Author Archives: Dianne

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About Dianne

Domestic goddess, wife, mom, gardener, paper and collage artist, geocacher, local traveler, cross stitcher, baker, crafter, Facebooker, blogger, decorator and photographer.

Blogger Stitching Questions

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Ok, I have a few to answer.
The first is what do I do when I am in a stitching slump? Like the other stitchers, I usually just try to do something else creative for a change of pace. This time of year I am outside more than I am in, so I am gardening to express my creativity. To help me stitchingwise, I go through my tons of cross stitch stuff and either weed out what doesn’t appeal to me anymore or find something to stitch and add it to the ‘must do’ pile. What has helped me a lot in the past is having a deadline (like for my charity stitching) or I work on and try to finish UFOs.

What do you like *least* about cross stitching?
I would say ‘frogging’ or ripping out stitches after I put an hour or more into the design. This happens more often than not and probably is the most discouraging thing for me.

Funky Memorial Day

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Ever have one of those days that just happen to be a ‘holiday’ and you don’t feel like ‘getting into at least part of the celebration? Sean did-in a way. He went up to the next town’s parade and took some photos. I stuck some flags around. Brian char-cooked and ruined the meat we had for dinner. And it was the second time he had cooked this cut of meat that way. Like we didn’t learn from the first time not to cook it on the grill. I actually wanted burgers but he had defrosted the meat and that was that. Before the grilling disaster, Sean and I ran down to the mall so he could get some dress pants. He needed a larger size then the ones he had and he picked out some nice navy blue ones. He is going to the Senior dinner dance on 6/3. We also had to get a battery for the cordless phone and my digital camera at good ol’ Radio Shack. The phone battery was the wrong one, so I have to take it back. I checked out this one department store’s outdoor plant area and nabbed some 4-packs of flowers for about 95¢ each. I needed some more portulaca (finally got that spelling correct) and I got some pretty salvia-a dark purple and burgundy. Sean used all my celosia, so I bought some more of that too.
On the way home we stopped in Walmart so Sean could apply for a job on their in store computer. He has no previous job experience so he just put in the volunteer work that he did for his graduation project. He had helped out at a nature center in Delaware last summer.
I really was in the mood to do some flower planting before it rained. It’s been like this for the last three days. It’s nice, it gets dark and cooler and then in the late afternoon it rains. I managed to repot my geraniums and pot up some planters for the front step. I used mainly fancy coleus, salvia and a few other trailing plants. The planters I used didn’t have drainage last year and the potting soil got muddy. Brian poked some holes in them this year. I don’t think the same thing will happen this year as they are planted very tightly with the new plants. I’ll post a photo soon.
The cat pooed on me this evening as the last straw for such a weird day. He jumped on me, I was snuggling with him and felt ‘wet’ on my t-shirt. There were little brown spots on me and it wasn’t vomit. Cossy was embarrassed. Tomorrow has just got to get better!

Seed planting

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Just a little while ago, I finally got my first few packages of seeds in a circle garden that Brian dug up for me last night. It’s where we use to have a satellite dish (yep, one of those huge ones) and there’s a hunk of cement left there. I did the same thing last year and it looked pretty. I usually plant flower seeds every year anyway. I sprinkled some wildflower seeds in first followed by Cosmos, Zinnias (including lime green ones), and Marigolds. In the center is a raised up little container with colored glass and water. It got dirt in it from the rototiller, so I should have cleaned it out first before I planted anything.
I do have another circle garden for sunflowers. Last year the deer and probably groundhogs too ate almost everything in there. I’ll try again. I just don’t like breaking my back for wildlife who have acres and acres of vegetation behind my house to munch on.
I did a lot of running around today. I mailed off a few items, got a piece of posterboard (the store I went to doesn’t sell uncut mat board), gas (the van was running on fumes), strawberries for a picnic tomorrow at a produce place and finally I hit the grocery store. I can’t stop buying plants! I got some gorgeous geraniums-day glow pink, white with a pinkish center and dark burgundy. I got some coleus-some are similar to a few I saw on a fellow gardener’s blog-reddish orange, but they are a mixture. I also got some feathery celosia. Not many places have the portuluca I want for my yucca bed. I may get Brian to go with me to the garden center tomorrow. He needs to plant tomatoes and green peppers as they are sick of being in their containers. First he should add peat moss and manure. Ah, the joys of country living!

What I do for love…

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(Thanks Abby for this one)
The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.
In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.
You’d like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.
You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.
Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future… one you can grow with.
Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.
You think of marriage as something precious. You’ll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.
In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You’ll do anything for love, but you won’t fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Sean’s graduation is looming!

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So much to do in less than two weeks. I am making a few things for Sean as gifts. One is the mortarboard cross stitched piece. That is finished and I need to sew the tassel on it. I have a lovely frame, but the mat is all wrong. I have to go to the office/art supply store and get an uncut mat. I managed to locate a mat cutter on eBay-not a real expensive one, but one that looks like I can use it. That shouldn’t be that bad to finish up. I will have his announcement on one side and his mortarboard on the other.
I am also working on a memory storyboard. It’s not a photo album, but an accordian pleated board he can close up after his graduation hoopla is over. I was going through photos yesterday for it, now I need to go through some of his papers. I want to add some quotes to the pages too. This is going to be a hard one to finish up as he is off for the next 4 days starting tomorrow. I have the poster board all taped together. After lunch I’ll go through papers. It’s just a fun thing so he can see what we have seen-our little boy growing up into a fine young man.
Speaking of graduation, Sean got his yearbook yesterday and his blue cap and gown the day before. It’s a nice book, but the senior photos are really small-about 3″ (or less) tall. I got misty-eyed when I read his blurb thanking his dad and me for helping him reach this milestone in his life. Wow, what a kid. : )

Lancaster man becomes All time Jeopardy champion

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Congrats to Brad Rutter!
From AOL news:
“Ken Jennings,”Jeopardy!” brainiac met his match this week, losing a three-day tournament of champions from the game show and a $2 million (1.58 million) prize to Brad Rutter of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Rutter was hardly intimidated by Jennings’ 74-game winning streak in the game show last year. He beat Jennings in all three individual games, and his final total of $62,000 (49,066) easily eclipsed Jennings’ $34,599 (27,381).”

Man, that must feel good to beat someone like Jennings. He is hardly suffering from his lost. Before the tournament, I’ve seen him in a number of tv commercials.

Picture Meme

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Do a Google search and find photos that match your name, your grandmom’s name, your favorite food, your favorite drink, your favorite smell, your favorite shoe, your favorite song, where you grew up and where you live now. Save to your own computer then add here.

My favorite shoe-not necessarily these styles. Posted by Hello