Almost like Fall!

I can't believe this weather. We have had 3 digit temps since the 1st of August, then yesterday it was in the 90's and today it's in the 80's. It looks and feels just like a beautiful Fall day, and I love it.

We've had an eventful weekend here in the Ozarks. The funeral service for the three shooting victims last Sunday was held yesterday, in Anderson which is aboout 10 miles from here. Today the Congregational Church, where the shootings happened had a memorial service. The Micronesian's from all over came for the funeral service and the memorial service. They are a very close community of people. My DH has worked for some of these people over the years and found them to be very kind and friendly people and love to be living the USA. There was also a healing service later this afternoon to help our community as a whole get over this terrible tragic. My heart goes out to all of these people.

Not much else is happening here. We attended Sunday School and church this morning, and went to a friend's house for lunch. Debbie asked me bring the dessert and I made a pineapple pie and a chocolate snack cake, and came home empty handed! You can see the recipes on my recipe Blog.

I cross stitched a bit yesterday, not making much progress, but every stitch counts!

I leave you with this:

Weatherwise, it's such a groovy day.

Frank Sinatra

Blessings to all, dear friends,

Barbara

Five months ago!

Oh my, I can't believe it been also 5 months since I last posted on my Blog. A lot has happened since April 1. We were having a normal Sunday, or normal to us. DH and I were getting ready for bed and he started complaining of not being able to get a breathe. He was a smoker! It got so bad that I had to call 911 and get an ambulance here at once. My DH was suffocating to death. The ambulance did arrive in a matter of minutes with oxygen and everything of necessary means. They took him to the hospital and immediately admitted him and he spent the night in ICU attached to all sorts of medicial machinery. The next day he was admitted to a private room and stayed the week in the hospital on oxygen and taking steroid medicine. Needless to say, my DH DOES NOT SMOKE now. However, we have had a long struggle with meds, a sore mouth from the Advair and the nebulizer. Now, he is struggling with pains in his abdomen. They have ruled out gall bladder and an ulcer. This week we have been to the doctor 3 times for tests. They are still thinking it might be gall bladder, even though the test did not show that. Today was a cat scan of the pancreas and liver. Hopefully, we will know something the first part of next week. He is able to work some and gives him some pleasure, as he enjoys his work and the people he works for, (he is a self-employed contractor).

And, to add to all this, the stress of all this, added to my Lupus problems. It really flared up this time in my hands. Fortunately, I have been able to keep myself on my feet, but close to home. I have not been able to do any cross stitch or quilting during these months. I'm doing good to cook and keep house and care for DH. The last few days have been good however, and we are very thankful for that.

The weather here is VERY HOT, temps in the 3 digits. Everything is very dry and starting to look very droopy!

And finally, our beautiful little town, has a tragedy here last Sunday. A man entered a church here in town, actually the beautiful old church across from the building that we owned in town, and killed 3 people and injured several others. But, our town, always comes together, and supports each other, no matter what nationality you might be. Tomorrow is the funeral service for the 3 men and Sunday, the church in town is having an afternoon memorial service for their families and the families of the injured people. It is just a shame we had to make national news about something so sad.

Last Sunday was promotion Sunday in our church for the Sunday School children. I now have new 5th graders and my 5th graders are now 6th graders. I lost a group of great kids, as the 6th graders moved on to the youth department, but gained a new group of great kids. This Sunday I am having donuts, milk and juice for them and will be spending time getting to know our new members.

I am also going to head up the Wednesday night meals again at church. I won't be doing a lot of cooking, but they want me to be in charge and see that things run smoothly. I have all the menu's planned for the next six weeks and have several ladies lined up to work and grocery shop. I had actually resigned from this position, and our pastor came to visit with me, so, we'll see what happens.

I cross stitched the following Bible verse many-a-year-ago and it hangs in my dining room. I have read it several times a day during the past few months.

He gives strength to the weary and

increases the power of the weak...

Those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength,

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:29,31

Blessings to you, my friends,

Barbara

Our Barn and my Forsythia bush

Here you see my forsythia bush that survived the ice storm and my Iris that are coming up. The forsythia are beautiful this year, and tells us that Spring has arrived. The other photo's are of our new barn, that was built by the Mennonites and delivered to us this past week. It is 10' x 16'. A perfect place for storage and my DH tools, since we no longer have the building in town.

The above photo is our grandson, Eric. Today is his 15th birthday, and here you see him horsing around. I told him to smile pretty and this was what I got in response! DH will be celebrating his birthday tomorrow. My stepdad had his birthday yesterday and my mom will celebrate her birthday next Wednesday.

