Olympia And Casino

This morning, I was up around 8 am. Wanted to get out of bed before Patrick so he could make the bed. lol Too lazy to do it today. 

I got my 3 laps in on my walk, plus some. Then I sat and worked on my cross stitching before we had to head up to Olympia. 

I worked on the area where the light green is on the left side. I ended up taking out some of the yellow area because it just wasn't working. Once I had that taken out, it went smoothly. Then Patrick told me it was time to get moving. 

We left around 12:15 pm so we could get a few things done. Had to go to the credit union, then PUD (Public Utilities District - something like that), and lastly Staples to drop off the pot that was received yesterday. Then it was on the way to Olympia for my oncology appointment. 

Patrick wanted to go in with me to find out about my spine losing some density. It's minor and is common. IF it was something that was worse, they would have to give me more medication to counter it. Luckily, I'm not there yet and may not get there. So, I passed on all my stuff and will go back in 6 months. I reached my 2-year mark and now I don't have to go in as often. 

We then went to the casino at Lucky Eagle. We played for a few hours and then had supper. Once we were finished eating, we went back to play more. We did okay, but some of the money we came home with last time was given back. lol The progressive on the game we play was won just before we sat down to play. 

Once we were done, we decided to head home. We were home around 8 pm and I'm now beat. I'm so tired and I think it's because of sitting so much. Driving makes me tired as well. I need to take a protein drink tomorrow! lol 

So, it didn't turn out bad today. I was able to work enough to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Back On Track

This morning, I slept in. Then I ordered backing and batting for our group. 

I played my games for a bit and then Patrick wanted to watch a movie. We watched "A Ghost in My House" ? I think that's the name. It was on Netflix. It was really good too. 

While that was going on, I decided to pull out my cross stitch. 

I was able to get it back on track. The steps are showing up again. I was able to get a lot done. I'm having some issues with that color I had trouble with before. I may have to take out more to get it fixed. UGH I actually frogged about 100 stitches. We will see, I may have to. It's coming along nicely thought. 

Not much going on today.

I ordered my pot from Amazon (LE TAUCI 3 Quart Ceramic Dutch Oven) that finally came in today. Patrick opened it to find that it was broken. Not only that, but they also sent us a RETURNED pot that was broken. The knob on the top was wrapped up and in the box. I couldn't believe it. Patrick has it for a replacement but can't find where we can make a comment about giving us a broken returned pot. This was a first! Now I have to wait another 2 weeks. UGH

At least I could find time for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Embroidery Day

I am going to have to find something other than "Embroidery Day" for Monday's schedule. I can't seem to think of titles very well. I will work on it. 

It was a day at moms. I stopped and got her a tea as well as myself. She wanted to talk about quilts, but Georgie and I worked on our embroidery. So, she finally started working on her applique. Georgie isn't happy with her piece, but I think it looks fine. 

As for me, I'm not that thrilled with mine, but I will work on fixing it so that the white doesn't show through 

I am starting to work the bullions in, then I will have to work the detached buttonhole stitches in. I will have to practice that part, because it's been a while since I have done that. The same number color of red, in Glory and Lola are just a bit off. As you can see in the picture, the "vane" in the rose is a tad darker than the red in the middle. At least it's on the outside and not the inside. I think the darker will have it looking better than the other way around. It will be interesting to see how this comes out. I may need to add some satin stitches in where the buttonhole stitches are (outside petals).  It's fun, and different. I like the rose, so I'm a going to work on it. It gives me something to work on while I am at our BE meetings. Funny, but it was only 4 of us today. Sandy II and Gerilyn had things to do and will be here next week. 

After Georgie and Bonnie left, mom heated up lunch. Then Ethel and Mike came to visit with mom. We were eating while they were there. Mike is my daughter-in-law's father and Ethel is her grandmother. So, it's family. Mike will be leaving at the end of the week to go to San Franciso for a bit, then head to MS or FL and then go to the other on the way back. He is busy. 

I left before they did. I headed home and sat down. I was enjoying my games. What I should have done was pull out my cross stitch and work on that. But, NOPE, I was lazy and played with a good friend. We have been playing for over 3 years. I did do some bookkeeping when I got home and paid a bill. I will get it to the PUD on Wednesday. I have a few things on the computer I need to do, but not there yet. 

Lazy? Heck yea! Care? Heck no! Or at least I tell myself that. Life is good. I'm calming down. Things are looking up. Patrick is doing good considering he's fighting cancer for over 5 years now. We can be thankful for each day. He turned 67 in January. I will follow in about 3 months. Things are good! It will be interesting to see what this year will bring. Katt will be here in July, and we will go to another Mariner's game in Seattle. At least they have shuttles to get us there. lol 

And yes, I was Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!!

SEAHAWKS WIN!!!

It was pretty busy this morning with cleaning and getting my Christmas Star Bread done. I was able to get a lot done. 

Then it was time to just sit and relax. So, I did. I watched the Seahawk's play and I stitched. 

