Not a Good Week

I finally got all the mistakes in the yellow out! It took 2 days! I haven't stitched much this week. I have felt very tired and blah this week. I guess I got too tired last week. Then yesterday I woke up with a terrible migraine!! I was in bed all day - we even had to order pizza for supper because I could not cook! I feel much better today - but it still hurts some!



I haven't even attempted to fix the mistake in the deer yet. I'm going to finish Belle first and get her in the mail! I need to start the square for the firemen quilt!



Well, that's about all for today! Have a day full of happy moments, and may God bless you!

Visited by Frog!

The deer for DB is coming along very quickly, but the dreaded "Frog" really pulled a whammy on me yesterday! I've made a mistake somewhere on his left antler, and I haven't figured out what I did wrong yet! I finally just put it up and will look at it again today with fresh eyes and see if that helps me find the mistake! I really like doing deer patterns, but this one bothers me a little! I don't like the mounted heads of animals, but BIL has one hanging over their fireplace and I know DB will like this! But it still kind of bothers me!! BIL hunts, and he shot the deer whose head is on their wall. DB doesn't hunt, but he likes collecting deer things. I guess it's better to have a "stitched" mounted head that a real one!

This is my newest start. I worked on her most of yesterday. It's Belle from a Disney Princesses book. She's for Veronica's Quilt at Cole's Quilts. "Frog" also got this one. I have to take out most of the yellow! But this one is not going to take me long to stitch. I'm trying to pick out easier patterns for my charity work. The last few squares have been too hard, and I really got depressed because I couldn't get them finished on time and I couldn't do any stitching on things for myself! I love doing the charity stitching, but I really have a lot of pieces I want to do for myself and for Christmas gifts!

We had a wonderful cook-out yesterday, and the steaks were delicious!! I fixed a salad and baked potatoes, and we even had strawberry shortcake for dessert! And it was all on my diet!!

I didn't get a sub job for today, so I'm going to spend the day doing the laundry and stitching (or rather "frogging"!) I'm going to sub as much as I can this year! I cooked and froze stuff yesterday - chili for hotdogs and chili and beans. I'm trying to get meals frozen so that when I sub, we can just take out something from the freezer and heat it up! I'm just too tired to cook after subbing all day! I'm very proud of what I got done yesterday! My big chest freezer is over half full! (Not just my cooking from yesterday!)

Well, better go and get busy "frogging." Have a day full of happy moments, and may God bless you!

Subbed All WeeK

He needs his antlers, but here is my progress on the deer for my DB. Yes, Mary Ann, I subbed all week! I didn't get to stitch any until last night! I got a call last Sun. from the assistant principal at a very good middle school. They had a class that they had not hired a teacher for, and she asked if I would sub the whole week. Four of the classes only had 6 or 7 students in them, because they were 7th and 8th grade language arts assistance classes for students who didn't do so good on the standardized tests last year. The other class was a regular 7th grade language arts class, but it was a block class - it lasted 2 periods. However, they were very good students, and I didn't have any problems. The only drawback was that I had to make up my own lessons, but I'm pretty good at winging it! lol But I was exhausted everyday when I got home!! I had to take a nap everyday, and we ate sandwiches or take-out every night! When you have to talk all day, and you're not used to it, it really wears you out!! I don't see how you stitchers who work full time get as much stitching done as you do!! I'm really impressed!

Everyday in each class I had a "warm-up activity" for them to do as soon as they entered. (This gets them seated and quiet as soon as possible!) On Fri., I had them write a letter to me telling me what they thought of my subbing - what they liked and what I could have done differently and any advice they had for me. The letters were really sweet! No one said anything bad about me. (surprise!) But one letter was so humorous. This is what one young man said:
"As far as over-all teaching skills go, I can see no flaws. I can tell you that you've succeeded in doing your job, for I have learned quite the number of things from you. I dicsarded one complaint of me feeling uncomfortable with you teaching this class, because of the mellow dramatic substitute switch." (They had a different sub the week before.) This one really tickled me! lol

Now in the picture above you can see Bebe's handiwork (the puppy). She chews on everything! I couldn't believe she got my cross stitch and chewed the corner! Thank goodness it was a corner! No matter where I put my cross stitch stuff, she manages to get to it!

