Its a blustery day in the woods today," Que Sera Sera"

Not a day for umbrellas. The winds have been blowing all night long and the wind chimes outside the door and window, if they survived the night, have been chiming like Big Ben. I will have to go out and check them when it get light out. Still pretty dark as its early morn here.

I probably won't be straying too far from the ole homestead today. Going to meet my best friends brother from Maine even though he didn't bring me any lobsters. eheh. I think that he probably did bring this weather with him though so I will have to let him know that he is more then welcome to take it back when he leaves. I am ready for some beautiful sunshine and some warm days to make me smile again. I absolutely need at least 1-2 days a week to put some bounce into my step. That must be the ol Southern California girl in me.
Working on converting a photo into a cross stitch. Whew, not an easy thing to do. I got as far as putting an 18 count pattern on the photo now just need to gather the colors and chart it out.
This is the photo that I am working on. It is from a forum that I belong to.
These are the floss colors that I have chosen to use.

Now comes the charting of the colors. This may be a real challenge and put my art skills as well as my CS skills to the test. I will keep you updated with this as I go along too. Yea, I know I already have two projects going and you can't believe all the things that I have cut out in the studio just waiting to be sewn together and stuffed. Oh well, as my Dear sweet Mother used to say
Que Sera Sera, what ever will be, will be, the futures not our's to see, Que Sera, Sera.

Okay my friends I am off like a dirty shirt and off to see what I can stir up  in the studio. At least its warmer here with the rains, so I won't complain too much. At least I have Miss Mattie here to guide me.
Have a very productive day, and just stop by and say hi. I love company.

Brrrr..... too cold for my blood

Brrrr.... its way too cold out there for me. It was so cold this morning that my dear sweet hubby's car doors were frozen shut. That's cold. Wipers were frozen to the windshield not to mention that 1/4 inch of ice on the windshield. I am so grateful that I have a husband that gets up and goes to work  6 days a week and never, never complains. I would be whining complaining if I had to go out in that cold. I just wouldn't do it. Yes, I am a wimp. I confess. I am a fair weather dog walker and if its below 40' I don't go out at all cause it takes me forever to get warm again. Okay..... we are all dealing with the cold weather, especially in the Louisiana and Alabama areas so I am just grateful that we don't have snow where we are yet,

I have been busy working on my daughters cross stitch and as promised I will show you what I have done so far. I am waiting for some more batting so I can work on my granddaughters teddy bears.

 My friends are suppose to be picking that up in the Portland area today when the go to pick up a family member from the airport. When you come to visit us its a two hour trip to the airport to pick up or deliver friends or family members flying in or out from here. We do have a local airport but it is just for shuttle flights and is very expensive.
My dear friends are all so worried that I can't stay warm that my dearest friend here with the Big C bought me a heated throw. Another dear friend sent me info on some wonderful cuffs that keep your wrists and lower arm warm and are especially good for those with arthritis. These look like a good thing and I think I have some old knee socks that I might just alter and make some of these.

Another thing that I absolutely need to do with the help of my little miss Mattie mouse, is to clean off my desk. I am running out of room and that is a sure sign that something is out of whack.  See what I mean clutter everywhere. How does this happen so fast? I think it was one of the Clutter bugs that have infested my desk and my studio. Yep, its the Clutter bugs hard at work making sure that I don't run out of stuff to do. Yep, Clutter bugs for sure. heheh

Well, my friends, with all the bad things that are happening in our country, sometimes its hard to keep a positive outlook  when we hear about the tragic shootings in Tucson, Arizona of a congress woman along with several others, one being a young 9 year old girl that was also shot and killed. What is happening to folks to feel that this is the only way to get a point across? I just makes my heart hurt.
I just try to remember that  God never gives us more then we can handle and if we keep the faith,  we will make it though the tough times and be all the better for it. This of course doesn't apply to the shooting which is something that I am sure, God had no hand in other then to allow the Arizona Congress woman Gabriella, that was shot at point blank range, to survive the shooting as of this posting.
I am sure that if you think hard, you will find something to be grateful for today. Remember to thank God for even those small things that help to keep our lives and families together as well as the jobs that we have or food and the roof over our heads that without his help and love for us, we would be in a world of Puppy poo poo. Sorry, just needed to lighten it up a bit
Please take care my friends, and smile at someone today. Its catching and more then likely you will receive more in return. Do something nice for someone else today. I also want to add that yes we are big Ducks fans here and want to wish them luck in their final game of the season in Phoenix today.
                                   GO DUCKS ! ! !.    

