Saturday, April 19, 2025

April CupboardScape

Good morning Friends.

Happy Easter Eve.
Today is my April CupboardScape.
Hope you enjoy. 
 

The basket of fabric eggs
from one of my previous posts.


A vintage Children's quilt.


My favorite chocolate box filled with faux flowers.


Some ceramic colored eggs I found at
Hobby Lobby years ago.


My newest bunny to an already
extensive bunny collection I have.
She is from Ann Clay,
My Primitive Home.
She lives in a 1700's home
filled with period furnishings and a bit
of whimsy.
This is one of her original pieces that she sells.


Since he is carrying eggs, I thought he would
look perfect here this year.
Who knows where you will find him
in years to come.


I love how this display turned out.



 In other news,
to clarify the savings a bit for our
Comcast (Xfinity) bill.
We were being charged monthly for a phone
we never used nor knew we had.
This should be a crime.
It was added in a previous bundle and when 
that bundle expired...they just kept charging us...
 I was told it was previously taken off.
Partially my fault as I do not look at my bill.
It is online now and I forgot the password.
Then we just went to a different plan,
minus Fanduel which Bob said 
he never watched either.

The drunk driver who hit Michael,
was driving someone else's car.
That person cancelled their insurance 
back in February, so there was no insurance
on that car. 
Michael is basically screwed now.
His attorney stated there is not much they can do.
She went to court and only received
two misdemeanor charges.
I just don't understand all of this?   

The kids will be coming over later today.
We will be having Easter dinner with them
and my mom.
Now I can relax tomorrow before heading
back to work on Monday.
Vacation is over. UGH

I hope everyone enjoys their Easter weekend.
Remember the real reason we celebrate.
Mom and I watched Quo Vadis the other night.
I love Robert Taylor movies,
however this one was rather sad.
It was about the Roman Emperor Nero
and what he did to his Christian citizens.
I had taped it and we watched 2 different evenings
as it was a rather long movie.
Anyway, hope everyone enjoys their Easter!

Easter Blessings To All!
Janice

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Spring Living

Hello my friends.
Today's post is some Spring decor.
Unfortunately we are unsure today if 
we will get more snow, freezing rain,
or rain today. Am hoping for the latter.
Hope you enjoy these pics. 















One lil Spring display in the bedroom
my mom stays in.
She will be back tomorrow,
and will stay thru Easter Sunday.
We plan on going out again one evening,
and then enjoy some home cooked meals with her.

In other news,
My granddaughter Mikayla finally chose
the college she wants to go to.
Michigan State University.
Or MSU to us Michiganders.
She wants to major in Forensics,
and they have the best classes here
of the 11 colleges she applied for.
She was accepted at all 11 by the way.
Now I will be honest...we have always
been a Michigan University) U of M Family,
so this is going to be an adjustment for us. LOL 
They are the rival colleges here in our state.

Bob and I went up to Port Huron
yesterday to do a bit of shopping.
I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some
stuff for a Christmas project...yeah I know...
complaining about snow yet I want to 
make something for Christmas.
Then we went to Kohls for a few things.
Finally went to Comcast...our cable provider.
We got our monthly bill lowered by 75.00.
That's $900 for the year.
So glad my son told us to go.
Then we came back home,
let Tundra out for a bit...then went 
to the meat market and grocery store.

Mailed out our checks to both
the IRS and the sate for our taxes yesterday.
It hurt writing those checks this year,
since we owed double the amount from last year. 

Today I am going to just sit and stitch
while watching some tv.
Bob has to work the store so I will be solo.

Mid April Blessings To All!
Janice












Friday, April 11, 2025

Friday Finish

 Hello my friends.


When last I showed you Mary Jane Kerr,
this is where I left off.


This pattern I was stitching in remembrance
of my grandmothers.


This was the top of the sampler.
I replaced the bird with the chicken.
Changed the flowers from purple to blue.
Kept the dog the same but chose my own colors.


Once again had it framed at Hobby Lobby.
However this time did have to go back
a second time.
Did not like how it was laced...
lots of highs and lows and just not straight.
When I went back two days later,
it was then messed up at the bottom.
Since I live almost an hour away,
I asked the girl if she could fix it while I was there.
It was not Debbie whom I usually work with.
She obliged with no hesitation...
and agreed it was not good.
After about 20 minutes, it was perfect to me.
I even made it a point to tell
the store manager that I love the framers.


It now resides on my cupboard and I
finally hung Mary Catherine
This one was for my maternal grandparents
with their parents.
It is at the top second to right.
On to the finishing Viola Martini,
which will be for all of my great grandmothers.
Am already planning  on my next one 
 Just have to order the floss, as I have
the pattern and linen already to go.