We're going to cook out tomorrow for Labor Day. We're going to grill steaks!! I can't wait!

Better go! I'm going to rest today and stitch! Have a day full of happy moments, and may God bless you!

Stitch or Read?

Here's my progress on the deer for DB. I didn't get as much done as I thought I would. I lost my stitching mood and found my reading mood instead! I'm also in the mood to start new pieces. I've had to cancel a few of my charity squares because I signed up for too many, and my life has gotten more complicated than it used to be. I got out the material to start another quilt square, but in the mail the other day I got my material and chart to do my quilt square for the firemen quilt a group of us charity stitchers are doing in memory of the Charleston firemen who were killed. I decided to start it next. It's a fairly simple pattern and shouldn't take me too long to do! I think I'm beginning to panic because I'll have to start subbing VERY soon, and I won't have much time to stitch then!

I got a call last night from the substitute system for a job. It's set up on a computer; so you don't actually talk to a "live" person. You have to punch in numbers to answer the questions it asks you; and it's been so long since I last punched in my pin number that I couldn't get it right last night! I had looked up my number earlier to make sure I remembered it right, but I just couldn't get it punched in right. I guess my subconscious self just didn't want to start subbing yet! lol So I didn't get the job! I hope I get another call tonight - I really need to start subbing, whether I like it or not! lol

As for my reading - I started A Place of Execution by Val McDermid. It's a murder mystery set in the 1960s. I'm a child of the 60s so it's bringing back a lot of happy memories! I've had it for quite a while, but just never got around to reading it. Like my cross stitch stash, I have paperback books stuck around everywhere! I found it when I cleaned out my roll-top desk to make a good place for DD to study. I wish I could read and stitch at the same time! I ought to check out some books on tape from the library, but I really enjoy the feel of a paperback book in my hands! Is that weird or does anyone else out there feel that way!?

That's about all I have to say today. Better get busy on that fireman square! Have a day full of happy moments, and may God bless you!

New Project

Thursday night DB took my mom and me out to a seafood restaurant for my mom's birthday! We had a great time and went over to his new house for me to see it! I really like it. It's an older house with hardwood floors and ceramic tiles on the kitchen and bathroom floors. I got so excited for him that I started his Christmas present! The picture above is what I am going to stitch for him and my brother-in-law for Christmas. They both collect anything that has to do with deer! It's on hopscotch material. I got 2 pieces many years ago very cheap at Big Lots. I've just never gotten around to stitching snything on them. Then last fall my sister, mom and I went to a LNS and I found this book in a sale bin. It's Hopstitch Classics by Canterbury Designs. I bought it just for the deer pattern.

And here is my progress so far. This piece of hopscotch is brown as you can see (a little!). The other piece is forest green like the picture of the finished piece. I was planning to make them into pillows, but there is the perfect place in my brother's hall to hang it as a picture! Plus - since it's a mounted deer head, it seems to me like it should be hanging on the wall. Let me know what you think!

God certainly takes care of you if you trust Him! My brother gave me a $100 bill Thursday night. In the past I have loaned him money when he needed it, and he hasn't always paid me back. So he called me Wed. and said he wanted to give me some money. We really needed it bad to buy some groceries! As I have said before, when I retired, I took a major cut in my pay. I do fine when I am subbing, but I haven't been able to save much for the summer when I don't work at all. I will start getting calls for sub jobs in the next few days, but we really needed a little money to pick up a few groceries. DD is spoiled and really wasn't happy when we had a big pot of black-eyed peas with rice and onions! lol (This is one of my favorite meals. We had it a lot when I was little!) I had prayed that God would help us make it to next Fri. when I get my retirement check, and out of the blue DB gives me this money!! I'm going to save money for next summer!! (even if we have to eat black-eyed peas and rice once a month! lol)

