I Didn't Pray For Rain... Honest!

This is our driveway after last nigh't hail storm.  It's a pretty, thick, carpet of leaves. Because of the golf ball size hail that bombed us for at least 15 minutes, we had a lot of property and vehicle damage ... and a pretty carpet of leaves, EVERYWHERE.

I need to say this right now ... I DID NOT PRAY FOR RAIN!

I feel the need to emphasize this because the last time I prayed for rain, God listened too well.

When I was just little, our family along with a couple other families took a vacation camping trip.  We had a little pop-up trailer and the family friends both had tents.

I remember that my parent's friend, Betty, kept remarking about how dry it was and that the area was desparate for rain.

Not even thinking that rain might possibly spoil our camping vacation .. that evening, for my bedtime prayers, yes, I prayed for rain.  

The next day, we got rain. 

We got so much rain that it nearly flooded the tents. The  rain continued for the next few days, which pretty much ruined our vacation.  Now remember, I was just little then ... maybe 8 or 9 but after a few days of the miserable rain, and feeling so guilty that it was because of ME that the rain was flooding the area, I confessed to my family and family friends that because I prayed for the rain, I was responsible for this mess.

They all laughed at me.  They all teased me mercilessly ... Their teasing only made it worse.  No one really understood that I REALLY believed that I was responsible.

That vacation week memory has always stayed with me and since then, no mattern how dry the weather, how badly we've needed rain ....I've never, EVER prayed for rain.  I just don't want to take that chance that I'll create flooding devastation.   I know it's ridiculous, but it's just one of my few character flaws that keep me from being a perfect individual.  :)

Soooo... just two days ago, with the weather being so dry, we are becoming a little concerned about our well water.  The grass is brown and dry and my veggie garden is suffering because of the heat and lack of rain.

Two days ago, I considered praying for rain but I stopped myself because  my childhood vacation memory flooded my brain.  I reminded myself of how silly I was for being scared to pray for rain.  But now I'm thinking that perhaps just THINKING about praying for the rain .... NO, God would not do that! Haha ...

Anyway,  the storm damage is done.  Almost the whole back of our house will have to have the siding replaced ....

Hail holes are marked with the arrows.

My car and Rachel's car were both parked in the garage, so they were saved, but my husband's truck, the truck that he treats like a precious baby, has divots all over the hood and side. His taillight is broken and so is his side mirror.

Our 1998 Mustang, which normally is kept in the garage, was sitting outside. My husband pulled it out of the garage for the first time in months so that he could clean out the garage. It's ALWAYS in the garage, except yesterday, it wasn't.

It has a cracked windshield and golfball size divots everwhere.  At least the convertible top wasn't damaged.

The good thing out of all of this is that we received plenty of rain so my veggies and flowers are happy. 

It's clean up time now.  Raking leaves in July is odd.

The weather forecasts are calling for more rain today too, which is a good thing.

I think and hope ... but won't pray,  that this horrible dry spell is now over!

Happy Day!



Blueberry Baskets <<------New Pattern!

It's the season for Blueberries! 

This new candle mat pattern called "Blueberry Baskets" measures 13" square.

While making the blueberries for this, I had them gathered in a little glass custard cup.

They looked so real in that little glass bowl, it made me crave blueberry pie!

The little round blueberries are stuffed with fiberfill and then stitched on. You can tell by the bowl of real blueberries in the picture just how real the blueberries on the candle mat look!

Basic stitches are used to make this: Blanket stitch, stem stitch for the baskets, running stitch for the blueberries and whip stitches to attach the blueberries and leaves.

The special price that is just for my blog readers is $8.50.  That price is good until Friday (7/6/12)

at which time the price will go to the regular price of 9.50.

That price includes shipping for US & Canadian customers.

Those who wish to pay by check instead of credit card, simply email me and I'll send you my mailing address.

cathspennies@gmail.com  

I also have the mottled blue hand-dyed wool for the blueberries.  The wool is available for purchase on my website.

The price for a 12" square is $6.50 which includes the shipping.  This is enough wool to make one candle mat plus a little extra to make for bowl fillers, if you wish.

I will soon have wool kits available for this also.  Email me if interested ...

cathspennies@gmail.com

Thank you all... stay cool and have a Happy Day! 

Is It July Already!?!?

Wow, the summer is going by so fast and I haven't blog posted for a loooong time!

I've even been nagged by my daughter to post so that's what pushes me to post today.

So, I've been busy and I'm here to show you what's been keeping me busy.

But first, I'm getting another newsletter ready to send so those of you who are not signed up for the newletter subscription, click on the button up there on the left to sign up for it. If you have already signed up for it but didn't receive the last newsletter with the free pattern giveaways, sign up again. I noticed that a few email addresses bounced back to me ...probably with the wrong address...

I have a new pattern almost ready to go so come back tomorrow to see!

Well, my summer has been spent playing catch up from last summer.  The picture above shows our new sidewalk that was put in last summer.  My hubby injured his ankle right affer the sidewalk was put in and then had serious complications from that so he was off his feet and not working until last December. 

Things went undone last summer because of it.  I tried my best to finish the area around the new sidewalks, but my hubby does everything better when it comes to hard physical labor.

When hubby was finally able to go back to work, he realized that after getting a taste of the good life without the drudgery of going to work everyday, he needed to retire.

During the time that he was off, we didn't kill each other so last February, he left Nova Chemical and he became retired and HAPPY!

So now he's home and we're both working outside to spruce the place up a bit and catch up from the lack of maintenance from last year.

Along with flower planting in the front of the house my new raised vegetable garden with squash, pumpkin and zucchini is starting to grow well.

Our tomato plants are full and green but not too many tomatoes are growing, which is a bit of concern.

