Is it the end of November already????

I had meant to have a post out here last weekend, but life just got in the way as it sometime it tends to do. I have been stitching like a fiend however, so I have lots of things to share and some info on yet a soon-to-be-started-project (for a good reason, keep reading and you'll see). Thanksgiving was very good this year, very quiet but plentiful food and a chance to reflect on life and realizing that family isn't always the blood ties which bind. I have met so many amazing, quirky (hey I'm quirky, so don't be offended!), kind-hearted, fun-loving people of the course of my life that I can count on when times get tough. I fixed the dinner of a 18 pound turkey full of homemade stuffing, oyster dressing on the side, sweet potato casserole, homemade mashed potatoes with fresh gravy, , glazed carrots, pickled beets, and cranberry sauce. Also I had pumpkin pie (tradition!), brownies and a new item Pineapple Banana Hummingbird Cake which is a recipe I found in the Sunday circular coupon section. It turned out to be a 'keeper' and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the compliments on it. The only "modification" I did was I made 3 large loaf pans and of course that changed the baking time some. Of course, I am not a "Brand Name Snob" so the brands have been removed to protect the innocent and your pocket......

What You Will Need:
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding Pie Filling
4 Eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple juice drained and 1 cup reserved
2 medium,ripe bananas, well mashed (1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
For the Icing:
2 oz. Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon of Milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Combine cake mix,dry instant pudding,reserved pineapple juice, eggs, oil and cinnamon in a large bowl with mixer 2 minutes or until blended. Add crushed pineapple,bananas, and nuts; mix just until blended. POUR prepared batter into 5 foil mini loaf pans sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. DRIZZLE Cream Cheese glaze over cooled loaves and garnish with additional chopped pecans, if desired.

Musician Front as of 11/30/2012

Onto our stitching news....... The Musician has been coming along swimmingly and is now under 9 thousand stitches to be completed. Especially since I decided that the outside rose border is going to be nixed because it seems to be just a little over the top for my personal taste and so I think that I will have the framer hand-paint a few tasteful roses on the matting when it is framed. Since the 24th of November I have completed 1000+ stitches on this piece! Of course, I have included a picture of the back for those fellow stitchers who put value in neatness. Hopefully my backing is looking organized.


The Muscian Back
Progress as of 30 November 2012

I realized the other day, I hadn't shown a picture of the ornaments I have been working on yet. The first is almost done but I had my needle threaded with a color and only a few stitches on the first ornament in the color and was waiting in the doctor's office when a lady was asking me how you cross stitched. So I decided to show her from the beginning so started the 2nd. Need to take less than an hour to finish up the first one and the 2nd could be completed pretty quickly too. Thinking I might take some time this weekend and do just that.


Prairie Schooler
10-12th Days of Christmas

Prairie Schooler
6-8th Days of Christmas

Also my UFO, Starlight Sampler, had some progress too. I can't help but think about Mom every time I pick up the needle on this piece but it is good memories. Do you have any pieces which causes you to think of someone when you see it? I love that about our hobby..... I'm making it a goal to finish this off before the end of the year and to pick out another UFO from the pile to add to my rotation.

 

 

Speaking of rotation....... I found something that just screamed B-E-C-K-Y when I saw it. Actually, a co-worker, Sara, pointed out the design to me and the epiphany hit me the other day in regards to making it as a graduation present. I'm thinking that I'll add a line saying something like "May all your dreams come true in life" or something to that effect. Any all all ideas in this front is welcome and hopefully I can come up the perfect sentiment to embellish on it. The design is a Joan Elliott freebie of a dragon you can see here called Dragon Dreams. Becky loves dragons so the minute I saw this I knew this would have to be for her and the price is right!. I picked out some 32 count hand-dyed Sand Castle Jobelan fabric for this and have the DMC ready to go. Figuring I can start working on it at the beginning of 2013 and should have plenty of time to finish it in time for June. Here is the colors tossed on the fabric to give you an idea so please send me your ideas for a sentiment or other thoughts.

Well, that is about all for this week. Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knittin' needles going, spend time with friends and family, and most of all, enjoy life!

~ Carol

Weekly Update and More Stitchy finishes with a Lovely Surprise too!

I decided this week I'm going to try and keep a weekly update out here in blog-world so here is hopefully the first in many to come. I have been working on stitching some Prairie Schooler Christmas ornaments from the 12 Days of Christmas booklet and almost have the first 2 completed. These are really fun easy stitches and actually fit in my purse for an "on the go" project.

Of course, I still have an amazing amount of UFOs sitting in my stitching corner, but I can report progress on that front as well. Over the summer I found this piece amongst my Mom's stuff and managed to finish it up rather quickly. I think she had packed it away while I was expecting Becky because of course a "new" Mom wouldn't have time for such activities.

Dimensions Kit (I think)
Amish Wash Day

I also did a little work on my Starlight Sampler piece from Little House Needleworks. Working on this piece brings back memories of long nights in the hospital sitting with my Mom. Hopefully I can complete this piece before the end of the year and move on to another piece. Right now I'm trying to dedicate on good night to working on these long neglected pieces.

Starlight Sampler
Stitched on 32 ct Jobelan
DMC Threads

Then of course there are ornaments which I love to do. I have 3 Halloween finishes and 1 Christmas piece to show off; all from Prairie Schooler. Unfortunately due to Hurricane Sandy, I didn't get a chance to finish the Halloween pieces off before the end of October, but next year they will be anxiously awaiting the opportunity to be placed on our Halloween tree. All these finishes are completed on 32 count Lambswool with DMC threads.

Of course, there still is the Musician.... I am planning on picking her up tonight after finishing on this post. Looking forward to working on her with the long, winter nights ahead and with the temps being so cold already this year, it looks like plenty of stitching time is in my future.

Until next time, keep you stitchin' needles and knittin' needles going, spend time with friends and family and above all, enjoy life!

 P.S. On a side note, I must show off the beautiful present I received last week from a friend. Mary is another Scouting Mom who does beading. She surprised me the other day with 5 gorgeous scissor fobs! Aren't they beautiful???

~Carol

Finally getting back around to.......

Updating my blog. I know it has been months since I was taking care of this poor, neglected site but hopefully with things quieting down around here, I can get back into the swing of things. Since my last update on here, I have had another surgery on my ankle, lots more physical therapy and then working on my childhood home.

Here is a picture of the front of the house that was taken in early October while working in the yard. I am so happy with how everything is coming together. The new roof looks amazing and after some TLC, I'm hoping the flower beds look amazing in the spring.

 

Basically I had to dig up the original flower beds around the house and replant them. For the most part, I haven't really had to buy much plants one I finished seperating bulbs and removing all the crab grass which had been taking over. The azeleas needed pruning and fertilizing and should be in pretty good shape come spring. I did plant a few chrysantheums here and there for some autumn color.

Stitching wise, I haven't accomplished much but in the last few weeks I have been able to find the time to enjoy this hobby again. I did learn tatting this summer from a wonderful lady that lives in the area. My great-grandmother tatted and I grew up hearing stories of what did and I always wanted to learn. When I went to the Maryland State Fair this summer, I started talking with a local Lacemaking group that introduced me to Ms. Ruth. She is very accomplished in all types of lace, whereas tatting is not done by many lacemakers. Here is my latest attempt at learning to join but I still have a ways to go on tension and practice in general.

Also here is the Musician. I am hoping this will be done in 2013! Next time, I hope to have some more pictures of things I have worked on but I am needing to get back to some other activities so check back soon and I'll hopefully have some better pictures and additional updates for the crafting stuff and the kids too.

Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knitting needles busy, spend time with friends and family and as always, enjoy life! ~ Carol
 

March Madness.......

