Laundry

I did a load of laundry this morning, folded it and put it away where it belonged. I left the laundry basket in the hallway until I needed to take it back downstairs for the next load. After lunch and a PC break, I went to get the laundry basket and this is what I found:

Who's that sleeping in my laundry basket?

Why, it's Megan!

I couldn't get that darn cat to look up at me to save my life!

Cats love to crawl into things and sleep.
Megan prefers laundry baskets.

Zissou prefers collanders, no matter where he finds them. 

Can you Say Tomato?

Our garden is bursting with tomatoes! We also have cucumbers, acorn squash, peppers, onions, some herbs and glorious sunflowers, the mammoth variety with edible seeds.

Yesterday I picked Grape and Cherry tomatos. I just love to pop them as a snack, so much so that I think I am going to turn into a tomato! On Labor Day, I picked all the ripe slicers and Craig, my DH, and I made and canned salsa. Craig grew up canning. Every year his mother would can tomatos and who knows what else and now Craig think we need to do it too. Now, if you haven't canned before, I will tell you it is a LOT OF WORK. Of course, I read all about canning before we started so I was "prepared". Well, all that did was scare the bejesus out of me because of all the potential botulism issues! So yes, I did get a bit, oh how shall I put this, irritable at one point. DH had to reassure me that he knew what he was doing, that he had done this many times before, and nothing canned had ever made him sick, etc. Then he gave me a glass of something to drink (which tasted suspiciouly like wine, but I didn''t dare grumble any more) and what do you know after a few minutes I was in a much calmer space.

On the stitchy front, I am using Tomato Sampler Thread  to stitch Lizzie Kate's "Boo Club".  I finished the Monster section last night and have only two sections to go and then I'll be happy dancing!

In the background on purple fabric is a design from "Mostly Ghostly" by Waxing Moon Designs. I started this project a couple of years ago as a gift for someone, who shall remain nameless at this point. There is a reason that it has taken me so long to finish up this fairly simple design (besides the solid white ghost and the sign background - boring!), there are two cats in the design and the person that I am stitching it for has two cats and I wanted stitch the cats to look like her cats. Aaahhh..I know, cute. But that's how I roll.  The charted cats are both black, and one of hers is black so that was easy, however, her other cat is Siamese. And yes, it did take me two years to redesign the other cat as a Siamese. Actually, the redesigning took about 15 minutes using Pattern Maker Pro, it was the procrastination that took two years. I plan to finish it up as soon as Boo Club is history.

Noteworthy news:

• I joined a Blackbird Designs, "Tis Hallowe'en" stocking exchange.  As soon as my partner lets me know which stocking she prefers, I'll squeeze in time to stitch and finish one of those.
• I have a hugh crush on the new "Jenny Bean" sampler from Shakespeare Peddler. Scroll down to see this beauty. I gots' to have it!!!

Hope you're having a great week and enjoying fresh tomatoes and other goodies from the garden (either yours or someone else's). And so I leave you with quote from the little old lady next door, bless her heart, "Toodle loo!". (Yes, she really says this. It's so cute!)

Blog Help Needed

Can anyone tell me why there are large spaces between some of my pictures and paragraphs? I have tried to edit them out but some of them just won't budge. What am I doing wrong or not doing that I should be doing? Any help will be appreciated.

What I Did Over the Summer

My poor neglected blog! I could tell you that I was on location shooting my latest movie epic or that I was touring the Seven Wonders of the World or that I won the lottery and was busy spending my millions, but all that just wouldn't be true. Darn it!

However, I have been enjoying the summer even if it was just puttering around Michigan and home. In case you're interested in a taste of my summer, read on. (Warning: there are pictures.)

Of course, I've been stitching...



Finished and or framed a few pieces in celebration of the Fourth of July: "Land That I Love" - Lizzie Kate, "Made in the USA" (kit) - Bent Creek, "Star Spangled Sampler" - Heart in Hand, and "USA" (freebie) - Trail Creek Farm.

Joined Blackbird Designs Summer SAL and stitched and finished "Autumn Bouquet", thank you very much!

Finished "Needles & Pins" by Milady's Needle, a project that had been languishing in my 'need to finish' basket for a while. I plan to finish it into a needle book/pinkeep, something a little different than the directions that came with it.

Finished the "No Frogging Allowed" scissor fob from Stitchy Kitty. I love how it turned out. Can't help but smile when I look at it. The back is cute too, but the picture was blurry.

Put together "Flowers from the Heart" Needlebook from Cherished Stitches. Also modified design to make a matching scissor fob.

Last but not least, I am diligently working on Lizzie Kate's Boo! Club; 8 1/4 sections done, 3 3/4 left to to go. I'm stitching it on 32ct Laurel green linen. It's a fun stitch (except for the border), but I will be very happy to finish it. Hope to report a finish this month.

My sister, Jennifer (in photo below), and I saw Rick Springfield twice, in Dearborn MI and at the Blue Chip Casino in Indiana. He just turned 60 on Aug. 23 and he still puts on one heck of a show. I tell you, he is one fine specimen of man!

Actually, Jennifer and I have been going to Rick's concerts for 20+ years. Jennifer fell in "love" with Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital back in the 80's and I, being the wonderful older sister that I am (smile), took her to see her first concert. And yea, it was Rick. She has been a loyal fan ever since. The concerts are something that we do together, it's sister time and we always have a great time! BTW, the dilapulated looking lea around Jennifer's neck is one that Rick wore for part of the concert and then threw into the audience. Jenn and another lady caught it and decided to tear it in half so they would each have a part of it.

Dear hubby and I also spent time camping and enjoying the scenery wherever we went. Pictures: Our Trailer Sweet Trailer and me, enjoying the Ludington beach and watching the sunset.

Well that is enough catching up. I promise to be a little more attentive to my blog going forward. I love reading other blogs and have a very long list of ones that I check. Perhaps that's why I can't seem to find time to post on my blog. Hmmm...

So if you happened to have stopped by and have read this far, I sincerely thank you for sharing a few moments with me. I hope to see you again soon!