An Open Letter to Stacy Nash

Dear Stacy ...

I don't believe I've ever written to express my deep appreciation of your designing talent.  Without fail, every time I visit your pattern site there seems to be a new pattern singing its siren song to me.  "Buy me," it cries!  "Buy me!"  And I do   : )

I have stitched several of your patterns in this my third stitching life & they have always been a joy!  Well, most times they've been a joy.  I am reminded of your gorgeous Seek Joy In All Things Pinkeep Pillow design which I stitched & hold the finished product near & dear to my heart, but oy ... that big honkin' house!  I am not a fan of  big honkin' anything.  Big honkin' houses, big honkin' trees, big honkin' animals, etc.  I love seeing them, I love having them, but when I have to stitch them myself, I repeat, oy!  But this is not your fault, dear Stacy ... this fault lies with me alone.

A week or so ago I was perusing my chart filing system when I spotted your Winter Woolens Cupboard Pinkeep design.  My heart began to beat a little faster.  My breathing became labored.  My hands started to shake.  I mean honestly Stacy ... you had to have been inside my head when you designed this one!  Winter?  Woolens?  A reindeer? Quick!  Where's my needle?  Where's my DMC?  I couldn't start stitching it fast enough!  It looked like a pretty quick stitch, & it was going along very smoothly until the end when I discovered those cute little berries on the backstitched fir tree were none other than French knots.  FRENCH KNOTS!  Why, Stacy?  Why?  What on earth possessed you?  I know from past experiences that French knots & I are not good friends.  Sometime last year I had the great privilege to be introduced to Colonial knots & we bonded.  I comforted myself with the fact that I'd just make the substitution & my stitching life would continue along a happy path.  It didn't.  There are "only" 13 of these little knots in this particular design.  13. That number should've been a warning to me. Unlucky 13.  I started, frogged, restarted, frogged again, restarted again, frogged again ... well, you get the idea.  What in my memory seems like several lifetimes later I made the last Colonial knot, hid the end of my thread & whispered a little prayer that went something like "Thank God that's over!" Unfortunately for me, whenever I look at this cute little fir tree with 13 red berries on it I see nothing but a cute little fir tree with 13 great big fat ugly knots!

I have gently placed the completed stitching on my dining table (I can see it from where I'm typing now) & I guess I'm hoping that some little gnomes or fairies or elves will come in one night whilst I am asleep & re-do those knots for me.  However, these little creatures have never shown up to help me in the past & I don't have much faith that they will show up now.  I keep telling myself the obvious.  "Look here," I say!  "This is a primitive stitching!  PRIMITIVE!  Those knots are SUPPOSED to look like crap!"  However, my bigger & much stronger personality trait, Perfectionism, opens wide her critical eye & taunts me with my inadequacies.

I have never asked very much from you, dear Stacy.  Come to think of it, I've never asked you for anything at all!  But I'm asking you for something now.  Please!  I beg of you!  No more French knots!  

Respectfully yours,

Your fan, 

The Easily Influenced Stitcher 

More Birds!

It's not often that I do 3 posts in one day (& the congregation says AMEN!) but on my way to the kitchen I took a look outside to see if I needed to replenish the water in the birdbath & look what was getting a drink!

It's a Northern Flicker ... a female I think.  A type of woodpecker!  This one was getting a drink & it's partner was pecking on the ground but I couldn't get a good enough view of that one for a photo.  I had to swallow my pride when I showed John these photos. He has been telling me for a week or two that he has seen woodpeckers pecking around the yard.  Not on trees, mind you, but pecking on the ground itself.  He would call me when he "supposedly" saw these woodpeckers but by the time I'd get to the window they had mysteriously "flown away" so of course I had my doubts.  I mean honestly ... woodpeckers pecking on the ground?  With all the trees there are around here?  Well, today I am humbled as I did indeed watch 2 of these birds pecking at the ground.  I looked them up online & apparently they are one of very few woodpecker species who predominantly eat bugs from the ground.  They are beautiful to behold!  My pictures really don't do them justice.  