A sad duck as we didn't win but we sure gave it a good Oregon Duck try

Creative juices aren't flowing as fast as I would like them to

Have you noticed that creativity needs a little extra boost to get going after all the holidays are done? I don't seem to have the energy or inspiration to get the motivation into gear. Its more like getting the butt into gear. I have many things that I want to get going on like my grandchildren's teddy bears that didn't get done by Christmas.
Is anyone else having this problem? I contribute a lot of it to lack of sunshine and warmth. Good excuse heh? No, really, I need to recharge my solar batteries. When it is so cold I just want to stay bundled up and my studio is upstairs and I usually block that area off so that I am not heating up rooms that aren't in use 24/7.
I guess I will just have to open it up long enough to get some things stitched up and or cut out.

I am making slow headway on my daughters cross stitch sampler that will include her family children's names,births and her wedding date.

I can also see the restlessness in my little girl. Heheh, little? Yea right. Well, I guess this all means that we need a lot more exercise so, GOD, if you are listening, I could use some nice sunny weather to get the ole batteries recharged please? I promise to be good and not yell at my four legged kids when they chew up my new socks, or when they want to play at 3:00 am .

Well Its obvious that winter is in full motion

It is so cold out and maybe my blood isn't as thick and young as it used to be but I just can't seem to get warm. I wear three layers in the house and add more when I go out. It just seems that from the waist up I am always cold. I try to work on my needle work and my hand are so cold that I can't feel the needle. I'ts warm enough inside but my body temps just seem to be less then they should be.
I am trying to work on teddy bears and cross stitch samplers and if I sit more then a half an hour my upper body gets cold. Any suggestions fellow stitcher friends.
Have you ever know a dog to suck on its toes when it is going to sleep? Well, I have a little girl that chews on her foot like a pacifier when she is going to sleep. What a baby. She just makes me smile, heheh

.

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My friend gave me an adorable little mouse made from pussy willow buds. It is such a cute idea and she knows how much I like the little mice as long as they aren't real. heheh Just cute

I have decided to name this little fellow Knots. Quite a suitable name don't you think?

Well its all over for another year

Isn't this a good reason to go artificial. Look at all the waste.
Do you get that Christmas let down? After the tree and decorations are all put away, always leaves me feeling a little sad. I love the holiday colors and lights and I try very hard to keep the spirit of Christmas in me all year long.


 I decided to keep one of my new Christmas stockings up all year as the colors go so well with our color scheme and I just love the way it looks. I plan on placing dried flowers in it throughout the year with little arrangements to compliment it all with the change of seasons. It was made for me by Linda at Dave's Garden.


I do appreciate the extra light that now can make it in though the window that was blocked by the Christmas tree. I also organized my kitchen cupboards yesterday morning and feel like its a good start for a new year. I have much more organizing yet to do but I have all year. Heheh

My puppies get to enjoy the mudroom Christmas tree that I took down yesterday. I just stuck it in the ground and they are all happiness about a new tree in their back yard.
So.....now we relax and enjoy the last day before Greg has to go back to work.

One last view of this years Christmas tree and then on with the new and out with the old. No sweetie, you can stay. 

This Christmas will be remembered for good friends and the love of their friendship. 

And least we not forget my Little William Wallace. He is my sweet little boy.

So, on to a New Year. May you all be blessed with good health, wealth, and happiness.

In the beginning of a new Cross stitch.

I am beginning a new cross stitch sampler for my middle daughter in Colorado. It will be a family tree geneology of her immediate family. I do have a question that I would like to get a little feed back for. I am sure that there are many fellow stitchers out there that will have an opinion for me. When doing the names, is it okay to do middle initials or do you think that the full middle name should be stitched? I have made charts using both just curious on your ideas of this.
This is the beginning header boarder. The entire sampler will be about.18' x 22-24" That is still up to my as I go charting.  As promised I will take photos as I go.

On another note... I have an obsessive compulsive yellow lab that is crazy about tennis balls. Well actually it is all balls. Tennis, basket, bowling soccer, all of them. But tennis balls are her main obsession. She usually has one in her mouth all the time and at the same time bats one around on the floor with her feet. She is very good at this and has a bowling ball that she can maneuver around the room with her feet to put it right where she wants it.





