Oh I forgot!

Here's my Mother's Day plant still alive!

Don't Fall off Your Chair

Posts 2 days in a row!

I'm waiting for the chimney sweeps to finish up; Axe gets moved after lunch.

Here's Fruit of the Spirit:

I took it off the Q-snaps so it's wrinkly. I still have to infill around the critters with green.

 

 

 

 

I have to finish that ornament I started- today's the last day of the month.

I scored 23 skeins of silk off Ebay. With shipping it came to about $70, but I figured with the price increases coming, it wasn't too bad. It wasn't more than I wanted to pay and the colors are pretty is all I'm saying.

Here's my third lilac bush:           

It's a miniature variety and I think it smells the best.

It's been overrun with wild roses (that's what I call 'em because they make rose hips pods in the fall):

 

I suppose I could cut those back.

 

 

 

 

Chicken thought since I had the camera out I could bless you with her highness: 

She's parked in front of my kitchen door where the floor is scuffed the most. Thank you, Chickie.

She didn't know who to bark at: the guy in the living room at the wood stove or the guy outside up at the chimney. She's so confused.

On the Road...

I finished the over 2 grass on FOS and just have to infill around all my critters with over one. I'm estimating it took two full skeins of green floss- I wish the designer had pointed that out before I collected all my supplies.

Tomorrow is the big move- Axe is going to another farm. And it can't happen too soon. Too long of (yet another) saga to write now (I'm at work- and guess who's not doing too much work just yet?)

My last lilac bush has blossomed as well. I will try to get some pictures this afternoon to post.

Hey and I won two lots of silk floss on EBay- SCORE!

No Stitching

Some stitching blog, huh?

I just haven't had any ambition to pick up a needle; my boss has been erratic the past few weeks so I get too far thru my lunch break and then don't have time or inclination to open up my tote bag in case he comes back. The (very) few times I tried, he either came back or his wife came in or a delivery person came in.

Ms.Axeu had her teeth floated today. A horse's teeth continue to grow thru out almost their entire life; the process slows as they age. So as they eat and grind their jaws together, they wear high & low spots along all their teeth. About every 6 months a horse dentist has to come out and rasp all the unevenness off. Some guys use power tools- Dremel burrs- to make really extensive sanding go faster. She took about an hour to do- she had moderately severe hooks (very high spots) on her last molars & her first molars. These hooks can get so long that they cut into the horse's gums as they eat or are ridden, making them toss their heads or be inexplicably grouchy. She wasn't that bad, but she has been tossing her head a bit when I ride. It was bad enough that the floater thought she might have some issues eating until she gets used to her new "bite". ANd sure enough when I went to check on her tonight, she was basically gumming her hay- wadding it up into balls- making me nervous she'd choke, or impact her bowels. So I took scissors and hand cut a flake of hay (removed the rest). She's on a diet becuase of getting fat from grass, so she was SO hungry I gave her some beet pulp to put something in her belly. One of the trainers thought she'd be OK by morning. It was very weird watching her eat silently, with no munching.

Now I have to worry about her all night.

HHMM..

I wanted to say "Happy Memorial Day" but that doesn't seem right- what IS the adjective to describe this holiday???
Anyway- Thank you to any and all service men and women currently in action; and to all the families of former and deceased members, my thanks as well.
No stitching (yet), but a lot of driving, unfortunately, some hamburgers and hot dogs, and lawn mowing.
I rode this morning, of all times, and it was perfect- no one there except the workers.
Hayley's been putting Axe out in the grass paddock, which would have been nice to know so I could cut her grain back (horses gain weight on grass and hay- it's the opposite effect of lettuce to humans). At the beginning of the week I noticed a half dozen ticks on her face, for a few nights in a row. I went to check on her yesterday afternoon and she was in the grass paddock with Hayley's horse (and very little water). She was out there again today, so I filled that water tub, and when I was done riding, I put Axe back in the paddock she was supposed to be in, which is dirt and little to no grass, hence, she had little to no ticks tonight.
Can't stitch if I'm typing (nor type if I'm typing either) so good night!

2nd Post of the Day!

Progress on Creepy Kids (FOS):

  I started the lower text box and have been trying to fill in all that grass.