The consensus on the yellow bird I posted photos of earlier today is that it is a female Baltimore Oriole although it may also be a female Hooded Oriole.  Cool!

In the past 2 days alone we have been visited by cardinals, blue jays, bluebirds, robins, & some house finches.  Now we've got an oriole of some sort & a pair of flickers. Such fun   : )    

Does Anyone Know What This Bird Is?

This little beauty surprised us with a visit yesterday!  I have never seen him before.  He is a medium sized bird ... pretty much like a cardinal or a bluebird.  Finches are much smaller so he is not a finch.  Whatever he is, I hope he comes back!  

I will also share with you these photos of a bluebird taking a bath.  I love when I can capture them doing this   : )

Eli Crowe Mercantile

This trunk next to "Sophie's box" (photo can be seen at the end of this blog post) caught the attention of one of my followers.  This is an old trunk that some very talented person painted with an Americana/primitive theme. I was lucky enough to find it at a local prim shop shortly after we moved here.  I love Americana/patriotic type stuff & I fell in love with it   : )

It was rather difficult taking a photo because where I have the trunk displayed I have too much light coming in here & too many shadows coming in there, but hopefully you can get a pretty good idea of what it looks like.   As you can see, Sophie is continuing to enjoy "her box"   : )

When I sit in my stitching chair I see the trunk from this view although my view is, of course, a bit farther away than this.

I am constantly seeing a critter there on the side of the trunk.  I'm not referring to Sophie in front there   : )   Can you see the critter? Look closer.

See the moose?  I see him plain as day!  I've brought him to John's attention many times but John will stare & stare & not see him. He thinks I'm crazy!  Maybe Mr. Moose only reveals himself to me?

I keep my knitting yarn inside this trunk.  

I have another old trunk ... painted by the same person ... upstairs in what is supposed to be the guest room which is currently serving as a catch-all room.

I have no idea what this trunk looks like although I think it maybe ... maybe ... has a schoolhouse theme.  I put it there 3 years ago, placed that protective batting on the top of it, put that container of special blown glass Christmas ornaments on top of the batting along with an old Christmas quilt I made for our son when he was pre-K, & there it's all been ever since.  I suppose I should check it out sometime to see what it actually looks like.  It obviously wouldn't take a lot of effort to move that stuff off the top.  

I  must add, before any of you freak out, that although it looks like the sun is blazing through that window it really isn't.  The sun travels along the sides & front of our house, not the back ... & I do have some muslin fabric up there ... so the old quilt is not fading at all.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "Trunks in The Easily Influenced Stitcher's House" ... assuming I get the "oomph" to unearth this second one & take a few photos of it   : )  

It's Almost September!!!

Good morning & welcome to my new followers!  I thank all you newbies for coming by for a visit & deciding to stick around!  I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my established followers who continue to put up with me   : )   So glad to have you all here!

I am really excited about it almost being September!  Every day I look outside & I see more colors on the trees.  Not a lot of color, mind you, but it's definitely there.  It makes me want to do a September Dance!  I decided to have a look around the internet to see if there actually is a September Dance & I found this little ditty by Earth, Wind & Fire.  I have heard this song many times but never knew what the name of it was or that it mentioned anything about dancing in September.  Once again modern technology adds to my font of knowledge  : )

I initially assumed that anything relating to a September Dance was nonexistent & decided that I would share this other dance-related tune with you ... Safety Dance by Men Without Hats.  I think I have what would be termed an eclectic taste in music.  Andrea Bocelli to Janis Joplin ... Bert Kaempfert to the Bee Gees ...  the Soggy Bottom Boys to Perry Como.  Safety Dance is one of my all-time favorite songs.  I love the beat & I love the quirky video   : )

