2011 Finishes

Wow it's been quite a year and with things winding down I wanted to share my 2011 finishes.  I can tell Mark's been traveling a lot based on the number of pieces that I actually finished.  No WIP's this past year was my goal and I almost accomplished that but dang Midnight Watch is still lingering in the guestroom closet.  I started stitching it to honor my Magggie cat and I think in my heart of hearts I just can't bear to finish it.  I'd think after 2 years it would be easier to "talk" about her but the truth is that I still miss her every day.  So 2012 resolution is to finish Midnight Watch.

Wow as I look at them now, I realize they are all Blackbird Designs and thank my lucky stars that Michael's had such a great deal on framing last month. 

Tulip House stitched for my MIL for christmas gift.  It honors her, my GMIL, my mom and granny.  The frame and matting were just perfect for her house and really added just the perfect finishing touch.

Dear Sister was stitched to honor my Great Aunt Flo.  She was quite a gal

Blackbird's Message

Paris Freebie Chart stitched while in Paris!  What great memories and I changed the color from pink to blue to fit in my bedroom scheme better.

Farm House stitched to honor my Pappa and what a gentle soul he was.

Waiting for the Harvest-pinkeep pattern but I love it framed

Moonlit Garden

Evergreen

So that's what I've been doing all year instead of blogging on a regular basis.  Right now I'm off to finish my first Non Blackbird Pattern in the last 2 years.....Bent Creek's Winter Row.  It's just too stinking cute and will be perfect hanging in the entrance hall until the last snow flake falls which in Atlanta happens about next week.  LOL!  Everyone have a wonderful new year and I look forward to spending the day looking thru my ever increasing "must stitch projects" for next year. 

Getting older just suxs!

Last week I had a scare with my blood pressure which has never, ever been high but Friday morning it shot up to 189/128 which scared the crud out of me and everyone at work around me. Someone drove me home because I was much too lightheaded to drive myself then I spent the entire weekend just lying on the sofa. My pressure stayed up but not that high so I made a dr's appointment as soon as they opened. The dr ran an ekg which showed no heart attack or damage (wahoo) but he wanted me to see a cardiologist so he made me an appointment for that same afternoon. That was a little troubling to me that I need to be seen right away by the cardiologist but hey wasn't gonna turn it down. So now we're waiting to schedule some more tests to see if we can get to the bottom of it. My pressure is back into a normal range but it occasionally shoots up, I have back pain, lightheadedness and just generally don't feel "right". I can't explain it other than something doesn't feel right which I'm sure is a huge help to the dr in getting this puzzle solved. Anyhoo, just gonna let the dr do his job and quit trying to play doctor. Mark will be so disappointed, LOL!

My folks are coming to see me in a week and I can't wait. I need a Momma hug and some Daddy love right now! Mark's going back out of the country for a couple of weeks so they will drive in to stay a couple of days with me. It's not they are avoiding him it just makes more sense when I can spend one on one time with them and we can act like the weird family that we are without Mark having to see it all. We put the Fun in dysfunctional and not everyone gets that. We had hoped that Rachel and Josi could come with them but cheerleading camp will keep both of them busy so maybe next year. They are just growing up too fast...Rachel will be sweet sixteen in September and Josi just turned 13. I truly do wonder where the time as gone. Rachel's first sentences were "U happy Pappa? Me happy"..She accomplished something I never thought possible; she taught me that I had enough room/love in my life for her and Zared. You see, Zared was my special little guy and he loved spending time with me almost as much as I loved spending time with him so I worried that his little sister wouldn't feel as special to me. But Rachel's bright eyes and smile won me over immediately and I couldn't wait to spoil her rotten just like I did Z. She wasn't a cuddly little baby and gosh, that girl had a set of lungs on her but she still had me wrapped around her little finger. As she got older, her BIG personality just shined thru and I loved spending more and more time with her. Then Kelton was born and what a lover he was. He liked to be cuddled, he smiled all the time, had the cutest little pot belly and man, oh man, he loved his cousin Rachel. They are only 10 months apart so they were best buddies and gonna get married! I started having Auntie Days with Zared when he was probably just a few weeks old so now I had 3 kids on our days and things were somewhat more challenging but equally just as rewarding. We'd go to Chuckie Cheese, Toys R Us, parks, bookstores, movies, ect with the kids always making the decisions about what we did and where we ate....of course, in the early days Z could talk the younger ones into doing whatever he really wanted to do just like he could me! Then Josi came along and she brought even more joy into our lives. She had the sweetest, most loving personality and she was just happy all the time. She had all of us wrapped around her fingers....well, maybe not all of us because her big brother wasn't entirely thrilled she was there at first. She quickly grew up and I do mean quickly because anything Rachel and Kelton did then by gosh, she did! This child was fearless! We started called Rachel, Kelton and Josi the "little kids" because they were all so close in age but nothing these 3 ever did was little! I moved out of state on Rachel's 5th birthday so I've missed so much now of everyday watching them grow up but the time I do spend with them is quality time. I think they all know how much Aunt Donna loves them but they won't ever fully understand the joy they have brought to me in my life until they have kids of their own. I'm a proud aunt as I'm sure you can't tell from this post. I love every one of them in a way that I never thought possible and the joy they bring me has enriched my life immensely.

