6 Hours In A Dentist's Chair

This is going to be a bit of a quickie post just so you all know I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth if you don't see any posts or comments from me for the next day or two.  Yesterday morning I had a dentist appointment at 9 o'clock to get 2 temporary crowns & a temporary bridge placed.  6 hours later I was finally on my way home!  I have no idea why it took so long except my dentist is a perfectionist & takes her time to make sure things are done right.  Granted, this in itself is a good thing ... but she turned over the final cementing of the temporaries to her assistant who doesn't seem to have quite the same work ethic as she does.  The assistant cemented the temporaries on a bit unevenly & one crown doesn't even meet my gum line.  I didn't notice this until last night when the anesthetic had worn off.  I've also got some kind of blisters or something on the inside of my upper lip which are not pleasant to say the least.  Lots of pain & discomfort although this is caused by the teeth, not by the blisters   : (   I need to go to Lexington in a few hours to take care of some medical stuff so I'm going to try to call the dentist when I get back & see if I can come back into the office for her to see this.  I've got a doctor appointment on Wednesday morning, a possible optometrist appointment on Thursday, & more problems than you can shake a stick at that I need to make calls about to try to get taken care of.  Argh!

On the way to the dentist's office I stopped at a red light on my way into Danville & saw these forsythia bushes.  I just had to grab my new camera out of my purse to snap them.  This is the main road into the city of Danville heading east.  The buildings you can sort of see on the right side are part of Centre College.  As soon as I got my camera out of its case & turned it on the light changed so I had to take this picture really quick.  It still turned out pretty good, all things considered.

We have a forsythia bush in our yard but it just has a few green leaves on it right now.  These particular bushes in this photo are always rather spectacular when they bloom.  

That's it.  I told you this was going to be quick.  I'll check in again as soon as I can.

More Photos

Nothing majorly exciting in general ... & only 3 ... but here are some photos I took while John & I were wandering about the property this afternoon.  Alas, it was almost 70 degrees & before we had even reached the gate to "the back 40" (which is actually the back 11 or 12) I was already miserably hot.  Oh how I dread the warm weather months   : (

While on the back 11 or 12 we saw a neighbor's cow in the distance ... a black one.  Then we saw a brown one.  We haven't seen them before & they looked rather young so I'm guessing they are new residents to the area.  (As you can see, neighbors aren't too neighborly around here.)  The young cows were very inquisitive.  I'm assuming this was because it was their first time seeing us as well   : )   I thought about walking down along the fence to where they were in order to properly introduce myself but it would've involved more walking in the aforementioned sweltering almost 70 degree heat & I promptly decided "forget it."  Instead I used the zoom on my camera once again & took a photo of the black cow.  The brown cow had decided to play hide & seek behind a tree.

After re-entering through the gate I got these 2 closeups of flowers growing in my weed gardens.  Morticia Addams would be horrified!

I probably could've attempted to try taking these photos even closer but did not want to spend any more time in the oppressive heat than I had to.    

It appears we have gremlins or perhaps poltergeists in the garage.  Remember that flat tire on our riding mower?  It actually went flat last fall.  We had to search all over the central Kentucky area to find a replacement tire & did find one in late October/early November I believe but, masters of procrastination that we are, we never did anything with it.  We thought about it a few times the past month or two but never followed through.  About a week or so ago we actually attempted putting on the new tire.  What we discovered was that although the tire was the correct size, the rim was for an entirely different mower.  On Wednesday we ended up taking the new tire & the flat tire to a local tire shop where they simply pulled off the new tire & placed it on the old rim.  This morning we put the new tire on the riding mower & all was well.  I decided to start the mower so we could attach the little wagon to it to pull some stuff down to "the back 11 or 12."  The mower wouldn't start.  It made a noise but wouldn't turn over.  John said we should just let it go & try again later.  It's later now.  We went out to try to start it again but when I sat on the seat something didn't feel quite right.  The mower was leaning.  Can you believe that tire is flat again?  What in the world is happening here?  I'm going to call the repair place tomorrow & just have them come to cart it away to give it a good tune-up & figure out what's happening with the tire.  This is beyond weird.  Meanwhile I looked up the nearest mowing service to see if we can get them to do the mowing.  Hopefully they will actually answer the phone when I call, talk with me & schedule a time to come here to give us an estimate,  & then actually show up when they say they will.  Wish me luck with that.  Things don't usually follow this pattern in central Kentucky.     