 

 

 

 

Next is a new start:                                                                                      

This is "Quiet Night " by Erica Michaels from the JCS 2007 Ornament issue. I'm using a leftover piece of 28ct Jobelan "Thyme" with DMC floss, except for the tress which are WDW "Juniper"

Freebie Chickie shot:

Sitting on my lap at the computer, but not at the moment, so there' s no good esplanation for my bad typing skills.

 

 

 

Lilacs & Flora :

                                                                                          The back yard lilac is paler and has (to my nose) a prettier scent than the darker, front yard blooms.

Here's my dogwood (?)  & proof that I haven't killed off my Mother's Day plant:

                 

Winding Down

Emily came home for a couple of nights. She rode her horse, so that saved some of my energy, but I went with her because I was supposed to make grain, so we were still home kind of late for me to stitch. Plus, Bob never picked up grain, so I still have to set aside yet another hour tonight to do that.

She says Axe feels great, but looks a little chubby (don't we all?). So I will have to start increasing my riding time. She & I can both use the exercise!

I took some photos of the lilac bushes in my yard, and progressed on FOS, as well as started this month's ornament, but somehow we ended up at home and I didn't have supper cooked until just after 8:00- when I said "EEEK!! American Idol finals are on!!"

I will try to find time tonight to upload some photos. After I ride. After the indoor opens up (owner's kids have it to themselves for their lessons). After I make grain.

Thank the gods for a 3 day weekend!

TTFN

Alright already!

Here's progress on both FOS (aka Creepy Kids) and Snowflakes: 

 

I'm getting close enough to smell the end of FOS- I'm at the point of really wanting this one to be done so I can get to something else.

Emily is licensed now to drive carriages in Boston; she was on her own today for the first time with a horse named Jody.

And Big Brown won the Preakness yesterday; now it's on to the Belmont in 3 weeks. A grueling mile and a half, a true test of a champion. My fave- Secretariat still holds the record- 2:24 and he won by a (another) record of 31 lengths. Hey- I just found this site- who knew? http://www.secretariat.com/

Off to maybe stitch!

Calgon Take me Away!

I DO have progress on Snowflakes (a wee bit) and FOS, but haven't had time nor energy to break out the camera for pix. I will try to do so tomorrow.
I picked Bob up today, and also what I hope are the last two bales of hay for Axe. Why the last two? Well, I'm moving her to another barn! YAY! my #1 choice still has no open stalls, but Ernie my farrier recommended this other private barn. They have an indoor- smaller than HBF, but still good size, an outdoor, only 7 horses (including the Axe) so it's very manageable- like being able to turn the horses out mid-morning if the weather improves, unlike HBF, where Axe stayed in all day today, even though it had turned glorious by 11:00 am. Plus- GRASS paddocks!!!!! She's going to be so excited! I had to order a grazing muzzle today, though, to control how much she eats at first. Emily knows about the move & seems to like the place. I took her there last week when she came home with the rest of her stuff & to ride. The decision to leave HBF was confirmed in her mind as Bob the barn manager described how quickly things are turning bad up there. I won't go onto any of it- suffice it to say it's turning into a very timely, very wise decision to leave while the getting is good.
So I cooked a couple of chickens in the rotisserie oven (yes, I have a "Set it and Forget it") and they were scrumptious (well, we only finished 3/4 of one- they were about 3.8 lbs each) but why in all that's good in the world does a chicken dinner have to require every pot, pan & serving dish in the house???? I have to say, that the only reason i can take doing all the dishes is that the chickens come out SO good!
I will try to post pictures tomorrow. Of stitching, not chicken.

Look What I Got!

So I had to go to Braintree Blueprint to drop a document off, and what do I drive by but "Konditer Meister"! So when I was done, I stopped & treated myself to these:

on the left is a Boston Creme cake, and on the right is a pecan tart.

Very yummy!

Happy Mother's Day

to all you muthas out there!

These are from Emily.