In other news,
Thursday we woke up to snow once again.
Spring showers are suppose to be rain...
not snow. EGAD Mother Nature.
Tundra was just loving it though. 
He was laying on the ground taking it all in.
Bob finally made him come in.
He was a very wet dog...and when Tundra
came in I told him it was daddy's fault he
ruined your fun in the snow. LOL

I am on vacation next week.
Looking forward to some relaxation...
sleeping in a bit and not having 
to get up before the birds do.

Michael's MRI did not reveal anything wrong.
His doctor said he most likely broke his tailbone.
It will have to heal on its own.
He goes back to his doctors next Friday.
He is hoping they release him to go back to work.
Believe it or not he is stir crazy at home,
He wants to get out.
A big thank you to everyone who wished him well.
I have the best blogging friends.

One more thing.
The bunny from my last post was a pattern
from My Primitive Saltbox.
She use to have a blog years ago,
where she sold her patterns.
You can find her now on Etsy,
however the patterns are now PDF.

Well have to get to work.
Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend.

No More Snow Blessings To All!
Janice


Monday, April 7, 2025

Maker's Monday

Hello my friends.
Hope all is well with you 
in your neck of the woods.
 

Bob pulled out a bunch of
bins from the garage for me...
and in one of them I found these
bunnies which I had stitched, 
painted and coffee stained.
They were not put together...
so I did that.
Kept one and put the rest in the store.
Isn't he just adorable in his sleeping position.


Then I decided to get out my crochet hook.
Crocheted these eggs with the 
yarns I had leftover.
I had fun crocheting these.
I only had enough blue for one egg though.

Both these items will re-appear
in my Spring displays.
Stay tuned.

In other news,
Michele took Michael to ER on Saturday.
He had developed a very large bulge
in his stomach area and was hard as a rock.
It was found that he had a hematoma.
Am sure his many bruises from the accident
caused this internal blood clot.
He will be alright...but once again am mad
that this drunk girl who hit him is probably
going about her business, while my grandson
is still feeling the affects.

Over the weekend I also saw my tulips
popping out of the ground.
YAY Spring is finally here.
My neighbors Forsythia is also starting to bloom.

My mom will be here on Wednesday.
She is bringing soup for her and Bob 
to eat for lunch.
I am taking both she and Bob to their
eye surgeon appt. on Thursday.
My mom will stay with us til Friday,
so we will take her out to dinner
both Wed. and Thur.
She wants Chinese, so that will be one dinner.

Well my friends, have to get ready for work.
Hope you all have a marvelous week.

Monday Blessings To All!
Janice

Thursday, April 3, 2025

Splint Baskets

 Hello friends.
Today I wanted to share with you
the various splint baskets I have.


You may wonder what the heck is a splint basket.
A splint is a thin strip of wood.
These splints were mostly made from 
oak, ash and hickory trees.
Native Americans in the Eastern tribes
first brought these well made baskets into fruition.


They came in all kinds of sizes.
mostly square, but there are some round ones.


This is my biggest one.


This one someone whitewashed.


This one has seen better days...
but I still love it.


Large splints.


Smaller splints.


I love them all.


In other news,
Carla asked about my daughter.
She has not even mentioned 
her headache issue to me lately
 since Michael's car accident.
Maybe her focusing on him has made
them go away.
I will have to ask her.

Bob put the antique store up 
for sale again.
He had an offer....a dumb one.
This guy wanted to purchase our building,
have Bob sign a 10 year lease and continue
running the business.
Say what?
Why would we do that when we dont
pay rent now, we own the building 
with no mortgage and we want to sell.
The nerve of some people just amazes me.

Yesterday morning we had freezing rain.
Bob told me to come home because it was
getting bad...so I left work before lunch.
Drove in it for a few miles,
but by the time I reached home it was raining.
Thank goodness.
The thunderstorms rolled in the evening,
and then another round early this morning.
Sunday night out towns tornado alarm
went off just before a thunderstorm arrived.
We were not sure why because it was
really not that bad....I have seen worse,
and also been in a tornado before.
Crazy weather.

Well  have to get ready to go back to work.

April Blessings To All!
Janice


Sunday, March 30, 2025

Sunday Starts

 Hi my friends!
Well I just have two new starts today.


Decided I better start working on my saltboxes.
I actually gave up on the Winter one.
Did not like it and felt it was way too small.


So round two working on the Spring ones.
Starting with this one first.


This time I chose a 28 count fabric
instead of a 36 count.
Am loving this stitch now.
Will have to decide if I am going to stitch
all of that white.
It is meant to look like and old 
Polaroid would have looked like.


Next up is Spring Delivery.
This is the sister pattern to
the other bunny am working on. 


Have two chicks stitched.
Then started on the bunny.
Will backstitch the tail as well as the other one.
Just not sure what color yet. 