Last week I did something that I haven't done in a while.  I bought some stitching stash   : ) I am participating in an exchange & needed to buy an appropriate chart to stitch for my assigned person.  I found something on 123 Stitch that I hope she will like & while there I decided to treat myself to a couple things I have been wanting ... Bluebird Sampler by Threadwork Primitives, this year's PS Santa, & LHN's Hot Cocoa & Ding Dong Merrily on High.  I'm really looking forward to stitching all of these!  I hope to stitch at least one of them before Christmas but that remains to be seen since I am still working on my "4s."  I did, of course, also receive the chart I will be stitching for my assigned person in the exchange but I can't show you that right now   : )

Have a happy Sunday everyone!  I intend to do a little dance, make a little lunch, & get down tonight   : )

I Got My Nails Done!!!

Nothing tops off a blood testing, pancake breakfast morning like a little pampering.  It's been ages since I've had my nails done professionally so I decided to splurge today before I returned home.

I don't mean to sound like I'm stuck on myself or anything but don't they look lovely?  Okay, okay ... I'll admit it.  This isn't a photo of my nails.  I tried using the time lapse thingie on my camera to take a photo of my own hands but this is the result I ended up with.    

The pink sparkle color of the polish didn't even show up!  I don't know what's up with that   : (   Of course John was out on the town with me so he came into the salon to help me pick a color.  I had never been to this particular salon before.  Like I said above, it's been ages since I've had my nails professionally done.  Several years in fact. When the receptionist asked me which technician I wanted to see, I told her I wanted the best they had.  She told me their best was Eduardo.  It was a bit of a wait (Eduardo is very popular) but it was worth every minute because he did a great job! Luckily I had my camera in my purse & Eduardo agreed to let John take a photo while he worked on me.

Such patience!  Such attention to detail!  My nails flash like a disco ball while I'm stitching. I am having John play the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack as I'm continuing to work on my Stacy Nash.  So cool!!!

In reality I do have pink sparkle nails the same color as the first photo shows but I polished them myself.  You know how everyone has at least one "best feature?" I've always felt my nails were my best feature. I've had fun polishing them since I was in grade school & they've always grown healthy & strong but over the past couple years they've decided to break & split & peel & basically look like crap.  I stopped using polish because I thought letting the nails breathe for a while might help but it hasn't, so I decided to throw caution to the wind & resume using polish.

Here is a tip for all of you who have trouble growing your nails.  Use sparkle nail polish. It's like painting a layer or two of concrete on your nails which helps them resist breaking, splitting, etc.  

Okay ... I've got to end here & get back to Stacy.  The Bee Gees are telling me I should be stitching   : )

         

Wednesday Morning

The start of a new day   : )   Thus far my week has not gone as planned.  I had good intentions.  Lord knows I always have good intentions.  However, it is at times such as these, when my plans are not realized, that I am reminded of Robert Burns' poem, To A Mouse.  Was he talking about our Mouse? No. He wrote the poem in 1786 as an apology to a mouse when he was plowing a field & upturned her nest.  Me thinks Mr. Burns was quite clever   : )

But Mousie, you are not alone

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid plans of mice & men

Often go awry

And leave us naught but grief & pain,

For promised joy.

I've quoted an Americanized stanza since Mr. Burns was Scottish & naturally wrote the poem in 1700s Scottish prose.  He was a farmer who had an immense tolerance of all creatures.  He is probably best known by most people as the writer of Auld Lang Syne. I was familiar with the mouse poem & of course with Auld Lang Syne but never knew much about Mr. Burns.  He sounds like quite an interesting person.  I am looking forward to learning more about him one of these days   : )

Okay ... enough for the history lesson this morning   : )   I do have plans for today which involve nothing more than going to the hospital for my monthly/weekly/biweekly blood testing & then John & I are going to Cracker Barrel to enjoy a pancake breakfast.  We have both been obsessed with pancakes recently.  I think John is sometimes a bit embarrassed when the waiter takes my order & I add "extra butter & extra syrup."  My pancakes usually look like they are swimming on my plate.  I really ought to have them bring them to me in a bowl.  Anyway, I have no plans for today other than these 2 things although I certainly have more than enough jobs that need to be done inside the house, in the garage, in the yard, etc.  Maybe I'll add one of those to the mix   : )      

