Making progress

My mojo is returning - for both blogging and hooking. I have been hooking a little each evening on my rug. It really does settle me down. So the lesson here is to keep hooking as it seems to keep me sane.
I have started hooking some of the dark background in some areas. It really does change the look of the piece. So that is another lesson I need to keep reminding myself - when you are not happy with certain areas of your rug, don't panic and rip it out until you've added some background and taken a second look.
There are still some colors I'm not thrilled with but I will wait and see before I fix it.
So here it is so far


Although its taking longer than anticipated I am liking it so far. It was a stretch for me but I have learned lots. Well time to tackle the sunflower in the top left corner.

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On the loose

You just never know what you'll see around here. Like this morning for example .... Imagine seeing this running through Downtown



Maybe Ms. Moose wanted to do a little window shopping, or treat herself at the Spa? Seriously though, this poor thing was quite rattled and it was quite awhile before an assortment of attempts failed and eventually it found its way out of town in its own.

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Celebration Re-cap

As you may have gathered from yesterday's teaser post, it was my birthday. You know how there are some people who don't like to make a fuss about their birthdays? Well......I'm not one of those people! Lol. Bring It On, I say ;)

And I have to say that yesterday everybody brought their A - Game. It was a wonderful day. I took the day off work and started the day with a red velvet cupcake for breakfast. Some work friends took me out to a nice lunch and then I met some other lovely ladies for special coffee and treats. Not long after that I headed to Deanne's Studio. Deanne and Lorna greeted me with another red velvet cupcake.



We had cupcake, tea, fudge and of course a few laughs. There was also another treat there. My dear sweet friend Kim who I met several years ago through our blogs had arranged for a birthday present from the studio. Kim is just the sweetest most generous person, and imagine my delight when I picked up the phone yesterday morning, and she was on the other end! Another special treat for me.

Next stop on the birthday tour was Happy Hour. The first photo above was my birthday martini. Look at all those olives!! We had an extra large group this week which was fun. Final stop - Dinner Club. As you will see from e next few pictures, this was approximately a 9,000 calorie kind of day.....












The dessert was served with sparklers flaring on top. And before I get any funny comments about the big 30 on top......I remind you, I WAS 30 once. Granted it was many years ago......hahaha. But I loved it.

It was truly a wonderful day, filled with so many friends and kind, thoughtful acts. I am blessed and truly appreciate it all.

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Details to follow ;)

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Love remembers

When sweet Millie (the wonder dog) first joined our family over 11 years ago, Mom wasn't sick. So while Auntie and I were at work, Mom and Millie spent every day together. They were the best of buddies. They adored each other. That first year Mom had to spend a few days in the hospital. Millie would run upstairs, sit at the doorway to Moms bedroom and cry because she missed her so much.



I took this picture years ago, just as Mom's sickness started to surface. As the Alzheimer's progressed Mom became uninterested in the dog. Not in a mean way but just seemed to ignore her. Millie adjusted and they just don't pay attention to each other any more. It's like they don't feel secure with each other now. I would guess its been 2 or 3 years since they have acknowledged each other.

But tonight as I was walking mom from the kitchen to the living room she suddenly stopped in front of Millie. Her face lit up and she bent down, smiling, and said "oh hi sweetie" and proceeded to gently pat her foe several minutes. They had a moment. Needless to say, Auntie and I were in tears.

So I guess sometimes, even now, a little bit of Mom peeks out and reminds me that this disease can't steal everything.
A few months ago I discovered a blogger Cindy who is just in the early stages of her journey with a Mom with Alzheimer's. Every Monday she shares her stories and experiences. She is funny, caring and honest. Stop by and visit her and show your support. Caregiving isn't always easy but it's always rewarding.

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Seriously??

This is crazy! Mother Nature obviously has her knickers in a twist over something. It is the first official weekend of summer. It's traditionally the weekend people open up their cottages, go camping, have a patio party, plant their gardens.........NOT turn up the furnace and put on an extra pair of socks!!

Yes, it is May 18 and the temperature was 4 degrees Celsius. That's about 39 degrees for the rest of you. And at about noon there were SNOW SHOWERS.......it's madness I tell you.

But it was a perfect kind of day to stay in with a cup of tea and get out the hooking frame. I started hooking the little girl's dress.


Before I finish filling in her skirt I need to hook up some of the long grass at the bottom of the pic. That area is starting to look just like a tangle of lines and I am having trouble keeping the design in focus. I find myself muttering "is that a blade of grass or a flower stem etc")

I guess outside activities will have to wait for another weekend, unless Mother Nature gets over her snit tomorrow ;)

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Yes, I'm a Diva

I admit it, I can be a wee bit of a Diva at times :). Not with everything mind you, but I am a "problem" with certain issues. I dropped my car off at the dealership this morning, to deal with the tire and a couple other small things. It was planned to be there for at least a day and because I'm a good, regular customer the salesman arranged for me to have a loaner.