Photography Tryouts

Please bear with me but I will probably be posting bunches of photos of any old thing for a few days to see if this new camera is worth keeping.  If you have any opinions, good or bad, I would love to hear them.  The following photos were just "quickies" I zipped around the house taking in the past 15 minutes or so.  I still don't actually know what I'm doing or what all these camera settings are for.  I guess I need to read the online manual.  I consider this to be one of the irritations of life by the way ... online manuals.  Granted, in the big scheme of things it's not that important ... & I know the "in" thing to do is to try to save trees ... but it's so much more convenient to have a manual in your hands so you can look things up any old time, highlight stuff, etc.  Anyway, let me know what you think of these photos.  Again they were taken quickly with me not really knowing what I was doing for the most part.

These bird photos were taken using the zoom capability through the dirty window of the back door.  The first bird is a mourning dove.  They are such sweet birds.  The second is of course a male cardinal.  I think this camera has one of those "rapid fire" type things where you can take a whole string of pictures within a matter of seconds.  I'll have to check into that as it's a bit difficult standing with a camera focused on a bird until it ends up in somewhat of a nice pose which can change in a nanosecond   : )   Just thought of something ... when photographing birds does one say to the bird "Watch the human!" like we tell people to "Watch the birdie?"

Again, these photos were taken quickly.  No staging or setup or other such things.

I know I promised someone to post a couple photos of some of my Polish pottery.  Here are 2 quickies.

Here is another piece of Polish pottery with some prim crafted pears inside.  I wouldn't have minded buying more of these pears but this was all the person had in her booth at one of the prim gift shops near here.  I know I can always go back & ask the owners of the shop to ask her if she would make a few more for me.  Maybe I will   : )

I've already posted a photo of this Winter cross stitch which I received in the Winter Seasonal Exchange group.  It was stitched for me by Conny who lives in The Netherlands.  However, the Wool punchneedle ditty bag I purchased from the Primitive Handmades Mercantile,  crafted by Ronda Tedder, is new.  I love it!

Hmmmm ... I just noticed that the colors could've been better.  I didn't think to do any adjustments in Picasa.  Still, it's the clarity I'm aiming for for please forgive any washed out look these photos have.

This last photo is another promise I made to show someone ... maybe the same person I promised to show the Polish pottery to   : )  

And there you have it folks   : )   Honest criticism/suggestions will be very much appreciated!  

Rambling

Good morning one & all!  It's actually almost noon.  Time tends to get away from you when (A) you're me, & (B) you wake up at 3 a.m. after a fitful 3-1/2 hours of sleep.  What did I do after getting out of bed at such an ungodly hour?  Frogged & restitched.  I started a new project last night & I knew after I had gotten a few letters stitched that it was going to be too big.  The designer used 30 ct linen & stitched over 2 (I think) so that's what I did.  I wanted to make this stitching into a pinkeep but by stitching it over 2 it would've had to have been finished into a small pillow.  I knew it was going to be "too big" but I kept stitching anyway.  Perhaps I need to see a psychiatrist what with this "you start it, you finish it" approach I have even when I see something isn't quite right.  Anyway, when I got up at 3 a.m. I sat down & frogged the 4 words I had stitched & then started from scratch, this time stitching over 1.  I think it will work out much better   : )

I mentioned the other day that I would post a photo of my completed Pineberry Lane JOY stitchings soon.  Here it is.

I do a pretty lousy job of staining as you can see.  I need to get some hooch linen one of these days & just spend a few hours staining.  These pieces were stained with almost an entire bottle of Distress It.  It's kinda-sorta okay but not really.  Not the look I was going for.  I haven't had much luck with tea or coffee staining.  My coffee staining is particularly amateurish & always has an "Oh!  You spilled coffee on that!" look about it.  I've also laid a big goose egg with walnut crystals.  There aren't really any other staining avenues open to me I don't think ... thus the thought of getting some hooch linen.

Hooch, I know, is actually a noun meaning inferior liquor or liquor that is illegally made.  "Uncle Clem done sold his hooch to dem dere revenewers."  However, for some reason I have always used it as an adjective to describe something inferior or as a noun referring to anything inferior in general.  No one else in my family speaks like this nor do any of my friends.  It's not intentional.  It's just what I've always done.  Hooch linen would be inferior linen ... linen you really wouldn't want to spend your time stitching on.  I've also always used the term "don't hack it up."  When I would lend something to friends when I was a teenager I'd always hand it over with the admonition "don't hack it up" meaning, of course, don't mess it up.  Maybe what I've heard is true.  Maybe I really am not of this world   : )

If you don't mind, please take another look at my photo above.  What do you think?  Is it clear?  I received my new camera the other day & this is the first photo I took with it.  I'm not seeing any crystal clarity.  I don't think it's "bad" or glaringly blurry but please correct me if I'm missing something.  I know I can't base a camera's performance on one photograph so I will play around with it further & see if I can grace you in the future with photographs like I've seen some other bloggers posting.  