No, I'm not talking about Basketball! :) LOL The Boyer family household is entering the spring season which always seems to have lots going on and not enough time to do it. Thankfully I am walking again at this point but another surgery is right around the corner in April so I'll be back to square one again for a while.
Boy Scouts is going wonderfully for Ray and I am so glad we chose the Troop 873. The Scoutmaster has been extremely understanding and is working very hard with Ray to help him with growing into the troop. The weekend after Blue and Gold, was Ray's first camping trip which initially he was certain he would handle on his own with no problem. The night before he was to leave, he was completely adamant Mom had to go with him. Well, after getting him ready and driving to the location to meet up with the other boys, Ray was excited and as I explained to him, I would not be able to go hiking for the 2.9 miles with a full pack. I did drop by later that night as promised to check in on him and while he tried to talk me into staying, I managed to convince him that all would be well. I was told he slept well that night, at least one of us did; the other one (me) tossed and turned while laying awake listening for the phone call that never came. I'm not sure who was happier with this major accomplishment of an overnight stay, him or me. Also he is learning how to swim thanks to his Scoutmaster who works with Ray and another boy from the troop on Tuesday nights.

Ray also performed within the last few weeks in the North County Middle School Music Gala which consisted of several elementary schools pulling together students in the music programs to perform together on a middle school level.

Becky is very involved in several clubs within the school, most notably the SeaPerch club which builds and operates remote operated vehicles. Becky and her girlfriend has built their own SeaPerch which is being in a Regional competition in April. This is such a cool program for kids interested in science and technology to learn and apply themselves to a very fascinating activity. Currently they are meeting at a pool weekly to perform sea trials and overall the entire club is going to have an entry in the Nationals held in Virginia.

In addition, Becky performed at her school's Showcase Night a couple week's ago on her violin. She performed in the Anne Arundel County Solo and Ensemble Festival this past Saturday and scored the highest ranking for her solo. While Becky was extremely nervous, she pulled herself together and did a wonderful job at both opportunities. She earned a medal which she is very proud of and Mom is too. On top of all of this, she is also participating in her school's Green Club and is learning and working on making the campus more environmentally friendly.

Stitching wise, there has been a frenzy of activity in the household on the ladies. I have bypassed the 10000+ mark on the Musician and falling in love with this piece more and more. While I am within 30+ stitches from the bottom of the design, you can see this piece is quite large and I still have 2-3 inches to add to the right of the design and then the border to add yet. I am trying to set goals for myself on both of my stitching projects to keep myself motivated and also on track to finishing this piece sometime within the year and also to make enough progress for Innocent Guardian to be a finish in 2013. Innocent Guardian is slowly growing and the one bunny head is now sticking out of the pocket at the top of the stitching I have completed. Almost 4000 stitches have been completed on this piece and the colors are very rich and beautiful.

The Musician
Total completed 10,126 stitches
Only 12,500 more stitches to go, then beading and krenik!

Innocent Guardian
Total stitches completed: 3,774

Finally, I have to thank Berly for presenting me with the Liebster Award for my blogging efforts. Thanks for thinking of me when you were deciding who to bestow such an honor to Berly, you made my day when I read your post on my blog the other day!

Liebster is a German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved, and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.

2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.

4. Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

Ok, the bloggers that I am giving this award to are:

Kim's Northwood Discoveries - I love reading the Kim's blog; it is one of my favorite blogs that I read and probably the one which motivated me to start my adventures in blogland. She is an accomplished quilter and cross stitcher and owns two of the cutest pugs you will ever see, Stewie and Rodger. Go Packers! http://upnorthxstitching.blogspot.com

Sue's Stitching, Reading and Family Bloghttp://noahstitcher5.blogspot.com/

Tea and Stitches - CJ is a wonderfully talented, lovely lady who I have been in several Yahoo groups with over the years. She is as lovely inside as well as outside and you can tell after starting to read her blog that she is always on the go! http://tea-n-stitches.blogspot.com/

The Pumpkin Patch Stitcher - While Marjorie is almost to the 200 followers mark, I have to say she has an amazing blog. This is one very busy lady and someone I can relate to with how dedicated she is to her kids. She is participating in the WIPocalypse this year and so she is stitching, stitching, stitching...... http://atwistedstitcher.blogspot.com

