Finished it!

Well, I put the final stitches into this sampler this morning, and I even remembered to initial and date it. I was well impressed. LOL. The photo doesn't do it justice, the editor on this laptop is crap. I think I'll have to install Photoshop, at least I know what I'm doing with that. I have taken the sampler round to Mam & Dad's so they can take it to the framers, then it has to go up to Alnwick with the C'mas presents and hidden.

On the home front, our washing machine has gone belly up. There were some clothes in it when it decided to conk out so I had to take those with me this morning and spin them in Mam's machine then bring them back to bung in the tumble dryer. The engineer is coming out sometime tomorrow to hopefully fix it. And I missed the postman this morning...he had a parcel for me that wouldn't fit through the letter box so will have to ask Craig to get it tomorrow for me.

More progress

I've worked on this virtually all day today, as you can probably tell. LOL. There's not much more to do on it, mostly the right hand side...the ribbon, a name, small flower at the top, larger cluster of flowers at the bottom and the rest of the border. With any luck it'll be finished by the weekend and I can give it to Mam for her to get it framed. Then I'll be able to get on and do some on Marilyn's, which Craig has very kindly started for me.

Golden Wedding Sampler WIP

I took this photo last night. However, I've been working on it this morning and now have a name on the left hand side, the border is almost up to the top left corner, the left hand ribbon is all done and I'm about a third of the way through the top left hand flower. I'm hoping this afternoon to get the flower finished and a start made on the wording along the top. Will post another WIP photo tomorrow.

Doesn't she scrub up well?

It's Kate's works Christmas party tonight and I managed to get her and Matty on camera just before I dropped them off at a local pub where they were meeting a couple of other people. This photo really does not do her justice. The decoration on her dress is silver bugle beads and they're very sparkly, which you can't tell on here. And she's wearing high heeled slingbacks. She had her hair curled specially, normally it's as straight as anything. I know I'm a bit biased but I think she looks lovely. Bet she doesn't come home looking as immaculate though, I know what she's like when she's had a drink. LOL.

Two new projects

I've started stitching this for my Aunt & Uncle's Golden Wedding anniversary which is at the beginning of January. I've changed the aida that was in the kit to evenweave in a forget-me-not blue shade. I've done the middle bit and am working my way round the border at the moment. I will post a WIP photo soon.

The other new project is something I've been sent by a friend for me to do for her. It's called Footprints by Bucilla. I'm not looking forward to all that backstitching so I hope she's not in too much of a hurry for it back. LOL.

Dare I post another finish?

I debated long and hard about posting a fourth finish in the same amount of days but then thought, oh what the hell. LOL. So here it is. This is for a RR on Aion, for the Aion Friends, and this is Clare's. Her theme is Wise Words and it's going to look lovely when it's finished and she's done all the cutting on the hardanger bits as well. I chose this one because of the lovely yellow flowers. One of my favourite colours. I hope Clare likes it.

On to the next project now. I have a Golden Wedding Sampler to do for my Aunt & Uncle (commissioned by Mam). It's not till February I think but if I don't make a start on it soon Mam will start and panic. Another friend, Marilyn, is sending me a project of hers to finish off for her as I'm quite a fast stitcher and I think she needs it in a hurry.

Another one bites the dust

Have just this minute finished this. This RR was actually cancelled but a couple (or 3) of us decided to still stitch our squares on the materials. This is Nicola's RR and will now be sent on to Kathy for her to do the final square. Hope Nicola likes the finished thing. It was a really quick stitch.

Gotcha Kate!

This'll teach you to nick Matty's clothes when he leaves them behind.

Poor lad won't have anything to wear without bumps in if you keep wearing them. ROFL!

Smokin' Needles is about right!

Phew, they haven't half been smoking the last few days. Not only did I finish the MP RR and the HAED, but I've also finished this English rose for Kathy's square on Kathy's Krafter's RR. I think I managed to get all the backstitching done, it was hard to make out on the chart. Hope you like it Kathy. On to the next one now.

