Shop Closed Due to Weather

I started this blog on Monday when we were really excited to see a snow day....we've now had 4 days of freezing temps and kids out of school and now it's not so exciting.  Sara and I made the decision to keep the shop closed today due to the state of the boardwalk here.  Due to the fact that the weatheer has kept the ice and snow still present on the boardwalk we are concerned for the safety of our customers.  We're hoping to get the front salted and see if we can get rid of the ice and snow but with these temperatures...well who knows.  I'll keep you posted on this though and hopefully tomorrow when the temperature is suppose to rise above freezing we may see a difference.  And now they are also talking about moving the Super Bowl to another day....well this will not deter our Super Bowl sale.  We will start our sale next Friday as scheduled....you can call us, e-mail your order, order on the web site from Friday thru Sunday and you will be getting it on sale.   And with the weather we've been experiencing I've been couch surfing 24/7.  .  Since I finished another shop sample Monday night, , "Valentine Topography" by Pine Mountain, I've pulled out a WIP..."The Flock" by SamSarah.  I hadt 2 sections left to do and last night, Thursday, I finally finished the piece....whoppee!  Since the weekend is upon us it means I have to work on the Moss Creek project which I'm working along with Linda.  Hopefully I'll finish the roof this weekend and can get most of one wall done.  Then I get to start a new project...oh, my God....you know how I love starting a new project.  Oops...I forgot, I guess I should finish at least one of the Sherri Jones class pieces first....O.K., I can get a new project in the rotation at least.     I also wanted to thank all the stitchers that were here over the weekend.  100 stitchers attended  Camp Wannastitch and we saw quite a few of them.  Several have attended this event since it began so we're starting to recognize many of the stitchers so it's like old friends coming in.  It  is always  such fun to see real stitchers and they kept us busy all weekend so we wanted to say " Thank You" so much.  Your coming in and supporting our business is greatly appreciated.  We look forward to seeing you all again next year if not sooner.  Have fun with your  new stash.  Sara has also starting organizing 2 new events for the shop.  We're having a Knitting Retreat in June and a 2nd one in September.  We're really excited to be adding another event and even more excited about the yarn tasting we will be having during the event.  Anyway, got to get ready for a Doctor's appt (ugh)  have a great stitching day...stay inside and stay warm.

My Quaker Ball....oh. my

Another gift to me from Linda Wimbrow and her daughter Candi.  This is also fabulous and is already on display in the shop so you can actually come in and see every stitch.  While I thought it would be a nightmare to finish, Linda and Candi said they had no problem and I can tell you they did a fabulous job.  Not knowing how else to display it I simply put it on a candlestitch (turned upside down).  While I had it at home though I simply sat it on a shelf in my living room and it looked fabulous.  I love Quaker and this was so different I had to have it.  So while it's in my stitching tote...I'm actually thrilled I don't have to stitch it now and put it together.  But I'm glad Linda and Candi gave it to me for Christmas because now I get to enjoy the real thing, not just the chart.  When you come down to Ocean City, look for it.  If you are into Quaker you will have to put this in your to-do pile. 

TGIF...oh, my!

TGIF....it's been a difficult week for me.. as anyone over the age of 60 can tell you, the doctors have devised all kinds of excitement for us...and the worst of the games is the colonoscopy.  Now I realize the cure (tests) are better than the illness (cancer), however between the actual test and the prep...good Golly it's a minefield and each step is hazardous to your health.  Having had this procedure twice before, and knowing that I had a problem with the prep before  made this time even more stressful for me.  And then when I went to the preliminary before the actual event (shall we call it)..I became even more stressed out when they informed me I couldn't take pills again which I did on the second colonoscopy.  No matter how much whining I did about not being able to get the liquid down, the doctor just said, "Don't worry about it,  it's different than the last time you took it and people say it tastes good (I rank that right up there with the pharmacist asking if anyone spoke to me about the price of a prescription).  But when you have no choice you just go with it.  Then to find out the prescription is $93.00 and insurance only covers $2.00 of it...well another blow for this procedure.  But Tuesday evening I started mixing the powder with water....scared but determined I put a straw in the glass (I read it made it easier to get it down) and was thrilled I only had to drink 5 oz of the stuff.  I was even more amazed when I realized the consistency was different this time and it didn't taste as bad as last time so I was able to do the prep with no problem.  Aside from not having a bit of food for over 24 hours I thought things were going really well.  The only problem I could see was you had to take a 2nd doze so many hours before your actual colonoscopy...and that meant I would have to get up at 3:00 and take the second prep.  Now we all know you must remain alert after taking this stuff  because you have to run to the bathroom...several times.  I was so hungry....I couldn't concentrate on anything.  To keep me occupied I watched "Game of Thrones" all day Tuesday which helped...and stitched...which helped.  Anyway, I woke at 3:00 a.m. did the 2nd prep and of course by then had to stay up in order to take a shower when it was close to 7:00 and get dressed as Sara was picking me up at 7:15 on her way to drop Michael at school.  Then off to the doctors.  They called on Monday and told me to show up at 8:00 (my actual colonoscopy was 9:00).  So we got to the doctors around 7:45 and when checking in she said, "Oh you're really early."  I said I knew I was 15 minutes early but I'd sit and wait.  She said, you aren't scheduled until 10:00a.m.  I informed  her I had the paper which was given to me at the doctor's on which it said 9:00 a.m., plus someone at her office called me a couple of days ago and told me to get there at 8:00 a.m.  She starts shuffling papers and says, Oh yes, I see  where they moved up the appointment (but I could see the paper which clearly said 10:00 so somewhere there was a glitch in their system).  But we sat and waited and around 9:00 a.m. they came for me.  I told Sara I was going to need to eat as soon as I was done so while I was in she went for snacks.  Things went quickly once I went into the prep room.  I have to say, my doctor is the best.  He comes in with a smile and has a short conversation with you and when it's over it's the same thing.  If I was looking inside someone's poop shoot I would have neither a smile nor a good word.  Thank God I'm not a doctor.  Anyway, once I woke up we were on our way in a matter of minutes (well, perhaps 45 minutes).  Thrilled to be done...except he says we have to meet in 5 years again...damn!  Love the man but don't want to see him at work anymore.  Anyway, it took me 2 days to get over it (that's my story and again I'm sticking with it) so I sat on the sofa for 2 days stitching and getting my "Games of Thrones" on.  Just so I could say I wasn't worthless I did start the kitchen scrub down .... actually cleaning woodwork, etc., microwave, ovens, etc.  Yes this is new for me, but I'm determined to get it all spic and span before spring.  For every hour I cleaned I got to watch "Game..." one episode.  That lasted for 2 hours and then it was over and I was back on the sofa.  Anyway, that's my TGIF story.  Now...because I have to talk business at some point...I put up another before Christmas finish.  The first picture shows the Praiseworthy Stitches special kit...what's so cute is the green plastic tree (I know plastic, but it is cute) that the kit comes in it and then it becomes the container for the finished product.  Everything is really small, the scissor sheath holds the new petite scissors...so cute, and the thimble pocket is holding a thimble and still fits into the green plastic tree.  The second picture is the Pine Mountain "Winter Topography" pillow.  I have to say, usually Pine Mountain is a fast and easy project for me, one to two nights and I'm done.  I can't say that for this pillow.  It didn't help that I kept using the wrong color fibers in the wrong spots and kept tearing out, but even so this took a few nights, but I do love it because there is so much to it.  And it makes a great pillow to represent the month.  January is our "snow" month in the shop, so our front display has anything with snow or snowmen on it.  Fun for such a dull month...and I mean dull since the last two months are so exciting and colorful.  But January in Ocean City is quiet, dreary..today it's overcast and raining...no events happening and few visitors except for us next weekend when Camp Wannastitch will be in town....love our stitchers.  So if you are coming for that we look forward to seeing you.  We are having warmer temps...high 40's, low 50's and this weekend going to 60...but raining.  At least there is no snow...although a snow day doesn't make me whine...just more time on the sofa.  Have a great weekend. 

Christmas Stitching is finally over....

Usually I don't stitch any holiday pieces past the day of the holiday, but this year I had several little pieces I wanted to get done so I stitched on until yesterday and I'm thrilled with the result. 