Ok, enough sappy tearjerker memories because it's Saturday here in Hotlanta and its raining. Yea! We need it so bad because I got a $145 water bill yesterday....sure wish I was kidding about that but no such luck. I'm resetting that sprinkler system tonight no matter what Mark has to say. That's too much watering and it's cutting into be estate sale budget....LOL! I'm heading over to a couple of promising looking sales today while Mark works. He's trying to finish his presentations today so tomorrow we can play. Have a great weekend everyone!

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!

Anyone else ever feel this way?  I swear it was just January last week and now the calendar is telling me it's freakin July!  Well all I have to do is step outside my door to know it's July in Atlanta also known as Hotlanta.  It's 99 in the shade and yes I meant the Bon Jovi pun for those who know me too well. 

Vacation was amazing and we had such a great time.  It was nice to just relax, lounge around and explore every square inch of Boppard, Reims and Paris.  I did send us off on a wild goose chase looking for a needlework store that Alma from Blackbird Designs mentioned on her blog about her trip a couple of years ago.  I wish I was kidding when I say that we walked 7 1/2 miles in one afternoon and never found it.  We were armed with the iphone map and it kept telling us it was just around the corner but as soon as we made the turn it would send us off another way.  Mark kept his spirits up just making fun of me huffing and puffing but determined to find it.  After a couple of stops for lunch, dinner and lots of wine, I finally admitted defeat so we headed back to the hotel and I was content to stitch away the freebie design that I downloaded from Alma's blog as a tribute to the trip.  As we were walking back to the Arc de Trimphe which was right beside our hotel, Mark said "Hey I hear a band playing at the Arc" and this will tell you who tired I was because I replied "It could be Bon Freakin Jovi and I wouldn't stop right now".  Still a once in a lifetime trip and it really makes you appreciate home when you get back!

I did actually make it to the Paris flea market and was so disappointed. I made sure to get exact directions so I didn't go to the swap meets thinking it was the Fleas as the French call it. I think before the world of internet shopping the fleas was the biggest thing ever but now I could find everything I could possibly want online so I was disappointed. Not as much as Mark who had made arrangements to have stuff shipped home and changed subway trains 7 times with me just to get there. But I can now say be there, done that and mark it off my bucket list. Now that's not to say that I came home empty handed....don't despair my friends I still brought home treasures just treasures that I could carry on or pack into Mark's suitcase.  There was a great antique street fair close to the hotel so I spent more time there than anywhere else.  I managed to score the stool and 2 pewter porringers from a guy for about $60, the two coffee grinders were $40 for both and the yellowware bowl, chopping board and wooden mallet were quite a bit more I'm afraid.  But all of it fit in my suitcases along with a few other small things I bought like 3 pillows and a huge slate cheese platter.  Mark was about to kill me after lugging all that "old wood" as he likes to refer to it all thru bus trip to airport, thru Paris airport, thru Atlanta airport and finally the marta trip home.  I was afraid he would throw them off the train tracks when he realized that the elevator was broken so we had to carry the bags down the stairs.  What a guy!  Now I just need some time to play with my newest treasures and get them displayed properly in the house.  I promise more pics after all the fluffing is done.