I had to move the rest of the dorm stuff this morning. I managed to get the spot in front of her building. Several other parents had the same idea (doing this on a quiet Sunday) and we held the doors several times for each other. I got there, and Emily was at the store, or coming back from the store, and 2 girlfriends were asleep on the floor of her room, but were so sound asleep, didn't hear me knock. I stood out there for almost 15 minutes until one of them came out to use the bathroom. I can't even tell you how many trips up & down the stairs I made, but my trunk was full, I couldn't fit anything else in the back seat, and the front passenger seat was piled high as well. I had just gotten on to the Xway home, which was slow from a lane closure construction project, when she calls to say I had taken her prescription & she needs it tonight. Well, I know if I get off at the next exit, I'll be in a really bad neighborhood, from which I don't know how to escape. And even if I did, I REALLY don't want to re-trace my route back down Mass Ave try to find another parking space, run back up & down 4 flights of stairs yet again, then try to leave Boston AGAIN- so I said I'll mail it to her boyfriend tomorrow morning.

Bob was at my house when I arrived, but shortly after, his son called & needed to be picked up (Bob was using his car). So I ended up calling my mom & talking for an hour, then going to Walmart for some some things I've needed for a while. Came home and grilled a burger. Bob has a wicked annoying food radar- just as soon as I'm about to plate my dinner, he'll call. Or just as I'm about to start cooking something complicated, he'll call. So I ignored the phone & wolfed down my sandwich, which was very yummy, seeing as it was the first real food I'd had all day.

One of the items on my list at Walmart was 4-40 lb bags of salt for my water softener system -more fun on top of moving the dorm room. ANd i still have to go up & ride.

Here's a tiny bit more on Snowflakes:

Snarl!

I'm only ever so slightly amused that there a was a stallion careening around the indoor just as I was about to get my horse ready for a ride. I'm SO done with that hell hole!

Stash Alert!

Look at this behemoth:

It's 400 w x 320 h stitches! That would kind of qualify as an heirloom, don'tcha think??!!

Well, it's mine- all mine! I'll get started on it as soon as I finish "Whistlejacket".

RIIIIIIIGHT.

Finally some visible progress on the grass for FOS (aka Creepy Kids):

Minor catastrophe averted: the green is "Avacado" by Gentle Arts. I knew I'd be needing more as of last week when I started the grass, and looked on Deb's racks tonight. Well, the dye lot has changed to a totally different color. Pissa. I pulled 5 or 6 similarly hued skeins, from Weeks, GA and Crescent Colors, and found a 97% close CC. I'm tweeding a strand of the old floss with the new; I don't think it's too noticeable.

No Snowflakes progress. :^(

FYI: if you've ever tried those dried off the shelf tortellinis, the Barilla brand is way better than the Ronzoni brand. But my Corona is helping with that problem.

LOST tonight, not that I can stay awake that long.

A Woman's Work...

Yeah, I know- bad blogger me. I think they've put me on administrative probation.

So I'm trying to ride 5 nights a week, which takes about 2 hours of time, and I hate to eat before (old habit from high school track meet days), so I get home around 8:30-9:00 and then have supper. Plus now I have to spend a couple of evening hours a week lawn mowing; it's not leaving me much energy for even wanting to turn on the computer.

Last night I went up to just walk Axe because  Emily had come to ride her Sunday (and it still took me 2 hours because I had to make up grain), and she had absolutely NO water- NONE! Her buckets had been emptied but never re-filled. I filled one & hung it up and went to fill the second, and by the time I got back to her stall, she had already drunk down almost the whole bucket- at least 2 gallons! This wouldn't be so bad if she drank water in the paddock, but from the way I always have to refill one bucket every night, I'm guessing she doesn't drink much outside. I was so pissed off, when I stopped to get my lottery ticket, I bought a 12 pack of this: It being Cinco de Mayo & all.

Here's my minute progress on both WIPS:

 

 

Just a little fence on Snowflakes & down the hill with snow; and started the grass and added a kitty middle bottom on FOS.

My crab apple is blossoming:

Off to ride.

Sad day in the equine world

I just logged into Yahoo, and the news from the Kentucky Derby isn't good. I didn't watch the race, but apparently, the only filly in the race, Eight Belles, finished second, but had to be euthanized on the track because of a fatal injury. Now I'm glad I didn't see. The photo on Yahoo (the first in a gallery but not of Eight Belles) shows a very wet track.
These horses are too young to be racing.

You've Heard of "Cat in a Hat"?

Well here's "Fox in a Helmet", courtesy of Emily & her random web surfing: