Marching On.....

...into SPRING, I say Spring!! Tomorrow is the first day of spring. Yes, we've had some glorious, sun-filled days lately, and I can tell you it's a welcome event. I've managed a little stitching, and will be stitching the last heart for the Friendship Sampler after this one. I've truly enjoyed becoming acquainted with stitchers I'd never known before. The stitching friendship circle is indeed wide and growing wider - an awesome thing.

Here's Deborah's RR, using the original charted colors...

And up close...
I am so ready for spring weather and sunny days. Seeing the blooms around always raises my spirits and hopes. My mother's been in the ER three times and admitted to the hospital once since the end of February. Keeping her fluid levels between too much and too little for her CHF (congestive heart failure) has been quite a challenge. Here's hoping we've found the right balance with some new meds. We're hopeful, anyway. :)

I was recently given this award and it is so appreciated. Thank yous to Sarah, Shelleen, Cindy, and Meari.


According to the rules, I'm to tell some facts about myself and pass the award on to others.
So let me see what I can come up with...

1. I was born in a rural town with a very small population.
2. I am the youngest child with three older brothers....and wasn't spoiled, according to my mom. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
3. My DH and I went to high school together, but started really dating in college.
4. The house where I grew up was an old hotel before Civil War times.
5. Music moves and delights my soul.
6. One favorite pastime as a child - climb to the top of a huge tree and sway in the wind right before thunderstorms. I can still feel the wind sometimes. :)
7. I love to laugh, appreciate good wit, and adore Jane Austen.
8. I became a Christian at age 23, a few months after I got married.

I'd like to give this award to Gabi, Rene, Kelly, Cindy, Wendy, and my GGSF buddies. :)

Last summer, I went with a stitching group to England. While there, we were lucky enough to meet with Polly Nassim, a wonderful doll maker of forty years. She'd retired and was selling her entire inventory of dolls. Recently found that a lovely friend of hers has the last set of dolls and is selling them here in America. If you're interested, the website is www.rarebitsnpieces.com. Her friend Patty also has some other wonderful items to offer, too.

And to end my saga, here are my two babies relaxing at home....

Actually, it's DH trying to coax Montana to give the new CHEW-RESISTANT pad a try. Now do you believe it's really chew resistant? I must confess I remain somewhat sceptical of its endurance factor, at least not with the master destruction artist around. In case you've forgotten, this was the fate of the last pad...

But Montana's older and wiser, or so we hope. If it survives, I'll put an egg crate pad, etc., in the cover. Montana has confirmed hip dysplasia on the right side and we're trying to find ways to ease it. It's mild at the moment and will probably crop up more severely in a few years. We'd suspected it, but were hoping we were just paranoid. But you never know how things progress. So for now, we'll make sure his weight stays right, give him glucosamine chondroitin for his joints, and give buffered aspirin if we see signs of any discomfort (all advice from the vet). And let him sleep on that sofa he seems to love so much as long as he wants to! He is thoroughly enjoying all the attention he's getting, I can promise you.

On the other hand, I'm not sure Zoe (demon cat) and I are on speaking terms at the moment. She went for her rabies shot today. I don't know who was more traumatized - her or me trying to get her in the carrier. Maybe if the carrier hadn't fallen over as I was trying to place her in it, or maybe if she didn't frantically jump while I was barely holding on and trying to upright the blooming thing...well, you get the picture. Pretty darn funny, actually.

What would we do without our families and pets to keep us straight??? Take care, everyone.
And I hope you see signs of spring in your direction, too. :)