A Year In The Life..........

.....of Roy and Carmella. Really, it's hard to believe these two wonderful little cats have been with us a whole year already!

A few stitchy finishes to share. The latest gymnast creation, Shawn Johnson at the 2008 Olympics;an adorable Barbara Ana Design I finished a while ago but just now got around to "decorating" it a bit.

I had planned a long-winded, chatty post and a few more photos but I just received some very sad news. Dear, sweet Annemarie has just announced on her blog that her father is ill with terminal cancer. Please stop by and wish her well. Her heart is breaking and I know any comments and good wishes will be welcome. I'm thinking of you, Annemarie, and praying for your family.

The Gift of Friendship

Sometimes I get the most amazing gifts from friends. I am not one who is comfortable asking for gifts, but when they arrive unexpectedly....oh, what joy they bring! This gorgeous pin-keep from the artful hands of Harmien. Aren't the colors just beautiful. And to top it off there was the sweetest little card and more of the wonderful floss(Atalie "Ciuvre") in an amazing thread-keeper. Thank you so much Harmien. Then there is this friendly friend from my fabulous friend Barbara. Barbara knows how much cats mean to me and this smiling, delightful guy (or perhaps girl) arrived to me several weeks ago. I've been so caught up in my own self that I forgot to properly thank Barbara or to post a photo of my new feline friend. Thank you Barbara.

But the greatest gift of all is the friendship itself! Friends from the gym, from the pool, from my own town and the far-flung corners of the globe. Friends I have known for years, some only a few months and others that I didn't know were out there. I can not begin to mention all of your names here. I know I will forget a name or two so I won't even try. You all know who you are. Some of you read this blog; others don't know it exists. It doesn't matter really. Each and every one of you have touched my heart in a special way at a most difficult time of my life.

Thank you my friends.

Filled With Photos

The words don't come too easily to me these days, but luckily I am able to post some of photos of the most wonderful things in my life.

Yes, those are the chickens on the roof behind Carmella. How they got up there I'll never know.

Roy enjoys playing on the wood pile. Elliot prefers to bask in the sun. Coal and Sammy share a drink from the urn.

As the season changes all the garden ornaments patiently wait to be stored away for the Winter. The last of the corn waits to be harvested, and a single leaf hangs on for a little longer. That's all any of us can really do, isn't it..................

A Golden Wedding

My parent's 50th Anniversary is officially 9 November, but since they were here this past weekend we had a little party for them. It was just me, Joe, Mom and Dad. I made them a cake and planted these birthday number candles on the top. Not very chic but the cake was tasty. Spice cake with pumpkin custard filling and cream cheese icing. The main meal was a pork roast roll-up with cranberry stuffing inside, some gravy and Brussels sprouts sauteed with panceta.

The weather was wonderfully Autumn-like...not too cold, but just crisp enough to start a fire in the wood-burning stove. My mother always loves the "rustic" heat from that. The pets are loving this weather and it's hard to keep track of them all in their wanderings. After last weeks scare with Roy I keep a close eye on them. Here Carmella enjoys a moment on my lap.

The Susanna Goose tombstone is nearly finished, so I'll wait to post a photo of the final product. I did finish up this little cutie over the weekend. "Be Thankful" by Barbara Ana Designs. I love it, especially the bead detail on the Indian Corn. Barbara Ana is so innovative and a master of American-themed designs and expressions. That is a true talent for someone who doesn't have English as her native language.

The German dresses seem to be rather popular. The lady and has already sold a few and ordered more from me. I still have to keep up with the doll clothes stitching for my Christmas sale the second week of December. I'm wanting to do some serious cross-stitching, but "obligation sewing" comes first. I really shouldn't call it that because I love to stitch in any form. It is also a chance for me to make a little extra money, which will of course be spent on more stitching supplies!

P.S. Regarding Melissa's comment on my last post. Of course the water is running in the background! Did you think this was Martha Stewart's house? My usually A.D.D. coming into play. 'Hey let's wash the dishes...no wait Elliot is doing something cute...let's take a picture instead.............................'

Look Who's Back!