It was definitely a Lizzie Kate Christmas for me down here, well I love these because they are fast and easy, no specialty stitches, no pages of instruction to read through, just a fun stitch.  The "Naughty or Nice" was actually a Shepherd's Bush pattern and another easy stitch and now just needs framing, so into the frame pile it goes.  Then the 2013 Flora McSample's Stockings.  The "Noel" stocking was stitched over 2 on 28 ct. and came out bigger than I expected but I was delighted because after finishing it could actually hold a very small gift.  A special gift for someone special.  There is one more stocking that I lost track of momentarily and it didn't get in the picture, but it is also from the same leaflet and is stitched over 1 on 28 ct....so cute...and it is called
 the alphabet sampler stocking....it is so cute because it is so small and would make a cute little ornament.  The other ornament that made the picture is the 3rd stocking from the leaflet and it's "Tis the season" and it's stitched over one on 25 count, so while it's small and would make a cute ornament it's a tad bigger than the alphabet sampler stocking.  But the small stockings take a day to do while Noel took a little longer.  The large picture you see is the Lizzie Kate Mystery Sampler, "Holly & Hearts".  While more stitching, still an easy stitch, done over 2 threads on Picture This Plus overdyed 28 ct. fabric.  I wanted to add some dimension to it so I did add beads in places....you know I'm always finding areas where I can add a bead or two.  Then the final piece, "A Little Snow" kit was a 1 day project as well.  I don't have the snowflake charm on it yet, but even without the charm it is really cute.  And now I'm moving on to other "snow" pieces for January displays, as well as getting on track with class pieces.  Linda, Candi and Katie (a student from Candi's school) were over yesterday, everyone stitching including Katie so it was a fun day in the shop.  Linda and I are trying to get a Moss Creek Etui stitched and put together...A Welsh Cottage Etui with smalls.  Last weekend I said, "Let's start on the smalls to get a good head start", but Linda said, "I think I'd rather start on the thatched roof."  So I started on the roof, the alphabet side and when Linda got here I said, "I'm pretty sure we're working on different sides of the roof" and she announced, "I started with the needle book."  So much for a plan!  But at least we're off and running and it only took us a few years to get this far.  Candi was working on her pre-stitch for the Sherri Jones Mermaid piece for this year, but I'm not feeling too much pressure with this as I had the kit from the Hilton Head retreat where we took the class (and never stitched it) and since Barbara Nunez and I were suppose to be done stitching this by 2013 Jamboree so we could work on construction I had the front and back done.( And Barbara didn't work on hers at all)  so we never got anywhere with that, but at least I had a head start so I don't have as much to do on that piece.  However, I haven't even taken the 2nd kit, Tulip Tray, home so I guess I better get my stitching on and get these pieces stitched.  With the shop closed 3 days a week until Easter I should be able to get these pieces stitched.  The weather is gloomy down here today, overcast and raining and I know most of us are facing really frigid weather if you haven't already been hit with it.  We've been lucky in that we've still had high 40's and 50's mostly during the day, but tonight we go down to single digits and with wind chill...well I don't even want to think about it.  However, Wednesday we're back in the 30's and by Thursday back to the 40's and by the weekend they are even thinking perhaps low 50's, so I just have to survive a couple of days.  However, Wednesday I go in for the dreaded colonoscopy...TMI I know, but I wanted to bitch about the prep again.  The last time I went through this I couldn't get the liquid down....my throat just closed on me.  However, he ended up doing the procedure anyway (I don't even want to think about that), but when I had to go to Baltimore for another one they gave me pills as I can always get them down.  It was a series of 40 pills but I managed to get them down, although not all the water I was suppose to but still I did a good job with that.  When I went into the doctor's office this time and he said, "We don't do the pills anymore, this is a much better solution and a lot less than before, you'll be fine, " I just cringed.  I keep looking at that damn box thinking we are going to do battle Tuesday and I have a feeling I'm not going to win, but I'm going to try.  However, when I drove to the pharmacy and asked for the prescription the pharmacist said, "Has anyone discussed the cost with you?"  The last time they said that to me the medicine cost $300.   Since I had insurance this time I thought, "How much could I be charged?"  $93.00, that's what. (Turns out insurance only paid about $2.00 of this.)  Honestly, that is ridiculous and to think I probably won't even be able to get it down....well my Tuesday and Wednesday will surely be no picnic.  Hope your week is better than mine will be, although I will be sitting on the sofa most of the time stitching so it won't be all bad.  Have a great week and stay warm.