Outside, she has a basket ball that she does the same thing with. We tried a soccer ball but it didn't last very long. When she gets one of her balls stuck under a chair, although she may have three or four sitting around her she absolutely has to have the one that is stuck and until she gets it she goes nuttso trying to get it out.


Now, to all my friends on the East Coast.... are you digging out from
the blizzard? It looks like you all really got nailed with the thick white stuff. I would rather have a light dusting of that then all this gosh dang rain that is making life miserable for inside dogs that want to go for walks and go outside and play. Now Phoebe doesn't mind the rain, actually she loves it. She will go outside and just stick her nose in the air and run and sniff and shake it off but keep on jumping. I am a fair weather walker myself so they have to wait till there are little breaks in the showers.  Yes, they are bored and driving me stir crazy as we have a procedure that we go through each time they come in. Go directly to the laundry room, sit down and wait your turn to get dried off and feet demudded. My word.
So I am getting back to my normal life and will keep you all updated on the sampler and the family. Hubby is back at work and looking forward to another long weekend and short vacation sort of..

                                Hugs and licks for all my family and friends and
                                                    Have a happy New Year

I have posted this picture before but this is where I have been today. It felt so nice to just kick back and relax after the holiday rush was over. WHEW!
Now I am just enjoying spending time with my  Dear Sweet Husband and enjoying the kids, my four legged ones, that is. and just not stressing at all. I mean look at me, do I looked stressed at all? Why is it  we put ourselves through the same stress year after year and each year we say that we are not going to do that again and we are going to just be stress free. Well, I am going to make that one of my New Years resolutions. I am not going to pup myself into any stressful situations that I don't necessarily need to be into. Life is too short to make it any shorter by added stress. Does it make anything taste better, look better, or will we like it anymore then if we just did it the way we had planned and let it go at that?
 I made stuffed Cornish Game hens for our Christmas dinner and you know what, I would have liked a nice bowl of chowder and garlic bread just as well, maybe even better. Oh it was yummy but when it is just the two of you, you can fix something that you both like and be just as content why go overboard just because its Christmas day. I fell into the Christmas theme of a fancy Christmas dinner with all the trimmings but I eat so little now that most of it is leftovers. Hum.... I guess I will have to rethink this next year.
My dear sweet Phoebe got a new container of tennis balls and a rubber tire with a rope on it that should have lasted her a couple of years. Would you believe it last her less then two hours. First she chewed the rope off then when I threw that part away she chewed into the hole that was left by the rope and destroyed   the tire.
So much for the two years. Oh well, its easier to replace a toy then a table or chair and she has never done that. They also got some puppy cookies. Wallace isn't interested in toys anymore because Phoebe just ends up taking them from him anyway and at 12 years old he just doesn't get into chasing balls any more.
So as this year draws to an end, I am going to be reorganizing my self and trying to start some new projects that have no deadlines. I prefer to work that way.
Hugs to all my friends, family and followers and hope that you have a happy and safe New Year.
Jan

Woo Hoo! ! ! ! I finished it

I started working on this about 5 years ago and I finished it today. I had to repair some of the antique crochet work and then I added a linen backing to give it some added strength then I had to stitch around 99 linen doilies. It is a beautiful antique Italian bedspread that my daughter gave to me when her dog tore it. I decided to repair it and give it back to her. I do hope that she will appreciate all the time and work that went into restoring it to a usable spread again. I sure do. It is so heavy and will fit a king size bed. I am so happy to be done with it. I has been sort of like an albatross hanging over me for so many years. The only pressure came for myself but I just felt the need to get it done. It was something that I wanted to do for her.
Anyway, it is done and on its way to San Antonio.
I didn't get all the bears for my Granddaughters done but they will come a little later. I am only one person and there are 11 grandchildren. Whew!
Well, I am just going to try and catch my breathe and get ready for a great new year. but for now I am going to bed. Nighty nite my friends.