I was able to work on this. I got a lot done. The right side is slowly getting the steps that I like working on. I did a lot of the white/light green area done. It was fun, but doing the same color for a long time does get old. lol 

When I got tired of working on it, I played on my tablet. 

It was awesome to see us win again! It was boring to start, then it became a game in the last quarter. Shame they couldn't have played like that throughout the game. At least we won! I just hope we keep all our players at this rate, but we all know free agents want more money and that leads to trades. It will be interesting to see how it goes. 

With a WIN, I was still able to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

QOV National Sew Day

This morning, I headed downstairs to get ready for our group of quilters. I was getting more of the pillowcases cut. 

Around 10 am the gals started coming in. We had at least seven of us. Each had something to do. Val and Colleen worked on sewing the pillowcases. Mary, Debbie and I worked on pinning them for them to sew. Then mom worked on ripping stuff out when needed. Lynn helped with ironing. We had a good process going. We took a break at about noon for lunch then we got back into the pillowcases. They started leaving around 2:30 pm. Colleen and I did the last 6 pillowcases to get a total of 18 done today. Colleen brought 2 of hers she had done. 

We were talking about having a challenge. So, we figure if we have a challenge to see who does the most pillowcases will get a reward. Think we need to think on what the reward would be, and then get it started after our meeting next month. It will be interesting. 

It was about 5 pm before Colleen and I were done. It was fun. I came upstairs and called it done. My feet were killing me, and I found I did 5k steps just being downstairs working on the pillowcases. 

I spent the rest of the night playing my games. I think I'm going to call it an early night for me. because I'm dead on my feet. 

It was fun having everyone here and being Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Trip To Olympia And Costco

This morning, Patrick went golfing and I got some laundry in. Then I just enjoyed the morning. He got home just as I was ready to go walking. I was able to get my walk in and then it was time to pick mom up. 

We left at noon to get mom and then head up to Olympia. I had my bone density test, while they waited out in the car. Guess I was in there about 45 minutes, and I thought it was less than that. My test only took about 10 minutes. So, I joined them and we headed out to Costco. 

Mom had some issues with her left hearing aid. So, they looked at her ear and found that she needs to get them cleaned, there was a lot of wax. But she does have an issue with the hearing aid, so she is getting a new case for it. It cost her $50, but I figured she needed to get it done so that the wax doesn't go into the hearing aid piece. 

We shopped to get what we needed, then went to Pizza Hut to eat. I didn't want pizza, but Patrick did. Mom was okay with it. We got a boxed meal. Whatever one does at Pizza Hut, DON'T get the boneless chicken! It's awful! You get very small pieces with 3 bigger pieces, not worth the money. Plus, the coating is too heavy and makes it hard to eat. 

Dropped mom off and she gave me chicken in a bag (frozen) for tomorrow. Then stopped at Phil's to give him some stuff we bought at Costco. It was just a few things. 

Came home and called it done. I didn't feel like doing much but play my games. I will be busy tomorrow with QOV National Sew Day at the house. I need to clean up down there, but I'm not going to. I will figure it out tomorrow. We have a few things to do, so we are good. 

Not a day for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Week Is Going Fast

Not only the week, but the months are going fast. I feel like I sneezed and January was gone. 

Patrick was golfing in the fog. That had to be interesting. It was cold today, but I actually got a few things done. 

I needed to get 2 quilt tops set with backing and batting. I used up the roll of batting and a couple of the backings. I'm going to ask the group what colors they want for backing and see what I can get. I am ordering regular rolls of fabric that are solid colors. That will help with the quilts. Plus, I can use them in the kits we put together. I washed the backings and have them ready to go. I need to do the binding on one quilt, and it will be ready as well.  I even marked the veterans that are going to be presented on the 21st. 

Patrick got home as I was finishing up with that job. I had walked just before, so my day was busy this morning. 

Then I played on my tablet for a bit and listened to my audiobook. I was feeling like I needed to do something other than sit and play games. So, I pulled out my cross stitch and got to work. 

I was able to get moving on the right side. I finished up with the area I took out and realized I was a step off, so I'm doing 2 steps at a time to get back in line. Now that I have the white, I was able to work on that area as well. I'm really happy with the way it's coming. I must have done about 400 stitches today. It felt good to work on it. I needed something to work on. 

It feels weird that I started this last year around August and now it's February. All I have to do is blink and the month is gone. What a year! Before I know it, it will be my Birthday again. Not that I care, just didn't think it needed to come so fast. 

Oh, well, it's Thursday and I was able to enjoy being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Another Casino Day

Patrick went golfing and Kaiser woke me up at 8:30 am to let me know we needed to move my appointment because my density test wasn't scheduled yet and I needed that before my appointment. So, I had to call and get that scheduled and then call him back. While I waited, I called OBGYN to get an appointment in April - and they don't have that schedule available yet. 

So, for a couple hours this morning, I was on the phone. Then I went walking. I got 3 laps in today, which was awesome. I have to do a little increase at a time, so I'm going slow with upping my laps. 

