Black Friday

Hey there!  I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Our Thanksgiving was very quiet, just David and me.  It's been that way for a few years now and although I do miss the bustle of family, it was very nice just to have a fairly unstressful day.   I roasted a turkey breast and made all the trimmings.  I like making that meal so it was a joy to do.  It came out very well and we will have leftovers for a few days. 

I have been working on With Thy Needle and Threads, Needleworker's Sampler. 

I've changed it up a bit and I am pleased with what I've done so far. It's really unusual for me to change up a design but something about it just didn't work for me.  I realized that the house and the basket of fruit above it wasn't centered and being a symetrical type, I move them over and then the fun began.  Now things didn't fit like they did before and well, the top half of the design is now "re-designed".  It's ok though.  It's good for the brain to shake things up a little.  I added a lady friend to the left side of the house and gave the man a doggy friend. I moved some of the pinwheels and will go about re-planting the flowers.  I will have to move the woman holding the needle in the next band too so she's centered under the house. After that I think I will leave the rest of the design alone. 

I did go out this Black Friday. I was very surprised how easy it was to find a parking spot and that the mall wasn't terribly busy even with all the doorbuster sales.  Maybe they were busier on Thanksgiving Day (GRRR...nothing is sacred anymore) and I got what I went for which really was for me.  I needed jeans and a suitcase.  My trip to Japan is almost here and I had to have a bigger piece of luggage than just the carry-on.  I wandered around but nothing drew the money from my wallet.  Which really is a good thing cause my wallet is pretty light.

I've joined the "Snooty Parrot" SAL on Facebook.  Terri from Chocolates For Breakfast is hosting it. It starts on January 4th.  I'm waiting on threads and we are 100 strong!  A beautiful sampler for sure. It pushed out a couple of samplers I thought about starting at the beginning of the year.  Oh,wait, I always start a little something Christmas Day so just maybe....who am I kidding.  I know I will but what is yet to be decided.

Anyway...that's all from Chez Doghair...I'm covered in it.  And it's time for a nap.  All that shopping just did me in. 

Have a great weekend everyone!  Thanks for stopping!

A Post - WooHoo!

It's been 5 weeks.  Geez Louise!  I don't even know where to begin. 

First of all, I have been stitching.  I started (and finished, *GASP!!*) Cross Eyed Cricket's, Be Ye Thankful.  I stitched it on 36 count mystery linen with the recommended DMC.  I think I 'm going to frog out some of the yellow that just fades into the fabric.  And I would like to get it framed before Thanksgiving, but I am not sure I can.  If I can't, it it will go into "the box" with all the other finished but not finished pieces.

I actually stitched an ornament from the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue, Lizzie Kate's cute little witch.  It's also in "the box". 


And I actually finished finished October's Wordplay and December's Word Play too!  OMGosh. And there's another that I finished but for the life of me, I can't remember what it is.  I blame my forgetfulness on my thyroid brain.  No focus.

I am working out of my WIP box but I desperately want to start either A Yuletide Welcome or another Christmas piece.  But I'm holding strong and working on those pieces that I've begun.

My David has taken a job out of town during the week.  He is 3 hours away and has taken an apartment. He comes home on the weekend.  (I can't wait until Friday at 6:30PM!) So I am now caring for my 3 horses and the 4 cats and the dog.  Barn work at 4:45AM my friends!  And again in the evening.  Not much time to do anything in the evenings.  I am getting better though, I'm getting into a rhythm so it's getting better. And I'm not collapsing at 8:30 like I did the first week.

Dave's Mom passed away this week, so we high tailed it to Pittsburgh for a whirlwind funeral and all the stuff that goes with it.  The funeral was a lovely tribute to a wonderful woman who accepted me as her daughter and treated me as if I actually was.  She never had a bad word to say about anyone and I can honestly say that I KNOW with my entire being that she's in Heaven with our Savior.  She was 89 and God was gracious and took her home quickly.  No suffering and no lingering.   

And the biggest news is that in a month, I will be in Japan for 10 days visiting Mike, Jenna and my sweetie pea, Alena!  She's 11 months old now and I will be there for her first birthday!  I can't wait!!