Tickled Pink in Stitches - DJ is truly an inspiration for us all with how gracefully she has handled some very trying situations in her life and can stay so positive. She is also participating in a Crazy January 2012 challenge and her stitching is divine. http://tickledpinkinstitches.blogspot.com

Now the five things about me......... let's see where do we start!
1. I'm a L-E-F-T-Y...... oh so very, very left-handed, left footed... as left dominate as a person can be. Of course, with going through all the therapy the doctors have encouraged me to lead with my right foot but not me. However, my true 'stupid human trick' is that I write and letter upside down and backwards from right to left. Yes, I will admit that if I was born in the 1600's, I would have been burned at the stake for such a bizarre skill.

2. When I was growing up I was painfully shy. Yes, it is true..... I always felt like I was on the outside looking in and wishing I could just go up to someone and join in on a conversation, meet new people and fit in. While I still have moments of doubt of whether I fit in, I am no longer a shy, withdrawn person. I enjoy being somewhat assertive and making people laugh.

3. My hair has been long since I was in 6th grade. When I was very young, my Mom kept my hair cut extremely short in the classic 70's bowl cut from the time I was 3 until I made it through elementary school. When she deemed me old enough to care for it myself, I let me hair grow and grow and it is usually worn past my shoulder blades at the least. I dedicate hair to Lock of Love which creates wigs for children with cancer treatments.

4. I am a wee-bit Pennsylvania Dutch. My great Grandmother was Dunkard which is a old German-Pennsylvania similar to the Amish and Mennonites.

5. I enjoy inventing new things while cooking and have no qualms about creating something on my own or changing a recipe to my liking. My most successful story regarding this is my homemade Amaretto BBQ sauce. My secret??? Just start mixing all kind ingredients together and remember, the worst thing that can happen is it will need to be thrown in the trashcan if it is a complete failure.

Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knittin' needles moving, spend time with family and friends, but most of all, enjoy life! :)

Working on that bucket list.......Starlight Sampler

All of us stitchers have that bucket list, some of us call it our UFO pile, but I decided it would be my bucket list. Hopefully it will help motivate me to complete a few more of those infamous projects which has fell to the wayside over the course of time and will help declutter my sewing bag(s) a little at a time. Since I have been doing so well on my stitching of the Musician and Innocent Guardian, I pulled out a project which has been lolly-gagging in the bottom of my pile for a while and worked on it this week while waiting for doctor appointments or other times of the day.

This was worked on some last year but never really made it to the point where I could say I was starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and just buckled down and finished it. I don't want you to think it just was something that I decided I didn't like, but it has some really sad times attached to this piece and I think that kind of caused me to put it to the side for so long. My Mom helped pick this piece out for my camper the last year she lived. I remember going up to the Stitching Post to look around and when my Mom saw this she remarked how it would go with my camper. I bought all the supplies, kitted it up and had it sitting in the someday pile. Then a few weeks later, I ended up getting a call from her saying she didn't feel too well, I grabbed this freshly packed project out of my bag and ended up in the hospital stitching all night long and watched the sun come over the horizon the next morning. For the next 4 months, this seemed to be the only time I spent on this piece and while I managed to cover a lot of ground on it while sitting in the Emergency Room; it wasn't enjoyable stitching but more of a stress reliever. Of course, most of you know I lost my Mom in March 2009 and that was when this piece along with several others became forgotten and left as I dealt with moving on through life without a parent.

So as I had said a couple of weeks ago, I am trying to be accountable for this quandary which I have created in the corner of my stitching pile. Some of these pieces have been just begging to come out to play but I think I'm going to pull one out at a time and just work on it along with my two favorite ladies ~ The Musician and Innocent Guardian. Hopefully at the end of the year, I'll be able to say  that a few more projects moved from the Land of the Lost to the Completed Pile.