I had to get the copyright from QOV again. It expired in December and I needed to renew it, so got that off in the email. 

Once that was done, Patrick came home and we headed to the museum first.  

We are now ready for a few quilts to give away. This is only part of what we have. 

Then we headed off to the casino. With the money we have on our card, we played and won $750 to play on. We played that down to the last $300 and went back to the game we won the $750 on. By the time we left, we had more than that to come on with. It was all their money. So, that felt good. We stayed till about 5 pm, ate there, and then came home. 

I was a little tired. So, we sat and watched TV. Now I can sleep good tonight. As much as I thought we would be home to give me time to do SOMETHING, it wasn't to be. So, tomorrow is another day. I may even go downstairs and clean up. lol Not my day for Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Cleaning, Walking & Stitching

Patrick was off golfing. I was sleeping in. Then when I got up, I started doing laundry. Amazing how much laundry one does for 2 people. Go figure! I was also doing sheets and towels, but still!

I went walking around the neighborhood and I got in 3 laps instead of 2. I'm improving! It was nice to get out and walk even when the weather was a little cold. 

It was time to put everyone's names on the quilts that I need to take to the museum. I have 10 finished quilts in my back room. At least 4 of them will do for the panels to give out to the active duty. 

This is one that was given to us from Tri Cities. I finally got the quilts done and now they are ready to give out. 

Colleen's sister Janet did this quilt. It's a panel, so I may have to use it. It's different. 

Sophie had to get in on my putting the names on the quilts. 

This one is ready. I do like it; just wish I had made it a little longer. I wasn't reading the instructions very well. lol 

I got into playing my games while working on laundry. Then I had to recharge the tablet, which got me going on working on the cross stitching. I needed to replace all that I took out. 

I was able to fill in the left side that I took out, and I'm working on the right side to fill that in. It's coming along, and I'm back on track. I did enjoy working on this today. If was calming in a way. I will get back to my stair steps and get moving again. It's about half stitched, but there are a ton of beads that need to be added to this. That will be my last part. I don't think it has backstitching, but if it does, I will do them both at the same time. Will go faster that way. 

This weekend is our Nation Sew Days and it's at the house. I need to get ready for that, because my quilt room is a mess. That will be the next thing I have to clean. May wait till Thursday. Thinking of taking mom up to Costco for her hearing aids. Patrick said he will take us. 

I'm just thankful I'm getting back to being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Monday - Embroidery Day - But Ended Up Quilt Day

 This morning, I had to head to Colleen's, then meet Kelsey in Centralia, and then head to moms. It was a busy morning just getting to moms. I ended up picking up 2 quilts to go to moms. 

When I arrived, there were 4 of them there. Of course, mom had to pull out her blocks she's been making for us to help her decide how they are going to be put together. So, she made me help her lay them out on the floor. 

We worked this one out. It was fun to see who everyone kept moving the blocks around, but then after a while, I wasn't laughing. 

This was the next one. She had so many red blocks that it was too red, so we mixed the blue in. I'm not a scrappy person and I'm not crazy about this one, but it's in the red, white and blue colors. Mom has been doing a lot of scrap quilts and asking me to help with laying them out. I hate that job. This was another one of those that we are moving blocks around like crazy. Now they are ready to be put together and then I can get them out to quilt. 

When that was done, Georgie wanted a photo of her quilt that she made and did the binding on. 

She liked how this one came out; it was on that Val put together. It turned out nice. She was telling me about how she wants to see her blocks in a quilt and knows we have a ton of them. I told her, yes, we have a ton, but it's hard to figure out where to put them. We will work on that on Saturday during sew days. 

I was ready to come home, but mom had stuff she wanted me to do. So, I showed her how to get the books back to Amazon on her Kindle. Then she wanted me to help her with the Fetch app she has. We ended up sending a message to help because she couldn't get on it. Then I was ready to go, till she reminded me I was going to help her with the Chex Mix treats. I ended up having to read the recipe from the package, tell her what to put in the pot, and then mix it all up. Once that was done, I could leave. I couldn't believe she couldn't do all that by herself, but she was insistent that I "help" - in over words, I do it!

I stopped at Colleen's on the way home and picked up the quilt she was putting the binding on. I believe I have 6 quilts in the other room that need to be taken to the museum. Colleen has a panel quilt that is done, so that will help for the 21st. I can't seem to get down there and get another one done!

Came home and called it a day. Was ticked I didn't get to work on my embroidery. Told mom that Mondays is for embroidery, not QOV. Don't think she liked that. OMG! I may have to move our group back to the grange at this rate. 

As much as I want to say I was, I really wasn't Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Ripping Seems To Be My Motto

 Today, Sunday. Another weekend gone. Another week beginning. 

I actually went downstairs and cut batting and backing for a quilt. Then I cut the panel on the wall in 5 pieces. I will see what will work to put them together and have another top done. It will be interesting what I end up doing. 

I listened to my audiobook and "frogged" or rip out the floss that I had put in. Since the shading was off, I wasn't happy with going with the next shade for the same color. So, I took it all out. 