My sweet husband is quite the adventurist when it comes to buying DVDs & CDs.  He doesn't have to be familiar with the recording artists or know anything about the movie plot.  Oftentimes he will purchase them based solely on an interesting photo on the insert or even an interesting title.  One of the things he enjoys buying are "For Your Consideration" Emmy DVDs.  The way I understand it, these DVDs are sent to members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences so they will be better informed when voting for who gets an Emmy award.  Each of these DVDs usually has at least one episode of a few shows seen on TV.  There are times when they have 3 or 4 episodes of the same show.  You just never know.  John & I don't watch "real" television for several reasons.  We instead watch shows on DVD.  These Emmy DVDs have sometimes led us to purchase a season of some television show we wouldn't have considered seeing otherwise.  Neither of us are interested in reality shows or what I always refer to as modern day Ted Mack Amateur Hours (Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, etc), but the other night we were watching one of these Emmy DVDs & what to our wondering eyes did appear but a show called The Voice.  It was just one episode & I don't know if you can judge all the episodes by this one but it was quite entertaining in this small dose.  It was kind of like The Voice is to American Idol like Paris, Kentucky is to Paris, France.  So what's the purpose of my telling you all this?  It's because sometimes I watch people & I think where in the world was I when God was handing out beauty, brains, & talent?  I know where I probably was ... down at the penny candy store loading myself up with a few of these & a few of those.  Now don't you think I'm putting myself down here.  I do have some talent (I can type faster than anyone I've ever met), I'm kind of smart in some things (although I've just spent a good 15 minutes trying to think of what those things are & I've come up empty ... obviously I'm not smart at remembering things), & I know for a fact that my face wouldn't actually stop a clock.  However, I'm talking about "real" brains, beauty, & talent ... particularly those of us in the human race who have an overabundance of all three.  Sometimes you'll meet a really smart person, or a really talented person, or a really beautiful person ... but someone possessing all three of these attributes?  Was God not paying attention sometimes when He gave out these gifts or what?  Now don't think you need to write me comments telling me about beauty being on the inside & how it's not how smart or talented you are, it's how you treat others that matters.  I know all that.  Also please don't think you need to write me comments telling me that it's biblically against God's nature to not pay attention.  I know that too.  But you've got to admit that these triple-threat people can really knock you off your feet sometimes.  Let's return to The Voice.  A young teenage girl was a contestant on this particular episode.  She was, as the saying goes, "drop dead gorgeous" & "cute as a button" at the same time.  She had a singing voice that was like that of the angels.  She accompanied herself ... beautifully ... on the guitar.  She wrote her own music.  She was in all the advanced classes at school.  To top it off, she was genuinely nice.  Talk about a bunch of Grade A eggs being in one basket!  I am not posting this out of envy or jealousy or anything like that ... just making an observation.

John & I decided against going to the casino in West Virginia.  The weather here yesterday was quite "yucky" so we did some things around the house instead.  I'm sitting here as I write this looking out the window at the grass growing more & more profusely in the yard & the huge crop of wild onions mixed in with it.  I've never heard of wild onions but that's what these are.  We initially thought that perhaps onions were planted on this land once upon a time but then we saw these wild onions growing along the sides of the roads, in other peoples yards, in fields, etc.  Kentucky has a lot of "things" that are native to itself I think.  We've lived in many states & visited many more as well as countries overseas, but there are "things" here in Kentucky that you just don't see or experience anywhere else.  We always make the observation "it's a Kentucky thing" or "it must be a Kentucky thing" when we come up against these things.  I think this crazy proliferation of wild onions is "a Kentucky thing."  

I think with that I'll end my rambling   : )

Cross Stitch Designers - Color Blind, or Sick Sense of Humor?

I have been rather busy the past couple days.  Just the usual stuff ... getting the house ready to sell, my never-ending dance with insurance companies, medical/dental stuff, & of course there's the general day-to-day housekeeping we all enjoy so much.  I've also spent time stitching.  I finished the Pineberry Lane JOY stitchings I had been working on.  They needed to be stained & the snowflakes needed to be stitched & now they are all done   : )   I will show you a photo of them soon.

Remember the mystery project I was working on?  I finally received the WDW Navy floss I ran out of & now that project is finished as well!  A photo of this one will have to wait because it's going to be a gift.

I've also been working on a new project.  Once again I cannot share a photo yet (another gift).  I will, however, tell you about my stitching experience.  This is where we need to ponder the question in my post title.  Cross stitch designers ... color blind, or sick sense of humor?  I don't think I'm going to give anything away by telling you that there is a sheep in this design.  I gathered together the floss which the designer said was used to stitch the model.  I don't think so!  I thought the color choices were a bit odd.  The two main colors used are DMC 3032, Medium Mocha Brown, & DMC 3021, Very Dark Brown Gray.  I thought it was a bit strange that to my eyes the colors reeked of green.  I checked & rechecked the pattern instructions & the labels on the skeins of DMC.  I was not comfortable but decided to go with the designer's choices.  After all, the designer knows best, right?