DD hasn't heard from the "crazy" exboyfriend since the windshield episode. Thank goodness! I think she realizes she needs to be more careful when picking out friends. She tends to take on down and out guys. She loves to help people. I hope she knows now that you can't always help people like that - they will just pull you down with them! She is a very good girl - no drugs, alcolol, etc. She just has a weakness for people she thinks she can help! I think it has something to do with her brother dying so young! I think she thinks she is honoring Glenn by helping guys the age he was when he died. Alcohol was involved in my son's death; so she tries to reform these guys.

Jerry's gone to Hilton Head for the weekend to check on the house he built there and is trying to sell; so I have the weekend to myself! I have been so busy this week! I'm going to cuddle up in my stitching chair with the TV on and do nothing but stitch!! I even have left-over shrimp from our birthday feast the other day; so I don't even have to cook!!

Better go! Have a day full of happy moments, and may God bless you!

Update on DD

Just a quick note to all of those who wrote such sweet comments and were worried about DD. She has not heard ANYTHING from the guy who broke her windshield. I think she really knows now that she should stay away from that guy!! As scary as it was, I think she did learn an important lesson. She's still excited about college, and that's the main thing on her mind right now. Thank goodness!!

I started a new piece today. I've decided to start my Christmas gift stitching. I'm doing a deer's head for my DB. I didn't get much done today. I'll show a pic tomorrow. Better go; I'm very tired! Have a day full of happy moments, and may God bless you!

More Drama from DD

I haven't been stitching too much the last few days, but here's my progress on Patchwork Garden. There's been a lot going on around here! I've only been working on this piece when I grab a few minutes to stitch. I'm really enjoying it, and it really relaxes me - no deadlines on it!



DD had a very upsetting episode with the guy she's been seeing. He is constantly having her take him places (using her - really)! He is on disability and doesn't work - although he cuts the grass and doesn't seem to have any problems that I can see. He asked her to take him someplace on Sunday night and promised to give her $5.00 for gas. Then when they got to the gas station and put in gas, he refused to give her the money. He does this every time - I guess DD is a slow learner! This time she locked him out of the car in an attempt to make him pay her. He jumped on the roof of her car and sat down on her front windshield and broke the windshield! The windshield on the new car she had had for 3 days! Then he called his mother and she went over there and then they said DD ran over him and that's how the windshield got broken. I have been having a bad feeling about him for several days - we had tried to tell DD that we were afraid of him and that she needed to not have anything alse to do with him! He had started calling her all the time - at work and even going over to her work! She had decided to quit having anything to do with him, but she thought she needed gas money. I don't know why she hangs around with these deadbeat people! None of them work and they sponge off of everyone else! She's not getting anything out of the relationships, but she's definitely putting a lot into them! Her dad went ballistic when he found out about the car and everything! Our insurance is going to replace the windshield without any charge to us. We have told her not to have anything else to do with him. I am really afraid of him!! Her dad told her that if he calls again, to tell him not to contact her again. Then if he does, we are going to call the police!




All this happened the night before she started her first college class!! So in addition to that drama, we have been trying to get her books and get her started! We were very fortunate - she was able to get some of the state lottery money and a grant from the federal government. Plus whatever isn't covered by those will be put into a loan that her dad and I are going to pay off. I highly recommend that if any of you want your children to go to college but can't afford it, check into getting financial aid! Her books are covered in these grants, but she put off sending in her application so long that the money is not in her account yet. We went over there today and got it all straightened out and she got her books today. We were also able to get enough in the loan to get her a laptop. She has been doing good about her studying so far!!

I'm going to spend the day with my mom tomorrow to celebrate her birthday. Then when my brother gets off from work, he's going to take my mom and me out to dinner! Thank goodness because I have very little money right now!

Need to go - I'm very tired! Have a day full of happy moments and may God bless you!