It's a big area but won't take too long. I will work on it in the next few days. 

I have a start, and it's coming along nicely. I can't wait to get back to my stair stepping to get this done. 

I started my sourdough tonight. Haven't paid too much attention to it, so I'm hoping it will do fine. 

I'm at least trying to get back into enjoying myself by being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Dinner With Family Today

This morning, I beat Patrick up. Then I listened to the last 10 minutes of my audiobook. 

I pretty much played games till it was time to leave. We had to pick mom up to take her down to Kelso's Red Lobster. We were meeting my brother down there. Mom gave me 2 quilts that were done. Then I gave her the white-on-white fabric for Georgie. She was showing us the quilt she was working on. It's nice. 

We headed down to Kelso around 3 pm. Then we arrive around 3:48 pm. My brother and his wife were right behind us. They arrived a few minutes after us. We waited to be seated. 

We were seated in a long booth that worked out great for us. Patrick and I shared a "boiled bag" of crab, lobster and other goodies. The rest of them got 2 or 3 servings of shrimp. I seriously wasn't in the mood for shrimp, but I did eat some from the bowl. We must have chatted for over 2 hours. The waitress was being really nice and letting us chat. 

We dropped mom off and came home. Our shows were on, so we sat and watched them. I worked on my cross stitch. 

I was working on the right side, after rolling the piece. When I got to the light blue/green that was #503, I found I didn't have it with my floss. I looked all over then I went downstairs and found 2 different shades of the blue/green. Neither one was the color I used. I looked to see if I had something close, no such luck. So, I came up and now it looks like I will be taking out that color that is here and replacing it with another shade of 503. UGH UGH UGH! It's on the left side above the yellow where the red flowers are. So, not only am I taking out the left side, I have to take out the right side as well. Not looking forward to it, but I need to make them work. It will take time and at least I know I have that. It may wind up a day of taking out and a day of putting in. We will see, I can hope I can find the floss but have a feeling it won't happen. I'm not that lucky. That's what I get for putting this away for so long. This is the 3rd thing that I have had to fix. Give me time! I may yet get this done!

At least I was able to be on the side of Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

I Tried To Do Something -

 This morning, Patrick went golfing and I just enjoyed the morning to myself - not doing anything! 

Then I went into town to go shopping at Safeway and deposit a check for our water group. Then I stopped to see Phil and return his dish. He had made a delicious carrot cake for Patrick last week. Stopped at Carl's Jr. for my lunch. Brought back a milkshake for Patrick and myself. I had a small one. But I think I paid for it because it has dairy. OR my body didn't care for the burger. Either way, my IBS took an hour to clear up. Then I was tired and fell asleep. lol 

I took a little bit of time to work on my cross stitch. 

I worked on the right side to get my stair stepping going again. I need to roll the bars since a lot of those empty spots are for beads. It's amazing how many beads are needed for this piece. I will be fun to see how long that takes to add the beads. There are 5 different beads to it. 

I have just been going from one game to another today. I'm not all there today. I seem to be down in the dumps and don't know why. But I'm pushing myself to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Feels Like A Friday

I know today isn't Friday, but it feels like it. I'm bored!! 

I cleaned up a bit while Patrick was off golfing. Then I cleaned the cat litter and called it done. I was able to play my game but got frustrated with the people I play with. They seem to stop playing when they think we are losing.  I listened to my audiobook today and finished one, starting another. 

I worked on my leg warmers. 

Good news is that it's done. I'm going to do another set but try and make them look a lot better. I really should do them knitted and not crocheted. I may yet. I have a good idea what to do. I'm done cable work in knitting before. It would be easier than what I have in mind for the next set to finish the cuffs. We will see how it goes. 

I will be going into town tomorrow. Have a few things to do. Then I will stop and get myself a burger at Carl Jr's. I'm hungry for a burger. Tonight, I didn't have much but the frozen meals I fixed for myself a while back. Saturday, we are meeting my brother and his wife (with mom) at Red Lobster in Kelso. It will be fun to see them again. 

Katt called and told us about her trip to Salt Lake, UT. I was fun listening to her say the driving there is awful and she would rather drive in Seattle then there. That's saying something, because we don't even go to Seattle because of the driving issues! 

My day was quiet and I at least made myself try and be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Our Weekly Casino Day

This morning, I was up and putzing around. Didn't get much done, but we did leave around 10 am. We got to the casino around 11 am. 

The jackpot was over $5,000 on the game we play. We played a long time, then went to another machine, to go back and find someone won the prize. Patrick wasn't too happy about that. We play that game a lot and rarely win it. Think between the 2 of us, we have won it 3 times in over 10 years. lol - But don't forget, we stopped going to the casino for a good 4 years. 

Came home around 3 pm. Then I played my games. I thought about working on my leg warmer, but we can all see how far that got me. After supper we just watched TV. I need to do some laundry and a few other things tomorrow, so I will try and get back to working on the leg warmer. Then I can work on my cross stitching as well. 