Happy Dancing

I know this is gonna pee Kathy off immensely, one of the reasons I'm posting this at this time of night, but I have another finish. This is Heaven & Earth Designs (HAED) QS Silver Branch by Ian Daniels. No doubt Kate will end up with it, she ended up with my other HAED.

Michael Powell RR

Finished my section of this today for Kathy. My section is the middle bit, that has been backstitched. The person before me must have forgotten to do their bit. I can't wait to see these finished and receive mine back.

Driving Instructors!

Kate is due to take her driving test - first attempt - in less than two weeks. Her female driving instructor has never been very good at keeping appointments, but now she is pregnant and is even worse. She cancelled Saturday's lesson 5 minutes before the lesson was due to start, and so they arranged a two hour lesson for this coming Saturday instead. However, the instructor, Sam, texted Kate this morning and told her she could have a two hour lesson on Sunday at 10am instead. It's Kate's works C'mas party on Saturday night and no way on this earth is she going to be in a fit state, let alone under the legal limit, for a lesson at that time of the day. So Sam asked Kate if she could do an hour on Thursday and an hour on Friday after work instead. As Kate really needs to practice her manoevres more than anything else this isn't really ideal as it'll be pitch black, and she's better at doing them in the day time, after all, her test is through the day. Kate told her that would be no good.So, this morning, I've been on the phone, trying to find a female instructor - AT SHORT NOTICE - who can give her a two hour lesson on Saturday and two hours on her test date, with possibly a couple of lessons inbetween after work just to get used to driving a different car etc. Do you know how many driving schools there are in the yellow pages? And how FEW of them have female instructors?And now half an hour later, it appears to be sort of sorted. I rang a lady who can give her a two hour lesson on Saturday morning, but not the test. So Kate is going to postpone her test and rebook it for about four weeks time so that she can get used to the new instructor. I am so mad though. GRRRR!Rant over.

Back into the swing of things

After an almost two month break from stitching - it's almost impossible to stitch while lying flat on your back, specially when you're fat and everything slides off your belly! - I've finally got back into the swing of it. Had to do a bit of frogging on one of the RR's I've been doing, something I'm not used to cos I hardly ever frog. I'm now working on Kathy's Michael Powell RR and should have it finished tomorrow, ready to send to Rachel in Israel. And I'm trying to find out where my Folk Art Alphabet RR is. Last I heard Mandy had it, but dunno who has it now and it's almost finished. I hope it hasn't been filched or lost cos I paid good money for the chart and sent the original around with it. Will just to buy it again if it has and do it myself. It's a Merry Heart design and really lovely. Not your usual alphabet.

Next I have my Ozark Sampler 2006 to finish off; a HAED to finish, about 200 stitches on that; another MP RR that Craig has been working on while I was ill but which I might have to finish off as he just doesn't have the time really; and a RR for Nicola which I think Craig could have as I haven't seen it for a while. But there's no real hurry for that. Then there's my Celtic Autumn that I should really do some work on too, as I haven't worked on her since about August. SIGH!!

Happy Birthday Spud!

Yesterday, the 18th, (incidentally the same day as Ant McPartlin and that Danish goalie bloke whose name has momentarily escaped me. Oh, Peter Schmeikel (sp)) was my baby girl's birthday. She was 19. God it doesn't seem like two minutes since she was a 10lbs 13ozs baby in the Princess Mary Maternity Hospital in Newcastle. And now, here she is, with a boyfriend who sleeps over(!), her first one, taking driving lessons and with her practical test at the end of this month, and been working in the same place since she left school almost. I'm really proud of her and I love her very much. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!

I've been tagged.

By Kathy. What I have to do is name the 7 songs I'm listening to the most lately. I think. Considering I've been flat on my back for the best part of two months and not listened to anything much I think I'll just list my 7 favourite songs then tag the next 7 people. Not in any particular order.

1. It's My Life - Bon Jovi
2. I Can't Dance - Scissor Sisters
3. Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town - Kenny Rogers
4. From This Moment On - Shania Twain (played at my wedding to Craig)
5. Like A Rose - A1 (First CD Craig ever bought me)
6. Shang-a-Lang - Bay City Rollers
7. Always - Bon Jovi

And now I tag: Mandy, Heather, Karen, Sharon, Ashleigh, Simone and Andrea.

