Productive Day…In Some Ways…

I had a productive day with getting started on fully finishing the cross stitch ornaments for Christmas gifts this year.  To start with I am working on the ones that involve sewing to finish them.  So today I ironed them and then ironed on interfacing to the back.  Then chose the fabrics to go on the back of the ornaments and got all that ironed.  The next step is cutting the excess fabric from the stitched pieces and then cutting a back to fit each of the stitched fronts.  Then I will have to choose the color I want the hanging cords to be…some I will use the fiber as is and others I will be making twisted cords.  At this point I will sandwich the hanging cord between the fronts and backs and sew them together leaving an opening to turn them.  Finally I will turn them inside out and stuff them and close up the opening and they will be gifting ready.  I am doing those steps for 11 of the ornaments.  The other 11 were stitched on perforated paper…so that involves cutting around the design and then backing them with felt.  The final step is to attach a 2026 charm to the back of the ornament.  Some will also need names or initials on them so Nathan's family can tell which ornament belongs to which child! 

I am pleased to get to the place I am in getting them ready to gift.  I want them all finished before the end of October…because when November arrives I need to concentrate on getting the house decorated for Christmas…which means having it done before Thanksgiving since everyone is coming here for Thanksgiving.  I know that I start early…but that is the only way that I can get decorated…I need time…I can't go like a house-a-fire any longer.  Even today it got to the point that I had to sit when I was getting my sewing prepared.  

Now an update on my painting.  I got a text that my handyman was coming this afternoon…after he went to the doctor.  He said that he was still sick, but wanted to at least get the caulking done and the couple of places that need repair on the porch railing…so he wouldn't come in so as not to give me anything.  I texted him back that I hated for him to come and then end up feeling even worse.  But he said that he thought that he could at least do those outside jobs.  But the doctor changed his mind.  He told him that he needed to rest at least today and let the medicine kick in.  So he said, "maybe tomorrow." I told him only if he felt better!  So we will see…but I’m thinking that probably not tomorrow.

The saga will be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Tuesday Disappointment

The killer whale sculpture by renowned marine-life artist Wyland at Icy Strait Point in Hoona, Alaska.

I don't think that I have ever posted a picture of this sculpture of an Orca whale.  It is entitled "Orca Dream."  It is very lifelike…as a matter of fact it fooled me for a minute when I was first perusing my photos of Alaska upon my return.  I thought it was a photo of one of the whales that I had taken…and then I reminded myself that we hadn't seen any breach like that and then I remembered this sculpture that I took a photo of after our whale watch excursion, when we were going into some of the shops. The sculptor, Robert Wyland, is one of the artists who has painted on the sides of some of the Norwegian cruise ships.  Melany, being an artist, was very happy on one of the cruises that she and Wade went on that it had a Wyland painting on the bow of the ship they were cruising on. Photo below is the art on our ship done by a Chinese artist.  

The bow and hull art of the Norwegian Joy was designed by the renowned Chinese artist and educator Tan Ping

• Motif: A large traditional phoenix, which represents beauty, good luck, and happiness in Chinese culture.
• Color Palette: Dominated by red (signifying joy), yellow (signifying grandeur), and hints of blue (signifying the sea).
• Concept: Blends traditional Eastern mythology with modern cruise design and Western concepts.

There…some more info about our cruise!  The significance of this being a Chinese artist and design is significant because the Joy was originally built for the Chinese population as it was felt that cruising might thrive in that environment.  But I guess it didn't take off like they expected and eventually when Alaskan cruising got so popular, they reassigned the Joy to our part of the world.  They had to refit her as Chinese ideas of cruising were different than western ideas.  There was not a spa on it and some other things were different.  It has taken two renovations to get it to work for us westerners!  

Well, I hadn't planned on sharing that tonight! That's sort of how I roll with these blogs…just start with a title, which I haven’t addressed yet, and then a photo and see where I go.  Tonight I went towards memories I remembered from our Alaskan cruise.

Now to explain why today was a bit of a disappointment.  I felt like my handyman was coming today since I didn’t hear anything from him this morning.  I expected him after lunch because he works in the mornings and does his "odd jobs" in the afternoon.  But I didn't hear from him till about the time I thought he might show up.  He said he wasn't coming today, but that he would get my job finished this week.  So there's hope!!! But, another delay was a bit of a disappointment.

I have been reading…almost finished with the book.  I also worked some more on the Sunday School lesson…read some more teacher helps for the lesson and made a rough draft of an outline, and I also started pulling fabric to back some of my ornaments…got to get going on those.  I really want them done in October…but October is going by too fast!  It’s almost time for my trip with Marie to the Georgia mountains to meet up with former members of our church…this will be my third time to go on this fun trip.  

I hope to finish my book tonight. I will finish reading it and then see if there is still some stitching time!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

🎈Happy 21st Birthday, Joy!🎈

Today is Joy's 21st birthday…how can that be possible!?! We celebrated yesterday at Nathan's and Kathy's with presents and cake and ice cream.  It was a fun family time…nice to gather together.  Rarely these days do all Joy's siblings gather at the same time…seems like someone is always out of pocket now that they are older.  Out of the seven of them two are married and there are now only two that aren't old enough to drive. While there we made plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas texting with Melany to get her family in on the plans, too.  Plans are for me to have Thanksgiving at my house.  And, we will have Christmas at Abigail's and Payton's.  