We have a severe lack of rain in the Beaver County/Western Pa area so all the grass is now brown and dry and I'm doing my best to keep the veggies watered.  The sun is so hot, it's a losing battle to keep the soil moist. Since we have well water, it's really a concern because with no significant rain for well over a month and 90-100 degree temps, we might have a dry well soon. 

My other projects were painting the back door a lovely bright red....

Painting up an old chest of drawers to use on our side porch for storing my gardening tools and swimming pool toys.

I've spent quite a bit of time over two months, fighting these ants in our kitchen, by the sink. These lttle tiny devils caused me a lot of grief and frustration because I'd treat the area with bait, they'd feast and dissappear just long enough to make me believe that they were finally gone and then they'd reappear to battle me again.  This happened a so many times, I can't even count.  Finally, after getting the recipe from Pinterest, I mixed together some Boric Acid and sugar.  They feasted again and disappeared within a few hours, which was unusual.  They haven't been back since! 

The only positive thing to come out of my ant battle was that we ate out at restaurants quite a bit during that time since I refuse to cook with ants watching me!

My daughter and her hubby sold their home in Monaca and bought a home in Beaver so we've spent quite a bit of time helping them with the move and all that's involved with that, including getting to watch our grandson.  He'd much rather spend the day at our house, swimming and playing with the kitties than staying at home working with his parents on the house.

I must add that the new kitties are growing like weeds and causing much mischief in the house.  Two kitties are better than one in many ways, but two kitties chasing each other at full speed around the house, can cause quite a ruckus.

It sure is cute to watch but once they're a little older, I'm going to have to buy new sheer curtains for the living room.

The kitties love to hang, spiderman-like off the curtains.  They needed replaced anyway but it still makes me cringe when I seen them take running jumps for the curtains.

They've given us so much entertainment and laughs from their antics.

That's all for now.  I will be back to show the new pattern ... and to write more, hopefully!

Happy Day everyone!

Meet The New Members Of Our Family!

Skittles, our beloved 18 year old cat, died late last fall.  We've been without animals for the first time in a really long time so we... (me, Rach & grandson) decided it was time to adopt a kitty or two.  Last Friday, these two sweeties were on our local humane society website. Instantly, Rach wanted the yellow puffball on the right.  The other one, with the face that only a mother could love, ended up coming home with us too.  When we saw them in person, how could we possibly separate these two sisters?

So we brought both kitties home with us...

They were shy and scared at first so we decided to confine them to the kitchen and hallway until they became familiar with us and the sights and smells of our home.  They instantly adopted my dye pot as their sleeping quarters.  This is not something that we expected at all ... they found the pots, jumped in and fell asleep.  After almost a week, this is still their nightime place to sleep.

It's been a long time since we've had kittens so watching these girls play is such delightful entertainment. After a few days, they've become friendly and affectionate and if you own a lap, they will find a way to get up onto it.

The only thing cuter than a kitten sleeping in a tissue box....

is TWO kitties sleeping in a tissue box!

It's been a bit of a problem with my stitching time though.  They both insist on climbing up my leg to play with my wool and threads.  I now wait for their sleep times to do my work. 

Happy Day Everyone!



My 1956 Chevy BelAir

Spring is always such a busy time for me.  With the summer-like weather, most days, I'm outdoors getting the flower and vegetable gardens ready for planting.  That leaves me less time to design and stitch .... and blog post.
But I'm here!  It's a rainy day today so it's a perfect time to blog and show you what I've been up to!

My brother-in-law had his 60th birthday party this past Sunday.  A huge birthday party to celebrate a huge birthday.
Without thinking too much, I knew what our present to Mark would be.  Along with a case of his favorite, Heineken beer, I made him this:

Mark's pride and joy has always been his 56 Chevy BelAir.  So I created this wool penny rug for him using pictures from his own car and from the internet to create the pattern so that I could get the details just right.  I stitched a pocket onto the back and added a dowel rod so that it can be easily hung on the wall.

It took a long time but I absolutely loved doing this...not just because it was for Mark's special day but I loved the whole process of seeing it all come together, stitch by stitch.

The most exciting part of stitching the car was when I stitched the tires on.  It was at that point that I knew this project was going to turn out super nice.

My favorite things about the car that just made me giggle with excitement was :

The BelAir logo  and ...

The door handle and lock.  I used silver metallic threads for the chrome accents. 

I wish I had pictures of his expression when he opened the gift.  I'm pretty sure he liked it .. a lot. :)

So this birthday party was a surprise birthday party.  We all met at his Knights of Columbus hall and waited for my sister, Carol, to walk in with the birthday boy.  They were late with their arrival which is understandable but ....

their lateness only added to my anxiety.

I was having a big problem there at that hall without my sister being there. 

You see, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were friends and relatives of Mark, but didn't know ME.

Since everyone always remarks how much my sister and I look alike, the people who didn't know me, automatically assumed that I was Carol.  I lost count of how many people did this...greeted me as if I should know who they are. I was confused at first until I finally realized that they thought I was Carol.

  It got to the point that I sat down in the back of the hall, away from everyone hoping that perhaps people wouldn't notice me. I was really concerned that people would think that Carol was being snobbish for not properly greeting them. 

After her and Mark arrrived, things got much better. 

It was a good day and I'm sure Mark was feeling pretty happy by the end of it ... He's Irish and everyone knows how much he loves his Irish whiskey ..He is well stocked in whiskey and beer now!

Happy Birthday Mark!

That's all for now.   I've been busy with stitching finished things for orders, which I much prefer to do over writing pattern instructions.   I have a couple more orders to finished up and then I'll have to take the time to write pattern instructions for two designs that I've finished.  After Mother's Day, I'll show some of the finished things that I made for the orders ... I don't want to spoil the surprise for a particular regular reader!

Happy Day everyone!