 

Leaving today!

As soon as the sun comes up, I'll be asleep sitting here but for now it's 4:30 am and I've been up since 3:00. I' like kid at Christmas just thinking about everything I want to see,, do and still need to get done before we leave. I'll work until noon today then it's off to the marta to start our fun filled adventure and any trip that starts with marta is guaranteed to be exciting. For those country folk, marta is the train that most of us take into Atlanta instead of fighting traffic and it's quite a colorful bunch of people that ride it. We've never had any problems and ride it a lot but you're just never sure who'll be sitting with you...cross dresser, hooker, man in 3 piece business suit, children (unruly), ect... I like the people watching aspect.

Anyway, I'm guzzling diet coke and eating a very healthy breakfast of raisenets. Yummy! I figure about the time I go into work the caffeine/sugar rush will pass and I'll be so cranky that I'll have to leave early. maybe I should try that every day. LOL!  I'll take a sleeping pill as we board the plane so I'll be rested for my first day in Germany.  I've alerted Mark that we are Putz sheep herders while there and must gather us a few more for our herd if the pricing is right.

I hate that I'm leaving my little Clarice here alone for the next 2 weeks but alas, Mark wouldn't give to buying her a tix to go with us. Not even after she promised to wear a beret and call him Pappa. He's got a heart of stone.ha,ha. Auntie Donna and Uncle Morgan will be coming over twice a day to play and check on her. She enjoys their visits more than us sometimes. My real concern is she is obsessed with eating anything and everything right now including flowers that I bring in the house. I've got some flowers that I'm drying and she keeps stealing them off the cabinets to gnaw on. I worry that she'll knock the pitchers over while I'm gone and break them. Now I know the sensible thing would be put them all away why we're gone but no, my house is form over function so I'll just have to deal with it if she breaks anything. Hey,   in case my plane goes down, my family needs to be able to walk into my home and think it looks great. As long as they don't look too close to see the cobwebs and smudges it will look great. LOL! The only change I made is unplugging the tart warmers while we're gone. Don't know why I do because they stay on 24/7 when we're home but always worry they will burn the house down when we're gone. No seriously, I don't usually worry about death, burning homes, ect but when one is out of the country and has no control then one thinks bout things like tt happening. Gee, I'm weird!

Ok,so off to fold that last load of laundry, rol out the trash cans, get dressed and go to wok. Catch ya in a couple of weeks and tell ya all about the trip.

Less than a week until I'm leaving on a jet plane...LOL!

That was one of those songs that I sung at the top of my lungs in the front yard when I was a kid.....not much has changed now that I'm grown. Ask my neighbors....LOL. I bet my momma would still wash my mouth out with soap today for screaming....Bad, Bad Leroy Brown...baddest man in the whole DAMN town...I was a rebel even back then. No kidding, worst whipping of my life...except for the one that I got at age 17 when I stuck the hot iron to the bottom of my brother's foot but that's a story for another day. I'll just say that I hate ironing....enough said...always have and always will but after Mark heard that story he started taking all his clothes to the dry cleaners. I married a smart man!