I would have liked to finish this piece before the 8th of March, but I didn't manage it. I hopefully will finish it in the next month or so. Eventually I will be holding the finished piece and realize that it has been 3 long years without my Mom. However, I'll be able to say to myself, "But look what I have finished to remember her by."
Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knittin' needles moving, spend time with family and friends, and most of all enjoy life!

Goodbye Cubscouts.... Where has the last 5 years gone???

Today was a big moment in my little boy's life and I was there with tears in my eyes and a smile across my face as I watched him take a step towards becoming the man he'll grow up to be someday. Ray graduated from Cub Scout Pack 725 with the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a boy which is the Arrow of Light. He has worked and overcame so much in the past 5 years and it only seems like yesterday that I was nervously taking him for his first Cub Scout meeting wondering if he would like it, would he ever meet all the requirements for ranks as the years flew by.

Today I saw him nervously stand up when the time came to be bridged over to Boy Scouts. His best friend and he will be going their seperate ways in this adventure now belonging to different Troops and he is starting a new path again with new friends and challenges awaiting him. The epulets parking him as a Cub Scout was removed along with his bandana and while I wanted to grab him for one more hug before watching him cross to another adventure, I smiled so proudly as he took a courageous step forward and soon was being welcomed into Troop 873 as a Boy Scout.

Just when you think winter is over......

The last week or so has definitely proven that winter isn't over with us; at least so far as the temperatures are concerned.  Last Saturday was a cold, blustery day with wind gusts that seems to go through you. The high temperature on Sunday (2/12) was 29 degrees but with wind chill it feel like 17..... BRRRR! Luckily I was able to get lots of stitching done while the winds blew and so I have lots of updates to share.

Of course, the weather is still remaining as fickle this winter and this week ended with a high of 57 degrees with gorgeous sunny skies. There is a slight possibility we may see flurries later today but by mid-week the temps are to soar again to near 60..... crazy weather!

I completely enjoyed myself at the Friday Midnight Madness event at the Knitting Boutique. I just hung out with my girlfriends, Caroline and Beth mostly but there were several ladies there that I knew and it is always fun seeing what everyone is working on. I worked on my scarf for a while and then switched over to the stocking cap for Becky when I started getting tired since it doesn't really require any concentration, just lots of replication and ribbing.
I also made some progress on both of my cross stitching pieces. The Musician is coming right along and I am hoping to finish filling in the area near the treasure chest and to complete more back stitching this week. Joan Elliott is an amazing designer and I will be so happy when I put the last stitch in this design and get to have it framed.

Close-up of the area I'm concentrating on currently.

The Musician as of 19 February 2012.
Total stitches completed 9,291
Remaining stitches 13,333

Innocent Guardian is coming along as well. I have already reached this month's goal already so I think I'll try to pull out a smaller UFO to get some work done on it. Now the question is which one? I have quite a list of UFOs when you look into it I'm sad to say. Hopefully I can start making a dent on this list soon. I did finish up a few UFOs last year so I'm making progress slowly but surely. I guess it is my stitching ADD.

Innocent Guardian
Total progress: 2465 stitches

Reading wise, I have read several excellent books! Marie Bostwick has a series called the Cobbled Court Quilt Series which is just so well written, it is hard to put it down. I have read all 4 books and I can't say one is better than the other, she has really polished her novels every time. I also have read Jennifer Chiaverini's 'The Wedding Quilt' which was good but I was sad to see it being the end of a wonderful series of books. Some of the main characters died off in this book so I'm thinking she will be going in different directions. She just released another book called Sonoma Rose but this is a spin-off from the 'The Quilter's Homecoming'. If you haven't picked up this series yet, you must do so! I promise you, it will be a series of books you will love.
Until next time, keep your knittin' and stitchin' needles moving, spend time with family and friends and most of all, enjoy life!

Stitching away on cold, rainy/snowy nights!

We are starting to see more forecasts including the white stuff that I have been hoping we would not see here in Maryland. I guess we have to get some, but with my ankle being in repair I had hoped Mother Nature would manage to overlook this area this winter. Of course, this means I have plenty of time to spend curled up in the comfy chair with a book or needle(s) in hand.

