Before and after

Every now and then, usually about twice a year, we get Emma a haircut.  Today was the day.  Here she is before she went to the groomer - hairy, scruffy, and dirty from spelunking under the house and rolling in the dirt (why can't she roll in the grass?!).

Here she is after her bath and trim, and after I "touched up" her nose and chin area.  Most groomers don't seem to know how to properly trim the face of a Jack Russell; I've given up.  So I just tell them to cut it like a fox terrier and then I finish the job.  

I'm still working on "Hootzi Humbug."  I've just got the beading and some of the backstitching left to do. 

LoneStar

Getting plastered

My DH is a Certified Prosthetist - he makes custom-made artificial limbs for people.  As part of the fabrication process, a mold is taken of the patient's remaining limb and a plaster model is made from it using No. 1 Molding Plaster.

There is no local company that stocks this plaster.  The closest company that carries it is in Houston and they won't ship it up here.  So every time the company gets low on plaster (it comes in 100-pound bags), someone from the company drives down to Houston in their truck to fetch it.  It's about a four to five hour round trip, depending on traffic.  

I didn't think this was the best use of company time.  And, sensing a stash opportunity, I told DH's boss that I would be happy to fetch the plaster for them in my truck if he would pay my mileage and buy me lunch on the road.  Oh, and the mileage would include a trip to 3 Stitches, my not-so-local LNS.  The boss thought this was a great deal, so yesterday, I fetched 12 bags of plaster up from Houston. 

And I got some stash at 3 Stitches.  I indulged in some NPI silk floss for "Tribal Seahorse" and got several cards of Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid.  I also found some needles I'd never tried out before.  And I found the pre-made pillow for the Homespun Elegance ornament in this year's JCS Christmas Ornament issue (picture on page 50, pattern on page 52).  Actually, Pam, the owner of 3 Stitches, dug the pillow out of a pile for me.  A nice little haul; I had to refrain from fondling the silk on the drive home.  ;-)

LoneStar 

Warning - long post!

It was a short work week last week, but it seemed to last forever.  And my computer connection has been painfully slow.  I don't know what is going on with that - I need to get my GSM doohickey checked out I guess.

DH got the propane installation for the stove finished.  Then this weekend he wire brushed and treated the outside of the propane tank with a rust arrester.  I bought primer and paint this morning and will paint the tank this week.  Then all it needs is to have a broken/rusted-beyond-use gauge replaced and it will be ready to be filled with propane!  Yippee!

I finished "By the Full Moon" but didn't get it ornified in time for the I35 Stitchtogether.  This month's meeting was fun.  Mary brought a huge tub of unwanted stash and we had a stash-enhancing frenzy.  We were missing a few folks but fun was had by all.  The library we meet at is near several homeless shelters and there are usually a few interesting characters on the street and in the library.  We meet in the back Meeting Room which has one wall that is all window.  We were "treated" to the sight of a scruffy dude urinating right outside by our window.  Thank goodness his back was turned to us!  Egad!

DH and I bought a Sonicare toothbrush about eight years ago upon the insistent recommendation of our dentist.  We loved it and could definitely tell that it kept our teeth cleaner and gums healthier.  When we moved into our house, our old bathroom had no place to plug it in so we couldn't use it.  When the new bathroom was finished, we eagerly plugged in the Sonicare toothbrush only to discover that the internal battery wouldn't take a charge.  So we had to buy a new one and have been waiting for it to come in the mail.  It finally arrived on Friday afternoon and boy are we happy!  Normally I won't rave about a product, but this thing gets our teeth probably 50% cleaner than normal.  Here is the model we bought: Sonicare FlexCare Plus.  Yeah, it's a little pricey, but we figure it will save us in future dental bills.

I finally got a copy of the 2010 JCS Christmas Ornament issue.  As usual, there are a lot of things I like but wouldn't stitch, and several things I like and plan to stitch.  I think it's a great issue.