We leave in 6 days on vacation and I'm feeling every minute slipping away already. You know the must clean out all the closets before we leave just in case something happens that we don't make it back. Lord forbid, my momma or even worse, his momma know how messy we are! I'd like to say "he is" but sadly I'm the pack rat that keeps dragging things home and squirreling them away in the closets. And I hope to bring back lots of squirraly items from the flea markets in Germany and France. I'm gonna have 3 whole days in Reims while he's in meetings and I'm so excited just picturing all the wonderful things I'm gonna find. My only concern is the e coli outbreak in Germany. Mark's been so excited because I was going to be there during white asparagus season and now I'm concerned about eating any veggies. It would suck to get sick first thing and miss Paris! I never, never even dreamed that a little Arkansas hillbilly like myself would be going to Paris. I know we've had some amazing once in a lifetime trips to China, Korea, Italy, Wales, ect but Paris just sounds so ....sigh...foreign...Paris, Paris! Quick someone pinch me to make sure this isn't a dream. Ouch! No dream just the reality of trying to figure out what to pack leaving as much room as I can to bring back lots of treasures. T shirts, shorts, walking shoes and maybe a nice summery dress for those romantic nights but nothing else...well maybe, some underwear, bras and nighties might be in order. Dang now my suitcase is filling up again. They say the Flea Market in Paris is the largest in the world and there are a lot of "country" antique items so I can't wait to tell you guys all about my new treasures. Just hoping that credit card limit is high enough to hold everything. LOL!

Thurdsday's good thoughts and musings

Good thought for today, I forget to say that I got a set list from the concert handed to me by one of the tour managers. Wahoo! See dancing with Jon and David leads to great things so now when can I do it again?


Mark and I are leaving June 8th for a couple of weeks of working vacation for him but sheer enjoyment for me. Sometimes, I love his job because this time we're headed to Germany and then Paris. I'm so excited and bought a couple of cool books about all the flea markets in Paris that I want to shop at. There's no way I can even see half of them but hey, a girl can dream can't she? I love when his business trips work out so we get a fabulous vacation but do hate that he'll be working for some of the time. I plan on just wandering around when he's in meetings and exploring everything but I won't be driving. No speedy driving for this little chickie. I can barely drive here in the states much less somewhere I don't understand the language or signs.


Took Hubert to the vet for his yearly exam this afternoon and I'm afraid to say he's been labeled a Bad Kitty at this one too. He bit the vet which shocked the crap out of me. I've never seen him be that aggressive.....ever! he laying in the hallway now just growling at Clarice and glaring at me. He's so not a happy camper right now and all she did was give him 3 shots and send us packing. I was trying to schedule an appointment for him to get his lion cut for the summer but she told me to call back later. They just wanted him out the door. Guess I may have to go back to the original vet we used when we first moved here even if I don't like him or his staff.   Any vet that says put that kitten down because she has ringworm and it's just going to be an unhealthy cat it's whole life, should be whipped!   If I'd listened to him then I've have missed out on Clarice and what a shame that would have been.  She's mommy's little girl and never had any real health issues once we cured the ringworm.  On second thought maybe I'll just keep trying other vets to find someone that Hubert likes because I'm not taking any of my precious babies back to that quack.

Well better head back to work because my "lunch hour" is over and I should try to earn a little of my pay today.  LOL

Happy Thursday to everyone!
Donna

Positive Tuesday Musings

Hot summer days and strawberry milkshakes just go hand in hand. Ok so maybe not the best choice for dinner but oh so sinfully good! I know everyone is surprised to learn that the chocoholic chose strawberry but that's the healthy helping of fruit that makes it ok to only have a milkshake for dinner. LOL! Clarice is trying to cram her head into the cup to get the last little bit of goodness and you know how much I love her because I'm letting her do it. She's gotten to be such a big girl but still here's a couple pictures from her little tiny kitten days....Clarice's nightly spa treatments.  She weighed less than 1/2 a pound when she came to live with us and my how she has grown since then.

I mentioned yesterday about my first swap and I think it might just become addicting to want to be a part of swaps now.  I entered Jennifer over at Feathers In The Nest giveaway for a wonderful Blackbird Designs pattern that shockly I don't already own.  It's an Americana design and she's doing a giveaway in honor of all the soldiers that have given so much to all of us.  

 I also entered Tammy's Pay It Forward swap and here's the details. Guess I should mention Tammy's blog is  http://aprimitiveplace.blogspot.com/

Here's how it works......
The first 5 people who comment on this blog post...will receive a handmade gift from me.

In return, you must write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward and send out handmade gifts to the first 5 visitors who leave a comment on your post.

Don't be stressed...there is no need to send out the gifts all today or tomorrow.

Any time in the next few months is fine.

No pressure. This is meant to be fun.

