting for a green bean. =) We check the vegetable garden together. We both love fresh green beans.

Here are my first cherry tomatoes. Love them.

And here I just had to show you how Mabel helps me pull the grass that grows in the daylilies. ;) She takes a seat in the Chocolate Garden and grabs the grass and chews it up! Notice Henry is in training.

So that is it for today. If you want to stitch Snappy Sampler tell me so on this post please, so I don't have to guess! Also you must be a follower of mine. I will draw the winner on Friday, August 2nd.

Have a fabulous day in the Lord my friends! I am off to bake now.

Stitching and Finishing and Praying,
Vickie