On Monday night I finished my fourth Joy Pinkeep (see Monday's IHSW post) & yesterday decided to mix things up a little.  I have been concentrating on Country Rustic Primitives designs, my goal being to make 4 of each Christmas design ... one to keep & the other 3 to sell in my handmades shop &/or give as gifts.  However, last night I decided to start a Stacy Nash design instead ... Winter Woolens Pinkeep.  I really love this design & it's stitching up quite nicely!  I may add it to my "Make 4" list   : )

We are leaving soon for the hospital/Cracker Barrel but I wanted to end this post with an example of how eagle eyed one of my followers is   : )   On Sunday I posted a photo of my dear little Sophie on a moving box which she has claimed as her own.  Click here if you want to read the story behind this.  Then on Monday I posted another photo of Sophie on "her box" (photo below) showing her looking very comfortable & content.  This morning I found a comment in my email box from Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  Jo noticed the advertisement on the side of the box ... "This Box is Designed for Multiple Uses" ... & asked if "cat bed" was one of them   : )   I love it   : )

August IHSW Report

Good morning!  It's the start of a brand new week!  Let's hope it's a good one for all of us  : )

I did as much stitching this past weekend as I could do.  My eye is definitely much better after a week of drops.  I was so happy with how things were going on Friday that I probably stitched more than I should have & so I decided to keep my stitching to a minimum on Saturday & Sunday.  Still, I completed 3 of the planned 4 Country Rustic Primitives Joy Pinkeep design   : )   Below is a photo of one I made for a gift last Christmas, & the photo following that one shows the 3 stitchings I completed this weekend.

Lots of sunshine streaming through the door there so these stitchings look way too bright. In real life they are much more subdued   : )

I shared a photo yesterday of Sophie enjoying what has become "her box."  This is what I usually see in the mornings when I get up.

I envy how comfortable she is looking there   : )   Yep, looks like this is going to be "her box" for quite some time.

If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd 'Ve Baked A Cake!

A song made popular by Eileen Barton (hit #1 on the charts in 1950) that came to my mind this morning as I decided to bake a cake even though no one ever comes here.  It's not much of a cake ... a small box of Mrs. Fields White Chocolate mix topped with Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White Frosting (gag). I'm not a big fan (not a fan at all actually) of canned icing but I couldn't find the frosting mix I always used in the past so I decided to try this.  It looked good on the label & it's actually not too bad in real life. It's edible which is the important thing.  I can't remember the last time I made a cake. Eaten cake ... yes; made a cake ... I can't remember   : )   Once again it's not much to look at.  Rather plain, but I like plain.  I am plain.  Shirlee Plain & Tall.  Sounds like a good title for a Hallmark movie   : )

Dinner today is going to be a reprise of our Killer Potatoes (see detailed posts here & here).  We haven't had these for a while & our hearts & hineys say "Thank you!"  Ah, but these Killer Potatoes are SO good!!!  I think I am more excited about eating these than the cake   : )

I hope you have found something yummy to stuff your tummy with today   : )

Sunday Morning

Good morning!  First of all I want to welcome my new followers!  This is something I usually neglect to do publicly.  What a rude, ungrateful loser I must appear to be! From now on, public welcoming will be the norm   : )

Remember not long ago I mentioned that an iris was getting ready to bloom in my garden?  Well, here it is!