 

So, that's the news.  I hope not to be away for so long.  It's just been a wild ride these last few weeks!

Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkins for Cathey!

Happy Blog Anniversary to Cathey!  Sending you hugs, prayers and best wishes to you! I will be adding you and your family to my prayer list.

Thanks to DaffeyCat for such a brilliant idea! 

It's been a long time!

Hi all!

Well, well, well....a long time has past since I posted on this little piece of cyberspace.  I guess I just didn't have much to say so I didn't say anything.  LOL.  And today, I really don't have a lot to say either. 
I've been stitching but I don't have anything to show.  My camera takes such sucky pictures, and I was waiting to finish True Virtues before I posted but let me tell you, we all would grow OLD before that happens.  I am 80% done with it and I love her but she seems to be the sampler that Just. Won't. End.  So she's back on the end of the list for a little while cause now I'm working on my favorite time of the year pieces, Halloween and Christmas and I picked up another WIP to work on, Cricket Collections, Be Ye Thankful.  It's moving right along.  I also stitched a little witch and will be starting on October's Word Play. 

I've been thinking about what I want to stitch next year already. I think I will continue stitching WIPs and I want to stitch Christmas samplers.  Also, I've come full circle and want to stitch repro samplers.  Samplers are my first love, it's what drew me into needlework.  I have a ton of them just waiting to be stitched and most of my WIPs are samplers.

I've been watching for Market Releases and I've fallen in love with Plum Street Samplers, Yuletide Welcome and Threadwork Primitives, Beggar's Night.  I have pre-ordered them and I am waiting to see what With Thy Needle and Thread comes up with for Christmas...her Noel sneak peek is calling my name.

Our sweet Alena is 8 months old now and she's pulling herself up and talking a blue streak.  Mainly she says RAWR, RAWR, RAWR and DADADA but she's so funny to hear.  I can't wait until March when they come back to the States for good.

So again,  thanks for hanging with me.  I hope to blog a little more now that the summer is winding down.  I am glad that you are part of my life. Thanks!

Have a blessed Sunday,

Joanie

I Don't Know What the World Is Coming To...........

My heart is just saddened by the tragic events at the Boston Marathon.  Wow.  I just don't know what to say!  It just boggles my mind why anyone or any group would want to harm folks out to just have a nice time.  Innocents.  All of those victims and their families.  Just innnocent.  Senseless death and harm.  Certainly, the Devil is having a field day here in the good ol' USA.  I usually don't voice my conservative opinions here but I will say this as a Christian...we've turned our back on God here, in our schools, at our work and in our families and I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the state of our country and our world.

So, my heart and prayers are going out to those who were harmed or killed and to their families left to pick up the pieces.

Enough.

Connie, you will be pleased to know that I am rockin' True Virtue.  I stitched the verse and I'm tickled pink at it. You are right, she is a piece that is just a joy to stitch and I don't know why I put her down.  Well I do know, JCS is not known for doing a terrific job of proofing their patterns and the color key had the wrong symbol and one color was left off the color key.  I stitched the entire top of rice stitch grapes using the wrong color.  And I have to frog them all out.  ALL. OF. THEM. I got discouraged so I banished it to the "Land of Misfit Projects".  And I did stitch an entire alphabet in the wrong color (my mistake this time and no, I'm not frogging it, it looks just fine).  I'm a little hung up on the 4 sided alphabet, I'm going to have to do some research on how to properly stitch the letters (if you've got tips and hints, please share!).  So I'm going to wait until most of the stitching is done and then stitch the satin stitch border, the algerian eye vowels and the 4-sided stitch alphabet.  And probably the queen stitch flowers too.  I want to put the sampler on a roller frame to do this band and the border so I can have even tension.
 I did have a visit with the frogs this weekend on True Virtue but not so bad that I couldn't take care of it.  Now, I had a major frog infestation with WTN&T's  April Word Play.  I am using a piece of linen that is made up of thick and very thin linen thread.  I accidently crossed stitched one of those threads together with the other two (Instead of going over 2 threads, I went over 3).  And I was 75% done with stitching it and I caught the error.  I actually pulled a "Marly" and burned it in my fireplace.  I couldn't face ripping out the bunny in the wagon and the center section of words plus the bee skep, at least 50% of the piece.  I was so mad and burning it was a fitting thing to do in my opinion.
Health-wise I am not much better, the pendulum has swung the other way.  The autonomous toxic nodule covered my entire left lobe of my thyroid, it measured 4'' by 3" inches by 1" covering most of it.  The radioactive iodine killed it and most of the lobe. And my right lobe hasn't woken up yet from being suppressed for so long.  I've gone from subclinical hyperthyroid to hypothyroid. And I'm tired all the time. So, the doctor has prescribed a dose of synthyroid that's going to take the edge off the hypothyroid symptoms but will still allow him to monitor my hormone levels to see if my right lobe has come around.

