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.

Stitcher’s Blog QOTW

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Would you or have you designed your own cross stitch design? If you have can we see it?
The only thing I remember designing is a pillow for my college friend’s new baby daughter back in 1990. I had this beautiful French tapestry fabric that my mother-in-law had brought back from one of her several trips to Paris. I had made a vest out of it (remember when they were so popular?) and had a bit left, so I made Olivia’s daughter Emily a little pillow. On one side it was the forest animal tapestry and the other was her name and birth date. It was really pretty and I didn’t take a photo of it.
I would love to design cross stitch patterns from using antique picture books as inspiration.

Questions for the Soul-found my own meme book

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I found a really neat book ‘If…Questions for the Soul’ by Evelyn McFarlane & James Saywell. I will pick a random question once in a while to answer.
If you could be more ambitious in a single area of your life,what would it be?
I had to think about this one a moment. I really wanted to handcraft items to sell and whether it is I haven’t found the right thing to reproduce or I haven’t taken the time to actually get down to brass tacks to find it, I don’t know. Now that I have all my books in order, I can see the ones I really love and want to try to make the crafts they illustrate. I also would like to make Christmas gifts this year like I did last year.

Wife Swapping

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I just got finished watching ‘Wife Swap’ on ABC. It’s really interesting to say the least. The one swapping lady Bambi had about 25 pets and most of them had the rule of the roost-do do everywhere with a little toddler running around. Her teen boys had no schedule and the little girl went to bed whenever she wanted. I wonder if the health dept will get after her? Her husband seemed really nice and not only did he work but he made the meals! I don’t think Bambi works outside the home. The lady who she swapped families with-Charice I think, cleaned her house 5 hours a day and was really by the books with her teen boys and husband. She made lists all the time. The swappers had to live by each other’s rules the first week. The second week they get to make the rules. Charice put about 22 of the pets in storage or whatever they do with them. She cleaned the heck out of the house even buying them a dining room table so they could eat together as a family. The outside of the house was a dump. I think Bambi girl needs to grow up and look around. Charice’s oldest teen son asked for a kitten and Bambi got him one. When they met at the end of the program, Bambi told Charice that she hated her, but she kept the dining room table! Charice eased up with her family and fell in love with the kitty. : )
Can’t wait to see the show with the rich Manhattan lady cutting wood!

Cat Stevens

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“Oh baby, baby it’s a wild world!” I really can’t believe a well known performer wasn’t allowed to enter the USA last week. I loved his music! He’s been around for 30 yrs. He did a benefit concert in the states not that long ago. They saw Islam and he was ‘branded’ and kicked out of the country. What’s right and what’s wrong? I am a practicing Catholic and every time I open the hymn book and see ‘Morning Has Broken’, I think of the former Cat Stevens. What’s wrong is when innocent people are getting decapitated at a whim. The families beg for their loved ones lives and those pleas fall on deaf ears. It is a wild and crazy world and Cat Stevens plays no part in the insanity.

‘Hurricane’ Jeanne hammers her two sons….

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Well, not literally! But that is my mom’s name and two of her sons are in Florida at this time. My one brother lives in Fort Lauderdale and his power is going off and on. I’m still mad at him for calling my family room a bordello because I have a red sofa now. Oh I do hope the dear boy is safe (as always-and his ‘little dog’ too).
My other brother is down in Disney World with his family (wife and two sons). They were suppose to come home today, had checked out of the Contemporary and decided to call the airport to see if the plane was on time and surprise!!-all flights have been cancelled. They high-tailed it back to the hotel and got another room. No one in either Orlando or Fort Lauderdale is allowed to leave their buildings. My older brother is suppose to be able to leave in a few days. This was his 50th birthday trip. I don’t know if I would have picked September to go, but you never know. They had great weather all week.
Crossing fingers and doing some praying.

Quaint Idioms & Expressions of the Amish part 2

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This is the other little book I have from Amishland in Lancaster, PA. These are fun books and only cost about $1.00 or so.
My husband-he always had such a good abedit (appetite) but now he don’t fress (eat) much anymore.
He is as airlich (honest) as the day is long.
This country is full of dirty biscotza (skunks). LOL
Come here once just a bissel (little;short time) I want to talk to you.
The dear little bubbelly is so sweet-like; she is nice-behaved.
It takes a lot of croosht (crust) to “sponge” on your relatives all the time.
It feels so good when I can crotz (scratch or rub it).
to be continued…