Isn't it gorgeous?  The name is Immortality & it is a re-bloomer!  When John & I bought some daylily plants from Willie's daylily farm back in June, she has several plants other than daylilies scattered here & there around her yard.  She was in the process of dividing some of them & asked me if I liked irises.  I said yes & she gave me this nice cutting! Just gave it to me!  What a sweet person she is   : )   I'm so glad it has survived!  There are quite a few other blooms on the plant right now & I just remembered that there is supposed to be a nice fragrance to it as well.  I'll have to take a whiff the next time I am outside   : )

Since I was outside with my camera I decided to take a few other photos.  These next 2 show my bittersweets growing along the back fence which cuts across our property at about the 1/3 mark ... 1/3 of the property being where the house is located & the other 2/3 being behind this fence.  The bittersweets look pretty ratty I'm afraid. They started growing beautifully in the spring but then we had a few nights of really heavy frosts which hit them hard. Only one plant has a few berries on it (2 berries to be exact).  If you look closely you can seem them in the center of the second photo. I know I bought an even amount of male & female plants so I'm not sure if the plants were marked incorrectly & I ended up buying 1 female & all the rest males or if this is just another result of the frosts.

This next photo shows our red crepe myrtle which we purchased at a 50% off plant sale recently.  We don't have a lot of luck with myrtles.  They stay alive but they don't bloom.  The only reason this one is blooming (as well as a pink one we bought that day but haven't planted yet) is because it had blooms on it when we bought it.  I don't know what's wrong with our soil but it apparently has too much or not enough of something.  I'll have to look into this & hopefully next year we will have prolific bloomers like everyone else around here does   : )

Next is a photo of our tricolor butterfly bush.  I'm not sure where the tricoloring is ... I only see 2 colors.  It's still pretty though   : )

This is my Russian sage.  Oh how I love this plant!  It has the most wonderful fragrance! It also started growing beautifully in the spring but became another victim of the heavy frosts.  It looked so bad that I ended up cutting away most of it.  I am truly amazed that it came back so beautifully!  It really overtakes the area where it is planted now.  Next spring or perhaps late this fall I will need to move it to some other area of the yard.  

I think it was last week that I mentioned I had to cut down many of the plants in my butterfly garden because they had reached an early end to their growing season.  I regret doing this because several days later someone posted on their blog about how finches enjoy eating the seeds from dead coneflowers.  I did not know this   : (   I will remember it next year for sure!  That black-eyed Susan there in the center needs to be moved to another spot.  I had no idea that Susans grow so large & overtake the area where they are planted!  

I have saved the very best outdoor photo for last   : )   Lookie-lookie!  Fall is starting to make a bit of an appearance!  Oh happy day   : )

I will leave you with one final photo.  I brought this moving box marked "flea market" in from the garage about a month ago.  I sat it next to the steps so John or I could take it upstairs to join the others the next time one of us went up there.  However, Sophie decided to use it as a resting place.  She will usually make a box her own when a new one suddenly shows up in the house so this didn't surprise me.  I figured she'd enjoy it for a few days & then become bored with it & then I could take it upstairs.  Her attention span for a new box usually doesn't last very long.  However, for some reason she really, really likes this box!  I hate to take it away from her so it will be a part of our livingroom decor for a while.  Doesn't she look cute   : )

IHSW weekend is going along pretty well for me!  I am doing more stitching than I thought I would be able to do.  My eye is feeling so much better!  Love those drops   : )   I am being careful not to overdo it even though I am already feeling the panic of Christmas fast approaching & my need for gifts & sales items for wherever I end up opening a shop. Argh!!!!!

I'm going to ask you for prayers again.  John has been having a rough time of it for the past several days.  It is unfortunate that the specialist the VA assigned to him is of questionable intelligence   : (   It would be so nice if he had a "good" doctor but that's not the case.  Over the past several years I have wondered how some doctors continue to stay in practice.  That's another story though.  Anyway, if it's not too much of an imposition would you please add John to your prayer list?  I'm sure this is just a specifically rough patch he needs to get through but these rough patches are presenting themselves more & more   : (

I hope you enjoy what remains of your weekend & I wish you a wonderful week ahead!  

Marly the Magnificient!

Queen of Creativity!