Well, don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin...and I hope that the weather gets better soon so I can take some pictures.... I know this gets boring but I did want to check in.

Take care kids,  thanks for coming by!

Movin' to Bloglovin

Come follow me on Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A finish times 2! :)

Hey everyone!  I hope you all have been good and are having fun.  I am most definitely ready for Winter to go away.  It hasn't been bad snow-wise but it sure has been cold.  And I most definitely hate cold.  Especially days on end where it didn't rise above the mid-20's during the day and stayed in the single digits at night. 

It's been an interested couple of months.  In January, we lost our hot water heater (well, not exactly) and along with it we replaced our furnace with a new propane furnace.  We heated our home with fuel oil and the price of oil was over $4.00 a gallon.  Each fill up was just under a thousand dollars.  It was getting pretty expensive to keep it up on one salary. To make a long story short, we called the hot water heater guy out who informed us that it wasn't the heater at all but we ran out of oil.  He recommended that we replace the heater anyway because it was ancient and half filled with sediment.  So we called out the furnace guy who gave us a pretty good deal on replacing both.  Hot water rocks!  And we should cut our heating costs a little bit because propane is 25% cheaper than fuel oil.  We shall see.

I found out that I have a toxic nodule on my thyroid which besides sucking out all the iodine my body produces, it sucks the life out of me.  So later this month, I will take a dose of radioactive iodine and hopefully (crossing my fingers) it will kill the toxic nodule and won't harm my thyroid.  I just want to feel better.  I have zero energy, am completely irritable and I find that I am just not myself because of it.  Say a prayer that this works. 

The boy child has deployed for 6 months and Jenna and little Alena are in Japan.  It was very hard for him to leave them.

Alena is 3 months old already.

 

 

 

On the stitching front, I have been busy! I want to show you that I can finish things, so here's what I've done this last month.

 

 

I broke out the sewing machine and got my creative on!  The pillow came out a little longer than I hoped (I am math challenged, so the David tells me) but it looks cute as a bolster on the bed.  This is a With Thy Needle and Thread pattern,

 

 And With Thy Needle and Thread's February Wordplay which doesn't Blogger doesn seem to want to right itself.  Sorry.

 

 

I also finished December's Wordplay and started on April's version.  I also worked on Baby It's Cold Outside but didn't take a snap because it's really wrinkly.  And I stitched 2 LHN Christmas Ornaments, the Saltbox house and Snow Cold. 

 

So that's what's going on in Joanie's World.  I want to say hey to my new followers and a thank you to all of you who visit.

Stay tuned for a March giveaway...you know there's a pot of gold at the end of the stitchy rainbow...just sayin'.

 

 

 



The winner is....

Hey everyone!

I really wish I could give all of you these patterns.  I always feel bad that there only is one winner when I do this.  But, I feel really good sharing them with you.

So the winner is....
PJ!

Email me at mikes1mom@gmail.com  with your address and I'll pop the patterns in the mail to you pronto.

I've decided to do this each time I finish up something or when the mood just hits (I'm thinking of going wild and crazy around Valentine's Day).  It's just something I want to do this year.  Share.  Be grateful that I can.  Makes me happy.  :)

Till next time,

Blessings,

Joanie

Happy New Year!