As for today, it wasn't anywhere close to Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Yet Another Trip To Olympia - Getting Old!

 Today, I just played games in the morning. Wasn't in the mood to do much. I did get my floss and things for my cross stitching. So, I can work on it, if I can get my butt in gear. 

I checked the cinnamon rolls I did last night, to cook.

They raised really well! I used the cast iron skillet that I bought from Gerilyn. 

The came out awesome!! Really good too! 

Flipped them onto a plate and frosted them - not frosted here. They were so good! I will keep using the cast iron to make them!

We left for my doctor appointment around 1:45 since I had to be there at 2:45. Funny how they want you to be early, and then they are late. We talked about my issues and it's all good. I'm doing fine but needed my cholesterol medication changed. So, she's putting me on something that isn't a statin. Hope it works. 

Came home and stopped at Arby's by Love's. We went through the drive thru and the food was cold! They didn't bother to make a new batch of fries! I was so disappointed! The Arby's in Centralia is usually better. 

Came home and I decided I needed to try and finish my leg warms. I need them before the weather gets better and will have to wait till winter again! 

I didn't get very far, found myself taking out a couple rows to get them right. Since it's been a couple days, I was trying to remember how each row went. When I figured it out, Sophie showed up and wanted to munch on the yarn, so I stopped. I don't care for wet yarn when I'm stitching. But at least I found the time today to have fun and be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Monday's Embroidery

I dropped off 2 quilt tops at Colleens and headed to moms. There were 5 of us. It was fun. Georgie and mom where working on QOV quilt stuff. I was working on my embroidery. I don't know why mom won't sit down and enjoy working on her applique instead of keeping busy with QOV stuff. 

I worked on the pansy today. I started it and then came home to finish it. First, I went walking around the neighborhood, to get some walking in. Once that was done, I put the audiobook on and worked on finishing this so I could get it in the mail tomorrow. My part in the Round Robin is done. 

This was fun to work on. I enjoyed it, and I had to think of something that would work with the flowers that were there. I had fun working on it. 

After supper, I got the cinnamon rolls ready for tomorrow. I bought a cast iron skillet from Gerilyn and put the rolls in there. I think it will be a lot better in there. They will raise overnight and tomorrow we can enjoy them. Hopefully, they really didn't feel 100% right when I rolled them. We will see. 

Tomorrow is the casino. But TODAY was my day for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICK - SEAHAWKS WON

   Today was Patrick's Birthday. He didn't want anything and said it's just another day to him. I'm not that way when it comes to Birthdays, but then he treats it the same. lol 

This morning, I wanted to get some stuff cleaned. I got started on laundry, that didn't get me far. 

I had the Roomba going in the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen/dining room. We then mopped the floor. I kept finding things that needed cleaning and was doing that. I think all morning was nothing but cleaning here and there. Like spring cleaning, I guess. 

Patrick's siblings called and chatted. Then we watched Graham Norton show. 

Seahawks game was on, so we had to watch that. I was worried a couple times because they messed up! But in the end, they are going to the Super Bowl and hopefully will win!!

I decided after the game to try and see if I could do a pansy flower in embroidery. I wanted it to look like a pansy and not something different. I needed it for the Round Robin. So, I went downstairs and pulled out some floss, a scrap of material and drew my design. Then I went to work to see how it came out. 

I don't usually do that. But I found that I like how it's coming along, so I'm happy enough to work on the Round Robin piece. I need to get it in the mail and out of the house. lol I also decided to try and get the colors I needed as solid and not variegated as it's easier to work with the solid colors than the variegated. I ended up using 2 strands, working the dark first, then going back with the lighter color and work it in. If I wasn't careful, I would have a lot of the lighter color sticking out waiting for me to use. So, I found some lighter blue/purple colors and will do that for the round robin.  At least I can do it, and I think I can do it well. We will see. I need to get into doing stuff on my own and not relying on a pattern. 

So, I'm happy to say, it was Happy Stitcing/Happy Quilting!

Cleaning Saturday

This morning, I was expecting Jo Pope to come over. She came with her quilt top to get backing and batting. She also took another panel to work on with some fabric. She's kicking butt, and her quilts are the hand quilted quilts we give out. 

After she left, I worked on cutting backing and batting for 2 quilt tops. I will deliver them to Colleen on Monday. We are doing pretty good with getting quilt tops in and out. 

Then I played my hour-long game. After that Patrick and I went downstair and got into the pantry area. It was so crowded that you couldn't walk in it. Now you can. We pulled out stuff we haven't used, won't use, or just didn't know what to do with. I got boxes and boxes of dishes and things that we will take to the garage sale with the grange. Good thing we have 3 tables. May need more. lol 

Once all that was done, we went to Phil's to get Patrick's Birthday cake. Phil is such a good cook, that he told Patrick he would do that for his Birthday. 

Came back home and I worked on the Roomba to get the floor cleaned. Had to check the filter. lol I'm learning! 