Area worked on this past week to completed unfinished stitch area.

I have been working on filling in some of the areas on the Musician's upper body and upper half of the design so I can complete some more back stitching. It is amazing how much difference it makes when you complete the back stitching, sit back and realize how much better everything looks. I guess the details of back stitching just makes everything look sharper and the shading suddenly seems to pop. Next I'm hoping to work on the treasure box which you will notice in the large picture later in the blog along with finishing up the part of the large green pillow behind her back.

The Musician with some more detail work completed.

Also regarding cross stitching, I'm working on putting together my list of UFOs that I will need to address sometime before they totally overtake my stitching corner. It is a sad, sad state of affairs in regards to UFOs at my house. If there is a Stitcher's Anonymous, I would have to be a lifetime member.

This weekend I'm looking forward to a Knitting Madness Night at my LYS, the Knitting Boutique. Just a huge sit-in of gals knitting, watching movies, chatting, goofing off, hanging out and having fun. Sounds like the perfect Friday night to me. Hopefully I can finish up a good portion of Becky's hat which I'm about 1/2 way through the ribbing. I am also slowly making progress on my scarf, but since that is a little more counting and making sure I'm following the pattern, I usually save that for when I'm sitting in the comfort of my chair at home.

Tonight, I made a new meal for our family and it seemed to be well liked by everyone. I took pork chops and after dredging them in a wash of beaten eggs coated them in a mixture of crumbled French's Onions and Hidden Valley Ranch Dip. Afterwards, I baked them in the oven until done and we had a meal. The onions and ranch dip lent their flavors to the pork and seemed to crisp up well on the outside.

French's Onion and Ranch Crusted Pork Chops served with Stuffing and Glazed Carrots

Until next time, keep your stitching and knitting needles movin', spend time with family and friends and most of all enjoy life!

Sunday UFO Stitching

Well, I am trying very hard to sticking to working on a UFO project every week this year, which was one of the only stitching goals I set for myself. The UFO I am working on is Innocent Guardian from a Dimensions Gold kit and I actually made quite a bit of progress on it while sitting during the afternoon, watching some movies and just relaxing with the family. Becky is having another bout of asthma flaring up, I imagine the varying temperature changes has not helped in that regard. Maryland has been going from 60 degrees one day to a high in the upper 30's the next. Most every family I know seems to have one person sick at home.

My goals I am setting with this design is to complete 1000 stitches a month. Might not sound like a lot, but it is a number that I'm hoping I can obtain and possibly exceed so I am feeling like I'm making progress on the design. Yesterday I actually completed 493 stitches which really made my day and then this morning I completed another 126 stitches bringing this month's total to 619; so I am already half way to the goal. Happy Dance!

Now that I have found a moment to myself.....

January has come and gone already. It seems like we were just ringing in the New Year and here we are at the start of the 2nd month of 2012. I have managed to do quite a bit of stitching and knitting along with lots of reading through January, so let me update you on how things have been going in my household.
The ankle is continuing to heal and I have been going to physical therapy 3 days a week. Starting this week, I have "graduated" to twice a week which means I have a little more time. Yay! While I am not happy with the surgeon who did the original surgery, I have decided to get a 2nd opinion from Mercy Hospital which specializes in ankle reconstruction and replacement. The appointment is on Monday and Beth is going to be going with me to meet with their specialist.

Cross stitching I have made some progress but I haven't been able to do a lot of stitching after work because I was usually so tired after therapy and work that I would barely get home before wanting to vegetate before going to bed. On weekends I would enjoy having stitching marathons and so I feel like I managed quite a bit of progress on both the Musician and Innocent Guardian.

The Musician with over 8200 stitches completed so far....

Innocent Guardian progress

I finally completed Ray's stocking cap after being able to get some help from some of wonderful ladies at the Knitting Boutique. So now I am working on another hat, this time in lavender for Becky. I have also started working on a scarf which is comprised of yarn-overs and slipped stitches which is something new for me.

