Life With Jules, and other stuff

I have a few things to share with you when I am feeling up to it. I have been sick for the better part of a week now (no sympathy needed, thanks). I just wanted to touch base with my readers to let you know that I am here and will make a proper post in a few days.

Life Lessons Sometimes you have to make mistakes That is the only way you can learn Everyone makes mistakes during their life Not everyone will learn from them. Life lessons can be painful They can also be welcoming Life lessons can push you down But you have to bring yourself back up. Sometimes the mistakes you make Are silly and so mundane Other times those same mistakes Can put you to your shame. Life lessons can be burdensome They can weigh heavy on your heart Life lessons can push you down And it seems there is no way up. Sometimes you have to make mistakes The biggest of them all And hopefully you will learn to deal With painful lessons in life. 25 April 2010

Yup, my Sandy is 1 year old now. She has been a joy and sometimes a pain, but hey what cat isn’t? I adopted Sandy from a local vet last summer, about a month after the loss of our beloved Mrs. Beasley . I want to take a moment to share a slideshow of our first year together: In stitchy news… I have been sick all week. It started last Friday evening while eating Jordan Almonds. I managed to chip a tooth (#14 for those who know their teeth names!). On Monday, the 19th, I went to the dentist to see about getting it fixed. What I hoped would be just a filling turned into a crown replacement. I am wearing a temp right now and get the permanent crown on May 5th. Can’t wait!!! I am so afraid that the temp will fall off and that I will swallow it. Plus, it’s inconvenient when I eat as I have to chew on the “wrong side”. LOL ! Guess this means I am getting old. Well, as the novocaine wore off, my throat became sore. I thought it was par for the course, but NOOOO! I have to go ...

**update 4/18/10: I did receive word that Sandra finally received her package. Here is a snap of what was sent: Well, I managed to finish the HalloSAL design. There are supposed to be eyes on the ghosts at the bottom, but I like them without. I did add a little bit of a border around the bottom as well. I got a little “trigger happy” and stitched one too many of the little grass areas at the bottom, so I extended them around. I like the way it turned out and the design was fun to stitch. I did learn a couple of new stitches along the way, but still haven’t overcome my fear of french knots! lol…Anyhoo, here are a couple of pictures of the final piece: I am planning on framing it or creating a bell pull. I need to learn a different finishing technique, so the actual finish may not happen until later in the summer. Now on to some PIFs and the 3 larger pieces I am working on (Christmas Design SAL Comin' Home for the Holidays , Butterflies and Shamrocks Wreath , and ...

Yup! It's that time again! TUSAL!!! I finally got around to taking my update picture for this month. Here are a couple of pictures:   And as you may have guessed it, my finish is ANCHORS AWEIGH! First a little background on the song, which can also be found here :   History Lieut. Charles A. Zimmermann , USN, a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, had been selected as the bandmaster of the Naval Academy Band in 1887 at the age of 26. His father, Charles Z. Zimmermann, had played in the band during the Civil War years. Early in his career, Lieut. Zimmermann started the practice of composing a march for each graduating class. By 1892, "Zimmy", as he was affectionately known by the midshipmen, became so popular that he was presented with a gold medal by that year's class. More gold medals followed as Zimmermann wrote a march for each succeeding class.   In 1906, Lieut. Zimmerman was approached by Midshipman First Class Alfred Hart...

Well, I promised an update on Anchors Aweigh and here it is: I haven’t gotten it finished just yet. I was dealing with such a headache earlier. I couldn’t even concentrate on my studies. Ouch! I called my mom (a nurse) and mentioned that I think I got too much fresh air and that’s why I have a headache, LOL! She disagreed, of course. hehehe... Anyway, as I have been stitching this piece, and especially the cap, I find myself feeling indifferent to the whole design. I guess starting out on a bad thread note doesn't help, but the cap is a bit off even by Candamar's palette. My brain started rolling around and I decided to try to come up with my own Navy sampler. I will incorporate some of my own experiences in the Navy to make it more personalized and the cap will be accurate! LOL!!! And, I also thought about the trinkets I have left over from my uniforms and plan to embellish this design a bit. Maybe that will sway me to liking it more! I do plan to frame it and add it ...

I want to share with you one of the artist’s I met at the Wesley Chapel (FL) Art Show over the weekend. His name is Rob Kaz and you can visit his website here . What drew me to him was a rather large painting of a frog. Now, the frog lover that I am, I had to step into his booth and browse through the prints he had for sale. I wound up purchasing two of them: “Nightlight” and “Hey You”. There was at least one other, but I painfully passed on it this time. Please take a moment to check out his website and Gallery to view his artwork and especially the pieces that drew me to his booth. With that said, I wrote a children’s book several years back tentatively called “Froggy Frog meets Slimey Snail”. The only thing lacking are the illustrations; a good friend of mine offered to assist in the artwork. It is actually a book that could very well turn into a series and will most likely include educational packets geared toward the first and/or second grade. As a poet, I was wary ab...

I received a postcard from Carol in Wisconsin today! It was in an envelope, which struck me a bit curious, but only a tad. When I opened it up I was surprised with this: Isn’t this a lovely postcard?! I really love handmade cards. My mom and niece make them for me for every occasion and I have been using cross-stitch designs to create cards for a few months  now. Here is what she had to say on the reverse (note the creativity flowed to the reverse side of the card): Thank you so very much for the personalized postcard, Carol! I think this has become my new favorite (so far, lol). In stitchy news, I will have an update tomorrow on Anchors Aweigh . I am hoping to finish it tonight or tomorrow night. Until then…

Be sure to check out my Giveaways section in the side bar (@ right)! Two of them are closing within the next 24-72 hours! Hurry and sign up!!!

Do you remember that show? Well maybe this will help you... Happy Happy Joy Joy !!! Presenting.... The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy Stitched on 28 ct Mushroom Evenweave (MCG Textiles) Recommended Floss: DMC and SILK'N Date Started: 30 Jan 2010 Date Finished: 11 Apr 2010 That's all for now! Until next time...

I decided to post an updated picture of my progress on The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy . I will have it finished this weekend for sure! Here is the latest picture: I woke up this morning to find a wonderful surprise on my kitchen table: that huge giveaway that I won over at Cindy Mae's blog at the end of 2009! Yay!!! I am a bit overwhelmed with all of the goodies inside the package and so thankful to be the recipient of such a wonderful prize! Thank you so very much Cindy Mae!  :D Here are some pictures of my winnings:  Group 1  (you will notice that Cindy Mae included a small stitched piece and a couple of her cording)  Group 2  Group 3  Front of stitched piece by Cindy Mae. I just love it!!!  Back of stitched piece Even Sandy had to take a look at all of the stash I received! I am not sure what I want to do first, but there are a couple of front-runners for sure.  I will post another update on the finished Great Pumpkins tomorrow along...

Happy Sunny Thursday from Florida to all of my readers! I just want to remind you of some giveaways happening on other blogs. Don't forget to check them out! Follow the links under my "Giveaways" in the sidebar to the right!!

I received 3 new postcards today! I managed to mail out 10 postcards this morning on my way to work. I know that I will be getting at least 1 postcard from France sometime in the next month as my best friend is going home (Nantes) for a visit this weekend. She is awesome about mailing me a postcard while on vacation. Here is a snapshot of those received so far: For a full view of each, check out  my Postcard Exchange page. I have made a little more progress on The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy, but still not finished. I have been a bit achy and tired from the Holiday delivery schedule. I plan to get back on track and have it finished this week and get some more work done on the Christmas Design SAL hosted by Yoyo. I am also officially in my final semester at Vermont College of Union Institute and will be busily finishing my MA Thesis over the next several weeks. Therefore, I don't plan to have much stitching time during the daylight hours. As with last term, I do plan to devot...

...from Me and Mr. Bunny!

...From me and Mr. Bunny!