I decided to just enjoy the rest of the night. I was tired of the news. It's sad and makes one wonder where we are headed. 

Other than that, I'm trying to get a few things done, and playing my games. There are good friends in the game I play, and it takes one away from real life, even though we talk about real life. 

So, yes, in a way, I was Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Trip To Tacoma - All Day

 This morning, I enjoyed being able to sleep in. Had some trouble with my thumb last night. So, it was nice to finally get some sleep.

We left around 11:30am to head to Tacoma. We decided to get lunch at the Spaghetti Factory. We arrived around 1:30 pm. It was the first time in a long time that we were there. Must be about 10 months at least. It wasn't crowded, as I thought it would be. We sat and enjoyed our lunch. We had plenty of time because my appointment wasn't till about 4:30 pm. I had the lunch size and Patrick had the full size. He ended up bringing some home. 

We could see Mt. Rainier the whole time we traveled north. It was awesome to see!

Heading how was just as pretty! Before the sun went down. 

After we were done, we headed to Tacoma Kaiser. There we were about 40 minutes early. The good news was, I was in early. We talked with the doctor about my thumb. I had an option of a shot or surgery. If I got the shot, I would have surgery the next time I came in. Since he told me he is 3 months into surgeries, and if I got the shot, I would have to wait 3 months before surgery can be done. So, I told him to do the shot, and we will schedule for surgery in 4 months. He agreed with that. OMG!!! That shot hurt so bad!! I was in pain, but not as much pain as I was in when I had the breast cancer shots. Still! I can take pain, but crap, that was real pain! It finally got numb as we were leaving. It's a little (I mean little) numb now. Last time it took a day to get rid of the numbness! Oh, well. 

By the time we drove through traffic on the way home - leaving around 4:45 pm and arriving at 6:30 pm, I was beat! AND I didn't do anything but be a passenger in the car! Weird!

So, as much as I would love to say it, I wasn't even close to Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Getting Lazy - But Still Crocheting

Today, I was up and Patrick was waiting to go golfing. I hate it when he ends up waiting to go. I like having my mornings to myself sometimes. He didn't leave till about 10:30 am. 

I had my game to play at noon, so I played getting a few things done on my war game. I'm getting closer to upgrading but it takes forever. 

After Patrick left, I turned on my audiobook and played for a while. 

Mom stopped by for some fabric to work on some blocks for QOV. She stayed a short amount of time. She wanted the bright colors that I have little of anymore. I need to get more bright colors to work with, but that isn't easy when all the donations are a little duller. We have darker blues and reds, but most look better with the bright colors. We will have to work on this in the future when we order fabrics to us. 

Then I decided I could do both playing and crocheting at the same time. 

I was able to get this much done in a short amount of time. I started it, got the cuff done and Patrick walked into the house. I was able to get most of the cable done while watching "Murder in Paradise" or something like that. British show. I'm wondering when this guy leaves. The don't seem to keep the same gay. I did see a newer series and the guy they have, I didn't care for, but haven't gotten to that series yet. 

I need to.......work on my genealogy........work on another quilt top.........work on my Hawaiian quilt.......my cat beading......etc. I can't seem to get my butt in gear and get stuff done! I will try and work on that this year. I need to see what I can finish and not get carried away to start something new. I did contact the Stitching Shop about the order I placed. I received the email saying it went out in the mail today! Woo Hoo! I can get back to my cross stitching when that comes in! I also need to get my beading out too......Oh, Crap, here I go again.....need to do this.....need to do that....and I'm still not doing any of it!! 

At least today, I did find a way to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Crocheting Today & Casino

This morning, Patrick was up before me. He waited till about 10:30 am to go golfing. The weather is cold and the frost is out there in the mornings. The golf course doesn't want anyone out there before the frost is cleared. He ended up waiting till 11:30 am to go out. 

I enjoyed the morning by doing nothing important. I decided to listen to my book and enjoy the morning. So, I pulled out my crocheting and worked on the leg warmers. 

I finished the one leg, but don't care for the way it was put together. 

The left side is the finishing, and the right side is the work I started. I have an idea of what I need to do to fix it, but right now, it will do. I'm going to change it up and do another set of warmers, but this is good enough for now. I just need to make a matching one. Not too thrilled, but if it keeps my legs warm, won't complain. The next set will be better. 

Then Patrick got home and we went to the casino. I won $750 which was on the money we were given from the casino. We played on that for a while and then came home. We ate at the casino as well. I brought 2 turnovers home for tomorrow. They are really good! So, our trip to the casino didn't cost us a thing. Then Patrick said he figured the amount wrong, since he had a $1 in his wallet from the winnings. I gave him a dirty look! He wanted to play the drums game again, and I'm so sick of that game! The last 4 times we played it (costing a lot of money), we didn't get a bonus once! I told him I would never play that game again. He told me it happens on all the games, I told him, nope, just that one! 