Today is the first day of Spring and it is beautiful here, sunny, in the upper 60's, BUT the wind will knock you over, it is so strong. However, I do love this time of year. The purple clovers have all bloomed out in the yard, my forsythia is blooming and the trees are starting to bud out. My jonquils have bloomed and are almost gone, since I lost some during the icy, cold weather. We also lost our mock orange bush and I'm not sure about my Rose of Sharon. Hopefully, this weekend will be nice and DH and I can work out in the yard and finishing cleaning up and do some planting and playing in the dirt.

"A good laugh fills your home with Sunshine."

Happy St. Pat's Day!

March is here and I am way behind. This month our grandson, Eric will turn 15 and my Dear Hubby will also add another year, as will my Mom and stepdad!

The yahoo stitching group I belong to did an Irish Exchange this month for St. Pat's Day. We were instructed to mail a St. Pat's Day card with 6 skeins of green thread. My partner was Margaret, who is from England, but now lives in Spain. Margaret and I have known each other for several years now and she is a very gracious, caring lady. And her stitching is beautiful. I received from her a lovely, beautiful pinkeep, with a quaker motif stitched in green, trimmed with green ribbon and pearl pins. This is so lovely and something I will add to my treasure box and keep forever. She also included, not only 6 skeins of thread, Crescent Colours Meadow Green; Six Strands Sweet, Spice Drop; WDW, Hunter; and 3 silks from Vicki at Hand-dyed fibers, Hunter, Spring Green, and Emerald. All of these were from her own stash. She also included a card with a quote from Maya Angelou, "There is an intimate laughter to be found only among friends." Also was included a small packet of kleenex with Froggy Friends designs on them and a beautiful post card, since she could not find a St. Pat's Day card, with scenes of Spain and places that Margaret has visitied. All of this was enclosed in a lime green drawstring bag. You can see all of this in the top photo on the left, and the photo on the right shows the pinkeep.

And to my pleasure a few days later, I received a card from Margaret, saying that a good friend in England had helped her find a St. Patty's Day card for me, and to add to all of this, she had filled the card with shamrock confetti and included another skein of thread from Ozark Sampler, Sea Cucumber. Dear Margaret, I cannot thank you enough for all of these wonderful goodies. You have been so gracious to me over the years.

To each of you I wish you a very Happy St. Patty's Day, remember to wear green and have a cup of green tea, its good for you!

Another Christmas finish!

Here you see my second Christmas ornament finish for 2007. This one is from Lizzie Kate, Happy Holidays, from the 2006 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments magazine. It turned out very nicely and was a quick stitch. I stitched it up Saturday while it was raining. I am thinking of stitching it on a piece of green felt with a green ribbon hanger and pulling threads to fringe the edges of the fabric.

I didn't get much stitched on Beatrix Potter this past Saturday during our 3 p.m. time. We had some friends drop it and it was lovely to visit with them and have coffee and pie. I actually had an apple pie fresh from the oven with ice cream.

Today is a busy day with doctor's appointments for myself, delivering meals-on-meals and Maggie has a vet appointment this afternoon to start her shots. And I need to pick up some meds for Annabelle. It seems she has taken the "kennel cough" from Maggie. Now this is going to be fun giving meds to a cat!

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the heart.

Maggie Mae!

Well, Maggie Mae has certainly made herself at home here with us. Here you can see her sitting on Annabelle's climbing/scratching post looking at the birds through the window! She also plays with the ball on the string, which is more than Annabelle does! Of course, Annabelle is still very upset, because we have a DOG in the house!

Unfortunately, Maggie has been sick this week. She has had "kennel cough". The vet tells me this is not uncommon for puppies coming out of animal shelters. So we have been giving her antibiotics, cough syrup and children tylenol. She goes back to the vet this Monday afternoon. But, believe me, I can tell you she is feeling much better. She is just a sweetie.

While at Wal-mart yesterday, I picked up a new book, Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky. I've read a few good reviews on this so thought I would give it a try. I've read one or two other books by this author and enjoyed them. Hope this one is good.

Today, is a rather quite day here at home. I've stitched this morning on my Christmas ornament that is on my February schedule. I'm doing the Lizzie Kate, Happy Holidays, from the 2006 Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornaments magazine. It is working up rather pretty. This afternoon at 3 p.m. I will stitch on Beatrix Potter's Quaker Sampler. This is the time the stitching group, FTLOS, has set aside to stitch on a project.

Be not simply good, but good for something. Thoreau