Just a quick note to wish all of you a very Happy New Year!  It's quiet here at the house,  I'm beginning to take down the Christmas tree and gearing up to go back to work after a glorious 11 days off.  Wow, did I need the break.

I got to stitch a lot and I promise that I will take pictures of what I've finished.  I finished Prairie Schooler's, Merry Christmas Eve on Christmas Eve.  I've started Baby It's Cold Outside and I've finished December's Wordplay.  Oh, and I finished Letters For Santa too.  Vacations are wonderful, aren't they?

I've been thinking of next year and what I'd like to accomplish.  I think that I'm going to play it by ear, this year, I focused on Wips, which I think I'm going to continue to do.  I really will finish, I Sigh Not for Beauty and True Virtue.  I thought it would be fun to stitch Christmas designs and ornaments all year or focus on Prairie Schooler Santas.  But I love the other seasons, especially Halloween, so I'm not sure I can keep stitching snow in the middle of summer.  And I also thought I'd work through all the LHN ornaments (I have like 16 of those).  Plus, I have a grand-daughter to stitch for now too.  Oh, there's just too many things to stitch, so I'm just going to just "go for it".  No pressure.

 I bought a lot of stash this year, only things that I truly love though and that's a big step for me.  Gone are the days of buying just to say I have it.  I have more patterns than I will ever stitch in my lifetime so a little restraint is a good thing, no?

Finally, before I go back to taking down Christmas,  I want to pass the two With My Needle patterns on to someone. I want to share them with someone who doesn't have them. So comment on THIS POST ONLY if you would like my very gently used Letters for Santa and December Wordplay.  I'll draw the name on January 2nd.  Letters for Santa is a bit worn on the folds but the pattern is serviceable.  Just sayin'.

Last year, I chose a word to focus on all year. That word was TRUST. I have to say, that I learned alot about myself through that word in 2012, I realize that I am not as trusting as I believed and when my faith was tested, I found that I lacked sorely lacked trust. I've improved and the journey isn't over. But the word for 2013 is GRATITUDE. I take so much for granted and I also found that I'm not grateful for what I have or the blessings I've received. I've found through some soul searching that I feel "entitled" and that's not the attitude I want to cultivate. So, my focus word in 2013 is "gratitude" and by default "thankfulness".

One thing I know from the bottom of my heart is that I am grateful as well as thankful that I have wonderful blogging buddies who brighten me when I'm down, inspire me when I am low on creativity and share with me a love of stitching. You have enriched my life and for that I am forever grateful and most thankful. 

SO, it's on to 2013.  A bright new shiny year.  Here's to new beginnings!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

Wishing you all the peace and joy of this blessed season celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior!

 

Enjoy your family and friends!  And may your stockings be filled with stitching goodness!

I am very blessed to call all of you friends.

 

Joanie

Winner, winner, chicken dinner

First, I apologize that it's taken me 2 days to post the winner of my Thankful giveaway.  I'm stressing over a work project, it's all consuming and fairly frustrating.  I ended up working 2 of my 4 days off, only to have my boss not be overly thrilled with either my progress or my work.  His procrastination is my emergency. 

Anyway, the winner is................
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
JEANNE! 

Please email me at Mikes1mom@gmail.com with your address.. I'll get the package out by the end of the week....remember work???

Thank you so much for all your good wishes, wonderful stitching and for brightening up Joanie's world. 

Joanie

Thankful

I just wanted to take a minute to tell all of you how grateful and thankful to you making my little corner of the world such a happy place. Thank you sweet friends.

I wish all of you who are celebrating Thanksgiving a day filled with love and laughter.  Eat turkey. And pie.  My choice is apple (I like pumpkin too but apple is my fav)!  It will be just the David and I along with our fuzzy pet friends.  A quiet day but I'm planning on planting my ample backside onto the sofa and stitching most of the day away.  I hope to have a finish! Food, the parade and football.  :)

Oh, I also wanted to say that I have a box of duplicate patterns that are up for grabs.  Just comment on this post and I will pick a name tomorrow.  The patterns are fairly new, all unused or gently used (no markings) from a variety of designers and a variety of subjects, country, samplers, ornaments.  I do have cats and a dog, so they do not come from a pet free home.  They are smoke-free.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Many, many blessings!
Joanie

Enabling Alert!