At least today, I found time for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

 

Tried To Be Lazy

This morning, I was up after Patrick. He was waiting to go golfing. They were told it would be about 10 am before they could get out there. He texted me later to say it would be about 11 am. I just laughed. It was really cold today. I don't understand how they can go out in the weather!

I headed up the downstairs. I was going to do some work down there but ended up waiting a couple hours while I played my game. 

 

I first started with the 2" strip on the top and bottom to find that it wasn't big enough. So, took out the borders and put in 4" strips. That got it closer to the 80" that it needed to be but was still 2" short. I'm okay with that. The side borders are the 2" strips I started with. There is a binding strip of red that will work great for this. 

Came upstairs and played my games. Just wasn't in the mood to do much today. I listened to my books, and that seems to keep my interest. I need to get back to it. 

Tomorrow's sew days in canceled. We just didn't have enough people coming. Think it would have been just 3 or 4 of us. Not enough to get much done. I will have the pillowcases ready for the February 7th National Sew Days. We can work on them then. 

So, all in all, I was Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Embroidery Today

This morning, I had a few things I needed to do before going to moms, but Patrick was kind enough to do them for me. So, I headed to Colleen's to pick up 3 quilts that needed the bindings done. Then I stopped at Dutch Brothers for tea. Got one for mom as well. 

Arrived at moms to drop off 5 quilts that needed binding. She had 4 others that she needed to do as well. She sewed on one that was Georgie's, so she could do her own quilt. There was another one that was Georgie's as well. 

I worked on my embroidery. I wanted to do a Pansy for the Round Robin, but I need to draw it on the piece in order to work on it. I will try and get it done this week. I need to get it in the mail. 

So instead of doing the round robin, I pulled out the rose pattern I have. I need to work on the center now. It's satin stich and need the flower drawn on the batting. I will do that later. I need my lines to help me with the satin stitching. There is a lot of detached buttonhole stitch, so I'm going to have to work on my stitches to get it right. It will take some doing. 

Came home and worked on my leg warmers. I really want to get those done. I'm close! 

BUT I have another one to make when this is done. Of course, we need 2! I will do another one, my way and see which one I like better. I think this doesn't show the cable like it should. So, I will have fun with the next pair. Right now, this is close to having one done. 

I posted on Facebook the veterans we honored. Now it's a waiting game to see how many quilts we can get done to keep moving. lol 

My days was a lot of fun with Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

 

Signed Up For A Virtual Class

 Here I go again. As if I don't have enough going on, I signed up for another Brazilian Embroidery Class! Just what I needed. But I do love the Stumpwork Glads that Loretta Holzberger designed and is teaching! She's so much fun. 

Today I was working on the laundry. Then forgot about it. I was playing my games and then decided it was time to get moving on my leg warmers. I seriously had trouble reading and seeing the pattern! The more I did what was told, the more it didn't look right. Once I figured out what and how I was trying to get the twist, it was easier to do. I don't like the "back" stitch method. So, I'm thinking I will do it the "normal" way next time and see which I like better. I can use a couple leg warmers and as much as I don't like the yarn, I have enough to do 2 sets at least. 

It took me a good hour just to figure out my stitches and where they went. When I started it didn't do what it was supposed to. I think if I did the double stitch again, it will be the front way and not the back way. I think it would look a lot better. 

While I was trying to stitch, I had a visitor that decided she wanted me to pay more attention to her than my crocheting. She even got a part of it wet for me. UGH! 

She had to relax on my yarn I was using. I keep it in the plastic because of this. Of course, she had to sleep on the plastic! Purring the whole time. 

The stuff I put up with! lol 

So, today was working on my leg warmers. I need to get the last round robin piece done but haven't gotten there yet. Which doesn't keep me from saying I was Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Getting A Few Things Ready

 This morning, Patrick was up early. I'm betting it's because he gets up early for golfing and now it's hard to break the habit. 

I heated up downstairs, thinking I would go down there. I played on my tablet for a while and Patrick watched his western shows. 

I cut and got pillowcases ready to be sewn. We will be doing them on Wednesday. I will need to do a few more. It was fun getting fabrics that will work better than the fabrics we were getting. 

After putting pillowcases together, and calling it done, Patrick asked if I needed to get the kits ready. So, we went downstairs - again - and he helped me pick colors for 4 quilts. One is complicated but the others are pretty easy. We did 2 panel ones as well. They should be easy enough to work on. That was going on while the first set of football games went on. 

My yarn arrived yesterday, so I decided to work on the leg warmers. I pulled out the instructions and got started while the Seahawks game was going on! WE WON! But then it wasn't hard from what I saw. I am so ticked!! I ordered Lion yarn and it's CRAP! I couldn't believe the yarn was so loose and is easily broken or split! I have had better yarn when I was growing up and the Lion yarn was supposed to have been better than Red Heart, but NOPE! I'm going to keep making this, but it's going to take a lot longer than I normal do, because of the yarn splitting. A major pain in my rear. I like good quality, but this isn't it. I will go to the Ewe & I shop next time and get what I want. It will cost more but will be worth it. This isn't cheap in price, but it's cheap in quality. I will know better next time. 

