I Blog When the Dog Won't Let Me Sleep...

Poor Smokey has been up four nights in a row needing to "go out" multiple times. But really you all should be saying "poor Denise". There I said it. I'd like a little freakin' sympathy!!

Really I'd like it even better if someone else would occasionally take care of the dang dog's needs! 

To bring the dog "out", I have to navigate through my dark bedroom, through Montie's dark bedroom, down the dimly lit back staircase, use the bathroom, get a drink, pet the cats. traverse the same dark path back up the stairs & through the rooms to deposit Smoke back in his crate in Morgan's room, then go wash my hands from the slobbery lips that just accepted a treat. 

Basically he gets rewarded for waking me up.

The utterly impossible thing about it too is that I'm already prone to insomnia. 

These tendencies only went away while I had three younger kiddos & I was literally up over night for years on end (NO I'm not exaggerating!)

Pile upon my mind's natural inclination to not want to sleep enough for the rest of my bod with some major sadness over losing Montie, and I'd gotten myself into a depressive rut. 

Unisom helped with that... and at least I sleep now. Not a full 7 or 8 hours worth, but enough that I'm not walking around a weepy wreck or like some mega-beotch on a hormonal tirade.

My  natural instinct is to be a night-lurker. I've enjoyed feeling the cool morning seeping through my open back door, hearing nothing but the chirping birds & some underlying insect noise, but I especially like the total quiet of 2am. I speculate this has something to do with my hermit-like, anti-social tendencies, welcoming the hours when no one at all expects me to "do" anything for them. (Dang, that sounds a tad selfish & neurotic??)

Last night, Smokey had me up at 1:30, 5:15, and then at 6am I grabbed a pillow & blanket, threw the back door open & laid down on the couch. I figured I'd sleep with the door hanging open so he could come & go as needed. Not only was the sun was peeking out by then, but no one was going to creep in past my protector. 

To no avail... the birds' songs too exquisite, the unnatural quiet of the house (our bedroom sounds like a wind tunnel between the a/c AND the fan going), the cats going ballistic on the other side of the family room door, and/or my utter irritation at how once I'd come downstairs, Smokey fell asleep on a cushy chair & hasn't moved in 90 minutes have all conspired against me once again & no sleeping has occurred. 

A Couple Quilts

This Flannel Diamond quilt was made by Maureen at Stitch & Craft for her hubby. It's quilted with a   medium-sized freehand Puzzle Meander.

  

The hubs is going to be very cozy under this~ the flannel is sooo soft!

The blocks on this one are all embroidered~ Wish I'd checked these pictures better before taking it back to the shop. A couple closer-ups would've been nice. You'll just have to take my word that they are stunning :)

I did no quilting on the blocks per the piecer's instructions, but did SID around them & a loopy freehand snowflake in the border.

Okay, so this one isn't OF a quilt, but I am UNDER a quilt! This is Maisy being snuggly & purry.

I had the most spectacular walk today. There was no convulsive coughing or profuse nose-oozing (sorry, that's kinda gross), and it wasn't freezing! 

I actually had to shed a top layer before heading outside. We walked a good 45 minutes, enjoying the slight breeze & sunshine. Well, maybe Smokey was enjoying other aspects more, like sniffing every stop sign base, pile of poo, and the grave stones along the way, but I digress..

A Couple Weeks with Coughing

I got what I thought was the Garden Variety Cold a couple weeks ago. Except it kinda started in my chest & has set up camp! I'm not grossly congested, nothing warranting a trip to the doctor's office (or so I keep telling my annoyed kids.) But truly, other than coughing every time I try to lie down to rest, *as in get some sleep after cleaning, working, chauffeuring, cooking, dog walking, feeding, chasing for 16+ hours*, I have no fever that I know of. I'm exhausted, yes, but with no fever I'm guessing there's no infection or virus. So whatever... I've become one of the Walking Dead hopeful of emerging as a Productive Awake Person here very soon (who doesn't annoy her children with every breath & coughing convulsion for those 16+ hours straight~IF they don't happen to be holed up in their bedrooms.)


To catch you up on some of my past two weeks...


There have been a few days I've felt up for the doggie walk, and Smokey has been good about slowing down during my coughing spasms.

Saw my first sign of Spring-like growth. If you look closely, you can see a bulb of some sort emerging.