Bad backs and bedpans!

Since we got back from Prague at the beginning of October I've been flat on my back with excrutiating back pain. After a few home visits from the GP I was eventually ambulanced to the Wansbeck Hospital for x-rays. I was pain-killered, prodded and poked lots of times and eventually admitted. Because the sensation in my right leg was getting worse the bods at the Wansbeck decided I needed an MRI scan to try and find something on there. So I was transferred to Newcastle General Hospital two days later.

Yesterday, after 10 days in hospital, I got home at about 3.30pm (with a detour to see my parents) and about 20 mins later was visited by the Get Well Soon fairy bearing gifts...huge bunch of flowers, Thorntons choccies, a card and a balloon...in the shape of Jayne from the Attic. The Fairy that is, not the balloon! Just thought I'd better make that clear. After that it was on to the message boards to try and catch up with some posts and say lots of thank yous.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Think that's enough! To everyone who sent replies to Craig and Kathie's updates and a HUGE thank you to my darling hubby (who can't spell to save his life bless him) and my bestest sis Kathy (who has hidden the HUG smiley?) who kept you all updated, and probably bored sh...I mean witless.

I am not on any painkillers cos they don't work. But if you ever get the chance to have Oramorph - liquid morphine - take it cos it is absolutely gorgeous. The nurses kept giving me a drink of water to wash it down with but I kept telling them to just bring me the bottle and a straw! Nothing doing.

For those of you on Aion, that read my blog, that mentioned the dishy ambulance men, there were a couple, and one of them took me between the Wansbeck and the General so I got a double dose. Oh and the MRI bloke was a bit of alright too - he had gorgeous eyes. It's a shame the same can't be said of the woman who did my back xrays. What a miserable shrivelled up old bag she was! And she gave me no help whatsoever to move from the trolley to the xray bed, even though she could see I was in agony and could barely move.

Got off the track a bit there. Had to mop up the drool.

The nerve root injection seems to have done the trick for now, though to be honest the pain in my back is just back to the dull ache that it was before it went totally beserk at the beginning of October. They won't operate on my back because there needs to be more of the disc sticking out for them to grab hold of than there is at the moment. Wonder if jumping up and down will help. They don't like to operate unless it's totally necessary in case it makes it any worse. However, I have a couple of sticks to help me walk, which will soon be down to one cos my left shoulder is protesting very loudly at all this extra activity. Did I ever mention my frozen shoulders?

Anyway, the Newcastle General is still a dump. It was a dump when my kids were born, which is why they were born somewhere else, and it's still a dump. The food is revolting and god knows why they get you to fill in a menu card cos you never get what you order.

Most of the staff were ok, and I'm sure quite a few of them were quite pleased to see the back of me cos I can be a real grumpy mare when I'm woken up too early. I mean to say, it can't be humane to be expected to eat breakfast at 8am? It should be outlawed, we should petition Downing Street! And some stupid AMATEUR doctor, who was probably a consultant or something, woke me up on Sunday morning at 5.40 AM(!) to get some blood off me for a test. He had raging flu and was breathing all over me, but I soon scuppered his plans and he couldn't find a vein. Didn't take me long to get back to sleep either. Mind you, I did get a return visit later from a much nicer Doctor called Alister who DID find my veins eventually. Took him a few attempts, but he managed it the first time he tried it a few days previously, and managed it this time too, bless his little cotton socks. Mind you, you should see the state of my arms.

The nurse removed the canula that was giving me the saline solution yesterday and the catheter was removed at about 6.30am this morning. Oh boy, what a relief to pee!The physiotherapist saw me this morning and said I was a changed woman (she was one of the people I was grumpy with earlier in the week), gave me some sticks, practised on the stairs with me, but I keep forgetting which foot to put where and when and where the stick is supposed to be at the same time. It's going to be fun if I'm somewhere busy and I use stairs - which admittedly doesn't usually happen - and I cause a gridlock. Looking forward to that one.