Monday, December 28, 2009

CHRISTMAS STITCHING AND TU SAL-----FINALLY!

I stitched both of my granddaughters pillows for their rooms. Here are the girls-and their pillows-as they opened their gifts.

This is Ann. Her room is decorated in LSU colors, so her pillow is LSU-themed. Even though my fingers bled while I put it together and members of my Alabama family fussed a little, here it is.



This is Grace-in case you can't tell! I stitched her pillow a year or so ago and finally got it finished-I thought! I saw the trim a few months back and added it. And nearly lost my mind .....never do that again. Lots of stitches and glue.



And here is the end-of-the-year addition to the TU Sal. And the balls' final stop. It's  LARGE jar that sat on top of my kitchen cabinets. Now it's at home in the den.  Boy, that's a lot of orts. But out comes the bowl again and it begins again.....





Friday, December 25, 2009

MOVE OVER MIDGE. THE QUEEN IS IN THE BUILDING!




Julie has a wonderful photo of Midge on her blog. Michael came home from Houston yesterday and last night sent over some photos of the kids. I'll put a few here later, but I couldn't resist these two. This is my grandkitty Annabel. She's about 3 and is the ruler of the house! She likes to tear bows off gifts-during the night, of course.  Thanks, Michael!




Thursday, December 24, 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS
TO
ALL MY FRIENDS.

MAY YOUR HOLIDAYS BE THE BEST EVER, ALWAYS REMEMBERING
REASON FOR THE SEASON.



Tuesday, December 15, 2009





HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JANE AUSTEN



December 16, 1775 - July 18, 1817


Thanks for the wonderful hours spent in England and the introductions to such varied and interesting characters!



"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart."



 

Monday, December 14, 2009

CONGRATULATIONS......

TO

MARK INGRAM



2009 HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER

AND TO THE

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

FOR IT'S FIRST HEISMAN WINNER

AND A HANDSHAKE TO COACH SABAN, TOO!

PHOTO FROM THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

THE GREAT SNOW STORM OF 2009!
A bit of a bust.






Now on to the good stuff. I've been finishing and finishing. Some pretty old stuff, too.


This is a JBW design that I finished a couple of years ago-except for the beading, which is not my favorite thing. I used materials from my stash plus some red pearl-topped pins, which made this my first pinkeep. It's finished as a little stand-along. I'm looking for a prettier stand.



I stitched these little ornies in 2007. They are part of a Vermimllion Stitchery chart. I used materials from my stash to finish them. They are really cute. Proud of these! I forgot to mention that I sort of collect Christmas fabric, so I can finish ornies for the next hundred years!!



Two more little biscornus for  the stash, both made from freds and fabby from my stash. They are freebies: the small pink one from Matrioska and the white one from Twisted Oaks.




The last is my monthly Little House Needleworks Ornament SAL. Really turned out nicely. I used the materials called for. The big surprise was the size. Very big, but worth it. Lord, how I hate sewing on beads!!

Thus ends the epistle......

Monday, December 7, 2009



My very first exchange has arrived in it's new home. It's the Stitcher's Showcase Cross Stitchers' Christmas ornament exchange. It went all the way across the Pond to Michelle.

It was so fun doing it and also receiving my exchange from Elisa.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

NOT TOO MUCH MORE TO SAY! ROLL TIDE!



(THE FIRST PHOTO IS A FAKE, FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND. TEBOW'S TEAM LOST 32-13. THE WRITING REALLY SAID JOHN 16:33. LOOK IT UP!)

Friday, December 4, 2009

IT'S GONNA SNOW (so say the weathermen)

It's supposed to snow here tonight. One to three inches. Very unusual for this area of the country.  We're ready for it, though. Soup in the cabinets. Logs in the fire. Electric blanket heating. Temperature dropping and becoming overcast. It's 3PM and we're waiting.........

Of course, it could just be an ice mess. Either way it looks like El Nino acted, no hurricanes and snow. And tomorrow is the big day in Atlanta. ROLL TIDE!

Oh well. Something to look forward to. Stay in and stitch!





I have some finished projects plus some family photos to show, but they will wait.  Until then, everyone bundle up and stay warm.

These photos are from Dec.11, 2008 and are shots of my backyard. I would enjoy waking up in the morning to these sights again---as long as the snow doesn't last THAT long.

Monday, November 23, 2009

SENSATION SALAD


Well, here we are. Just a couple of days until Thanksgiving. We're going over to Houston to see the kids and for the boys to go fishing and for me to visit a nearby needlework shop. It's just a couple of blocks from John and Laura's house-on Louetta Parkway- and they're giving away goodies on Friday.