He's got a set of keys in his hand and we are walking across the lot. He seemed to be walking toward something.........ugly. I won't say the model at the risk of possibly offending someone but he's heading toward one of those new "efficient, über-compact" models. I said "you better not be giving me that" - as I point at it mockingly. Yes, he says - its cute. CUTE....... I half expected when he opened the door that 20 clowns might spill out. Seriously !! And you know how I feel about clowns. (Shudder)



At this point I'm laughing. He says "oh get in and see how cute it is. You'll like driving it through town". Now I'm really laughing and I hate to admit but I may have even had my hands on my hips. "I'm not driving this car through town! I'm scared of clowns chasing me!"
My Diva move paid off and he gave up. "Well, what do you want?" he says. I quickly pointed to the nice new big 2013 sedan next to the clown car. Whew, that was a close call. There are a few benefits from loyalty. I've purchased 8 vehicles for this dealership so I can push the Diva card a little once in awhile.



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The good, the bad, the ugly - Mothers Day Edition

Lets start with the good - Mom woke up in a good mood. I got a smile, I even got a "Good Morning" after a little prompting. That was what I interpreted as a good sign for the day. Despite the fact that most days she doesn't know who I am, I know I am still lucky to have her with me.
I ordered some lobster for a special Mothers Day supper



And after a little work opening them, they were happily swimming in butter



The bad part of the day was mostly my mood. The last couple of years Mothers Day has been my least favorite holiday. It makes me a little sad. I am grateful to have my Mom, when many don't have that luxury. But on Mothers Day I look at her and miss the Mom I had before Alzheimer's stole her away. But that's enough moping from me.
But it leads me into the ugly part of the day. Last night on my way home from the movies (The Great Gatsby....loved it btw) I noticed that one of my tires was a bit low. Well this morning it was very low. Crap! There are no service stations or garages open on a Sunday. I called roadside assistance and they said they would send someone.



Here is the poor man who rescued me, putting the spare on. He had to drive 45 minutes to spend 10 minutes changing my tire. I felt bad for him. But he was very nice about and didn't complain. So until I can get to the dealership tomorrow I'm cruising around on the donut. I miss the good old days when you got a full size spare in your car! We checked the flat tire for a nail. At first we didn't see anything and he was starting to give me that "you're crazy" look. But then we saw it - a metal shard about an inch long. It looked like the end of a blade or something. I should have taken a picture but didn't want him to think I was crazier than he already did.

So that's my Mothers Day wrap - up. I hope yours was fun and uneventful.

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Happy Mothers Day

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Crawling out

It feels like I've crawled under a rock lately. I haven't felt like I've had anything blog worthy to post about. It's been a whole lot of blah, blah, blah around here.
Here is the Readers Digest version - work has been ugly busy. I know I probably have blogged the same rant every spring. But each year I seem to forget how crazy this time of year is for us.
Last weekend was gorgeous, warm and sunny weather. But guess what........I didn't get to enjoy a minute of it! Poor auntie came down with that awful flu and was in bed for days. So I was on full time Mom duty, plus I was running around the house sterilizing everything in sight. She is starting to feel better and by the grace of god, Mom didn't catch it. (Huge sigh of relief)

Tonight I forced myself to get back to my project. I needed to fix the mistake I saw in the last photo.


I have a couple other little areas to re-hook and then I will move on to hooking the little girl. This is taking much to long. I'm ready for another project soon.

Finally, the tulips from my last post have opened at last. The only trouble with tulips is they don't last very long once they open.



I think I'm starting to come around and see the light at the end of the tunnel so I'll be back to blog visiting and commenting soon.

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Tulips, Toes and Trouble

Time to get myself going and make a post. I stopped in to visit Deanne's Studio Hook-in at noon and was trying to get my mojo back. The workshop space is all re-organized and it looks great. And Brenda gave me some advice on a trouble spot in my rug. I only sat there for a half hour and I was inspired again. Plus the weather has been inspiring. The tulips at the front of the house are growing. It won't be long before they're opened up and beautiful.


In the spirit of sunny days and warm temps it is time to dust off the flip flops. Yay!! But you can't wear flip flops in public until you freshen up those dry old feet that have been stuffed in socks and boots for months. Last night the lovely ladies at the downtown Spa gave me a pedicure. Heaven!



Ahh, I never get tired of being pampered :). I think a massage might be in order soon.

Now for the "trouble" part. I was at the doctor today for my test results. It was slightly frustrating. There was a long discussion and a little debating. He's ordered more blood work for tomorrow and as he handed me the paper he "crossed the line". He said he was ordering not only thyroid testing, but also hormone levels......in case I was in early menopause. ...........EARLY MENOPAUSE....... - He's lucky he's still alive! I just about spewed estrogen all over him to show him how far I was from THAT!


I'll show him! Lol.


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