I just got a phone call earlier today from a pal in South Carolina. It was from a very sweet lady who went back to school to become an early childhood ed teacher. We had a nice chat for about 1/2 hour and then I really had to get to the food store.
I met Shane through a postcard site. I had only put my first name and then address on the site and basically forgot about it. A few months later, I got a postcard with just my first name on it. I had to think a bit. I wrote back and we started chatting through email and then I got the call today. I was also studying for my BS in ECE but I’m about 21 credits short (or more now). I am really inspired my people like Shane and my friend Karin who have gone back to school a little later in life. They will have so much more prospective on things from their life learned wisdom. More power to them.

Brian heard a little commotion out in the kitchen and this is what he found! Now why would Cos do that? Just to prove to his little cat self that he could? That’s a good 5.5 feet from the floor. See how ugly my cabinets are? And that contact paper is from about 15 yrs ago when I just had to cover up the leftover flooring that the previous owners used for a backsplash. The glass doors use to hold my spices-the tabs for opening them-duct tape!
About 15 minutes after Brian took this photo, Cosmo tried the cabinet over the stove and actually turned it on! Not good!

Just wondering do you like asparagus or sweet potatoes or both? Not necessarily together. ; )
I will tell you why I am answering as soon as I get a few replies here.

Why did I ask?
Being the only female in a male dominated household (and having 3 brothers and no sisters) I have noticed that the boys turn their noses up to these two veggies. I will get Brian and Sean to eat asparagus occasionally, but forget about the sweet potatoes. Most time I make sweet potatoes like baked potatoes and garnish them with butter and a little cinnamon.
I believe these two veggies are enjoyed more by females. BTW, my mom and I enjoy them both.
Check out this article: Do women need to eat differently than men? It says we need folate, and that’s in asparagus.

Sean and I decided we wanted to celebrate the beginning of his spring break. At first we were going out to lunch, but we decided on an early dinner. We went to The Olive Garden. No meat Friday for us though. He got a shrimp linguini dish and I got mushroom ravioli. (Brian got cheese ravioli take-out later). I was surprised I could eat so much as I had to take Maalox today. I guess the last of the medicine ia making me feel weird.
Then we went across to a Kohls. They have a 70% off sale going on. I got a few Liz Claiborne things and a few pieces of jewelry. Sean got some boots for $7.50 (with leather uppers!). All in all, I couldn’t believe what I got for the little bit of money we spent. I guess you can say I’ve taught Sean the fine art of bargain shopping. He has a nice wardrobe-most of which (like 96%) of it was on sale.
I’m glad to be done my part of the round robin and look forward to receiving Rachael’s from Germany. I like detail and hope to find ‘the perfect’ or near perfect design for the rest of the 7.
Cleaned out another kitchen cabinet before we went out. What I found-paper plates from Sean’s christening (exactly 19 years old)-I kept one and a few plates from his various birthday parties. They don’t look that old and I remember each birthday. Because I’m a sentimental fool, I’ll save them. I’ll have to do a collage of the things I am finding in the kitchen-his little cups, etc.
Best wishes to my neighbors’ grandson Matthew and his fiance Sarah who are getting married way up in New Jersey tomorrow. I am a friend of his mom’s, but we decided that the weather may be too iffy for this time of the year for us to drive 2.5-3 hours to attend. I remember meeting Matt as a five year old when we moved in. I was very pregnant and he knew I was having a baby as his sister Kelly was only a few months old at the time. And he could talk your ear off! I can’t believe the little boy who came to some of Sean’s birthday parties was a soldier in Iraq and will soon be a married man.

Poor Sean thought he had flea bites. BUT, fleas don’t bit you 50+ times. Before that, he thought he had a allergy to soap or something. I found the real reason for his ‘spots’. He probably has pityriasis rosea. Sounds scary, but it may be from a virus, but it could take up to 4 months to go away. If he has a mild case (and I sure hope he does as some of the photos were ugly), it should go away sooner. When I was a teen I has something similar, but mine was a sensitivity to a certain elastic. But just to mention this to those of you with kids his age: mostly young adults get this in the spring or fall of the year. And it may be contagious. I’m not taking him to the doctor, because a similar thing, syphillis is something that he surely doesn’t have. He’s doing the right thing using hydrocortisone if it’s bothersome. My poor guy. At least he is off for a week to rest.

I am getting so sick of the kitchen. Everytime I clean something out I am glad, but I hate running across dusty goblets and oddles of superballs under the free standing cabinet. We moved ‘the pie safe’ into the living room. Stuff is piled up to be sorted. Believe me, it’s hard to cook out there right now. I still have cabinets to do-dishes, silverware and under the sink. I know I have too much of everything and when the new kitchen is in place, I am sure I will be donating a lot of it or selling it on eBay. I love my copper molds, but I’ve loved them for almost 20 years. I don’t think they will fit in the kitchen anymore. Not to say I won’t keep a few of them.
And the endless canned goods! Some have expirations, some don’t. I will have to go through the food at least three times to make sure I really want them. My brother said just to toss all the spices. I do know which are newer. Jars of spices are pricey, so I will keep most of them. I inspected these too.
At this point, we are probably going to order a new window (I’d love a greenhouse window, but is that practical for over the sink?) and frig, first. I figure we can set the new frig up in the dining room rather than getting rid of the old one in the midst of all the mess. We need all new appliances. My microwave is ‘arking’ when we push the start button, so something is wrong with the touch pad (we use a wooden spoon to push it). It works fine otherwise.
I’ll post a photo when it looks better in there which may not be until the day before construction begins-hopefully by the end of the month or into April.

This is a Charles Wysocki design stitched on beige linen. It’s folded under, but the fence is straight. I added a picket fence with climbing yellow roses (my favorite kind). That’s my cat Cosmo on the fence. I altered this a bit to fit in the square. The flowers are all French knots. It’s being sent to the next stitcher in England in a few days.

Q. What cross-stitch magazines or other publications (as opposed to
blogs) do you read on a regular basis? What do you like about them?
What do you not like? What would your perfect publication include?
To tell you the truth, the only cross stitch magazine I ever really liked was Cross stitch and Country Crafts. They have just revived this magazine and it’s ok, but not as good as it’s predecessor.
I did like Stitcher’s World too. I just clipped about 5 old Leisure Arts magazines. I did keep more than I thought, but they were from that decade of geese and hearts.
I really like UK cross stitch magazines, but they are so expensive. I have to love a design on the cover before I fork out $7-10. But there is always eBay!

As for my idea of a perfect publication-one that includes finishing ideas, new designers (and spotlights one), new materials and designs that are ‘doable’ and not too cliched. I forgot to mention how much I love the special JCS yearly ornament issues! They are so much fun and give me new ideas too.