 

 

Happy New Year!!!!!

It's been such a wonderful start to the new year for me.   I spent the last 4 days sitting on the sofa stitching while watching the entire series of Upstairs Downstairs.  I started it at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and this morning (Saturday) watched the final segment before heading off to work.  I fell asleep a few times and had to rewind, but it's all I watched for the last 4 days. Day and night.  What fun.   Next up...Homeland (series 1 & 2) which was a Christmas present from Sara and Debbie...I'm so excited.  I did watch some of it when we got free Showtime last year, but needed to get it since I don't subscribe to Showtime.  Love my DVR.    Sara told me to stay home today since it was so darn cold, but I had to confess to her that I didn't want to because my behind was sore from sitting so long (didn't know that could happen) and my neck and shoulders hurt from all the stitching.  

On Monday, while I work, as I was reading different blogs I commented to Sara that when I went to one of the designers blogs there wasn't a word about stitching on it.  Sara looked me in the eye and said, "have you ever read Salty Yarns blog?"  Since I compose it of course I had read it before, but then I realized what point she was trying to make.  So, in the spirit of a New Year and turning over a new leaf...I shall write about stitching at least once on every blog posting.  On the right you will see one of the gifts I stitched as a Christmas present for Judy who started working at Salty Yarns in the fall.  It's the High Seas Biscornu and Fob (Fab Reilly designs).   The minute it came into the shop I just knew I had to  stitch it. And since Judy is all about the ocean right now,(she just moved down),  I just felt it would be perfect for her.    I had a great deal of fun stitching it and paired it with lighthouse scissors to complete the gift.  I was a stitching maniac all November and December and managed to complete about 9 projects, for employees, Stitch 'n Bitch secret santa gifts and friends.  Last week I managed to complete the Lizzie Kate Mystery Christmas Sampler, although I did add a few beads to give it some dimension.  I also completed my first 2014 project, started Wednesday night, Lizzie Kate, "A Little Snow".  A cute easy stitch and since snow is our January topic in the shop it is perfect...of course now I have to get it framed.... Since I finished something,  I got to start a new project, (although I've got a few still being worked on), but Linda and I are going to work a project together and we begin on Sunday so I wanted to get my fabric prepped and perhaps even begin since I'm also sure Linda is doing the same thing.  This is definitely going to be a race to see who  can stitch the most each week.  We've decided that we're going to meet here in the shop every Sunday in order to get this etui done, otherwise we'd end up putting it off for another year.  .  We've had it for at least  3 years and keep talking about it but never start so 2014 is the magic year of accomplishment for us. It will be a race to see who gets the most done.  While we are both working on the roof of the project, I have a feeling she is working on the front side and I'm busy with the back side.  The strain of so much overone stitching made me decide  to stitch Lizzie Kate's 2013 Flora McSample's Stockings.  So Thursday I  finished Noel on 28 ct. over 2 (much bigger than I had envisioned) and since it was larger than I had imagined I stitched the alphabet sampler stocking over 1 on 28 ct. on Friday, our first official snow day.    It's cute, and will be perfect on a tree, but I have to say the over 2 stocking would actually hold a small gift so I'm thinking I like that one better.  Sara suggested I do the third stocking on 25 count over 1 to give some perspective on size with a different count.  We'll see.  Now that I've discussed stitching I can  talk about what went wrong with our Christmas.  It started with my Mary wanting a new lounge chair to match the furniture that "fell off the back of a truck" last year, (when the man came to me in the shop to unload his truck of furniture from North Carolina).  So she and I went over to a popular furniture store in Delaware and after sitting on 100 (at least) such chairs she finally picked out a black leather one. (By this time I was willing to gift her anything, no matter what the cost just to get the hell out of there.)  In the meantime while I was waiting for her to settle on a chair, I did pick out a display cabinet for Sara for Christmas so she could display her smalls.  Anyway, the furniture company arrived with the delivery the week before Christmas.  When they pulled the chair off the truck Mary said, "That's not the chair I picked."  The chair was a cocoa and fabric, so back in the truck it went.  We were told they couldn't deliver again until after Christmas....well these things happen.  Well, Thursday I heard a knocking on the door, and  they had  arrived with the chair again.  I went out to direct them and when I saw the chair on the truck I called Mary and asked her to come down as  I felt  they were delivering  the same chair.  She walked down the stairs and the words began to fly.  Usually Mary doesn't cuss like a sailor (that's Sara), but I'm telling you yesterday she let it fly.  Her final words were "I don't even want the friggin chair anymore, especially from you so credit my mother's card and I'm done."  