High Priestess of Ideas!

Diva of Design!

The list goes on & on!

Last month ... July 21 to be exact ... I posted about some strange fluff that gathers underneath my furniture, adhering to the furniture legs like it's adhering to fly paper.  I have never seen fluff like this in any place I've ever lived but I've been plagued with it since we moved here a little over 3 year ago. I have wood floors & do keep up with the dusting but within a few days of having dust-free floors I suddenly see this fluff everywhere.  My only guess was that it was coming from the furnace unit.  However, when the repair guys were here last month to fix the air conditioner I scooped up a handful of this fluff from the floor & asked the head guy what it was.  He said he had no idea.  I asked if it was perhaps coming from the air vents but he said that was unlikely since air filters would prevent that from happening.  Several followers suggested that it was dryer lint but I knew that was not the case.  I suppose it sort of resembles a conglomeration of dryer lint in the photo I shared but it is not anywhere near the consistency of dryer lint.  It is instead light & airy & very, very strange.

Marly ... wise, wonderful Marly ... suggested that I place cheese cloth or a thin screen inside all the air vents indicating that if the fluff was indeed coming from the furnace in any way it would accumulate on the screen/cloth & my home would be fluff free. A stroke of genius!  I did as she suggested.  I also made sure before beginning this experiment that all floors were fluff free.  A few days later ... when there would normally be fluff under the furniture ... there was none. It has now been almost a month.  I have not dusted the floors even once in this time period & guess what.  No sign of fluff anywhere!

Now it's time to figure out where this fluff is coming from (obviously the furnace unit or perhaps the air vents themselves), why it's coming from there, & what it is!  

IHSW & Other Stuff

It's another IHSW weekend!  (Check the link on my sidebar for more information.)  Is it just me or is time zooming along rather quickly this year?  Here it is the middle of August already!  The local kids went back to school on the 14th.  The mornings/evenings are a bit cooler ... high 60s ... & the days have been topping out in the low to mid 80s as of late.  We are entering what is for me the best time of the year.  My whole outlook on life changes when September/October rolls around & I am giddy with delight in November/December   : )   The only thing that is tainting my upcoming joy is the big black dieting cloud hanging over my head.  I have been trying to motivate myself to return to a life of healthy eating since May & I am failing with every attempt.  I know from past experience that if I'm not motivated to diet then no attempt will be successful.  I realize that my excess weight is contributing to my health issues so I really need to stop pussyfooting around.  If you wouldn't mind saying a prayer for me regarding this, I'd really appreciate it   : )

Perhaps it is sacrilegious of me to post a knitting book review on IHSW weekend but over the past week or so I have been reading No Idle Hands - The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. Macdonald & I am enjoying it immensely!  At first glance it appears to be a rather daunting book ... 484 pages ... but 123 of those pages are notes, bibliography, & index.  Of course it deals with the history of knitting & I suppose it's a no brainer that if you aren't interested in knitting you probably aren't going to find this book of interest either.  However, it is a fascinating, historically accurate picture of women coming to this country in colonial times & how they treasured their knitting skills so much that space was made for spinning wheels in the cramped quarters of sailing vessels.  You read about how the pioneer women knitted as they traveled west.  There are excerpts from letters & diaries where these women describe their difficulty in leaving friends, parents, & siblings, but also their anticipation of a better life in an unknown part of the country.  They write about their happiness when they would set up camp at night & find other women to talk & knit with.  They write about people dying during the journey & the heartbreak of having to bury loved ones & leave them behind in stone covered graves. They write about their fears of being captured or killed by "savages."  The book describes the important place knitting held in the lives of women (& men & children as well) during the Civil War & World War I.  I have now begun the chapter on the place that knitting held in the 1930s.  I am soaking up all this information like a sponge soaking up water.  I'll admit it ... I'm a history buff. The most fascinating account of crafting history I have ever read has been the history of bobbin lace.  This book about the history of knitting is just as fascinating to me   : )

I don't know how much cross stitching I will get done this weekend.  Although my eye is getting better it still feels quite uncomfortable if I do too much close work.  I am faithfully using my drops which are helping a lot.  I'm sure I'll get in at least a few stitches though   : )   I wish you all a very happy weekend!    