Oh my!  I have to say that this is the most dangerous time for me in the realm of STASH ENHANCEMENT!  Beyond, beyond SABLE is where I am right now but do the sheer numbers of charts that I already own stop me from adding to my collection?  No!  Because all of my stitchy buddies and prolific designers, I am sure to be stash rich and cash poor (wink, wink).  Giggle.  But I do love it and there are many more terrible things I could spend my discretionary cash on (besides shoes, which is a very close second to buying bits and bobs and charts and linen), right?

So, feast your eyes on the new things from With Thy Needle and Thread.  All these will be coming to live at my house and hopefully will find themselves gracing my holiday home soon....

This pillow is so pepperminty sweet!

I can see stitching the santa with the snowman over one for a sweet bowl filler.

  So many ideas!

And Pineberry Lane and Lori from NotForgotten Farm have posted sneek peeky at their offerings for the Country Sampler's Prim Girls Club.  They are wonderful as well.  Go check them out.

So this week wasn't a great week for me health wise, I was bone tired again even with sleeping 7-8 hours a night.  On Monday, I stayed up late to watch the Steeler's game (into the 3rd quarter) and that set me back most of the week.  Even with going to bed before 9 and sleeping until 5 each day after my late Monday night, I'm still dragged out with no energy to spare.  I had bloodwork done on Friday and I'm thinking I need my meds to be adjusted unless there's another problem causing this extreme fatigue.

I stitched a little more on Merry Christmas (Prairie Schooler) I'm filling in the white at the bottom and can take it back to Michaels to have them put it in the frame. I worked on True Virtue but I'm bogged down with the four sides stitch (does anyone have any hints on how to stitch letters using this stitch?) and I stitched more border on I Sigh Not for Beauty.  I am debating on changing the verse to a favorite scripture.

I have finishing work I could do too, ornaments and some pumpkins.  Enough to keep me plenty busy.

Well, I have to go to the grocery store,  I'm hoping there's bread, milk and water available.  Seems like everyone is gearing up for Frankenstorm.  We are to get 3 days of heavy wind and rain starting Sunday.  Maybe snow too because there's a cold front coming from the north that's supposed to stall right over us.  I've heard on the news some areas in Northwestern PA are to get up to 2 feet of snow from this system.  So, for all you in the path of this storm, I'm praying that the damage is minimal and the storm heads out to sea instead of making landfall.  Stay safe and stitching!

STITCHY PICTURES!!!

Hello-ooo-oo!!

I got to take some pictures this afternoon of some of the pieces I've recently framed and some that I finished stitching.

I will let the pictures do the talking. Hope you like 'em.


First up is an oldie from Prairie Schooler.  I stitched it back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.  I stitched it over one.  Omgosh, over one.  What was I thinking!  But I love how it came out.  It's framed in sueded mats. 




Autumn
The Prairie Schooler
DMC on 28ct Lambswool Evenweave
Stitched Over One



 Isn't it pretty?



I love the frame.  I've used it before on a Blackbird Designs piece.

 Here's the Bee Man.  I am not sure if I showed you this sampler framed. 

The Bee Man's Garden
The Goode Huswife
DMC on 32ct Lambswool Linen

And my very first Adam and Eve sampler...that sweet Lisa and Oliver tending their sheep.  I love this sampler. It's 80's kitch colorway just makes me itch for disco and legwarmers. Haha.  Seriously, the sampler is very well designed and I love Merrily Beams designs. It hangs in my family room.

Done by Me!
Merrily Beams
DMC on 32ct Flax Linen

 This is Pumpkin Pinkeep from With Thy Needle.  I love Brenda's designs.  I almost left off the alphabet but I'm glad I didn't.  I'm not sure if I can tackle putting it together to make that cute pumpkin. It's gone in the done but not finished box.