Our lovely Sammy returned this morning after being gone for over a week. I was at the gym swimming and Joe found him somewhere...............I passed by Joe on his way to work and he simply said"Remember what I told you last night?" Meaning, he said Sammy would be back today just in time for my parent's visit this weekend. There has been so much stress around here lately and my parents suddenly decided to make another visit this weekend. It is more of a "business trip" as they are giving us their old car. A gift we really need, but the timing was a bit off. Anyway, things are nearly back on track for this weekend. Had a scare with little Roy yesterday. There seemed to be some sort of "Black Hole for Black Cats" in our world the past week. Roy vanished on Wednesday and was gone for over 14 hours. When he finally came back very late Wednesday night I was overjoyed, but still so down about Sammy being gone. Then Roy went out Thursday morning and within a matter of moments I heard that dreaded 'thud' on the road. You pet owners know the noise I'm talking about; when a car speeds by and you hear that awful sound and you know what it means. I immediately ran outside calling for Roy. No sign of him in the road but I could hear him meowing frantically from the porch behind me. There he lay with his back legs in a very awkward position, panting and howling and covered with wet leaves and mud. I picked him up and brought him inside where he regained his footing (Thank God!) and now limps around a bit today. He must have bounced right off the speeding car and hurt his right back leg when he hit the ground. No blood, no wounds that I can see. He is able to go up and down the stairs, jump on to the bed and the couch and he just left me a nice healthy "gift" in the littler box! That is always a sure sign that a cat is doing better. Everybody settled down for a snack.....

Even Elliot got into the action from his usual vantage point, the kitchen counter.

I was just thinking this morning on my way home from swimming, how beautiful the Autumn leaves are and that I must really find some sort of joy in this season before it passes me by. Now I feel renewed and all other worries seem to fall properly into the correct perspective. How the things of the outside world overwhelm me and are really so meaningless compared to the things I love in my own little world.

On to some serious stitching this weekend. Maybe this tombstone will get finished.My parents like nothing better then to sit by the wood-stove; Mom and I stitching or knitting and Dad reading. The baseball National League Championships are on this weekend though so Dad might find that hard to resist.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and joyous weekend, as I plan to have!

New Computer

We finally bought a new computer. It's a "bargain" from Wal-Mart; an E Machine. It's incredibly basic, but at least it's an Internet connection. I have yet to figure out where to attach my printer and scanner though.

I suppose I should be overjoyed at the fact that I am now back in touch with the cyber world, but the real world is getting me down. Our Sammy has been missing since late Wednesday(7th) night. He has gone missing before, with the longest stretch being 18 days. He has FIV, a form of Feline Leukemia. He has times when he goes into a 'shut-down mode" when he doesn't eat or move at all for several days. If this occurs in the house I can get him a medicine that relieves some of his congestion and he recovers in about three days. If he is feeling bad he usually (in that common animal way) hides out until he feels better. I know there will come a time when he will not feel any better and he simply will never return. I hope this is not that time. He is not a terribly old cat (about 13) and in all other respects he is rather healthy. We call and search for him day and night, but there is now sign of him.

The tasks of every day life do little to distract me from thinking about Sammy. Of course the other cats keep me company and I know they secretly visit Sammy wherever he is hiding, especially his #1 fan, Coal. Here they are last week sharing a patio chair in the sun. Sammy is on the left (on the bottom!). As for everyday task, most of it is sewing , especially doll clothes. I had a sale this week with the Parent League at the gym. I think I did pretty well. I'll find out my total later this week. My next big sale is at our home competition on 12 December. In the meantime I've gotten a special request for German dresses from one of the Team parents. She belongs to a German-American league and they will be having a Winter craft sale 20 November. Here is one of my better attempts:

I tried to research authentic German dresses, but the lady prefers these rather 'stylized' versions that look a bit cartoonish to me. Oh well, the customer is always right.

This new computer seems to be behaving itself. Hopefully I will be able to post a bit more often.

I Think I've Found The Trick To This.

Take photos. Download photos from camera to computer. Upload photos to USB memory stick. Take stick to the hi-speed computer at work. Upload photos to blog there. Click "save as draft" button. Come home to edit the post. Write leisurely, knowing the photos are already up there!

Yeh, it doesn't take a computer genius to figure all that out. Some geniuses just work a bit slower then others, OK.

I had intended a very up-beat post full of photos but I must take a moment to send my prayers and good wishes out to Harmien. Her lovely cat Kisse died today. I was so heartbroken when I read her post.

Some bargain hunting. A new dollhouse kit that retails for $450. I got it for TWENTY BUCKS at a yard sale.A very cute sewing basket found on clearance at JoAnn Fabrics for $7. Originally $25.A not-so-much-of-a-bargain purse. My mom has the white one and I just had to have one for myself. A weeks worth of pay went to the black one for me. DS Squared by Sondra Roberts for any millionaires who are interested in this purse for themselves.
Progress on new wood flo0ring for the computer/craft room. Also new blue paint. Some stitchy updates too. Frederick and Susanna Goose Tombstone.

And a little artsy photo I will call "Homage to Edgar". No it's not the real thing, only the microwave variety......Orville Redenbacker Kettle Corn!