This morning I headed out to buy paint.  Jacob was planning to come prep for painting tomorrow, but he texted while I was at the paint store, so I didn't see it till just a little before he was supposed to be here, that he wasn't feeling well.  He hopes to be here tomorrow.  I’ve done my part…paint is here for when he needs it!  

I spent some time getting underway with this coming Sunday's Sunday School lesson.  I will be subbing again this week. I also read some more in one of the books that I have been reading.  One of my friends is also reading it and she's anxious to discuss things that happen in it.  I decided that I had better get reading on it as I don't want her to tell me too much!  She finished the book yesterday…so she knows all the twists and turns.  She told me that I will be surprised by the ending! 

I guess I will read some and stitch some tonight.

And, again, I wish my sweet Joy a very joyous birthday!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Sunday Favorite Alaskan Photo

Rainy Saturday

Do you see the Orca/Killer Whale in the lower right hand corner?  It isn't the best photo, as I cropped it quite a bit.  It is still fun to look through my Alaska photos!  I have been looking through photos today…older than my Alaska ones…looking back to photos that I have to look at on the laptop.  I have been looking for the perfect picture of Joy when she was little…need to make a birthday card!  Tomorrow we will celebrate her.

I have had a productive day…staying in due to it being rainy.  I spent the morning getting the Sunday School lesson ready for tomorrow.  Then this afternoon I spent time in the kitchen cooking.  I made Cashew Chicken…this is the second time that I have made it and I managed to get it less salty and better for me! It is quite tasty.  

I have the lesson printed out.  Next I will create a birthday card for Joy.  For the kids' birthdays this year I have been making a card with a photo of the birthday child way back when.  They have seemed to enjoy them.  After I do that, I plan to do a little stitching and reading before I sleep.  

I published this and realized that I didn't report on the Hurricane impact on us…mainly just much needed rain.  Last I looked we had gotten over an inch.  We never got the wind that had been predicted.  It is lightly raining as I type this.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Friday

I look back on the day and wonder what I have done!  When I first woke up I did a little stitching…finishing up an area on a sampler that I worked on last night.  I got a list ready to go to Kroger.  I needed a couple of things for a recipe and shopped some of this week's sales.  I came home and got the groceries put away.  Then I finished the reading I needed to do for the Sunday School lesson.  After lunch, I got a text from my handyman telling me that he would be later than he had planned, but that he would come.  And, he did.  He got the front porch rails pressure washed…he really pressure washed the whole porch…so it should look really good when it the rails and the new front door get painted.  He plans to come Monday to do the preparation work for painting. Then if all goes as planned, he will do the painting on Tuesday.  I have started filling in my Sunday School lesson outline. At the moment I am taking a break as I was getting very sleepy so moved away from it for a while.  I’m not sure how much more I will get done tonight…my brain seems to be shutting down!

I guess we are going to get some rain and wind from the hurricane that is brewing in the Gulf.  Rain is supposed to start in Tullahoma sometime in the early hours overnight. It's supposed to be a rainy day tomorrow.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

🎶Chim Chiminey, Chim Chim Chiree🎶

Meet Nettle the Rabbit and see her dressed up for Halloween in her black cat mask!  Our slumber party was a success and Melany and I figured out how to make her.  Melany did all the sewing…I just helped her know how to run the sewing machine!  We had a good time and even stitched a little last night before we went to bed.  

Around noon, Nathan called to say that the chimney person was supposed to come sometime in the next two hours.  Nathan came by in the middle of that time to check on things, but had some errands to run and projects to work on so he went on after he visited a while and it was almost through the two hour span.  Melany and I took in all the decorations in the front of the house because my handyman is supposed to come either today or tomorrow to power wash the rails around the front porch.  So our part is finished to be ready t job to happen.  We then went in to fix a late lunch…we had eaten a late breakfast!  And, the chimney person arrived.  First…the chimney person that Nathan had talked to had not seen the correct chimney on Zillow…he had looked at Nathan and Kathy's former home next door.  He was none too happy to see the height of our chimney.  He told me afterwards that chimneys that high always scare him even if he is used to doing the job.  But he got to work…found out that the cap on our chimney was just fine, that it just needed to have the screening replaced and then sealed and he suggested having the chimney swept/cleaned (reason for the Mary Poppins' chimney sweep song reference for the tonight's title).  He said since animals had been down in the chimney, it would be a good idea to have it swept…to which I agreed.  He got another surprise, other than the height of our chimney, there was a wasp nest.  I don’t think that any of them got him, but he did get them taken care of!  So hopefully several problems have been taken care of…stop squirrels descents, eliminate a wasp nest, and make it safe for me to have a fire in my fireplace, if the need should arise.  All that and I got by for less than quoted since he didn't have to put a new cap on the chimney. So hopefully a win-win all around! Glad to have that over and done with!

Now to get the new front door painted and the porch railings…

I’m getting ready to settle in for the evening…going to make a hot cup of tea and pick up my stitching and looking forward to Elsbeth being back on the air tonight!  I’ll get back to Sunday's Sunday School lesson tomorrow! 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!