Cookies To Die For : )

Last week my sweet & thoughtful stitching friend Edgar did a post about cookies.  Just seeing the word "cookies" in the title sparked my interest.  I do love a good cookie   : )   Edgar posted about 2 cookies in particular. You need to know up front that before he started describing these cookies he said "I am not really a fan of cookies."  For someone who is not a fan of cookies to post about cookies, you just know it's going to be an interesting read   : )   One of the cookies, a dark chocolate yummy from Keebler, did indeed look good & I was sure I could find here.  The other cookie I have never seen for sale or even advertised here or any other place where I've ever lived or visited ... & we all know I've been around   : )   This second cookie really intrigued me ... a cookie by Mother's Cookies called Taffy.  Edgar indicated that these have always been his all time favorite store bought cookie.  As I read the description I became more & more excited, especially when I read  "What's so great about Taffys is that they are coconut flavored cookies with a slightly sweet vanilla cream filling!!"  Vanilla cream?  Coconut flavored?  All time favorite store bought cookie?  As I sat here drooling uncontrollably I commented about how luscious they did indeed look.  Next thing you know, Edgar tells me he is going to send me a package to try ... & he did!  They arrived yesterday!  Please excuse the less than stellar photograph.  My hands were shaking as I held the camera because I couldn't wait to rip into the package to try one   : )  

Here is a photo from Edgar's post of 2 of the cookies on a lovely woven napkin.  I don't think he'd mind me posting it here   : )

These cookies are indeed wonderful!  No, they are beyond wonderful!  Not at all what you'd expect from a store bought cookie! Although I am a big fan of cookies, I am not really a fan of store bought cookies.  I have, of course, tried many store bought cookies over the years & I do buy them every now & then but they are always "hooch cookies."  I know the word "hooch" is usually applied to liquor ... cheap inferior liquor to be exact ... but somewhere along the line I started using the word "hooch" for anything cheap or inferior.  "Cheap hooch cookies" for example, or "cheap hooch yarn" or "cheap hooch shoes."  You get the idea.  But there is absolutely nothing cheap or hooch-like about these cookies!  They are very rich & absolutely delicious!

Thank you for the cookies, Edgar, for your thoughtfulness, & for adding yet another addiction to my life   : )

Update on Me Eye

Ahoy, me hearties!

Came home from seeing me eye doctor & I looked pretty good!

Okay, okay ... this ain't me.  Ye can tell cause me eyes ain't brown ... lol!

Aaaarrrgggghhhh!

This pirate language is a bit tough so let me break character ... character I don't even have because I didn't get a patch.  Poor John ... lol!  What I did get are some eye drops.  The doctor said I am fortunate because I did not hit my cornea with the hairbrush.  I just did a bit of damage to the white of my eye right next to the cornea.  All should be well within a week or so using the drops 4 times a day.  He also told me of my good fortune at not whacking my eye with a hot curling iron or grabbing a tube of crazy glue by mistake & using that rather than eye drops ... problems he swears patients have presented him with a surprising number of times in the past.   Central Kentucky.  I'm not surprised.    

Many thanks for all your concern & prayers. I will see to stitch another day   : )

4 Winners, Not 2!!!

It has been one flippity-floppity time since the contest deadline.  As I stated the other day, I was having a difficult time choosing between simple, matter of fact names & the more colorful ones.  Both types have something going for them.  

I did, up until the moment I started writing this post, intend to go with more colorful names.  However, I have decided to instead go with more matter of fact names.  Simple names that pretty much spell out what someone is going to see when they visit my shops.  The name I have chosen for my primitive/decor shop was the very first name suggested to me for this shop.  As soon as I read it I thought "That's it!"  I wavered ... then wavered another time or two ... but I really do think it is the best name.  Therefore ... the name for the shop where I will sell primitive/decor items is ...