Sunny Autumn Saturday

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I do feel a wee bit better today. I know what one of the problems was and you guys can’t relate unless you have women in your life. I love when people start to question my behavior and ask if I am PMSing or ‘when is it due’? Sometimes I’m freakin’ tired!
I am still living in disorganization and plan to get rid of some of the growing piles today. No painting though-can’t hack that. It’s going into week 4 for this project. I have so much to do. It’s not like the tv shows-Trading Spaces, etc. The designers go in the rooms, talk to the homeowners (I would say they don’t go by what the owners want lots of the time); they sketch their plans, order stuff. I am sure it’s at least a month’s project for them. So I don’t feel too bad. And it’s not like I am getting tons of help. I just bought 2 more quarts of paint. One in the room color that may not match-thanks saleslady-I’ll have to do under the window with that can and one a darker gold for my complimentary wall I decided to do. If this room needs painting in the next 10-12 yrs (that’s if we still live here), I am hiring help. So there!

Blah Friday

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I guess it’s from overdoing it in the house and not being careful about what I eat that made me feel so crummy this morning. My schedule was completely screwed up yesterday anyway. It was my mom’s birthday. I drove solo down there (46 miles round trip) in my van that needs the gasket repair. I brought her an Indian Summer bouquet with mini-sunflower, white tea roses, yellow roses, some goldenrod type flower and something that looked like rosehips. She loved it. She opened her gifts from me later. She had overdosed the air with this spray that my brother had sent from Florida to mask dog pee. Her dog is doing that again around her house. To her he’s just a bad dog and she puts up with it. My sister-in-law Colleen and little 5 yr old niece Tori came to take us to lunch up in Media at a restaurant called ‘The Town House’. It was a pleasant lunch, I got a Reuben sandwich. We then went to C&T’s house to have some cake and chat a bit. They took us home and we decided to go to the movies. Before we went, I vacuumed in there, probably a big mistake for my sinuses. The movie ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’ was excellent. See my previous post. We came out of the theatre and I said I wanted to grab a bite before I had to make the trip home. We went to Wendy’s and their salads were wilting big time and we hardly ate what we ordered. I came home just in time to see Survivor. Yippee, I could now relax! Nope, Brian came back home early from the open house at the school and started to talk about that. I was interested, but the talk between father and son was overwhelming. It was still in high gear when The Apprentice
came on, unfortunately. I also ate a slice of pizza at 8 pm.
The first thing I had to do this morning was call billing at the doctor’s billing as they said our insurance wouldn’t pay for Brian’s June bloodwork. I was on the phone between the two of them for almost an hour. Not a good thing to do when you first get up, thus prompting a coughing attack. I was stuffed up, coughing, felt sick, all rolled into one. This happens when I am PMSing too. I think it was a combo of all the events from above. Gotta treat yourself good, ya know?
All in all, I think mom had a nice birthday which is a miracle after the year of suffering she’s been through. I wish I could help her clean more, but the dog dander is obviously making me sick.
Tonight, Cosmo is going for his rabies shot. He saw the cat carrier in the kitchen and went half in to check it out-and whoa Nellie-backed right out again. He’s been getting on a window ledge in a room we have in the basement for hours on end. I think he is watching the squirrels (or groundhogs) go after the chestnuts that are falling now from the trees. Cats are funny companions.
Tomorrow can only be better.

Theatre Thursday

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Since I just came home from seeing a new release, thought I’d do this one:
1. Do you remember the very first time you watched a movie on the big screen?
Now this makes me feel really old, it had to be ‘The Sound of Music’ when I was about 4 or 5. My mom and grandmom said it was going to be a real treat and it was so boring and long for little kids. Couldn’t wait until it was over.
2. What was the last movie you saw on the big screen?
Just took my mom to see ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’. I was surprised that a lady of her mature age would want to see this sci-fi, action type movie. It was based in 1939-40, just the age when she was going to see Saturday matinees with Buck Rogers, etc. This was done in sepia tones with some coloring. Loved the ‘bigger than life’ cinematography. If you happen to see it let me know what the last word spoken in the movie was. My mom said something at that very moment. Incidently, Jude Law and his ex-wife Sadie Frost are co-producers of this movie.
3. Did you ever like a movie so much that you paid to watch it more than once?
The Poseidon Adventure, Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark and Back to the Future. The movie house in the town where I grew up had cheap prices, like $1 for the above movies, so why not see them more than once.
BONUS) How much does a movie ticket cost in your neck of the woods?Full-price shows here are around $8-$8.50 and $5.50-$6.50 for a matinee.