Pumpkin Pinkeep
36ct Antique Cotton Linen
Recommended Threads

 
Next is the Prim Sister's School of Needlework.  Laura from Maude and Mozart (Hi Laura!!) let me borrow the pattern.  I love the primitive style.  Don't think I'm going to make it into the ditty bag.  Probably I will frame it.

Prim Sister's School of Needlework
DMC on 32ct Flax Linen

 Don't you just LOVE the girls!

So other than that, I'm doing ok.  Feeling stronger with more energy but I don't think the meds are right just yet.  Blood work this week to see where I am now that I've been on the Methimazole a month.  Hopefully, the numbers have dropped.

I am grateful for one thing though,  my stitching mojo is back.  I'm happy about that.  I am thinking of next year already. I am still stitching Wips, True Virtue and I Sigh Not for Beauty and LHN ornaments.  I think they are so cute.   But I have so many plans.  I've kitted up a Scarlet House Sampler and I want to participate in next year's With Thy Needle's SAL on  A Maryland Inspiration.  Yes, I bit off the entire thing, ordered the chart and the silks (ssshhh---an early Christmas present for moi) plue I kitted up Mary Gibson (using Chocolate for Breakfast's Stitching for Lunch's silk palette).  I have a ton on my plate but I'm glad for it.  It makes me happy.

 Tonight the Steelers play the Bungles so I'm off to ice a cake and make coffee for the 8:20 kickoff.  GO STEELERS!!!

So, I hope you like what you saw, I know the pics are crappy but you get the over all idea. Thanks so much for stopping by and hello to all new and old. I'm glad you came by!

The Results Are In

First of all, I want to thank you so much for your comments, prayers, good thoughts and wishes.  I am very happy to report that the results of my very painful biopsy were CANCER FREE!  The nodules are follicular and are very common.

To say I am relieved is an understatement.

Right now, I am on a very low dose of methimazole and I can feel the positive effects of the drug already.  The bone numbing fatigue has lessened, I wake up fairly refreshed and the fog clouded mind is clearing.  Today was the first day that I didn't fade by 1 PM. I'm hoping things continue to get better as the days go on and not swing too far the other direction.

I have a number of pieces that I am almost done stitching.  I am within an hour of finishing the little LHN snowman ornament and the pumpkin pinkeep from With thy Needle and Thread.  I've finished Prim Sister's School of Needlework (thanks, Laura!) and almost, almost finished with Blue and Brown pillow (watch out Faye, it's coming your way soon!).  And of course, Done My Me is framed.  And I've started filling in the bottom of Prairie Schooler's, Merry Christmas.  I'm a happy stitcher.

Now, to take some pictures...where's that silly little pocket camera....
On a side note, I'm looking for Missy Raven...Missy, if you are reading this, please email me or leave a comment here. I have this box o' goodies for you and I need your address so I can saddle up the pony and get it to you.  And to the lovely lady who wanted to know if Done By Me was a kit, please email me too. I am willing to pass the  pattern on to you. Just need your address.

Anyway, I am so blessed by all of you, thank you again and again for all your support.  You guys are terrific.  There's nothing like stitchers to lift someone higher than I ever thought possible.

What's Happenin'