Meanwhile I'm telling her to watch her language and don't blame the men delivering the chair, while at the same time apologizing to them for her language and attitude.  It was the same two delivery men so they were getting use to taking the chair off the truck and putting it back on.  Although I have to say, while I'm sure they deliver many items I'm surprised they didn't realize this was the same friggin chair as last time because one of them said the same thing they said before...."it looks cocoa to me."  Now I just got a call from Mary that the furniture store salesman has called and is coming up with many excuses, and has yet to say, I'm sorry, which is what she wants.  After the first delivery, Mary went back to the store to point out the correct chair a 2nd time, which makes her even madder...since the store is about an hour away.   The chair she keeps picking out is Black Leather and the chair they've sent twice is cocoa and fabric.  I mentioned to the delivery people that perhaps the item number was confused on the chairs, apparently both chairs had the same item #, which is what they are saying is the problem...wouldn't you think they would have noticed this the first time around.  Anyway, Mary finally has her chair, after New Year's but the chair is situated and I'm pretty sure her behind has been in it.  The other Christmas problem we had was....Christmas morning I awoke around 4:30 and felt that it was a little chilly, but I pushed the thermometer up and kept plugging along.  After letting the water run for 30 minutes I knew there was another problem.  So when I was sure Mary and Brian were up I called them and asked if their place was cold....which it was but they plugged in electric heaters and said don't worry about it.  However, since everyone was coming to my house Christmas day for dinner and gift exchanging I said I was worrying about it because this was not only a heating issue but a hot water issue.  To do the huge pile of dishes I was using to make a Christmas dinner I needed hot water.  Since 4:30 I was heating water in the microwave and using it to wash dishes but that was  getting "old" fast.  So Vernon was called.  Sara's first response was to run to the office to see if I had paid the bill...which I knew I had so that couldn't be the issue.  When she saw I paid it on December 1st we started making plans to get heat for the day.  I figured no one would answer the phone on Christmas day so we were thinking of heaters from the hotel and me microwaving hot water. (starting to remind me of Nashville and me trying to melt butter over a candle...I'm old school I can handle just about any problem).   However, Christmas afternoon they answered the phone and actually delivered oil on Christmas Day.  I told Vernon to hold on to the delivery man as I wanted to give him a nice tip for coming out but apparently the only person not happy with coming was the delivery man and gave Vernon attitude so Vernon said, "No way are you tipping that asshole. Vernon went out and was saying how sorry we were that he had to come out, but we're on automatic with them so we couldn't understand why we ran out."  The serviceman apparently didn't give a damn and wouldn't even speak to Vernon, apparently he was solid "pissed off" at us for having the nerve to call in for oil.  We're on automatic people...delivery once a month....didn't happen in December...if you had shown up I wouldn't have had to call you!  After that I decided I'm done with oil deliveries and I'm having another method of heat put in.  And that was my Christmas Day...it's never easy, but I've learned to go with the flow.  Even with that I had a wonderful Christmas and I've had an even better week after Christmas.  While we did open on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, we had our first snow day on Friday after New Years....and that's so much fun.  A day when you thought you would have to work, but instead you get to stay home.  Whoppee!!! It's a good thing.  While the pitiful snow we got was over by morning, we had a day of rain on Thursday and I felt it might result in black ice beneath the snow and decided we shouldn't open.  When I called Sara and told her what I thought she just said, "It's fine with me."....what she didn't tell me is she was sick.  Vernon got the flu right after Christmas and apparently Sara caught it Tuesday.  She sounds terrible today (we're back at work) and I've tried to get her to go home and rest, but she's having none of it.  We decided to have a stitching session, but now I'm blogging and she's playing games on her phone so stitching has ended for the time being.  Stacy Stinson did come in and we exchanged gifts....thankfully she always brings me Christmas treats, which I started eating immediately, and this year she included a woolen needle pouch,  which she made,  with 2 packs of needles and a Big Toe needle threader inside...so cute.  Stacy's mother is our finisher and Stacy use to hand everything she did over to her mother to finish.  But with classes, etc., she's been finishing her own pieces and she's doing a beautiful job of it.  These needle pouches are adorable and I'll be putting mine in my stitching bag when I leave today.  Christmas just never ends.  It's really quiet here now though.  I think all visitors have left town....because we've seen very few today.  There is a lone surfer out today...28 degrees and he's surfing....oh, my God, to be young and stupid.  Well I've got to get back to stitchin.  Hope you are having a great weekend.  Talk to you soon.    