In other news,
updates on Michael.
The gashes on his legs have become infected.
He is now on antibiotics for this.
The doctor wants to see him in two weeks.
The ortho doctor put his foot in a boot.
He has to go back to see him in three weeks.
He started having another issue.
It is very hard for him to sit and stand now.
Appt has been made to see a back doctor.
Michele received the police report.
It stated that they did take the little girl
by ambulance to the hospital.
She does not know anything else,
so we hope she is alright.
The drunk driver was driving someone else's car.
Does that surprise me...not really.
She is out on bond, but am guessing since 
she already had warrants out,
that she will skip this hearing as well...
and have another warrant out.
It is a pattern with her it seems.
Michael's boss told him to take 
care of himself and not to come back
until he is fully ready two.
At least he has a nice boss.

Friday we had a round of thunderstorms
come in the afternoon. The first time this Spring.
We had rain off and on yesterday.
Looks like more rain today.

Well you know what I will be doing.
First need to make some breakfast.
Omelets with some spinach,
sausage and cheese.
Dinner tonight will be bbq pork sandwiches
with a salad.
I made some homemade 
blueberry vinaigrette dressing last night.
Made a salmon salad with it...
so I want to use it up as it only lasts a few days.

Sunday Spring Blessings to All!
Janice


 





Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Whippy Wednesday

 Hello all my friends!



Today am showing my 
WIP's (Work In Progress) for the month.


This was my start on Viola Martini.
Am doing this one to remember
 my great grandmothers for
my heritage wall.


Making a lot more progress.
Stitched all of my maternal great grandmother's.
Now just starting on my paternal ones.
Then either I finish with the last row of alphabets,
or I decide to start the motifs at the bottom.
The pic also shows a border, however 
the pattern did not.
I do like that border, so may stitch it in at the end. 
I did not really mind doing this all in red.
It was a variegated cranberry...
which is hard to tell in my pics.
The fabric is a mottled grayish green.


Next up is Sarah Casey Unwin.
This one I decided to do for the verse.
It will not be for my heritage wall.


This was my start.


I work on this one most Saturday's.


Finished the flower in the middle.
Was not a fan of the peach which was called for
in some of the petals.
I opted for a different shade of pink.


The birds were done in peach.
I almost frogged them out, but will leave them.
The pattern repeats on the right,
so will make the other birds peach too...
but this will be the only peach I will stitch.


Then there is Lucky Ewe.


Originally chose my own colors.
When I got to the basket,
I must have tried a dozen different colors
to stitch that shamrock in the middle.
Nothing I chose worked. UGH
So back to the drawing board I went.


Started all over on a piece
of 28 count Green Sapphire linen.
Went and bought the called for floss,
instead of the colors I chose.


Started this time at the bottom,
then worked my way up.
I know St Patrick's Day is over now...
but will continue to stitch
thru the end of the month as much
as possible...then save the rest for next year.


This is more of the truer colors of linen.
Am much happier with the results...
and as they say...when mama is happy,
everybody is happy. LOL


Also hooked a bit more on Potted Plant.


I used two different wools for the leaf.


Hard to believe these were the colors.


A cream wool for the stem.

In other news,
my grandson Michael was in a
car accident Sunday night.
He was hit by a drunk driver who also
had her 2 year daughter in the car
without being restrained in a car seat.
He was taken to the hospital.
God was with him.
He has big gashes and bruising
all over and only a broken toe.
I don't want to show the pics,
because the huge gashes even disturbed me.
They kept him overnight at the hospital
for observation.
The drunk driver was alright of course,
but thankfully as well so was her daughter.
His car is totaled.
When my daughter got to the scene and saw
his car she thought the worst.
The police officer pointed 
to his car and told Michele that was 
the person who did it.
This had been her 5th DUI now.  
Her blood alcohol level was .20
Anything over .08 BAC 
(blood alcohol content) here
in Michigan is considered drunk driving.
She was screaming to get out of the car.
At this point I think her little daughter needs 
to be taken from her for her own safety.
Michael is on meds for pain now.
We hope the gashes heal without getting infected.
He is very sore as well.
Please say a wee prayer if you can 
for that little girl.
She needs to be in a home that will 
truly take care of her.
Michael is still in pain and trying to rest.
He has a good job and will be getting 85%
of his pay for being off on disability.
They are also giving him a food allowance
of $20 per day which I though was nice...
even though my daughter will be helping
with his meals.
Once he starts feeling better, he will
need to look for another car. 
Cars can be replaced, but lives cannot.
The girl who hit him is already out on bail...
hopefully she will not kill someone 
as I am sure it will happen again.
She truly needs the book thrown at her.

 Blessings To All!
Janice