Well, it's been quite an interesting month.  What started out as a routine physical, it certainly hasn't ended up that way.  I had some bloodwork done and my thyroid numbers came back and were off enough to raise eyebrows.  T3 & T4 were off the upper end of the chart. TSH was undetectable.  Doctor W. sent me to a endocrinologist, who basically seemed to blow off my test results but recommended I have a thyroid uptake scan.  So one morning,  got shot up with radioactive iodine and the next had the scan, thinking that this was just preventative.  Next thing I know, my primary care physician, Doctor W is now recommending a thyroid sonogram.  HMMM.MM.  He said they didn't like what they saw on the scan, there were 2 large nodules on my left lobe of the gland that were cause for concern and he recommended them to be biopsied. BIG HMMM.MM.  Called the endo, who is so laid back I swear she's dead, who basically said yes, there were some things they wanted to check out but there was no cause for alarm.
So to make a very long story short, through the frustration of the primary care and the endocrinologist not communicating, to the primary care's nursing staff who screwed up the paperwork, to the endocrinologist telling me that she's leaving the practice in November (why didn't they give me to a doctor that's staying), to the endo's nursing staff who messed up my prescription and to them both for thinking the other was handling things, on Friday, I had the biopsies.  One word.  Painful.
The physician's assistant took 12 samples...10 on the left side, 5 samples in each of the 2 large nodules.  On the right, he biopsied a smaller nodule, taking 2 samples because as he said that even though neither doctor ordered it, he felt it should be done because my right lobe is "cold".  Cold?  Turns out that the uptake scan revealed that the right lobe didn't absorb any iodine so it's considered nonfunctional.  Oh.  Nonfunctional.  As in NOT WORKING!  And I found this out through the PA and NOT EITHER DOCTOR!  So I told him to go for it. And he did.
The PA was wonderful, as was the other staff members.  They were kind and gentle and very attuned to my fears because this procedure is done without anesthetic and even though the needle prick hurt, the pressure and moving the needle to gather samples is really what hurt the most, especially in the nodule that was hard.  Plus, the multiple sample sites in each nodule caused the nodules to get pretty angry.  Fortunately, they got enough tissue samples to finish the test.   I will know in a week whether the nodules are cancerous and to be honest, my instinct tells me that they are going to want to perform surgery to remove the offending gland, especially because the right side is essentially dead. 
At least now, I have a name for the bone numbing fatigue I feel most every day, the fogginess in my brain, the lack of concentration and the weight gain even though I am considered to be hyperthyroid.   I blamed my symptoms on stress, my age, on the myriad of life changes in the last 5 years, my job, my marriage, the Air Force and sending the kids to Afghanistan and to Okinawa, oh, you name it, I blamed it for my lethargy and my lack of motivation and fatigue. Well, it's got a name and now hopefully we can make some correction in my life.
So that's my story kids, hope it wasn't too boring for you.

I have been stitching a little bit. Not as much as I would like, I am working on smaller things and trying to finish up some WIPs that are nearly done but got tossed aside when the siren call of new things beckoned. I am working on the latest LHN snowman ornie, so cute!  And I need to finish With thy Needle and Thread's Blue and Brown pillow top so I can send it off to the incredibly talented Faye. And I need to finish off the Prairie Schooler, Christmas Eve, which is 95% done and the frame is waiting at Michaels.

It's a beautiful day in Upstate NY...I will be going out to do some gardening once it warms up a bit.
So that's all from my world.  I hope you have a wonderful week ahead and get some quality time stitching while watching your favorite team play football today. GO STEELERS!

Thanks for hanging in there with me.  Next time I will post stitchy pictures.

Long Time....

Sorry for the absence.  Life certainly knows how to get in the way of things.  Right now, I am concentrating on a health issue that cropped up recently.  It's a little scarey but I think I will be ok.  I am hoping that medications will control it and surgery will not be necessary.

The big news is that I will be a Gramma in December. My soldier and the lovely Jenna are having a little girl.  I am very happy for them and I can't wait!

Stitching is coming along.  I am working on a number of small things.  I don't seem to be able to concentrate on anything large right now, my poor samplers are languishing. But that's ok.
I did get Done By Me framed. I will take a picture soon. I also am closing in on finishing a Prairie Schooler and The Prim Sister's School of Needlework. The Prairie Schooler has mindless fill in stitching and The Prim Sister's is so close another night or two of stitching and it will be finished.  Not sure I'm going to turn it into scissorkeep, I'm thinking frame and hang it in my crafty room.

I know this post is boring but I did want to check in with you.  I visit all of your blogs regularly and  I am overwhelmed by your creativity and craftsmanship.  You all inspire me and I love it when I go OH MY!!! How wonderful!

I hope that I will be blogging a little more now and I am so looking for Autumn.  My favorite time of the year!  Thanks for stopping by and hey to all my new followers! Glad you all are here!

Memorial Day

Please remember that freedom isn't free.  Honor the fallen and honor those who serve today. 

