Maker's Monday

 For today's maker's Monday,

I wanted to create something for

my one faux Christmas tree.

I purchased these wood circles

from Hobby Lobby and asked Bob

to drill a hole in the top for me.

Taking DecoArt Salted Caramel paint.

I painted the circles.

Then I chose these DecoColor Paint pens.

I wanted to paint some designs on my wood circles.

Can you guess what?

Well the yellow bled.

I was not a happy camper.

I wiped it off and re-painted the orange.

Again it bled. Ugh

So I went over this in black.

It will have to do...

but so disappointed in this yellow paint.

The black was perfect.

So I continued with my designs 

that I drew out just in the black.

This is our last name.

Am sure you know now what I am creating.

Well if not, these are meant to mimic

redware plates.

I did 3 designs and 3 words.

I painted 6 and did keep the messed up one.

Using this white and gold cording.

Tied at the top for an ornament.

Cannot wait to get these on

 my Christmas tree now.

Of all of my art classes I took...

I hated painting.

I would rather draw than paint,

so this was out of my comfort zone a bit.

Not perfection, but good enough for me.

In other news,

Early Sunday morning 

our security cameras at the store

caught someone walking around with 

a flashlight in the dark.

The time was 3:45am.

No it was not a ghost.

It looked to me like a police officer.

Bob thought it was a security guard

of some sort...

but why would a security guard be in our store?

Also why would anyone be in there?

Well Bob called the police to report it...

it turned out it was a police officer.

He spotted our side door open.

He went in and walked around to make

sure no one was in there,

plus to see if anything looked awry.

Upon finding nothing wrong,

he closed our door and left.

Bob goes out the front door,

but parks by the side one a bit farther back.

He swears it was shut.

I told him it was possible it might

have been not fully shut and with

the high winds last night, it opened.

We dont have a camera at that door,

because it goes into a little room

with another door that 

then goes into  the store.

However if  anyone else had come in 

we would have caught them too...

as that is where the camera is,

along with others all around the store.

Thankfully we have great police officers

in our town.

Bob thanked him many times.

Redware Blessings to all!

Janice

 

 

When It Rains It Pours

As the saying goes...

We needed a new couch badly 

in our living room.

So like another saying

Bite the bullet...

we ordered a new couch.

We decided it would be a Christmas present

to each other.

It took 6 weeks to arrive.

Also it was made in the USA.

It must be a nice once as it was

Tundra approved. LOL

It is a brown tweed and we had it 

scotch guarded as we knew Tundra

would be on it.

Now that the weather has turned Winter like,

we keep a blanket over the couch...

we dont need it ruined by Tundra either.

 I took brown floss colors with me

to the furniture store.

These brown colors were in the red chair.

It is hard to tell, but there are two

shades of brown in this chair.

There are also browns in the rug...

which is why I wanted a brown couch.

Well after we ordered the couch,

our tv in the keeping room died on us.

Working at the bank every now and then

I am given award points for referrals

or great customer service.

Because I am retiring, I need to use

these up or lose them.

 For us employees, there is an online catalog 

 to purchase items within your point value.

With that I was able to get this tv for

 FREE.

Although it is not as big as our last one

which was in here before...

it will do.

So glad we did not have to spend more money.

Since this one is a bit smaller...

there is room behind it now for more

things to add to this wall.

It sits on our antique Jenny Lind table.

The trunk underneath was

 my paternal great grandparents.

This humpback trunk came from France. 

The shadow on the left is my fat self. LOL

In other news,

we had 6 inches of snow on Sunday.

Driving to work Monday morning was a bit rough.

My mom's UTI test came back negative,

so that is good news...but still puzzles us

on why she cannot use the bathroom

when she should.

I am seeing early signs of dementia with mom,

but my sister is refusing to think that.

However she is already exhausted taking

care of my mom and it has not even been

a full week that she has been with my sister.

The weekend is almost here.

Will finish up my Christmas decorating

at some point this weekend.

Are you starting your Christmas decorating?

Thursday Blessings To All!

Janice

Sunday Starts

Now that it is November,

am starting a new turkey pattern. 

This is an older Plum Street pattern

called Gobble from 2007.

The picture looks like it would 

be a small one right?

Not

I believe this will be 

around 10 inches square.

Here is my start on this one.

Using all the called for floss

on 32ct Old Salem linen.

So while it is only early November,

I am also getting into Christmas mode.

So I decided to start Quaker Stocking.

This is where I am with upper right start.

Doing this on 32ct Heartland linen.

Using Weeks Dye Works floss

Gunmetal (gray Blue)

Blue Suede (Dark Blue)

Schneckley (Gold)

Finally another Christmas stitch.

Joyeux Noel

Merry Christmas in French.

Being of French decent, I really wanted

to stitch this one up.

Using all the called for floss.

Stitching on 32ct Smokey White linen.

In other news,

we are supposed to get our first snowfall today.

And so it begins....

November 10th marks the 50th anniversary

of the Edmund Fitzgerald 

freighter going down.

November 10. 1975

All 29 seaman lost their lives.

This tragedy was memorialized

in the song by Gordon Lightfoot.

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Each year they ring the bell at 

The Mariner's Church in Detroit.

29 times for each sailor who was lost.

The irony of the Edmund Fitzgerald

was that it was on its last trip of

of the season and was due to unload

at a steel mill South of Detroit.

It never made it.

She went down in Lake Superior

and was only seventeen miles reaching

Whitefish Bay and safety.

Her sister ship was behind her.

The Arthur M Anderson.

The Anderson  made it through...

and this freighter still sails today.

 

The Gales (storms) of November 

are a real thing here on the Great Lakes.

There are many storms that occur this month.

The worst storm on Lake Huron

was November 9th, 1913.

More than 250 seamen lost their lives.

Many lake freighters were lost forever.

It was told that two systems converged

together causing the worst storm

in Great Lakes history.

One front came up from the South,

while the other came down from the Northwest.

The two storms came together in Lake Huron.

About 40 freighters were on the lake

at the time when these storms hit.

With almost 100 mph winds.

Waves reaching 35 ft or more.

It was heartbreaking.

I live 30 minutes South of Lake Huron.

My mom lives along Lake Huron.

It is a beautiful lake... but when a storm

comes in can be deadly for sure.

Speaking of storms,

we are due for 1-4 inches today.

Possibly some freeing rain.

Am hoping for nothing...

one can wish right? 

again UGH....

... And So It Begins Blessings To All!

Janice

Whippy Wednesdy

 Up next is my monthly progress

on a few of my stitch pieces.

First is Sarah Casey Unwin.

Looking at the pattern the second 

row of windows has the one on

the left smaller than the others.

I like symmetry, so I had to stitch

the window on the right the same

as the left.

Then the pattern had 8 stitches on the left

of the first windows...but only 7 stitches

on the right of all of the windows.

I stitched 8 on both sides. 

This is one big red house.

I still have 2 more row of windows to go.

With November here now,

I wanted to bring back out 

this Prairies Schooler Turkey.

I did not get very far on this one last year.

Finished a few more leaves.

Not even sure if it will get done this year,

but will plug away when I can.

Finally Feniscowles Hall.

This is my tribute stitch for

my paternal grandparents

and their parents.

I finished the grass on the left.

YAY.

This month will continue on

going up on the house now.

Plus stitch to the right up to

where the grass ends.

Am loving this even though it is

taking forever to do.

It will be all worth it in the end.

In other news,

Mary from Merry Windy Farms

asked me if this was a winder on top.

Yes it is an early kite string winder.

Can you imagine using one of these to

fly your kite in the early days?

Looks like we might get some bad news

on Sunday morning....

in the form of our first snowfall.

Its been nice having temps in the high 50's.

Hate to see it go, but it is inevitable.

Saturday we move my  mom out 

to my sister's house.

She will stay there until the weeks

between Christmas and New Year's.

where she will stay with Bob and I

for these two weeks.

We did do a urine test to see if she has

a UTI and still waiting for the results.

I also must confess am starting to decorate

for Christmas around the abode.

I will have a Turkey display in the kitchen though.

I like to start early so I can enjoy it more.

Bob put up the lights last week outside.

He figured it was so nice out he might as well.

We wont turn those on though until

after Thanksgiving.

Well off to work I go.

Happy Hump Day Blessings To All!

Janice

The Last Hurrah

Here are the last of my Autumn displays. 

At the end of our hall.

The one quilted candy corn on the left

 I purchased.

The others I sewed up. 

I always like to do a display

on the side of the bed in our guest room.

Just for my mom.

One of my dolls and faux pumpkin.

This hanging cabinet is from the 1700's.

This wall has my great aunt on the left.

A hooked rug I did.

My mom's parents wedding picture.

The antique iron bed my mom

sleeps in when she comes to our house.

This is a 3/4 bed.

Which means it is bigger than a twin,

but smaller than a queen.

You have to special order mattresses 

for these beds.

We opted to just use twin mattresses.

Bob had to cut a piece of plywood down

to fit the opening.

Then we placed the mattresses on top

of the plywood.

I use twin sheets, but a queen comforter. 

In other news,

Bob and I went to dinner last night.

There were quite a few trick or treaters out.

We got home around 7 and it was still in the 

mid 50's. Good night to trick or treat.

Hopefully tomorrow will be good for those

who do it then too.

Dont forget to turn your clocks back tonight.

I wish they would stop this...

but at least next Spring I wont be at work

when they do it again....

and I can sleep in. YAY

Well off to the grocery store.

Bob wants me to make my pumpkin dip,

so going to get some of the ingredients.

We eat it with molasses and windmill cookies.

Making beef stew for dinner.

November Blessings To All!

Janice

October CupboardScape

With October coming to a close,

Here is my October CupboardScape.

You may see a theme here once you see 

one particular item.

Had to add in my cabin for this one.

Can you guess the theme?

If you said pheasants you would be correct.

With the feathers.

Grass

Plus our departed stuffed pheasant.

 In other news,

mom is refusing to eat in the dining room.

She is refusing to go to the bathroom

early in the morning...

which is causing a mess for the aides.

Both my sister and I told her if she is

going to continue to do this,

then she wont be going home...

plus she might have to be transferred

to another facility.

My sister cannot change sheets every day.

She cannot worry about her mattress

getting ruined.

We have placed a waterproof mattress pad

on the bed along with 2 other pads.

She wears depends and still...

well she is being lazy,

so if this is what she wants, its her choice.

The town where our store is

has cancelled Halloween until Saturday

because of a football game on Friday.

The athletic director for the school

could have changed the game to Saturday.

Shame on him.

Halloween is Oct. 31st each year. 

Some folks are still doing Halloween 

on Friday while others Saturday.

We will not be participating at all this year.

Just nonsense if you ask me.

Have to get to work.

Getting colder in the mornings.

October's End Blessings To All!

Janice