Ray & his Stocking Cap
Knitted in Plymoth Yarn

Scarf in progress
Knitted in Cascade 220 Superwash

The one thing which was brought me the most joy though has been reading. While enjoying the heat compress or being iced down after therapy, waiting for doctor appointments, picking up the kids from school or just hanging out after a long day, I have been picking up my Kindle and enjoying some amazing reads. Jennifer Chiaverini never fails to enthrall me with her Elm Creek Quilt series and I have read a book and am currently reading another book within this series: The Union Quilters and The Wedding Quilt respectively. I read a new author, Annette Blair, who wrote an excellent Amish story called Jacob's Return. I am looking forward to reading more of this author's work. Another Amish inspired author, Karen Anna Vogel has a great set of short stories called the Amish Knitting Circle as well as a book called Knit Together: An Amish Knitting Novel.

Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knittin' needles moving, spend time with with family and friends and most of all, enjoy life!

1st Book Review of the Year

My first read of the year was Stephen King's 11/22/63 which was excellent. While I am usually not a fan of Stephen King, I was reading so many good reviews on this book and when I saw it dealt with the Kennedy assassination, I knew I had to give it a try. Can I just say that was a really, really good decision on my part?

Of course, everyone knows how things happened after J.F.K. was assassinated on that November day in Dallas, Texas and how it changed the face of the nation overnight. In his book, Mr. King has a time traveler, Jake Epping, who manages to travel back early enough to determine that Lee Oswald did act by himself in the assassination attempt of General Walker and is able to stop the assassination of the 35th President of the United States. Along the way, he paints a vivid picture of life in the early 60's, while our hero falls in love with the love of his life.

How would the world be changed if the shots that rang out over Daley Plaza had not hit the intended target that afternoon? What if LBJ had not became our next President? Would Vietnam occurred? These and other interesting questions are addressed in this thrilling read.

I'm hoping to read 70 books this year. I must say having my Kindle is making this a lot easier to accomplish; however I can say that having a Kindle is like opening Pandora's box. The ease of buying a book is amazing and being a book-a-holic; I will need to make sure I don't blow my budget just sitting around with my Kindle in hand!

A Poem from Ray

Tonight when I came home from work, Ray had a package waiting for me in my chair. It was a present he forgot to bring home for me before the Christmas break from school and I have to say it is something I'm going to hang on to for a long, long time. In fact, I need to pick up a frame to put it in. He brought a huge smile to my face and made my day after a very long one.

A poem from Ray..... as only he could tell it.

Where I'm From

I'm from my love my love of turtles,

From playing with legos and spending time with my family,
From the calm home on Disney Avenue
I am from bushes and trees in my yard.

I'm from every Thanksgiving making a good feast,
Brown hair and white skin,
Mom who is hard working and loves country music
Dad who is helpful and loves the Looney Tunes show
and Becky who like playing her games and telling me what to do.
I'm from every 4th of July seeing fireworks at the Army base,
From bowling every Saturday.
From "I love you"
and "Be good".

I'm from chiling out as a family,
relaxing on Sundays.
I'm from living in Maryland,
eating a stuffed turkey and dumplings.
From the time when "My sister swallowed 4 bugs on the Rebel Yel at Kings Dominion",
The time when "I got a high score in bowling".
I'm from the pictures in the hallway and albums.
They are very special to us.

My day off.....

Since New Years fell on a Sunday my office was given off today as our paid holiday which I have enjoyed immensely. I decided to pull out the new Kitchen Aid mixer and make another batch of cookies since all of them had been eaten or given away and with the cold weather and wind howling around the house, it made for a cozy day to spend in the kitchen. Mixing the batches of dough was definitely easier than doing it by hand as I had before Christmas and the cookies even seemed to be of lighter consistency; perhaps because of the thoroughness of the electric mixer. We made a "new" cookie today along with all the most of the other favorites; a coconut macaroon. Ray loves coconut and he gave them a two-thumbs up after letting them cool for a while.