The good news is that my day turned out pretty good. I worked on a few things to be prepared. AND I was actually Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Quiet & Busy Day! All In One

 This morning, Patrick went golfing and I just cleaned a few things. Then I played my games. I was listening to my audio book and didn't want to do anything else. BUT I did go out and walk 2 laps around the neighborhood. I will try and get back to making it a habit. 

Patrick got home and we had to head out to Olympia for his blood tests. I was waiting in the car for Sherry, since she was delivering the last quilt, we had up there. It's a panel, so I'm happy about that as well. Things are looking up with the panel quilts and quilts in general. Debbie sent me a text about the message Mossyrock put out there for donations. I don't know why they spend that much money on their stuff when we pay half of what they do and our donations go a lot longer. But then it's not my worry. Sherry and I chatted till Patrick came out from having his blood drawn. Then we headed over to Costco. 

It's interesting when you go to Costco. One can spend a ton of money without realizing it. We spent $300 and I remember giving dad a hard time when he spent that much. Ours was mostly food - go figure! We picked up stuff we needed. And we always get cat litter. Anyway, some of the stuff was on sale and yet we spend more than we used to. Guess prices are going up faster than I thought they would. 

Speaking of prices going up! We are now going to be part of Chehalis, so we will be paying Chehalis prices. Plus, our water is a well. So, the city is looking into taking over the well. Not only that, but we have also been in a "sew district" since we moved here. We pay $35 a month. When it goes over to the city, we will be looking at $100 or more a month. BUT that is usually water and sewer. They will have to figure out how we only pay sewer. It's really going to be a pain in the butt! More money out of our pockets at this rate. 

Once everything was put away, we had supper. Then we sat to watch TV. I had to order my floss and stuff I needed to finish my cross-stitch piece. Once I had that, I ended up paying $10.95 for shipping!!! OMG, it should have only cost me about $5! BUT then again, postage has gone up as well. UGH UGH UGH!

I decided to balance my stuff for QOV and it took Patrick and myself over an hour to figure out what the mistake was! They put my recent expenses into 2025, when it was supposed to be 2026. That kicked my books in a tailspin! Patrick had it all worked out and now I need to contact them to get that fixed as well. My days aren't getting any easier, but they are moving along. 

Today, went from slow and quiet to fast and busy! Now, I'm sad because I didn't get the chance to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

What A Day!

 This morning, I woke with a sinus headache. Not my favorite thing to wake up with. I thought last night when I went to bed it was a migraine, but NOPE it was a sinus headache! Lucky me!

I took the day easy. I didn't feel in the mood to do much, so I enjoyed the morning watching my shows I had recorded. Patrick came home when I was done with the first 3 and he watched the other 2 with me. Now, I'm caught up. 

After my tablet died with 10% energy left, I decided to sit and work on my cross stitch for a bit. 

I added the white area on the top left. Then I went looking for more of the threads to find that every online site I went to was out of the thread. Apparently, it's popular and is sold out. I must have looked everywhere, including Etsy and eBay. All sold out. 

I think went to the right bottom area to find I needed to use my 730 DMC floss. Of course! It wasn't in my box, and I couldn't find it anywhere - yet I used it when working on this last time!! What the HECK! So, tomorrow I need to stop at Micheals to find the thread. At least I hope they are still carrying the floss! Could things get any worse?! So, I stopped working on it. 

Patrick had a meeting to attend, so I decided to try again and work on this. 

I started working from the top, down. I was able to get some more done. Just not as much as I would have liked. At least I'm getting there. I will need to roll the fabric again soon. I'm frustrated that I didn't have enough of the white area to do this piece. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to be able to finish it. Not much luck at this point. May have to take it all out and find another color that will work. But DANG, that's a lot of work!

We'll see what tomorrow brings. At least I was able to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Casino Day

This morning, was not a good morning. Around 4 am, I woke to an upset stomach. Which meant I needed to get to the toilet fast! After about 3 times, I was feeling a lot better. I wonder if it was something from the potluck or just something I ate yesterday. 

I was able to sleep again, so I slept till about 9 am. Patrick went golfing and I stayed home. I got the Roomba working down the hall. I also got some laundry going. 

I waited for one of the quilters to drop of 2 quilt tops. They are pretty. I will work on them tomorrow. She wasn't able to get a couple more kits because I didn't have them ready. She told me to text her when I have more. 

Patrick came home and wanted to know if I felt up to it to go to the casino. I was up to it. We left shortly thereafter. We were at the casino for about 4 hours. Stopped to eat there before coming home. Didn't want to cook and wasn't sure I could eat much. I had the Chicken Noodle Soup. It was good but couldn't eat it all so brought half home. 

We relaxed when we got home. I took the quilt tops downstairs and had to check my panel that I have to do next. 

That is where I will need to use the Army material I have. There are different colors there to work with. I will see what I can do. I have a couple patterns I need to print out too. 

Because I wasn't 100% today, I didn't do anything that would make me Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!