The DMC 3021 is more of a dark green with some dark gray overtones.  This was not too much of a traumatic experience since it is mostly used for the wording & border.  However, DMC 3021is used for the sheep, & no matter what the online DMC charts will show you it is actually more of a light pea green.  I should have listened to my stomach when I pulled these skeins out of my floss collection.  I should have returned them to the collection & promptly looked for more appropriate colors, especially for the sheep.  However, again I thought "the designer knows best" so I started stitching.  Needless to say I was uncomfortable with these color choices even before I began stitching but I forged ahead & completed the stitching even though I could see that poor little sheep was not looking anywhere near the color of any sheep I have ever seen.  Not only that but the designer chose DMC 355, Dark Terra Cotta, for the sheep's muzzle area.  DMC 355 is actually quite red.  What I ended up with was a green sheep with a red muzzle area.  Freddy Krueger Visits the Farm.  I suppose it's possible that the only sheep this designer ever saw in her entire life was one who was extremely nauseous & had been gnawing on a barbed wire fence for a couple days.  That seems rather unlikely though.  The other possibility is that this particular designer has a sick sense of humor.  I can see her now, putting together her Floss Table & laughing as she pictured people stitching green sheep with red muzzles.  Anyway, I ended up unstitching the sheep & choosing my own colors.  Edith looks much more real now   : )  

I will continue stitching Edith today & I've already got my next 2 projects picked out.

Can you believe how quickly March is moving along?  Although I have accomplished quite a bit as far as the house goes there is still a lot to be done.  Be that as it may, we are going to have an overnighter at a casino in West Virginia tomorrow.  Once or twice a year we go to a casino, stay overnight & spend about 20 bucks playing penny slot machines.  It's a few hours of entertainment & it's nice to get away.  Sometimes we actually come home with a dollar or two more than we left with!  There are also medical/dental appointments this week, next week, & the week after that.  By the end of all that activity March will be over!  Then we can start the April appointments!  Also this month we are planning a visit to Iron Mountain, Michigan for a couple days for some business we need to take care of.  As some of you know, John & I used to live there.  It is a little "nothing" sort of town, far away from just about anything really (the closest "real" mall was in Appleton, Wisconsin which is a 2-1/2 hour drive) but there are many good things about it & I would move back there in a heartbeat if I could.  John, however, resists that idea.  Michigan is a very expensive state in many ways.  Be that as it may, I am hoping that as we drive around the area he will see that it is worth moving back there.  We shall see.  Heaven knows there's no limit to where we could move although John refuses to move anywhere out of the United States.  Men can be so stubborn sometimes!

Mouse Giveaway

Carol Stuck, mouse maker extraordinaire, is having a giveaway to celebrate her 1 year blogoversary & this is the gift you can have a chance to win!

Carol's mouse creations are amazing!  Click here to pay her a visit   : )

Just A Very, Very, Very Quick Question

Just a quick (very, very, very quick) question this morning regarding the new word verification.  Does anyone know exactly when the new word verification went into effect?  I need a specific date or at least the week it began.

We are predicted to have the chance of more tornadoes today & tonight.  I did wake up to a dilly of a storm but not a tornado.  The sky is dark right now but not menacing.    I checked the weather map & our area is in the white section which apparently means we are beyond the red alert.  I've never seen a white section used before!

The plan for today is to work more on getting the house ready to sell.  As you may remember I had John bring the yard sale boxes in from the garage & put them upstairs.  My hope was to go through them & find a bunch of "blah" stuff that would not excite anyone at a yard sale at which point I would've skipped happily to the car with the boxes & driven them to Goodwill to get them out of my hair.  However, as I would open each box I would exclaim "WOW!" & then immediately feel dismayed as I sealed it up again for yard sale purposes.  I found 3 large boxes full of Christmas ornaments ... Hallmarks & blown glass ones ... & then a super large box filled with other Christmas things.  That leaves 2 boxes of kitchen type items & then a box of "specialty decor" items like fancy-schmancy hand painted Japanese candle holders & a mechanical wall clock that plays a variety of beautiful music each hour.  I even found a box from my old painting days with some really cool wooden Halloween decorations I made!  Sigh!   I guess there's no rest for the weary.  Hopefully I will find some time to accomplish some stitching today as well.  I am working on a new project but I can't post any photos yet because it's a gift.  It's a fun stitch though   : )