So if you would like to take the Pay It Forward challenge please comment on this post.

Happy Days-Very Picture Heavy

You know each day has something to be grateful for and I'm determined to find it everyday!  I'm so tired of being a negative nellie about work stress, minor health issues, job challanges for Mark, ect.....I have to be positive because that's just who I am!!!!!  So getting back to being "me" starts tonight!

First of all, I grieve for all the lost and shattered lives in Joplin right now which is a hop, skip and a jump from "home".  Looking at the pictures of such utter devastation is just heart wrenching and knowing the area makes it even harder to grasp.  All those families shattered and yet the story of the survivors are amazing rejoicing events.  Life changes in an instantance!

I did manage to hit 2 amazing estate sales 2 weekends ago and was able to snag some amazing deals.  I know, I know that I'm suppose to be saving all my cash for vacation in France next month but I just couldn't resist these sales and boy, oh boy am I happy that I didn't.  I got Mark a banker's wooden desk chair for his office and he had just told 2 weeks ago that he'd like to have one.  Score and for only $30

Now I just need to clean it up and get some casters that are more wood floor friendly before we move it into the house.

Also at that same sale, I got 2 glass battery jars, a couple of old yardsticks that I have a special project planned for, a rusty candle mold, a couple of bisquit cutters a great old strainer that I'm gonna make into a shoo fly screen and some misc smalls.

Next it was off to the races to make it some 30 minutes away before the next prizes were sold. I told myself all the way there that I was too late to get what I wanted so don't be too disappointed. I mean it was afternoon and what I wanted is a sought after collectible so chances of them still being there were slim to none. Guess what? Slim to none worked in my favor. I started my coverlet collection with these 3 beauties and I was thrilled!  One of  the ladies running the sale had set them aside because she was interested in buying them but the minute I asked about them, she handed them over to me and even discounted the price because I wanted all 3 of them.  I love her!

Isn't this plate just adorable for summer?   I just couldn't resist it especailly at the price of $1

I also got these great little linens made locally in Georgia, small basket, wonderful trencher, fall felted pillow, jars and broom all at this sale. 

Ok so you're thinking well her weekend can't get much better right?  WRONG!  I still had the Bon Jovi concert to attend the next evening and did I mention, I was 4th row!  I was close enough to see the sweat dripping off Jon's very toned arms but alas he doesn't do much for me.....now Maria's a different story where that boy is concerned.  We were on the aisle right in front of jon and david....oh so close!  And we talked to the security guard before the show and made friends so he let me dance all nite long right in that very same aisle.  I was jumping, screaming and dancing with David and Jon all night long.  It's something I'll never forget and I was thrilled to be sharing that special nite with Maria.  I know I must have grinned like an idiot all thru the show but hey everyone knew I was having a great time!  Just wish that Caroline and Carla could have been up there with us but maybe next tour.  This is how close we were

Finally I took place in my very first swap in Primitive Blogland and what a delightful experience it was.  I have always felt it would be too hard to do because everyone always lists all these rules about posting links, mentioning on your blog, getting so many followers and I don't know how to do any of that so I just didn't enter any.  Imagine my surprise when Tricia from Hillcrest Home Prims asked me if I'd like to take part in one she was putting together.  I answered a resounding "Yep, count me in" so she sent me my swap partner's info and what a fun time I had making her package up.  I mailed it off in record time which is not my norm since I tend to well, put things off is a polite way of saying it but she got hers lickty split and I'm hoping she liked everything.  My partner was Judy at Prim2Pink and what all sent me was just too cute.  You can tell that she put a lot of special thought into her perfect summertime swap gifts. I love everything and still ohing and awing over everything.  Take a peek at what she sent me.  I think she may have even hand drawn the rose card.  So pretty! I just love it all and can't wait to do another swap now.

Isn't this make do jar lid pin cushion just too adorable?  And she filled it with strawberries, floss buttons, ect.   That butterfly has a body made from a rusty safety pin and all those felted flowers are just so cute.  This little guy is headed upstairs to the sewing machine display in the hallway.