 But then we've had a couple of random snow-shower days thrown in between gorgeous, sunny weather!

I've finished two baby quilts which are identical in construction & quilting (Popcorn panto)89:

And I finished reading "The Breaker" by Minette Walters.

Here's the book blurb from amazon.com:

Why was Mary killed, and her daughter, a witness, allowed to live? Why weren't they together, and why had Mary willingly boarded a boat when she had a terror of drowning at sea? Police suspicion centres both on a young actor, and the murdered woman's husband.

Would I recommend it? Not necessarily~ I'd probably give it a 5 out of 10. I did want to know "who dunnit" & read till the end, but I can't proclaim to have loved the writing style enough or have been captivated by the story line enough to say to a friend, "You should read this book."


I do think the characters were developed nicely, and it was an easy read; so I wouldn't necessarily not tell you to read it either! How's that for indifferent??


Sigh... it's 11:51pm & I should be tucked in my electrically heated bed by now, snuggling & slumbering contentedly next to my hubby, BUT coughing fit #1,000,001 began & so instead I'm finishing my blog entry, sipping decaf French Vanilla tea (which I'm finding a weird tea flavor~ it just sounds too COFFEE to me??), hoping these kittens will soon wear themselves out from their excitement over seeing me reappear. Last night as I was finally dozing off on the couch, they ran over me during their escapades, repeatedly stuck their furry faces into mine as if to head-butt their way into my mouth, and then stuck kitty butts in my hair!! What is it about kittens & human hair laying on a pillow?? It didn't feel like that kneading they do, so though it didn't seem like they were searching my head for a furry cat-momma nipple, for some reason that crossed my mind. Demented & unclear thinking abounds with sleep-deprivation, and I fear I'm allowing the the unconscious stream of thought to invade my beloved blog... Me thinks I will try to lie down again. 

Poltergeist?!?!?! It's a Mystery...

Smokey the spastic lab came flying down the stairs, trembling with fear ~ still growling, little muffled barks, and fearful glances at the back staircase. 

I went to investigate & found this in Morgan's room! I could just stand there for a whole minute, mouth agape, wondering HOW? Could Smokey have somehow knocked this over? This sucker is old & HEAVY. So as I stand there, my mind just doesn't accept that explanation. 

Maegan's room is connected, and I grilled her about what she heard. 

"I heard some load thumps"... okay... That's still not much of an explanation.

The rest of the gang took turns coming up to investigate why I was so incredulous. The door to the upstairs bedrooms was hanging open indicating Smokey had probably been in there (since he came flying down).

But I still cannot imagine how he'd turn this heavy piece of furniture over?

What do you think??? 

Where does the time go?? Geesh!

I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since I've posted last! I've got to get better about this!! My biggest hurdle is getting my pictures from the camera onto the computer to use for posts, because for me, pictures are just fun.

One of the latest quilts done for the shop Stitch and Craft. 

I enjoyed trying out a new pattern~ really it was two I've used before & just combined them.

Remember, I don't piece them~ I quilt them!

 The first week of January had me undecorating... if you look closely, you'll notice one of the kittens "supervising".

After everything was packed away for next year, I lugged over 10 Rubbermaid bins & the Christmas tree box up to the 3rd floor. It wasn't fun, but I figured it counted for exercise!

I've worked on & had success with getting Dino the Whippet & the kittens acclimated to one another. Daisy loves Dino, swirls around him, tries to nuzzle him & is seen here snuggling. Maisy still skirts around him fast & low to the ground & has NEVER approached Dino. 

Another recent quilt. It turned out nice, but quilting grid-work is a tad boring.

This weekend: 

Woke up to new snowfall Saturday morning. It was just enough to look pretty & not be too big a pain.

Worked on...

... and finished an easy puzzle.

Loaded the next client quilt.

Dino stayed parked on this chair nearest the fire while I ran hither & yon, working in Adult ADD fashion whilst doing a little of this & a little of that.

I actually LAID ON THE COUCH for over an hour reading!!! I never do that!! And I think I should do that more often, because I love to read but usually wait until right before bed to "allow" myself that sit-down time. 

