I Am Surprised!

I had to go ahead and post this. I sent that note to Janlynn on Sunday. I received an email the next day from them with a pdf of the instructions that I needed. That's what I call customer service! I don't often like to use kits but I was really impressed.

I'm Back With TUSal and WIPocalypse

Where have I been? Between working, gardening, and other chores, I haven't been doing much blog reading let alone actually posting. I'm not complaining, it's just that spring/summer is always a busy time. I missed this months WIPocalypse so todays post is another "catch up" post.

Here are my lovely Orts for TUSal. I have managed to stitch a little as you will see below.

Here is my late progress report for the WIPocalypse. This is King Tut from Janlynn's Egyptian Pair. This is pretty much the only thing I have worked on since my last post. I have the border and back stitching left to do on this. However, I must have lost the instructions that came in the kit because I can't find where it says what colors and how many strands to use for the back stitching. I have sent an email to Janlynn and hopefully they will be able to help me. I think the kit is from 1998 but I'm not sure. If not, I'll probably just do my best at guessing.

My gardening has been taking a lot of my time. I have been getting a very nice harvest of purple hull peas, green beans, and cucumbers. My tomatoes are not doing so well. I am starting to suspect that I have some kind of tomato disease in my soil. Oh well. We got a whole bunch of rain that damaged my squash and zucchini plants but they were starting to come back. Then my chickens ran into the garden looking for bugs and just destroyed what was left. It was kind of funny to watch actually.

Speaking of my chickens, I could not be happier with "my girls". I have getting so many eggs that I have to give most of them away. That hasn't been too hard either! People go nuts over fresh yard eggs. I can't wait to hatch some chicks but I really don't need any right now. I must resist!

We went to the annual hibiscus sale and got a few more "exotic" hibiscus bushes. So hopefully I will have some pretty photos once they start blooming.

Ok that's all for now. I am going to try to get back to posting as normal but no promises.

Catching Up With TUSAL

Here are my poor ort photos for TUSAL. I have a little bit to it but not as much as I would have liked. Busy doesn't even begin to describe what my life has been. Of course, when I do get a little free time, it doesn't help that I've been playng a computer game instead of stitching. Hee hee, oh well.

Here is a progress of photo of Joan Elliott's Crescent Moon Dragon. It's slowly taking shape.

And here is my teeny tiny progress on King Tut. It's not much but there it is. Basically, I worked on the black on the side of his face. I plan to keep working on him till I am satisfied with my progress.

WIPocalypse April

Here's what I finished for this WIPocalypse.

I haven't put a stitch into anything since I finished this but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things over the weekend. Many of us stitchers use cross stitch as a way to relax, unwind, and de-stress. But often I find that the more stressful my life is, the less I am able to stitch. I can already predict that I won't get much done over the summer but I'm sure that's true for alot of people. Ok, enough complaining, I *will* have a progress photo to show soon. I *will* make it happen.

My Dream

I have not been able to even think about stitching let alone actually put in a stitch or two. I have have one of those couple of weeks. My Mom has had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands so I have been cooking all the meals, doing her laundry, and many other chores. I have also been working alot too. I finally got a day off Tuesday so I was able to go shopping, you know, a little retail therapy. ;-) Anyway, last night, I dreamed about cross stitch. I was actually stitching in my dream! I can only assume that this means that I need to get back to my stitching. I guess we'll see.

March TUSAL

I have been really busy and almost forgot all about TUSAL. I got up at 2 am to take the dog out and I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to post my orts. I took the first photo with the beautiful bluebonnets that are growing in my front yard. Since you really can't see the orts that well, I also took a close up.

Liebster Award

First off, I have to thank Rhona and Helen for giving me this award. Thank you ladies!

Ok, so here are the details:

Liebster is a German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved, and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

So, choosing 5 blogs that haven't already gotten this award is the tough part. Here we go.

1. Andrea's Blog

2. Gathering Thoughts

3. Sara's Blog, Just Another Flamingo On The Lawn

4. Susan's Blog, Yellow Flower Meadow

5. Stitchinkat's Pawprints Blog

And now for 5 random facts about me. Hmm....Ok.

1. I LOVE cheese. Yummy!
2. I am afraid of heights. Or as I call it, I get nervous up high.
3. I have always wanted an English Bulldog.
4. I am scared of horses but I have had to get over that because I often feed my cousin's horses when they go on vacation. They aren't very tame so that sure doesn't help.
5. I love mystery shows, movies, and books.