Run to Marley's blog and read her touching post for Memorial Day.  And if you can, please support our troops in whatever way you can. We support the Wounded Warrior Project.  Yesteday, David and I had the priveledge to meet the members of the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team.  It was so hard to look at these young men and realize that they lost limbs to protect ME.  Most of them were my soldier's age or younger.  Selfless heroes.

These pictures were taken while my soldier was in Afghanistan.

God Bless all the fallen, the broken and those who serve selflessly today.  God bless their families, too.

Grrr--rr-EEEN Acres is the place to be!

FA- ARM living is the life for me!

Introducing, Lisa and Oliver!  Aren't they a happy couple?!



They are my sweet couple, tending their sheep!  And their puppies!



Done by Me

Merrily Beams

32ct Raw Linen

DMC over 2 threads

And now they are at Michaels getting settled into their new frame home.  When they come home to roost here, I will take a picture of them to show you. 

Hope you like them.  Now onto True Virtues!

Ahem....Hello???

Hello, all! 

First of all before I get into this post, I want to thank all of my followers for hanging with me!  I see I have new folks following this here blog, so I heartly welcome to you!  I'm glad your here!  And to my old friends,  pull up a seat and visit.  I love that you all are here!

I have pictures of a swap that I participated in on the Samplermakers forum.  Here is the pile o'goodies from Lynn!  I am tickled pink by her generosity and thoughtfulness!  She thought of everything that I like and I just love it all.

Lynn sent me a variety of thread, some very nice vintage-y fabric, buttons, trims, coffee, chocolate (that I ate promptly!) a needleminder, note pad, scissor fob, evenweave and a pattern that I don't have in my stash (Really? Is that possible?  HAHA!)

I have to say, if you don't belong to Samplermakers, run over there right now and sign up.  Hurry, hurry! You don't know what you are missing, the ladies are wonderful, the discussions are great, there's wonderfuls swaps and stitcher's challenges.  Lori from Notforgotten Farm does a wonderful job with the forum too!  So go now, shoo, shoo.  I'll be here when you get back.

Well, on to other things.  I was in slump.  I didn't stitch for a few weeks.  I just needed a little break.  I am back and  I am happy to say that the lovely little Merrily Beams piece is "this close" to being finished.  I can't wait to put the last stitch in her and I can't wait to show you the big finish!  I will have it done in time for my birthday in June so I can honestly say I met a commitment!  GO ME! 

I think part of my slump had to do with my self imposed, THOU SHALT  ONLY STITCH ON WIPS THIS YEAR rule.  Usually, I have a finish or 2 by now but not this year.  Stitching became drudgery.  I'd fondle my stash, visit (LURK) you all and drool over all the fun finishes you post. Then I'd come back to my stitching and let out a big sigh...oh woe, is me..EVERYONE is having fun stitching new things, all I have is this WIP to stitch....BIG SIGH. So I parked the needle, pulled out the Kindle and read 2 books in 2 weeks.  I read, "To Be Sung Underwater" (which I highly recommend) and The Hunger Games (which I blew through!).  And now, the siren needle has called my name and I picked up Oliver and Lisa this weekend and finished up the grassy area beneath them.  All's left now is the bottom border and the personalization.  And then, I think I'm going to work on True Virtue until it's done.  (Hear me, Connie?  TRUE VIRTUE). 
Come June, I will be adding an ornament to the stitching, I promised my soldier some handstitched ornaments for his and the lovely Jenna's Christmas tree. 
By this point, it should be almost Fall and I think I will finish up the Prairie Schooler piece that only has the snow beneath the houses to be stitched.  And then, I will work on I Sigh Not For Beauty.  and stitch some Fall things, cause Fall is my favorite time of the year.

Sound's like a plan, doesn't it?  Let's see if  I can stick to it.

I also have been kitting up samplers.  I've got Mary Gibson, Christmas Garden and 2 more waiting until I lift my moratorium on new starts.  And, I've been buying stash too.  Big surprise..NOT.
Anyway,  I am going to go for now.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me! 
Come back around soon!

Many Blessings,

Joanie