And take a look at this little pin tuck of the ant on the watermelon.  He's perfect on the table in the living room

Recovering Slower rather than surer!

Man, getting older isn't all it's cracked up to be 'cause getting over being sick is the pits!  I've been struggling with this crud for 2 weeks now and it's not getting a lot better.  Allergies have kicked my butt the last couple of years and this year's no different.  I tried working in the flowers bed a little yesterday and yes, I kept my eyes open watching for those nasty fireants but the sneezing and coughing was just too bad to stay outside long.  I finally retired to the deck with a cold martini, Clarice on a leash and Mark fanning me....ok, that's not all true....yes cat on a leash and Mark on the deck drinking beer but no fanning or cold martinis were in sight.  Dang it!  I slept until almost noon today then got up and cooked a huge lunch of roast, rice, gravy, ect....true southern comfort food then Mark and I took a drive up a new road towards Gainesville that we had never explored.  Wonderful day until my sinuses got the better of us so we came back home.  I've been piddling around working on primming up some of my newest thrift store finds so all and all it's been a great day.
Before:

AFTER:

Downstairs Guest Bath

Last Ones-Befores

Afters-Upstairs Guest Bedroom

Small mirror leaning on larger one was the one I replaced in the downstairs guest bath with that wonderful $10 estate sale white framed one....much better!  I could just keep posting pics all night because I'm been tweaking a lot lately but save something for the next post.

Happy Mother's Day to all and hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

No great treasures to report

I'm down with bronchitis which seems to hit me a couple of times a year most usually in the spring in fall and this year is no different.  I started coughing on Tuesday and was down in the dr's office by Thursday.  I spent 4 long days in the bed and just got up today in time for work.  I managed to put in a full day but I'm feeling it now.  The really good news is my new A Primitive Place mag came today in the mail so I'll have something to do tonight.  I was so sick that even trying to read or stitch was too much of an effort but I'm a royal wedding watcher expert!  I hated that it was on every station all freakin day long Friday because as my niece said "Look they are 2 people in love getting married so what's the big deal"?  Rachel is just very practical in some ways.....love that child!

Poor Mark is suffering from food poisoning which it seems I gave him last week.  I made spaghetti sauce for him on Wednesday but since I was feeling bad, I didn't eat any of it.  Thank goodness 'cause he's still struggling with it.  He asked me if the meat was ok and I said I thought it was but how would I know since I can't freakin smell anything.  To which he now thinks I poisoned him on purpose....yea right....think I want a whiny man hanging around telling me how sick he is while I'm really sick.  I don't think so but I do think it was the sauce that made him sick and I do feel bad about that.  I wasn't trying to poison him yet....I was saving that for the day I run off with the band on tour.  LOL!

Speaking of band, have I mentioned that it's only 12 days until I'm front of my man again?  Wahoo!  4th Freakin Row and I can't stand it!!!!!!!  All I gotta say is I'd better be over this crap by then.

Well off to read my new mag and maybe try to talk Mark into eating a little something tonight for dinner. 

What's a girl to do when hubby is out of the states?

Well estate shop is what I say!  I hit 3 estate sales today and only bought at one of them so Mark should be really happy.  I lucked upon this one where the woman collects David T Smith furniture and I know some of you are going....who's David T Smith and why is that important?  He's a genius at designing kitchens, cabinets, furniture, ect to fit in with a historical look.  Just google him and prepare to be amazed at his skills but don't look at the prices.  Anyhoo, I got this gorgeous salt box for $20 and the small crock on it for $1 at this woman's sale

She also collects baskets and a lot of high quality antiques.  This home is a $2M home even in this estate mess that Atlanta's in.  I was talking to Mark when I pulled up and I told him that I didn't think I was gonna go inside because things would be way out of my price range.  So happy now that I changed my mind.  She's got this Windsor bench that is huge and also a David T Smith.  The guy hit me with a $395 price tag then dropped it to $295 before I left.  I'm going back tomorrow to see if it's still there because I'm gonna see if I can get him to come down just a little more.  It would be wonderful in the upstairs hallway beneath my samplers.  What do you think?