Merry Christmas

What a merry Christmas I had....and today I'm starting to  feel better.  The day after Christmas I felt like I had a hangover and yet I didn't have anything to drink.  But prior to the big day we were on overdrive down here.  First the shopping...oh, my...shopping, shopping and more shopping.  Then the wrapping....oh, God why did I buy all this stuff that now has to be wrapped....then it's the menu revisions and the food shopping and then the final insult to time...cleaning the house....or the attempt to clean the house.  Since I have yet to finish all of this by myself,  I was determined to get everything done in time for the family to come to my house Christmas Day for dinner.  Sara traditionally had me over for breakfast and then everyone comes to my house for dinner where I have gifts for everyone and they bring me gifts.  But for the last two years I didn't go to Sara's in my attempt to get the entire dinner done with no help before they all get to my house.  For the past several Christmas' I  have failed and have  had to call Sara to have her come over and help Christmas afternoon.  But I was determined this year.  I made lists, I had a schedule done and each was revised nightly as I changed recipes, etc...yes, I just knew this was my year.  I was ready for the count down....Monday I shopped for ingredients and started my baking.  I had everything purchased but due to rain and I was exhausted since I had spent the morning at the church hall where we had set up a little church while our church is being repaired from the fire, and with the usual final day running last minute errands, I ended up grocery shopping at dinner tine.  I ended up only bringing into the house what I knew I would have to have for Monday's baking.  I was definitely going to get Monday's jobs done, even though I was running behind.  I was feeling good and excited and I began with the Cheesecake.  By 10 p.m. that was done....yeah....one job checked off the list.  Now the sweet potato pie...well, I left the potatoes in the car so that would have to wait.  So instead I decided to work on the food basket I give to my minister and the deacon Christmas Eve.  However, it was a bleak reminder that our minister was killed in the tragic fire in November, but we still have our Deacon so I was determined to get her gift done.  Cranberry bread, done...chocolae peanut butter cookies...done...chocolate peppermint bark...bagged and tagged...yes, I'm on schedule.   I finished making the pickled peaches and pickled beets and put them in the frig to cool.   In checking recipes on my Ipad, I saw crockpot candy and thought...yes, that's cool I'll try that. (this is why I get in trouble every year).  I add it to my todo list...oh, no another item...I need to stay off the internet.  And  because I didn't have cashews it meant another trip to the grocery store.  I had a few more gifts to wrap to I switched from baking to wrapping.  Everything got wrapped, with one exception...a couple of things for Izzie I forgot about.  But everything else was done...no bows but  bows were on the schedule for Christmas morning early, so no problem. .Yes this was going to be my year.   Tuesday morning loomed early for me as I got up around 4:30  to 5:00 a.m.  So I was ready to go early and decided to bring in the groceries, and get something else done.  Coleslaw dressing....done and all I would have to do on the 25th was put the coleslaw together.  Yeast bread for cinnamon rolls, done and rising....so I got the sweet potatoes cooking so I could make sweet potato pie from scratch.  Yes, I was definitely on schedule....and then Michael (my 12 year  old grandson) came over.  We decided to get cashews for our crockpot chocolate so we went shopping.  When we returned we made our crockpot chocolate covered cashews (interesting, delicious and easy...but still takes a little time to set up and then when it's done  you have to put it in little cups for giving.)  It was interesting but makes a whole lot so be prepared if you try this at home.  Michael got bored with the shaping of the candy and went home....O.K., now that I'm alone this is taking longer than I expected.    Sara was taking the gift to our deacon since I refuse to attend the  children's Christmas Eve service.....kids running around, screaming and talking make me nuts in church so on Sunday I always attended the 8:00 so I didn't have to contend with the kids whose parents seem to be o.k. if their little darlings never sit down in church.  Unfortunately since the fire we are only able to have one united service at 9:00, in the church hall, so I am forced to contend with the little rug rats.   