I got some stash in the mail this week.  Jamie Larson and her daughter, Skyler, over at White Willow Stitching have been designing a series of tribal-style animals.  She recently released two new designs and I decided I wanted to stitch "Tribal Seahorse" for our new bathroom.  I ended up also getting "Tribal Fish" and will stitch it for the bathroom, too.  Since our towels and accessory colors are mostly darker blues and we have white walls and white tile, I thought the monochromatic designs would work well stitched in a shade of blue.

And I'm currently stitching on Just Nan's "Hootzi Humbug."  It's been a fun stitch and has stitched up pretty fast.  I've got pumpkin leaves to stitch and then backstitching to do, then I'll assemble it.  After Hootzi is finished, I'm starting "Tribal Seahorse."

Hopefully, this week will be calmer, my internet connection will be faster, and I'll be able to post a bit more.

LoneStar

Labor Day

We've been working on hooking up the gas to our stove this weekend.  Plans, as usual, have gone awry.  How many trips to Lowe's/Home Depot does it take to hook up your propane tank to your stove?  You don't want to know; trust me.  'Nuff said.

I've been stitching on "Full Moon" and have it about 2/3's done.  I hope to get it finished this week and ornamentified before next Saturday's I35 Stitchtogether.

LoneStar

TA DA!!!!!

On Monday evening, August 30, 2010, we used our new bathroom for the first time.  Yep!  It's finally finished!  Well finished except for painting the four cabinet doors - our friend Billy will do that next week and then DH will install them.

Here is a picture from the bathtub.

Here is a picture from the doorway.

Now it's time to move on to the next DIY project which is going to be (FINALLY!) hooking up the propane to my stove.  I have a dual stove; electric ovens and gas burners.  I've been using my ovens, but I've been cooking on an electric hotplate which I hate because I hate cooking on electric burners.  So I'm really looking forward to getting to cook on gas again.  DH hopes to get this task done over the Labor Day weekend.

I am now stitching on "By the Full Moon," one of the Halloween ornaments from the 2010 JCS Halloween issue.  It's on page 27 of the magazine. 

LoneStar

Biscornu finish and snacking

I finished my biscornu - finished as in it is all stitched together, stuffed, and buttoned.  It's a cute little thing.  You can't help but pick it up and fondle it.  I think biscornus are kind of like tribbles.  Maybe I could find one of those little buttons that you sew inside of things - you know, they make music or funny noises.  Only this button should purr.  A purring biscornu...what do you think?

DH was taking a break this weekend, eating a snack and reading the Nook.  Emma was very interested in his snack.  Obsessed.  But she didn't get any of it.  We're pretty strict about not giving her bites of this or that, which is probably why she is not overweight.  

LoneStar

Have you done this?

Last night I was working on the bottom part of my biscornu.  I was using the top part to cheat on counting the backstitching by holding the top and bottom alongside each other.  As I peered at my finished top, I thought that its square shape looked off.  So I started counting to check it.  

One side of the top kept coming out with the wrong count.  I was off!  Oh no!  I spent about 45 minutes of counting and muttering before I realized the problem; I had left a row of three stitches off one of the sheep.  My top is square!  (My brain, apparently, is, too.)  I got myself all worked up for nothing.

And though I think biscornu are kind of cute and challenging, I thing they're kind of useless.  I know some folks use them as pin cushions, but I already have a pin cushion I like.  You can make a really small biscornu and use it as a scissor fob, but I don't like scissor fobs on my scissors usually.  You can finish it with a hanging cord and make an ornament out of it, but I don't like a lot of stuff dangling around in my house.  

So, I'll probably stick the ones I make in a Longaberger basket that I bought in a moment of spendthriftiness at one of those Longaberger basket parties many years ago.  Right now, all it has in it is dust.  ;-)

We've had very hot temperatures down here in Texas lately.  They don't call 'em the dog days of August for no reason.  Emma likes to go outside and sit in the sun until she's panting like a maniac.  Then she comes in and finds the spot where the AC is blowing and goes belly-up.  Silly dog.  She's so lady-like!

LoneStar