I'm taking food over, of course, because there will be alot of people there TDay. You gotta know my cravings kicked in. This time for Sensation Salad. I'm even going to take some with me.

I'm not sure if Sensation Salad is peculiar to this region, but it's very common at eateries here and is SO good. I made a quick trip to the grocer's, made the dressing (the recipe makes a bunch), and am now indulging my fondest desire while I'm making the cheese and macaroni, queso,  meatballs and two pumpkin pies.

Here it is. It should be made at least a day ahead and left in the fridge to blend flavors. Nothing but iceberg lettuce and fresh parsley are all that's needed for the salad fixings, although sometimes I do add some
Roma tomatoes. Don't need onions, cukes- any of the normal veggies found in a salad. It does okay with romaine, too, but iceberg is reccommended.

SENSATION SALAD
1/2 lb. finely ground Romano (forget the Kraft stuff. Go for the good stuff in the  gourmet cheese section)
1 pt. salad oil (I use 1C. canola oil, 1C. extra virgin olive oil)
Juice of 2 lemons (if they are large. Use 3, if small)
Juice of 3 cloves of garlic ( I use the stuff found in the spice section. Then I slice up some fresh garlic into the bottle of dressing. Be sure not to let these get into the lettuce. Surprise!!!)

Shake all ingredients in a quart jar. This will keep indefinitely in the fridge. Salt and pepper greens as desired before adding dressing. I am a big devotee of fresh  ground pepper and sea salt. Just my strange little thing.

The original recipe is found in the first cookbook, River Road Recipes, by the Junior League of Baton Rouge. If you ever see a copy of this little book, pick it up. It's a gold mine.

Friday, November 20, 2009

MY FIRST EXCHANGE!



I'm a member of Stitcher's Showcase. We recently formed a cross stitchers group. Elisa is our fearless leader. We decided to have a Christmas ornie exchange, so I joined. My very first exchange. I received my goodie yesterday. From Elisa! She does beautiful stitching and  really great finishing. She also sent along two skeins of Dragon Threads. I see a couple of biscornus in my future!! The colors are beautiful.

Thanks, Elisa.

And this won't be the last exchange. I've also joined the Lizzie Kate Exchange and am getting ready to start that project.

This is fun. I feel a new addiction coming on.......

Monday, November 16, 2009

What a long, long week. But it's over now, I hope. A full range of emotions. Now it's time to get on with life and just be grateful because it could have turned out a lot differently. I'm going to thank God for every day I have. Thanks to all of you who sent good words and lots of prayers. I'm not sure yet how the hernia will be treated. Probably not aggressively right now.

Well, on to other things! The Bowl of Balls is growing. Today is the deadline for this months Totally Useless SAL. I did ALOT of frogging this month. Ran into a brick wall with Houmas House. Will post photo as soon as everything is all straightened out.





Here's an OLD WIP. I started this project in 2006. I finished all the cushion covers except for four. And then got totally bored. I pulled them out a couple of weeks ago and put a wrap on it. They are by Pine Mountain, one cushion and twelve different covers. Boy, I hated that fabric! The instructions said not to use a hoop but I ended up using one anyway. Nasty fabric!!



This one was for fun. It's a biscornu made from a freebie from Stitcher's Village. I used fabby, thread and beads from my stash. It was a "quick fix" and I do love these little things.




Last, but certainly NOT least, the queen is in the building. Giselle is turning out to be the sweetest little cat. She's not nearly as skittish and has learned to let me know what she wants. She lets me do head and belly rubs now and is really reeling me in.




So....that's it for now. Looking forward to Thanksgiving and probably Houston. Haven't seen the grandkids since September and it's time. I can't believe my son has an almost-teenager.  Take care everyone and enjoy life. It's a great thing to have.

Friday, November 13, 2009



WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY IT IS. GOD IS IN HIS HEAVEN WATCHING OVER CHILDREN AND FAT LADIES!

My report is back. Just a few minutes ago. It's a Bochdalek hernia. Most often found in children but can affect adults, too. No thoughts of  repairing it right now. It's not painful and whatever the bulge is (maybe fat???) is not life-threatening. I saw the actual x ray yesterday when I had the CT scan, so I was feeling a little bit better.

Now today---well, I'm going to get out of the house for awhile. I'm sure there is a reason I've just had the life nearly scared out of me, so it's time to find out why. What I know at this point is that life is a very valuable commodity. It should never be taken for granted or used in any harmful way. We are all God's children. We are to love and care and pray for each other. And I can't wait until tomorrow. Or even an hour from now.

I feel like a Taco Bell mango-strawberry Frutista!!!!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Well, it seems like it maybe a lesson a bit harder learned.

