Who Stinks?

See this cute doggie? Her name is Ava.

My sister got her from the humane society when she was just 8 weeks old. Someone had found her abandoned, tied up under a bridge. I hadn’t seen Ava for almost 6 months since my sister has moved twice and now lives over an hour away.

On Saturday, my niece invited me to the Halloween parade that she was marching in. She plays the drums. My sister invited me to stay at there house after the parade. After we got to the house, Eva came to greet everyone and I called her name and petted her. My sister informed me that I am the only one Ava has not barked at when coming into the house. Awww... she remembers me!

Later in the evening, I was watching TV and Ava came in the house. She ran by me and into the room where I was going to sleep. Next thing I know, my sister is yelling and asking my niece if Ava got sprayed by the skunk. Apparently, a skunk has taken up residence and was found eating crackers on their back porch the other night.

Within minutes, it was confirmed by the gawd awful smell permeating the house that Ava indeed had gotten sprayed (in the eye no less!). The whole house reeked, including the room I was to sleep in!! It was that room where she was trying to rub the skunk oil out of her eye... at least that’s what we think.

The odor was sooooo bad that I had to cover my nose and mouth with a blanket so I could breathe. It also gave me a headache. My poor niece got in trouble for letting the dog in the house. Poor Ava not only got sprayed, but then had to spend the night out in the cold shed. And us? We had to deal with the smell by opening all the doors and windows. My sister went around spraying air freshener and lighting candles. For a while, we thought I’d end up sleeping with my niece. But the smell, eventually subsided.

Did I mention this was my FIRST visit to my sister's new home? LOL

No Place Like Home #4

No Place Like Home by Pine Mountain Designs
I actually finished this one a couple days after I moved into my new house. However, since I didn't get my scanner hooked up right away... It's taken me until now to post about it.

This one is for me and I tried to make it look somewhat like my home. Stitched with DMC threads, it took about the same amount of time to stitch as the other three (#1 - 2 - 3). I ran out of the parchment aida, so I used 14ct baby blue instead.

Monday Update 10/22/07

Up the stairs... down the stairs... up the stairs... down the stairs.... Who needs a stairmaster when I can just go the gauntlet to the attic and basement all day long?

Are you scratching your head wondering "What the heck is she talking about?"

Let me start at the beginning...

I had a chiro appointment bright and early at 8:05am on Saturday. Who in their right mind makes an appointment THAT early?! What can I say? Woke up with a migraine, but forged forward to the shower. Showered and tried to get dressed without the lights on. I was dragging myself from room to room, trying to function with little success. The chiro office doesn't open until 8am, so I had to wait until then to reschedule. Appointment rescheduled til 10am. I took a second Excedrin Migraine and laid down. When I got to the chiro, the headache was down to a dull roar (thank goodness!). I made an observation as I left the chiro's office. Usually the adjustment inflames the nerves and I have pain for 20minutes to a couple hours afterwards. The doc says that's normal. When I left the office on Saturday, I noticed the nerves had recovered before my feet reached the front door. Yay for me!

It was such a nice day on Saturday (in the 70's... pretty warm for this time of year). I decided to take advantage of the nice weather. You'd think I'd do something fun... but no... I cleaned/organized the garage. I managed to cut the number of boxes in half. I found 5 stash boxes that I unpacked. For those who took a guess on the number of stash boxes... That's 5 so far! This is also where the stairmaster comment comes in. The rest of the boxes I toted up to the attic and down to the basement. Up and down, up and down! On Sunday, my thighs and calves hurt SO bad! Even today, they are still sore. I spent 12 hours moving, organizing, and unpacking boxes. I was thrilled to get my bedroom closet somewhat organized and be able to close the door. I found more stash boxes in my closet, but won't count them until I unpack them - easier to keep track that way. By 11pm, I was tired but jazzed up because I had been on the move for so long. Time to unwind...

On Sunday, I finished painting two of the kitchen drawers. Two down, two to go! Since my legs were sore, I decided to take it easy. I spent most of the day stitching - Yes, stitching :) I stitched one Christmas ornie and started a second one, both gifts for exchanges. I like the pattern so much, I may do one for myself also.

Who's It For? - SBQ 10/19/07

What proportion of your stitching is for your own personal use versus gifts?

I actually went through all the items I've stitched over the years and figured out the percentage (analytical me!). 76% were gifts, and the following I've kept:

Bathtime Bear
Liberty Sampler
Little Seamstress
Magnolia
Stocking Ornie
Reindeer Ornie
All The Little Children
School Days
Starman the Snowkid Ornie
Love Scissor Fob
Stitchers Scissor Fob
Bees & Clover Scissor Fob
Wreath Ornie
Therapy Bookmark
Gingerbread House Ornie
Ascot Albert Ornie
Brass Hummingbird Bookmark
Je Brode Needlebook
Retreat Nametag
J is for Japanese Embroidery Needlebook
Cardinal Pinkeep
Biscornu
Victorian Pansies Scissor Fob
Dragon Pinkeep

Friday Update 10/19/07

~Pampering~
One day last week, I spent an hour over my lunch hour getting a bit of pampering from the local cosmotology school. First, was a facial. Ahhhh... Depending on the student giving them, I could fall asleep right on the table. They are so relaxing. Then some maintenance on the bushy brows... a brow wax. There were some strays coming in so I decided to get them done. After all, it's an ongoing 2-for-1 deal they have. So how much did this pampering cost me? A whopping $6 TOTAL. If only there was a local massage school!

And look what was waiting for me when I got home from work last Friday:


A giant Mum made into an ice cream sundae!
Isn't it the cutest thing?

It was from S and in addition, he bought me some really nice tulip bulbs as a little housewarming present.


~More Flowers~
Several months back, I sent Cherie in UT a bunch of cuttings from my Maternity Plant. This week, I received a bunch of iris bulbs from her garden! Knowing it was going to rain, I dug a patch and put the tulips and the irs into the ground so they will (hopefully!) bloom next year. Once I get my garden beds in order next year, I'll move them to a better home. :)


Stitchy Stuff
I had four hours to kill while waiting for my Dad to have a test done at the hospital. In addition to listening to my Mom jabber on about everything under the sun, I sewed on 3/4 of the beads for Pink Carnations. I told my Dad that I needed another 1/2 hour so I could get the rest sewed on. Couldn't he do something about it? LOL

After getting back into town, I stopped at a local consignment shop. You never know what you'll find! Among other things (for the house), I came home with these:

Floss wound on plastic bobbins, several pieces of evenweave, wood tray

A little enabling: Hobby Lobby has all their cross stitch fabric (packaged and on-the-bolt) on sale for 40% off. This also includes bookmarks, bibs, towels, etc.

In their clearance section, I found this:


What is it?? I almost walked by it... It's an Elan Lap Stand! Quite compact, isn't it? These stands cost anywhere from $70-95. I got mine for less than $15!!! Not only that, they had a chart holder for less than $15. Holders run anywhere from $40-$60.



~Freecycle~
Are you sick of hearing about it? LOL I have yet another Freecycle find! It's a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Kit. The kit came with the original box, flash cover, and user's manual. The flashbulbs came from rummage sale where I bought the Baby Brownie. These were made from 1950-61. Another nice addition to my camera collection! :)