And can you see the title of the top magazine? "Stitchery"... I picked up one of these magazines a couple years ago, then couldn't remember where I'd gotten it & have been on the search ever since. EURKEA!! I found it at Barnes & Nobles this past week!!! I let out a muffled shriek when I spied it on their shelves & when Maegan saw what I was so giddy about she said, "Mom, you're such a dork." lol I know it...

Stitchery is my newest passion. It's like drawing with DMC floss or thread in an outline kind of way. There's no counting like cross-stitch & it's not as involved as embroidery, so for me it's that much more relaxing.

Here's a couple examples:

(This one may have an undertone of blue showing through the stitched areas because it's a pre-stamped pattern that has to be washed out once completed.)

Tangent over...
Sorted the errant sock bin. I don't usually let it get this out of control, but well, this flood from back in September has thrown a lot of crimps in my "usual".  

Now I readily admit it's been some months since I've sorted through the socks to match up those that went into the bin at different times & to weed out/throw away those that have no matches anymore. However, there's no nice & neat explanation for WHY one of Montie's socks was in the midst? 

I washed all his clothes that were in his hamper or dirty after he passed away, and they're not being used obviously. There's no reason I would've left this one white sock of his in this bin, just knowing how it would upset me to keep coming across it??

I've had a lot of reminders lately. Not that I need to be reminded to think of Montie, obviously. He's always in my mind & never far from the current train of thought. 

My big baby, Smokey, kept me company at times too...

Yesterday was a wonderful mix of productive & resting... 8 loads of laundry done, dishes, potato soup from scratch for dinner, dusted/vacuumed the upstairs, scooped cat poop, sorted the socks and cracked the whip on the 15 year old's chores; plus I had time on the couch reading as well as doing that puzzle! WOOHOO I love days that come together like that :)

Today, Sunday, I mostly relaxed. Got up kinda early but then took my time getting in the shower. In mid afternoon I headed to a neighbor's house with a good friend to a Pampered Chef party! I haven't been to a home party in YEARS!

See ya later Cyber Land!! ... back to watching football & stitching, while simultaneously trying desperately to STAY WARM. This old house  -that still has no insulation under the floorboards acting as a barrier again the cold emanating up from the dirt basement- is quite cold in the wintertime!

Christmas Has Past

Another Christmas has come & gone, and I'm left with such a surreal feeling. I begin gearing up for this day starting somewhere in October, usually when my Christmas Club check arrives. I revisit mental lists for who might like what, but I hold off on the actual shopping until after Black Friday for the most part. Specifically, I wait for Cyber Monday & do most of my shopping online. Luckily, many places have jumped onto this online-shopping bandwagon & extend their sale prices and/or free shipping to the entire Black Friday weekend AND the week following. 

Typically our holiday season goes like this: 

*Thanksgiving dinner here at our house on Thanksgiving day

*Black Friday is actually a sleep-in day here & we start bringing Christmas decoration bins down from the 3rd floor

*Fri/Sat are decorating days, to include the house & trees (we had two this year)

*Sunday is my day of rest (my self-imposed day off because I've found moms who work at home really don't get days off otherwise!)

*The first couple weeks of December are such fun as all my purchases begin to appear via UPS!

*The week before Christmas is when I sift through the mound of delivered boxes, separate them to make sure everything has arrived, and begin wrapping

*Several days before Christmas I start baking cookies

*A couple days before Christmas I "start" some cleaning (since having a smelly, hairy, messy beast of a lab induces the same mentality with cleaning as I had with small children~ because they're constantly messing up things as you're cleaning them up, I basically have to clean last minute for a possibility of it staying clean until guests arrive!)

So the Christmas festivities passed mostly without a hitch except:

1) I forgot to make the corn AND green beans for our Christmas ham dinner! Oops!! My MIL brought Ambrosia so at least there was a type of fruit in there.

2) Smokey the lab knocked the big Christmas tree in the family room down TWICE, and so I got to do A LOT of decorating this year!!

My heart hurt the most on Christmas Eve. I felt the first crush when I realized church services were under way. I've not been able to attend church regularly since burying Montie (nor before, but that's a different issue) and I always feel the missing of that service in particular. The second heart squeeze was felt after we'd sent the girls upstairs so "Santa" could come ~ knowing Montie could *only* be here in spirit as we celebrated the next day.  

I'll not be sharing any New Year's resolutions because I don't believe in them. 