Sara doesn't seem to mind as much so she attended Christmas Eve service  so she could undress the altar for me and bring me the linens to clean.  So that gave me an extra couple of hours to work as well on  Christmas Eve.  Oh, yes I just knew I was going to make it.  I went to bed Tuesday night still convinced I was on schedule.  But I got up , well I got up the first time at 2 a.m. and gathering up all the wrapping supplies and got them in a pile.  Then I went back to sleep and got up again at 4:30 and started panicing because I was afraid the 21 pound turkey I purchased frozen solid on Monday afternoon wouldn't  be thawed by Wednesday morning.  So first thing I did was google cooking frozen turkey and was assured that the turkey could be cooked regardless of frozen state.  However after I finally lifted it and took off the wrapping I saw that it was thawed so I knew it was my lucky day.  So I got the stuffing ready and stuffed the bird and shoved it in the oven at 6:30 a.m.  Then I put the sauerkraut in the crock pot, put a load of wash in, and got the sweet potatoes ready so I could put them in the oven...love candied sweet potatoes.  As I was getting things ready to go into the oven at their appointed time I was patting myself on the back thinking I was finally going to get everything done.  I peeled the regular potatoes for boiling so they would be ready for mashing,  got the cinnamon  roll bread out of the refrigerator so it could go through the 2nd rise and then I decided to get the living room ready and gifts in place.  I wrap each persons gifts with a different paper so it makes it easier to tell whose boxes are whose.  So I  got out the vacuumed the living room floor, dusted and placed the gifts in their proper place and then began to work on the dining room table.  I knew I was going to make it because I only had left, the two vegetable dishes, a sauteed brussel sprouts dish which was easy although I did have to fry the shallots, and a puff pastry w/asparagus which was also easy.  Then I had to make the merangue for the sweet potato pie and I was done...O.K., almost done.  I still had to clean up the porch and finish the dining room.  I decided to take a bathroom break and while I was reading a page of my book as I sat(my break for the day..I was multi-tasking) I heard the patter of little feet.  I just knew it couldn't be any of the kids because it was just 10:30 in the morning.  Certainly they weren't done at their house.  But then I heard "nan" and my goals just moved further out of reach.  But no problem, I just had to make sure to pull the turkey out of the oven by 11:00, get the sweet potatoes basted and then pull them out and I could do the vegetable dishes in the afternoon before reheating all the finished dishes....yes, I'm not as certain as I was earlier, but I still have confidence in myself.  Why those children who woke up around 8 were downstairs with me by 10:30 is a mystery, but it's Christmas Day,  I'm a grandmother and delighted they want to come see me no matter what the house.  So I meet them in the living room to ooh and aah the new toys they brought down for me to see.  But of course, staring at piles of gifts in my house was too much so one by one they started opening gifts swearing they didn't care if there were none left when everyone came over tonight.  Around 11:30 Mary announced that she smelled something burning...oh, crap!  Of course the Turkey was in the oven 1/2 hour too long...well I like my meat well done so I'm cool, but the sweet potatoes hadn't been basted regularly so their tops were a bit on the too done side, but after tasting one I said, "the underside is fine, it's the top that looks burnt and I'll eat that."  Mary wanted the kids to go back upstairs so I could finish my job, but they didn't want to go so I said the hell with it and called Sara.  Another Christmas without reaching my goals wasn't going to kill me...it might kill Sara but she's getting use to my Christmas day 911 call and I think she might miss it (I'm sure she'd like to experience missing the call and I think next year will be the year).  Yes, next year I'm going to start the whole procedure a day earlier and have everything basically cooked and just have to heat it up Christmas Day.  This gives me a whole year to make plans and make lists.  Yes, 2014 is going to be my year!  Of course Sara is saying, "this is ridiculous, next year we're doing this at my house."  We'll see. 

I hope your day was as much fun as mine and you had plenty of time with your family too.  There is just nothing better for Christmas than children and grandchildren...too much fun!   

