Bittersweet

 Easter was bittersweet. Sweet because we had brunch and visited with Heather and family. Bitter because it was the 19th anniversary of my dad's sudden death.

Dad died 2 days before his 83th birthday. He had a good day that day, chasing squirrels out of his yard, and checking the gutters on the house. After dinner he told Mom he didn't feel well, and seemed confused. She called 911 and me. I went there, a two minute trip, and he was really confused. The ambulance came and took him. I called Mike, and mom and I went to the hospital, where Mike met us. Dad was dead within the hour. The ER doc offered an autopsy, which we declined. His guesses as to cause were a massive PE, a dissecting aorta, or a CVA. The cause didn't matter to us, he was gone. I relive that night so often.

The sweet was spending the day with Heather and Ed, and Eddie and Julianna.

We did a brunch instead of a dinner, and it was so low key. I took a blueberry french toast bake, and a spinach salad with strawberries. I even took the strawberry tops for the chickens! Heather made quiche, mac and cheese, tater tots, and a raspberry pastry. I also brought a dessert, which we almost forgot about! 

 

I took Heather's apron with us, and she modeled it. We stayed til about 2, which freed them up to have dinner with Ed's family at his mom's house. 

So, bittersweet. Such is life.

And a hearty F*ck to the Dementia Don, the grifting pedophile, and his band of spineless grifters. 

Brrrr

 After a gorgeous day Wednesday, Thursday was cold and misty. 50, but felt colder.

We went to brunch at First Watch, then to Aldi to get a few things. It was crowded, which we're not used to.

 This is the fabric for Heather's criss cross apron, called Hen House. So appropriate for her!

 This is what almost 600 stitches looks like! I feel like I'm getting into my groove now. 

And the F*cking Felon fired Pam Bondi. That won't release her from the supoena to chat with the house committee.  

Hello April!

 It looks to be another beautiful day! A good way to start a month.

 Our joint family calendar that Steph made! Pix of all of us, and we all have the same calendar.

My next project! I'm figuring maybe 2 years to complete- it's a big one. 550 wide by 750 tall. It's from Cross Stitch Studio. When we were transferring the chart from my flash drive to the laptop, first the Pattern Keeper app wanted to update. Then the google wanted to update the laptop. Then I had to watch a tutorial to refresh my memory about how to use Pattern Keeper. So all in all, I got a grand total of 71 stitches placed. I'm used either 18 or 20 count, I don't remember. But those squares are little! I bought the Chromebook specifically for Pattern Keeper, because it doesn't run on Apple. 

I'm waiting on Amazon to deliver my 28mm rotary cutter so I can finish cutting out the first apron. 

And my weight is exactly the same as it was March 1. Sigh. Better than gaining.

And the F*cking Felon is speaking tonight on TV. Yippee.
 

Goodbye March!

 March ends with my brother Mike's 70th birthday. It's going to be nice today, almost 80!

 And it's done! The backstitching really defined it well. It took 20 days. 

I had a Walmart grocery delivery this morning. The driver texted me that she'd be delivering the items in a box, due to the store being out of bags. It was a big, heavy box. I asked if she wanted some bags, and she was happy. I gave her a half dozen bags. First time that's happened! 

 

Housecleaner Lisa comes this afternoon, so I'll get something done in the sewing room to stay out of her way. 

And as always, F*ck the grifting, felonious pedophile and all who support the bastard. 

March is almost over!

 The month has gone pretty well. I got all the flannel cut, and the counted cross is in the phase of doing the accent stitching. I've watched a lot of TV while cross stitching, I'm up to this season of Grey's Anatomy.

 As much as I find backstitching annoying, it sure does make a difference.

 LOL, the only picture I took at Mike's birthday party was of the cake, and that was so I could send it to my kids. Strawberry shortcake is Mike's favorite. His daughter in law Samantha, and future daughter in law Molly adore him. Sam got the cake and made him his other favorite, rice krispies treats. We had such a nice afternoon of visiting with the family. Heather was working, but Ed, Eddie and Jules came to the party. 

And the daily affirmation- F*ck the pedophile and his followers. 

The weekend

 We're going to Mike and Donna's for a barbecue for Mike's 70th birthday today. It's a very last minute thing, they only decided on Thursday to have it. 

 We'll get to see this cutie! I sent her a bonus gift, the stuffed fruits and little bags.

This is what 100 yards of flannel cut into 8 inch squares looks like! Yikes!

 

I actually finished the stitching on this last night, and started the backstitching. I hope to finish it today.

 And Weber's Drive in opened for the season! Best smashed cheeseburgers and fries!

And as always, F*ck the pedophilic, racist, grifting, felon and his followers. 

Sewing room time

 This week I've been spending more time in the sewing room, an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Cutting flannel. Fun fact, a yard of flannel yields 20 8 inch squares. I can cut 10 yards in an hour. I cut a total of 100 yards into squares! That's a lot of squares that will become rag quilts. 

I also have about 50 2 yard pieces stacked to become oversized recieving blankets. And maybe 10 pieces of more than 5 yards set aside for whatever. 

Anyway, I cut the last yard of flannel late yesterday. Whew! That was a chore. 

I'm calling the counted cross stitch as 75% done. I work on it every night with the TV on. 

 

I took St Patrick's Day down and put up Easter. I love the gnomes and birds! 

Today's project is to bind the little hot pad.

And more than ever, F*ck the pedophile felon and his band of awful people.