Shirlee's Primitive Offerings

Submitted by

Michelle - Michelle's StitchCraft Place

Thank you Michelle   : )

Wanting to carry on with the theme of a simple name that pretty much spells out what someone is going to see when they visit my shop, I had to concentrate on what it is I'm going to offer in that shop.  What I'm going to offer in my second shop is crafting supplies.  I then asked myself what would be the best word to use other than "shop" or "store.  I was torn between two choices but decided on the word "mercantile."  Therefore ... the name for the shop where I will sell crafting supplies is ...

Shirlee's Crafting Mercantile

But wait!  No one suggested the name Shirlee's Crafting Mercantile!  What to do, what to do?  I decided to go through the entries to see if anyone suggested a name using the words "Crafting Mercantile."  No one did.  I then thought that the most fair thing to do would be to go through the entries once more & pick a name from the people who used the word "crafting" & the people who used the word "mercantile."  Only 2 people suggested a name including the word "crafting" & only 5 people suggested a name using the word "mercantile."  I decided to write the names of these people on pieces of paper, mix them around & have 2 drawings ... one for each word.  That is what I did.  The following 2 names were drawn.

Crafting

Submitted by 

June - Butterfly Wings

Mercantile

Submitted by

Jean - Prim Crafts

Thank you June & Jean   : )

A little added perk for me ... within all the names submitted I found the name I want to use for the shop where I will sell my handcrafted items!  This shop will be on a primitives selling site such as Simply Primitives or Lemon Poppy Seeds.  If you know of any other selling sites like these I would really appreciate hearing about them ... also your bad/good experiences if you happen to be a seller on any of these sites. Anyway, back to the name.  The name of my shop where I will sell primitive handcrafted items is going to be ...

Bittersweet Farm Primitives

Submitted by

Peggy Lee - Kentucky Sampler

Thank you Peggy Lee   : )

My thanks to everyone who spent time thinking of names & submitting them   : )    

Stuff - But No Contest Winners Yet

Fear not ... I have chosen a winner in the primitives/decor shop category but am needing to "work" on the craft supplies name a bit.  I have a couple avenues I can follow but the winners will be announced either this afternoon or this evening.  Thank you for bearing with me   : )

I am about ready to head off to the eye doctor.  Yes, another doctor appointment, one which was not in this week's plans until a few moments ago.  On Saturday I was my usual uncoordinated self & while using my round bristle hairbrush to blow dry my bangs ... same as I've done for years & years & years ... I somehow brought the brush up to do another pass through the bangs but ended up whacking myself ... hard ... in my wide-open right eye instead.  Ouch!  My eye watered & hurt for quite a while.  It was of course the weekend.  Not much I could do about it.  Noticed later a strange "bump" to the right of my iris.  It started out small, got bigger, & now has shrunk back down a bit but it looks kind of like a yellow blister & is definitely noticeable.  Since it's still there & bothersome to boot I decided to call the eye doctor's office & was told I had better come in this morning.  Maybe I'll get to play the part of a female pirate for a while.  John might like that   : )

Before I go, I wanted to share with you a new punchneedle goodie which I purchased from Ronda at Simple Thyme Prims.

Sorry about the shadows.  I couldn't get the straight on photo to not have them. Anyway, isn't it wonderful!  I so love punchneedle things & I love Ronda's work.  She had posted a photo of one of these on her blog a week ago, advertising that she had placed it in her Etsy shop, but I saw the post too late & missed out on it.  I sent her an email & said how disappointed I was to have missed it.  I was thrilled when she responded & said that she had actually made 2 of them   : )   I love punchneedle, I love birds, & I love ditty bags so WOO-HOO!  

Okay ... gotta go.  See you (I hope) later   : )