Thanksgiving...Hope you had a safe and delicious day!!!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and made it to your destination with no problem.  Fortunately we stayed here in Ocean City, well Sara and I did, our Mary and her family drove to

Baltimore for the day to spend Thanksgiving day with Brian's family.  So it was pretty quiet here which was fine because this has been a really bad week for us.  Tuesday I was sitting at home, T.V. blaring, soda by my side and needlework in my hand when I got the call from Sara..."Mom, the church is on fire and someone died."  Of course that led to a lot of speculation and at one point during the day I was told Father David had died.  Just as I was coming to grips with the grief of that statement,  I was called and told he wasn't dead but was in critical condition at the hospital  It was someone else (as it turns out the man who set himself on fire while in  Shepherds Crook, our food pantry), and of course that let to Shepherd's Crook catching fire.    Anyway, as I was taking some relief in that and the fact that it was the offices on fire not the church, which is attached, and  seemed to be weathering the fire alright.  Anyway, by the 6:00 p.m. news Tuesday, Father David had died, the church offices were destroyed and the church suffered water damage and smoke damage.  When your parish priest dies it is similar to a family member dying.  I know he will be replaced eventually but this process can take a couple of years and in the time it takes,  people will once again be leaving to go elsewhere.  While I do serve on the Altar Guild, December is my month, I'm just not sure how I'll feel walking back in there knowing David died here...it's a sad reminder...and we're in flux once again.  Our church has been devasted in the last 20 years due to a couple of ministers who should  never have become ministers.  We were just getting our church moving forward in a positive way with Father David and now this.  So I'm feeling down about Father David's passing on, his wife and 3 children now without him, especially difficult at holiday times and our church which will now go through another period of turmoil.  Mercy, it's almost too much to handle.  I've always been told that God doesn't give you more than you can handle....I hope this is true.  Because in the coming weeks we will have to pull together for each other and to help Brenda and the boys get through this.  Anyway, that's my week, and I did have a wonderful dinner at Sara's.  She did the turkey, candied sweet potatoes, stuffing and dressing (glad I finally learned the difference...duh)..sauerkraut, and a sweet potato pie, and I did the cinnamon rolls, sautéed brussel sprouts (Sara's Favorite), mashed potatoes (my favorite), sweet pickled peaches (tradition), pickled beets and a new pie, Sour Cream Apple, so to say we had plenty of food is an understatement...there were 4 of us, but today we had the next day turkey sandwiches which are sooo good.  To help me weather the storm I am also stitching like crazy.     Sorry for the awful photo's of my works in progress but I just couldn't take the time to iron them just to show you what I've done...obviously I have a way to go on both of them.  But I've also finished 7 Christmas gifts, and a Thanksgiving etui for Sara which I will put up on the blog later.  The first picture you see is a SamSarah Design that Sara saw from the truck show when Patti was here for Jamboree.  It's a series called...Flock....and the series consists of several charts with the different sections and a set of specialty buttons.  While it is cute when it's done, it's too contemporary for me but Sara just loved, loved, loved it...so I'm stitching it.  It really is a nice stitch, some of the charts are fast and can be done in one night so that's always exciting.  I ran out of 4 of the colors last night so decided to start a new project until I got the colors from the shop.  So then I started doing Drawn Threads "Give Thanks" and I adore this piece.  I'm a strong advocate for Drawn Thread anyway, and have stitched several of her charts.    I pulled the wrong fabric count but decided to use it anyway so I'm stitching it  over 2 on 28 ct., in the silks suggested, except for 2 colors we didn't  have in stock when I first pulled this so I've substituted (as usual).  But this piece is fun and interesting...oh so interesting.  She uses many specialty stitches in each element so the vase that I'm currently working on is using at least 4 specialty stitches....fabulous.  I can't wait to get back to it.  Because I do have to pay attention I won't bring that to work with me.  But since Lizzie Kate's  "A Little Snow" arrived today....well you know I'll work on this right in the shop...nothing better than a new project.  Fun, Fun, Fun.  I am endlessly entertained as long as I have my stitching.  The weather is beautiful this weekend, especially since at first they were calling for rain this weekend, but the sun is out, and the temp. is around 50 during the day but down in the low 30's at night.  I hope you are enjoying the same glorious sky.  Hope you are enjoying the holiday, brief though it is for most, especially those who had to leave their Thanksgiving table to go to work...ugh!  Talk to you soon.