My doctor's office called around 4:15 yesterday afternoon with a report on my x ray. No pneumonia. That's good news. The bad news is that there is a "suspicious nodule", 6cm in size, in my left lung. Well. Didn't expect that.

So I've had a range of emotions since then. The anger hasn't hit, nor the sadness. Just disbelief.

I'm having a CT scan at 8:15 this morning. A fasting one, of course. I'm sitting here starving. It's almost 6 AM, two and a half hours to count down and I'm hungry. As soon as it's over I'm heading for Taco Bell for a mango-strawberry Fruitista.

It could be anything. Right now I'm hanging on to that. And it could go the other way. My church is praying for me and the choir had special prayer last night. At this moment that seems like the good and proper thing to do. After all, nothing about my life is in my hands. Just His.

So if you are of a like mind, I would appreciate any words going toward Heaven. For me, sure. But for my family. In my mind right now are thoughts of just being rid of whatever this is by any means-by prayer or by surgery. Or whatever. It's keeping my mind off things I should be concentrating on.

That's that. Now I'm going to stitch.

Boy, I'm hungry. And still sneezing, blowing and coughing.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009



THANK YOU.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

SUPER DUPER STITCHING GIVEAWAY!!

All you guys who love to stitch, hop on over to Angela's blog and register for her giveaway. It's an awesome  stitching box.

http://hookedonstitches.blogspot.com/



FOOTBALL AND LESSON LEARNED THE HARD WAY

Okay. Here I sit, absolutely miserable.  The nagging little cough I've had since September has risen up and bit me on the butt. Big time. We went home for the football game-more later- and I did okay. Sunday night it hit.  Monday found me at the doctor's office: massive infection. Sinuses, lymph nodes in my neck and BAD bronchitis, fever 101. I'm waiting to hear from the x ray because it looks like pneumonia, too. But I have some wonderful drugs: vibramycin, prednisone, flonase and these great little pills for the cough. Lesson learned the hard way.

We went home this weekend for the Alabama-LSU game. Those crazy LSU fans seriously believe we consider them rivals. WRONG. LSU is "small stuff". Auburn is the one. And LSU fans always blame something else for their loss. It just couldn't be that the other team was better (we won 25-14). This time it was the SEC officials calling bad plays.There were some questionable ones but they wouldn't have changed anything. LSU-ranked #9-played the #2 ranked team. Gee. Read the handwriting!!!!

We live in the Deep South. It's November, so we all live and breathe football. Here are some shots from the game. I took a lot of photos and will put them on my flickr account a little later.  In the meantime.....

These are some of the photos from inside of the stadium during the game. It seats 92,000 plus and, believe me, it was packed. Anything crimson and white is Alabama. Purple and gold is LSU.



Here you can begin to see the addition to the stadium. When it's finished, the stadium will be completely bowl-shaped and enclosed.







The final score. Victory.



The outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium.



One of our customs is "tailgating". It's another word for "partying". Tents are set up, grills are fired up, TVs are turned on, coolers filled and it all begins HOURS before the game (try the night before!) and ends late into the night. Some of the greatest food in the world. And everyone is a friend to the next guy.  Denny Chimes can be seen in the background. It's the "symbol" of the university. There's an old-wives tale that says everytime a virgin walks by a brick falls from Denny.  Don't ask!!!!

This is also on the Quad, which is the center of the university. It's HUGE. I remember many a frozen morning walking across the Quad on ice. It gets really cold in Tuscaloosa.



Some LSU people got in on our party. But that's okay. Their symbol is Mike the Tiger. Ours is Big Al, the elephant.



And some nostalgia. This is Morgan Hall. My upper class major classes were here. It's the Foreign Language building.



So that's what's going on here. I have some stitchy and kitty photos, but they will wait for another day.

Until then, happy stitching. And, PTL, we dodged a bullet. Ida hit this morning on the coast of Alabama.

See ya later.

Monday, November 2, 2009

HALLOWEEN IN HOUSTON, FOOTBALL IN ALABAMA

Weekend before last was the great Alabama-Tennessee game. We won-barely.  Here's three peas in a pod: Mike Tabb, David and Deigh's cousin from Mobile;my brother-in-law Deigh and son Michael. It was a little warmer than Homecoming! Thanks to Mike T. for the photo.



Michael went to Houston this weekend. He went to visit John and family but really went to the air show. He took MANY great photos. This one is of John (the Mad Maestro), Laura (Betty Crocker) and the kids. Great photo. Thanks, Michael.

I added and subtracted from my blog section. Added some great ones. I also added a cooking section. I rarely cook these days, but every now and then will get a wild hair and hit the kitchen. I have a map to find my way there!! Cajun Delights is my favorite and Catholic Cuisine ain't half bad. Enjoy!