Least We Not Forget

Least we not forget

In all the hustle and bustle of our preparations for Christmas day, we have a tendency to forget what we are really celebrating. We all become so stressed and wrapped up in making sure that Carol has gotten all she wanted and Bobby has got that special DVD that we forget to give a gift to that one special person on our list whose birthday is the reason we are celebrating this special day. I am absolutely not beyond reproach and I had to stop and take a step back this morning as I started to stress about the fact that I haven't been able to afford to send all my gifts that I worked so hard on to make sure that they were done for Christmas day. Well, they will all get sent and the recipients know that they are coning but the one person that I forgot to get that most precious gift for needs to be recognized and something special done. I can't afford to make any contributions but I can afford to donate a gift or two and to also make a special effort to let Jesus Christ know that I am so grateful to his birth and his presence in my life. He has always been there when I needed him and has helped me so many tough times throughout my life that I am planning on attending a church service in his honor. I don't normally worship in a particular building and don't feel a need to, just to prove that I believe 

to anyone other then myself. 

I also just receive a phone call from my Daughter in Colorado that had some wonderful news to share and rather then tell you all about it maybe you can take a moment to to and read about it for your self on her blog.

http://fivegreatkiddos.blogspot.com/

So in closing this Christmas posting I just want to take a moment and thank all of you, my followers and friends and fellow bloggers for joining in on my swaps and exchanges and thank you all for being there when I need your strength in my low times. You are all so dear to me 

Merry Christmas to you all and I wish for a Very Happy and

prosperous New Year too.

Big Christmas Hugs and Licks from our family to yours.

Jan, Greg, Phoebe and William Wallace

Merry Christmas

I also want to share some pictures of my entry room tree that was given to me by some very dear neighbors when they went to cut their tree they got one for me too. 

All the ornaments on this little tree are ones that I received this year and some from the past. Also, just thought I would mention that our little Phoebe turned 1 year old on the 6th. She is just a little 90 lb lap puppy 

Counting down the days

Don't you just remember the last few days before Christmas. You were dying of curiosity of what was in that huge box and that really heavy little box. Hum..... I wonder if I just carefully lift this piece of tape up I bet I can just slip out the box..... Oh, hi Mom.... I was just looking.... hehehehe. Guess I will have to wait till everyones asleep.To this day, I still know whats under the tree before Christmas day arrives. Those that know me never put anything under the tree until Christmas eve. I hate suspense movies and I hate the suspense of wondering what is in that big box or that pretty little box.  Thats just me.  

  

          I do have one horror story though. When my husband and I were 

dating.... he had put a big box under my tree.  I promised not to open it and I didn't 

either. Well, Christmas day arrived and I was just beside myself with anticipation. I opened 

this huge box and what was inside....another box..... and then another box..... all the way 

down to a jewelry size box.... I was just dying by this point and when I saw that wonderful 

little box I just knew it had to be a ring.    WRONG! ! ! !  It was empty.. absolutely nothing

 in all this mess of boxes and wrapping paper.  Well it wasn't totally empty. There was 

a little note inside the box. It read...

Nothing can compare to the Love I feel for you!.......?

 Holy Crap! ! ! ! !

Nothing could have hidden my disappointment! To this day he knows better then to ever do that again. I am sure that her thought he was just being a little clever and maybe just a little bit romantic in his cute little verse that he wrote.  He won't ever do that again. Now, you are probably saying aw... ....how could I be so mean as to give him this special  award .Well after being so good, and not even sneaking a peek, and not that I would have seen anything anyways,  and then just knowing that when I finally got to that one pretty little box all wrapped up so

 sweetly that I just knew it was going to be an engagement ring, that to this day I am surprised that we ever got married. Hehehehe. It took me weeks to get over the disappointment.it was about 8  weeks until wefinally got married and then, to this day, we have never had one argument in 22 years. 

 I guess once was enough to last a life time.  I love that man so much now that I can't imagine

 my life without him unless he gives me another empty box and then.....Well... that would be 

another story....HO HO HO

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you enjoyed this true story. It makes us laugh, just a little bit,

 every time I think of it. Just a little bit. Can you imagine the look on my face. Can you imagine,

 even more the huge smile and anticipation on his face as I was opennig that

 horrid little box.   Hehehe

One World One Heart

I am so excited to be participating in the fifth and final OWOH event this last time. I missed out on it in the previous years but am looking forward to making my trip around the blogging world to visit many wonderful blogs and make new friends around the world.
To become a part of this great and final event I have added the link so that you too can become a part of it all.  It all begins on January 30th and each participant will offer a door prize or prizes. Consideration needs to be made that you will need to mail your door prizes somewhere else in the world so weight should be considered
I will be post photos of my door prizes on or before January 30th.  I will also post a reminder to this wonderful and final event on January 30 just to remind you.
If you too want to be a part of this great journey around the world of bloggers please check the link below.
http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/2010/12/annoucning-the-fifth-and-final-one-world-one-heart-event-.html#comment-6a00e5538b84f388330147e0ab93d5970b