Things can change with a blink of an eye, and every day is a new start.

But I can offer with a heartfelt wish that this year could be more fruitful, more joyous, and more fulfilling in ways we haven't even discovered yet...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

A few snapshots from December...

With my sewing room still under renovation, I've claimed an unused smaller room to sew in temporarily. My fabric is separated into boxes, and as you can see, the kitties like to keep me company.

Unwrapping kisses for peanut butter blossoms (the funky gloves are due to my chopping off the very tip of my finger/nail bed using a rotary cutter!)

A very small sampling of cookies baked this year.

This one might be a repeat? The kittens are getting stronger & venturing further up the trees.

Santa left presents! 

On of my favorite gifts this year was given by Morgan! Sorry about the blurry picture. 

MY MASTERPIECE!! Praline Pumpkin Cake~ yes it was as delicious as it looks!!

Managed to get everyone in who attended.

Hazy, Hot & Humid

I think I had to have sweated off something like 10lbs this morning walking Smokey the spastic lab in this heat. If only I could lose fat & excess body weight so easily... having it just ooze out my pores along with some sweat??? That's what I like to imagine anyway.

As usual this week has been full of doggie antics. I heard some weird rustling noises coming from the family room whilst I was happily working away in the sewing room... then I heard a lot of body slamming on our old floors which causes the house to reverberate in places. And so I thought I'd better go investigate....

Found Smokey whipping back & forth my daughter's feather pillow. The one I'd just recently COVERED WITH THAT NEW SHAM with flying geese!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess he was having quite the fun with it. Feathers were flying hither &  yon, but I only saw red at first when I thought he'd ripped open the newly made sham... the one that sat on my to-do pile for 3 years & finally got attention & had been finished & washed & looked gorgeous!! 

I calmed down upon investigation when I realized he hadn't in fact ruined the sham -just ripped open the pillow near a seam & so the feathers escaped. WHEW!!

And then I thought to grab my camera :) He does look a little sorry, doesn't he?

He REALLY looks sorry in this one! lol I just can't stay mad at him for long. He's really just a big, hairy baby.

Other news... I finished this 7" felted wool Snowman Candle Mat. I've added it to my etsy shop, but if it doesn't sell, IT'S MINE!! Though as much as I enjoyed stitching it up, I really could just make another, eh?

This is the first time I've worked with felted wool & I really liked it! I love that the hand-stitching gets "sucked into" the felt in such a way that not only hides the stitching for the most part but also adds texture. 

I do believe I'll be on the prowl for felted wool at the Hershey Quilt Show later this month! Along with thread for the longarm, novelty fabrics & an applique project to teach this fall. My list of things to look for at this show is growing exponentially!! 

And last, I thought I'd share what's been on the machine this week:

I'll show an "after" picture once the quilt has been delivered back to the shop. 

Sure hope you're all finding fun ways to beat this heat!!

Take care :)

A Couple Finishes!

I'm still doing a good job of trying to hack up my lungs. Having the flu has been horrible! It's been a good 10 years since I've been this sick. 

Normally I can't sit still for long, especially if it's during the day. I like to be busy & I'm very fidgety. BUT I've done a lot of sitting around this week... watching a lot of garbage tv with my younger daughter... going through some old magazines... and when not engaged in coughing up loogies, wielding needles & doing some stitching! (sorry, bad visual)

This Winter piece was stitched last week, but I finished it this week -put on the backing, binding & the hanger.

I finished hand-quilting the table runner this week too. Since I've been pulling this project out here & there for about a year, it was very satisfying to put those last stitches in & tack down the binding & call it done! 

 A little bit of the back...

And this is my newest start: Walking in a Winter Snapperland- Villa by Bent Creek.

Smokey-the-Spastic-Lab sprawled on our couch. He was literally lying there in all his glory watching tv! lol I still have a love/hate relationship with this big boy. He likes to be RIGHT THERE with us all the time, but being he's big & doppy & drooly & sometimes smelly & usually knocking things over with his uncoordinated bod, his commotion can be quite overwhelming & unwanted at times!!

Hope you all are gearing up for a relaxing, fantastic weekend :) 

Tomorrow is our 23rd anniversary, but we're too sick to be doing much. We'll postpone dinner & hanging out for another weekend when we're up for more than sitting around on the couch.