Tomorrow is my 2nd day back to the office. I returned on Friday to catch up on emails (not quite completed yet but I only had over 2100 messages waiting in my inbox at work), and will be working full time in a reduced capacity for a while, mostly desk work. I am very glad to be back on the job and seeing my co-workers who are more like friends than office mates.

Therapy is going to be only 3 days a week  at this point but no end in sight at this time. I still have lots of exercises to do twice a day at home and so I am still working on getting better. Work schedule is going to be an extra early start for me so I can complete a full day at work, make it to therapy and still pick up Becky from school and help both her and Ray with homework while fixing dinner. I'm hoping to participate in a Relay for Life event with my best friend, Beth Haneke in April. Still working on my bucket list for 2012; but I want to work on organizing my home and reducing clutter. This will be a big goal and while it will be something that won't happen overnight, it is something that I'm hoping to get everyone involved in.

Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knittin' needles moving, spend time with friends and family and most of all, enjoy life!

Happy New Year!

Well another year has come and gone and we are starting into 2012. Another new start for everyone that is wanting to turn a page in their lives and a chance to reflect. Since my last update in December, there is has been lots of daily struggles and sometimes victories concerning the ankle fracture. On December 14th, the doctor removed my cast and I got to see how my leg was healing. I have 2 incisions, one on each side of my ankle; a 7" cut up the outside of the ankle and a crescent shaped cut on the inner ankle bone. Final hardware count is 13 screws along with 10" of steel plating that is holding everything together. I started physical therapy the next day and throughout the rest of 2011 attended therapy every weekday. I am riding a recumbent bike, walking steps, walking a thread mill and lots of stretches and exercises that the therapist dream up. My ankle seems to be progressing pretty well and I am able to walk along my hallway without any aid other than keeping my hands on the wall as I move. Mostly I am on crutches still but I'm hoping I can "graduate" to a cane soon.

Outer ankle incision as of December 14th

Inner ankle incision as of December 14th

X-Ray showing post surgical view of screws and plates. The two longer screws along the 7" plate will be removed in April 2012 to allow more function of the ankle joint. These are needed to promote healing of torn ligaments and tendons.

Stitching wise continued to be a welcomed respite for me during the holidays and I enjoyed giving several gifts this year to family and friends. I made my cousin Shirley a special ornament; Festive Trees by Turquoise Graphics & Designs which I finished in a diamond shaped ornament with a golden braid surrounding it. I also made 3 Prairie Schooler Snowy Nights ornaments all alike with a deep red braiding surrounding it and gave them to my sister-in-law, Michelle, and two my cousins, Sharon and Bobbie. A total of 16 dishcloths were knitted and given out as gifts to family members and friends and I'm hoping to complete some more ornaments throughout the year.

Festive Trees ornament
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 32ct. White Joblean

Snowy Nights ornament by Prairie Schooler Designs
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 32 count Lambswool Joblean

I have been working mostly on two larger projects since the ornament marathon; one being The Musician by Joan Elliott and Innocent Guardian by James Himsworth. I spend most of my time on the Musician however I am trying to put some time each week on Innocent Guardian and start making some definitely progress on this piece as well.

Innocent Guardian Dimensions Kit on 18 count beige aida

Joan Elliot's Musician on 32 count Antique White (I think) Joblean

While I haven't set any specific resolutions for this year, I have made some "promises" to myself. One is to spend more time with my kids doing things that we enjoy. Baking and cooking are things which both kids enjoy and Christmas time we made some homemade cookies to share with my family. Sugar cookies, peanut blossoms, old fashioned peanut butter, chocolate chip and snicker doodles were just the start. After all this baking, I decided it was finally time to buy that kitchen utensil of my dreams, a Kitchen Aid stand mixer in Empire Red. It is gorgeous!

Knitting has been progressing although I don't really have a picture to show at this point. I'm hoping to finish up the knitted hat now that I can make it to the Knitting Boutique for help in finishing this new project. I am also hoping to learn more knitting projects and methods this year. Hopefully I will have something soon to show for these labors.

Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knittin' needles moving, spend time with family and friends and most of all enjoy life!