Ran outta hot glue sticks, Dang

Yes, it happened. I ran outta hot glue so thats all for the gold leafing for now. Running out of hot glue is almost as bad a running outta duck tape. heheh.
I remember when my daughters were young and we were just moving up to Oregon, we had an old ford van that was great in California but not for the wet Oregon weather. It leaked like a sieve and if it hadn't been for the duct tape we would've been soak and wet. I swear that van was duck taped together in more ways then one.
Another great use for duct tape, I found, was to collect large scrapes from the dumpsters at the carpet store and flip them over and make some awesome mosaic rugs. You just cut all the pieces so that they are like a crazy quilt and duck tape them all together on the back side. If you do it right it looks awesome.
Anyways, as usual, I got distracted, I ran out of hot glue so no more cinnamon/gold leaf ornaments but I got these done before I ran out.
Well, I am going to be cutting out bears and sewing doilies today so I am going to be busy.
I hope that all my friends and followers are having a great Holiday season so far and I pray for continued happiness and be safe when out driving. Be sure to hide your packages in the trunk and maybe save someone from spending time in jail by just being cautious. There are so many out there that are less fortunate and feel such desperation that they will take your gifts to give to someone else.
Have a great weekend where ever you are.

Another wonderful day in the neighboor hood

I wanted to post this picture of my little setting atop of Phoebe's kennel. Its a large kennel and is just another piece of furniture in our living room so I decorate it as if it were a mantel peice, so to speak


The card that is in the middle with the photograph is a picture of dear friends of ours of whom the woman in the photographed passed away this year  and we just wanted to make sure that she knows that she is not forgotten. I always post photos of family members that have passed on our tree just so that we can always remember to share our Holiday seasons with those that are no longer with us in body but will always be with us in spirit.
I just finished another Cinnamon ornament, I still have more to finish but they take time and the drying time is the longest as they are fairly thick.

These are a few that I have to complete and another that I already did for a friend of mine. I also have shown what I use for the gold leaf. I use a hot glue gun to design where I want the gold leaf. I draw it out, let it cool then appy the gold leaf. I sticks to the dry hot glue. Don't let it get cold before applying but not sticky.

Rushing to finish

It seems like it is always like this. I am rushing to finis putting the last stitches in one thing and finish stitching up another quilted piece.

This is what I am working on now. I am stitching around all the individual scenes and then applying a border and a hanger so that it can be hung on the door or wall.  I love the intense colors and I think it is going to be awesome when it is done.
Played miss Susie homemaker today, scrubbed cupboard doors, did laundry and baked bread then sat down for a minute and woke up an hour later.... musta needed a nap.... or so my body thought I did.
Anyway, I just finished watching Eclipse on PPV tv and now I am going back to my stitching until I fall asleep again. But it is 10:30pm now so sleep would be a good thing. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.
Hugs to all my friends and visitors, stop by again real soon.

This is my James Christensen ornament

I don't know if you have ever heard of Jame Christensen but he is an awesome Whimsical artist, educator and he was a profesor at Brigham Young University. I don't know if he is still teaching there as the book I have of his was from 1996. It is called "A Journey of the Imagination" and the other book of his that I have is called
"Voyage of the Basset" It was made into a movie. If you ever have some time to spare take a look at his work at the Greenwich Workshop
http://www.hiddenridgegallery.com/art-of-james-christensen.html

I make these from Cinnamon applesauce dough then decorate them when they are dry with beads and stones and gold foil over hot glue. I looks like it is coated with real gold. I made this one last year but I have another in the oven right now. I will post pics when it is done
If you have that composition gold leaf sheets and a hot glue gun you can do some really incredible things like this. Just do your design with the hot glue let it cool a bit then lay the sheet over it and rub. It sticks like glue. The glue must be dry though. Weird huh. This piece here is about 3 years old.

This is the first of the Christmas cup swap photos

This is the first of the Christmas Cup Photos that I have received. I do hope that you all email me a photo of your cups so I can post them on the blog.  I think it will be fun to see what everyone got.
Thanks again.
This Is the cup that Pam received along with some extra goodies from Cindy Weeks.

Please send me pictures so I can post them too.
Thanks Pam

Here is Kathy's cup swap from Deb.